Week 3 Post #6

Hi blog!! So today I am going to be sharing my script with you guys. But first I want to introduce the main characters. 

So I searched up online a name generator and these are the names I have decided on

• Anastasia Johnson (16) (female)  - main character (me) - brown hair - ''baby'' of the group - quite - laid back - gets perfect grades - best friends with Morgan since elementary - wants to be more fun - she knows her friends are bad influences but they make her have fun- strict parents - does not live in Fort Lauderdale so she comes on the weekends 
•  Katy Walters (16) (female) - bad influence - fun - blond - the group listens to her - full of energy - exciting - smart but doesn't care about school - best friends with Amber since they were toddlers - street smart 
• Stephen Parker (16) (male) - bad influence - gets in trouble - light brown hair - full of energy - loves to have fun- overdoses at the end - dropped out the second he turned 16- owns the boat - 
• Amber Harris (16) (female) - rich girl - small but feisty - brown hair - does not care about school - met Morgan in art class in freshman year at 14 - 
• Morgan Owens (16) (female) - quite - very sweet - not as crazy as the others- the mom of the group - know how to have fun when gets the chance - blond - cares about school but not the smartest- moved to Fort Lauderdale and introduced Anastasia to her new friend group 
• Marco Lopez (17) (male) - Morgans boyfriend - quite - doesn't drink - very nice - smart - does well in school- not street smart- 

My friend Rileigh will help me film so I will make sure to teach her how and guide her through the process. My friend Lucas was supposed to play Stephen Parker since I feel like he would play the role better than my friend Michael who is now playing him. But, I just found out that he is going skiing that weekend so he will not be available. So instead of having Michael play another role that I would feel that would suit him better I just ended up switching him to Stephen. I am kind of bummed about this I really wish Lucas could've played Stephen but everything will be alright. Despite that I am really excited to see my friends play these parts. 

Script:

KATY- guysss!! ( holds alcohol in the air ) lets get it going !

(Rest of group) - cheers 

Montage - no conversation 

 

^ end of first half of the opening

start of the second half - tone shifts:

ANASTASIA- Hey guys where's Stephen?

MORGAN- He's probably in the front of the boat 

AMBER - Loser

ANASTASIA- Im gonna go check up on him I feel bad that he's alone ( gets up and walks to the front )

(Morgan and Amber both laugh)

(Anastasia sees Stephen passed out on the floor and panics)

ANASTASIA- Oh my god guys come here! HELP

(All rush over other than Morgan since she stays to drive the boat)

KATY- You're good Stephen come on get up

Stephen does not respond 

KATY- WAKE UP COME ON

MARCO- Bro he's not responding what are we gonna do

AMBER- Guys lets call 911 right now what are we doing 

KATY- Are you out of your mind ?! We have all been drinking and there's alcohol on this boat. We can go to jail no were not doing that 

MARCO- Okay then what are we gonna do we can't leave him here 

ANASTASIA- (interrupts) shut up and let me think

Updated Calendar:

Week 3 Post #5

Thursday 2/22/24  - Storyline 

Hi, blog!! It's great to be back and I am excited to share you guys the final storyline. This storyline has altered a lot in my head. Randomly at school or at home I'll get an idea and I will just picture and imagine the entire opening in my head thinking if I should include it in my idea or not or change my story. After a lot of brainstorming and planning, I have decided on the storyline. This is a big moment for me... I am finally here to share my vision officially. 

So... let's jump into it

Story:

It starts off on a deck where the boat is parked and my friend is standing on the deck holding alcohol (fake) cheerfully then the camera will follow her getting onto the boat and all of my friends rooting. Then the camera will show my friend amping up the diegetic music (pop/upbeat music) from the boat speakers which turns into non-diegetic as it turns into the montage soundtrack. The montage will consist of various clips of my friends and I dancing, having fun, and tubing. One important clip of the montage will be my friends telling me to drink and me hesitating until I actually do. This goes to show that they are not the best influences and that I don't like underage drinking. The montage will end and so will the music. Now the sun is setting and a clip will show my friends and I hanging out on the back of the boat except someone is missing. This is now where the tone starts to shift. So I mention out loud '' Where is ....'' and I head out to the front of the boat. I see my friend passed out on the floor with white powder on his nose. I scream for help and my friends rush over. I sit down in shock while my friends gather around the body figuring out what to do. They decided to hide the body since we could not turn to the police since we had been drinking and did not want to go to jail for underage drinking. It is now night time and a shot will be me sitting down on the boat in shock without a single thought behind my eyes. The lower bottom third in the background will be my friend dragging the deceased friend from the shore where a tree stands to leave him there. This scene will have no cuts to create more tension. Just one long shot. While my friends are dragging the body and me staring into nothing, I will take the alcohol bottle that was next to me and drink it willingly without expression to ease my stress. This goes to show how my altered state since just a couple hours before I hesitated drinking and now I am willingly drinking without my friend's influence. The opening will end here with a black screen after this long take. What I think would be really cool is if it could start raining during the second half of the opening but Obviously I cannot control the weather but I think it would really add to the tone.  

