Insight!

     I met with Mrs.Stoklosa today about my current progress. While I am sticking to my original idea for a film opening,  I have some filtering to do. Instead of ending my film at the characters re-entering the elevator to voyage to the next level, I will cut it off at the characters being boggled by what they see once they enter the elevator. I have too much content which would push me beyond my time mark. While this essentially is not a bad thing, I'd rather have a strong opening rather than fast-paced scenes that do not thoroughly develop each character. HERE IS A NEW AND IMPROVED BREAKDOWN OF MY OPENING!! 

    Instead of using a blue tint to signify mysteriousness and intensity, I will add the tint at the end when the elevator door opens. However, I will use the creepy elevator man character to show that there is something mysterious that will happen. Mrs.Stoklosa advised that I need to use the character to establish the eerie mood. She also stated that I will need a lot of dialogue but luckily, I have a profound love for talking and creating dialogue. I will need to establish the characters, their purpose, and the  leading action to reach the end of the film opening. I thought it was  hilarious that both Mrs.Stoklosa and I established that I wrote too much. However, It is a good idea to completely write the general synopsis for film so that I can make sure every thing in my film will lead to the seclusion of the film which is great.

Break It Down!

First Minute

- Characters Walking/ Dialogue Input here

-Establish setting at UM

- Excited to explore campus life!

- Walking to the Elevator 

Minute 15 seconds

- Meeting Creepy Old Man

- Girl struggling with "opening" elevator, old man helps

Minute 30

- In the elevator

- Tensions Rising

Final 30 seconds

- Reaching the challenge floor

- Switch into creepy mood/blue tint 

Here is some research I found from a very credible website that gave me more insights on my creation of the creepy elevator character. I want him to be odd and mysterious but awfully cheery. 

I Like It, Picasso!

"Final Floor" Cover Art !

    I can always rely on my subpar artistic abilities to lead me to such incredible, AMAZING, and advanced art. The art of sarcasm. I created a rough draft of my cover art that I feel will fit for my film opening.  I guess it would help if I further elaborated on what this cover art means. Here we go!

    As stated in my last posting, I stated that I wanted my cover art to be simple but visually bold. I also want my characters to be in action with a lot of emotion on their face. Because of my lack of artistic abilities, my vision may not be totally clear, therefore I will explain more. The primary setting of this film takes place in a building that has somehow switched over to a haunting route. The elevator plays a significant role in the story as it is essentially the transporter to the characters life-threatening challenges. Ever since the characters got into the elevator and encountered with the creepy man (pictured on the right), their life had been flipped upside down. It will be beneficial if the creepy elevator man is pressing the button that leads to their next, "adventure". Along with the bold, large font and context of the cover art, I think that this will be an enticing, and inviting movie poster. 

                        As always, much love!

                                                                    - Aneesa

                                                                        

                                

Fonts! Fonts! And more Fonts!

 

I never knew that there was such a wide selection of fonts available to me to use! I wasn’t too worried about being able to find reliable sources, I am a bit worried that I won’t be able to find a proper fitting font that will capture the thrill and suspense of my film. However, like always, I will work through this and get some outside input on which font will work for my credits, and opening. 

          Because my film is built around the feeling of suspense, I want my font to be bold and very strict a far as design. Typography in film can influence a viewer’s perception on the film before they even watch the movie. As soon as I saw the typography for the film, Vertigo (1958). The design is so clear cut and bold, which automatically tells me the nature of the film. Along with the cover art, I want the background picture to be simple but very visually loud. I’ve attached a very, VERY rough draft (disregard my very interesting artistic abilities.) of what I want my font and poster to look like.

 

"Typographical sequences are a good way to express creativity through the cinema."

Here are some fonts that I believe would fit my film, and will assist with setting the overall mood. 

Manipulating the Audiences' Emotion

 

I feel like I have had a major breakthrough with my film opening today. I am reaching the point where I am starting to fully develop each scene. I have divided my film into 7 scenes so that I can easily optimize my drafting and time. I am very excited about my project because I feel that with my effective planning, I plan on storyboarding my ideas in the upcoming days so that I can visually draft my written draft. Now that I have my full ideas written out, I can move onto further development as far as production.  I’ve attached my planning for each scene, a script will be coming up next.

Today I have researched the best ways to incorporate lighting within my media. From some various medias I have consumed, I have always acknowledged the dramatic use of lighting. When a director incorporates dim lighting, or blue hues, I feel a sense of isolation and anticipation. I really want to incorporate this feel within my film. Specifically for my film, I believe that at scene 4, the filter should switch to a blueish hue. Below, I have attached the link and a screenshot of the website I gathered some information on regarding the use of lighting. I will use low-key lighting and a blue tint. However, I will need to research the best way in which I can apply these techniques without making the scenes look tacky.

