Group Meeting

Alrighty, 👌

Today, we were assigned to a random group to discuss each of our campaign portfolios. I did feel awkward at first, but I did not think much of it. It was nice to hear everyone’s concepts and their approach to doing so. They were very creative and different. I did not know where to begin with explaining my project but this exercise does help with expressing my idea in words out loud, the crazy part is that I had to say it OUTLOUD😭 I said stuff in incomplete sentences but I was only stressed.  As they started asking questions, I was able to draw a clearer picture of my concept. After writing and drawing my ideas, it was nice to express them out loud. The group felt that my work was creative and required a lot of attention to detail. I did express my concerns about the beginning of my film and how to establish a character relationship. For the beginning of my opening scene, they said that the use of stop motion was cool, but it has to be done in dramatic slow cuts rather than a fast child-like combination of shots. There was also the matter of the background of the cake, one of my peers suggested using a table and transition of lighting to change the mood from happy to suspenseful. We talked about how different lighting and colors affect the atmosphere of the scenes. Speaking of lighting, I was introduced to new editing features. Adobe Rush was entirely confusing, but my classmate explained how it is easier to learn on one’s phone or iPad. Also, I was unsure of what equipment I should ask to borrow, so we talked about the techniques that I am planning to use: panning, tilts, zooming, and slow movements. Through the movement, I asked about the different angles they recommended I try to establish the relationship. They said that over-the-shoulder and side profile angles can indicate conversation or connection. I will incorporate these tips, especially since the more footage, the more I can work with!   

Successful Drama Films

 What makes Drama so DRAMATIC?🙊😋 

While I was working on outlining the story, I realized "How will I direct to my actors what emotion and facial expressions they should portray, when I don't know myself?"

SO! In this blog, we will find out what social cues through some films recommended by others to what might fit my concept in terms of emotion or clues. 

Little Women 

Little Women, produced in 2019, is a romantic drama that showcases four sisters experiencing love, family, and personal growth. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3kE0xpO1y8

    Friedrich (guy she eventually likes after moving into New York) visits Jo (one of the sisters.) Jo’s family is meeting Friedrich. The natural gazes each character gave Friedrich were apparent. I want my actors to demonstrate the same eye movements in terms of widening their eyes when being surprised. This way, when Mary (the character from my film) sees her husband acting suspicious, I want her to demonstrate the same movements and expressions as Laurie in Little women (former lover of Jo). 

    When Laurie saw Friedrich, viewers can immediately understand that he does not like the situation. He stares at Jo the most and when Friedrich decides to excuse himself because he feels as though he is intruding (Laurie begins to look around trying to make sense of the situation.) Mary (my character/actress) will do the same when it is time to take a family picture in her daughter’s birthday. Since Mary has to stay composed, we also have to show her thoughts through her expressions trying to compress her feelings like Laurie did.

Marriage Story 

    This film is a great depiction of contrasting emotional distance and togetherness. Marriage Story, a 2019 drama, showcasing a director husband and actress of a wife undergoing a divorce. The feelings the actors embody was entirely raw that it touched me as an audience, with the expressions, dialogue, and effects of the events that occurred in the character’s lives.

    I ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED THIS FILM! I found it fascinating how the opening scene began with each characters separate views of the other. The director demonstrated that in a series of voiceovers. It seemed like their relationship was going well, until we realized that the voiceover is of the letter they had wrote to each other, as an assignment from couple therapy. It was an absolute shock for me because the title of the movie led me to believe that this was a story of a happy married couple. BUT—It was not?? The more I watched the film I understood that this film was exhibiting marriage falling apart, but the characters still held love and respect towards the others. They had flaws, but they were humane. I am definitely incorporating the many techniques from this film. 

Starting with…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTCnp_cLLp4

    Like I said, the opening scene (first 9 minutes) explored a great deal. This video locates what scenes did the actors express their troubles and their relationship. Charlie and Nicole, the married individuals, played their roles exceedingly well. In the scenes where Nicole describes why she is divorcing Charlie, she feels neglected. Her feelings become overbearing. Charlie begins to feel neglected as well, resulting in cheating. Nicole like James (character in my story), neglected feelings become too overwhelming to bear. Charlie like James, cheats on their lover because they require attention. 

