Post-Group Discussion Thoughts and Ideas For the Film Opening

 I just finished my group discussion of our film opening ideas. It was really helpful. I liked hearing some of my group mates' (really) interesting ideas. And I received some very helpful tips for my own project. Before I get into it, I just want to explain that this was originally going to be more of a discussion on my script ideas. I might include it at the bottom, I'll see how I feel at the end of the post. In any case, it will be my script rough draft, so I will definitely be making edits after I've read my script out loud.

Anyways, back to my afterthoughts of the group discussion. My main issue that I wanted to discuss with my group was the dialogue. I want it to be as natural as possible (like an actual human conversation), wry (to add the humorous tone), and showcase the close relationship of my two main characters. So, not much to it, really. The one I really wanted to focus on was how to create realistic dialogue that would go well with the rapport of my two main characters. And for that, my group mates recommended me to record a conversation between myself and my partner David, which I thought was a great idea. Some of our conversations do resemble how I want the characters to sound when they speak to each other. I definitely want to include dry humor. Recording a conversation or at least paying more attention to our conversations is a great way for me to get inspiration. I have to credit my discussion group mates for it, it will really help in the ling run. We also discussed ideal settings, something that I already have but it helped me to reflect on why I had chosen it. 

I also wanted to discuss which sequence I wanted to include in the latter half of the film opening, whether I should choose the extended conversation of the two on the beach or the car window sequence. I will still have to discuss the matter further with my partner, but I'm leaning more against the idea of the car window  sequence after the group discussion. It will be harder to do, especially if I want it to be really smooth. Instead of the whole sequence, I'm thinking of filming some bits of the brother starting the car and some music starting to play (most likely Clash). It will later turn into non diegetic sound as the last shot will be of the floating ball in the water and the music will still play over it. I feel like that is a good way for me to introduce my title card. I also think that there are good ways of fitting in credits during that sequence. Either that or in the beginning, during the background shots. 

I have decided to add a little bit of my script rough draft that I'm working on here, just for a little sneak peak. I'll talk about it more during my next blog post.

Here is a bonus scene that has also served as inspiration for my dialogue. It's from The Edge of Seventeen and showcases the relationship between Nadine and her teacher really well. I just love the dry humor, so I'm putting this here because this is my blog, and I can. Enjoy:

Character Realization Through Mood Boards

 This post is going to go even further into the development of my characters. Their relationship is going to be extremely important for my opening. While there are technical aspects that I definitely have to take into account in developing that relationship (such as the two shots and the costuming) I want to show the definitive characters who are going to be the entire focus of my film. Since my drawing skills are not necessarily adequate for this, I decided to go with mood boards:

This is for my main character Maya. This story is going to be told through her. That's they the camera is going to track her movements more (when it's not a two-shot). That's also why I'm going to get those calm and almost ethereal blue hues for the beach background. The audience is going to see the beach through her eyes, as it is where she feels comfortable and happy. And that brings me to the top left photo of the storyboard. As I have stated before, I want to have orange be her color to make her stand out and be a more eccentric character. And since blue is opposite on the color wheel, it is the most compatible with orange and is the color that represents Maya's brother Dallin. The photo at the bottom left shows how close they are and how much their kinship means to her. The blue boat at the top left represents the brother's promise of escaping their current situation. While they love their family and not ashamed of their working class roots, they do want to create better lives for themselves (through playing basketball professionally). The photos at the top and bottom right show how much she loves basketball (again, using ethereal pink and orange). The medal with the "2" shows how she sees herself forever in second place behind her brother, which will be revealed as one of the conflicts the two characters will have later.

Dallin Packer, the brother, is going to be a more complex character. He does love his sister and she is his best friend, but he still has the "go it alone" mentality, especially when it comes to his problems. And that brings me to the pictures on the bottom. He does have a constant need to prove himself and he is itching to always be number one. He can sometimes be selfish unknowingly because of that urge. And later on in the film he will have his problems because of his inability to cope with some of his struggles and losses. He will take some easy ways out of situations which does hurt him later. This ultimately will be the main conflict between the two siblings (as well as the central conflict of the film), as Maya tries to cope with the realization that her hero who she idolizes (Dally) has faults and has his issues. 