Correction! The tint that I want to utilize is a blueish-greenish tint. I think that this tint will be too overbearing if it is used for every shot and would not efficiently go along with the build of the plot. Once the two characters are in their frantic state at each floor, I will use this tint to show the heavy atmosphere.

                                                   BLUE: Cold, Depression                                                                      

                                                    Green: Corruption, Darkness, Envy                                                  

                                                    Red:   Violence, Aggression, Power                                                   

    I will use the blue and green tint when the characters are navigating their way through the challenge at each floor. The blue hues will foreshadow the characters’ growing depression for not knowing how to complete each challenge. The green will represent the envy the outside world for not being trapped in whatever world they fell into. Red will be used rarely when their time to complete the challenge is running low, and shows their despair.

                                                                     Examples in Film

            *Notable examples that I have found inspiration from to create shots similar to these*

                                    2001- A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick 

                                 2013- Only God Forgives, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

  2004- The Machinist, directed by Brad Anderson

Links to References used ;)

https://nofilmschool.com/creating-emotion-color-cinematography

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/bfi-rerelease-stanley-kubricks-2001

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/manipulate-emotions-with-color-in-film/

Flashing Lights

I feel like I have had a major breakthrough with my film opening today. I am reaching the point where I am starting to fully develop each scene. I have divided my film into 7 scenes so that I can easily optimize my drafting and time. I am very excited about my project because I feel that with my effective planning, I plan on storyboarding my ideas in the upcoming days so that I can visually draft my written draft. Now that I have my full ideas written out, I can move onto further development as far as production.  I’ve attached my planning for each scene, a script will be coming up next.

As with any thought out plan, there is room for adjustment and change. Here I am acknowledging that certain shots or compositions that I have planned out now is in fact subject to change. An open mind is key!

        *FYI*

    I forgot what I was going to say. Hopefully I will be back with my original thought! I'M BACK!! I wanted to give you all a heads up that I am still adjusting to the characters name, so I will be referencing the actors name so that I do not confuse each character. Here is a little guide to the characters and their real name!

Trinity (Trin) Williams- Nina

Aneesa (Neesa) Williams- Stacia

                `                        Scene Development: Final Floor

Scene 1:  Introducing the character

-        - Need to establish setting

-      -  STORYBOARD

-        -FOLEY!

-        -Taking pictures @ UM sign

-       - “Okay mom we will be back!”

 

Scene 2: Walking/ some suspicion

-        -Outside characters looking at her (Isa/Sabrita/Sophi/Sebastian/Xamir/Lucia)

-        -Rising Action

-        -Weird Elevator man (Xamir)

-        *IDEA* character holding the door open for them, standing in front of the elevator before it closes, “enjoy… good luck!” eerie character

-        -“You have reached the 10^th floor, have a great day”

 

 

Scene 3: Into the elevator/time in elevator

-          -Enter elevator, zoom in on the elevator buttons

-         - Faint elevator music in the back

-          -Aneesa jumping. Trin “stop jumping before we get stuck in here!”

-       -   Going up to elevator, gets stuck “see what happened, I told you not to jump, you broke it” “don’t worry, I’m sure this happens all of the time” (tries budging the elevator, not working, cut to elevator buttons going off then a ding) girls stagnant, “trin what’s going on”

 

Scene 4: First challenge/Conflict

-          - Elevator opens (add blue tint over the film so that it has the eerie sense)

-          -Stumbling/uncertainty

-          -Head hurting^ stumbling

-          -What is going to be the challenge? Research challenges that work to create suspense/conflict

-         - Must be a game

Scene 5: They won!

-          -When the character wins, they spin with camera movements (chaotic movements and zoom in and fast action movement, music silences- pause at the elevator ding, scared look) in relation with the ding/ back in the elevator for the next ring

-          -Cut to black

Scene 6: What is going on?

-          -Characters wake up, on the ground

-          -POV shot of Aneesa facing trin, eye blinking effect

-          -Use foley to show overbearing heartbeat

-          -Muffled “trin…what’s going on”

-          -Cut to characters getting up, head is clearing

Scene 7: Final

-          -Running to press the buttons on the elevator

-          -Elevator dings

-        -Xamir pops back up again “You have reached the 10^th floor, have a great day”

-        -Aneesa shaking creepy man (xamir’s) hand, holding it in a horrified look, creepy man smiling

-         - Suspenseful music

-          -Over the shoulder shot of Xamir, trin and neesa facing him, zoom in

-          -“Where the hell are we”

-          -Cut to black

Here's an accomplishment photo! Feeling good.

