What's Ahead For Us

After all this research on how we can make this project the best that can be, I think it's about time to execute. We need to meet up in class a couple more times in order to develop a storyboard, brainstorm a little more, and plan when we're going to meet up to film. Time is flying by and since I will be out of town for spring break, time is slipping away even faster. I expect the filming process to be at least 3 days and between homework, studying, and vacation there is very little time to get going.

Although it may seem like we have a lot against us, I think we're ready for the challenge. I believe that Rachel and I are pretty compatible since we've known each other for a couple of years and have done all our past projects together. We constantly have ideas bouncing off each other which is also an excellent trait in our partnership. Not only that, Rachel lives in the neighborhood right next to me! This makes meeting up more often way more practical.

I have a lot of faith in our project and what we're able to create in such little time. Stay updated next week as things start getting a little more hectic! 

Some More Inspiration

Last class, after the peer review, Rachel told me that she was able to draw some inspiration from the music video for "A Lot" by 21 Savage and J Cole. I had recently watched the music video so I tried to think back to what it consisted of and immediately knew what she was referring to. In the music video, a large group of people are sitting around the dinner people having a large discussion and as each person speaks, the camera pans to them and a flashback to their negative past is shown. I thought this was a real cool technique and something that we can definitely include in our film opening.

Since our main idea is to tell a story about a child who's life changes drastically due to a traumatic event, it would make sense to include flashbacks throughout the film. Here is more information on why flashbacks are included in films. Anyways, this technique would make most sense to include throughout the film to give more information to the viewer on why this child is changing and the details of the event that occurred.

Finding techniques used in other pieces has helped us further develop our film and make it the best that it can be. :)

What to do about sound

Sound is one of the biggest components in a film, especially drama films. It varies from diegetic, non diegetic, to most importantly, music (when necessary). Creating a film of your own can be tough for this reason because nothing can be copyrighted, everything must be created by YOU. Luckily for me and my partner, Rachel is musically inclined and can play a variety of instruments as well as sing. This is very useful for us and leaves us from going through the stress of trying to figure out where we can create sound without copywriting it.

Now, our only challenge is figuring out how much diegetic/non diegetic sounds we need and how to create them. I would say that this is going to be the most challenging part about our project, but I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out. We also need to think about how much of Rachel's background music we'll need in the film, which scenes to place it in, and how we want it to sound. Next time Rachel and I meet this will be our main problem to solve.

Here is a playlist filled with dramatic film music that we can gain inspiration from for out own film.

Peer Review

Today we had a peer review where we sat with a group of different people, from all different groups. Here is where we each go one by one, sharing our ideas and how we plan to execute them. Additionally, each person in the group gives their feedback after one of us pitches our ideas. Each person in the group I was apart of was very sure about their plan, but I can't really say the same. Although my partner and I have been brainstorming for a while and are almost certain about the concept we're revolving our film opening about, we're not completely sure how to put it all together yet.

On the bright side, I got a lot of positive feedback on our idea in general. A lot of the group members seemed to be interested in the concept which was comforting to hear. I mainly elaborated upon the idea about a child who's life changes drastically due to trauma, I chose to leave the other idea about adoption out because I feel like that's more vague and basic.

Overall, I think the peer editing was successful because it gives us an opportunity to get a few outside opinions on some things were not sure about. I think as the project continues to develop, the more effective the peer reviewing will be.

Why We Picked Drama

My partner and I discussed the pros and cons of Drama and Horror, discussed in my last blog post, and decided that Drama was the best choice.

Our main reason for picking the Drama genre is how creative we can get with it because that's what stands out. In class, Mrs. Marchetti told us that it's best to do what hasn't been done before, not just the same old thing. We did some thinking and researching on the past foundation portfolios and noticed that most people have already done film openings in the horror genre. Specifically, most film openings were revolved around stalkers or killers.

One of our main goals for this project is to create a concept that keeps the audience on their toes and as engaged as possible. We feel that drama is the best genre in which we can accomplish this.

Next week, we plan to begin developing our story board with as many details as possible so that it's easier for us to execute our plans sooner. We may create several story boards with several of our ideas just to see which one would come out best with what we have. A lot of hard work is going to go into this process but I think we're ready to take on that challenge.

Ideas...

My partner Rachel and I have been doing some brainstorming and minor planning. We've come up with only a few ideas so far.

Our first idea is to base our film around a girl that has completely changed her life due to a tragic situation. We've already established that it'd be best for us to get an actress for this role but if it comes down to it, Rachel may also take on the role. The film would start off with a scene of a normal life of this normal looking girl, possibly including a narrator. Towards the end, that scene would close and open up to a new shot of this girl who looks completely different than the previous girl, then she reveals that she is also the girl in the past scene, it's just that she's changed. We haven't come up with the reason for her drastic change yet but there's still time to discuss and plan that.


Our second idea was slightly inspired by the first. Rachel came up with the concept of a child who finds out that they're not their dad's child or possibly adopted. We envisioned the film starting out with a scene of the child adoring and boasting about their father and their relationship. We chose this to be the first scene so that way it can build up to the plot twist. Next, the child would be shown up close saying "this was all until I found out he wasn't really my father". These last words allow for a whole film to be created from this concept.

Research On Drama

1. Genre
1. Drama
2. Genre conventions:
1. Content
1. Realistic settings, characters, and stories
2. Purpose is typically to move the audience emotionally
3. Conflicts include realistic struggles depicting hardships, difficulty, and pain
4. A form of realization at the end/happy ending
2. Production
1. The use of gestures, objects or persons is needed to showcase the inner meaning that is beyond the literal.
2. A particular can be used in a scene to represent it’s symbolic strength
3. Production techniques are based on the concept of the drama
3. Institutional conventions
1. Marketing
1. Trailers introduce conflict but usually don’t reveal full solution
2. Main characters appear on film posters, talk shows, promotional tours
3. “Big” celebrities appearing in film help increase anticipation
4. Quotes from popular critiques embedded within the trailer
4. Film Sample #1
1. https://youtu.be/nSbzyEJ8X9E
1. A Star Is Born is an exceptional example of the drama genre.
2. The trailer portrays a realistic struggle, alcoholism, but doesn’t reveal what it resulted in.
3. Throughout parts of the scenes shown, an emotional appeal to the audience is portrayed.
4. As far as production goes, low lighting is used during the dramatic/intense scenes.
5. Two major celebrities, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, are the main characters with increases audience anticipation.
   
   
   
   
5. Film Sample #2
1. https://youtu.be/27zlBpzdOZg

1. Bohemian Rhapsody is made up of several elements representing the drama genre.
2. Although the film is more like a documentary, it contains a realistic struggle as well.
3. The few conflicts are introduced throughout the trailer but no solution is revealed.
4. The film is revolved around a famous band from the past, Queen, which increases audience anticipation.