My next blog post (or the next will after that) will probably be about the dialogue that I am including (and that will be vital) for my opening, so I thought that this would really help me understand and even hear my characters. And it did. Knowing their personalities and even exploring the relationship between them through mood boards really helps me understand how I want to have them realized on camera. I will do my own little bit of research on how they are going to speak (I'm speaking with some of my Midwestern working class family soon and I'll try to jot down some of their speaking patterns), but I already think I know how I want my characters to sound.

Mood boards done through:

https://www.canva.com/photo-collages/templates/mood-boards/

Some Challenges and Some Revision to the Rough Draft

 This post will be a little more hectic and all-over-the-place. I just have a lot of ideas to get through as a part of the organizing process. And I really want to clear up some of the issues before I make a final storyboard. So, here we go. 

First thing's first, the setting is going to present some challenges. And by some, I mean quite a few. It is really great for filming and getting great shots, but the sound quality will not be great. Beaches are notorious for being more windy, and if it is too windy, the sound will most likely be, uhh, not great. I have a potential fix, as I do want to get the dialogue and I am still really attached to the beach setting. I mean, this would make for a nice shot:

 

I'm not saying that I would film in the evening (the wind would probably too strong by that point), but the hues of blue are exactly what I am looking for. It feels almost ethereal and a setting that would be almost nostalgic for someone. I need the setting to mean a lot to the characters, so I am still very much attached to my current setting. So, now for my fixes. I will need to scrounge up some microphones so that the dialogue of the characters will not be scrambled. I will also need to go on a less windy day. On my last visit, the wind was not strong and was more of a nice breeze. I will definitely hope to get the same conditions the day of my shoot. If the conditions aren't right, I'll be ok, as long as the sound isn't too distorted. I plan on doing the beach sounds in post production to really capture the sounds fully, so all I really need is good audio for the characters.

Another problem is capturing the running shots. I still want to include some. I will definitely try to limit it, using more of the still shots of the two characters and capture more of their conversation. I will add more inserts of the background around them to try to limit the two-shots so the opening isn't too static.

And again, the dialogue will most be a challenge. I have some ideas as of right now, as the characters are based on some of the people I know in my life, so I do have that advantage. 

The challenges with the other version of my draft are mostly the same, with the added challenging of filming from the car. I would like to get the shots of the setting, but I do have to choose how its going to look. I could do it as more of from the point of view of Maya (the sister) as she looks through the car window. I could also do it with a window rolled down (with the car moving slowly, I don't want to drop the camera), but this might be more difficult to get. Again, the second version is just another option for me if something isn't working, but I do want to work out some of the wrinkles now.

Planning and Storyboard Rough Draft(ing)

 I'm not done with the researching phase of the project, but I am already starting the official draft of the story and the shots for my film opening. A lot of this is subject to change as I move farther along with the planning and talking through with my partner David, but I do want to share what I have so far. There will be a part two of the blog post to share the difficulties of where I want to shoot and some potential changes that I already want to add. But for right now, I'll talk about what is on my actual rough draft.

                                      

Now, I know I don't have the best drawing skills (I can't even tell what I tried to draw for one box), but it is my general outline for the story. I wanted to start out with some scattered shots of the background. Again, the beach is excellent for shots, the lighting is usually great and the number of moving pieces (birds, waves, etc.) means the shots won't exactly be static. It would still be very engaging. I would have to pick out the shots, shoot more than I have to (there is a lot going on, I would have to pick and choose which shots are the best for the opening). I want to introduce the characters through a close-up of one of their feet splashing through the water and a tilt and pan to get the characters in view. The running scene would not last long. I am planning on a two-shot of them sitting on a sand dune. I would have to come up with some dialogue for them (to establish a more humorous tone and make the characters feel real). I might have a shot of the brother (I named him Dallin) throwing a ball into the water. The story will progress from there, with the final shot of the two of them on the walkway that leads to the parking lot. It will be the final two-shot (for this version of the story).

Yep. You heard me right. I do have another version of the story. It will have the same introductory shots and introduction of the characters, but the ending will be different. 

