Portfolio Blog Post Number 24

Here it is! My CCR! Enjoy:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ail5-mITIGU

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 23

Here it is, my film opening! I hope everyone who views this enjoys:)

https://youtu.be/WmeFMGdUJOY

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 22

    As spring break ends and senioritis grows, school is becoming more difficult to do. I am constantly thinking about why this is necessary because I already know where I'm going to college and feel like I'm done with high school.  I know this sounds so cheesy, but this is definitely my favorite and the best part of school. Working on this project is the one thing in school that means something to me and truthfully has anything to do with my "real life". I know this may be hard to believe because I am kind of quiet in class. School has never been easy for me, especially being home and not in a group environment. Though I am usually on the acting side of production, being on the editing and creating side has opened up a new door for me. It has lead and is leading to new perspectives, and lets my creativity flow in a different way. Rather than becoming a character I get to create one. 

   Ok enough about me, now lets talk about the character of Willow. Willow is being played by my best friend/neighbor Abbie. Abbie may not be used to acting in front of others (for the sake of acting), but definitely will admit that she is good at "acting" in real life. This is something we always joke about. Joe will also be played be her younger/middle younger sister Ayden. Abbie and Ayden are very close in real life so their relationship should not be hard to display on screen. Both Ayden and Abbie are two people who mean a lot to me and I am very close with so I am very excited to work with them. Everything we do is absolutely hilarious so there definitely will have to be a blooper reel. 

 Portfolio Blog Post Numer 21

  Today I am going to be explaining my script. My script is very simple and minimalistic, mostly because there is music playing for most of the opening. Here is the script

Willow, Joe, and the dog?

Willow's Bedroom- Morning

Alarm beeps and upbeat music begins playing. Willow eyes open. Willow is a teen girl, tall, blond, athletic, and pretty. She seems to be running late, but isn't in much of a rush. She jumps out of bed.

Willow is doing the normal getting ready and is brushing her teeth, as Joe walks in. Joe is Willow's younger sister. Pretty, cool, confident, and likes to have fun. They bump into eachother.

Joe: move!

Willow: Shut up 

Willow walks out as Joe walks in

Down Stairs-Kitchen 

Willow is making breakfast in a rush. Joe is playing with the dog. 

Willow: Lets go Joe!

Joe: Bye mom

Willow: Bye (rolls her eyes)

walks over and pets dog

They both run out the door when Willow realizes she needs perfume. She runs back in.

Joe: Willow lets go! Marcus is waiting on me. *smiles* and rolls her eyes

Willow runs inside, put on perfume, runs down stairs, and grabs her backpack. They run to the car. 

A slower pace song begins to play. Joe is putting on makeup and singing to a song on the radio (we can't hear it). Willow is bored and annoyed about going to school. They pull up. 

Joe: No way. I left my computer at home. 

Willow: k.

Willow does a U turn as if school isn't about to start and drives home. 

Home- Drive way

Joe: Two seconds I promise 

She runs in.

Joe is taking a long time and Willow is getting annoyed. Willow becomes impatient and gets out to check on Joe.

Willow: What the heck. 

Willow gets out.

Willow walks up to the front door and as she opens it sees something very unexpected. Almost terrifying, but not in a bad way. 

Fin

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 20

    In todays blog I am going to be explaining the changes I have made for my film opening. One of the greatest changes is probably my music choices. As I mentioned in a past blog post, one of my classmates  recommended my this website called "Epidemic Sound". It is a royalty free music website, that after you sign up, gives options to a bunch of music and sounds that can be used for free. I chose to go with this website because I like having all of my options in front of me. If lets say I chose two songs that I got the "ok" to use, but end up not like them, then I feel stuck. I also like all the options for each genre.

  The other changes that I am making is in the storyline. I am adding more of a flow in the storyline between Willow feeling "fine" and becoming "annoyed". Though the music shows this, I want to add smaller details. This is why Willow rolls her eyes at her mom, and is seen yelling and Joe more. Also the part of Willow doing a U turn right away, after Joe realizes she forgot something, is so nonchalant. 

