Production Process 2

We have a scene where Samantha approaches her dad and says goodbye since she's going to the beach. This was filmed in a mid-shot where you can see both her and her dad, and the background, which you can tell is her house. She's wearing shorts and a black top with a white cardigan on top, ready for the beach, and he's wearing a red, unformal button-up with some black shorts, so you can tell he's comfortable at home.

Now, what happened with this scene are two main problems. Number one, the lighting is not good, which we realized after. It looks dirty and unprofessional. This is because the shot is filmed with the light instead of against, so it created these unnecessary bright highlights that just make the shot look less detailed and less clean. Another problem was that we filmed it vertically instead of horizontally. All of our shots are in landscape, so this one will look odd and different if we applied it to the final project. We will most probably film this again. 

                         Production Process 1

Hi Blog! 

For this week we've already done some filming, not as much as we wanted. We got some shots of Samantha's character when she's getting ready to leave the house. We have mid shots, pan, and over the shoulder to emphasize and clearly see what's going on. You can also see Samantha's facial expressions that will kind of reveal how she's feeling about changing and going out. Here are some shots we've filmed.

                                                     Obstacle/Issues

Hi Blog!

We are now in week 5 of the portfolio project, and we are currently facing some issues. First of all, the schedule we had has not been working at all since we've changed so many things. To refresh your mind, here's what it looked like:

                       

It says that week 5 we were supposed to plan a filming date. What we didn't realize was that we were going to be behind if we did that, so we changed it to have filmed some scenes by the end of the week. The weekend was going to be the days we would film, but a big obstacle came up: our main character was not able to go out this weekend, not even to film. This puts us behind schedule, which is what we least want and need since there's so many things we have to do. To solve this problem, our protagonist is going to film her alone scenes in her room by herself, so we have some content to work with. Additionally, the CCR has been presented to us in class, so we will have to work on that and add it to our schedule too. 

Another issue we have right now is the scene production. For example, in our story, Vicky and Sophia go and pick up Samantha to take her to the beach. That usually requires a car, but we do not want to incorporate car scenes because they're too hard and complicated for them too actually look good. Therefore, we're planning to switch that for walking scenes, or start at the beach already. 

                                       Script 

Since last week I posted the storyboard, this week I'm showing you our script. Here you can see some of the dialogue that will be used for the actual final film. Although this will probably be edited as we move on and arrange everything, here's how it is for now.

                                                                              Audio

Hi Blog!

This week we've been going into details within our project like character development and mise-en-scene, so now I'm doing audio.

The first song we want to incorporate in our opening is the establishing shot. This will be a mix of long and medium shots of two "mean" girl best friends walking to pick up Sammy to go have fun on a day at the beach. For this scene, we want to back it up with a 2016 vibe kind of sound that expresses a fun, sunny day where the audience could feel that summer nostalgia. Here are our options so far

We are the people

Walking on a dream

Then, we also want our film to have a mix of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds, mostly leaning towards diegetic. Since we're basing it off on a summer beach day, we're using hyped-up songs when non-talking scenes come on. For example, when all of the grils are walking on their way to the beach, which is when we will show the credits, we thought about using songs that transmit a sense of escapism and liberation, which contributes to the setting and how the friend group is feeling in that precise moment. Just imagine the credits showing while these songs play.

That's not all; Sammy's character will also be shown through the background music. While she's getting her things ready to leave and go hang out with her so-called friends, we want to play a song that goes with her character. Something in the indie genre like 

Where is my mind

Crystal Ball

As you can tell, most of our soundtrack is based on a positive atmosphere, with that nostalgic feeling so it connects to the setting and the story plot. However, this is balanced by adding some Indie songs that match Sammy, so the difference between her and the rest of the friendgroup is noticeable even throughout music. 

                        Mise-en-scene Pt 2

This post will be dedicated toward the characters mise-en-scene.

Samantha 

Has a darker, less preppy mood than everyone else. She has long, curly hair, uses glasses but puts in contacts, and changes her clothes when she's going to go out in order to fit in. She usually wears jeans and a dark hoodie with a small amount of makeup. She also loves her headphones, since music is kind of a way to escape reality.