    Mary (character in my story) can relate to James. James feels utter confusion through the process of the divorce. When Mary feels that her husband is ignoring her and his attention is elsewhere, Mary feels confusion just like Charlie when he found out that he was getting a divorce. Charlie was able to manifest these expressions by wandering his eyes around when talking to others (due to confusion) but only paying attention to Nicole as a sign of trust (he felt that he needed her explanation because he knew her better.) 

 I had fun watching these films! I hope to do more research and learn to incorporate them into my film. Loving the drama 😉

 

 

Exciting News!!!

 Party Starting 🎉🙈

This week, I will need to do a lot of planning because I will be starting recording soon. I am very excited because I believe I am getting filming equipment soon. I am borrowing some equipment, so I will be able to dive into the film professional world even more. 

For the time being, I will watch some YouTube videos. I have asked my cousins to meet with me sometime next week as I will discuss their roles within the project. I will be finalizing some features of my concept like costuming and the items I will be using for my film. I think filming is the easy part once I get into it, but I will need a lot of time for editing my opening scene. 

——-> I purchased the photo frame that I will be using for the family picture during the birthday party. 

————> These are possible decorations that will be places next to the photo frame. The plants will introduce the character “Mary” through nature/hope/growth.

I have a few party decorations from my previous birthday parties that would work for this film. Like birthday banners, hats, and balloons. I will be buying a cake the day before the shoot. Let’s hope for the best!

Process :)

 Stop MOTionnn💫

I love stop motion! I feel like it is such a cute and fun technique, and it will certainly draw an audience’s attention. 

——> This is the app that I will be using!

I have used it before. It is really easy for beginners and has some beneficial features for opening scenes. One can add multitude of clips, move them around, add titles and credits, audio, and much from.

—————>This is an example of the layout. 

A lot of people told me it is time consuming and while I think that is true, I feel like my approach to this does not require perfect alignment of shots. I think the sequence can be sloppy in an intentional way, since the purpose of using stop motion is to show intervals of chaotic symbolism as the object moves diagonally upwards. I do not meant sloppy as in messy, but I mean that it does not have to precise, just smooth! 

I recorded a 2 second example to show my mom. She then understood what I was trying to say. I used my computer mouse as an example of the object: the cake. 

Here:

I definitely want to look into stop motion through YouTube Videos, just to make sure the beginning is perfect and I want to make sure it looks professional. SO, stay tuned! 

StoryBoard

Let Us Begin The Drama👀

Hey Besties!!! 

Since the brainstorming blog post, I have decided to change my approach. After watching a couple student film opening scenes, I have realized that a good story cannot give the plot so easily. There must be suspense, excitement, and confusion. As someone who has watched films before, I wondered why this did not click with me from the beginning. 

No worries! After analyzing my characters and the concept more, I added a few details to the story. I needed to display this thought process through an illustration. I love drawing, but for now, I did a quick sketch of what I would like to incorporate. This does not mean that this is it. Most likely, I will be adding and removing a lot. So bear with me! 

For now, this is what I have so far. 

I am excited to use stop motion for the few couple of seconds of the video! Do not worry, I have used stop motion before. It brings me back to my childhood when I was assigned to create a video with Legos and stop motion. It was a memorable class. The use of stop-motion creates this fun and intriguing element in films, an almost childish and divided movement. There appears to be an overview of Grace's birthday cake. Later in the film, I would like the audience to inquire about this feature. As the cake moves diagonally across the shot, the cake begins to rotate like a clock. The movement of cake intentionally moves in intervals because at one point the cake transitions from cake to a destroyed cake. The audience will create assumptions that someone has tampered with the cake as if someone grabbed a portion of the cake with their hand. After this transition, the stop motion ends there. Mary will grab the cake from the table. The audience has not been introduced to the characters yet, so this way, they would begin to ask questions, "Who is this person?"

