Group Meeting #2

 Hi everyone! In class today we had a group meeting to help each other out with ideas for our CCR videos.

First up, Emi introduced her two beginning ideas. For one video she wants to pretend to be a super famous actress who will unbox fan mail like gifts, letters, and more. For her other one, she has the base idea that she wants to make it an interview, but she doesn’t have the idea developed all the way yet.

Next, Jano mentioned how he wants to make his video of him self being interviewed in the car and getting asked what he does for a living, where he will incorporate his two questions. For the other one, he will make a YouTube vlog of him talking about his film on-set and showing a behind the scenes video of his process.

Later, Mariana mentioned that she wants to do a Vogue: What’s in my Purse Challenge where she either takes out props from her film or CCR questions. She is still struggling to find a second idea for her CCR.

After, Isa thinks that her CCR ideas can be a fake mock trial where she will be the witness as the producer. Her second CCR idea was to be interviewed as a football player after defeating their opposing theme. She planned to dress up with football gear 

Lastly, Sofia was thinking of making a breaking news report, where she will be interviewed, which she said would go along well with her film opening. For her second CCR video, she wants to bake something food related to answer questions and the idea is that what she bakes is a symbol of her film and the hard work. 

Overall, this group meeting helped me develop my final ideas for my CCR posts, which i will mention on my next post.

Offline

 Hi readers! I have been off of posting for the past week due to not having any content filmed, which has set me back on my project. 

The set for my movie is my sister's room, as I explained earlier in my posts, but it has been a bit conflictive because neither one of us have been home (due to both of our different extracurriculars) at the same time so that she can clean and we can film together. We talked it out, and tomorrow we are taking the day off and dedicating it to the filming process.

We had to come to an agreement and concluded that I would help her clean so that we can film quickly and still have time to do any other homework assignments. We are going to spend around an hour filming so that I can have at least 2/3 of my filming needed so I can also start to edit. 

Casting

 Hello readers! Small post today, but I will be speaking of who my cast will be for this film opening.

To fit the Hispanic physical traits, I will use my own sister to act for the character of Camila. She has the traditional thick black hair, she has dark eyes and relatively tan skin.

For the voice that speaks during the end of the hospital scene, I will ask my mom to say it, since she speaks fluent English, but still has a small accent whenever she speaks, which many Hispanic teenagers’ parents have. She won’t have any on-screen time, which will make it easier for us to take as many shots as needed to make the fit exactly like how I had it in mind.

Struggles

 Hey everyone! Today I'll be talking about some of the issues I faced while developing my project. 

One major obstacle I faced while developing my film opening was figuring out how to show Camila’s struggles without using too much dialogue. Since the story is about her changing herself to fit in, I had to rely a lot on facial expressions, body language, and small details in her environment to get the message across. This was difficult because I wanted to make sure the audience could understand her emotions without making it too obvious or exaggerated. I asked a friend what she thought I should do and she suggested I change her rooms appearance to reflect how she feels inside by making it messier.  

Another issue I faced was planning the setting and props to match Camila’s personality and struggles. I wanted her bedroom to feel plain and structured at first, but I had to think about how to make that look interesting on camera. Making sure her environment reflected her transformation also took a lot of planning, like deciding which objects would stay the same and which would change over time. Since I was working with limited resources, I had to get creative with what I already had instead of buying new decorations. In the end, I think these challenges helped me improve my storytelling skills and pay attention to small details that make a big impact on my storyline.

Audio Work: Soundscape Planning

 Hey everybody! I’m almost at the end of this planning and would like to include a detailed sound layout I would use along with the dialogue in my film opening. 

Got it! Since the surgery isn’t shown in the end, I’ll adjust the sound outline to focus on her internal struggle rather than a post-surgery reveal.

Hospital Room (Opening Scene) 00:00 – 00:10 

- Heart monitor beeping. This introduces the medical setting and Camila’s state.  

- Background chatter (quiet). Shows people are all around Camila. Slowly fades away to nothing. 

Transition to Bedroom 00:10 – 00:15

- Alarm clock ringing. Signals the shift from the hospital to Camila’s daily life (before the surgery)  

Camila’s Bedroom (morning) 00:15 – 1:00

- Bedsheets rustling. Adds realism as Camila moves in bed to get up. 

- Birds chirping. Indicates the early morning setting

- Click of glasses being picked up. Highlights Camila’s routine and dependence on her glasses as a part of her. 

- Footsteps on the floor. Adds movement to the room.

- Drawer opening and closing. Shows her selecting clothes, reflecting her tidy nature. 

Camila’s Bedroom (evening) 1:00 – 1:15

- Clock ticking softly. Creates a sense of time passing

- Pages turning in a book. Shows her academic focus and routine.