 

Sophia and Vicky 

Sophia and Vicky are part of the popular girls who wear bright colors like pink all day, every day. They love talking about guys, act kind of mean, and spend their daddy's money. Vciky has brown straight hair, while Sophia has blonde straight blonde hair. They're also outgoing and spoiled, with a bubbly personality who wears shorts and a tube top over a bikini to go to the beach. Also, they love getting ready and putting on makeup. They're like this blonde & brunette type of best friends. 

                                .                     

                          Mise-en-scene

For this project, mise-en-scene plays a big role. It's the way that our film will look to our audience. We're going to use a lot of natural lighting since most of the opeoning takes place outdoors. One of the few inside door scenes we're doing is when Samantha is packing her stuff to go hang out. We're planning on using low-key lighting that fits her mood and style. So viewers can also have a visual representation of her lifestyle. Our scenes could look something like this

 

For Samantha's room, it would look something like this 

  

Props

Then, we're also using some props to enhance that visual representation. We've thought about using a picture frame to represent Samantha's mom, a speaker they'll use to listen to music, some sunglasses for that beachy look, as well as tote bags. 

   

These kinds of props will help establish the setting so it looks more realistic. 

                        Character Development 

Our opening film consists of 3 main characters:

- Sammy (Protagonoist)

- Vicky (Victoria)

- Sophia

Sammy is a shy, innocent girl that's trying to fit in a girly girl friend group. She's the kind of girl that's reserved and doesn't really express how she feels, especially after her mom's passing. She expresses her feelings through things like music; she likes the indie rock kind of style. She lives with her dad only; she loves him very much, but ever since she dies, things in her home have not been the same. While trying to live a happy nornal life, she tries to fit in with Vicky and Sophia's friend group, which is very different from her. She likes to wear dark, lifeless colors and styles, like a lot of black and grey. Matched with graphic t-shirts and plane ones two. She doesn't use that much makeup—at most mascara, a little blush, and color on her lips. She has long, curly hair and brown eyes, and she's pretty short, about 5 feet or a little less. Samantha will be played by Brianna. 

Then we have the antagonists, Victoria and Sophia. These two characters both serve the role of peer pressure. They "force" Samantha to drink and to participate in their activities, even though she doesn't really like it. Victoria is tall, has curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a very nice smile. She's kind of a sweetheart to look at, but a mean one when you get to know her. She loves pink, loves to get drunk and do bad stuff; her parents let her do whatever, and she takes advantage. Then we have Sophia. Sophia is a little more serene than Victoria, but she's still kind of mean. She's the type of girl to follow what Vicky does and the type to judge you through her eyes, not her words. She's medium-tall, has long blonde hair, brown eyes, and loves makeup. She's ready every time; you'll never see her bareface or looking like she just woke up because she loves to get ready. Sophia was born here, but her parents are Colombian, so she has that Hispanic ethnicity. She also loves pink and dressing preppy; she likes to drink and be with her friends at all times. They both have similar music tastes, like House, 2016, throwback songs, with the exception that Sophia listens to Spanish music like reggaeton and Hispanic pop too.

Victoria will be played by Veronica 

 

Sophia will be played by Ana 

The rest will be secondary characters that will not have a major part in the opening and will be part of the girls' friend group.

                                   Storyboard 

Hey Blog! 

I wanted to show you the storyboard my group and I have worked on this week in class. This is a visual representation of the story I summarized a couple of blogs ago. However, this is more specific. It shows you what the scene will look like, what types of techniques or shots we're going to use, and stuff like that. This has really helped us by keeping everything organized and allows us to check if we like what we're creating right now or if something needs to be improved or changed. Now, to not bore you with a bunch of words describing the storyboard, I would rather show you what it looks like so you can get your own visual opinion on it. 

                                                            Summary of Our Idea

Hey blog!

So far we already had our first group meeting, and we developed the storyboard. So let me tell you a little bit of the idea we have.