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 19

  In this post I will be talking about the potential distribution of this opening. Since I am still an amateur in creating of film openings I am going to post this to free websites like youtube. I hope to grow from here and potentially start submitting future productions to small festivals.

Portfolio Blog Post Number 18

   

   Today I am going to be talking about my first group meeting! I know, I am about a week or so late compared to many others. Me and the other seniors all some how got sick on the same day, for only one day. Luckily, we had another group meeting that I was able to be present for. I was lucky to have a very good group of 4 other students, which we were able to give each other very good advice. After looking at all of their blog posts and hearing them talk I was very impressed. 

   I loved giving advice on what I have learned to other students. Some of my favorite were tips on lighting and how to frame the camera to make it look more real. The best advice I was given was on music and the title. One of my classmates recommended a really good website that I am going to use for both my intro and the "ending" of the intro. The other recommendation that was super helpful is on the title. Because I am inspired by Disney Channel and the movie "16 wishes" they said that the title should pop up and be super fun font.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 17

     In this blog post I am going to go into detail about things I can and cannot control in the making of this film opening. The most obvious detail that me, and every other person, doesn't have control over is the weather. Luckily, most of my scenes are inside so the weather should not affect too much. Unfortunately, the weather can affect lighting as well as continuity. 

Lighting:

   While creating anything on film, lighting is one of the most important components. It affects how the scenery and actors can be seen, the "vibe" of the film, as well as the story line. An obvious example would be if a scene takes place at night, the scene must be shot at night or with lighting that exemplifies night time. Just having good lightning overall is super important for the quality of the film. For my opening specifically, the film takes place during the day so it is important for it to be decently bright.

Continuity:

  Continuity is "the maintenance of continuous action and self-consistent detail in the various scenes of a movie or broadcast". This can even be if a water bottle is out of place. While continuity has to do with physical objects, it also has to do with lightning. Lets say someone is shooting the first half of the scene one day, and the second half the next day, but the first day it's raining and the second it's not. This wouldn't work. With a high budget, this can definitely be altered, but unfortunately for this project there is almost no budget. For me, this is why I am planning on shooting this all in two days,  so there shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only issue could come in the driving scene if the weather is not great.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 16

  In this blog post I am going to be discussing my editing schedule. I already talked about my filming schedule, which is two days towards the end of march, so this won't be too long. I am giving myself a week to edit because I do work better with breaks and such. I also am planning to give a 2 day "spot" between filming and editing to review the shots and make sure I don't need to re film anything. The editing is going to be pretty simple because all the shots are in order. Below I am going to list the order of editing and what each entails 

- Transferring and placing clips: this is where I transfer the clips into my computer, and then into Imovie (my editing software). Then I will be placing the clips in order.

-Deciding on clips: Because I am planning on getting multiple shots from each scene I will need to decide what I want to include, and what I don't

- Transitions: from here I will be deciding/placing the transitions (if there is an) between clips

- Music: Here is where I am adding the chosen music, and deciding where I want to cut it.

-Opening and closing: This is where I will be adding the Title and credits

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 15

   I am going to start heading more into the editing aspect of my intro film, making this blog post about fonts. Fonts give the overall "vibe", or genre kind of, of a film. The definition of a font is "a set of type of one particular face and size." So it's basically how the writing looks. Font's can make a movie look spooky, old, futuristic, exciting, etc. So clearly it's important to choose the right font that gives the right look for my intro. The title I choose is "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", so I will test on fonts on this. Some I like are: "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?", "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?". I would like the font to be cute, exciting, and almost kid-like. Below I will list my top 3 from this list.

- "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?"

-"Willow, Joe, and the Dog?"

- "Willow, Joe, and the Dog?"

 

  I think for now I am going to keep looking it over so that I can choose the right one.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 14

    I realized that I forgot one of the most important features of a film, the title. The title explains and represents everything in the movie, in just a couple words. I want my title to be a play on words, and to have multiple meanings based on how it is interpreted. This has not been a simple thing to think of. I think I want a 2 worded title, simple but meaningful, like Willow. I need to figure this out rather quickly, because it will be much easier to make a well, put-together, story board with a working title. The overall plot is about a teen girl who finds out a secret about her sister. Using this plot and the details from the opening I will list some ideas I have come up with:

  

   -Joe's Secret

   -Behind The Front Door

   -What now?

