New plot!

Okay so Yejin and I were figuring out what was going to happen with the story and Yejin had one key moment stuck in their head of having a scene surrounding a mug breaking. Since Tina always tells us to do things simply I figured that should be the main point of conflict between our subling dynamic. After this talk, I quickly came up with a very rough outline of what should happen that follows the sibling dynamic, the leaving for college, and finally the mug breaking.

Sibling starts packing 

You see college box somewhere in the frame 

Pick up kids cracked mug 

Turn around to see the scene 

Mug was given as a gift to the kid 

Sibling drink Alcohol out of the mug 

Kid finds them 

Sibling says like don’t tell mum or something like that

Late that night sibling hears banging downstairs

Siblings walks downstairs to see kid trying to get the mug

Kid trying to get mug to also drink liquor 

sibling sees them 

They drop mug 

They confront each other

They glue mug together 

High angle of siblings putting the mug in goodwill box 

Hear sibling as an adult saying the closing statement 

We really wanted to focus the story on growing up, a loss of innocence, and the fear of moving on. Since I'm the youngest in my family and Yejin is the oldest in there we were able to combine our experiences to truly gauge what would happen in this world. I'll let you know what happens with the script because sadly I don't think we'll be able to film this week :(

Scheduling...again

SCHEDULE

Monday: Rewrite script and Storyboard
Tuesday: Rewrite script and Storyboard
Wednesday: Deliberation with Sophie about shots
Thursday: Shoot
Friday: Shoot
Saturday: Edit and Reshoot if needed
Sunday: Edit

This is going to be our schedule for the next week! Things may be lengthened depending on our school workload as this week were also starting school from home but let the creativity begin!

Maya Deren you beautiful genius

Hello!

A while ago I was given the opportunity to watch Solange Noles short film at the Perez Art Museum, although before there were a few short films showed before as well.  Maya Deren's film "Meshes of the Afternoon" played and forever changed my view of film. Maya Deren was an experimental cinematographer and creator during the mid 1900's. Considering Maya Deren's techniques (written below) mainly revolving around the idea of amateur filmmaking with little budget and no commercialism interference Yejin and I will be taking on her ideals and incorporating them into our project. If you haven't seen Deren's work I highly suggest you do!

New plans

Okay okay okay, let's get this started for real this time!

Yejin and I had a group meeting with our teacher about the logistics of our existing project rather than changing the entire concept like I was thinking we were going to do.

~ TINA'S NOTES ~

(These are her words paraphrased)

- Keep the sibling dynamic, its what made your piece so special!

- Switch the storyline of older sibling reflecting back onto the younger sibling 

- Younger sibling should maybe be going to college, some sort of transition 

- Have an experimental view of the past, give reasons for refection and metaphorical interpretation 

~
After our deliberation, Yejin and I will be taking her advice and applying it to our newly formed concept of the story.

I think the reason as to why I was so hesitant to switch some of the main traits of the story and preferred to change the concept entirely was because of how attached I've become to it. This story is something I've been super protective of due to it resonating close to home in many aspects, but this interpretation I'm still happy with.

Plus in this fashion, Sophie is able to film from her house and Yejin and I from mine.

How do you... engage?

There's a couple of main goals I want to be demonstrated to the audience when watching our untitled project, and in this reflection, I've realized how certain aspects of the project represent similar ideas to whats in the movie "The Blind Side".

I reluctantly watched "The Blind Side" when it was released in theaters with my mother who dragged me to see it. At this time I was seven years old, more interested in colorful animations who spoke in an exaggerated structure with each character topped in glitter, not in the story of a kid who played football.

I walked out of the theater that day a new person, having "The Blind Side" proceed my love of Disney's "Princess and the Frog".

After viewing "The Blind Side" I walked out of the movie with a newfound appreciation not only for cinema but for people. I'm not sure how evident it's been but when I was younger I was very emo and honestly painstakingly cringy, so because of this, I fell into a mindset of "hating everyone and everything" to quote my younger self. Though the movie did not stop my 'emo-ness', it flourished a desire within myself to help everyone around me, and I never really stopped.

(this is the only picture I could find from my emo days... I really liked this shade of blue for a period of time)

In revisiting John Lee Hancock's portrayal of Michael Oher and the Tuohy family, I wanted to make audiences feel everything I felt when watching "The Blind Side". But how?