Our main character is a teenage girl who is kind of separated from her friend group and her social surroundings. She's the innocent in a group full of bad influences. On a summer day, the girls decide to hang out and have fun, but like, the crazy type of fun. They're over here drinking and driving around with no fear, like if they had 7 lives. The protagonist goes along with them, although it is not her style or her favorite thing to do. She thinks that by doing what her "friends" tell her to do, she'll fit in and finally feel welcomed. As they're drinking and driving around, they set the goal to get her so drunk to the point where she's unstable and vulnerable. When she gets to that point, fully balcked out, not conscious at all, completely weak and vulnerable, her so-called "friends" decide to leave her. They ditch her and leave her alone at the beach, in the middle of nowhere, out of pure cruelty. However, what they don't know is that a tragedy is coming, especially to the betrayed friend.

We are still thinking about what's going to happen to her because we don't want anything too common, boring, or out of place. So before we decide, we want to talk to our teacher and get her opinion on our idea. 

For you to have a better idea I would say this film takes a little of inspiration from the movies Mean Girls and Cruel Intentions, where in one the main character does not fit in with her new group of friends and does as they say, and the second where an innocent girl is used and betrayed. Of course we would love to add more thriller and emotion to ours, since that's what we're going for. Here's what the movies look like. 

                           Cruel Intentions (1999)                                           Mean Girls (2004)

                                                   

                                           Media Theory 

Binary Opposition Theory 

The Binary Opposition is a theory made by the French anthropologist Levi Strauss that says that "we experience life through the concept of opposites like good vs. evil, birth and death." It continues by saying, "This theory relates to narratives where elements of the story are constructed through opposition." As said in the media text narratives paper. This theory states that people think in terms of opposites. He believed that two related concepts with opposite meanings are the base of human culture and thought. 

This is kind of like the Yin and Yang, a Chinese philosophy that describes 2 opposite forces that are interlinked, where one can't live without the other one. Yin is represented as the black one that represents darkness, water, the moon, intuition, and softness. Then we have Yang, which is the white one that represents light, fire, the sun, activity, and confidence. It's an infinite circle that creates balance and harmony. 

Now, this theory could be integrated into our project by representing the "mean girls" side as "evil" and the innocent girl as the "good." This would be a perfect example that life is surrounded and balanced by the opposites, like black and white, and this specific example is the evil and the good. It would represent the society and the atmosphere in which these girls live, where there's two completely different types of people associating with each other. This is also represented by the protagonist and antagonist in the film industry, which also fits our story. 

                                             Group Meeting #1

Today, February 10th, we had our first group meeting in class. This group consisted of 5 people: Jaden, Luis, Wyatt, Kailen, and Fabiana. All of there blog posts will be linked below. We all discussed our ideas and how we're thinking of developing the opening films. We all summarized our plot, themes, genres, and storylines. So, here's how it went. 

Jaden's story plot is inspired by love exposure. It's about this girl who gets abused by her father and goes mute after her mother's death. The father deeply loved the mother so much that her absence completely changed him as a person, to the point where he abused his daughter. Now, the daughter has changed too; she has a big trauma and doesn't go with what people in her society follow. For example, she began to worship instead of worshiping God because she doesn't like other people's religion. This is a representation of how one can lose itself because of their actions and how they separate themselves from society. This is part of a psychological drama.

https://jdaicemedia.blogspot.com/

Wyatt and his group made up a storyplot based on the genres thriller and mystery. They're thinking about producing a film where a man is living a happy, normal life, where everything's normal. Then, things start to get weird and mysterious; the man wakes up, and he does not know where he's at. He realizes that there's something wrong, but he's not quite sure. It could all be in his mind, who knows. 

https://myaiceblog.blogspot.com/                             

Luis began by describing his story, for which he was really excited. His idea is of a zombie apocalypse. His main character is a human that travels around the world trying to find more of his kind, friends. However, he realizes that everyone he gets close with dies, but not only because of the zombies. As he tries to figure it out, he realizes that zombies are not the worst creature and that society is the one that kills everyone, and that people go insane too. Luis is integrating psychological thriller as his main genre.

