Research and Planning: Crew

We have divided tasks between ourselves in a way that best helps the final product in being as close as our imaginations. I'll be directing the Film Opening (Genre: Drama) as I feel I can help enhance the creative process, Sultan will be our Cinematographer, Uqbah (Jiya) Khan and Zain will be the producers. We've decided to edit the project together.

Shiza Wasim (me)

Zain Ahmad

Sultan Rasheed

Uqbah Jiya Khan

WELCOME- SHORT FILM

At the start of the new academic year, the graduating class (A2) throws a welcome party for the new batch of students (AS), in which they prepare dances, performances, videos etc for the new students. Every year students of A2 media class make a short film as their contribution to the welcome party. The most famous genre of the short film in the previous years has been Horror, where our school is shown as a haunted place, and this has somewhat become a ritual among media students.

 As we're the graduating media class (I'm giving composite exams) my friends and I decided to add our own twist to this ritual. We decided to make a short film of a hybrid genre; horror-comedy. We took inspiration from Scary Movie which is a parody of the horror, slasher, and mystery film genres. We incorporated the local humor (like songs by a singer called Taher Shah, which went viral across the nation due to their comedic nature.) in our video so everyone can easily relate to it.

Here's the link to our short film: Trapped

As these projects are just building blocks towards our final projects, we followed the same procedures of pre-production as we would for our final project. First we all came up with an idea, then we made a detailed storyboard, decided on the location (in school), held auditions for the actors, and collected the props. The day for the shoot was finalized and the school administration was informed beforehand. Due to our proper planning, the production phase went smoothly. It taught me the value of research and planning and how it can affect your production. This valuable lesson will help me in my final project, as I can prevent many mishaps from happening on set.

I acted as a Cinematographer along with Awais Buriro, and so I got hands-on experience with the camera. We used a Canon 6D, stabilizer, and tripod. I got to know what camera settings work well for a dark lit scenes.  I got to know more about camera angles and composition and how they represent what they represent. And I learned how different equipment helps refine a shot.

The Post-Production phase was informative too and helped develop my editing skills as the film required both fast paced and slow paced editing. I learned how background music helps elevate the action and create tension.

Overall, this was a very informative and fun experience. It helped refine my thought process, skills, and my ability to make creative decisions. So now hopefully my input in the film opening will result in a much better outcome.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: STORYBOARD

STORYBOARD:

FILM OPENING: IDEA

25 WORD PITCH: An abusive man's struggle to cope with his wife's suicide and coming to terms with the role he played in it.

SYNOPSIS: The film starts with a man passed out on his bed with a beer bottle in his hand. He wakes up, hungover, and walks out of the room into the hallway, where he sees the aftermath of a fight he had with his wife a night before. He walks into the living room in search of his wife, and finds her there. He soon realizes that she has committed suicide by cutting her wrists.

Now that we have an idea, we'll start working on the storyboard!