We begin to move with the character. We see a family photo frame, another opportunity to introduce the characters. "Why is this photo frame important?" I would also like to place green plants around the place, a portion of Mary's characteristics that I mentioned in my Pinterest board. 

Mary takes away the photo frame too. Then, a close-up of a kid's feet "Graces." Her feet move up and down, to showcase child-like characteristics. This cutaway to a shot of a box. The box has other birthday features that relate to the birthday cake. All these elements relate back to a birthday scene, giving a general background of what the story is referencing. A medium shot of Mary (waist down) placing the picture frame inside the box. We still do not show Mary's face. 

Mary sits next to Grace. They both face the box. They are placed close to the edge of the couch, where tape and scissors lie next to them. 

"Are they moving the boxes to the garage?" 

"Are they moving out?" 

All important questions!

Most importantly, "Why is the picture frame placed in the birthday supplies box?" 

To answer some questions, we will have to visit back to the event. The only evidence of that event is that photo frame, so let us take a closer look by zooming in. 

"Oh no, the frame is breaking! Is this for real? Or is this symbolizing something? Look it's that cake from earlier and it is not smudged!" These observations will require context. So, as we look into the cake, it will transition to the cake on that particular day. 

The shot will move upwards, so the audience can see the characters. The two older characters are the parents. Identifying the close relationship between the parents to the daughter is important. As described in my brainstorming process and Pinterest board, the dad likes to show signs of affection to his daughter through expensive gifts. With such a cute moment, it is time for a picture!  

Mary gestures to James for a picture, but he seems preoccupied. The shot moves toward who he is talking to. Mary feels sad and uncomfortable. Mary looks at the cake, and back to the camera. The camera flashes.

"Is she the one who ruined the cake?" 

"Will she talk to James about her feelings?"

"Has she always felt distant to James?"

"Is James really flirting or just friendly?" 

As Mary looks towards the camera with no emotion/no thoughts. The audience will begin to inquire about what happened next. The shot transitions back to the photo frame as the camera zooms out to the broken photo frame, only it is zooming out not from the cake, but from Mary's face, where the broken glass is closer to her. The cracks are meant to symbolize a broken family. However, this is not the end! This is only the beginning for Mary, after handling the hardships in her life, she will have to move forward. I plan to showcase a suitcase with brighter lighting, as a sign of moving on. However, again "Is she moving?" "Taking a break?" "Going back to close relatives?" "Vacation?"

WOW!

So many questions were left unanswered, but it surely was a dramatic rollercoaster. Stay tuned...

Characters

 ✨✨Pinterest Boards✨✨

The most thing I was looking forward to the making of this film IS PINTEREST BOARDS! What a better way to showcase each character’s personality? 

Each character has a visual representation of what makes their personality so unique. Through the use of mise-en-scene elements, I was able to choose color themes of their personal and certain items/costuming that would represent them.

There has been a few changes towards the story, but the background idea is there! I believe building the background helps identify the characters more, which will improve the concept and delivery. It will also allow me to provide small details that help teach us more about these characters, without verbally communicating it. 

Beginning with…

Mary is a mother and a wife. In her lifetime, she had to make difficult decisions to get to where she wanted her life to be as well as Grace, her daughter. After meeting James at a young age, she was forced to put her dreams on hold. However, she never once regretted such decisions because she grew a small family and was able to go back working. Little did she know, that the hard work and difficulties in life are only going to grow worse. 

After choosing to work again, she thought she would get more support and help since Grace was growing up and she had her husband, James. As the resilient person she is, she found a way to keep balance.

The yellowish/brown background is meant to demonstrate wise, natural portrayal of Mary. That is because Mary went through a lot of difficulties growing up, so had to raise herself and study hard to achieve her dreams. With that, there comes wisdom and knowledge. 

