My Reflection

Hello! My name is Andrea Angulo and I will be discussing the production of my film opening
“When we keep silent” created with my partner Ricardo Martiarena.

Our film is a psychological thriller set in the 70s. The main characters are Trevor Mazzanti which was
portrayed by Ricardo, and Trevor’s victim, Eddie, portrayed by William Pritz.  

For this movie, we drove inspiration from many different films, but most specifically Taxi Driver, American
Psycho, and Split.

Ricardo and I loved Taxi Driver’s style. The use of light, color, and aesthetics really spoke to us. We
attempted to recreate the aesthetic somewhat in our film. We stayed close to a red and brown color
scheme in order to immitate the 70s. However, we didn’t have the time or budget to completely fit in all the
visuals, but our mis-en-scene was largely inspired by the film. Trevor’s costume was similar to Travis’s
costume here, following the neutral- colored, jacket-and-pants outfit. We also attempted to have a dull
background to fit in with the 70s theme.

American Psycho was another one of the main inspirations for the bulk of the movie. Christian Bale’s
acting, especially in this scene, was what we wanted to model our script and actions based off of. In this
scene, Bale’s character, Patrick, is extremely energetic and happy, right before and during the killing.
Although Trevor isn’t necessarily enjoying the killing, it is modeled off of Patrick in the way that the
emotions of the killing are different from the violent nature of murder.

The film “Split” was also a main influencer in this movie- especially this scene. This scene is where you
learn about the main character’s “past”, and in some parts sympathize with him. This was extremely
crucial, because the whole plot of our story was to get the audience to somewhat sympathize with
Trevor. In the whole film, Trevor is portrayed as lonely and sentimental. The audience is made to pity him,
the murderer, the same way that we were made to pity the murderer in Split. Although Ricardo and I
did not get to film the entire movie, we were able to use what our intentions were in the entire movie to
plan and make our film opening.

One limitation was trying to convey so much in such a short time. Our movie, if taken only from the
context of the introduction, may not convey the entire plot we intended to show. We hoped to make
Trevor the antagonist and protagonist simultaneously, however, conveying this in two minutes would
be impossible if not rushed.

I felt that within the two minutes we were able to get, we did a pretty good job.

My personal favourite aspect of shooting movies is the set and costume design. It allows me to show
creativity and have a lot of fun creating a whole new character and a whole new world. Even the tiniest
detail such as moving Ricardo’s flower portrait from one side of the bathroom to another made a
difference. In order to get the 70s aesthetic, heavy research was done. People in the 1970s wore
neutral colors, and had very natural or puffed up hair. It was great that our movie focused mainly on
men, because men’s style has not drastically changed as much as women’s style had. We included
details, such as the glasses, that alluded to other very similar types of movies. The glasses were
similar to ross lynch’s glasses used in “My Friend Dahmer”. We knew we were spot on when Ricardo’s
sister, upon seeing Ricardo in costume, asked if he was portraying a serial killer because of his
resemblance to Ted Bundy.

In our movie, we portrayed Trevor as the typical representation of killers and loneliness. We showed
how loneliness could ultimately be destructive and how it could drive people to extremes to get out of
it. Trevor tried to befriend and sympathize with his victims to be friends and get rid of the loneliness.
He keeps the boxes as sentimental items to remind him of his “friends”.

In many ways, we both challenged and used typical conventions in our film opening.

Most movies like ours use low-key lighting to show eeriness and darkness. However, we strayed from
this. Our movie was mostly light and used natural-looking light. This represented a sterile environment,
and also showed how this was a casual affair for Trevor, an everyday event.

We also did not use any music in our film opening. Although music is great at creating moods and
adding suspense, we decided that silence would be even creepier. The silence is almost uncomfortable
to watch and bare, especially since it immerses you in the movie even more. Our camera movements
were also slow compared to the quick movements used in horror movies. We relied on the actors to add
movement and focused on their body language.

There are some conventions we did not stray from either. We stuck to the traditional “loner” and “weird”
serial killer trope. Our themes and characters are also trying to find themselves and their place in
society,and their relation to other people. This emphasizes the unstable or delusional psychological
states of our characters. The domestic setting such as a home bathroom makes it feel more personal.
It also makes nods to the many scary scenes that have occured in bathrooms. Lastly, the muted colors
and then bright colors draw a lot of attention and make it visually interesting.

Our film also stays true to the typical audience of psychological thrillers. Making the gore and violence
very hidden but implied makes it available to more audiences than just adults, but it still would not be
appropriate for children. Many horror movies are usually filled with jump scares, but this movie focuses
on one person and their psyche. If this was in theatres, it would be rated PG13 or R, depending on the
rest of the movie and how gory we are willing to go.

As far as distribution would go, neither Ricardo or I know large distributing companies. Therefore, it
would be best to submit to film festivals first and grow from there. Film festivals are becoming
increasingly popular and are a great way to get your film out there. Once many people view our film, it
would be amazing if a large company put our film on the big screen.

Throughout this journey, I learned several things. First, time management and planning ahead is
extremely important. We had to extend filming from one day to two days mainly because we had
ordered the fake cigarettes too late, and they arrived late. We had to postpone some shots just to
shoot it with the props. I also learned more about makeup and set design. For example, it is important
to underestimate how long makeup will last. I had spent half an hour creating a wound just for it to
melt off once we added the fake blood.

As this was the first time using a camera, I learned tips and tricks to help me get better shots. For
example, Ricardo kept stressing about the 180 degree rule, which was extremely helpful in keeping
fluidity and aesthetics.

Ricardo and I used a google drive to share ideas and information we did not want to lose.
We also collaborated on the script on writerduet.  Ricardo did much of the editing since he is more
familiar with the editing software, Premire. We used Ricardo’s camera, a Lumix G7 which was
incredibly effective and easy to use, even for me.

Overall, I would consider our film opening to be a success. It was so much fun to make, and I learned
valuable skills that I will use in the future of filmmaking.