Research 12

Hello Blog!

In this blog I will be covering about our research on PTSD. Throughout our project our roup has been extensively reading about PTSD, and it's effects.

PTSD is formally called post traumatic stress disorder and is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing something terrifying.

PTSD is a very prevalent issue in veterans returning from war, as shown in the information above.
Our film is about a Afghanistan veteran, meaning he is part of the 11% of veterans with the disorder.

Symptoms of PTSD include
-intrusive memories (flashbacks) that are usually distressful and unwanted
-Avoidance, refusing to speak of events that traumatize the individual.
- Negative changes in emotional and physical state
- and much more\

This is only a summary of the information we gathered on the disorder. With all this research conducted, we hope to accurately and effectively represent the disorder.

Research 13

Hey Blog!

So as we finish up the preparation stage and begin the shooting stage this week, I want to clarify a few things. I want to touch up on the ending of the film and clarify what will be going on.

As our veteran comes out of his flashback, we want to show a scene of shock and terror. This scene would be representative of the symptoms of PTSD. After much research on PTSD, We have learned the symptoms and effects and have decided how we will demonstrate this in our character. Our character will wake up frightened, covered in sweat. He will be yelling and crying . This scene will utilize many close-up shots to emphasize the emotion within the character and impact the audience.

This scene will also use low-key lighting to create a dark, sad ambiance. All the factors in this scene will contribute to creating a serious, and mournful representation of what veterans go through.

Research 11

Hello Blog!
Our group has been planning for our meeting on the 22nd of March. We want to prepare everything so we know what we will be doing when we meet. We have decided that we will shoot the first scenes. These scenes will take place in the Isles of Weston club house as discussed in earlier blogs.

We will likely be shooting with Diogenes older brother since he looks older and matches the description of a young veteran solider who recently comeback from war.
In case of any inconveniences and his brother can't show up, we have decided on a replacement. This replacement would be my older brother Jose. He agreed that he would help us out and be part of our film.

Our last case replacement would just be one of us. It is likely that our first two options can't come since they have busy schedules and work. This would be quite unfortunate but we must always plan for the worst since we are restrained on time.

I have found a costume at my house for the soldier that will be used in the scenes of combat. For the other scenes the veteran will be wearing casual clothes since he is at home. We are thinking of using bandages or crutches for the veteran, signalling that he was hurt at war.

Research 10

Hello Blog!
In this blog I'll be covering some of the effects we will have to add to our film opening. In our shots taking place indoors in the house, we will need light dialogue in the background and television playing for white noise. These noises can be recorded naturally through the filming of the shot. These noises will emphasize the comfort of the scene by showing noises that emit comfort and familiarity.

Once transitioning to the flashback scene we will need a whooshing sound effect that will signal the transition. I have been searching on royalty free sites that provide sound effects for this. I settled on a sound effect i found on freesound.org. This sound effect adds drama while serving a purpose to signal the audience of change.

Other sound effects we will need is loud, gunshots and explosion noises of a war zone. I have found several YouTube videos matching these requirements that will effectively portray the war-zone. I can download these videos on mp3. through the link in the description.  These loud, harsh noises highly contrast the comforting noise of the firsts scenes. This will disrupt the audience, heighten their senses, and gain insight of the terrors of war.

We also decided that for the warzone scenes we will add a filter to change the coloring of the scenes. This is done to add drama and emphasize that these scenes are a flashback from the past. We will decide the filter later once we begin the editing stage.

Research 9

Hello Blog!
In this blog we will be speaking on the research of the shooting locations and explanations for some of our shooting decisions.

So since our film opening will take place mostly in an indoors home environment, we will need a home-like location to shoot in. For this, we decided on the Isles of Weston clubhouse. Diogenes lives here and has access to the clubhouse throughout the week. This facility meets our requirement as a homey, soothing, cozy location. While shooting here we wouldn't have to worry about being in anyone's actual house and bothering families. We will go in earlier hours of the day when less people come to the clubhouse to shoot.

Our film opening will also include scenes from a war zone. For these scenes we will have to go to a location matching the war zone aesthetic. For this we decided on Markham Park in Sunrise. This park has a variety of cover and spots that meet these requirements. We will look around the park and try to find the optimal location for our shots.

Research 8

Hello blog!
 On Thursday's class period my group and I decided to film a draft of a shot we are planning to have in our opening. We felt that by filming a draft, we could have a better idea of how we would execute it for our actual finished product once we begin the shooting stage. Unfortunately our shooting has been delayed due to personal schedules interfering with our availability. We have set a date for out first shooting session which will be on March 22, 2019.

The shot we filmed was of the moment of realization that transitions into the veteran's flashback. This shot was commenced with another character asking the veteran to hold something. We show a closeup of hands passing the object along with dialogue to demonstrate this action. This is then followed with a close up of my face in shock showing that the veteran is in moment of an emotional disruption.

This concept of a trigger to the veteran's flashback is an idea we wish to include in our film opening. This concept may be altered but we will definitely be experimenting with methods to effectively and smoothly transition to the flashback scene. After much research, we concluded that a zooming shot into the face is a very effective method of transitioning to a flashback. This method is used in many famous films mentioned in earlier blogs. This transition shot is of very important essence because it can make or break the film. If done improperly it can make the film seem poorly made and awkward. Our group has done much research and testing with this to try and avoid it.

Research 7

Hello Blog!

Over the weekend I've been researching more on flashbacks and how and why to use them in film. Hopefully by diving deeper into the use of flashbacks, our group can properly and effectively implement the flashback in our opening

From my research I learned that a flashback should always reveal something that the audience must need to know and is better shown than simply said. In our films case I believe this is  true because the war is a crucial part of the struggle of PTSD, and this reveals what the movie will be based on.

I also learned that the transition into the flashback must not be confusing. I will make sure of this by properly implementing the flashback through the use of sound effects, camera movement, and a scene heading. The transition into the flashback must also be fluid and well executed. Our group had the idea of something in the veteran's present-day environment had triggered his flashback. This could be fluid since it would go with the context.

I personally gained inspiration from the 1940's film Citizen Kane, after watching several clips of it's use of flashbacks. The flashbacks used in this film helped give perspective of the life of Kane which is what we intend to do in our film. The flashbacks in our film opening are intended to give explanation to the veteran's behavior and illustrate how the atrocities of war impact veterans.