More Production Prep

I still have to gather some of the props and get my costumes together. I'm not shooting anything with my characters this weekend, so I have decided to move on to the prepping my actual editing software and playing around with the different color schemes and LUTs so that I can already start adding my own personal filmmaker touches to the film (color scheme can be very important, just ask the Coen brothers or Wes Anderson). I want to add a little stylistic flair, as my film opening is going to be a little more simplistic. Now, I am keeping in mind that I might not go with any of the things I like right now. I'm using some test footage, as I haven't shot any of the actual film opening yet, to see which color scheme I most want to have for my opening. This is just going to be a little more prep before the actual filming, and maybe a part of me wants to get reacquainted with my editing software so I don't have to spend time later remembering how to do stuff. In any case, let's move on to the actual details.

I'm using DaVinci Resolve (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/) as my editing software. I have already used it for previous projects, and I already have a LUT pack downloaded onto it. These are Western LUTs (what I'm mostly going to toy around with for the color scheme) and they're the color schemes taken from a lot of famous Westerns (such as 3:10 to Yuma, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, etc.), but I think that some can translate to other genres really well. Some have that more gritty color, while others seem to accent some brighter colors. I don't know which would be better yet, which is why I'm doing this.

I found this random video (shot in portrait mode, unfortunately). It's not the same setting, but it has most of the same colors as there would be at the beach. There's a lot of green vegetation at my setting, and the sandy browns and blues are what you'd expect at the beach. Now for the fun part, playing around with the LUTs.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid LUT:

There's not a lot of difference in the overall color, but the hues of the sandy brown and blues are sharpened a little bit more. I actually really like it. It's not too much of a difference, but it provides some more style and emphasis on the blue hues (something I want for my opening).

No Country For Old Men:

This LUT sharpens the colors even more, with the green and the blue gaining more of a neon. I don't like this one as much, mostly because it's a little more dramatic of a change.

The Assassination of Jesse James:

This color scheme keeps the sharper blues, but mutes some of the surrounding greens and tans. This resembles some of the color schemes of other dramedies that like to mute some colors to make others stand out. I don't know what this particular LUT will do to orange, but if it sharpens it and emphasizes it I will seriously consider this one.

The Hateful Eight:

This one refines the colors a little more. It brings out the blues as well as the surrounding colors. I like the style, it stills seems more of a color palette for dramedies, but one that brings good contrast between colors, muting some of the green while keeping the blue.

The two that ended up being my favorites are the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid LUT and The Assassination of Jesse James. I'll still keep all in consideration, but these two are the ones that have more of the style I'm looking for, keeping some of the dramedy aesthetic while adding the necessary emphasis on the blue hues.

Shooting Schedule and Mise-en-scene Prep

 This blogpost is going to be more disorganized in comparison to my other ones. It's more of me trying to get myself organized for the upcoming filming I'm doing for the opening. And I've decided to do my shooting schedule here:

03/07 - filming more of background shots (introductory, some wide shots of ocean); mostly going to use this day to lock in my shot choices (see what works in the area and what doesn't) and final setting prep 

03/13 or 03/14 - actual shooting day; will film majority of shots; could be either day. or both depending on the weather

03/20 - could be used as a re-shoot day for any shots that need it 

Now that I've gotten the shooting schedule out of the way, I'm moving on to the mine-en-scene preparation. I really want to focus on costumes and props as of right now. I'll start off with costumes.

Of course I'm starting off with the orange shirt. It's an eye-catching color that means I won't need to have to make the background a lower depth of field on the two-shots. I still most likely will, as a lot of dramedies play with the depth of field during two-shots so the characters are more in focus. I'm also toying with the idea that she also has a camouflage jacket. It's another reference to The Clash and their album Combat Rock and will make the character seem even more eccentric. The jacket that I have is more beaten-down and worn, which will be helpful in presenting the characters as more of the working class. I do not want them to have any expensive clothing or items. Again, really need to sell to the audience that they are of the working class. This means the costumes might be more beaten down or worn (especially if it's more workout clothing). I might have some other accessories that add to the characters (like a cool necklace).

         

 

Just showing again how the two colors can really mix well and are really vivid. They are more calming, especially the hues shown in the bottom picture. I still have to decide which shade of blue I'll use for Dallin's costume, but I'm thinking more of the brighter (but still relatively calm) blues. Later in the movie his clothing and the color scheme would become more of a dull grey as the pair's relationship soured and Dallin begins losing himself (but I'm not going to be able to do it for the film opening).

I'm also planning on having the close-up of the small basketball floating on the ocean be the final shot of the film opening. I might change it though to be the second to last shot, as I could also add an insert of a much wider shot of it floating along, to represent huge possibility and intimidating vastness. 

This does not really have to do with mise-en-scene, but I thought I'd squeeze it in here. I made a slight change to ending (with one of The Clash's songs playing) that really impacted the entire project. I will have to get the rights to play the song at the end from Columbia Records or its parent company Sony Music Entertainment. This will be slightly challenging, but I do want to be able to play the song (without breaking any copyright rules) during the end sequence. Hopefully either of the two record companies will grant me permission.

                                                                               

Full Screenplay and Commentary

 I am now finally revealing my screenplay in its entirety. I didn't want the opening scene to have too much dialogue (there's still a good amount, since it's a dramedy and I wanted to set the humorous tone early). I timed it out so that the dialogue takes a little less than a minute. This does not include the cutaways, but I did time it out with some pauses. So here it is (some of my commentary will be between pages):

The first thing you'll notice is a change in the title. I already had the idea of a Clash song playing during the final seconds of the opening scene (the two siblings love the band), so I thought looking through their songs to find a good movie title was my best bet. And I turned out to be right, the song itself has the themes I'm looking for in my movie, with the song (alternatively titled "Stand By Me") being about sticking together through harder times (and one person not standing by the other, hence the lyrics "stand by me, or not at all"). It's a good title and a reference to a Clash song with a lot of meaning. Now, before I go on to comment on some more of my script, I need to address what my target audience is. I'm definitely trying to make it as accessible as possible, with viewers potentially able to relate to the siblings' relationship. But, I do want to zero in on those who are in their later teens to late 20s. This story really is a lot of coming-of-age, with Maya going through her own struggles and figuring out her place in the world. And the wry humor might work well for those in their late teens and all the way through to those in their 60s or 70s. There is not a specific target audience for the wry brand of humor, but it sort of contains one in and of itself. Now, back to the script:

I made sure to add some of that wry humor. I really wanted my dialogue to capture the bond between the two, so I made sure there was some sibling bickering (and by some, I mean the entire thing). I wanted them to each have their own speaking style (though they both are very sarcastic). I made it more colloquial (there is definitely some cursing) and I made sure to add some of the paralinguistic features and prosodic features during their conversation (not sorry for incorporating my AICE Language knowledge into this), but I do want my actors to naturally include some of their own tendencies when speaking. Again, I just want the conversation to be as authentic as possible. And I did take note of the way some of my Midwestern family speaks, and made some corrections according to that (the two siblings are originally from Wisconsin). 

I'm happy with how my screenplay turned out. My next step is mine-en-scene planning (mostly props and costuming), and I'll share my final storyboard later on in the week.

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.