1st Group Meeting

New week, new blog! During today's class we participated in our first group meeting. During this meeting we discussed and analyzed our classmates' plans for their film opening, while providing feedback and constructive criticism. These group meetings are meant to allow for reflection and improvement. My group consisted of Daniela, Madison, Charlee, and Milver. 

 The first person to share their plans was Daniela. Her genre was murder/horror and followed someone who would get into relationships for the soul purpose to kill people. Due to Daniela’s confusion with the blog posting schedule my group and I suggested she should create an organizer that could benefit her and keep her on track. She did not have too many ideas on how she could achieve her film opening so we started off by suggesting low key lighting, dark hues, close up shots, and other classic elements of her genre to create the feel of the opening. One main problem I noticed with the plot of the opening is, it was hard to identify how the opening would set up the rest of the film considering there was no real cliff hanger or build up. 

Madison was the next person to share her film opening ideas. I really enjoyed the detail Madison incorporated into her characters and the background stories that were clearly reflected throughout the storyline. She was still deciding the ending of the plot during our group meeting, but she seemed to have a clear direction of where the story was going to go. One main concern for Madison’s project was how she would achieve filming in a car and what type of shots would benefit the scene. This concern was quickly shot down when she exclaimed her prior knowledge about shooting in a car and made me even more excited for the final product. 

The third person I heard from was Charlee and her mystery/crime film opening. She seemed to have a strong sense of how she wanted to go about her film. Including the actors (using older guys like dads), the location (an alley by AMC), and the overall vibe of the production. One thing I think she should work on is the script of the story as she expressed, she did not have a clear understanding of. 

Finally, I heard from Milver. He had no idea what his plot was going to consist of and was very unorganized with his blog posts. Madison suggested he should use more analysis within his posts to get a better understanding of how he can develop his opening. 

After I shared my ideas on my personal film opening, I received lots of praise for my creativity and uniqueness of my storyline and thought put into my characters. I was told to also include more analysis within my blog posts which is definitely something I would like to improve on. Overall, I enjoyed talking to my classmates and exchanging ideas. I think this group meeting created a safe environment to express opinions and critiques from peer to peer! 

My Group:

Greek Mythology 101

 One thing I would like to research more about when going into my project is... Greek Mythology! Since I am incorporating this subject into my film opening, I have decided to depict accurate information that can be furthered into the characters and their personality, outfits, and overall aura. Due to the Fates being so similar, it is important to differentiate them from one another having each one not be too similar to another. This being, once I have each character linked to its history it will be easier to interpret their traits and identify their overall persona.

What is Greek Mythology? 

 Greek Mythology is traditional stories past down by the ancient Greeks this includes epics and poems. These stories often follow Gods, Goddesses, and other Mythical creatures/beings. There are a range of themes that can be seen throughout epics, some include love, fate, honor, and loyalty.

The Fates 

The fates are three goddesses also known as Moirai which means, “lots destines”. This is fitting considering the fates’ role is determining the destiny of the mortals. The three fates include Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

Clotho- Spins the thread of fate (sang of the past)

Lachesis- Measures the length of the thread (sang of the present)

Atropos- Cuts the thread with scissors, determining the moment of death (sang of the future)

Films that feature Greek Mythology/ the Fates’ (for reference) 

• Hercules 
• The Odyssey 
• Percy Jackson 
• Thor 

Film Open Schedule

 When developing a schedule for my film opening I wanted to make it easy to understand while being efficient. I also wanted to take into consideration my extracurriculars and how they would effect my project and it's process.

Week 3: Feb 10-16

• Create script/dialogue
• Cast characters
• Research Greek mythology 
• Choose Film approach

Week 4: Feb 17-23 *Busy week Tech Week

• Research editing techniques
• Create storyboard
• Establish filming location
• Create mood board for characters

Week 5 Feb 24- March 2

• Film project
• Begin editing
• Document process/progress

Week 6 March 3-9

• Continue to edit film
• Research questions for CCR (Creative Critical Reflection)
• Plan CCR

Week 7/8 March 10-16 + 17-18 (combined week due to extracurriculars) *Busy week Tech Week + States

• Film CCR
• Finish project
• Project Reflection

Group Chat made to efficiently contact actors and other people involved:

Analyzing 3 Film Credit Sequences

Movinggg on... After deciding to include an opening credits scene within my film opening, I decide to research openings within my genre and use them for reference and inspiration. Opening credits give a quick homage to the main contributors of a film. After doing research I have decided to included credits for producer, director, writer, cinematographer, editor, major actors, and music. The three movies I have chosen are 13 going on 30, Barbie, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).