 https://lmvasquezjr.blogspot.com/

Then we move onto the girls in the meeting. Fabiana came up with the idea of this man living his day-to-day life like everybody else. He gets on a taxi like a normal person, but then he sees a poster that says there was a huge accident in that same taxi. It turns out the accident had happened to him in which both the driver and him had died. This made him realize he was in fact dead but somehow was still living his normal life. He tries to figure out what is happening. She told us she was inspired by her father's writing since he likes this kind of vibe.

 https://fabiblogs84.blogspot.com/

Kailen was the last one to present her idea. She came up with a story about a girl in her room, kind of a messy room that reflects her lifestyle. While she's there, her friend knocks on her door and shows her a really bad picture that's going around the day after a party. Somehow it looks like her in the picture but it actually was not. She did not go out that nigh, she did not go to the party. She realizes she's getting framed and tries to discover who's doing this. 

https://astudentsdayblog.blogspot.com/

Overall, this meeting was very helpful, as I collected a lot of ideas from different members of the group that advised me on what would look good for my own project. We helped each other out a lot and actually had a lot of fun. It felt good to see how my project looked in others' eyes, and I love to see other people's creativity being used.

                         Research About Music

In my opinion, music is so important for any film of any kind. Just think about it: adding a certain song to your film can completely change the mood. Let's look at horror movies; if it weren't for the scary soundtrack, the scene itself would not be that horrifying, and people could not get as scared as they do. That's because the background music strengthens the visual. You're already visualizing something, but if your ears are not listening to the same mood your eyes are, then you won't feel the intented effect directors want.

  

These 3 films have a soundtrack that intergrates fear and suspense, playing with rhythms and tones that make sure the audience feels tension from beginning to end.

Not only does music affect horror movies, it affects all types of genres. The chosen soundtrack is meant to set the mood and atmosphere, build an emotional impact, create suspense and tension, support character development, create rhythm and pacing, enhance the story, etc. There's so many ways a film can be manipulated through music and completely transform your experience. A movie without a good soundtrack tends to not be that good compared to one where the music is just exquisite. Also, many times directors try to send out a message, a theme, through the sound elected, sometimes through the melody and lyrics, so that's worth paying more attention. That's why music in a film is one of my favorite categories when working on a project; it's something so small to the viewer, but they don't realize that their experience and emotions could be completely different if the song choice changes.

                                                                  Project Schedule

As you've seen so far, this film opening is fully organized. That's where the blogs help us too. Aside from that, we also decided to come up with a schedule for the 8 weeks that we will be working together. With my group, we came up with the idea to write down on paper what we will do/what we want to get done for each week. 

For the 1st week, which we have already done, we were introduced to the project and we were given all instructions. When we began to work on it, we brainstormed on what we wanted our film opening to be about. This included genre, story plot, and figuring out the mood we kind of want to go for. At the same time, we dedicated time to the two blogs we did, which also included some research that really helped us figure out the approaches we want to take. Then, we moved into week 2, which is where we're at right now. This week we actually thought about our story plot in detail and even made some changes to the genre and the mood. In class, we wanted to meet with our teacher to discuss ideas and ask for some guidance since this project is so important, but we didn't have time, so we will leave that for next week. This week's blogs include this one and three others, which you can check out on my page. 

Weeks 3–8 are yet to come, and we are so ready for it. We will begin making our storyboard and meeting with the teacher. Then, we're going to start planning everything, like characters, backstory, and all types of techniques we want to use. We should also plan filming dates so we don't procrastinate and make sure that everyone is available, so no mistakes interfere. By week 5 or 6, we should be already filming with all prior organization ready and everything approved. Of course we will be doing 4 blogs each week just like this one, but I will not say what it's about to not spoil anything. 

Here's a look at the paper we created to stay organized.

                                 Credit Sequences From Films

In this post, I want to show some of the best credit sequences from opening films I found. In my last post, I mentioned that the opening included credits, but today I'm going to analyze it and show you the beauty of some and how it sets the movie's tone. 