- Pen scribbling on paper. Represents note-taking 

Self-Image Reflection & Change (following morning) 01:15– 01:45

- Alarm ringing. Shows repetition of her previous morning but on another spectrum 

- Deep sigh. Camila’s internal struggle

- Subtle slow creak of the closet door. Highlights her hesitation before picking a new outfit

- Fabric rustling. Indicates her changing into different clothes.

Decision moment 01:45 – 01:55

- Zipping of a bag. Represents her being certain about her outfit of choice

- Quick sigh. Shows she's ready to begin the day

- Muffled family conversation in the background. Reflects a distant yet present family dynamic.

Final Scene 01:55 – 02:00

- Soft exhale. Suggests emotional change.

- Slow, melancholic or suspenseful music fade-in. Reflects uncertainty if she likes her new self. 

- Door closing. As she walks out the house (gives suspenseful ending) 

Importance of Credits

 Hey there! For my post today I will write about important aspects of the credits.

Something that I was wondering as my teacher spoke about credits for our opening, was whether the order of the credit imported. Upon my research these are a few conclusions that I have come up with.

Main actor credit should be placed first when the scene begins. I would like to begin with my credits as soon as Camila sees her new face in the mirror, to symbolize that she is that main actor and add individualism to her character, separating it from the other credits. 

I also researched what are many important credits to use in the into credits and stumbled upon a website that helped me widen the list of credits I had noted in class.

1. The production company
2. The title of the film
3. The leading actor/actress
4. The rest of the leading cast
5. The supporting cast
6. The casting director
7. The film score composer
8. The lead costume designer
9. The associate producers
10. The lead editor
11. The production designer
12. The director of photography
13. The executive producers
14. The line producer
15. The writer(s)
16. The director

Websites used for research:

Film credits unveiled: Your complete guide to acknowledging contributors (Descript) - https://www.descript.com/blog/article/structure-opening-and-closing-film-credits-the-right-way

How you should structure your film credits (

BY

EVELYN TRAINOR-FOGLEMAN) - 

https://www.evercast.us/blog/film-credits

Character Development

 Hi reader! Since I have already made a previous post regarding my plot, which included a brief development of my character (Camila), I will be writing about the elements around her that make her who she is.

Family:

Camila's parents have strong Hispanic values and focus on discipline and education. They support her on everything, but also have high expectations for her, usually putting off the importance of developing a social life to simply focus her studies. Although they financially support her, they do not discuss issues like self-image, and she is left to reflect on her physical image on her own.

Friends:

Camila prefers to keep to herself and concentrate on her studies rather than having a circle of friends. She, at times, talks with students, but she finds it hard to build strong relationships because of her awkwardness and quiet personality. Even though she has no aspects of popular people, she still wishes to be like them and be a part of their group.

School:

Camila stands out as a student in her competitive high school. She feels that all the hard courses she takes overpower her everyday life. Beauty standards are reinforced in the school she goes to, since many girls follow a particular lifestyle and appearance aesthetic. Although Camila's intelligence is seen as very significant, she still feels segregated by her appearance and insecurity.

Extracurriculars:

Camila plays an instrument (like the piano or violin) as an escape from the stresses of her everyday life. Despite loving music, she barely ever expresses her love for it to others because she views it as just another chore on her intense schedule. She eventually loses interest in her passion for her instrument as she becomes busier with changing her image.

I’m going to try to include these elements along the opening sequences to add a more developed storyline to the plot. 

Audio Work: Music

 Hey guys! Today I will share my thoughts on how I will develop sounds onto my film opening.

First off, since the very beginning of the story and the first shot(s) has such an intense impact onto the rest of the film, I was thinking of adding somber instrumental music onto it. This would be necessary since this whole scene would be filmed with little to no dialogue. My music choice for this scene is taken from the website https://freetouse.com/music/, which provides music that is free to use as long as the correct credits are given, which the website formulates automatically. I spent around 5 minutes browsing their music library and came down on the decision to use the song Technology Corporate by Aylex.

The credits I must give for using this piece are:

Music track: Technology Corporate by Aylex

Source: https://freetouse.com/music

Vlog Music for Video (Free Download)

As the opening of the film progresses, I was thinking of not including more music and making all the sounds diegetic to add a natural aspect to it, making it seem more organic and relatable. The only moment I will be using music is during the first scene, and up until the end of the title sequence as reality sets in to the real beginning of the story.

Mise-èn-scene Development Struggles: Costuming

 Hi everyone! Today’s post will be about my costuming ideas for my film opening.

Opening up the film, I will use bandage from my first aid kit at home, along with an arrangement of bandaids along the actor’s nose to seem as if they just got it done. I will also use makeup to make it look as if the facial area around the nose is all bruised. I will also try to find clothes similar to hospital gowns, but if it doesn’t seem realistic enough, I was thinking of going to my pediatrician and ask if I could have a discardable one for the purpose of this project. 

