Planning - Locations#28

Confirmed Locations:

Lakes by The Bay Park

Camila’s  House

Cutler Bay Senior High School Hallways

Classroom

As for one of the last scenes, it is not confirmed whether we will be using the same Lakes by The Bay Park location or Camila's neighborhood, as when we visit those areas, we will then determine which is best for the film.

Lakes By The Bay Park

For the opening scene with childhood friends playing

MAYBE for the second-to-last scene, for when the climax occurs

Bedroom

Bullies hang and get an invitation

Cutler Bay Senior High School Hallways

For when the bullies are bullying Jasmin

Classroom

The meeting between Sofia and Camila

(POTENTIAL) Camila's Neighborhood

second-to-last scene, for when the climax occurs

Reflection:

These locations help us stay organized and prepared for filming, to know and have an idea of where we need to be. By knowing where each scene will take place, we can plan ahead and make sure we have everything we need for each shoot. Assigning these specific locations to certain scenes will for sure help us save time and avoid confusion while filming, preventing any potential challenges. Having a backup location for the second-to-last scene also helps in case one location works better than the other. Overall, this planning makes it easier for us to stay organized and ready for whatever scenes we are filming.

Planning - Assigned Roles #27

For our film opening, we will all be part of the cast as of now, and we may soon start casting additional roles as we begin production.

Group Members: Jasmin Cueto, Camila Zayas, Sofia Valdes

This is to be confirmed so far:

Using Camila & Sofia’s Camera image Sofia's Canon EOS Rebel 17

Filming - Sofia & Camila, Valentina (Classmate not in Media Studies)

image 

Acting - Sofia, Camila, Jasmin, Valentina

Editors - Jasmin 

Script Writers - Jasmin & Camila

Jasmin (Myself):

Bullied nerd who looked up to Sofia growing up, as they would do everything together. She is known as being quiet but nice, yet was always quick to stand up for and motivate Sofia, while keeping to herself and usually focusing on her studies. 

Bullied nerd who looked up to Sofia growing up, as they would do everything together. She is known as being quiet but nice, yet was always quick to stand up for and motivate Sofia, while keeping to herself and usually focusing on her studies. 

Sofia:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Always looked after Jasmin growing up, but felt stuck for years due to wanting to experience the life of going out with friends and having fun. Known to be outgoing, but felt as if her only loyal friend was Jasmin, yet she was desperate to be in a different place socially.

                                Camila:                                                                  Has everyone admiring her and wanting to be her friend, while she sometimes seems to be passive-aggressive. Known as the popular girl at school, has many connections and is adored by everyone, while playing off and shadowing the mean girl act in public settings.

Planning - Exemplar Videos #26

 

In Class, Ms. Ortiz showed video examples of past students' film openings that were taught by a woman who helps and teaches her (Ms. Ortiz). After seeing how certain film openings utilize elements to establish the intentional tone, it inspired me to use similar ways to build suspense for my own film opening.

It also made me realize that I need to have my film opening, BE a film OPENING, as I have been plotting and organizing my ideas as if my group and I were doing an entire film. It shifted to the "plot," now being a flashback with more of a mystery feeling to the audience of the unsettling unknown.

I searched up some on my own to know more about how I could get and establish the horror and unsettling tone that I want for the film opening, while not having it be a full story, but an OPENING.

"Mask"

This one gave me an unsettling feeling, and what could've affected that could be the mis-en-scene, specifically the masks that have significance in the plot. This inspires me to want something specific with significance to add to establishing the unsettling, eerie tone.

"Insider"

                                                                                            This other one, with its dark font and color choice, really adds to the idea that the filmmakers want it to be a horror or an unsettling story. 

The shot of the feet with the weapon dragging inspires me to add something similar, as our film incorporates a suspicious attack. I could replicate the same shoot to add more suspense and tension, as this increases the unsettling feeling for the audience, effectively displaying the horror genre.

Reflection:

The video examples of past students’ film openings helped me understand how different elements are used to set a specific tone. Watching these examples inspired me to think more about how I can build suspense in my own film opening. It also made me realize that my project needs to feel like an opening, and not a full movie. Because of this, I changed my idea to focus more on a flashback and mystery to keep the audience curious. I also looked up examples on my own to learn how to create a horror and unsettling tone. The use of things like mise-en-scène, dark fonts, and color choices inspired me to include meaningful details that help make the opening feel eerie and unsettling.

References

           Hoàng Lan, N. (2026). Opening scene “MASK” - Media Studies (9607) Component 1. Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/C3uVKtj3-_M?si=1Z0ZhRf2IW4neY4t

                        Jam, P. (2026). Insider - AS media studies | Film Opening Sequence | Thriller. Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/kBmoIO_6N7Y?si=FmSBcF2eqC5IsnxH

Planning - Confirmed Costumes #25

 

Costumes:

Sofia - Cheer Uniform, School Uniform, Party Outfit

This is to show and display sofia as a girl is presententing herself a way in order to

Camila - School Uniform, Party Outfit

Jasmin - School Uniform, Hoodie (All Black Fit)

Planning - Script #24

                                                                                                                                                                 To know what potential scenes we are going to be filming and what will be happening in them, the following script will show what is going to allow us to execute our ideas in our opening in the right order:

Opening Scene

VOICEOVER:

"Ever since 2012, Sofia and I have been inseparable. I can't remember one weekend we didn't spend it together playing around outside. We were glued together for years, until one day everything changed."