Well, there are a couple of things both "The Blind Side" and our untitled project have in common.

Both have a

- Touching story

- Impoverished upbringing

- Highlights the hidden life of many

But most importantly, they both show the true power of kindness and selflessness.

So how can we do what Hancock did?

ATTITUDE!

One of (if not the most ) important thing that needs to be integrated within our film is attitude.

Micheal Oher's character never once takes pitty upon himself, never victimizing himself for his situation, but also realizing that most of what's happened to him hasn't been in his control. In our project situations are a little different, the little sibling has never known anything above poverty as that's the life they were raised in similar to Oher. But since they're younger, they haven't realized or necessarily experienced all the negative societal implications that comes along with being below the high and even middle class. This will mainly be portrayed by our actors and in the way they embody themselves as a character, trying to make it all feel as real as possible.

In reality, this is just a post about how much I love this movie and how much it affected me and honestly brought me to volunteering so much to help others, realizing I can never judge a book by its cover...which is exactly the point in our untitled project.

Art is key!

Since this week hasn’t shown much progress in production due to the Coronavirus, I have spent some time doing more research in regards to creating the key art to be used for marketing.

Thankfully, Yejin, my partner for this project, is well versed in creating digital art so we can get really creative with what image we want to create that best represents our film and is eye catching and visually appealing.

As it is with any marketing campaign, the target audience will play an important role in how the key art will look. We are thinking a target audience between the ages of 16-23 would be good, because they may still be young enough to relate to the child perspective of the film, while also being mature enough to understand the theme of the story. (I’ll probably elaborate on this on another post in the new future)

Yejin introduced me to Behance, a sort of social media site for artists and content creators in general. We completed some research regarding the design trends of 2020. Knowing contemporary design trends, we can create as engaging of key art as possible.

Here are some of the trends we found.

In Illustration: 

• DISCREET OUTLINED FLAT ILLUSTRATIONS

In terms of trends in illustration, a certain style of illustrating has been quite popular. Using a combination of bright colors, with little to no line to create eye-catching and graphic images have been a trend. If we end up doing some kind of illustration for the key art, it would be good to do it in this sort of style.

• ULTRA BOLD COLORS

Bold colors can bring any illustration to life ! I mean, I love ultra bright colors anyway so I would love to include that aspect in our keyart. I also think it would work well with our target audience too.

• LARGE UNINTERRUPTED COLORED SPACE

In combination with some cool typography of sorts with the title of our piece and an illustrated part of our key art, we could also include an abundance of colored negative space. Maybe we could do something cool with the negative space that we do create… kind of like that face-cup illusion.

 

Yejin has already talked about making an interactive postcard… so we’ll probably be using our key art for mainly the social media and other digital marketing components (aka… the website).

Although it is a bummer we haven’t been able to get into production yet we are moving slowly... but surely. I hope nothing throws another cog into our already struggling gears.

SOURCE

https://www.behance.net/gallery/86124977/2020-Design-Trends?tracking_source=search%7Cdesign%20trends

Graphic design is my passion

While our production has been put to a temporary halt, the blog postings must go on !

I thought I’d give you details of some miscellaneous notes about the website and other digital branding components we have to figure out for our film.

THE WEBSITE

• DEVICE DEPENDENT DESIGN!
• Our target audience is on their phone all of the time. While we could of course still get someone’s attention from a computer screen, we would best reach our target audience through a much smaller and accessible screen. Therefore, we must make sure the layout of our website is MOBILE COMPATIBLE!!!
• EMAIL CAMPAIGN
• We had already completed some research on websites made to market films (which Yejin and I found out was all with a singular website creator which was WHACK) and we noticed that some of them had a sort of newsletter that gave them details on the movie’s release. They told them about new trailers, where the film is being distributed, stuff like that. It would be good to have some direct communication with our potential audience.
• DARK MODE ?
• If we end up having a lot of white on our website, it would be good to create a sort of darker theme for it as well. A lot of social media have been giving “dark mode” as an option on their digital platforms, since it may give them less strain on the eyes. Maybe giving them this option would be good?

