Portfolio Project: Rough draft of script

Just a quick FYI: The things in parenthesis are for me to look back on when I'm filming. The character dialogue and the narration voiceover are going to be playing throughout the duration of the scene. You might have figured that out once you started reading it but I just wanted to explain so that you are aware. Alrighty here's the script!

THE SCRIPT: Rough Draft 

Zora's voiceover: Meet Bria. She's the baby of the group, but don't let that fool you because like they say, age ain't nothing but a number. She's the fiercest 15-year old I've ever met. Our leader aka our mom adopted her when she was 10 years old after her biological parents were murdered in front of her. She developed severe PTSD so she chews gum to keep her brain distracted from her symptoms. She's the serious one, when we're on a mission she's laser-focused on one thing and one thing only, taking the bad guy down.

During the voiceover

• Tilt upwards to Bria riding on a skateboard, there's a close up of her chewing her gum and popping a bubble. The sound of the skateboard is profound as well as the rock music that she is listening to in her earbuds. The music playing in her earbuds then switches from diegetic to non-diegetic sound.

• The shot then zooms out from the close-up and becomes a long shot of her riding her skateboard down the street with her hands in her pocket looking unbothered. She hops off of her skateboard and starts walking down the street

• The camera then moves from the front of her to the back of her head and this is the transition that I will use to show her walking towards the gym

• Bria looks over at Luana who is in the parking lot (Eyeline match then POV shot). Luana winks at Bria (Pov shot). Luana pops the tires (low angle) and then walks away

Bria: Hey, you need help with that?

(She changes his tires and while working on it, she implants a tracking device under his car. She walks away and pops gum while rolling eyes)

Zora's voiceover: Luana, she's a total sweetheart. She's the epitome of charisma and sunshine. Luana has two sides, the sweet loving side, and the merciless crime-fighting ninja side. Our mom adopted her after her biological mother immigrated to America from Cuba when she was an infant.  Her birth mother was in an abusive relationship and knew that she had to protect her baby girl so she left Luana with our mom. She feels compelled to help those who can't defend themselves and she fights like an elegant beast.

Valencia: (Valencia is speaking very loudly on the phone) There's absolutely no way! She's out of her mind if she thinks I'll let her wear my Louis Vuitton's!

Zora's voiceover: And that very obnoxious creature right there is my sister Valencia in her natural habitat (environment), the mall. Valencia was adopted into the group after her wealthy parents decided that they were unhappy raising a girl and treated her like a modern-day Cinderella. Our mother was undercover as an elementary school science teacher and had a feeling that Valencia was being abused so she looked into it. Her intuition was right and since money was their only motivation, she paid for Valencia's freedom. But just because she was no longer physically living with her wealthy family doesn't mean she gave up her luxurious lifestyle. Her parents transfer money to her bank account every month to pay her to stay away I guess.

(Jump cuts of Valencia in her bedroom doing different things while on the phone like sitting on the bed, doing her nails, etc. She has a robe on and is wearing a face mask)

Zora's voiceover: And that's me, Zora, I'm the oldest of the 4 of us and I am also the leader of this group. As you can probably tell, we fight criminals that take advantage of innocent people we avenge these victims. We were all at some point in our lives victims of wrongdoings so we take our jobs very seriously. I succeeded our mother's position as the leader of our group after she died fighting against the biggest villain of all time, cancer.

Zora's voiceover: Meet our latest bad guy, Victor Lin, he's a mafia leader that launders money through the H.E.L.P. organization which aids expecting mothers and mothers with small children with receiving the health care and other resources. Since he's behind this scam, women weren't actually getting the services promised. So once we were made aware of the situation, we hunted this guy down and have been watching and planning.

Victor: Before you do anything irrational, I have something to say. Your mother isn't dead. Surprise!

(Victor's speaking part is shot from a high angle and the camera will be panning to the left while he talks)

Portfolio Project: It's Script writing time!

 I've decided that I'm going to challenge myself and I'm going to try and incorporate elements of the second film opening version with the first. I want to make an attempt at this because I believe that if I plan everything out precisely and I go into the film and editing process with a solidified plan, I will be able to fit both ideas in the 2 minutes that I've been given to work my magic.

You're probably thinking, "Be realistic kid! There's absolutely no way you'll be able to cram two film opening concepts into one cohesive story and fit it all in 2 minutes." and to be honest, I'd agree with that statement but I'm not allowing myself to think that way! I have two awesome ideas that I want to use in my film opening and I'm going to take a risk because I don't want to play it safe with this project. This is my final piece and I want to be able to look back on it and be proud of what I've accomplished so I'm fully invested in it!