For the first part of my opening here is an aesthetic/vision board I am trying to go for:

For the second part of my opening here is an aesthetic/vision board I am trying to go for:

I am really happy with my idea of my story I think it's very creative and a great way to approach a teen/crime thriller movie. I wanted to do something different and introduce the conflict in the opening rather than about twenty minutes into the movie. I think this will grab the audience's attention quicker and will want the viewers to know what will happen later on. For example in my opening I want my audience to think and question: '' Will they get caught?'' , '' Does the police find the body?'' , '' How do the teenagers react after this situation?'' and etc. I am so excited to start filming I can't wait. Except, instead of me filming this Saturday I will film on March 9th because I have a wedding to go to on the 24th which was unexpected and then the weekend after that my friends will be out of town so we agreed on March 9th. I will update my calendar for you guys on the next blog. 

Talk to you guys soon !

 

Week 3 Post #4

 Tuesday 2/20/24

Hi Blog! So now I am moving on towards choosing my film opening approach. I've researched some websites talking about how to approach a crime/thriller opening along with how the opening credits should be used. 

https://screencraft.org/blog/writing-your-suspense-thriller-the-john-carpenter-way/ 

^ This website gave me a lot of tips on how to  approach an engaging suspenseful thriller for my opening. One tip that I was not aware about was to lack dialogue when wanting to make my scene suspenseful. I plan that when once I find my friend dead from overdosing that I will go completely silent and in a state of shock ( sort of like paralyzed in a way ) when my friends are figuring out what to do and even when they are dealing with my deceased friends body ( from overdosing) . Being silent will add more tension and tone while showing how my character reacts to serious situations like this. Instead of screaming and crying like other people would in this situation my character goes into an emotionless and silent shock which adds more suspense and maybe of a little sickening twist can be foreshadowed. Other tips that were mentioned were pacing, scene description, and location. These factors will change once the tone changes halfway through the story. My pacing in the montage will be fast pacing to create that fun effect of teenagers without a worry in the world. To then switch the tone completely the pacing will be more steady and slower when getting into the dilemma of the opening.  Location throughout the entire opening will be on the boat in Fort Lauderdale, however the time of day will change to go from exciting to suspenseful and dark. I really hope my plan works out well I am a little worried that my product won't come out as well but I am going to try my best and think positively. I do feel that the hardest part of the opening is to create a suspenseful tone compared to the fun montage so I definitely will be putting a lot of thought and consideration into that half of the opening. Even though the montage will be easier to capture tone I hope to truly secure a fun experience in the montage making the viewer feel connected to my characters as much as possible. Then later on, change the mood and tone to make my viewer feel uneasy and unsettling in a matter of minutes. 

https://www.soundstripe.com/blogs/tv-film-production-how-to-make-a-captivating-title-sequence 

^ Now moving forwards with the credits I also researched tips on how to approach an appropriate credit opening for a teen/crime thriller movie. I feel like everyone overlooks the opening credits but now I understand that they're actually very important and I really want to make a good approach. Since in my story I plan on hiding my friends body in the tree behind the mangroves, I want to capture a shot where the water is crashing into the mangroves and input my title. Then for the opening credits I wanted to have a background of a water spots expanding in a thrilling matter. Here is an example I was trying to head for:

I don't like the material in the background because obviously that has no connection to my opening but as you can see there is water spots expanding and I think that would be very cool and create the sense that this is going to be a thriller film. Since the opening occurs on the water I think this would be a good idea while correctly connecting to the film. The website that I have imbedded really helped with ''How to Make a Captivating Title'' as that is what the website is titled. Here are some tips I jotted down that I will definitely use to create my title

* music in the title sequence is a good thematic fit for the project. 

*the video quality of a title sequence is extremely important-if the quality is low in these first couple minutes, this can lead to a bad first impression of your project. 