OVERALL DESIGN

• HANDWRITTEN TYPOGRAPHY
• So Yejin has always had an obsession with the sort of “handmade” look with most of the stuff they create, so it is only best we use handwritten typography. We were thinking of making some kind of font maybe?? We think maybe we could create lettering that looks like a child wrote it to reflect the perspective in the film.
• GIFS!!!!!
• Still images are a thing of the past! Throughout our digital marketing components, we will be using a lot of gifs :-)

SOURCES FOR RESEARCH:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/08/16/dont-skimp-on-these-15-essential-elements-of-your-marketing-campaigns/#4c338bdf285b

https://www.creativebloq.com/features/graphic-design-trends-2020

New Beginnings

PANIC ENSUES!
Okay so Corona is messing everything up with our planning, our main actors are currently being held under quarantine and there's a world of hysteria as of the moment.
So now Yejin and I are heavily debating the fact that we have to change our entire story due to not being able to have any actors last minute and nobody wanting to leave their house.

So were debating making the short film an episode of a show we thought of around a year ago titled: "Sam and Punko. This would be a comically animated show like "Adventure Time" mixed with "Family Guy", imagine dirty innocence. That's "Sam and Punko".

BUT animation takes a painstaking amount of time and Yejin would be the leader in this because she has the programs in order to animate so it puts me in a place of not being able to help as much as I'd like to. So we're going to talk to Mrs. Stoklosa and see what she says... pray for us... please.

I HATE IT HERE!

Corona, corona, corona... how I never expected you to turn on me like this.
Did I hope you would cancel school? Yes.
Did I hope the mass world hysteria would've gone down by now? yes.
Do I have toilet paper? That's something ill have to get back to you on.
(Why is everyone hoarding toilet paper, Corona is a respiratory virus, not a butt one)
ANYWAYS... Because schools officially closed Yejin and I can no longer pick up film equipment from BECON and everyone who we wanted to cast is now going through self-distancing and isolation for their safety. 
All of my friends are freaking out about their projects as well and there's been no news or any update on the due date of the project.
So like any sane person... IM PANICKING!
Over the next couple of days, Yejin and I will brainstorm and I'll let you know.

We Got Da Props!

Okay so we need quite a bit of supplies... so here's the prop list

PROP LIST

• Birthday party supplies (parts optional)
• Tablecloth 
• Matching color utensils + napkins
• Balloons 
• Streamers 
• Candy 
• Snack food (fake?)
• Party hats 
• Presents 
• Birthday cake
• Cake Candles 
• Cake sparklers 
• Toy of dog (dog toy)
• Worker Polo
• Name tag
• Graded papers 
• Missed bills 
• Battered crayons and pens
• Mac + Cheese
• Shoelace 
• Newspaper

NOW WE GOT THE PROPS!
I had to search into my archives of old birthday photos too see what we would need because neither Yejin or I have experienced a big birthday like we're planning for our character before.

SOPHIE AND HER LIL BRO SAVES THE DAY!

WE NOW HAVE OUR MAIN ACTORS WOO!!!
The wonderful Sophie Diebold (you'll watch her project and get to experience her amazingness too) has agreed to sacrifice her and her little brother as the two main actors within our short film! I've witnessed their dynamic, and though I've never actually met Sophie's brother she had said "He's a character"... so that's pretty good I think.

                           

 Mrs. Diebold!

                                  Mr. Diebold!

So now we have the roles of the big sibling and the little sibling filled! I will be the store person which catches the little sibling, and Sophies Lil bro can bring his friends for the party-goers. Now, all we need is someone to play the parent and the birthday kid :)

Location...Location...Loc..Oh Jeez

OKAY- So there are three locations planned for shooting, whether they will remain the same is another question for another day.  I included all the color charts for logistical purposes, later on, using these colors to our advantage in filming and later color coding.
(Please refer to my color study done for my AS project to understand my preferences in color choice)
Our first location: CVS (we won't name it or mention it in any way but that's just where we're filming)

(Preferred color palette due to darker, more action-filled mood)

We were mainly planning for CVS rather than a gas station simply because Gas stations don't really have good small toys, or at least not a good enough array. In reality, it probably would be easier to steal from there, but they get caught anyway so that's fine. Plus CVS is super diverse in stock so we can add extra shots of the little kid looking through different isles and coming up with different ideas for things to get for the birthday kid.

