Meet Julia

SO yesterday our group met up after school and planned out everything. It's about time. So basically when we were together we wrote down the entire script. I wrote the poem for the beginning of the film opening (the one that I made that crap storyboard for that I sketched about 2 weeks ago). Although we are muting most of the dramatic poem that she's going to be acting out for a voiceover, I thought making a poem is quite necessary so Rachel has something to be dramatic about.

After the drama scene, the "audience" is shown and the only person sitting in the theater is Rae's best friend Julia. Julia isn't necessarily the nicest person in the world. I play the role of Julia in our extract and I'm going to portray her as sarcastic and rather a negative person. She respects Rae's future goals but she isn't very supportive about it. She agrees with Rae's mother about how getting into the University of Florida is much more important than Juilliard (Rae's dream school). Her mother see's a future for Rae as being successful in the medical field but Rae doesn't want this for herself.

   Julia is a laid back person in general, but not when it comes to school. In the film opening, Julia freaks out because the SAT scores are out. Rae had already found out her score (around 1350) while Julia got a 1200. Rae is a smart girl but she couldn't care less about her academic skills. Theater and Juilliard are her prime worry and focus 24/7. Julia is irritated about this which makes Rae doubt herself and feel so alone in such a big world. Rae is determined to reach for her goals despite her "best friend" and mother's views on it. I'm hoping that this story line can inspire people to chase their dreams, even if people are doubting them.

   So we basically got most of the background story down, we just have to finalize the ending. We're trying to think of something different. We haven't decided between if Rae will end up going to Juilliard, which we believed would be boring and predictable, or she finds something else she's passionate about along the path of her decision making. I guess we will see!

Production Schedule

 This week I've been writing the script for the film opening. I actually watched the movie Logan  one day throughout the week and it gave me an idea. I thought maybe the very beginning should be a pitch black screen, showing movie credits, with an audio of the main character passionately acting. Then the title shows and the character is shown (extreme close up of face). Then from there, the scene will continue. Mise-en-scene elements will be an empty stage and Rae is going to be wearing witty and rather "different" clothing. I want to portray our character to not be like other students at her school.

    Throughout this week, March 27-31, we will start filming our excerpt. We're planning on using our own school, Cypress Bay, as the setting for the very start of the opening. We're going to try to get permission from the drama teacher to use the stage that Rachel can act on. I'm still working on the script so when it's done is when we will really begin.

   The second part of our opening will most likely take place in one of our member's homes. It's going to be the home of our main character to show her type of lifestyle she has. We're planning on editing the extract over the weekend and finishing our piece. In the beginning of this  week we're going to look out for some funky clothes for Rae to wear.

   I'm doing my best to make time for this project and to take off of work to focus on this production. It's hard for all of our members to make time and plan the same days to work on it together. We're all pretty busy with different schedules but we'll try to make it work out. This project is huge and it's important to make time for it along with all of our other school work. No need to worry though, we still have time to make the final piece the way we expect it to be.

Title

   The importance of a movie's title is the name representing the film as a whole. Movie titles create more inspiration for movie ideas. We should've thought about the movie title earlier but we thought developing the character first would be more important. The title for our film that we came up with is "Rae". Our main character's name is Rachel (character and actual actress). The actress playing Rachel grew up being called by her nickname "Rae", so we decided to name it after that. Another thing that made me like the title is that the word "ray" exemplifies a ray of sunlight, in my own thoughts, which represents our main character's persona. She's a "ray of light" who shines on stage when she tries to make her dream a reality.

   Naming a movie after the main character really puts the spotlight on that person. This is another reason we chose to choose this title. I feel that making it her nickname really makes it so special and expresses the importance of our character. For example, the movie Napoleon Dynamite is literally named after the main character Napoleon Dynamite. It's quite the witty name for such a witty movie. This movie follows and focuses on Napoleon, a nerdy kid in high school, in which you sit back and watch his life play out. It's hilarious and you have a rather weird connection with the main character. Since the title is his name, you already can predict that the movie is going to be about this particular guy.

Another movie that the plot surrounds the person the title displays is the film Rocky. A fighter named Rocky is what the movie is about. Throughout this film, you watch Rocky's fighting skills progress and watch him get better and better. Although I've never seen this film, I can tell what the film is going to be about because of the title. I can predict that the movie's focus is going to be on this man and the title gives me a reason to think that he is important. 

