GROUP MEETING . . . Kinda

     Sooooooooooo, today in class we had a review session with groups where we got together and peer-reviewed each other's projects, but there was one problem. I wasn't there. Unfortunately, I woke up with a terrible case of food poisoning. WHY!!??!?!?!?! ON THE WORST DAY TOO!!!!!! I realize this would've been a great opportunity for me, so instead I decided to take things into my own hands. I sent my current finished idea to a few of my friends who have taken or are currently taking AICE Media Studies, to have my own version of a peer review. So let's go over what my friends said.

    First up is my friend and classmate Zach. He allowed me to get unique new ideas for how to open up the film piece. I originally wanted to have it start off with the main character talking to the bell at the reception, but he helped me realize that it was a bit too much, and instead suggested that the main character hints at the bell being a camera, but not outright say it. I plan on implementing this as I think it's a good idea.

    The next person is my friend Armesto who is also in my AICE Media class, they said he liked the idea, but their biggest drawback was the fact that the story starts on the first appointment. They argued that it could be a random session from which the main character and the therapist have had many in the past. I like this idea also and I plan on rewriting my script a bit to account for this change. They also argued that I don't have enough personality for the therapist and that they could be a character who is often fed up. I like this idea also and it gives me the idea to utilize dialogue in a very monotone manner for this character, to show this. I feel like I can also display their personality by their actions, for example writing something down after every time the main character speaks.

    Last but not least was Arianna. She is one of my TV Production friends and took the class last year. When I showed her my project, she said she really liked it, but the only thing was that it wasn't developed enough. Because of this, I plan on adding more information to my plan before filming so that my production process can go as smoothly as possible.

    If any of you have any ideas for me to improve my project, please leave them in the comments below so I can improve.

- The Producer

Where to go?

     Now that I know what I want to film, there is just one question for me to answer. . . Where will it be filmed. In movies many different sets are chosen with long and thought out processes. But, I plan on only having one singular location to film at. In the process of deciding whether it was okay to only film at one location I found an EXTREMELY helpful video, that gave me tips and tricks for doing so from a director that did a piece called Broken Ceilings that did the same thing.

    Now while my opening isn't 90 minutes like Broken Ceilings was, I feel like a lot of the advice still holds true. I'm worried that one of the most difficult parts for me will be keeping the viewers intrigued as there won't be a large amount of scene changes. I plan on taking his advice by using all the areas of the one location as I can, like the hallway, reception area, and the therapists office, but that still leaves the question of where I'm going to film.

    Right now I have three options: make my house look like a therapist's office, ask my dad to use his lawyer office, and call an actual therapists office and BEG to film there. There are pros and cons of each of them so let's go through them.

    The first one up is my house. The good part about this is the large access to props, since everything that's in my house can be used, and there is also a grocery store 25 minutes away from my house (by walking), so if I need to get any last minute props I may be able to. On top of that, it will be significantly easier for my friends (the actors and crew) to get to my house as it is near almost all of my friends houses. On the other hand, my house doesn't have a reception area and it doesn't look like a therapist office, which can cause many problems.

    The next one up is my dad's office, which I believe is the best option. First of all, it is the easiest place me to gain access to (as long as he says yes), that actually looks remotely like a therapist's office. I know for a fact that my dad's office building has several reception areas, and a couch in his office to make it look more like a therapist office. The biggest problem with this location is that it's in Fort Lauterdale which means that I would have to take a smaller crew, which I honestly don't think would be that big of a problem.

    The last location, which I'm using as a backup, is an actual therapists office. While this could be perfect, I would need to be able to find one that would be close to my city, and actually allow me to film which I picture would be difficult, as therapist offices are extremely private.

    If you guys have any ideas on where to film, please comment them down bellow.

-The Producer

The Plan

    Soooooooo, now that I've had to restart, I thought it was important to take some time explaining my thought process on what I want to do now. After the conversation with my teacher, I realized that I still wanted to stick with the idea of schizophrenia (which I'm now realizing I never said I wanted to do in my blog in the first place), even if I wasn't sticking with the same genre. I (with the help of my teacher) decided that I wanted to portray the disease in a happier way, and I thought that the best way possible was to utilize a comedy.

    After that, I spent the rest of the day scrolling through different comedies for some inspiration. Then it hit me. I saw went through the opening of The Truman Show and was heavily inspired. I came up with the idea of a character who believes that they are in a comedy, but aren't actually. With this plan in mind, I began writing the opening.

    I decided that I wanted to utilize a developing character opening as it works really well with both the genre and my idea. I've decided that I want the scene to open with a therapist appointment, where the main character rings on a bell. When this happens, all the viewers will see is black, but then the first thing we will see, is the main character talking to the bell as if it were a camera through the use of a POV shot as the bell. I felt like this would be a unique and attention grabbing way of setting the scene. After that it will cut to a medium shot of a reception area, where the man is still talking to the bell. In this shot, we will see a woman walking up from behind the desk, and she will notice the man and say "Oh, you must be (insert name)." This will not only establish the scene but it will also allow the viewers to realize that the main character is a real character (in the fact that he is talked about and heard of). 