"Sofia had just transferred to my school sophomore year. We were so excited to finally go to the same school together. That was until Camila quickly ruined it."

"After her first week, it was like Sofia had completely forgotten about our friendship. She cared more about hanging out with Camila and her social status. This was a knife straight to the heart, and if that wasn't bad enough, they began harassing me every waking moment."

"It was devastating having to see the girl that you loved like a sister turn into the people you used to vent to her about. I would go home and cry till my eyes were dried out, just praying things could magically go back to how they used to."

"That was until I finally realized it never will, and this won't stop until I do something about it."

(the last scenes will have little dialogue and background music)

IN JAIL (THE ENDING):

"... And that's what happened to Camila" detective: "Ok but, what about Sofia?"

The Seperate Scenes

Park

  Janelle and Jaylene are holding hands, playing in the playground together.

1st Scene

School

Sofia meets Camila at school and wants to be around her more 

2nd Scene

At Cutler Bay Senior High School

The two girls gang up on Jasmin 

Camila laughing

Camila: "That's why you're a loser with no friends. Sofia dumped her stuff."

Sofia hesitates

Sofia: Yeah. 

Sofia listens

3rd Scene

Bedroom

Jasmin, feeling betrayed, is planning her revenge

4th Scene

Camila's House

Bullies get an invitation and go to the unknown location

5th Scene

LOCATION NOT CONFIRMED

  Camila: "Where the heck is it?"

Sofia: 

Jasmin attacks Sofia, Camila screams, and it cuts to black

Ending Scene

Interrogation Room

Jasmin is being questioned by detective

Valentina: "So what about Camila?"

Jasmin looks at the camera and laughs

END SCENE.

With all of these scenes, we aim to make it a flashback with the last scene being the discussion of the beginning of the tragic events that had occurred, building tension and suspense of the unknown.

There is minimal dialogue as we aim to visually show what's going on more to build more tension and suspense, while still throwing out a few verbal statements to add detail to what's going on. 

The discussion of the script

Reflection:

The potential script clearly outlines each scene and helps us understand what will be filmed and in what order. By organizing the events from the opening to the ending, it makes it easier to visualize how the story will unfold and how the tension will build. The use of a flashback structure adds suspense and keeps the audience curious about what led to the tragic outcome. Having minimal dialogue allows the visuals and characters’ actions to tell the story more effectively. Overall, this plan helps us execute our ideas clearly while creating mystery, tension, and emotional impact.

Planning - Camera Settings #23

 

The cameras we will be using

EOS Rebel 17 Canon 

 The Canon EOS Rebel T7 is a beginner-friendly DSLR camera that produces high-quality photos and videos. It features a 24.1-megapixel sensor, simple controls, and good low-light performance, making it suitable for student filmmaking and photography. The camera is easy to use while still allowing manual settings for more creative control.

Pictures of the camera and its shots:

To build tension and suspense, or give an unsettling feel to the audience- Low Exposure

Using iPhone 11:

Reflection

Choosing the Canon EOS Rebel T7 as our main camera helps improve the quality of our film opening while still being easy for us to use as students. The camera’s high image quality and manual settings allow us to experiment with different shots and lighting to better match the tone of the film. This makes it easier to film planned scenes from our storyboard accurately and professionally.

To help build tension and create an unsettling mood, we plan to use low exposure in certain shots. This lighting choice helps emphasize mystery and suspense, especially during darker scenes. We will also be using an iPhone 11 for additional shots, which is convenient and still produces good-quality footage. Using both cameras gives us flexibility during filming and helps us capture the atmosphere we want for our film opening.

Planning - Opening credits #22

 

For the opening credits of our film..

The original idea is to have two young girls playing in the park, portraying the two girls, Jasmin and Sofia, as childhood friends who grew up together.

We first take pictures of the girls from different angles of them playing in the park to see what best establishes the opening of friendship and joy.

These photos show the different actions we may incorporate in the opening credits to add onto the story while still having a memorable scene, while establishing the tone of first innocent and then uncertain as credits are being given.

These show the two young girls who play as Jasmin and Sofia, with Sofia being the older one, and showing the friendship and bond between the two.

The end of the opening will show two empty swings swinging as it establishes an eerie and unsettling tone of mystery.

Reflection

Planning the opening credits helped us clearly introduce the relationship between Jasmin and Sofia. Showing them as young girls playing in the park establishes their friendship and creates a happy, innocent tone at the start. Taking photos from different angles helped us choose the best shots to make the scene memorable and meaningful while the credits play.

As the opening continues, the tone slowly becomes more uncertain, which prepares the audience for the darker themes of the film. Ending with the empty swings creates an eerie and mysterious feeling, making the opening more impactful and engaging.