Many other movies are named after the main character so that the audience knows before, during, and after watching the film, that this character is the principal idea of what the plot is about. I am going to focus to express that my character is the main idea of the movie through my project. 

Jacobhall. "Movie Titles Named After Their Main Character, Ranked." ScreenCrush. N.p., 06 Feb. 2015. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"How Movie Titles Work." How Movie Titles Work. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"Rocky." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Privacy Policy Contact Terms of Use Gifmania C.B. Paseo De La Chopera 152 Alcobendas 28100 Madrid (Spain) CIF E84034057 Copyright © Gifmania Networks. "Rocky Balboa Animated Gifs ~ Gifmania." Rocky Balboa Animated Gifs ~ Gifmania. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"Napoleon Dynamite GIF Collection." Lolriot.com. N.p., 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Compromise

      Hello, it's been a while. I haven't been blogging because of the busy last week of the quarter but there has been some progress with the project to talk about. So on Tuesday we had group meetings with people who aren't in our group to talk about our progress. We initially had trouble coming up with a good background story for the film because of our semi generic plot. We wanted something different and something that will really bring attention to our audience (if it were a real movie).

    This group meeting event was actually extremely helpful to each of our individual group members. We each got different, brand new ideas thrown at us that we took advantage of. So basically before this meeting we only had an idea of our opening scene. These helpful students told us to keep the idea but to make it a bit more dark. We thought maybe we should make our character have this abusive household and her parents don't exactly believe in her. They don't want her to exceed her dreams in becoming an actress unless she is accepted into a good college. We want our character to come off as a strong girl who goes through many obstacles through her journey. Perhaps maybe she won't get accepted into a good school but decides to take on life on her own, without the negative enforcement from her parents.

    Back to the movie Little Miss Sunshine, in which we spoke about before. The little girl has a dream of winning the finals in a beauty pageant. It shows the road trip of her dysfunctional family and the obstacles they face to make their daughters dream come true. They don't make much of an income, the dad suffers with his job, the uncle is suicidal, the grandpa dies, the brother is mute, etc. This doesn't stop them from trying to achieve what the little girl strives for. During this trip, the brother discovers that he's colorblind and cannot exceed his dreams in becoming a pilot. All of these unfortunate events inspired me to come up with my background story. Instead of showing the difficult obstacles to overcome for an entire family, I'd rather show this for one single person who conquers her goals all by herself, There's something inspirational about an independent girl doing something so hard on her own. I want to show in the beginning scene that this girl lives a doubtful life full of unrealistic dreams that the audience can grow a connection with.

Arndt, Michael. "Little Miss Sunshine." Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Rotten Tomatoes. N.p., 12 Mar. 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.



Giphy. "Halloween Costume GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Character Development and Planning

 Before we begin to really plan out our entire plot, it will probably be easier to compose if we come up with the character first. Referencing to the last blog post, we want this character to be a female teenager. That being said, the target audience will mostly be targeted to the same age. I believe our film could relate to the age group 16-24 since that's around the age when people question what they want to do with their lives. Particularly females will be the target audience as well since the main character is also the same gender and has very feminine traits about her.

   How I picture it, I see a girl who's a senior in high school around the age of 18. She's outgoing and different from the rest of her class. She struggles in school because of her only mind set of being an actress. She has a negative outlook on college and a bad attitude towards the school system. She believes that standardized tests and grades shouldn't define her personal intelligence. Her grades begin to drop because of her deep focus on acting. She's a smart girl with a bit different set of goals.

  Our final decision of the main character's age is how we defined our target audience. Relating to the character's personality traits, the audience will most likely develop a connection with her because of both the age and gender. The movie will be set in modern times and show the true struggle of what it means to "succeed". I think many kids my age can relate to this pressuring feeling of not having enough time to decide who we want to be and what we want for ourselves. We focus heavily on others opinions, specifically family and friends, to encourage us on what we want to do but we never really stop to see what we want. It's important to lean towards things we're passionate about and use that talent for our future achievements. I want to give out that message to those viewing the film opening. It's going to be difficult to provide this message in only 2 minutes while also introducing the main character. I'm willing to try my best and work with my group to figure that out.

   We're still in the process of planning out the entire beginning but it sure is hard. I've clearly pictured the very beginning of the opening scene (image down below) but that's about it. At least we're off to some kind of start. I liked this beginning because it introduces the character and her passion for theater. You can see the emotions in her eyes and feel what impact acting has on her. You can easily tell that she puts her full amount of effort into what she loves doing and it may grab the audiences' attention. It's also a way of immediately having some connection  to the audience and showing her self qualities.

