Link to the Google Drive with the final product and CCR:
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Reflection
“ASESINA” is a suspense film about a female killer who kills the men she dates. The opening scene uses the conventions of the suspense genre of hiding certain aspects of the antagonist in order to create discomfort and tension. The identity of the main character, Anabella, is kept hidden throughout the scene until the very end, similar to how the shark in “Jaws” is not visible in the opening scene. This creates discomfort for the audience as it plays with the fear of the unknown, especially since they can’t put a face to the person. Additionally, her actions are unclear at first, adding to the idea of a hidden identity. As the scene unravels, the audience is able to slowly understand what she is doing as tension slowly builds up, which is another convention of the suspense genre. The image of her hanging up and admiring the pictures of her victims as if they were trophies make the audience uncomfortable. In addition, the haunting song that the main character sings “Come Little Children” is uncomfortable since she refers to her victims as children. It’s also uncomfortable that she sings while she admires how many people she’s killed, similar to how Buffalo Bill from “Silence of the Lambs” likes to dance to upbeat music as he holds his victim captive. These different aspects of the opening scene develop her character as a sadistic killer, which is common in the suspense genre. Serial killers kill for pleasure and have no remorse about their actions, the same way Anabella does not. However, the opening scene does challenge some conventions. The typical role of women in suspense films is the protector or the damsel in distress. The woman usually does everything in her power to protect her loved ones from the danger. In typical suspense films, the woman is the main target or the helpless victim of a misogynistic killer. In my film however, the serial killer is a woman who kills men that she seduces to fall in love with her. And unlike films where the wife kills her husband as an act of revenge such as in “Kill Bill”, Anabella seeks to kill for her own pleasure rather than to serve justice. She defies the portrayal of a helpless woman and instead is the danger herself.
The opening scene engages with the audience through the chilling song that the main character sings as she hangs up pictures of her victims. The haunting song has very creepy lyrics that make them even creepier with the context of the pictures, making the audience uneasy. In addition, the film emphasizes the fear of serial killers, which everybody can relate to. It especially makes young men uneasy as they realize that people who prey on young men exist. Another way the film engages the audience is by slowly revealing what is happening. The scene allows the audience to understand that the main character is a serial killer but leaves the audience wondering what happens next. The audience has no indication whether the guy she meets is her next victim. The opening scene also leaves the audience wondering why she kills this men, which is enough to keep the audience engaged and want to continue watching the film. This film would be distributed in movie theaters since suspense movies find the most success in theaters rather than streaming services, such as Netflix. Teenagers and young adults still enjoy watching movies in the theaters, especially suspense and horror films, so this would be the best distribution for my film.
My production skills have developed significantly during this project, especially when planning small details that make an entire difference to the tone and flow of the scene. I’ve come to realize the importance of something so small such as transitions, which can tie two completely different shots together and make a difference on how the scene develops. I also was able to develop my skills with lighting which was crucial in the first part of the opening scene to be able to keep the character’s identity hidden by using lowkey lighting. And most importantly, I learned how to properly cut different shots and manage the speed and duration of each one in order to fit the mood of each particular part. The first shots are all slowed down to match the slow beat of the song as well as create distortion to match how uneasy the scene is. The shots in the second part are at a normal pace, since the scene is back in reality.
I integrated several different apps and softwares to achieve the final product. I used Adobe’s Pro Premiere as my main tool to create the opening scene. It’s a very advanced editing software that has more features than more basic softwares, so it allowed me to do more in regards to layering sound and transitions. I used the app VSCOX to add filters and control the brightness, contrast and saturation of the shots of the second part to match the dark tone of the film. Finally, I used the app Glitch to add the glitchy effects to the presents and title sequence, in order to distort the shots and create an uneasy feeling. Once I finished the video, I uploaded it to YouTube and linked it to my blog.
Drum roll please....
The moment we've all been waiting for...
The finished film opening!😍
It's been a long and stressful journey but I'm extremely proud of our project. I'm super happy with the way the video turned out! Enjoy!😃
The finished film opening!😍
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