The film is meant to showcase growth and moving on. Her course of action from her husband cheating is to lead a better life for her and her daughter. I used green hues to demonstrate moving on, also how she prioritizes properly caring for plants with care. 

Then, our favorite girl!!!

Grace, the birthday girl in the opening scene, and James/Mary’s daughter 💗

Grace is a smart girl. She loved books and Note taking. The pink is meant to demonstrate her innocence as well as her compassionate nature. She cares deeply, which might make her sensitive towards topics of any emotion really. She had always had a deep love for her parents. Even though they stress her out when fighting (even just disagreeing) she feels the need to fix it. She immediately changes the subject thinking her parents would not notice, but they do, they just decide to get along for her sake. Which is why Grace thinks that working on her grades and being the most obedient daughter can make her parents happy. 

Small detail: Grace loves beautiful things. SMALL or cute, she has an obsession with bunnies and flowers. 

Then 😐

James, the husband. 

😤

THE CHEATERRR

As a father, he is considerably the warmest dad you will ever meet. He cares fir his daughter and hopes to buy her all the gifts in the world. Sometimes his affection can conflict with his reasoning. For instance, he decides to take Grace on a trip randomly during school/work days. Mary did not like that because it would mean Grace would fall behind or lose opportunities of learning. James is adventurous, he likes the road. He has an independent personality, so communication is the least of qualities. He talks through actions. 

To Mary, their relationship started to fall out before a couple of weeks when she decided to work. He hated working but he felt it was his obligation, not Mary’s. He could not acknowledge why Mary dreams to work.

After days of loneliness, he finds himself enjoying company elsewhere.

LYNDA 😑

Lynda… family friend—>soon to be ex-friend 

Lynda loves luxury and adventure. She reads ALOT of romantic books. 

Red is meant to demonstrate danger. 

She was Mary’s first friend when Mary moved in the neighborhood. They found at they were the same age and shared similar interests like watching Harry Potter. They also loved gossiping and skincare. Lynda helped Mary accustomed in her new home, but Mary grew distant as her responsibilities grew towards her family, home, and work. 

Lynda became lonely. James and Lynda began talking after running to each other in a cafe. They found that they had a lot of common in terms of life and later… how distant Mary became. 

That is when their feelings became evident. 

 

 

Target Audience 

Primary Audience

Demographics-

Gender: Women 

Ages: +26

Status: Varies

Nationality: Varies

Psychographics-

Personality: Extroverted/Hard-working/Complex emotional being 

Interests: 

-       During freetime, they like to relax at home or a spa/salon. 

Lifestyle: 

-       Divorced/Single women

-       Stay-at-home wife/mother

-       Career women (in or not in a man’s field)

Values

-       Staying Strong! 

-       Share opinions

-       Help others 

Why?

The representation of family or relationship conflict, particullary targets women who endure hardship from heavy breakups or marriage issues. For instance, cheating is one of the most common problems that affect romatical relationships. A mature female audience are more likely to be attracted towards this concept, due to the dramatic seriousness broadcasted in the characters. 

Secondary Audience

Demographics-

Gender: Young girls 

Ages: 17-19

Status: Middle/High class

Nationality: Varies

Psychographics-

Personality: Extroverted/Feminists

Interests: 

-       Like Romcom literature, but LOVE Dramatic suspense 

-       Women empowerment movies like Legally Blonde

-       Love socialing at school, especially to talk about this film

Lifestyle 

-       Socially engage in volunteering/club organizations

-       Love hanging out with friends during weekend

Values

-       Always keep busy! 

-       Thorough communication with others. 

Why?

The representation of women and maturity of the audiences can still target a younger age range, specifically 17 to 19. The charcater Grace, entices girls who can relate and went family issues. Although the concept discusses hardship, it also reflects on strength and movement. The secondary target audience will feel that they are not alone and empowered. Although the opneing scene will not demonstrate how they will triumph over these emotions, they are leaving to create new beginning.

Technology/Technical Elements

Thoughts

Before I begin discussing what technical elements I would like to use and the methods I would like to achieve them, I would like to clarify that my filming and editing knowledge is very limited. With the iPhone 15, I took the initiative to discover how to create homemade cinematic scenes.