Meet the Girls!

 Character development is a huge part in creating the color scheme and contrasts. My characters are going to be quite different in appearance, so I've provided some ideas and breakdowns of how i want each character to look. The two lead characters will be female, but one character will have a somewhat basic look (will explain more) and the second character will have a more colorful, youthful look. These two characters are subject to change as far as color schemes and style. Here are a list of names for the characters that I am thinking of! Feel free to add some input! 

Names!

Female Lead #1

1. Nina 

2. Leila 

3. Bia 

4. Cara 

Female Lead #2 

1. Tara 

2. Anastasia (Stacia for short) 

3. Luana 

4. Peary 

I am leaning more towards Nina and Stacia for character names! Here is a character background and synopsis for each person. 

Nina 

- Nina is going to be the older sister who is attending the University of Miami! She is going to be 19 years old with a very mature personality. Since Nina is the older sister, she will have a more neutral color palette. Nina is going to be an ambivert who is very ambitious and is the problem solver of the group. 

Stacia 

- Stacia is the younger sister who has a very outgoing and bubbly personality. Due to Stacia being the younger sibling, she is going to take on the more childish persona. Stacia is going to be wearing bright, vibrant colors to represent her personality. I believe that with the coloring of makeup, hair, and clothes there will be a good impact on how the characters come across the screen to the viewer. 

New Perspectives

 

    I will always appreciate the interactions that I have with influential people. Today, I have been granted a new perspective on how I want to approach my project. I had a sit down conversation with Mrs.Stoklosa about all of my life worries, and she gave me a completely new view on life, which I was able to apply to this project. I won’t bore you with the specifics of our conversation, but I was able to walk away with the feeling that I must not approach life with feeling unsure or insecure of the outcomes but look at the opportunities that I am presented with. With the cluster of Florida State University decisions coming out, the development of this project and overall schoolwork, there is a lot of work that is on my plate. However, I can completely take all the resources available to me and worry less about the overall outcome of this project, but rather the different outlets I can utilize to make each portion of my project reaches its full potential. MORE DEVELOPMENT TIME!!

 

Genre

-        Suspense/Thriller

Who is my target audience?

-        With my overall goal of creating a thriller, I would not advise younger audiences to view this film

-        (13+)

-        For all genders

 

 What emotions do I want to evoke in the audience?

    Overall, I want the audience to be on the edges of their seat (as cheesy as that seems). As a suspense film, the audience should feel the build up of suspense, and not completely sure what is going to happen next. I have researched the important elements to incorporate into making a successful suspense film without having the audience

 

"Old" directed by M. Night Shyamalan (2021)

    Notably, one of the biggest take away from this film would be the coloring used. The greenish yellow overtones correlate with the eerie sense of the film, and I want to incorporate this with my film. Coloring has a lot to do with the overall mood elicited with the film, so I think that this would be a great addition to my film. However, I want the characters to have a young and fresh look to them so I will use other costume design and coloring for them specifically to contrast with the background. Character development will be discussed in another post! Specifically in this scene, I like how each character is in a rather bright costume which capture the excitement and thrill for the trip, which is in complete contrast with the rather unfortunate end for the characters.

    With this film, I have personally watched it and I like the approach the director had taken to develop their darkened and suspenseful film. With this case, I see how, "Old" is categorized as suspense/thriller but has its own characteristics that make the film suspenseful.

 

 

 Thank you Mrs.Stoklosa for your advice and wise words, I will forever be thankful for your input that relieved me. 

IT IS KICKOFF SEASON!!! WOOP WOOP!

    I am very proud of myself today! I sat down and started brainstorming some ideas for my film. If you remember from my previous post, I was undecided as to what I wanted to claim as my film. I truly doubted myself (never do that). I thought I was going to be struggling with creating a film opening, but here we are! Now, my ideas are always subject to change, but I feel relatively confident in this pitch. Below, I have inserted a screenshot of my developing ideas. I promised you that my ideas would be scattered around, but I ensure you that you will slowly see the development of this piece, I hope it will come together beautifully. 

                                            *INSERT A HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF HERE*

Why might this not seem as big of a deal? It IS! I understand that I have just now discovered my idea, but that was a huge obstacle for me so, YAY!! As you can see, my planning as of right now is relatively vague but I am in the rough draft stage. However, I have a great feeling about this plan. I have a lot more planning to do but this is what I have as of now. I want to steer away from productions that are of the thriller genre. To do this, I will have to think carefully about the composition of my shots, and what the different scenes will evoke in the audience. 