* make sure to ask myself ''which title sequence style is the right one for our project?” 

The one thing that is worrying me is how I am supposed to capture a moment of the waves crashing into the mangroves while making it look professional. As I am thinking about this I think I plan on having my friends making some waves on the boat to show the crashing of waves into the mangroves. So that means I have to get into the water with my phone and take a clip unclose to the mangroves without dropping my phone hopefully. That would be really bad... I am also kind of scared if there will be a fish or animal in that area since I am sure some sea animals will hide in there so maybe I can lay on the water tube and film from there because thinking about being in the water so close to the mangroves is scary. But I am sure it will come out good and I am going to do my very best to accomplish the goals I want to achieve. With the tips I received from researching how to make an appropriate opening credits for a thriller/crime movie I am sure I will do just fine and I plan to even research more along the process. When I do, I will update you guys on the new resources I have came across.

Genre characteristics and scene description for first half ( Basic Teen Movie) (Montage):

• peer pressure 
• partying 
• vibrant colors 
• fast pacing
• without worry
• reckless
• rebellion
• exciting
• underage alcohol use ( fake - a water bottle in a brown bag )
• montage 
• friendships 
• day-time
• pop-music/ upbeat soundtrack
• dancing

Genre characteristics and scene description for second half ( Teen/Crime Thriller) (Change in tone - Switch to overall dark tone of movie)

• dark
• night-time
• suspenseful
• thrilling
• conflict arrises
• rebellion
• crime
• drug use (fake- baking soda) 
• silence
• little dialogue 
• shocking
• pressure
• tough decisions
• shows who the weak and strong are
• main character is introduced
• tension arises

Bye guys hope you enjoyed!! Next post I will discuss my story outline. So excited to put all of this together and share it with you guys!! :)

Week 2 Post 3

 Sunday 2/18/24

Hi Blog! So I have created a February calendar for this month showing my plans for this project. And each month I plan on creating a new calendar and sharing it with you guys on here. 

Mondays and Wednesdays I have practice so I plan on blogging and working on my project on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and the weekend. The setting of my film will take place on my friends boat in Fort Lauderdale on the inter-coastal. Specially George English. We plan on filming at around 1pm and ending at approximately 7 so it is dark. I want to start off early so that the sun will be out and will display the montage of us teenagers having fun in summer even though it is not summer yet. And I plan on ending the film at night time so that the sad tone can be interpreted more. My cast will consist with my six friends and I. But we are still trying to decide who will play what parts yet. By my next blog I will have it figured out when I discuss with them and I am excited to tell you guys ! :)

My schedule for February:

And a fun little conversation between my friends and I discussing this project:

Week 2 Post 2

Saturday 2/17/24

Hi blog!

So I have researched some films in the teen/criminal thriller genre and these are some that I enjoy. 

Super Dark Times:

Kevin Phillips' psychological thriller "Super Dark Times" begins with an eerie and dramatic scene that foreshadows the dark and intense plot that unfolds.The opening scenes have a key role in setting the tone and aesthetic of the movie. "Super Dark Times" most likely has a somber and gloomy look, with dreary cinematography, low lighting, and desaturated colors. The opening moments of the film may be tense and unsettling due to the close-ups, slow camera movements, and unusual framing. A lot of the time, the first scenes of a movie provide crucial details about its setting and mood. "Super Dark Times" might open with a tiny rural or suburban town with spooky scenery, peaceful streets, and a lonely feeling.It's possible that the tense, ominous mood alludes to the evil that lies beneath the surface. Important individuals may be introduced or their ties established in the opening scene.The main conflict or mystery of the movie is frequently hinted to in the opening scenes. "Super Dark Times" might allude to a terrible incident or an unsettling secret that will come to light as the narrative develops .This could be accomplished by using hidden visual signals, or symbolic imagery that leaves the audience wondering what might happen next.There can be tonal changes in the opening segment that go from serene and typical to tense and menacing. In "Super Dark Times," the tone may progressively change from playful and sentimental to spooky and uncomfortable, indicating the gloom that will soon engulf the protagonists and their lives.

Overall, the opening of "Super Dark Times" is likely to be a chilling and immersive experience that draws the audience into the world of the film and sets the stage for the harrowing journey ahead. Through its careful use of visual and narrative techniques, the film establishes a sense of atmosphere, introduces intriguing characters, and lays the groundwork for the suspenseful and psychologically intense story that will unfold.

