Post-Production Editing Process Post #2

Post-Production Editing Process #2

What's up! Here is a continuation of how our editing process is going! My main goal is to add the bluish-gray hue over the screen, cut the film opening to 2 minutes, and to set up the credits!

First, I began going through the film opening and as I watched it I shortened any clips that were too long. There was a clip that was in there twice, so I removed it as well. This process took me around 45 minutes and I was able to reduce the length of the film opening from a little over 3 minutes down to 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Yay!! I removed a lot of clips that showed Alea watching TV, moving around on the couch, and walking around. We had these clips for continutity since the football game would be playing in the background, but I was able to remove clips and still maintain continuity. I also added some slow zooms to important parts that we want audiences to notice, for example, the bills. Check out the video below for a snippet of the process.

Next up, I added the depressing bluish-gray hue over the screen. What I did was I added a square graphic on the screen, made it somewhat transparent so we can see the video in the background, then I played around with the colors till I got the desired one. Look at the video below to see what this process looked like. One of my concerns was how this overlay makes the video quality worse. After playing around with the transparency, I was able to lower the quality as little as possible.

To wrap up editing for today, I set up the placement of the credits. As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost, some peers suggested putting the credits at the bottom of the screen to show how Alea is at a low point in life. I added a fade in and fade out for each credit. It intensifies the depressive feeling. Each credit is about 2 seconds long and the fade in and fade outs are set for 2 seconds. I played around with the duration of the fading because it was difficult trying to figure out how to make the credits enter and exit naturally. I need to leave the credits as I left them and go back to them later with a fresh perspective on it, then discuss with my partner.

Post-Production Editing Process Post #1

Post-Production Editing Process #1

Hi! My partner and I have officially started editing. So, here is how it has been going! 

We filmed all of the videos on my partner's phone, so she uploaded them onto Clipchamp for us. This is how we found out we had around 9 minutes and 14 seconds of content! That was because when she uploaded the videos, she uploaded the full clips and hadn't deleted the junk parts yet. We brought it down to around 3 minutes. Our eyes immediately went to the minute long video of Alea opening mail and that is how we knew we had to refilm that shot. My partner sped up the video on Clipchamp to quickly go through and review it. Below is a picture of when she did that.

My partner went through and replaced any clips we refilmed. She also cleaned up the video and cut out parts of Alea awkwardly standing and junk clips that did not include content. This clean-up process also included making sure no clips are missing and that all of them are in order. She accidentally deleted the whole video because she did not know everything was highlighted. Thankfully, the undo button saved us. Here is a sped-up video of this process. At timestamp 0:59 you can witness the screen go black when she deleted everything.

The video below is a screencast of my partner wrapping up her clean-up process. She added the ending clips, but we are still at around 3 minutes! UGH! It's ok because I know we'll figure it out. Look out for a blog post soon from my side of the editing process! 

 Production Process Obstacles

Welcome back! In my most recent production post I gave a sneak peek at the obstacles we faced when filming our film opening. Today, I will be diving deeper into the obstacles and the stories behind them. 

Obstacle #1: The Football Game

                      Before                                                                        After

Our film opening shows shots of a football game, but my partner and I wanted a non-copyrighted one. My partner searched YouTube for some that explicitly states "non-copyright" and we did end up finding one. What made this process difficult was finding a useable football game. Not all of the ones we found were what we were looking for. 

Before we used this football game in our shots, we used a real football game that we found on YouTube. We realized we had to refilm the shots which included it in the background. 

Obstacle #2: Mail

The first time we filmed Alea opening the mail, we had the envelopes sealed as any other envelope in the mail would come. When Alea was opening the envelope, that clip took around a full minute because she struggled to open the letters. We couldn't cut parts of it out because it would look like an accidental jump cut. So, we had to refilm this last weekend. To overcome this obstacle, we did not seal the envelopes and made sure that it was not noticeable in the shot that Alea received unsealed mail.

                Before                                                                              After

 

Obstacle #3: Continuity

There were a couple of scenes that showed the placement of the pillows and blankets on the couch, so it was crucial that we mimicked this placement when we refilmed to maintain continuity. We also had to mimic placement of the red envelope laying on the side of the couch. We were able to slide with it not being as exact because of the angle we were filming at but we tried getting its placement as close as possible to avoid it from looking discontinuous. 

Obstacle #4: Forgetting Props

When we refilmed some scenes last weekend, I forgot some crucial props to bring. One of them was my sister's black iPhone. I spoke about this in my most recent production post. I reprinted the regular white envelopes but forgot the red envelope! That was easily overcome because I just drove back to my mom's house to pick it up.