   -Where's Willow

   -Joe, Willow, And The Dog?

   My Top 3 are "Behind The Front Door", "Joe, Willow, And The Dog", and "Joe's Secret". From here I am going to take some time to think about it, and choose the best title that will grab the audience.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 13

    In this post I am going to dive deeper into the target audience for my film opening and why. The target audience tends to be based off of the genre, which are comedy, drama, and teen. The demographics of those that tend to watch movies in these dramas are: teens/family, and usually more female.

 

Why is target audience important?

   The target audience is basically what the whole film is based on. Each demographic that would watch the film needs to be incorporated so that they enjoy it. Examples of demographics are: age, gender, race, occupation, etc. So when choosing the target audience you must look at each demographic you want to incorporate, and see how you can follow through with it.

My target audience:

   Because I choose the genres: comedy drama and teen, I need to go into detail on how each of the demographics I am aiming for will be incorporated into the opening. The first demographic is age, which I choose teen/family. This means that the rating will be pg, maybe pg-13, at most and will avoid a lot of cursing. To aim it at teens I am making it relatable by incorporating school and how it can be boring. The next demographic is gender, which it is "aimed" more towards female. This is only because the two main characters are female and do things that more females, than males, can relate to. But in this day and age everyone has fortunately become so comfortable in expressing what they like to do without including gender, that the opening can be geared towards males and females. 

Portfolio Blog Post Number 12

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 12

   Schedule: 

      Because of how little locations there are to shoot I am planning on taking at most 2 days. The whole thing takes place in the day so I have from around 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. The actor of Willow will need to be there the whole time, while the actor of Joe is only in a couple of scenes. I am planning to start filming within the next 3 weeks, specifically March 22nd, but this could change. 

  Soundlist:

     I need clearance for both music choices, car starting up, low music in the background of car, dishes clinking, mom saying "bye", doors opening and closing, feet running down stairs, women gasping and screaming, sisters fighting, some dog noises.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 11

    Proplist

     This film opening doesn't call for any extreme props, most if not everything I have or can get easily. To organize everything best I am going to go in location order and list everything necessary.

   Willows room:

    Bed, mirror, phone for alarm, Alexa/or speaker, clothes to fill up closet, deodorant, perfume, backpack, car keys.

   Bathroom:

    Basic bathroom necessities, face wash, hair ties, towel, makeup, hair brush, toothbrush, toothpaste.

   Down stairs:

    Breakfast (cereal, milk), dining room table, chairs, cups, bowls, plates, napkins, dog bowl (maybe).

    

    Car:

      Both girls backpack, phones, makeup, music (maybe), keys, extra clothes and things to throw in backseat to look "messy".

    

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 10

        Today I am going to go into detail about music. Music makes the whole film and creates the vibe that the audience is supposed to feel. Films tend to have different genres of music throughout, but that all have the same feelings behind the music. It could depend on the location, the events, the main characters current emotion, etc., that decide the music choice for the moment. For my film opening specifically I planning on having at least 2 songs incorporated. Both of the songs have the same light hearted energy, but are opposing emotions. I am going to start out with a very happy upbeat song playing with Willow, the lead, is getting ready. Below I am going to list some music choices that I am either getting inspiration from, or will attempt to get the "ok" to use. All are inspired by the early 2000's. 

Taylor Swift "You Belong With Me" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw&list=PL05E1623111A9A860

Jill Sobule "Supermodel" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB2ecFVUcoo

Kim Wilde "Kids In America" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGGgdX8Zw9A

Toni Basil "Hey Mickey" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqLwHP4y6Q

     For the second song I would choose a bit of a slower song to go behind scenes. This symbolizes Willows boredom as well as is less of a distraction to what is going on. It is more the cancel out the quieter scenes and keep the movie lighthearted. Below I will list some more music choices that I will use or get inspiration from. Some are inspired by the early 2000's, some are not.