The script for the film opening is one of the most important components of the production besides the composition of shots that make up the film. This script is only the basic outline of what I want the voiceover to sound like and include.

SCRIPT OUTLINE

This is the first very, VERY rough draft of the general script which incorporates the voiceover introducing each character. It's an organized mess but I understand the way my mind works and this is my writing process, it may not be the neatest, but this is how my brain works. I'm not sure if you can see my writing clearly in the pictures so I will write out what the script says in the next blog. In the script outline, I will be including a few camera movements, shots and angles, editing techniques, etc. so that when I refer to this draft in the future I will know what to do in terms of filming and editing. The whole script won't be filled with them yet because I just want to get my ideas down and I will go back and add all of the details later on in the writing process.

I'll keep you all updated, see you in the next blog!

Portfolio Project: Who's the bad guy?

 Meet Kyle Shum! 

He's going to be our antagonist in the film opening! At first, I wasn't even considering having a male actor in the opening because I wanted it to be female-dominated but the thing is that all of the film opening concepts that I've come up with involve a bad guy being captured in the end so I had to find someone that could play this role and play it well. I've never seen Kyle act but I am friends with him and I know his personality so I think he is perfect for this role!

For costume design, I'm most likely just going to have him wear clothes that are not too extravagant since he is not a lead character. I would probably want him to wear a suit or something that looks business casual in the scene where he's tied up in a basement because when I think of high-quality criminals I think of the mafia and mob bosses. In most mafia movies the characters are dressed in suits and look very professional so Kyle will most likely be wearing something like this.

I'm going to have to coordinate my schedule with Kyle's because he is in the school's band and they have rehearsals frequently. In one of my first planning blogs when I was still deciding on the number of actresses I remember saying that scheduling would be the hardest part of the filming process because everyone is busy with extracurriculars and school but I will not let this affect the quality of my film opening! We've got this!

I'm posting this blog with the sole purpose of introducing Kyle and confirming that there will be someone playing the criminal role in my film opening! As you can probably tell, this blog was pretty brief and to the point so I'll see you in the next blog! 

Portfolio Project: Film opening concepts

Roses are red, violets are blue

I have to pick a concept and I don't know which one to choose!

Hello blog viewers! I am currently sitting in class trying to figure out how I'm going to shoot the film opening and I'm blanking so hard. It's not because I don't have any ideas but I have so many ideas that I can't decide! I have to come to a conclusion somehow so I guess I'm just going to have to brainstorm on here and share my ideas with you guys and hopefully that way my mind will make up its mind and pick a storyboard concept. (that's a funny way of phrasing it but I'm sure you understand what I mean).

First I want to type my ideas out so that it makes sense to you and me so we both understand what my ideas are exactly because, in all honesty, I don't even know what my ideas are yet. 

Film opening version #1:

This version will be highlighting all of the individual girls in their normal, everyday lives. For Bria, there would be shots of her working on a car, skateboarding to the gym and then her working out in the gym (punching a punching bag, running on a treadmill, lifting weights, etc.) all while chewing gum. For Luana's introduction, she would be dancing on a stage with only the lights focusing on her, and then she would be walking into the library and I'd get a shot of her putting money into a donation jar outside of the library and some shots of her in the library volunteering. I would then transition to Valencia in a store shopping while on the phone with someone and then show her in her room with all of her clothes laid out on the bed and her still talking on the phone. She'd be in a robe with a face mask on and just being overdramatic with her facial expressions and hand movements. Zora would be giving the descriptions of everyone through the voiceover and then she would give some background information on herself at the end. She would be sitting at her table with her computers, her wall full of papers with information on criminals, missions they've been on, etc. and it would be set up like her lair. They would all then walk as a group in slow motion and open up a garage door with a man tied up to a chair with duck tape around his mouth. They would walk upon him and he would start wiggling around scared and then the music would cut out and the screen would go black.