Compared to my opening, it will introduce the dark and thrilling tone almost halfway through the opening after the joyful and exciting emotions are over. Whereas ''Super Dark Times'' immediately uses the overall dark tone. However both openings will use the ominous tone at the start of the film. When the time Is needed in my opening I plan to use silence to enhance the sadness just like Super Dark times and to use a melancholy filter with more slow cuts.

The opening credits of ''Super Dark Times'' did not start off with credits or a title. I think Kevin Phillips did this to create a more eery and uneasy feeling and to jump right into the depressing tone immediately. 

Spring Breakers:

"Spring Breakers" opens with an important scene that establishes the mood and introduces the audience to the themes and characters of the movie. The film, which was directed by Harmony Korine, opens with a montage sequence that throws audiences into the wild and crazy world of Florida spring break. Quick cuts and vivid colors are hallmarks of the fast-paced editing style used in the opening section. By capturing the frantic energy and excitement of spring break, our visual technique immerses viewers in the hectic mood right away. Music has a big part in establishing the tone of the movie from the very beginning. Electronic music that is upbeat and throbbing is played throughout the opening, adding to the excitement and anticipation of spring break.The montage features a number of chaotic and excessive situations, such as rowdy gatherings, drug and alcohol abuse.This montage foreshadows the themes of recklessness that will be discussed throughout the film and establishes the excesses  that define the spring break experience. There is an underlying tension that alludes to darker things beneath the surface, despite the opening's seeming happiness and revelry. Images of characters acting rashly or other uncomfortable or uneasy times allude to this tension. These allusions allude to the dramatic happenings that will occur later in the movie and imply that there are effects hiding among the celebrations.

 Overall, the opening sequence of "Spring Breakers" effectively establishes the tone, themes, and characters of the film, drawing viewers into its world of excess and intrigue from the very beginning.

Similar to my opening, both openings will start off with a montage of fun times. Obviously my montage will not be as extreme as the opening of Spring Breakers but both montages shows the amusement and excitement that the teenagers experience before creeping onto the darker tones throughout the film. I also plan to use a generous amount of quick cuts just like Spring Breakers did to amplify the excitement and fun along with a upbeat pop song in the background.

The opening credits of "Spring Breakers" are displayed in an eye-catching, unique way that reflects the avant-garde style of the movie. The credits, which depict images of excess, partying, and revelry typical of spring break, are layered over a collage of chaotic  imagery. The way that text and image are juxtaposed draws viewers into the world of the movie right away and establishes the mood for the rest of the scene.

Week 2 Post #1

Thursday 2/15/24

Hi blog! Today I have settled down my genre and storyline. First starting off with genre, I have chose a teen / criminal thriller movie. I first thought that a teenage movie would be appropriate since my cast will all be teenagers and for the criminal thriller part I thought that would be very interesting to film as there are many criminal thriller movies out there that can be very inspiring. 

Teen/criminal thriller movies often delve into the complexities of adolescence, exploring themes of rebellion, identity, and the allure of danger. These films typically feature young protagonists who find themselves caught up in criminal activities, either willingly or unwillingly, leading to suspenseful and often dangerous situations.

So... after some brainstorming and really considering my plan I decided to change my idea. I realized my plan was going to be too long and would bypass the 2-minute opening and I think my new idea will be more intriguing. Instead, I am going to keep the entire beginning which is a montage of our friends having fun on the boat with a happy and fun tone. Then the tone changes abruptly when I find my friend passed out due to overdosing and ends up dead. The mood completely changes and my friends are stressing about what to do. Since everyone was drinking and do not want to get into trouble my friends decide to leave his body in a tree behind the mangroves. The opening will end with us driving back home depressed and with anxiety. It is night time now and the colors of this scene will be dark and melancholy. I decided that I wanted to start off strong in the opening. I feel that this will draw the audience attention and will want to watch more. My purpose is to go from a really fun and exciting tone then to drastically change to a distressing and upset matter so that it creates a really unsettling feeling. 