Retake day was our second chance to turn our mistakes right. A lot of obstacles led to it, like the sealed envelopes, and some obstacles came out of it, like continuity. We fought it through and learned a lot. Now I know to make a list of what props are needed when refilming instead of just recalling off the top of my head. Talk to you next time!

 Group Meeting #2

Welcome back! Today we had our second group meeting. I shared my blog first and I asked them for their input on my font choices. Valeria O. said I should use a font that is plain, but not ugly, to reflect how most of Alea's life is on the line. Gabriel said I should use something bland and flat with credits on the lower third of the screen to show how Alea is at a low point in her life. This pretty much confirmed for me to use the white Source Sans Pro font that I chose the other day.

I told them how for one of my CCR videos I was thinking of doing a carpool interview inspired by James Corden, but I don't want to drive and focus on my answers at the same time. They said it is a cool idea, but they agree that my concern is valid. Here is a YouTube video of one of Corden’s carpool karaoke interviews. You can also check out the video down below. 

I also asked them how they plan on presenting their production company name. In some credits I see only the name of the company and in others I see the logo. Valeria D. said she is putting the logo and Leo and Gabriel said they are putting the name and logo. After speaking to them I decided to put the logo. What was concerning me was how to incorporate it into the opening and how much time it will add to the total length of the film opening.

Gabriel likes mythology so he inspired his logo off of that and named it after the God of Theater Dionysus. I told him that is really cool. He is thinking for his CCR to do an interview with the bullies in his film opening. I really like this idea because it offers an interesting perspective while being connected to the film opening.

I told Valeria D. that I like the name of her production company "VLM." It's her groups initials, but it looks like a twist on the word "film." She said she never noticed that which is funny because it was the first thing I noticed about it. Check out her logo here The Daily Valeria: Our Company logo!! . She had a picture of stuffed animals mimicking a body under a blanket. I suggested using actual pillows so it doesn't look wonky.

Valeria O.'s film is based off one of her friends that put academics before self-care. It is really cool that she is basing it off of someone she knows in real life. She managed to get permission from small artists to use songs, like Stranger in You by Ebril. All 3 small singers got back to her! I like how she's not shy about reaching out for help. This includes reaching out to artists and asking for friend's medals and trophies.

What I found most interesting about what Leo shared is that his film is going to be in black and white. I suggested he checks out YouTube for non-copyrighted music because my partner and I found some luck there. I told him I really like his logo and can imagine seeing it on TV. Gabriel, Valeria O., and I suggested he does his credits in a color, like dark red, to stand out.

I was shocked to see a lot of people haven't started filming yet. The common problem was that their actors were not available. Maximo seems to be behind, so we helped him start brainstorming font ideas.

That’s all for today! Talk to you soon!

 Production Post #2

Welcome back! Here is some behind-the-scenes of our filming process. To film, we used an iPhone. 

The filming process was pretty simple since we had our storyboard to guide us. There was some major obstacles. One was that while my sister was filming behind-the-scenes clips of us she would start talking and ask, for example, if we started filming. Because of this we had to restart some shots. Also, we would sometimes get distracted. However, we pushed through and got our filming done. Overall, I am proud of our work ethic. This video is an example of us getting distracted (I started laughing while filming a shot). My sister filmed this behind-the-scenes clip.

We started off by filming close-ups of the lottery tickets, dirty dishes, and the clothes on the couch. We used a general rule of filming each one for 10 seconds. This way, we had a long clip that we can manipulate the length of later when we edit without worrying about it being too short. Here is a clip of my partner filming the dirty dishes.

Here is a video of me taking an over-the-shoulder shot of Alea (my partner). This is a perfect example of how in some shots we had to get creative on how to position ourselves to get the perfect shot.

Our filming day was last weekend and today we met up again to retake some shots. For example, we refilmed the clip of Alea getting up from the couch to get popcorn because there was a football game playing on the TV that did not explicitly say "non-copyrighted." Below you can see the before and after of another shot that did not have a seamless pan from Alea to the red envelope. When we first saw that we found it really funny! Thankfully, we were able to fix it today. 

 

               Before                                                             After

However, there were some challenges today, specifically, continutity. We had to make sure the pillows and blankets were in the same spot as last weekend and the lighting was the same. We used my sister's black iPhone as Alea's phone last weekend, but this weekend my sister was not with us and my partner and I have white phones. We got saved when we noticed my dad's old black phone charging at the edge of the couch, so we used that to film. Below is a picture I took while we were filming. I used this phone stand to keep the phone still while filming.