Here is the other version of the draft. The bottom pictures show the two-shot of the siblings on the dune, with a shortened version of the conversation, and then the shots of them going past the walkway. They would reach the car, and the following shots would be more Lady Bird-like. This means that they will be shot from the car, as the car goes past the buildings close to the beach. I'll show some areas close to it, presenting it as a working class neighborhood (one with charm and some unique buildings). I have some more thoughts written beside the picture. These are mostly reiterating what I have stated, but there is one that says the credits would show as a part of the car sequence, where they wouldn't necessarily stand out, but they would be visible. Plenty of movies have done this before, and I would do this if I were to pick this version.

The part two-ish blog post will detail some of the challenges and some of the reworking I need to do to make the filming process easier.

Researching Tone and Dialogue

I wanted to dedicate an entire post to tone and dialogue. For dramedies, these often go hand in hand. Researching how to create tone is a more tedious process. It's not really something that can be described, good writing is usually the key in creating the dual-tone trait common among all good dramedies. The dual-tone often gives a sense of realism to a film (I explained this back in my dramedy research blog post). And getting a sense of the double-tone through dialogue will most likely be the hardest part of the entire project. Dialogue on its own is very hard to write. Some dialogue is incredibly realistic and is usually paced slower (to imitate real life). Other dialogue is purposefully witty, or fast paced, or more eccentric. It mostly depends on the genre, but there aren't necessarily set restrictions on what I could do. Directors like Quentin Tarantino come to mind when I think of, not necessarily realistic, but unique dialogue. The dialogue in his movies is especially memorable because of the certain ways characters speak and their consistency throughout the movie. One example I can think of off the top of my head is Captain Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds (mostly because of the way he can even make a joke sound menacing and off-putting). Edgar Wright is another director that writes memorable dialogue (his tends to be more fast-paced and on the eccentric side). Just name a character from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and they most likely have their own distinct style of speaking. 

There are many case studies in dramedies. The humorous tone needed in a dramedy is captured well by Taika Waititi, another director that has memorable dialogue and is really good at creating a smooth tonal balance between the humorous and the sad or anxious. 

This is a relatively simple scene on the surface. The edits cut back and forth across the table as JoJo is talking to his mother. There is a nice wide shot that represents how JoJo and his mother are on different sides of an argument and are at odds with one another. However, it is really the dialogue that reveals the most about the two. It does not necessarily spell anything out for the audience. Through the dialogue, we learn that JoJo is obsessed in the Nazi cult ideology and is not really aware of the situation for Germany at this point in the war. His mother is aware and you can really tell that she is against the war and the Nazi party in general. Her saying "the war is stupid" is her way of criticizing the leaders that started the war. She tries not to say it plainly for JoJo, but he realizes. This scene is only about a minute and twenty seconds but it reveals so much through the dialogue. It also creates that more humorous tone. The dialogue isn't on the nose and it is more realistic, but the mother's wit and determination not to get drawn into a heated argument create some funny moments. It is very representative of Waititi's brand of humor. There are even undertones of anxiety in this scene. The mother is almost on edge when JoJo asks why she isn't eating. This movie interwove the tones very well, some scenes evoking more sadness than I thought they would.

And now, what I'm taking away from this. Dialogue is very important in creating the tones needed for a dramedy. I might not have time to use more than one tone. I might have to slip in hints of a more melancholy tone, and mostly just use a more humorous one. I'll try to write dialogue that is similar to Waititi's style (I stress the word try) because it is something that I love. He is excellent at poking fun of the ordinary and adding humor where it makes the story better. His humor is more dry and off-kilter, something that I want to replicate myself. 

Planning A Setting

 The setting is going to be vital for my film opening (not as vital as my characters and showing their bond, but it is a close second). I want my audience to know some of the intimate details of the background of my characters without having to just say it. Other parts of mise-en-scene such as costume design is also definitely going to play a huge part in showing my two characters to be from more of the working class. However, I want to go just a little beyond that to really get some more dimension from my characters and make them feel more real to the audience. I did some unintended location scouting the past weekend, and went to a spot that could be good to shoot the opening. 