     This isn't exactly the most beautiful storyboard to display my thoughts of the film opening, but it's a quick description. I'm planning on working on the script of this scene throughout the week and filming it over the weekend. I obviously put no effort into these sketches but the ideas in my mind can't all fit onto one piece of paper.  These sketches are just some ideas of the shots and angles we want to use to start it off. I'm planning to stick to this idea and see what our group can do to produce it in real life, distributing it in the best way possible. 

"Who’s Your Target Audience?" New World Distribution. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.


"What Is Character Development?" WritersDigest.com. N.p., 04 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.


FilmScriptWriting.com. "The Opening Scene." Screenwriting Tips & Advice. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Our Plot

Drama movies are sometimes based around important messages or they could just be a story to follow. We wanted to go the "motivational" route. I think it's necessary to portray a film that can be aspiring for people who have a dream. People may have similar assets to what they're watching on the big screen which has the ability to really inspire them.

  We don't necessarily have the entire beginning planned out, but we have an idea of it. We were actually inspired with this idea from the movie La La Land. Although La La Land is a musical, we were influenced by the storytelling aspect. This film is about a young woman who's aspiring to be an actress. We thought, why not do a similar idea with a younger character, preferably female teenager, in which she's following her dreams to be an actress. Young people our age have dreams whether it's something like entertainment, business, etc. It's important to express the message that you don't necessarily have to choose the route that you're "told" to take your entire life. Rachel, one of our group members, is in drama in high school which is another reason we decided to go with this idea. 

    Something that I'm passionate about is the fact that school isn't necessarily for everybody. Intellegent or not, some people just don't feel like school is for them and it makes people feel like something is wrong with them. I think everybody should take advantage and enroll in school, of course, I just don't think everybody has to go the college route to feel successful academically. Going the same path as everybody else around you may not be the type of reality somebody wants for themselves, depending on who it is. Making your way to fame may seem unrealistic, but it's important that you attempt to get to that standpoint if that's what you really want. Happiness is the most important aspect of life overall, so it's important to reach your expectations to experience that fulfilling feeling of happiness.


"The Reverse Couch Potato Effect: The Impact of Inspirational Movies on Aspirations and Expectations." The CSAE Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Dargis, Manohla. "'La La Land' Makes Musicals Matter Again." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

The Final Genre

We decided what we're doing!!! Finally, right? In class today we were having a hard time choosing between drama and horror, as we had discussed before. We thought long and hard about what better outcomes we would have for each genre. The reality of it is, we wouldn't have been able to do a quality horror storyline or editing. We were going to attempt to make something fearful but we don't exactly think it'll be successful.

  Drama it is! Drama films have always been my personal favorite because I love discovering how feelings that I can relate to can be expressed thoroughly through a film. I think it's important to distribute important messages about real world issues through a source that people will be guaranteed to see. New things can be learned and new perspectives can be formed for the audience. We haven't necessarily come up with a plot yet, but I'm having high hopes for our project's outcome.

Plot and Characters

  The next step of this filming process is the build up of our plot. The plot, of course, is what makes the movie, well, a movie. The protagonist in a drama film is usually introduced in the beginning right away. As predictable as it is, this character is going to go through a few bumps in the road to get to the resolution. The conflict of a movie is the most important aspect overall. The conflict is what drives the character to take action which is the reason audiences become so involved. Once there's that personal connection with the main character, you want to see how this person evolves and see their decison making to solve their own problems. The viewers are meant to focus on the characters behavior and perspective of the film, so they're usually introduced in the beginning. I think making an opening scene dedicated to the main character will make our audience want to continue watching this character's journey throughout the rest of the film.

   In the romantic drama 500 Days of Summer, it begins with a narrator describing both of the main characters that the story will surround. It gives the audience an idea of what the characters personalities will be like and how these 2 individuals will take on in the film.

 

    Horror movie plots are rather different from others. The beginning scenes either establish the setting and main characters, or don't at all. Remember the example of the movie Scream that I had wrote about in my previous post? If you haven't already seen it, it starts off with a character in a house that you don't see for the rest of the film. This lady instantly gets murdered by the antagonist of the movie. The woman who was murdered is obviously not important in the film but rather introduces the conflict of the story. These kinds of scenes are created to get the viewer to want to keep watching the movie and get an idea of what's going to happen further on. The opening scenes are also meant to introduce the movie's "villain" that you witness later on. In the movie Jaws, a random couple, that are not the main characters in the film, are at a beach. The woman goes into the water as a suspenseful scene of a mysterious creature proceeds to take her under water and kill her. This segment creates a mysterious tone for the rest of the movie. The audience is meant to be curious and question what had happened to the woman and what had her killed. The directors of movies with this kind of beginning purposefully conduct this to really grab the viewers attention. 