Here is a closer zoom of my drafting :)

Delving Deep or Scraping the Surface?

        Today I was able to research more into how to create an effective blog, so let's see how much I learned. First, I made some notes on the presentation in which I believe will assist me in creating a notable blog. These notes helped me a lot as I now feel more confident with creating a blog that will be able to showcase my journey and document my efforts. This blog is nothing too special, but I will be continuing my drafting for the concept or idea that I want to build upon. Without a doubt, this will be one of the hardest parts of my project, but I am ready for the journey. 

            One of my major goals is to create a blog that will not feel like a hassle to read. I want my readers to be comfortable, and read leisurely. I also made a new document that will hold my brainstorming ideas. For me, I brainstorm in a very scattered manner but I am able to reach my goal of creating an idea. As of right now, I am still swaying back and forth between two film opening ideas. I decided to spend a considerable amount of time researching previous AS level projects. I have seen many different projects that were PHENOMENAL!! Without a doubt, they have spent a lot of time and effort into creating a project. I want to look on my work and see all my hard work reflected. Let's begin, for real this time!

OKAY SOOO.. I am aware that my notes on the presentation may seem a bit short, as they notably are. However, I know that these brief comments will be a constant reminder that I need to stay on topic, and create works and ideas  that will relate back to my overall project. 

To answer my title question.....find out in my next blog posting ;)

What's Next?

 Hello beautiful people! I’ve got some exciting news for you all. These upcoming weeks will consist of heavy research, analytical thinking, creative spurs, and risk taking. Have you guessed what I will be doing? If not, no worries, many things in school may fall under that description. I am starting a new portfolio project!!I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking about the various lessons that I have learned from Mrs.Stoklosa. The transition that I am currently in from the music marketing project to the current portfolio project has been extremely smooth. However, the last lesson truly impacted me in a way where I knew that I was prepared to take on more projects. I was made aware that as a student, I was never frequently required to work on a project for long durations of time, which I feel is important for teaching commitment, hard work, and discipline. However, I had never been assigned projects that lasted for more than a month, save for my AICE Global Perspectives class. This made me realize that this upcoming portfolio project would test my ability to create not only short term, but little bits of creativity that would spawn into an impressive project. I use impressive lightly because I am aware that I am an amateur artist, with little experience. However, I will take in all the criticism I can receive to become a more well-rounded director.

               I am very in tune with myself, so the planning process is going to be very tedious, as my indecisive thoughts will lead me to different ideas for filming and planning. However, I have put great thought into what specifically I wanted to capture. I considered the various film openings Mrs.Stoklosa had presented us with, and I appreciate the exposure. I want to widen my scope on the film industry therefore I will continue my research specific to the genre I want to portray. I am currently between two different genres for my film opening. I will disclose the official genre once I am certain on the route I would like to take. I have a very open mind and I want to take a somewhat forward-thinking approach to this project. My sister, Trinity Williams completed both AS and A levels of AICE Media, and she has created great projects. She also has her fair share of poor projects even though she worked incredibly hard on these projects, she had not acquired the skill set to create an AMAZING project. After a long day of work, I Facetimed her just to get her input on the project thus far. After communicating with her my concerns, I was reassured and ready to take on this project. This upcoming week, I will continue my brainstorming and outsource to gather more information from professionals, in hopes of creating a beautiful project in which I will be proud of. My ideas for this project have ranged from a medical emergency to the fluidity of playing the violin, both topics in which I have profound knowledge in.

              I am thrilled to take you all on this roller coaster of a journey, as I will explore unfamiliar topics, and gain as much insight and knowledge as possible. I’ve kept you long enough, thank you for your time! Stay on the lookout for another update! Much love.

My sister and I talking about AICE Media!

Are You Laughing Yet?

 I will be exploring the world of comedy, terrible or a total knee slapper. I feel like there is no joke too bland or too funny that has been shown within various films. Typically, these comedies show a the character's in a goofy way, so quirky. Content is not restrictive within the world of film, which could be risky. 

Genre- I am sure as of now, you understand that we are talking about the comedic genre

Genre Conventions- How is it produced?

    Comedy is produced in many lights, literally. We see different productions utilizing certain camera techniques like extreme close ups, an off kilted look, and more. However, a common occurrence as far as production techniques, we normally see an array of colors utilized in these films. As I have learned, bright colors typically reference a sort of lightened mood. A smart tactic, the creators can now effectively capture the attention of the audience visually and draw them into the textual context of the dialect between characters.