This was an unusual course because most of the videos discussed the technological features of these elements using cameras I do not own. I want to ask to borrow some of my cameras, but for the time being, I think learning technical elements that I have learned this year with my iPhone 15. Wish me luck!

Beginning

Cake Scene Example 

One of my favorite shots that I want to entice the audience is the first shot of the cake scene. I took some inspiration from this video I found on YouTube. I felt that the focus of the candles and the closeness of the shoot were just the right amount. The background gives the illusion of a cake, but I believe it is crumbled paper. I do love the lighting; however, I feel that the tone I would like to present involves warm hues.

Warm hues such as orange and yellow provide an optimistic route. Grace, the daughter, is celebrating her birthday and I would like to demonstrate that across the scenes, to showcase she is continually happy as her parents are getting along. The girl will be wearing pink, to demonstrate innocence, sensitivity, and love for her parents. Then I would like to transition that color immediately after Mary, the wife, finds out her husband is cheating. The lighting would dim darkening the orange hue to grey creating a dull and empty feeling.

I would like to use Capcut for some of my editing effects. I researched a video on how to use Capcut and how to use the color features. One of the methods is that I will utilize different filters to work in my favor, and then adjust the lightening, intensity, and speed.

 --à This is me playing around with the effects.

Color Capcut Tutorial:

Another example of how I would like to illustrate the birthday scene:

The video provides focus pulls from the background objects, which I found appealing, and I can utilize to provide purpose to some important mise-en-scene elements I would like to highlight. It provides me examples regarding the setting pieces to fill the shot frames with flowers, gifts, and cake.

Key Takeaways of Lighting Hacks:

• Must manipulate shadows, not make the room brighter.
• Windows=Natural light source (I might add if it provides a clear effect on the character's features)
• Angling light adds more dimension. (I will use it to showcase some serious facial expressions from the parents when they are about to argue)
• Backlights cause separation.
• Contrast in lightening colors is visually appealing. (Might insert at the beginning to entice the audience)
• Background objects- (ideas: balloons, banners, drinks, gifts)

Camera Techniques 

Handheld: 

Lastly, I decided to incorporate a camera technique with the use of my iPhone: Handheld movement. The scene where Mary begins to walk hurriedly after discovering her husband’s secret will be filmed through an over-the-shoulder shot. I believe this will be the most difficult scene to film. I took the liberty to research these techniques that are filmed through an iPhone. Luckily, I found these two YouTube videos.

This one explains the Do’s and Don’ts.

The video explained how handheld movements are not easily made. This technique demonstrates the emotion the subject is carrying, which is perfect because Mary is negatively pacing towards her husband out of rage. The shakiness is meant to create discomfort, suspense, and fright of what is next. The experience and energy brought will allow the viewers to move along with the subject. The subtle imperfections provide a natural feeling, so handheld movement is not to be taken lightly. It must feel natural and intentional. To do that, I learned that it requires shoulder and hand stability as the cinematographer moves along with the subject.

How?

This video explains how to create that stability and control through handheld movement using an iPhone.

Key Takeaways:

• Glide with the camera (knees bend and slow movement)
• Exposure locked.
• 0.5 Shots create a wider clearer view of what is going on.
• Hand placement

Hand Placement Technique 

(Index holding the bottom of the phone)

(Thumb/Middle finger holding the side of the phone)

(The other hand’s index and thumb holding the top and bottom of the phone)

This creates stability.

Brainstorming

 Brainstorming

Plot:

At their child’s birthday party, the mother finds out that her husband is cheating on her after they have resolved their differences for the sake of their child's important day.

 

Characters:

-        Girl Child (Grace)

Personality: Mature, Sensitive, Understanding

Why?

Her parents' constant fighting forced her to mature at an early stage. She became responsible and top of her grades just to make them happy. Whenever she feels as though her parents are about to quarrel again, she becomes rather sensitive towards her surroundings until she can get them into agreeance again.