Film opening version #2:

This film opening would be of the girls on a mission about to take down the bad guy. It would start with Luana walking her dog and following the criminal, she would pop the tires of his car outside of the gym. Then it would cut to with Bria working out at the gym that the criminal is at and watching him closely. Bria would leave the gym when the criminal does and once she sees him notice his flat tires, she'd offer to change his tire. She would fix the tire but would secretly implant a tracking device under his car. Valencia would enter an elevator with him and her hands would be full of groceries. Valencia would be talking to someone on the phone about an undercover deal that is going to happen later that night. This would pique the interest of the criminal and he doesn't know it yet, but he just fell into the girls trap. Later in the scene, I would want Aneesa to be in the driver seat of a car and watching the bad guy's house. She'd be using binoculars and on her computer looking at all of his information like bank statements, personal information, criminal records, etc. Since she's a highly intelligent hacker it makes sense for her to be on a stakeout and using her hacking skills to hack into his housing system and cut off all the lights and electricity in his house. The scene would cut to him tied up in the garage with all of the girls surrounding him and he recognizes them from earlier that day and realizes he's been set up.

Film opening version #3:

In this version of my film opening, all of the characters are going to start out walking in slow motion as a group in their crime-fighting costumes. I would want Aneesa's voice over to start giving background information on Bria first and then all of the other character's introductions would follow. They'd end up in a restaurant and Luana would go to the criminal undercover as a waitress and both Valencia and Bria would be hostess. Once they see the criminal enter the bathroom all of the girls would follow him into the bathroom and surround him. The scene would then cut to the criminal in a dark room with a mask over his head and the girls would take off the mask revealing themselves to him and then they'd close in on him.

Actually, now that I've written all 3 ideas out, I think I'm going to go with the first film opening version just because I like it a lot and I think I can do it. I really like the idea of the second one but when it comes to pulling off this type of film opening, a lot is required production-wise. It wouldn't be impossible but it would be pretty difficult to film and edit so I think the first option would go good visually with the voiceover and the filming and editing process will be so much more enjoyable. One of the biggest things that I took away from the video we watched in class about storytelling is that you have to actually enjoy your concept because if not, you won't be motivated to put forth an effort to improve it. I love the second concept but when it comes to enjoying the filming process, I am going to go with the first concept. One thing I can do is maybe figure out a way to incorporate some elements of the second concept into the first but as of now, I am going to be sticking to the first concept.

I think I want some sort of plot twist or something that adds shock value to the end of the opening. I think maybe having the criminal say that he is actually their mother's son or that their mom isn't actually dead and he knows of her whereabouts, I'm not sure yet but I definitely want something to be said at the end that really takes the viewer by surprise.

Alrighty that is what I wanted to cover in this week's blog posting because I've been going back and forth on it in my mind for the longest time and I'm still not 100% sure that I want to do the first opening option, I'm like 90% there but again I don't want to be satisfied with the concept, I want to be in love and over the moon about it because that will make this entire process more enjoyable and I can be proud of my final result! I'll keep you all updated, see you in the next blog!

Portfolio Project Planning: Part Three!

Meet the cast of my film opening!

Aneesa Williams- Zora

Caroline Anderson- Bria

 

Claudia DeJesus- Luana

Keira Valentasis- Valencia

 

All of the actresses picked the names of their characters from the list of names I gave them. I wanted them to pick their character's name because I wanted them to be excited and feel a personal connection with the character they are portraying. I want their honest input on all aspects of their individual characters starting with their names all the way to mise-en-scene elements like hair, makeup, and costume design.

A brief synopsis of each character:

Zora 

Age: 19 years old

Overview: She is the leader of the group and had a deep connection with the previous leader of the group aka their mother. She took the death of her mother the hardest because she was the one that adopted at the age of 12 (after her mother was killed in a car crash), trained and taught her everything she knows about fighting and essentially saved her. Zora always uses logic and reasoning and possesses a level of maturity that some question because of how young she is. She is a computer genius that has incredible hacking skills. She is the "brains" of the operations and is quick on her feet when it comes to unpredictable situations. She is able to analyze information quickly and give the rest of the team commands and plans for missions that always ensure the defeat of the bad guy. Because of the death of her mother/ leader and being the oldest of the sisters she feels a great responsibility has been placed on her which she handles very well. She is the provider for the group and has become the maternal figure for the girls even though she's a few years older than them.

Bria

Age: 15 years old 

Overview: She is the serious one of the group.  She doesn't talk much but when she does speak it is important and she does not take her job lightly. Since she is the super quiet and reserved one of the group, she has a mysterious aura. When she's on a mission she is focused and because she has PTSD from witnessing her parent's murders when she was 10 years old, she has to chew gum constantly to lessen the effects of the symptoms she has. The girl's mother adopted Bria after she tried breaking into her car to steal it then later found out she was living in a group home for juvenile delinquents because of her destructive behavior. She is also a tomboy that loves working on cars and other auto mechanical jobs that require her to use her hands. She has an emotional wall that she's put up and still struggles with opening up to people, sometimes even with her sisters, but she is a teddy bear and occasionally lets that wall down and shows her not-so-mean side. Bottling up her emotions and isolating herself has become a coping mechanism for her that her sisters have learned to accept. She keeps a journal detailing every single one the criminals they've defeated so she likes to keep a count of everyone they've taken down.

