Discussing Plot

    After finally discussing in depth about out story, we settled on a complete outline for our opening. We actually changed our minds a lot while discussing. Instead of having a friend discover another friend dead, we decided to make an older sister discovering her younger sister. This actually makes more sense, since the location seemed confusing. A girl wouldn't die with her friends at her house. She needs to feel completely lonely and isolated from the world to go through with something like that. She also needed a type of reason to do it. In my opinion, the film opening wouldn't look good if there was no type of reasoning for what is happening. Even though it might be discovered more in depth throughout the rest of the film, there still needs a few hints in the opening hinting why she would do it. 

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:

Director: Lucia
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!

Approaching the Film Approach

Developing Character

    Although I wanted to go for developing tone or background in my film, the best film approach that would fit for this type of film is establishing character. There will be one character developed in the opening as much as possible (let's call them Person A), while subtly also introducing the main character of the film (Person B). We don't have to focus on Subject B as much, since her character will be more developed throughout the story. Who I want to focus on the most in the scene is Person A, the girl who ends her life in the opening scene; not only showing that she's sad, but leaving hints and details that show why she did it or why she might have done it. Focusing mostly on Person A in the opening also leaves the audience more in shock when she dies right away. Developing character in the opening is also a common approach when it comes to coming-of-age films, since they usually just focus on one person and how they grow.

    One of the most important parts of developing character is mise-en-scene. Without using words or other people, you can clearly get a feeling of the character. Not only with costume design and makeup, but with surroundings like their room. This helps establish an overall introduction of the character. Other elements are dialogue and interactions, how they speak and how they interact with other people. 

Developing Person A

    Since Person A won't be in the film for over two minutes, I want the audience to understand her and her emotions before she leaves. A coming-of-age film that works great with introducing their character's feelings is The Fallout. Through just one scene, without showing much reason, the main character Vada is shown feeling unmotivated and down before anything ever really happens. With how casual her family acts around her it's also implied that she's been sad and disorganized for a while.

    Through her oversized wardrobe, messy hair, and actions while getting ready in the morning, it is obvious that her character feels empty, or put up with her life. It shows that this feeling most likely will change, whether that is through an event or a person. In this case, Person A taking pills in the opening will change the life of everyone around her. This type of mise-en-scene that the movie was going for is what I want to apply in my opening. 

    Another film that introduces character well by incorporating mis-en-scene, dialogue, and interactions with others is Everything Everywhere All At Once. Through just one scene (or two, if you count the beginning), you can already understand and feel everything that the character, Evelyn, is going through. The mise-en-scene is applied in the living room, already creating stress through the overwhelming amount of papers on her desk. It is also implied through the cameras in the background and dialogue that her and her husband own a laundromat, and it is getting in the way of their lives and relationship. The stress is emphasized through the conversations between her and her husband, with arguments and a quick pace.

    What I also noticed about these two film openings is that they both have a lack of music. I think this would be to keep the audience in the moment and display the true feelings of the character without any distractions. Using these elements of both stress and emptiness, I can create a scene that develops "Person A" as girl who is clearly going through a problem and is heavily affected by it. Creating a stressful environment along with messy clothing design and hair can show that without using dialogue. Once her friends come to her house, that is when dialogue and interactions will be shown, showing that she is isolated from the rest and speaks quieter and more serious compared to the rest of her friends. Although the environment seems messy, for this part of the introduction I want to keep the audio to a minimum, emphasizing her empty thoughts. I will examine how to introduce Person B next time.

Coming of Age Drama Further Research

     After investigating simple genre conventions and coming up with a basic plot for the portfolio project, I know what to specifically look for while watching more coming-of-age/drama openings and techniques.

Coming-of-age characteristics

    What truly makes a coming-of-age film what it is is the heavy character development of a young protagonist. They typically go through a path to grow in maturity using heavy dialogue instead of entertaining action. This means that the conflict is always internal, character vs. self. Some common elements include identity crisis (not fully understanding who you are, experimenting), a mix of comedy and drama, "escaping" their comfort zone or childhood, and outcasts trying to fit in. What I mostly want to focus on for the film is escaping from what your life used to be; I will expand on this next week while developing a plot outline. Films typically use visual metaphors to showcase internal struggles.

Ex: The Florida Project uses a decaying house to represent
losing their fragile childhood innocence

Coming-of age-examples - and how I can use them

    The Florida Project, displayed above, is a great example of a coming-of-age film. Through Moonee, the audience learns the importance of creativity and imagination in children, even when living in a harsh reality such as poverty. Even when facing their worst moments, they can imagine a world where they can enjoy their childhood. I decided to rewatch the opening scene for this film to inspire myself for the credits. However, I honestly disliked the opening. It was very bland, only showing a frame of a purple wall while displaying the credits. Although it gives the credits a full focus, I don't think it would work as a good inspiration for my opening.