         

I'm not necessarily going to say where it is, but the area around it is perfect for that older town feel, something that is not exactly working class but not necessarily as affluent as some other towns/cities next to the beach. And the beach itself could be a perfect contrast to the town, as it is really nice and (hopefully) will have the hues of blue that I am looking for. It will be a good place for my characters to make their safe place, almost like a hidden paradise. I could add some symbolism aspect, like the horizon being their wide range of possibilities, but I don't think I necessarily have to. It can mean different things to different people and that's what I want. For the characters it can mean possibilities or a great vastness that can later feel like loneliness (again, not filming the entire movie, but I like having somewhat of a plan of where I want it to go).

There will be some difficulties in shooting there for sure. The weather is always going to be a major factor, so I will check weather reports before being set on any date to shoot. I might have to adjust, or I might scrap this setting idea altogether if it is not something that I can do or if I find another ideal setting (not likely, but I have to keep my mind open). Here's two other iconic movie settings that serve as a sort of inspiration (or I just really like them, either way they're gonna be in here):

The beach from Moonlight is very meaningful for the character. It is not only has a great aesthetic, it  reminds the character  of  his good memories and of his "golden" self (his endless possibilities).   

The whole city of Sacramento has a lot of meaning for Lady Bird. It is the town she grew up in, the one she wants to escape, and the one she misses once she has left. It means something to both her and her mother. The iconic shot of the bridge both begins and ends the movie. 

                                                                                     

(I know there's I'm putting a lot of Lady Bird but I honestly do not care. It's a great movie and has a lot of things that I'm looking to do in mine.)

Some More Genre Research and Character Development

 I wanted to find a movie that is.... not similar exactly, but close to what I am going for. Although Fighting With My Family is not a really well-known film (it was released in 2019), it is more of the sports dramedy that I'll examine more. It tells of a working class family (one that runs their own gym) and the family bond is the center of the film. I could also argue that Saraya, the main character, is also one of the drivers of this film. Like Lady Bird, she is very unique and could be considered eccentric. And she also has a very close bond with her brother, and in a lot of ways is the bond that the movie relies on the most. 

This opening scene is a lot more complex (especially the shots of the ring during the wrestling sequences) but it has the more humorous tone that I am looking for. I want to start off with a more humorous tone, and with it still being endearing and emphasizing the relationship between my two characters. This opening also does a good job of highlighting that bond between the family (especially between Saraya and her brother) and just how much she relies on him. The opening also does a great job of establishing the characters. They are introduced as an "atypical" family that is more in the working class. The costume design and their accents help make it evident.

And this is what I want to do with my opening. I need to use the costume design and maybe even the language (not necessarily and accent, but just the way they speak) to make it clear that they are nearer to working class than anything else. I also want to have the sister be more eccentric. Saraya's all-black get-up makes her stand out, and I'm thinking of using the color orange (a color not used too often) to make it clear that my character is more different. And complementing her orange will be the brother's blue. I'm using more basic color theory for this, as orange and blue complement each other because they are on opposite sides of the color wheel. I am not necessarily committed to this, but I am really excited by this idea (pulling it off would be amazing).

First Official Genre Research and Story Exploration

 I first want to say that, while I love Westerns, the story that I am choosing is more suited for a dramedy. And the reason that I say this is because dramedies are the most like real life (the dual-tones are most like the life we live, and it gives the characters more dimensions). The story that I am going with revolves around a very real character She is going to be more-or-less like me, meaning that I could possibly explore my psychology a bit more - psycho-analyzing yourself and thinking about what motivates you to get up in the morning is always fun. Centering the story around a dramedy also allows for me to best explore the relationship between her and her brother. And just like that, I'm revealing my story to you: it's based on the relationship between the two siblings who are part of a working class family who want to get a better life by being the best at a sport (I'm thinking of going with basketball, since I love the sport myself). I might elaborate on the whole entire story later, but I already know where I want it to go and because of that I think I already know what I want my film opening to do. 

Now to the fun part, researching some examples from the dramedy genre. For this post, I'll be looking at Lady Bird. 