    The reception lady will then guide the main character to a new room where he meets the therapist. Here I plan on having the therapist help develop the main character by saying something like "you're the one who thinks that they are in a TV show" and having the main character respond with "is in a TV show." This will set the scene for viewers on who the character is and the main plot of the story.

    The rest of the intro will go back and forth between the therapist and main character talking in the appointment with jokes thrown in to set the scene for the rest of the movie. I plan on at some point in the discussion for the therapist to say he believes that the main character is hallucinating, and the main character will turn and say something like "that's what he thinks" as if he is breaking the fourth wall, (which he won't be looking directly at the camera to enforce the fact that he isn't really a TV show character).

    Now that I told you my plan, it's time for me to go and develop it even more. Talk to you next time!!!

- The Producer

Let's try this again!

     I know it's late, but I've been struggling to figure out a story on what to do for psychological horror, and apparently, it's showing. My teacher called me up to discuss my project, and I realized that it isn't my style to do a horror movie as I tend to be an upbeat and cheerful person. I realized that I should try and do a film that captures me. Because of that, I'm swapping my genre to comedy and I'm doing a positive representation of someone with schizophrenia (because I have not been able to get the idea out of my head).

    So since I'm changing genre I thought it was important for me to restart my research. Comedies are a genre with extremely varying productions each targeted at a different audience, since everyone has a different sense of humor. I learned that the majority of comedies use brighter lighting to carry over to a brighter mood, I plan on doing something similar in mine, to ensure the viewers pick up on the light-hearted tone. I also learned that to make a solid comedy, I'd have to find people who are good at acting and naturally funny, or else it can come across as corny WHICH I DONT WANT. I've had wayyyyy too many projects end up cringy which I am sick of.

    On top of that, I learned that one of the most important parts of a comedy is the pacing and timing of jokes. Comedies tend to use different types of camera movements to elevate the level of humor. This is shown by the push-out and pull which are commonly used as comedic cues. Most comedies are aimed at teens and young adults.

    Also, I think it is important to mention that I've found this really good video that teaches how to use more unique techniques to make a movie funnier, which I plan on doing in my film opening.

    I plan on utilizing this information throughout the month as I continue to develop this project throughout the week. But for now, I have some catching up to do, so I'll post again soon.

-The Producer

Planning Time!!!

 So, I've decided that since I'm one of the biggest procrastinators in the world, I'm going to make a schedule for my project. We've been given 9 weeks to work on the project so I plan on breaking up those nine weeks as follows. (PS this is the end of the second week already)      

    Week 1 and 2 (2/8-2/19)- brainstorm ideas, choose genre, intro research on genre, develop schedule.      

    Week 3 (2/20-2/25)- Decide on the story and opening approach, create a general script, and begin outlining (Storyboard/shotlist).      

    Week 4 (2/26-3/3)- Plan where to film, finish storyboard, edit schedule as needed, decide on mise en scene elements      

    Week 5 and 6 (3/4-3/17)- Begin and finish filming, begin editing          

    Week 7 (3/18-3/24)- Continue editing, get peer feedback      

    Week 8 (3/25-3/31)- Research information relating to CCR questions, and create critical reflection projects      

    Week 9 (4/1-4/2)- Finalize the project and post it to my blog        

    When discussing the schedule it's important to note a few things. First of all, I based this on a schedule provided by my teacher (linked below), but I made a few adjustments. This schedule will allow me to stay on schedule without having to get overly stressed. Hopefully, I can progress at a faster rate though because I have a trip for the entirety of week 7 and I would love to finish editing before then so I can have less work the week of.

Here is the schedule my teacher provided- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1haYqUx5jDzVwPl-W2wGV-dxkXlUP5PHU/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103016481273722534452&rtpof=true&sd=true

What to do?

     Now that I know what genre I'm doing, I have to figure out exactly what I want to do. To help me decide, I did a little research on films within the genre. First up is Silence of the Lambs.

One of my favorite parts of the opening is the Bolded text with the white outline that is used. It adds a nice contrast to the wintery forest behind. However, although I like its use, I think that it can only be used in certain scenarios, and I don't know if it will work with the ideas I have in mind so far. I also liked the use of a wintery setting as it draws attention to the lifeless trees foreshadowing the future killings. I would like to do something like that, but the only problem is, that I'm filming this in Florida during the spring, so I'll have to brainstorm ideas on exactly how to do this. One thing I do plan on using though is the constant movement in the shots. I like them because they give a very frantic feel to the opening which is exactly what you want from a horror movie.

The next movie I'm looking into is The Shining.

    One of my favorite parts of this opening is the fact that it uses the three minutes to show a car driving to the hotel. What's special about this is that we see a car driving through all different environments but none of which are civilized, until we get to the hotel. This foreshadows future events as when the characters are trying to get help, they are unable to do so due to the isolation. Another thing I like about this opening is the moving text. This movement adds excitement to what would otherwise be a boring scene. I like the aspect of isolation and I may want to incorporate something similar in my story, as it adds to the suspense.