    One of my favorite opening scenes that follow the common characteristics of a coming-of-age opening is The Half of It. It uses basic and small fonts, as many of them do. Through editing it also mixes the credits with the real scene, such as blurring the text when the camera changes focus. I will definitely try to incorporate this blend in the opening, since I am doing the editing for it. While looking for the credits scene, I also came across one of the best videos I think I could possibly find for technique inspiration. Alice Wu, the director of The Half of It, broke down the sequence.

    Around the timestamp 3:40, she explains how she uses different aspects of mise-en-scene and editing to display Ellie's isolated world. Here are the most important aspects I feel like would be great inspiration for my opening:

Color scheme - Wu explains that she created a set color pallet for Ellie's home with bland, grounded colors contrasting with the bright and vivid colors in her high school. It emphasizes how different her home life is compared to other teenagers and their school life. I will definitely try to create a color pallet to emphasize the girl's feelings and home life compared to her friend's personalities and feelings.

Text messages onscreen - Wu points out that she never really shoots phone screens; she instead makes parts of the phone pop up onscreen. It shows how much phones truly blend into reality, and at the same time it is an entire world of its own, where teenagers can be as cruel as they want. This can be incorporated into my opening as phones are a huge effect in teenager's lives, especially in films like coming of age.

    I could rant forever about techniques from that video that inspire me with my credit openings. However, as I was looking for other film openings within the genre, I came across a really creative title sequence. Waves, a drama film, blended in their title with the sunlight of the scene itself.

While finding more information about this sequence I came across a website discussing the creation of the title along with some images of the opening credits of the film. You can find it here. One of the best parts about this is that the flickering title was inspired by the "Florida feeling." The film Waves was filmed in my county, so I could take advantage of this and create a similar feeling to show that the film will become darker later on.

Plotting and Scheduling

     After some ideas and discussion, we officially have a plot. The film is based off of a teenager tragically committing suicide. Her close friend (the protagonist) unfortunately discovers her a few minutes later. The film continues with the protagonist and her friends not only dealing with the loss of their friend, but also committing to spread awareness about the topic and calling out problems in their current society. We decided on approaching character, as the opening will subtly introduce the protagonist through the lens of the girl who commits suicide. This is a broad idea, but it's a great foundation to dive into detail and incorporate unsettling techniques, along with possible foreshadowing about what truly is messed up in their society. 

    To do this successfully I need a set schedule to make sure I'm on track. I set specific due dates for certain parts of the project that need to be physically made, separated by weeks.

    To make 100% sure I never forget anything, I created due dates on my Canvas to-do list for each blog and other important elements of the project, since that agenda is the only calendar I look at, especially for school. Each "assignment" I created consist of the information for each week, such as what I should be doing and blog ideas.

    Although the group has a set plot, we cannot limit ourselves to further genre research. I will make a more detailed analysis of coming-of-age/drama (It's still hard figuring out which one it truly is), along with watching more film openings with credits within the genre.

Researching Genre - Part 1

     For the first week of the project, all I have been doing is thinking of certain plots with genres that go along with it. For me, personally, I love a variety of different genres and I prefer having the freedom to come up with a good plot no matter the genre, then from there research genre conventions of the plot. However, I have a limit to my genre likings, and a limit to what I can actually create. So, I've limited my options to horror, thriller, comedy, drama, coming of age, and science fiction (science fiction seems challenging, but with the right techniques, I think it can work).

    For this film opening I'll be working with my two classmates Lucia and Andrea. We all enjoy different parts of making a film, and therefore I believe that with assigning specific roles to each group member, we can make the opening great in every aspect. So far we have discussed making a drama or coming of age, which works great. Dramas contain intense character development and intense scenes, which obviously will not be shown in the film opening, but it's great to have it as an idea. Coming of age movies, however, usually showing how a teenager or young adult deals with a conflict to find themselves and grow as a person. These two genres can combine to create coming-of-age dramas, a more specific type of movie.

    Coming of age dramas, or coming of age dramedies, are very popular amongst teens, as it usually relates to them and their problems the most. This helps these movies spread their message easier. For example, the film Eighth Grade establishes an average 13-year old in the modern day through its opening. By establishing this character that many people can relate to, displaying the impacts of social media, family relationships, and middle school life becomes a lot more impactful to the target audience. Specifically Eighth Grade, however, has a very long film opening of Kalya simply speaking to a camera talking about being yourself. Although this does help establish the character, I feel like taking a similar approach would be too simple for my film opening with no thoughtful use of shots/cuts or mise-en-scene.

    This decision for the genre will help my group navigate for techniques and opening ideas a lot easier. Later I will start looking for other film openings with the same genre to see if there are more entertaining or creative ideas for a film opening and I'll research common coming-of-age conventions and techniques to further get a feel for the video. What I should also do is establish a set schedule for when we should be finishing certain parts of the project. Without it, I think everything would be more confusing and overwhelming.