-        Father (James)

Personality: Independence, Self-Containment, Impatient

Why?

He loves Grace dearly and wants the best for her. However, he blames her mother for putting pressure on Grace for being the best. He feels that Grace deserves everything, even if it means not consulting or ignoring his wife. For instance, he buys Grace an expensive gift after Mary overwhelms her daughter about her future.

-        Mother (Mary)

Personality: Strong, Authoritarian, Sensitive

Why?

Mary is trying to teach Grace valuable lessons and sees that James is doing this out of spite. Mary grew up in harsh conditions, so she wants the best for her daughter. She can be opinionated and requires communication in her relationship. She becomes sensitive when her husband does not confide in her opinions even when she agrees.

Key Moments:

(House)- Birthday Party

1.      Starts with an extreme close-up of the cake.

2.      Parents agreeing to stay in agreeance.

3.      Parents enjoy each other’s company.

4.      Grace is happy and starts opening gifts.

5.      Her dad got her an expensive gift.

6.      Mary took a deep breath.

7.      Parents do a good job.

8.      Mary thinks that their marriage can be saved.

9.      Place the cake on a different counter, almost at the edge.

10.   Sees Husband’s phone (a notification)

11.   Finds out he is cheating and looks up.

12.   Title

13.   Fast-paced walking of her approaching him dramatically.

14.   The opening scene ends.  

Possible Title Names: 

- Never Again 

- Hello Revenge! 

Genre Research- Campaign Portfolio

 How to Drama?

To be frank, this week has been extremely chaotic in the sense of balancing life with school. I was sure that by the time this presentation came through, I would be ready. Who knew that after studying all these film techniques, that an opening film idea would be so difficult? 

Many of the ideas I came up with revolved around drama. It felt as though, no matter how hard I try to think of something else, I was firmly infatuated with the drama concept. If I think about the Arabian or Turkish films that I have watched growing up, they all incorporated emotional conflict between family or romantic relationships. I have also noticed that these films are followed by a serious or comedic outlook.

After contemplating over the concepts, I believe the best way to approach my dilemma is to understand the genre on a deeper level. 

The Prestige - Opening Scene HD- A phenomenal piece, with an overly dramatic opening of rivalry magicians. 

Observations:

- The film began with symbolism. There were top hats scattered on autumn leaves, which instills viewers with inquiry. 

- The sound of quiet leaves felt loud. The moment of silence was broken apart when a sudden firm sound of a man, possible character or narrator. The lighting was also dull. Both sound and mise en scene techniques are meant to make the audience look closely. That is why, when the man breaks this tension, he asks “Are you watching closely?”

- After a voice was introduced, a black scene was introduced. Then appeared the voiceover man, indicating he is an important character within the film. The transition from nondigetic to digetic sound evidently presents dramatic content.

-The beginning is subtle, but then there is meticulous selection of jump cuts or cross cuts of different people and scenes. The voiceover man is referencing a general introduction of the plot and the editing techniques are meant to associate the two fragments. 

-Chaotic scenes such as men fighting= shaky cameras (handheld) 

-The jump cut scenes that the voiceover man is referencing is about a man. This man hold characteristic’s of a magician through his costuming design like white/black suite and a stage. This is not enough to determine he is a magician however. Future scenes are meant to showcase the story.

-Music played a key role in the dramatic scenes. The instrumental sound augments when the magician is shown. 

Key takeaways from Drama film: 

-Sound: Transition from subtle to dramatic voluminous sounds (can use nondigetic-digetic)

-Editing: Handheld chaotic scenes/Cross-cutting 

-Mise-en-scene: Dull lighting/earth tones

I like the elements used because they maintain an audiences attention. The sudden elements were mostly presented in the sound, editing, and mise-en-scene techniques. I would like to use music to provide the contrast in my film, whether it happens to be a romantic or family drama. Once I establish my idea, I believe I will begin to understand how I want to incorporate subtle to chaotic segments.