 Deciding on a Font

Hello again! Today I will be exploring different fonts and colors for the film opening! I have been thinking it should either be something simple, like Alea, or something fancy, like "won%." With that being said, I am going to explore 3 fonts: a simple, bold, and fancy font, that Clipchamp (our editing software) offers. 

I will also try out different font colors. I'm thinking black, white, and red. Black and white are simple colors that will not distract from what is being shown. I added red because the scenes that display credits have different background colors so, for example, a black font will not stand out for the entire credit sequence. Red is a color that will most likely stand out against any background and also matches the red "won%" envelope that the title is presented on. The red color I am using in the pictures below has the hex color code #FE0101.

Font Choice #1: DM Sans vs. Source Sans Pro; simple-  modern vs. plain

There were some simple fonts that look more modern (DM Sans) while others looked more plain (Source Sans Pro), so I tried out both. I put the font over 2 different color backgrounds that will be used in the credit sequences and black is immediately out of the question! You can't even tell that it is there. So far, white is the best color option. Red is a little difficult to see, but I want to see it in another font because maybe it will be more noticeable.

Font Choice #2: Bebas Neue; bold

As predicted, the red is more noticiable with this font. This is a bold font, but I feel it does not have as good of a connection to the film than a simple or fancy font would. I do not like how close together the letters in a lot of the bold fonts are either because it makes it harder to read the credit.

Font Choice #3: Yeseva One; fancy

The red is also hard to read here too. I like the idea of a fancy font to match the title. It would have been nicer if it is the same font that I used for the title on the envelope; however, Clipchamp does not offer that font. Also, the fancy font looks very out of place considering what is being shown on screen. The fact that this font is supposed to be fancy but does not even match the title font makes it seem even more out of place.

I am so glad I did this research because know I have a clear idea about what to look for in a font. I believe the Source Sans Pro font in white is the best option. White stands out the best across all the backgrounds while also not distracting from what is being shown. The fancy font and bold font is too out of place while the DM Sans font is too modern compared to Alea's lifestyle. By using the Source Sans Pro font vs. the "won%" title font, the contrast between Alea's poor lifestyle and the high-end risky game she will chose to participate in can be highlighted. Now, it is time to communicate with my partner and decide!

Production Post #1

Welcome back Cambridge! Today I will be 1 out of 2 production posts I am releasing! This one will be about setting up the props on production day. 

We first started out with putting together the fancy envelope. As mentioned in a previous blog, I took care of the wax seal and building the "won%" and my partner created the envelope and wrote the letter inside. 

We did this the same way I created the wax seal and "won%." We put some liquid builder nail gel on the back of each piece, placed them on the envelope, and sealed it with the blue light. It is slightly difficult to get the gel out of the bottle and make sure the gel only ends up where we need it, but we fought through and made sure it did not look like a gluey mess! You can check out my partner doing it in the video on the right. Check out the finished product on the left!

One of the most exciting parts of filming day were the lottery scratch-offs! My partner and I are both under 18 years old, so we could not legally by them on our own. That was not problem though because my dad was able to go buy 4 of them for us. Here is a video of us scratching them off! The girl in the video wearing a pink sweater is my sister. She also wanted to try out a lotto. Our total winnings was $1!

Next up was making dirty dishes to put in the sink! There were no dirty dishes in the sink, so we had to get creative and make some dishes dirty. When my dad went to buy us the lottery tickets, he also bought us some fried chicken. We used some of it to make a bowl look dirty, then added some drinks to make it look even dirtier. No food was wasted in the production of our film opening!

To make the popcorn we simply put it in the microwave. This is the popcorn and microwave seen later in the film opening by Alea. Also, we wanted to add random clothes lying around the set to illustrate how sloppy and lazy Alea is. My partner was going to bring some clothes off her clothes to place around the house, but forgot. To overcome this obstacle, I just grabbed a couple of t-shirts from my dad's closet. Check out the video below to see me putting the popcorn in the microwave and my partner randomly placing the t-shirts on the couch.

That's all for the behind-the-scenes post! Prepping the set was super fun and we made a lot of funny memories out of it. It was a good way to get us excited for filming. Talk to you tomorrow in the next one!

Production Company Logo

 Creating Our Production Company

My partner and I do not have an idea about what we want our production company name and logo to be. So, let's analyze some today to see if we get any ideas!