The story automatically begins with the two-shot of Lady Bird and her mother. The film is already stressing the importance of the pair's relationship and is telling the audience that their relationship is going to be central to the story. There are a lot of two-shots that make up this beginning scene because of how important the relationship is, from them sitting on the bed to them in the car. I really want to capture the importance of the dynamic of my two characters, and this might just be how I'll do it. The colors also seem more muted in a way that makes it feel more realistic, with Lady Bird's clothing and hair being bright; these are just some other things that I want to try in my film opening. 

And now, how Lady Bird utilizes color:

The "blue house at the end of a cul-de-sac" is meaningful to Lady Bird, and its warm blue hue does not represent sadness, but a sort of warmth. I'll get into my character a little later, but dramedies (as well as countless other genres) have certain colors that represent something for characters or for the audience. This house is no different, as when it loses its magic for Lady Bird, the color changes more into a muted gray, symbolizing how the house no longer brings the joy that it once did for Lady Bird. I also want to do something like this for the siblings, but I'll explain this in more detail later. As of right now, I'm thinking that I want to have more warm blues be the background for them.

Early Genre Research and Some Thoughts Before I Begin My Official Story Brainstorming

 I found this video, courtesy of the New York Times, showing one scene from The Farewell:

https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000006688230/the-farewell-scene.html

It shows how even a somewhat static scene can have be engaging because of the way it is shot (the two-shot shows the clear bond between the two characters). As director Lulu Wang states, little camera movement can show the chemistry between actors. Also, the scene shows the background as well as hinting at some of the themes. Nai Nai's (the grandmother's) clothing colors resemble those of the buildings around her. The mostly matching buildings suggest a theme of community and closeness. I will definitely try to develop the mise-en-scene elements of my opening, and even try some static shots, especially a two-shot. The two-shot, as evidenced by this scene, is great at showing the bond between two characters.

The opening scene for Django Unchained has its own elements I want to try to reciprocate.

The opening text font immediately introduces a certain unique style for the film. It almost imitates those of old Westerns, while still bringing its own unique flavor. Music is another thing I might try for my film opening, it accompanied Django's shots well and introduced the main character to the audience, and making him seem as more of a legend. The shots are also really varied, with some camera movement (such as a tilt) that shows the great expanse of the setting. The quick zoom-out of the camera also adds that certain "old Western" feel, something I might try if I do go with the Western genre.

I still have a lot more thinking to do before I decide between the two genres. The idea that I go with for the story of the film will ultimately be the greatest decision factor. I'm still going heavily for the character-centric opening, and Django Unchained's main character (Django) is great as for how to show my main character's personality through costume design.

The colors are especially important (but the sunglasses add to the effect), as he is showing that he is "atypical" with his purple-is pink jacket, the red signifies his anger, and the gold is his way of flaunting his new status.

My Official Starting of the Portfolio Project

 I'm really excited and really nervous to start. I immediately had some ideas on what I want to do for the project (some realistic and some not). But the most important thing I have to figure out is my genre. The shot selection, the tone, the characters, all of it is key in developing a genre (and more difficult by the fact we have a maximum of 2 minutes to do so). I already have two that I am really drawn to, mostly because they are my two favorites (at the moment) and I already have done research on them, so I already know the type of shots that would work well in replicating them and the types of stories that would work well within them. And knowing many movies within the genres is going to help a lot with the brainstorming process. And without further ado, the two genres I am heavily considering are:

          Western                and                                          Dramedy

And yes, I really did need to announce it that spectacularly. But, in all seriousness, they are the two that I already know well and have already watched many movies in both genres. I actually tried a Western-themed music video for the music marketing project and with pretty good results. It served as a great learning tool of how to really replicate a genre. I had good shot selection and now I have a feel for the genre (tone, pacing). This genre will also be great for what I'm planning my film opening to focus on: a mix of main character and background.

Dramedies are also a great genre for an "atypical" main character and one where I the majority of the focus can be on that main character (along with another character the main character has a strong bond with, but I'll go into that idea for my next next blog). My main focus will definitely be the shots (two-shot to stress character bond), but I also want to try to develop the mix of tones, humorous and melancholy (again, I'll go into more detail at another point). This will be difficult to pull off in a span of two minutes, so I'm not resting my hopes on it.