Luana

Age: 16 years old

Overview: Luana is a Latina with a goofy personality. She is sweet, passionate, cares a lot about others and is very supportive of her sisters. She has a big heart so she volunteers at food drives, animal shelters, hospitals, etc. She works at the local library and on Wednesdays and Thursdays, she reads stories to children in the community. Their mom adopted Luana as an infant because her birth mother was an immigrant in an abusive relationship and she didn't want her daughter to get hurt like she did. She never knew who her birth mother was but she knows the basics of who she was. She wants to see the good in people but when victims come to them and share their stories, she feels compelled to help them the way she knows how. Luana has 2 sides, the sweet, loving side, and the merciless crime-fighting ninja side. She fights like she's dancing with the criminals because that's one of her favorites hobbies if she wasn't a crime-fighting, she'd be a dance instructor.

Valencia

Age: 17 years old

Overview: She has a very loud and over the top personality. You can hear her before she even enters a room and is the drama queen of the sisters. She can be aggressive but only when she's provoked by criminals or if she's mistreated by other people. Being walked over is not something she is accepting of and she is very vocal about her opinion. Her extreme personality is very apparent so when they are on missions she has an interesting way of fighting, she talks to the criminals while fighting. She can talk your ear off and maybe annoying at times but her sisters love her anyways. Valencia belonged to a wealthy family that wanted nothing to do with her and mistreated her. Her adoptive mother took notice of this while working undercover as a teacher at Valencia's elementary school and offered Valencia's parents a lot of money to have them turn over their parental rights to her and basically paid for Valencia's freedom. She was adopted at the age of 8 years old and doesn't

I think this is a good start for the characters because I can build off of this and make tiny adjustments or additions if I need to their personalities, background stories, etc. but I am very satisfied with what I have come up with for now. I don't think I will be deleting elements of the characters traits, I will most likely make additions in the future. I am going to get the actress's inputs and see what they think of their characters. I tried to match their character's personality traits as close as I could real-life personalities so that they would not have to force the acting and can be themselves. The backgrounds of each character are obviously exaggerated to give them more dimension and relatable qualities.

This is going to help me write the voice over script because I will have something to refer back to when writing the background information of each character.

Here are some costume design ideas that I think would work beautifully with each actress:

Zora:

Zora is the leader of the group so I want her to stand out and what color stands out more than red! If everyone is wearing mute colors and she's wearing red, then the viewer can visually tell that she is an important character than was meant to stand out. Since she is a computer genius and is logical I envision her having a business sense of style. She's 19 in the film opening so I want to keep her trendy and not looking too grown up so these pictures are very close to what I think Zora would wear.

Valencia: 

Valencia has an outgoing personality so I want her style to be a defining component to her character. The thing is that I don't want her costume to be too distracting and take away from Zora's costume. Since Zora is the main character and she's narrating the story, she needs to be the center of attention visually when they're in a group. That is why I am having some trouble figuring out what to put Keira in because her character's costume has to be bold but not too bold if that makes sense. The pictures below are an example of what I'm considering as costume options but Keira and I are going to have to discuss it further to reach a final verdict. 

Luana:

I want Luana to be in shorts but I included the third picture with the utility pants as a possibility because I don't want to completely disregard it as a choice. Both me and Claudia agreed that the shorts would be a great option because of the rhinestone fishnet component. Since Luana is a sweetheart and a beast, the fishnets would complement that personality trait she possesses. She would not be in a leather jacket like in the first picture, it would just be her in a tank top, shorts, and the fishnets with the combat boots that I bought for her to wear from the thrift store. I included all 3 of these pictures because they all have articles of clothing that we want to incorporate into her costume: the tights/ boots combo in the first picture, the rhinestone fishnets/ choker in the second picture, and the tank top/ combat boots in the third picture. The fur coat in the second picture is nice but I don't think I will be able to find a fur coat like that in South Florida so I'm not really worried about looking for one.

Bria: 

I definitely think that Bria would wear this kind of outfit based on her background and personality traits. The leather jacket is a MUST and I already bought it from the thrift store yesterday so that is already confirmed.