Next is where the two siblings live: Trailer (hopefully)

(most likely the trailer we'd be using won't have this monochromatic layout but a man can dream)

OKAY... I know what you're thinking, where are you going to get a trailer. Well, Yejin and I were looking at possibly renting one from Air b&b for a day or maybe two which have shown to be relatively cheap. Also, another option would be using our friend Jonathan's friend, as his friend has an RV and ould allow us to film within.

And last but definitely not least the birthday! AKA: My house

 (Preferred color palette due to bright, slightly primary colors, and variety in mood) 

(Yes, that blue-haired creature on the most left is I at my friends actual birthday party)

So I brought in this actual picture of me at a recent birthday party for prop inspiration (which you'll hear about later), this party wasn't at my house but I think manipulating my current living space could provide a perfect area to film and create a whole other world... a birthday world.

Taking away the guilt

Mrs. Stocklosa always tells us simple stories are better than convoluted twisted narratives, which I’ve become to embrace in a way. Yejin and I, through the guidance of Mrs. Stocklosa and my classmates, have cut the negative ending.
This may produce some issues mainly with time regarding our piece, but as you can see I’ve uploaded a completely new script which we are going to be adapting to which I have no doubt should reach the minimum requirements. Plus with filming, things never stick to plan- so it’s okay! The main reasoning for the change in script was because the negative ending I had planned would’ve made our main character look guilty, when what we really want to focus on was the kindness and selflessness they partake in. Though at the time of writing it sounding interesting purely due to the drama of it all, that is now the complete opposite of what Yejin and I would like for our project.


The previous ending:

SCHOOLMATE

KID PANICS BUT IS REASSURED WHEN SCHOOLMATE WALKS OVER, SMILES, AND BRINGS THEM TO THE CAKE

I'll bring you to it

KID AWKWARDLY PUTS SMALL GIFT ON TABLE NEXT TO ALL COOL ONES

THEY WALK OUT OF FRAME

SHOT OF PARENT NEXT TO FRIENDS IN FRONT OF PRESENTS

PARENT

OKAY EVERYONE! Time for presents!

EVERYONE GATHERS AROUND KID STILL HAS CAKE

MONTAGE OF BLANK OPENING PRESENTS 

LEAVING SMALLEST ONE FOR LAST 

YOU SEE A LARGE AMOUNT OF GLITTER AND WRAPPING PAPER ON THE FLOOR

SEE SHOTS OF EVERYONES REACTIONS AND KIDS EVER GROWING WORRY

ONLY BLANK IN SHOT SURROUNDED BY PAPER SYMMETRY (V WES ANDERSON)

PARENT 

Last but certainly not least… KID

PARENT HANDS KIDS GIFT TO BLANK

BLANK IS METHODICALLY OPENING PRESENT 

KID

Im sorry its really not that good i-

BLANK

Oh my god.

KID

I know, I know I shouldn't have co-

BLANK

THIS IS... THE SWEETEST PRESENT IVE EVER GOTTEN 

ALL FRIENDS LAUGH AND CLAP EXCEPT FOR SCHOOLMATE

BLANK LEAPS OVER TO HUG KID AS THEY STAND THERE IN SHOCK

SCHOOLMATE

THATS THE NICEST THING ANYONES EVER GOT YOU?

SCHOOLMATE STANDS THERE IN FURY THROWING DOWN PIECE OF THEIR CAKE TO FLOOR

BLANK

SCHOOLMATE I-

SCHOOLMATE 

You know kid stole that right? Why do you think they came here in our school uniform instead of real clothes, huh? THEY HAVE NOTHING!

BLANK

KID, is this true?

PARENT

VOICE ECHOS IN AND OUT AND HEARTBEAT GROWS 

I knew something was up im going to call 911

KID

NO! No, I- I have to go

SLOW MOTION? OF KID RUNNING OUT TO DOOR RUNNING INTO SIBLING ON THE WAY OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY

SIBLING

HEY! Are you okay monkey why didn't you call me i've been worried sick

SIBLING TAKES IN KID FOR A HUG AS YOU HEAR SIRENS IN THE BACKGROUND

CLOSE OF UP KIDS FACE WITH TEARS AS SCREEN GOES BLACK 

KID V.O

IM SORRY!