13 Going on 30: The opening credits scene begins with a blue background and pink glitter letters alluding to the magic glitter that transports the characters later. One of my favorite parts of the opening credits sequence was when when the blue background transitioned into back drop of the first day pictures this also sets the setting and time of the movie.

 

Barbie: This opening credits sequence was my favorite due to it's bright and engaging colors as well as its on theme fonts! The fact that there was a story being told through song that was playing during the credits made it entertaining and fun to watch. I also thought it was nice they mentioned the casting director, costume designer, special effects designer, ext in the opening credits.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): One thing I found interesting about this credits opening is how it mentioned the title of the film before listing any people, which is something different than the others. The credits follow the making of the chocolate which is interesting and transports the viewer into the world of the Chocolate Factory.

Analyzing 3 Film Openings

 The genre I have selected for my film opening is "Coming of Age" however I will be spicing it up with mystical and magical elements! I have chosen this genre because i like the wide variety of directions I could go with such a broad genre. I also decided to include whimsical elements into my film because I wanted to stray away from creating something unoriginal. The three film openings I will be analyzing are, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Wizard of Oz, and The Secret Garden.

 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:

 The opening scene of this film starts with an address on a darkened street. Off the bat, this sets the setting and tone of the beginning of the film. Notably, the non-diegetic music in a minor key adds onto the suspenseful tone. The magical elements of the movie are also seen rights away as he remove all street lights with a small magical tool. To add on, Wide shots were mainly used throughout the opening as it highlights the subject and setting at the same time.

The Wizard of Oz:

With various shots and angles, this classic story sets the rural scene of the beginning of the movie. Although there are no magic elements at the start of the film I did notice many parallels and foreshadowing. When Dorthys family was running after her when she fell I enjoyed the camera panning to follow are it gave a real sense of the groups chemistry.

The Secret Garden:

Culture accurate music and setting sets the scene for a stellar production. As Mary gets dressed by her maids, right away it shares the way Mary might view things due to her spoiled and poised personality. During this scene, the opening credits were also viewed along with a voiceover of Mary describing her current life. I addition, I enjoyed the diegetic sounds during the Earthquake this captured a life-like feeling to the film opening.

Genre Final Contestants

 The two genre's I have narrowed down to research for my film opening are, mystery and coming of age. I am not 100% set on one of these genre's but I felt there was a wide variety of ways I would be able to go about developing a film under these genre's. 

Basic Research:

Mystery: Center or follow a puzzle with a goal to solve it.

Plot Characteristics- Detective, crime, murder, clues, unclear villain, and twists

Film Technique Characteristics- Dark setting, suspenseful music, dark hues, lots of eye line match's, and lots of cross cutting.

Target Audience: Teens and adults

Basic Research:

Coming of Age (coa): Follows main characters transition and self identification/growth

Plot Characteristics- Identity struggles, bad relationships, family dynamics, self discovery, and friendship

Film Technique Characteristics- Bright hues, young settings (schools), flashbacks, and lots of representation depending on the film.

Target Audience: Teens

Transitioning into my Portfolio Project

 Welcome to my first blog posting of my portfolio project. I am very excited to get started with this project as everything we have learned in class has prepared me to succeed with this project. However, I have many ideas and am having trouble deciding the base of my film opening. Due to this, I have chosen to organize all my thoughts out on paper, and decide which ones I would be able to execute the best.       

                            

 After organizing my thoughts out on paper, I have narrowed down what I would like to see throughout my project and what i need to have in my project. I have also decided to approach the project by identifying and establishing conflict between characters, background (setting, character, plot), and settings. The next step is to choose two different genre's, do some research on both of them including its target audience, basic needs, classic shots, angles, and music that are typically included within the genre's of choice