How is comedy marketed?

    Through TV, duh. Just kidding, let's have some formality with this blog. Comedy is often marketed through public commercials that show the highlights of the film. By showing the snip bits of peak comedic scenes within a film, we see that the audience is more drawn into the film and their interest is piqued. This is very smart of the production staff because they know how to market to their target audience which can range from ages. A funny thing with comedy, the ages can be very broad or overly specific. Some films are specifically for the older crowd as there could be a display of vulgar language, nudity, and inappropriate scenes which is not set for the younger crowd. 

 Film Sample #1

"Norbit"

    An all encompassing yet fast paced story like Norbit, we see a great deal of comedic relief associated with a typical settings that consist of unfortunate events. As a comedic film, it is clear that the director, Brian Robbins was able to capture the raw nature of a loving community. Comedy was shown in the setting, costume design, vocabulary within the script, and through the overall look of the movie. To capture those quirky moments between characters can be challenging especially when trying to create a relatable and comical film.

Film Sample #2

"The Golden Girls"

    My favorite girls in my favorite kitchen. The golden girls is a classic television show that captured the heart of millions. Portraying three older women in a youthful sense has shown more representation for the older crowd as well as for the general audience. The golden girls are more than golden as they completely show you they are in fact the comedians of their own show. We follow these women, trusting that the next line will be one that causes erupting laughter.

Need some more comedic films? Need a recommendation? Want to reminisce on the, "good ol days" Here are some recommendations!

1. Hotel Transylvania

2. The Cosby Show

3. Boondocks (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373732/)

4. Modern Family

5. Sing

Here's Where We Start!

  Every blog starts somewhere, well here goes nothing.

How'dy I do?

 

This is special! The final posting for my music marketing project. I am thoroughly glad that I was able to learn more about the media world. As I stated in my last blog posting, I was unsure whether I would be capable of creating an established country artist. I set myself back because I doubted my ability to learn enough about country to create an engage presentation. However, I was able to learn more about the genre, and more about my capabilities. Through the various aspects of this project, I found myself questioning how I could take my research further, deeper.

The research process was tedious in a way that we got a lot of great insight on the evolution of country music. With very limited prior knowledge, I knew that I had to start somewhere. We started with researching the top country artists, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, and other influential companies. I saw that companies like Sony Music Nashville had been established for many years and had earn great recognition in the music field. When we were researching, I broke my own idea, or the stereotype that I held over country music as a whole. This research process felt like discovering an entirely new world of expectation, music, and a supportive fan base. Country music has deep rooted origins and is a bustling industry with a lot of emerging artists.

My group all had similar plain fields of knowledge when it came to country music, so it was a team effort to research and plan strategically. Our brainstorming process started out with us listening to the song and developing a story to corelate with it. We all easily agreed on creating a story in which past lovers are reminiscing and thinking about the times they had together. We thought this fit best because we had the tools and the resources to properly make this production. We then moved to our story board, which really helped us develop our overall story in relation to the shots, angles, and composition of our music video. In retrospect, I am thankful for the storyboard because it helped us have a clear plan for our music video. Furthermore, our group worked very smoothly as we all gave input on our ideas, and any significant or minor changes we saw fit. I learned how to better work in a group of people with different ideas. While I always considered myself a great team member, there are always things that I learn when working with a new group. The three counterparts of my group were all unique as far as the artistic creativity and their opinions, and I came to respect each one of their opinions.

The most invigorating part was the production. I enjoyed having my friends over to my house to film our video. We were able to play with the LED lights to adjust the lighting and color to our liking. I felt like a real star, and I appreciated the professionalism of my team members. We understood that we were there to film a project, but to also have fun in the meantime. We drove to Town Center to finish filming, and it was a success. Sebastian was a great director as he was able to tell us where to move within the camera, how to position our bodies, he is very talented. As far as postproduction, Sebastian did an excellent job at editing, and we were readily there to assist him. I felt confident in our presentation as I felt well-prepared and excited to share our research and findings with the rest of the class. Presenting was an amazing experience, and I truly felt the engagement from the spectators.

In reflection, I have learned how to improve certain skills like delegating tasks, creative bravery, and criticism. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to create such project, and it was very different from any other learning experience I have ever had. This project will help me with my Cambridge portfolio because I now have the reassurance that I can film and produced and do it to the best of my skill set. I know that we all start somewhere, and this project was my somewhere. I have learned from my downfalls in this project, and I will expect some downfalls in this upcoming portfolio project. However, I have learned from my mistakes, and I will be able to avoid these mistakes a I move forward to this new, invigorating project.