David Guetta "Without You" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUe8uoKdHao&list=PLDE0449831F103508&index=6

B.o.B."Airplanes" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6-c223DUU&list=PLDE0449831F103508&index=19

Khalid "Location" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by3yRdlQvzs

Justin Bieber "Sorry" karaoke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CLvFIsp9oo

   Overall my two top choices for both are "Supermodel" by Jill Sobule and "Location" by Khalid. This could change, but right now I like these best.

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 9

 Location Scouting:

   The main location is the family home. This is an average, suburban, family home with at least 3 bedrooms rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Preferably a driveway and a front yard. As most of the scenes take place while getting ready, the most important room is Willows bedroom. The bedroom is an average teenagers room: pictures on the wall, a big bed, and a mirror. Inspiration for the location is as follows: 

https://www.pinterest.com/Picsssss/film-opening-inspiration-board/ 

Here is the link for my pinterest inspiration board for this opening scene. It mostly is inspiration for Willow and Joeys characters and how they would be. I know this board posting is on the smaller side, but I feel like everything thats necessary to speak on, is it in. 

Portfolio Blog Post Number 8

  Casting:

    Willow: Lead. Big sister. Female, looks to be a junior in high school. Average height, dirty blond hair, with athletic build. Bubbly and kind. Has large expressions. Able to drive.

    Joey: Secondary. Female. Little sister to Willow. Looks to be a freshman in high school. Average height, naturally pretty face, dark hair. Likes fashion and is confident. A tomboy.

   My best friend and her little sister will be playing these characters. 

Wardrobe:

  Willow: Regular pajamas (pj pants and shirt). Sweatpants and t shirt. White shoes. Light makeup

  Joey: Hoodie and pajama shorts. Backwards hat, pants, and tank top. Converse. Average makeup

    These clothes I am all able to get at stores such as Pacsun, Target, Urban Outfitters, and Amazon. Makeup from Sephora and Ulta.

Location:

  Average suburban house, car, parking lot in front of school.

Equipment:

   Camera, lightning, wardrobe. 

    

 Portfolio Blog Post Number 7

      In this blog post I am going to begin planning out my sequence of scenes for the film opening. As the film centers around the lead character, Willow, I'm hoping to make the scenes bright and light hearted and then slowly progress into a darker "vibe". I am choosing to do this because I want it to represent what Willows head would look like,  as well as most teenagers. For the darker scenes towards the end I'm not planning on making them too deep, just more of a boring feel. I am not sure whether I am going to follow Willows whole day, or just her morning to mid-morning. Which ever I chose I will definitely be ending it with a cliff hanger, which if this was a whole movie would introduce the "problem". Though this problem is never addressed in the opening, I still would like to address it so that the actor has some background to go off of. Overall, I am letting the actor run with the idea, but the cliff hanger would be Willow waking in on the family dog speaking to the younger sister. At this point in my posting I am going to explain what each of the openings would look like, depending on which time frame I use.

     Morning To Mid-Morning:

   The scene would begin with Willow shutting of her alarms and getting out of bed. As soon as the alarm shuts off an upbeat song begins to play, just like every early 2000's movie.  From here she would go into the bathroom and brush her hair and wash her face. While walking out of the bathroom her little sister , Joey, would walk into her and they would push each other. Willow would then walk back into her room and look at her self in the mirror and give her self a thumbs up, with a bleak expression. At this point willow picks out her clothes, sweatpants and a tee shirt, and runs down stairs. She makes herself and her little sister a bowl of cereal, eats it, grabs her keys, says bye to her mom and yells for her sister to come, and runs out of the door. Joey is playing with the family dog when she hears this. Willow realizes she forgot something and runs back around as Joey, dressed in pants and a backwards hat, runs past her screaming that her boyfriend is waiting for her. Willow rolls her eyes, runs inside to put on perfume, and gets in the car. The music begins to slow down as Willows mood is bored while driving to school. Next to her,  Joey is putting on makeup in a good mood. As the girls pull up to school Joey realizes that she left her computer at home that she needs, without any hesitation Willow turns around to drive home, it is clear she doesn't want to be at school. Joey runs inside to grab her stuff but is taking a while. Willow gets frustrated and goes inside to see whats up. There is a close up of Willow grabbing the door handle and turning it, and then a zoom shot of Willows shocked face screaming at the sight of whatever is past the door. 