This image has logos from major companies. Immediately, I noticed a few major, general characteristics. The shape of the logo is either circular or rectangular. Also, they all include the full name of the production company. They have simple, readable fonts and minimal color schemes, commonly black or blue. Also, some of them have a graphic specific to them. For example, Universal's globe and Paramount Picture's mountain.

It wasn't easy to chose a company name. After discussing with my partner, we decided our production company name will be Dollar Studios! We came up with this name because when we were scatching the lottery tickets, we won $1 and our film is titled won%. Our logo has a circular shape to mimic a coin. We were between a green and yellow logo, but liked the yellow since it looked more pleasing (aesthetically) and the gold-yellow color is like a coin. My partner played around with some design choices and we set on a cursive font, like in the Paramount logo. She played a lot with placement of the words and possible in the logo, so check out our ideas in the sped up video below! The platform we used to make it was Canva.

  

On top is the design we ended with, but we looked back at it and made the cursive font less cursive and bigger so it is more clear. 

<-- So here on the left is the official logo for our production company!

Sources:

Fabrik Brands. (n.d.). Best production company and movie studio logos. https://fabrikbrands.com/branding-matters/logofile/best-production-company-and-movie-studio-logos/

 Costuming

My partner and I wanted Alea's costume to reflect her laziness and hopelessness. My partner acted in the film opening (check out the picture for her in the official costume!). We imagined how someone in Alea's situation would dress. Since Alea is from a low social class and stays at home often, we decided a t-shirt and sweat pants is perfect for the situation. We felt that no makeup and messy, unbrushed hair is fitting. We felt together, the pieces of this costume reflect Alea's laidback, nonfancy lifestyle and how she has not been taking care of herself.

 Props

There are a bunch of props we need for our filming process. So let's go through them!

As seen on the storyboard, our film opening starts with inserts of random props and scenes of the home that reflect the Alea's poor state of living.

Used scratch off lottery tickets will be shown. This is our way of hinting that this is a story about poor finances and a person desperate for some luck. The reason the scratch offs will be "used' is to add a lived-in feeling to the setting. 

Contributing to the lived-in feeling, dirty dishes will be left in the sink. This reflects Alea's laziness and the pause she puts on her life. 

Microwave popcorn will be the snack Alea eats during the film opening. We chose it because it is a lazy and unhealthy food option. This reflects Alea's need to have quick solutions (microwave popcorn is a made fast), her laziness to cook, and how she has fallen down a tunnel of despair and quit taking care of her heath.

To create the fancy invite to the risky game for money, my partner created a red envelope and I created the gold "won%" and wax seal that we will put on the evenlope. Showing the envelope on camera is our way of presenting the title of the film. We chose red for the envelope because it symbolizes danger, risk, and power and we chose gold because it shows wealth.

To create the envelope, my partner used a stencil and cut out the desired shape. Then, she cut out the envelope and folded and glued each end together.

Here are the steps I took to make the gold "won%." I do nail art a lot so I used tools from that to create it. 

1. Print the title in the font New Icon Script.

2. Use solid builder nail gel to trace the words on the paper. First, I rolled the gel into a thin worm and then I used my spatula tool to mold it into shape. 

3. Put the builder gel under the UV light for 40 seconds.

4. Add gold chrome nail powder to the cured builder gel.

5. Continue this process for every letter.

6. Remove the finished product from the paper. Use a nail dotting tool and scissors to cut off excess paper. I added some more gold chrome nail powder to touch it up some more too.

To create the wax seal, we had to get creative since we do not have the supplies for that! I created it using a similar process to the title. 

1. I rolled up my builder gel into a ball and used the chrome nail powder jar to stamp it into a wax seal shape.

2. I flattened out the center with my finger a bit since the builder gel lifted when I removed the jar. 

3. I used a dotting tool to emboss a % symbol into the "wax."

4. I cured the gel under a UV light for 40 seconds.

5. I removed the seal from the paper, removed any excess paper stuck to the seal, and put on the gold chrome nail powder. 

6. This is the final result!

Here is the letter my partner typed to put in the red envelope. The cursive font reinforces the idea of wealth and status that is contrasted with Alea's state of living.

To create some fake debt collection bills, we found a website that offers free tempates. I edited it and the final result is in the picture. For the address, I put "Albatross Street" because an albatross is a bird that can symbolize debt and a hinderance to success.

I made a custom document the size of the envelopes we have and used the Rustic Printed Stamp font in red to create warning notices. Then, I put the envelopes in my printer and this is the final result!