Transitioning to Portfolio Project

     Now that we are into the second semester of the school year, we are starting our Portfolio Project, part of the Cambridge exam. The experiences from past projects taught me different aspects that are a necessity for the film. Executing shots and angles through multiple projects, editing and creating a soundscape from the sound project, learning how to research different genres from the genre research activity, good examples of representation through research, and distribution/marketing techniques through the music marketing project show a good foundation to begin the project. After learning in depth about how to approach the film opening, I began thinking about how I will begin the film depending on the plot.

    Some of my favorite film openings have always been the development of tone, background, or setting. These are the types of approaches to films that typically have slow pacing. To develop tone in a film opening, you need special focus on costume design, color, and lighting. This will effect the overall mood of the film. There are also ways to use devices such as symbolism, such as the popcorn in the opening of the original Scream. A set tone can make a great film opening without needing to establish the plot so quickly; it simply shows how the rest of the film will be like, or how the it will possibly change in tone.

    Developing background is another common approach when it comes to films with a lot of details needed to understand what is going to happen during the film. In this case, multiple scene elements are needed to establish tone. A great, commonly-used way to do this is using a television or radio broadcast explaining recent news. This could simply be played in the background; it doesn't have to be the main focus. Other elements used should be mise-en-scene (such as a run-down city in a dystopia) and dialogue. Dialogue between characters establishes background naturally if you avoid making it obvious.

    The development of setting can also be a slow paced way to open your film. Using detailed and creative ways to show where the film will take place throughout the film can contribute to the plot. For example, establishing a sad, boring city could imply that the protagonist is also in a sad mental space. This contrasts with exciting shots of a big city, implying that the protagonist is always active and enthusiastic. This can help show how the plot will develop later in the film.

Music Marketing Project #2 - Reflection

    For the Music Marketing Project, our group was assigned to create a marketing campaign for our own band using a 15-minute presentation that includes a music video to promote the brand. After doing specific case study research to find marketing techniques for our specific genre (pop/throwback), we began thinking of simple aspects of marketing that we could later expand on. This includes social media, a website, live performances, and merchandise. While doing this we also worked on our music video concept. We decided to create a video that displays a story while also cutting back and forth with the band singing. Together we created a storyboard of just storytelling, and we were able to film without many problems. During this process we also came up with a theme of soft blues and pinks. We specified our audience to mostly female teenagers/young adults, sticking to relatable stories and marketing techniques that fit the audience. This was a challenge, as marketing throwback music would most likely not attract as many teenagers. However, we specified many promotional techniques aimed towards that age range, making it easier to be noticed. We decided on the name "The Romantics", a name that is easy to recall but also fits the theme we were going for.

    For the last week of the project, the planning and discussing made everything in the presentation flow great. We discussed how we could make the music video entertaining and detailed before meeting up and filming the promotional half of the music video. Using the inspiration of other music videos, we decided to film it at a grocery store with a variety of shots and angles. For clothing design, we incorporated the brand's main colors, blue and pink. We additionally wore a casual style to fit the throwback pop genre, along with our brand's style. For post-production, the music video is quick paced with cutaways to always stand out and stay entertaining. The clips of the grocery store were edited more bright and saturated, to not only contribute to the childish theme but also separate the two settings (the storytelling half and the promotional half). 

    

   

    Our group used the rest of the time in class to organize our presentation and come up with more marketing techniques and designs. For example, we created an album that came along with the song "Tonight" and created new merchandise, vinyls, and posters with it. We also designed a website that includes promotion for the new album and music video, along with links to tour tickets, music, memberships, merchandise, and an album store. We also included links to social media, continuing to broaden fan access to anything they want. An important marketing technique we added was the use of Spotify's Ad Studio. With prior research about the software, we understand what the ad looks like and how to make one, which fits perfect for the target teenage audience we want to attract.

        The presentation part of the project, however, was a challenging process. Our group was going to present it through recording our voices and putting them on the slides. We created a script to know what we were going to say for each slide, but we could not find a way to present our ideas without struggling to think of what to say in the moment. Even with the words in front of us, it was hard to have a quiet environment, a loud voice, and preventing from stuttering or having a monotone, robotic voice. We tried different methods, but each came with different problems. For example, for me, bullet points made it hard not to stutter, while a word-for-word paragraph made the presentation sound monotone. However, with practice and patience, We were able to record the presentation.

    Overall, the project was a great experience to learn how important marketing techniques are for brands, especially for music bands and artists. Not only do you need a variety of techniques, but you also need to consider which forms are most effective for the specific target audience you are going for. Using research from case studies was helpful, especially because the music artists' audiences had similar common interests, therefore making them a great inspiration for our own marketing techniques. You also have to consider the same for distribution - difference ages and enjoyers of different genres may listen to music in different ways. For the Cambridge portfolio project, setting a target audience and considering what they would or would not enjoy would be significant. It would help with planning the story and brainstorming shots to use.

Link to presentation