    I'm realizing now that even though this helped me think of technical aspects, I still have no idea what to do. I'll think more on that.

- The Producer

Genre, Genre, Genre

     So . . . Now that I'm really working on my Film Opening I have to answer one question . . . What genre should I base it on? For me there are many different options to look at. The main ones I'm interested in are Comedy, Horror (Specifically psychological horror), a coming of age story (so drama), and action. Since there are so many, I think it's important to break each down.

    The first one up is Comedy. I'd like to do a comedy, but the problem with it comes with the fact that I have no ideas for what to base it off of. I could do it on something similar to the movie Elf where it tells a story, but I feel that's unoriginal. On top of that, if I want to do comedy, I'd have to ensure that it's funny which can be difficult since comedy is subjective

    The next one I'm looking at is a psychological horror. I feel like this is the most likely option because I have loved psychology for as long as I can remember. Similar to comedy, I don't know what I would do for a story, but I have many different ideas, for example, I watched my friend Ariana Ippoliti's project and I was heavily inspired by it as it put viewers in the mind of a killer. I want to do something similar using extreme close-ups to make viewers become a part of the experience.

    The next one is a coming-of-age story. But this one was mostly eliminated as most of those films have a getting-ready sequence as the opening WHICH MY TEACHER HAS PROHIBITED.

    The last one is an action film. I think it would be really cool to have a film that opens up with a cool fight scene. The only problem is that they are high budget and if I want to do it, it would have to be done extremely well or else it would look extremely cringy. Because of this, I'm hesitant, but I still may want to do it.

    I feel like I'm most likely going to end up doing a psychological horror film as there are so many ways that I could go with it, and it is something I'm heavily interested in.

- The Producer

It All Begins

 Today my teacher announced we were starting our biggest project of the year. We were told that we have to create a two minute film opening for a movie that we make. I cannot explain how excited I got when I heard we were making a film opening. One of my favorite things to do is make short films, AND I GET TO DO ONE FOR AN AICE EXAM!!! But, although it seems like I'm happy, I'm actually not. I haven't made a short film in a long time, and the last few I've made haven't been the best. Hopefully I can redeem myself with this upcoming project.

So to begin the project I was told that I need to decide upon which type of film opening I want to do. As someone who is EXTREMELY indecisive, it took me a loooonngggg time to pick which type I wanted to do, but I've now narrowed it down to two options. The first of those options is tone development. As someone who loves horror, I believe that this option could work really well for me if I decide to follow that path. I would absolutely love to do something that is stylistic, but creepy that puts viewers into a state of suspense.

The other option that I'm looking into is an establishing character opening. I picture a very unique and off putting conversation where we learn a lot about an antisocial teenager talking to his brother. I believe I would be able to convey this main character as bizarre and extremely uncomfortable to add to the creepiness. This once again fits into my horror prompt, but this time with a more psychotic twist. I actually got inspiration for this from my friends project. After he showed it to me, I was obsessed with it, so I would love to do a project with a similar style.

The End of the Marketing Project

 So my group and I have just finished our music marketing project, and let me just say . . . IT CAME OUT AMAZINGLY. When we planned everything it started off slow, we allocated different jobs and got to a very rough start. It was so bad, that when our teacher gave us a team review, we got a 60%. But when it came time to film everything, it all worked out.

    When it all started, we decided that we wanted to do a prisoner-based music video that was a promo and semi-artistic. It took us a while to decide but once we did we had to decide when to film. But there was a problem. Our entire group was extremely busy and we couldn't find a good day to film, so we had to wait until the last minute. On the bright side, however, our teacher extended the due date for the project. I guess we weren't the only ones behind. Because of this, we were able to gain confidence and prepare for filming.

    Once the film day came, I was excited and ready to go, or at least I would have been if a small problem hadn't arisen. My mom was sick. Because of this, she didn't want me to go out, and instead, I had to stay in the house. I told my team about this and they were surprisingly accepting, and they were able to film the entire thing without me.

    Once we finished the filming, we broke the rest of the project into sections. We all worked on the PowerPoint, while I edited the video, Mateo wrote the script for our presentation, Zach created a promo, and Armesto was to create the covers for the song. This ended up slightly changing as my group agreed that I was a good writer, and Mateo was a better editor, so we ended up swapping roles. 

    Once we all finished, all that was left to do was film the audio of our presentation, but another problem came up. We did the project in Google Slides, and it wouldn't let us export the project with the fonts we used and we didn't have enough time to go change everything. Instead of exporting though, my team decided to double down and just make the project into a video. Luckily it all worked out and we finished in the nick of time.

    Looking back, I would probably work with my group more on timing and plan A LOT better, since we almost didn't finish. Also, I would love to establish who is good at what so we don't have to swap what we are doing halfway through. This project also taught me how to market an artist, but it also prepared me for the future portfolio, as it was a big project that I hadn't done anything similar to. I will use the planning I learned from this project to better myself in the next project.

To see the final presentation click here

- The Producer