Sources: 

- Reddit user. (2023). And nothing… 4 in a row nothing not even a 10 [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Lottery/comments/11ce9vd/and_nothing4_in_a_row_nothing_not_even_a_10/

- Henderson, A. (2023). How long should you let dishes soak? Southern Living. https://www.southernliving.com/how-long-should-you-let-dishes-soak-11844524

- Delish Editors. (2024). Reasons not to eat microwave popcorn. Delish. https://www.delish.com/food-news/a62718777/reasons-not-to-eat-microwave-popcorn/

- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (n.d.). Debt collection model validation notice [PDF]. https://github.com/cfpb/debt-collection-files/blob/gh-pages/print/cfpb_debt-collection_model-validation-notice_en.pdf

Did You Hear That?

 Audio

Hi! Today I will be sharing a soundscape of sounds that will be heard in our film opening. The soundscape includes diegetic and synchronous sounds. The main sounds are...

- A sports game playing on the TV

- The microwave beeping

- The microwave door opening and closing

- Chewing popcorn

- Flipping through mail

- A phone call (from the anonymous caller)

Click here to view the soundscape!

Finding the non-copyrighted audio for the sports game was not easy! We were hoping to find one of a horse race since that is a sport people tend to bet on, but we changed it to a sound of a typical sports game with cheering and an announcer. By doing this, we were able to find a sound to use. 

We are not sure about adding music over our film opening. We feel it will distract from the sounds of the sports game and the microwave beeping. These are important sounds in our film opening because they will reflect Alea's tension rising as she watches the game. 

This soundscape is only an idea of what audio will be in our film opening. A lot of these sounds will be recorded ourselves. This includes the "Hello" which will be voiced by my partner who will be acting and the phone ringing sound will probably be recreated with one of our phones to match a typical, modern phone ringtone.

Talk to you next time!

Meet Alea Punter

Character Development

Name

Deciding on a name for our protagonist was not easy! So, we decided on a name that is in line with the character's circumstance. We started searching for a last name and originally were going to use "Gambelle" or "Gambale" since we wanted to reflect gambling in their name. However, that was too on the nose, so we searched for synonyms of "gamble." "Punt" came up, hence the last name "Punter." For the first name, we googled "Girl names that mean risk" and "Alea" came up.

Alea's Story

Alea is 23 years old. She started gambling to pay off her student loan debt from acting school and entered a cycle of despair. She tried gambling after she could not find a job and lottery tickets brought no luck. Her parents refuse to help her pay off her debt because she is not studying what they wanted her to. Her home is a reflection of how lost she feels. It is a mess, she has many unpaid bills, and slugs around watching T.V. and races and sports games she bet on. 

Alea's Personality

Alea is a lazy person. She has big dreams, but refuses to work towards them because it takes too much energy. She is very naive and believes she can run off of lotteries and gambling. This lead her to the situation she is in now. Alea tends to take risks because she would rather take the shortcut than put in the effort for a guaranteed result.

Sources: 

Nameberry. (n.d.). Alea - Baby Name Meaning, origin, and popularity. https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-alea#google_vignette 

 Enigma Code

The Enigma Code, also known as Hermeneutic Code, is a media theory that my partner and I would like to incorporate into our film opening. This theory is seen when the narrative withholds information to create mystery or leave a part of the plot without explanation.

Many drama film openings incorporate this theory as a hook to keep audiences engaged. It poses a question that audiences must get an answer to.

We plan on incorporating this into our film opening with the anonymous caller that asks the protagonist if they would like to participate in the risky game to win some money. This allows us to develop a sense of mystery since audiences will not know who the caller is. In our case, the question readers will need an answer to is: who is the anonymous caller?

Enigma Code in Other Films

Let's explore the Enigma Code in some other films!

Scream (1996) uses this code similar to how we plan on using it. The woman answered the phone an anonymous man was on the line. Audiences did not know who he was or why he was calling. Later, his dangerous intentions were clear as he continued calling, his voice became more aggressive, and the woman had visible fear in her face. The man's voice sounded very deep with a slight hint of a voice changer on it. Not knowing who the caller is and whether or not we are hearing their real voice develops mystery. 

Se7en (1995) incorporates the Enigma Code by only showing close-ups of the character's hands performing some task in the film opening. This makes readers question who he is and what the purpose of his actions are. Thus, developing mystery as audiences are posed a question which they need an answer to.

Enigma Code in Other Films

I like the idea of a deep voice with a voice changer used on the anonymous caller. A low voice adds mystery by creating a sense of darkness that a high-pitched voice cannot create. A voice changer adds mystery by leaving a characteristic about the caller unknown and makes it harder to figure out who they are.