   After writing this opening scene with the time sequence of morning to mid-morning, I realize that for the sake of time, and not wanting to drag out unnecessary scenes, I am going to go with it. I am going to keep in the part of me questioning the time sequence in the blog, so I have it to look back on if I need it. I am pretty happy with what I have so far and am excited to develop it more. I also really like the 2000's vibe it has.

      

 Portfolio Blog Number 6

          In this blog post I am going to go into specifics about the characters. There is only one main character, which is the teenage girl. The rest of the characters are minor, background characters. These consist of: the younger sister, the dog, and any civilians. As the scene focuses on the main character getting ready, most of the other characters are doing day to day things in the background.

Lead: (Willow) Inspired by the lead of geeked charming

     Willow is a 17 year old girl in her Junior year of high school. She is tall, blond, athletic, and creative. She has usually happy, but a bit sassy to her family, but overly kind. She doesn't care too much about her appearance and has a small group of best friends. She is close to her family but when she is in a bad mood fights a lot with them. In this specific scene Willow is not in a good mood. She wakes up for school and gets ready for the day, for school specifically. While getting ready her attitude shows as she fights with her sister for space to get ready. Later her kindness shows when she is talking to her mother. Throughout the rest of the opening she is bored and just getting through the morning.

                                           

Sister: (Joey) Inspired by Sarah Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen

    Joey is a 14 years old girl in 9th grade. She is Willows little sister. She is bubbly and sassy, like willow, and a tomboy. The family dog is her best friend as she isn't close with her parents. She likes dressing cool and is usually with her boyfriend. In the opening she is seen a couple of times getting ready in the background and fighting with Willow to get ready. She is also seen later playing with the dog and driving with Willow.

Minor characters:

    The family dog is a small white dog who loves Joey. The mother is never seen but the girls talk to her sometimes. She is kind but a bit absent and involved with work. Any other background characters are civilians walking/driving around

 Portfolio Blog Number 5

      After doing my past 2 case studies I decided that I am going to stick with the teen coming-of-age and romantic comedy genre. Movies that I am getting inspiration from are films like "Clueless", "Hairspray", and "16 wishes". All these movies are overall light hearted and are about teenage girls in high school going through a "mission". So for this blog post I will be doing my last "case study" on these three movies and elaborate on how I will incorporate the ideas into my film opening.

 

                                                                    

  One of the most iconic scenes from "Clueless" is the scene where Cher, the lead, is getting ready for school. It's the scene that every girl growing up in the 2000s looked up to. Cher shows her "way normal life" as she picks out her clothes from a computer,  walks around her beautiful house, gets into her expensive car and goes to school. I like the idea of following the main character getting ready for her day. This movie is very lighthearted and "pleasing to the eye" to watch with the bright colors. I definitely will be taking inspiration from this movie, and that scene.

                                                               

  "Hairspray" starts off the same way I hope to start my film opening, with the main character getting ready. What I particularly like about this opening though, is that you don't see the full character until she is done getting ready. You watch Tracy, the main character, shut off her alarm, do her hair, and get changed all before she is fully shown in a mirror shot. In this movie this is done pretty quickly, as well as with her singing during, which I don't plan to do. I definitely am inspired from this movie, but for my opening I am planning on dragging out the getting ready process a bit.                                                                                                      

 "16 Wishes" is the exactly my goal for a main character. An average teenager who definitely isn't perfect but has her perks. I like how relatable the main character is in this movie as well as how you see her family in the opening scene. As it is a Disney movie, it is a bit quirky, which I kind of like. Because I want my opening to be enjoyable for everyone to watch I will definitely keep calm with how quirky, but I might incorporate it a bit. Overall, I really like the lead in this film and will be taking inspiration from it. 

   Overall all 3 movies are inspiration I am taking from. The overall watching the lead getting ready in "Clueless". Not seeing the lead until after from "Hairspray". And the leads personality from "16 Wishes". I'm planning on my film opening being lighthearted, and about a relatable teen girl getting ready.