Of course, I went on Pinterest to receive inspiration for costume designs. The pictures are just inspiration for me and we are going to make adjustments so their costumes will not be identical to the pictures I got offline but it's a start. I want the costumes to be more than just wearing an outfit, I want it to look like something a group fierce crime-fighting women would wear. I don't want to take the easy way out and just have them all wear black, I want to take my film opening to the next level and incorporate actual mise-en-scene costume design elements. These looks are personalized for each character, I know the actresses and I believe I have a good idea of what they would feel confident in and even more importantly comfortable in.

Because I want the costume design to be just right, I understand that I may have to create some of these costume designs from scratch. I have to do multiple fittings, measurements and make adjustments which I will document when we get to that point. I am going to plan a day where the actresses and I try different costume looks and finish assembling their individual costume pieces. My mom gave me permission to go through her closet and look for accessories and pieces that may work for the character's costumes. Like for example, I may find a scarf that's fabric works for part of one of the costumes and I may decide to utilize it differently than it was intended for. Certain things like that that require a large amount of creativity and out of the box thinking which I absolutely love!

Have I found... what I've been searching for?

I found two songs today that I listened to and immediately fell in love with! I think these songs will fit the opening and make it sound really cool! I found this really cool website called Artlist and they have a catalog of music that you can license if you have a membership. I signed up for their 30-day trial so that is how I was granted access to the songs they have available.

The two songs from this particular album I found on the website are called "Believe the hype" and "Do the math" and I'm excited to start working on the audio aspect of the opening. These songs are both in the rock genre which I find hilarious because I wasn't locking at genre on the website, I was just scrolling through the "mood" list and found this album. Even though I found these songs that doesn't mean that I will stop searching for songs to use. I still have to think about diegetic and nondiegetic sounds to use, sound effects, and other sounds in addition to the music.

I still have a lot to figure out but I think I'm pacing myself well! The project is starting to come together, I have my final number of actresses, the costumes are halfway done, and the music is almost confirmed! This week is bound to be chaotic due to schedule conflicts, creative mental blocks, and indecisiveness but I will do my best to minimize the amount of stress I will be placed under and to keep you guys updated on all of it! I'll see you in the next blog!

Sources:

Royalty-Free Music Licensing For Video, Film & Youtube.” Artlist, 2015, artlist.io/.

Silbermann, Ben. “Pinterest.” Pinterest, 2010, www.pinterest.com/.

Portfolio Project Planning: Part Two!!

Music for the opening:

Okey dokey! This is one of the components of any production is the sound element! The sound projects that we've done in this class were actually some of my favorite assignments because I find it so fascinating how sound can take your production to the next level. I think it is so much fun and a film's soundtrack can make or break the production. It is so imperative that the music captures the essence of the scene because if it fails to do so, the scene will not have the intended effect on the viewer that the director desired. It is such a crucial and detail-oriented part of the production process and I can not wait to research songs and experiment with different sound effects and possibly create a Foley stage to enhance the sounds in the opening.

I'm pretty certain that I will not be choosing a copyrighted song because of how long it might take for me to be granted permission from the artist so I will be researching royalty-free music first. It's the easiest way for me to find music that I can have access to immediately. I also need time to edit the music and add sound effects to the audio so the sooner I find the song the better!

There isn't really a specific genre of music that I want to research but I do know the sound that I'm going for based on the atmosphere of the film opening. I want to find something that is upbeat and fits well with the voice-over narration that will be playing during the scene. The song really does have to be as close to perfect as possible because it has to accurately convey the message that the actions in the scene are. Another thing that I can do is mix songs together if there are certain parts in one song that I want to incorporate in the audio.

The overall scene is going to be very fast-paced and intense so the song has to match its energy. I chose to search rock songs first because when I think of rock I think of high energy and intense sound so I  wanted to listen to some royalty-free songs in this genre. I would like for each character to have their own theme song that plays while the voiceover is giving their background information so I searched royalty-free rock songs on youtube and found some good ones for me to start off with. I will be using audio transitions like swoosh sound effects, for example, to transition from each character's theme song and this will be a cue that the narration is going to move on to introducing another character.

So far these are the possibilities for music:

We also went looking for film locations today!!

