So, today in class, we pitched in ideas on what to do and planned things out on a sheet of paper. We swapped Person A and Person B (trust me, we will come up with names soon) based on order of appearance. You can see at first we were planning to have a small group of friends at her house, then all of a sudden she leaves to go to the bathroom. We realized a more realistic situation would be two sisters, close in age. Two twins would be even better, but we need to set boundaries. We don't have any twins who can act in our opening. So, We settled on two sisters in the same house. The younger sister, Person B, wears a big, dirty clothing, has a very messy room, the lights are off, and she's staring blankly. We want to set a certain tone for her room compared to her sister's. This is where we will add the credits, displaying the director, producer, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Person A, however, contrasts with her, having a brighter and more clean room, along with a more put-together outfit. Although they have a stable relationship, they contrast greatly.
Even though parts of the planning are hard to understand, we have a clear understanding of what will happen in the storyboard and script. It begins with Person B, alone in her room. Different shots of her room are shown to incorporate detailed mise-en-scene and add the credits with the framing of the shots. Throughout this sequence, we will also show Person B texting someone, the text messages being shown up on screen, like the example here.
This is, of course, inspired by director Alice Wu's use of text messages in The Half of It. These texts messages will not only be a more creative way to display the problem that is happening, but it will also show that conversations online are blended in the real world; they have the same effects and feelings that come with them. The conversation in the film will eventually reveal that Person B is being blackmailed. It emphasizes the pressure that she is feeling and why she could no longer handle it. The texts won't be super detailed, to not expose too much of the plot, but just to show how much she is going through.
After this sequence of shots and texts, Person A, the older sister, opens Person B's door, and lets her know that a friend is coming over. She also points out her messy room (in a casual tone, showing this isn't uncommon), unacknowledging her actual feelings. Although this is how typical siblings act, it doesn't help with Person B's situation. We want Person A to be the main character in the rest of the film, so for the rest of the opening it mostly focuses on her. Person A and Person C (her close friend) are hanging out in the living room for some time, with loud dialogue and music. Occasionally, it switches back to Person B, with the music and dialogue muffled. I want to make sure to maintain a lack of sound when it's focused on Person B, to emphasize her emptiness.
Eventually Person B walks to the bathroom. When it switches back to Person A and C, dialogue reveals they want to make food. Person A, feeling bad about the earlier interaction with her sister, goes to her room again to ask if she wants food. When it cuts back to Person B in the bathroom, she stares at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. All of the music begins to mute, and ringing begins to be heard, showing her numbness. This was inspired by the beginning of the film Thirteen, which our group really liked, even though the two contexts and audios are very different.
Once Person A finally finds Person B in the bathroom, it is too late for her to do anything. I want the ending to be quick, and the suicide mostly being implied. It will show a few shots of pills, a hand on the floor, and Person A's shock. What I'm aiming for is for it to be quick and still.
On a happier note, our group also decided on our roles for the opening. Now, instead of planning everything together, we can begin focusing on our individual roles while also discussing as a group for what is best for each part of the film. This is what we have:
Producer: Alexandra
Writer: Andrea
Cinematographer: Andrea
Editing:
Video: Alexandra
Audio: Lucia
When it came to editing, Lucia and I have the same interests. So, we settled on splitting it into audio and visual. It'll either work perfectly or be a huge struggle to do. If anything, that is post-production, so we can discuss what is best for us after reflecting on our experience splitting the editing job, and change whatever we need to change. As producer, I'm realizing I will be responsible for making big decisions in the opening. I need to have a full understanding of what we're doing and what could be done to make it better. It makes me really excited! Next time, we will definitely come up with names, including the name of the title. I want to make a separate post about those. With that, we can create the script along with the storyboard. I'm really looking forward to it!
No comments:
Post a Comment