  

 Horror movies have very diverse ways of trying to engage the audience. I'm willing to challenge this genre with our original ideas for the project (that is, if we decide to go the horror route). There's no easy way to come up with a unique plot for a scary movie knowing that there are already so many common and unoriginal horror films out in the world. 

 Buffam, Noelle. The Script Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Plots Inc. Productions." Plots Inc. Productions. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Cooltaze. "Jaws: Opening/Chrissie Scene." YouTube. YouTube, 01 Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2017

 "(500) Days of Summer - First Title - Us." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

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What Genre To Choose...

    Where do I begin? I've been stressing out all week over what genre to choose for this film. Our group went through all the genres and we just couldn't choose. I've seen many movies of various genres that have meant a lot to me in the past, so this is a tough decision. We thought of proceeding with the crime genre, but we thought it would've been difficult to show that kind of "ruthless" aspect. We thought about comedy. What were we thinking? We're not funny enough for that. Then came along horror and drama. The brainstorming process begins.

   Drama movies are made for all different age groups and are usually quality entertainment, even the cheesy ones. Movies within this genre usually explores the life of a certain individual. In this case, the character is conducted to reach out to have some sort of personal connection with the audience. There's always an issue that is trying to be solved throughout these films. For example, one of my favorite movies is Little Miss Sunshine. In this film, the main character is a little girl who is trying to fulfil her dreams with the help from her family. You are basically so engaged in this film that you feel that you are on this journey with them. This kind of film is meant for the viewers to feel every emotion and experience that this family has to go through. Drama movies have so many ways of expressing real life feelings of human beings and portray it in such a small amount of time.

   Horror movies, on the other hand, can be rather silly or absolutely terrifying. I've always been a fan of this genre despite the handful of awful movies I've seen throughout my movie watching experiences. I some what enjoy the adrenaline rush that horror movies bring to me. A scary movie could have ghosts, monsters, zombies, the devil, etc. A quality scary movie depends on an original idea that is like no other. They also usually have beginnings that can instantly take the audiences attention. Horror movie beginnings are quite unique because of the extent of trying to get the audience to understand the plot and immediately create some suspense. In the movie Scream, the character in the beginning gets murdered after a pretty suspenseful opening. This engages the audience to make them want to continue watching the film.
 

Hopefully our indecisive group will finally decide on what to do this film opening on. I have a feeling that drama is going to be the path we take, but only time will tell. 

"Main Film Genres." An Award-winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

D'Angelo, Mike. "The 25 Scariest Opening Scenes in Horror-movie History." The A.V. Club. N.p., 25 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

 "Horror Films." An Award-winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Ebert, Roger. "Little Miss Sunshine Movie Review (2006) | Roger Ebert." RogerEbert.com. N.p., 03 Aug. 2006. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

 "SCREAM's Iconic Opening Scene." Miramax. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

 "Drama Movies." Filmbug: Guide to Movie Stars. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

A Big Decision

 

    Hello there! My name is Taylor Sweeney and I would like to welcome you to my blog. I'm ecstatic to show my viewers the journey through my media studies portfolio project. I'm still trying to adjust to this new type of assignment so stay with me here. 

  

     We had the option, within our group, to choose between a movie film opening or a magazine layout. My mind immediately chose to do the film opening. Our group got together and compromised and we all wanted to do the same thing, so here we are! Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been interested in movies and the production of them. I always observed how movies started and ended and it was always so interesting to me. I knew from the start that film is something I want to explore and learn about throughout my lifetime. This project is a start for my chance to experiment my interest in film. It's a good opportunity to practice and see what I can do to make this film opening successful. I mean it is a mandatory project, but I am sincerely excited to see what my group can put together. 

  

    I'm prepared to overcome obstacles with this project and also do my best. I think it's pretty magnificant how such a small snippet of a film can introduce an entire movie and immediately set the mood. It's a way for the audience to understand what the movie is going to be about and determine the tone of the film. Many movies that I've seen have had unforgettable beginnings that will inspire me throughout this project. Here's an extended description with examples. 

 

    Buffam, Noelle. The Script Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.