Later on, as Camila is in her room when she gets up, she will be wearing simple black and white clothes as she doesn't want to stand out and is overall a dull person. Later on, she will change to a bright pink shirt to represent her personality change and new train of thought.

Mise-èn-scene Development Struggles: Set + Props + Lighting

Hi readers! Today I will be blogging about how I plan to make certain parts of my film seem as realistic as possible using my set, props, and specific lighting.

Hospital scene(set+lighting)- I was thinking about using ring lights to include as much light as possible within the hospital bed scene so that it seems like the real pale lighting within an actual hospital. I will make sure to keep a close up shot so that not many elements can be seen other than the girl's face to not give away how it's not truly being filmed within a hospital.

Room Decor (set&props)- To make Camila's room fit her initial self, I will use my sister's room, since it has mostly black to white decorations and not much color, compared to my room which I have decorated with pink things everywhere... With the black and white scale, I can create a more organized image for Camila, since it will look more clean. Also, as she will have many books stacked up on her dresser, I need to find whichever books i can find scattered throughout my room to add for this element so that she can seem like nerdy girl.

(I want the book stack to look a bit like this^^^)

Overall, I developed my plot and script to accommodate the layout of my house, also knowing what part of the house I will be using to film, so that everything can work well together in perfect harmony in the end.

PS: The hardest part now is going to be keeping everything clean and put away while I have recording sessions. I also have to find a way to make my sister act for this part; if not, I will play the part myself, and teach my sister how I want it to filmed, since I can't do both things on my own. My last resort will be to ask one of my classmates to help me out with filming. I really don't want to pick this route since I get distracted very quickly (which is why I want to do it with my sister because we live together so we can basically record at any given moment and not have to worry about having to schedule a reunion each time I want to film.) This also gives me the chance to go back and record shots all over again if needed, without any hassle.

Lost in The Script

Hey everybody! In today's post I will show you my script... hopefully it wont bore you.

In my opening I want to show a large contrast of Camila's different personalities as the opening progresses, which I will accentuate within the way she acts as well as the way her room looks. To make the film look organic, I am thinking of making many long shots without many cuts, which means a lot of practice takes when I truly film.

*important*: I want to accentuate how Camila doesn't wear her glasses anymore and sort of loses her identity. I want that to be able to be analyzed when watching the opening. I have to further develop those shots to add more meaning.

Next week, I will make my storyboard and have it displayed and explained on its own post, so keep an eye out for that!

INT- HOSPITAL ROOM- NIGHT

Lights flash onto CAMILA's face. It is covered in bandages from her surgery. She can't seem to be able to focus her sight as she suddenly takes a cutting deep breath in. Heart monitor beeping can be heard slowing in the background.

CUT TO: ECU of Camila's eyes slowly blinking shut as the heart monitor flatlines.

 

CAMILA'S MOM

(v.o.)

I wish we knew what was going on inside her head.

 

FADE INTO: INT- CAMILA'S BEDROOM- DAY

ECU of Camila in her bed at home waking up from her alarm.

Camila opens her eyes abruptly. ZOOM OUT. Camila has a tight slick-back hairstyle. She reaches over to shut off the alarm and grab her glasses.

CUT INTO: Image of her nightstand as she shuts off alarm and her hand reaching for glasses. CAMARA PANS LEFT as Camila puts the glasses on and gets up from her bed enthusiastically.

TRACKING SHOT as Camila walks over to see her reflection in the mirror

CAMILA (whispering to herself)

Today’s the day.

 

She takes a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror.

 

CUT TO: Title sequence

FADE OUT TO: INT- CAMILA’S BEDROOM- DAY

Camila opens her eyes hazily. ZOOM OUT. She reaches over lazily to shut off the alarm and doesn't grab her glasses.

CUT INTO: Image of her nightstand as she shuts off alarm. CAMARA PANS LEFT as Camila rubs her eyes and gets up from her bed slowly.

She walks to her mirror once again.

The schedule, that was previously set up nicely on her wall next to her mirror, is now ripped off halfway and crumpled up on the floor. 

Camila faces the mirror.

 

CAMILA

(v.o.)

(groaning) I can be different. I just have to try harder.

 

She looks at the stacks of books, knocks them down, then looks at her clothes: plain. TRACKING SHOT as Camila then walks over to her closet and grabs a shirt she had never payed attention to before.

CLOSE UP to her hands as they reach for a bright pink top, in contrast to her usual bland outfits. She hesitates but finally takes the shirt off of the hanger to put it on.

 

CUT TO: INT- CAMILA’S BATHROOM

Now dressed differently, Camila's hair is free from her regular hairstyle and styled slightly more “fashionably.” She looks at herself in the mirror. Camila smiles. She takes one last look and then walks out of her bathroom, grabs her backpack, and heads out the door.