Panic Room (2002)

I want to start with this movie's particular credit sequence that I really like and never get tired of watching. The credits perfectly match Manhattan's Skyscrapers and use unreal lighting that makes the words look like they're actually in the film, not just edited in. I think that's one of the most surprising things these credits offer. David Fincher, the director, achieved this old 1950's thriller movie but managed to create such realism in the credits that doesn't show a different time and somehow blends in with the background shown. This is paired with Howard Shore's amazing background sound that sets the tone. He uses a thriller song as the credits go along that just adds that little perfect detail. I feel like it is only right to show you the credits of Panic Room. Here's the link 

Panic Room Credit Sequence

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Now this second one is a little different, but it is still pretty good and helps a lot if we want our credits to have an asthetic look. Throughout the whole credits, there's background pictures of stone sculptures of people, representing art. On top of this, there's the bright yellow names of the people behind the movie, of course. I really like these credits because of their visual representation. Unlike the first one, this one is just pure beauty that contributes to that summer mood that the movie is based on. Not only that, music also plays a huge role in this. The background song is of a calm melody that can even make you cry. This adds to the beauty of the credits, making it so fascinating and pleasing to look at

Drive (2011)

This third and final opening credit is more low-lighted and less active than the others. Featuring Ryan Gosling as the main character, he's driving around with a serious face, kind of worried. The credits appear next to him, allowing the viewer to focus on both the credits and the character at the same time, kind of like creating a balance. The low lighting atmosphere sets the perfect tone for the film's thriller vibe. Now, one of the most important aspects of this credit is the music. The song chosen is called "Nightcall" by Kavinsky, it's a moody electronic track with a little bit of retro. This song evokes an 80's asthetic while giving the film a cold, modern, and cool vibe. Its melody also builds tension while giving it a bit of melancholy at the same time, making it a perfect thriller movie. 

                                        Film Openings 

Hey Blog! Here's a little update on how the project is going. We decided to switch the genre a little, so instead of doing action, we're doing thriller with coming-of-age. To represent these genres, here are three opening films that might be really useful as inspiration for our film. 

                                       The Outsiders (1983)

The Outsiders is based on the 1967 novel by S.E. Hinton, which was then made into a movie by Francis Ford Coppol. The story follows two gangs in their town, the Greasers and the Socs, who are divided by their social class. The rivalry between them is so big that they can't be near each other without a problem occurring. The Greasers are known for their greasy hair, fighting, and shopping, while the Socs are known for being rich and spoiled teenagers from good families. 

The film opening of this film is quite particular, but very interesting. The film begins showing the main character, Ponyboy Curtis, who lives with his two brothers, Darry and Soda. The shot is established by a close-up that slowly zooms into Ponyboy as he is sitting down on a couch somewhere that looks like his home. He's thinking, and then the scene shifts to a point-of-view shot where he's writing in his journal/notebook titled "The Outsiders." This is a central part of the story since it reveals that Ponyboy is the narrator in this story. Right after it shifts to the rolling credits, and then the movie plot begins with a little insight into the Socs as they're doing bad stuff. This film opening could really inspire us on what approach and strategies we want to use, like if we want to do similar shots or base it on a main character too with its group. This is also a great example of a coming-of-age film since both Socs and Greasers are transitioning from teenagers to adults.

                               Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Where the Crowdads Sing is a thriller/mystery film that can also be considered as coming-of-age. Its opening is completely different from the first one I talked about. This film begins by presenting the credits paired with long shots of nature as the background. Aside from the credits, this is really important as it sets the setting and captures the beauty and tranquility of this film. As we see this calm, beautiful setting that proceeds, two little kids riding their bikes, having fun and enjoying their time. However, these two little boys find a dead body by the side of the river, and then the mystery begins. As the opening goes on, the main character Kya Clark is presented as she's running away from the police. She was abandoned as a kid and lives isolated from the world, which is represented by the natural setting. Her behavior shows her loneliness, how distrustful she is with authority, and the fear she has of being taken away from the wildlife she loves. 