My next blog post will go further into detail on my research on the genres, but the openings of the following films are ones that I will definitely break down:

THE WESTERN:

        

THE DRAMEDY:

Music Marketing Reflections

 

    My group was given the alternative genre (with a couple of alt. rock songs). We decided on the song "Trouble". All of us knew the song already and felt as though we could make a good storytelling video out of it. It took us some time to decide the name and identity of our group, but, since it was the alternative genre, we thought that our band should be more cryptic, "edgy", but one that also connects with the fans. And thus we created:

    For our case studies, we named some artists that we already knew from the alternative genre. They included twenty one pilots, Panic!At the Disco, and Kaleo. From there we found two labels: Elektra Records and Fueled By Ramen LLC. Both are owned by Warner Music, though Elektra is more of an independent subsidiary. Elektra also has an interesting history, as it used to be the record label that was a trendsetter, signing rock bands and other alternative artists before the music became popular. Now, that title belongs to Fueled By Ramen, who has signed up-and-coming artists in the alternative genre and helped them become some of the more well-known bands in the genre today. We also found a lot on the marketing and distribution plans of each artist, which would help us decide ours. The most major marketing tactic employed was "word-of-mouth" marketing on social media, so we decided to use that for our band. 

Before even working on the presentation, we had to come up with a plan for our music video. I went into greater detail on that brainstorming process in my last blog post, but the basic synopsis is as follows: we thought that the song would be great against a Western theme (some typical Western stings within the song), we also thought the song would go well against a revenge plot. The storyboard was a group effort, with me doing some of the stand-off scenes at the end. I'll discuss the shots and the actual filming process more towards the end, as we had to create the social media sites and work on the actual presentation after we had our storyboard done.

Ryan did the website for our band. She included tour dates and made it look really professional. We also created an Instagram account for our band as well as merchandise (made by Nicole). We even have links to our Instagram account on the website and sell our merchandise there.

Link for the website: https://zeroeffect.godaddysites.com/

Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/zeroeffectbandofficial/

Some of our merchandise:

              

(We made sure to make vinyls to sell on our website and after concerts to add that "alternative rock" flavor to our band)

We had to choose our target audience, and decided to go with teenagers to people in their late 20s and early 30s because of the popularity of bands such as twenty one pilots among that age group. We also took a lot of their marketing trends and made them ours. Our mail campaign resembles that of Panic!At the Disco and so does our social media presence. We also wanted to distribute music to as many streaming services as possible, so we decided to go with Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, among others. YouTube is also a great tool to distribute and market our music. Since our band started out on YouTube, we make sure to post our music videos for our newly released songs to there first before the streaming services (also works great for marketing).

We also made sure to include how our band will go about performing. Since we are smaller, we would have pop-up concerts at smaller venues. Our plan to expand our audience is to perform at many music festivals such as Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo is especially popular with our target audience, and many smaller alternative artists play there. We also have a plan to play as an opener for a larger band, such as what Kaleo did with The Rolling Stones. Once we listed off our major selling points, we were mostly done with the presentation. All we had left to do was the actual creation of the music video.

The filming was all done in one day. We had to gather some props to make the video look Western, including actual boots, bandanas, and some nerf guns. We had to change some of our shot ideas in order to create smoother transitioning or because of a needed change in location (some spots were a little too bright or shady). The overall filming process was fun, some shots were tedious and needed multiple reshoots, but we finished in time for me to edit. Some of my favorites to film were the classic low angle boot shot, the close-ups of the faces, and the quick change in the depth of field in the over-the-shoulder shot.

The editing process was not challenging, exactly, but required some effort organizing the clips and matching them to spots within the song. I started on the Western shots first during the revenge fantasy, as I was able to put the classic Western color palette onto my editing program. This is the final edit of the music video (sound edited by Ryan):

My final final reflections are that it was fun (and challenging because of the time crunch). I learned that I have greater editing ability than I once thought (giving me confidence before my final portfolio project). I also got to experiment with more shot types and try to recreate some iconic shots from a movie genre (also, Westerns are fun to film). I feel as though my camera work got better, and I got some smoother shots. All of this will help me as I am developing my Cambridge portfolio.