Portfolio Project: I have no idea what's happening right now

Mid-project crisis.

Trying to figure out how I'm going to shoot this is honestly so hard for me because it could be so simple but I'm over complicating it. I tend to overthink so in my head bigger is better and in terms of this project that translates to "the more complex it is, the technique and visuals, the better". I struggle with the "less is more" concept so trying to brainstorm a new storyboard for the opening is frustrating me.

I have no idea what I want the concept to be or if I even want my sister, who's playing Zora, in it. I'd love to have her in it but right now I don't know how I'm going to make having Zora in the opening fit cohesively with the rest of the opening. I don't know if I'd have her revealed in the beginning or towards the end of the opening, I don't know how much or what she's specifically going to say in the narration or if there's even going to be a narration. A lot of stuff is up in the air right now and this part of the process is the worst because everything functions in sequential order so without having the key element that determines literally every decision you make regarding your production (the concept/ main purpose/ intended message), you really don't have anywhere to go. And this is where I am right now. I don't have that much time left to still be in the brainstorming stage so I'm hoping writing all of my thought out in this blog will help me think of a solution to my mid-project crisis!

When we had a conference meeting with Mrs. Stoklosa she was saying that our openings did not have to have actors and there doesn't even have to be people in it. There are so many unique ways to film an opening but I just have to get creative and think until I have some sort of epiphany. I researched a few examples of film openings that I liked and most of them didn't incorporate people in them but I still don't know how I'm going to introduce Zora, her sisters, and the fact that they're a group of vigilantes. I like the film opening concept where the camera is just panning around the living space of the character. The film example from Back to the Future was so cool and I learned a lot about the character without physically seeing them or being introduced to them through a narration. A pan is a very simple camera movement but with editing techniques and engaging shots, I think I would be able to execute this concept well.

I'm planning on drawing a storyboard and having somewhat of an idea about what I'm going to film soon. I was hoping that I'd be filming and editing by now but that's unfortunately not the case so I have to come up with something good and fast. I really think I can do something cool with the panning idea but I still don't know if I'd include a narration or not. Hopefully, I'll figure that out soon but like always, I'll keep you guys updated! See you in the next blog!

Portfolio Project: film opening examples: Honorable mentions!

HONORABLE MENTIONS!

These two film openings are not necessarily exactly what I'm looking for in terms of my production but I really liked the editing techniques used in them and the transitions used in them, especially the transitions in Shaun of the dead.

Shaun of the dead (2004)

Shaun of the dead

Short Circuit (1986)

Short Circuit

Source:

“Shaun of the Dead.” YouTube, YouTube, 2009, www.youtube.com/.

“Short Circuit.” YouTube, YouTube, 2011, www.youtube.com/.

Portfolio Project: film opening examples PART 2

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This film opening was very interesting to watch, to say the least. Even though there wasn't a character introduced, based on the title you can put together that the black ink and all of the unique ways it was displayed in the scene have some correlation to the character since she is referred to as "the girl with the dragon tattoo". The alternative rock music also contributed to the tone of the opening because it was fast-paced and when paired with the fast-paced editing, it did a great job insinuating what the tone of the rest of the film will be. It was abstract but the use of sound, the dark lighting and the quick shots with the black ink really helped give off an edgy vibe.

Seven (1995)

This film opening is so. creepy. but that is exactly what the tone that needed to be conveyed. The director wanted their audience to feel on edge, terrified and creeped out which they executed beautifully in my opinion because they definitely evoked all of these emotions out of me personally. It's like a psychological thriller and I love how it feels like they're messing with your mind a little bit with the eery music and the off-putting images flashed quickly. The specific font that was used, the editing, specificity of shots, it all worked cohesively to create this feeling like you're watching a real-life nightmare.

The types of shots that were used in this opening were great and I liked how they were edited to give off the intended scary vibe. 