My mom drove us through Margate, North Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Pembroke Pines to look for good filming locations. We drove through neighborhoods and local areas that we thought might work for settings in my film opening. It was raining today so we really weren't able to get out and walk around these places to find specific buildings or anything like that but it was still really fun getting out of Weston and exploring different parts of South Florida. It is a completely different world than the one I'm used to seeing every day and that's why I enjoyed it so much! I really liked Margate and North Lauderdale because they are close to each other and these areas match the settings I'm envisioning for my film opening. 

Here are some pictures of the areas we drove through in the different cities today:

I don't know if you can see it well in the picture or not but we saw three rainbows today while we were out! It was so cool, okay continuing on with the blog...

We also went costume shopping at the Salvation Army Thrift Store at their Pembroke Pines and Margate locations!!

Shopping is literally one of my favorite things to do! I had the basic idea of all the actresses costumes so I was mentally checking off the list of items I need for each character and they're not completely finished but 75% of the costumes are complete minus some accessories.

Salvation Army Thrift Store: Margate location

Thrifting was a blast and such a success because I had help!

I tried on this leather jacket that I thought would look amazing on one of my actresses!

My sister trying on some articles of clothing for me... reluctantly.

My friend sent me some photos of her in black tank tops and this is the one I liked the most!

I thought that this mesh top was so cool! I still have to figure out who's going to wear it.

Today was such a fun day and I can't wait to complete all of the actress's costumes! We did have some setbacks because of the rainy weather today but we improvised and we still managed to get a lot accomplished which I am so grateful for! I still want to continue looking for music and hopefully make a decision soon but I don't want to rush the process because it is a critical element of the film opening. I will keep you guys up to date on how things are going with everything involving the project, I'll see you in the next blog!

Portfolio Project Planning: Part One!!

Shooting Schedule

The shooting schedule will most likely be the most unstable component of my portfolio process. The reason why is because my schedule may not work with the actresses that I intend to have act in my opening. I definitely want 3 actresses, maybe 4, but all of the potential actresses are in color guard and their practice schedule is hectic. Since we had Monday off due to President's Day, their coach scheduled an extra practice for them this week and added an hour to each practice. Usually, practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-8 pm so hopefully, they stick to their schedule so we can solidify our dates and times for filming. They also have competitions on the weekends so this is a major issue for me scheduling wise because this will be one the major obstacle that we will have to face weekly. My sister is in this activity with the other girls I'm planning on casting and I'm going to cast her as the main vigilante that does the voiceover because we're with each other every day and I can film with her when she's not busy but it's the other actresses that I'm worried about. Unpredictable last-minute situations come up and we'll have to find a way to make up for the lost time in the filming process. I will figure something out with the girls but as of now this is the schedule that I made for the month of February:

Just in case you can't see the picture of the calendar for February, here is the calendar in written format:

20th- Finalize number of actresses

21st- Start writing script

22nd- Basic outline of storyboard

23rd- Revise and edit the script

24th- Meet with actresses regarding filming dates

25th- Cold read through voice over with Aneesa

26th- Record and review Aneesa's voiceover

27th- Confirm filming locations

28th- Finalize script/ final read-through of voiceover with Aneesa

29th- Finish character costume design

These dates are subject to change because of course, unexpected things are bound to come up so they are not set in stone. If these dates shift I will blog about it and let you guys know.

Filming Locations:

Since the characters in the film opening are fighting crime they are going to be in places that are not so safe and pleasant. I live in Weston, Florida and everyone refers to it as a bubble because of how small and protected the environment is. For this project, I'm going to travel outside of this "bubble" and go places that most kids born and raised here would not even fathom driving through. Somethings you have to make authentic and the only way to really convey my concept and sell it is if I film in locations that resemble a realistic setting because I'm pretty sure not many criminals reside in posh "pinkies up" Weston. My mom is willing to transport me and the actresses to the filming locations in South Florida so that I can portray this concept accurately. Some areas that I'm researching and have visited before that I think would be perfect for my opening are:

HIALEAH, MIAMI

LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA

                          

LITTLE HAITI IN MIAMI

This doesn't necessarily mean that I won't be filming any part of the film opening in Weston it's just that the majority of the filming will be done in other cities in South Florida to capture the essence of the opening. This also doesn't mean that I will only be shooting in these cities, South Florida is huge so there are other locations that I may decide to film in later on in the process. There are so many places that I don't even know about since I'm still new to Florida and haven't explored yet which is super exciting to me!

Possible Character Names:

I like when the character's name is symbolic and has a meaning of importance to the character as an individual. Because of this, I was thinking of giving my characters names that are symbolic of war and fighting. These women are fighting against oppressors and I want their names to resemble strength and power.