Transitioning Post

 It's February 9th and today starts my working of the Cambridge portfolio project. We recently finished our music marketing project which I feel like will definitely help me to be successful in this project since it gave me practice. I actually had a lot of fun filming and working with my partners in the music marketing project so I am excited yet a bit nervous for this one. I am excited because this will allow me to use all my creativity skills and I feel that it will be fun rather than exhausting as some other projects have been. However I am nervous because I want to be successful and I hope for this to turn out the way I intend it to. Even though it is only the first day, I do already have an idea of what I am going to do. Last class (2/7/24) when Mrs.Stoklosa was teaching a lesson, introducing our class to the project I came up with an idea in class. Since I did not want to forget this idea I jotted down an overview of my idea:

My idea was for my setting to be located in Fort Lauderdale during the summer on a boat. The genre is going to be a Teen Criminal Thriller. So the opening begins with no music, only dialogue and environmental sounds. One of my friends is getting on the boat with drinks. We amplify the synchronic music from the boat and then turns non-diagetic. The scene follows up with a montage of the day of my friend group having fun and doing actives. One scene will show how my friends want me to drink as well with them and me being hesitant until I finally do. This will show how my friends are not good influences and I am the more laid back friend. Then finally when the montage ends, so does the non-diabetic music. This new scene will be me at my friends house with another friend. Its now night time and I plan to use more low lighting. They ask me to sneak out with them and I put my foot down refusing because of a bad feeling. I tell them I will stay home and keep watch for my friends parents. They accept and leave for their adventure. It is now daytime and a close-up will show me waking up to a slamming door and my friends father yelling. Instantly I get up knowing she got caught and I am filled with worry since I feel asleep and did not keep watch and wait unil they got home. As I enter the living room her parents are full with anger but with sadness. My friend comes up to me crying and saying I was right... I notice blood on her shirt and when she tells me what had happened the diabetic sounds of my friend speaking blurs off to a ringing sound effect. This enhances my altered state. 

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

Creating our Music Marketing Project consisted of multiple contributions. First, we had to research our case studies. Our case studies consisted of the history, artists, and groups of our two companies ''Big Machine'' and ''Mercury Records Nashville''. Additionally, we had to research the case studies of Dolly Parton and Flordia Georgia Line with ''Big Machine where we investigated their marketing strategies. We also researched the marketing strategies of Chris Stepleton and Luke Grimes associated with the ''Mercury Records Nashville'' company. 

Next the brainstorming and planning of our music video first started off with creating our storyboard. Creating a storyboard was very resourceful and beneficial since it allowed us to organize our music video properly. Scenes, shots, and camera movement were all included in our storyboards, making our production process easier and coordinated. We decided to make a storyline music video where we would have one of our classmates represent the singer (our brand) and my other classmate and I would be the story the artist is singing about.  The storyline genre is essential since we can represent '' a breakup song'' more thoroughly. Then we created our brand development process (located in a powerpoint presentation). The slides consisted of ''Marketing Trends'', ''Distribution Trends'', ''Overview of artist and target artist'', ''Outline of Campaign'', etc. This powerpoint is an essential to our project since it goes step by step of our marketing process of how we will strengthen our brand (artist- Heather Graham). This was a fun section in our project in my opinion since it gave insight on how real life companies might organize and process their ideas for their brands. 

Production itself took only two days to create. This was a fun but challenging process. Acting the part of a distraught woman due to an ending of relationship in the present was entertaining while switching back to the happy times of the relationship in the past to contribute to the storyline music video. What was challenging was having to make adjustments and changes to make our film make sense and more intriguing. There was times where we were stuck on if the scene needed improving or changing but we came together as a group and decided accordingly. For example, during filming I came up with a marketing idea to create an own personal lipstick line associated with the artist and to include the lipstick in the music video. Therefore, when we filmed our classmate was singing she was wearing the signature ''red lipstick'' to market her new upcoming lipstick line. 

Post production, editing came into place. Editing is very important and must be done correctly to make our music video look appealing and make it come together as a whole. Adding the scenes together at the right times is essential in order to match the singing of the song and the appropriate scenes that match the lyrics. Different filters of color is important in editing which can depict a different mood, time, and emotion in film. We used a dramatic filter to represent the past in which the relationship was happy whereas the rest of the film is dull in the depressing matter.

The Presentation our powerpoint consisted of us individually recording ourselves talking about each slide with more evidence  that was not included in the powerpoint slides. We went more into depth about the topics and reveal more detailed information. 

What I learned about this project was how to split up the sections more thoroughly, how to manage my time better and to be more creative. I think this will benefit me for the Cambridge Portfolio since I have learned to breakdown my assignment more properly with better time management. I lack good usage of time management where I feel a handful of teenagers lack as well and I feel that this has really taught me how to use my time more wisely along with my other group members. Additionally this project has enhanced my creativity skills.