Most of the openings I researched that had what I wanted visually didn't have a voiceover which is fine because writing the script is not going to be a challenge, it's compiling the shots together to match the voiceover. I think I picked some good openings to research because they're drastically different in style/ tone and have unique elements in them that I want to incorporate into my production. I'm going to continue to look for other film openings that are similar to the concept that I have for my film opening so that I can get even more inspiration. I'll keep you updated, see you in the next blog!

Source:

Morrill, Jenny, et al. “50 Brilliant Movie Opening Credits Sequences.” Den of Geek, 27 June 2014, www.denofgeek.com/movies/50-brilliant-movie-opening-credits-sequences/.

Portfolio Project: Film opening example PART 1

It's research time! 

I'm going to be looking into a few different film openings that incorporate the types of shots and camera movements that I want to incorporate in mine. First I have to actually find films that have shots that I want to use so the first thing I did was did a Google search! First I searched "styles of film openings" and I found an article that gave some examples of the different types of film openings that are common but I didn't find any examples that were relevant to my research. Then I found another article that gave around 80 movie suggestions and analyzed the styles of those openings. I was hopeful at first because there was a section that focused on film openings that had voiceovers but unfortunately, none of them were filmed in the way that I want to film my opening so I had to refine my search.

I decided to search for movie openings with montages and I came across an article that actually had examples of what I was talking about! I was starting to think that I would never find a film opening example that was filmed the way I was envisioning but I was proven wrong. Even though I'm not filming a montage I thought I would just see if I could find anything useful in the articles that came up and I did so here are a few examples of film openings that resemble the direction I want my film opening to go in!

Back to the future (1985)

This movie is a classic and is clearly not a part of the crime/ thriller genre but the opening sequence is almost exactly how I want my opening to look visually. I like how there's a slow pan that gives you little subtle hints about who the character is and what they are like. For example:

At the beginning of the opening, the pan shows an abnormal amount of clocks in the possession of this character so it is safe to assume that clocks or time will be a prevalent element of either this character's life or the world.

 The slow pan also reveals that this space that the character inhabits is messy so this could be a key component to the characteristics of the character.

The coffee maker is left on which lets the viewer know that this person is carefree or absent-minded.

And the camera comes across a news article that hints at something that is probably important to the plot or the conflict. The reason I picked this film opening as an example is that the audience is given so much information about the character without the character even being introduced. The shots envoke curiosity in the viewer and that is exactly what I want the shots in my opening to do.

There was no voiceover in this opening but visually, this is what I am going for.

Source:

Morrill, Jenny, et al. “50 Brilliant Movie Opening Credits Sequences.” Den of Geek, 27 June 2014, www.denofgeek.com/movies/50-brilliant-movie-opening-credits-sequences/.

Portfolio Project: Shot ideas for "new" film opening

"Just shoot your shot" easier said than done.

I'm figuring out the direction of my film project since this whole coronavirus thing has taken over so in this blog I'm just going to outline some ideas I have for shots in the opening. I'm down to just one actress which is my sister and this has forced me to change the visual aspect of my opening but that is okay! I like a challenge... sometimes.

I like how some film openings in the thriller or crime genre solely focus on the movement of the character and how the shots are meant to give some insight into who the character is and what they are like. I think I'm going to do some more research on films in these genres that have openings similar to the one I'm trying to create just for some inspiration. I really want the shots to be intriguing so I'm planning on incorporating transitions that I think are cool. I'm going to make the shots complex since the narration is just going to be Zora introducing herself as the leader of the group of vigilantes.

Some examples of shots that I would include in the opening:

• Zora's board in her lair full of documents about cases, criminals, and details about missions
• Zora working in her lair (on her computer hacking)
• Jump cuts of her working on compiling data for their next mission 

This is the very basic idea of what the film opening's shots will include but I will create a storyboard that puts these ideas in sequential order and the specific focal points I want to capitalize on visually so that the viewer is interested in the characters and what the rest of the film would potentially have in store. 