I have a few names that all essentially mean the same thing but I like the way they sound and names are definitely important so some names I'm choosing from are:

1. Aella- is the Greek and Latin variant form of Greek Aellô, meaning “storm wind; whirlwind.” In Greek mythology, Aella was a double-ax-wielding Amazon warrior

2. Bellona- is a Roman name derived from the Latin word Bellum (“to fight”). In mythology, Bellona was a goddess of war. Predating both Mars and Ares, she may have been the Romans’ first war deity.

3. Luana- Graceful battle maiden

4. Valencia- Valencia is an orange-scented Spanish place name, which means ‘brave and strong.’

5. Bria- The name Bria is inspired by the Irish name Bridget and means ‘power, strength, vigor.’

6. Zora- meaning dawn

Here are some dilemmas I'm having with deciding  their names: 

1. I can't decide whether or not all of their names should have a deeper meaning because it's not very common for a group of people to all coincidentally have names synonymous with the same word. Were they all born with these names?

2. Should these just be nicknames that their former leader gave them and they just go by the names they were given?

3. Did they name themselves when they became vigilantes?


I will have to go back in forth mentally about it and think about all of my options but I'll keep you guys updated! See you in the next blog, talk soon!

Sources:

Gillespie, Claire. “Inspire Your Little Warrior Woman with These Kick-Ass Names.” Google, Google, 13 Mar. 2018, www.google.com/amp/s/www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1119693/girl-names-that-mean-warrior/amp/.

Navuluri, Bhavana. “85 Strong And Powerful Girl Names With Great Meanings.” Google, Google, 2019, www.google.com/amp/s/www.momjunction.com/articles/strong-and-powerful-girl-names_00400894/%3famp=1.

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Portfolio Project Blog: Research #2

Hello again! Okay so great news, I've finally decided on which concept I want to go with! The main characters in my film opening will be good guys (even though they're all going to be women) trying to avenge those that were victims of wrongdoings! I am so excited that I have reached this conclusion because now I can progress forward in the production process of my film opening. Since I have narrowed it down to one general theme, I have done even more digging and I have discovered another movie to research that is perfect for me to use as an example of a film production that embodies what my film opening's concept truly is.

THE EQUALIZER (2014)

The Equalizer (2014) directed by Antoine Fuqua 

Tada! The Equalizer! There is an Equalizer one and an Equalizer 2 so we will be discussing both because why not! The more research the better! But first, we will be going into depth on the first equalizer movie. Let's get into it.

At the beginning of the equalizer Denzel Washington's character, Robert McCall, is shown living a normal life. He is starting off his morning in a clean, tidy house. He's shaving, making breakfast, getting dressed and going to work like most people do on any given weekday. Nothing screams out of the ordinary with this character and that's the whole point, he's supposed to appear normal.

I like this element of the opening because if you know the plot of the movie you're watching and that it's apart of the action/thriller genre, you would probably be expecting the opening scene to be high energy, action-packed, and fast-paced but the beginning was nothing of a sort. The juxtaposition between what the viewer is most likely expecting from the beginning and what the director chose to do is brilliant in my opinion. 

When we took notes in class on what makes a good film opening and some of the most crucial things we discussed were:

1. Make the audience care enough emotionally, intellectually, and aesthetically enough to watch your film. Make watching your film worth their time.

2. Don't give away all of the answers in the beginning because most viewers want to work for the answer. You have to keep some things about the plot, character, conflict, etc. a mystery and reveal it later on in the film. Give them 2+2, not 4.

3. Use what you know and draw from it. Some of the best stories are created by just being authentic and honest.

This film did a good job of utilizing these key elements because as the viewer I was compelled to stay and watch the rest of the movie because I wanted to know who this seemingly ordinary character was, what made him want to give up being a vigilante and live a normal life, what/ who makes him resort back to the crime-fighting life, and so many other questions that are eventually answered throughout the duration of the movie. Denzel Washington's character is essentially a mystery to the viewer because we are not given much information about him in the exposition besides he keeps his house neat and he works in a warehouse. Since most people are inquisitive, they feel the need to solve the mystery even if they don't realize it cognitively.

THE EQUALIZER 2 (2018)

The Equalizer 2 (2018) Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Now let's talk about the Equalizer 2! Since most film watchers watch movies in chronological order, the director started the movie off differently than he did in the first Equalizer. Fuqua decided that he was going to introduce McCall's character as a continuation of where he left off in the last movie. Instead of showing him living a normal life like the first movie opening, he decided to show McCall doing what he does best, defeating corrupt individuals with corrupt motives.