The opening sequence also explores a little of Kya's coming-of-age journey. Her solitary life in the marsh emphasizes her independence and the challenges she's about to face in the world that has rejected her. The visual introduction contributes to the themes of the film and tones like isolation, survival, and looking to fit in. Once again, this film would be very good to further analyze if we want to develop an opening similar to or inspired by this kind of film. 

                                                  Stranger Things (2016)

Now, for this third film opening, it's a little different. Instead of doing a movie, I'm doing a show. However, this show still fits into our genre of coming-of-age since it's based on preteens transitioning into teens. This is a strong visual opening that foreshadows without giving away too much. It only gives you a hint of what's coming. It actually creates a sense of mystery as there's a guy running like a maniac where it looks like a hospital or a lab and then gets taken away by some mystery creature. Just by this, the audience gets that chilly sensation and is curious to keep on watching to know what happened. This kind of opening is a little different from what we're going for, but it really caught my eye, and I really liked how intense it gets in such a small amount of time. The music and lighting were also amazing, as they both contributed to that thriller feeling. The flickering light while the scientist is all scared, the heavy breathing, the creature's sound, and the scary background sound were all amazing and thought off so well. So, if we decide to go for a more straight-forward, fast-paced opening film, I will definitely look at this in a more detailed way.

                              Possible Genres 

So far there are two genres considered for this project, action and coming-of-age. I think it will fit the story plot the best. Aside from being two very fun genres to work with, they also entertain the audience. A good action film can never get boring, too repetitive, or slow-paced. They always tend to quickly grab the audience's attention. Now, a coming-of-age is a really good option too because it creates an emotional connection with the viewers as the protagonist's journey is introduced. Here are some examples                                  "The Hunger Games"

Action movies tend to have a fast-paced plot and some kind of violence. Action has been around the film industry for a while; they were the peak genre during the 1980's and 1990's, featuring big stars and major film franchises. These types of movies are often characterized by high stakes, tension, and speed. They also revolve around a protagonist who is thrust into extreme circumstances, but there's something in them that allows them to survive in all the chaos. With this comes along a villain that is always trying to make the main character's life a living hell and does everything for them to fail. 

Now moving onto a coming-of-age. These types of movies are based on stories about young people growing up, learning new things, and facing challenges as they stop being kids and transition into becoming adults. It is centered around themes of youth, growing up, and maturity with a big central focus on one character. They show how protagonists "come of age"

          Transitioning Into the Portfolio Project 

Hi Blog!

Starting this week and from now on, we will be working on the long-awaited Portfolio Project. We are supposed to create a 2-minute film opening, edit it, and submit it. From now on, all of my blog posts will be based on the progress of this film and will help me develop the final, perfect film opening. To be honest, officially starting the final project is pretty scary, but not because I'm not capable of doing it, but because it is actually happening. What does this mean? You may ask, this means that the year is coming to an end, and when the time is right, Cambridge will be looking at all this and my progress throughout the year. Everything I've learned so far, like the lessons, the projects, and all the research, as well as all the knowledge accumulated, is being used for this big project.

For this film, we want to put in our all. My group and I are going to do our best because we want this opening to be amazing. Although we don't exactly know what story our film is going to be based on, we do know that it won't be common or basic, so doing a genre like horror is not an option. 

The first approach we took was looking at some inspiration. We wanted to see how it looks all together and what kinds of techniques past students did, so we went onto our teacher's website and clicked on many student's projects from last year. Not only did we see a variety of genres, themes, and stories, but we also gained a lot of knowledge. Personally, these examples helped me a lot when deciding how I want our film to start and to end. Here's a look of our teacher's website links.

I also looked at some film openings from actual movies and saw how professional directors developed their openings. 

Another approach we're taking is developing context. We are thinking of what we want our film to communicate to the audience, if suspense, intrigue, sadness, happiness, etc. We are also developing our story's background as to what the story is going to be about. We don't want any mistakes or accidents, so we are thinking of the smallest detail too. However, we also don't want the film to be forced or too worked on to the point where it doesn't look right. I feel like this approach puts us in a good spot because we are building the base, which is so important if we want our film to be organized and enjoyable.