I'm going to have to look back on the blog where I gave an in-depth description of each character because that will help me narrow down the types of shots I'm going to incorporate in the opening. I'm going to upload a blog dedicated to the storyboard and the shots soon once I figure out what I want exactly. As always, I will keep you all updated, see you in the next blog!  

Portfolio Project: Corona outbreak update

This pandemic has been anything but epic

It's been a while but as you probably know, a lot is happening in our world right now. People are scared and no one really knows what to do because of this pandemic. We're all quarantined and advised to practice social distancing which I don't have a problem with but it's still a scary situation.

These last couple of days have been the most confusing and stressful in regards to just life in general. The coronavirus pandemic has literally put everything on pause, school, entertainment, travel, etc. and it's created a lot of what-ifs and unanswered questions. This also includes my portfolio project. A lot of us didn't know what to do because we had actors, storyboards, scripts, plots, etc. and we were confused about where to go from here because we're self quarantined right now.  This outbreak has been chaotic but I'm going to try my best to not let it have that much of a negative impact on my project.

Yesterday we had a conference with Mrs. Stoklosa and she offered tips and some ideas for us on how to overcome the obstacles we're facing with filming and the direction of our projects. We were all unsure of what we were supposed to do about our projects because a lot of us had components of our project that were required in order for us to be able to complete our projects successfully. But because of the quarantine situation, we wouldn't be able to achieve some of these things. This meeting definitely helped me calm down and made the idea of having to face these obstacles head-on and find a solution a lot less terrifying. This situation will force me to change some elements about my project so let's figure this whole thing out!

I originally had 4 characters: Zora, Bria, Luana, and Valencia but because our parents won't let us leave our houses because of the quarantine, I, unfortunately, can't film with the cast that I intended to film with ☹️☹️☹️. This is so sad because I was so excited to film with my friends and enjoy the process but because of unforeseen circumstances I've decided to keep only one character from the original cast, Zora because I can easily film with the actress playing her, my sister Aneesa.

^ My awesome little sister ^

Filming with my sister will not be hard at all because even though we are quarantined and stuck in my house together, I can film in my house and she was originally the main character of my opening anyway so this isn't going to be that big of a change. I'm just going from 4 actresses to 1. woo hoo.

I know in the script I had Zora narrating the introduction to each of the characters but since I don't have a cast of 4 anymore, this is going to change a little. She's still going to narrate the film opening, give background information on herself and talk about her sisters briefly but she just won't go into great detail on each sister. The whole introduction is going to be about her and telling the audience about her back story, where she comes from, how she became a vigilante, and other things like that. Since Zora is the leader of the group it makes sense to have her narrate her own introduction in the opening. I actually like the idea of having the focus on only one character and having a simple narration with complex shots. This will make it slightly easier on me editing-wise and I like how it will be simple but still visually engaging.

In regards to the storyboard, I'm going to have to go a different direction with the shots and go back to the drawing board and create a storyboard that focuses on Zora. I am going to have to completely adapt my concept and make it so that the whole scene is focusing solely on Zora as the leader. The style of shots that I will get will be drastically different than the ones I planned on getting but that's okay. I just have to figure out what these shots are going to be and what the effect I want to give off visually is. That's probably going to be a whole other blog posting.

None of this was planned so I'm honestly just going with the flow and winging it. I am so upset that my original film opening concept is going to have to change but like they say, the show must go on. I'm going to try my best to update you guys frequently and find a way to produce an equally amazing film opening like my original concept. I'll see you in the next blog, stay safe ❤!

Portfolio Project: Zora’s Lair bulletin board example

Here is a preview of the type of things that will be on Zora’s board in her lair. I want everything to look like an authentic detective’s office would in real life.

This is actually a picture of my sister when she was about 6 years old and was a gymnast. For the missing date I used her actual birthdate and for the date of birth I used my birthdate and for both dates I just changed the year.

That’s all I wanted to share in this blog, just to give a sneak peek of what will be on Zora’s bulletin board. I’ll see you in the next blog!