I also like how Se7en did not show who the character was by only showing their hand. My film opening can benefit from this. Not giving a glimpse of the caller in our film opening can add mystery by this because it makes it harder for audiences to decipher who they are. 

Sources:

 -Study Rocket. (n.d.). Use of action and enigma codes (Barthes). https://studyrocket.co.uk/revision/a-level-media-studies-eduqas/media-language/use-of-action-and-enigma-codes-barthes

- Da Bang. (n.d.). Da Bang SCREAM movie poster horror Wes Craven 24×36 inch [Product page]. Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Bang-SCREAM-Poster-Horror-24x36inch/dp/B019P1IFW4

- WestCoastPrintz. (n.d.). Seven (Se7en) movie poster | 1995 | 11×17 | NEW | USA [Product listing]. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166114277129

 Storyboard

My partner and I have completed our official storyboard! It follows the same project idea that I summarized in my most recent post: Project Idea and Major Inspirations. After getting an idea about what issue we want to base our drama on, the way we would execute it was intimidating. Thankfully, this storyboard helped out! It is so relieving to have an idea and image in your mind now expressed on paper of what the film opening will look like. We incorporated a variety of techniques, such as eyeline matches, close-ups, midshots, and high angles! It was so much fun making the storyboard because my partner and I kept on getting so many ideas that made us excited to see the final result of our project.

The title of our film is... won%  

We chose it because our protagonist is in the bottom 1% of income earners and could only dream of being in the top 1%. We did a play on the word "one" because later in the film, the character will play a risky game to win some money. 

Here is our storyboard:

Talk to you soon!!

Project Idea and Major Inspirations

Project Idea

Our film opening is about a girl who is in debt with unpaid bills and a lot of lost money from gambling. She finds a fancy invite in her mail anonymously inviting her to play an all or nothing high stakes game to win some money that will take her out of her debt.

The film opening will start with close-ups showing neglected parts of the protagonist's house. You can hear a sports game/ horse race that the protagonist bet on playing on the TV in the background. Then, the character is revealed sitting on the couch. There will be an eyeline match of them watching TV that cuts back to the protagonist stressed and on the edge of their seat out of fear of losing the bet. The microwave will then start beeping, so they get up to get their microwave popcorn. They are distracted by the TV so burn themselves with the popcorn bag when taking it out of the microwave. They grab a bowl from the sink to put the popcorn in and this shows the leaking faucet. The protagonist notices the pile of mail on the counter filled with bills and ads for the sports games they bet on. They grab the mail and the popcorn and drop some mail on their way back to the couch. They pick it up frustrated. They flip through the mail, ignoring the bills, and find a fancy envelope. They look interested in it and open it, but get very confused. That's when they get the anonymous call asking yes or no. They hang up and look around at their neglected house, and bills and then start calling back the unknown phone number.

Major Inspirations

We have a couple of major inspirations! Here they are:

                                        Squid Game (2021)        The Substance (2024)

The idea for a poor character anonymously getting invited to play in a game for money came from Squid Game Season 1 Episode 1. We also love the bluish-gray depressing hue over the screen and plan on incorporating that in our film opening.

The idea of the character rejecting the invite then reconsidering and calling back the anonymous person is inspired by The Substance, similar to how the character rejected using the substance and then later called back the anonymous person to tell them she is interested in buying it substance.

                                             Parasite (2019)        Scream (1996)

The Parasite film opening inspired our film opening as well. Not only with it's bluish-gray hue, but also with the clips showing a dirty basement that the main family was living in. 

The anonymous phone call the protagonist receives in Scream as she is being watched inspired the mysterious phone call our character gets as they are being watched by while opening the invite to play the game.

Sources:

- Amazon.com: CINEMAFLIX Squid Game Poster - TV Series - Measures 24 x 36 inches (Standard Poster Size): Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Squid-Game-Poster-Measures-Standard/dp/B09JDGY5B3

- The Substance movie poster (b) - Demi Moore, Margaret Quailley - 11" x 17" | eBay. (n.d.). eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335651393626

- Amazon.com: Parasite Movie Poster Print Photo Wall Art Bong Joon Ho Size 11x17#1: Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Movie-Poster-Print-Photo/dp/B084MDBN6R

- Amazon.com: Da Bang SCREAM Movie Poster Horror Wes Craven 24x36inch: Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Bang-SCREAM-Poster-Horror-24x36inch/dp/B019P1IFW4