On a train on its way to Turkey, McCall fights against a man who has kidnapped his daughter with the intention of hurting his ex-wife emotionally. McCall, as always, is calm and collected while confronting this man which makes the scene even more exhilarating because the audience knows what McCall is capable of and what's about to occur while the bad guys are clueless. Dramatic irony is one of my favorite things to experience as a movie watcher because it makes the moment in the scene more personal for me and I feel like the director is purposefully including me in the story.

This film opening is definitely a drastic shift compared to the first Equalizer's opening because of how McCall's character was introduced to the viewer, the pacing of the scene, and this opening served a different purpose than the first one. The first opening had the job of simply introducing us to McCall and his simplistic lifestyle while this opening was supposed to show McCall in action and doing what he's good at.

Some things that I took away from both film openings was that sometimes going in the total opposite direction of what the audience expects is what works the best. Since Fuqua was the director of both films, he knew his target audience well enough that he was able to occupy their attention and have them come back for the sequel. The sequel's opening was filled with anticipation because the viewer knew that McCall was going to defeat this criminal one way or another and he did. Seeing him outsmart them with his wit is such a cool experience because it makes you feel like your there alongside him. Either way, as long as I can create a film opening that is captivating enough to keep the audience engaged, I've done my job!

                                       The Equalizer VS. My film opening

Even though the Equalizer series is exactly the same concept that I want my film opening to be, there are a plethora of differences between my opening and the Equalizer both one and two. 

For instance, I am not going to go the same route the director went in The Equalizer, I will be filming mine in a different style. I want to introduce all of the characters but the way that I am going to do it is by having the leader of the vigilante group narrate the introduction of everyone in the group. I want to go this direction because there are so many creative ways I can introduce these characters through the narration, visuals, and shot types & angles, without revealing too much to the audience. I want the characters to be almost like a puzzle that the viewer has to solve but the only way they can do that is if they finish watching the movie (insert evil genius laugh MUAH-HA HA! okay moving on). 

Something that is going to be an obvious difference between my film opening and this film is the fact that my characters are all going to be women (I'm thinking of having 3 actresses in my opening maybe more, we'll see) and Denzel Washington's character is a man who fights crime solo hence the name "The Equalizer" not "The Equalizers". I want to have at least three actresses in my opening because the film would essentially be all about female empowerment and unity amongst women so having a female crime-fighting group solidifies this concept. This is also why I believed it was imperative for me to research Charlie's Angels and Ocean's 8 as stated in my previous blog entry.

In both The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2, someone in McCall's life had something unjust happen to them and he felt obligated to fight on their behalf. He would seek vengeance on those who hurt the ones he cared for and that is why he decided to return back to his fugitive hunting life. In the first Equalizer, a prostitute named Teri forms a friendly relationship with McCall and after she doesn't show up for her routine late-night dessert stop at the local diner, McCall finds out that she had been severely beaten by the Russian pimp that "owns" her. This is the answer to the big question that most of the audience is wondering, who/what caused McCall to return to his previous life.

Teri and McCall in the first Equalizer 

In the second Equalizer, his close friend and colleague, Susan Plummer, was murdered by thugs and he is determined to eliminate those who killed her. His motivation to avenge victims is what drives him as a vigilante and that's what the audience is shown throughout these films.

McCall in the Equalizer 2 after finding out about the death of his friend

In my film opening, I want the narration to include something along the lines of "We lost our leader because of bad guys and we want to avenge her death by continuing her legacy." When I'm in the scriptwriting process of revision and editing, I will make adjustments to this quote but this is the gist of what the narration will include. This will be the vigilantes in my film opening's motivation for avenging victims.

That is all I have for today's blog! I am so excited to continue updating you guys on the creative process as I am discovering new things through my research and exploring new ideas and concepts. Hopefully, by letting you guys into my mind and explaining my thought process you guys can see the final product and understand how I came up with certain concepts and why I made the creative decisions I did. Until next time, I'll see you in the next blog!

Sources:

Wloszczyna, Susan. “The Equalizer Movie Review & Film Summary (2014): Roger Ebert.” RogerEbert.com, 26 Sept. 2014, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-equalizer-2014.

“The Equalizer.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 24 Sept. 2014, www.imdb.com/title/tt0455944/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3.

“The Equalizer 2.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/mediaviewer/rm1404716288.