The meeting

 

February 29th, 2024 (Leap Yearrrrrrrrrrrr)

What's up guys, I'm back and I have to admit that I m back with a new mind today and I am SOOOOOOO ready for this meeting today with my classmates for the whole purpose of the fact that I need to here some advice on how to improve my blogs and even get potential harsh criticism on my idea so that I can fix anything that is loose or not to the expectations you guys have (which is quite honestly  a bit too much for my personal opinion like if you guys could give out free A's this year it would be greatly appreciated).  

This meeting was great, I noticed that quite frankly, everyone is just as stressed out about this project as I am which made me feel a whole lot better about how me and Fran's pacing is going. There were 5 other people in my group and we just had a calm discussion as normal teenagers who could use each other's help trying to get a grade for this stressful test (again..... your fault....)

Anywaysssssssssssss

Here's how it went.

The first person (and the bravest) to go an start talking about their idea was my friend Sofia. Me and Sofia have another class together so we've already bene talking about our ideas for our project and how we are going to organize ourselves for the following weeks. But anyways, she told us about her drama genre opening where she is going to make a transition from a bathtub to the water which created a lot of shock in the group cause that's going to take a lot of effort and time from her part. But her idea is interesting I have to say. She's gotten influenced by a lot of her favorite shows and movies in order to create her idea.

Before I go to what the other members of my group shared and what I shared about my project I want to tell you guys about the aspect that we spent the most time on while we were sharing and having a good time

The Issues:

So it turn out that when you give a whole bunch of teenagers the same task but with different ideas, they all somehow end up with the same issue. THE TITTLE. OH.MY.GOD. when  I tell you guys that laterally no one in the meeting knew what in the world they were gonna name their film, I'm not lying. Like everyone knows what their idea is going to be, but at the same time everyone agrees that making a tittle is going to be so hard to come up with, along with where to put it in the opening. Now, we were clearly told that we CANNOT put the tittle at the end of the opening but anywhere else just feels weird (I got a suggestion that I might use though)

The other issue that everyone in the group was sharing was the fact that nobody has any idea what they are going to use for mise-en-scene elements. Like everyone is excited for that part of their project because thy enjoy it (cant relate), but nobody knows how they're going to implement it into their film opening. I feel like Fran is going to take care of that aspect because he knows that I am just not good when it comes to that section of media. Like I can write about it pretty good (I like to think), but I just can't implement it into actual projects.

This one isn't really a concern but I noticed that I am the only one that isn't working by myself. I asked around cause it is one of the concerns that I had cause I was wondering whether or not it was a bad idea to choose a partner. but after asking around the group, I noticed that I am nothing like them. In the sense that they like to have full control of the situation and don't like people criticizing their idea, while I love to be told that my ideas can be improved by another person. And the other 2 reasons why I wanted a partner is because I feel like they're a safety net in the sense that if I can't do something one day then Fran can come and back me up when I need him, and vice versa, and me and Fran work really good together.

Back to ideas:

after me came this girl whose name I didn't happen to get, but its one of the girls that I have always wanted to hear from because I know that she loves media nd she is FANTASTIC in all of the assignments she has been given this year. Her idea was awesome too. She's doing this detective themed opening where she is going to film in New York for Spring Break and honestly, I wanted to watch it immediately after she pitched it to us. One of her main concerns, however was that she didn't know how to open a door where the detectives come in so the rest of the group gave her ideas that she could use if she wanted to and she was very grateful

There were 3 more suggestions but I did not find 2 of them entertaining and I feel like the people did not want to share their idea because it is not completely developed, and because they thought they were going to get heavily judged. There ideas weren't bad, they just did not give me personally enough information to give feedback in anyway.

The last girl that talked was this girl named Corrina. She knew from the very beginning that she did wanted to do something coming of age. She had done so much research on shows I had never heard of but she also had a lot of complaints about her idea. She mentioned how she did not know when to start her storyboard and what types of shots she wanted to use for her opening. She knows that she wants to use her dad's coworkers for her opening because she feels that child actors at our school will not only make the film less entertaining, but she feels like she has nobody to ask that's a good actor at our age (which is a very fair point)

What me and my group thought we looked like when we were presenting our ideas

Fun Parts:

This meeting was honestly so much fun,. I genuinely had so much more fun then I thought it was going to be and even though our teacher was walking around, she wasn't saying anything negative and instead was just enjoying our conversations. 

Other than the meeting being fun because I met new people that I thought I would never talk to, I also got so much good feedback about my project and Fran did too. So with this new set of ideas from other people who also want what's best in our interest, we are going to take steps forward now and advance with this wonderful project that we have.

Thanks for reading today guys, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this one because I just had so much to talk about and I feel like it helped me clear my mind and express what I wanted to. I'll write in here on Saturday and let you guys know about new information.

Peace

Mise-en-scene elements research

 Hey guys hope your doing well and that you had a good day yesterday. I know I wrote in here yesterday and I normally don't even write in here 2 days in a row but oh well it has to be done as I am not going to be here on Friday as I have a soccer tournament to attend to. (I know I know you guys can stop crying)

Yesterday I mentioned and gave a centralized idea about what I thought the script could look like, and after further review (my teacher's inspiration to us, and chats with Francisco) we are definitely going to need to change a lot of it. While the idea is good, our teacher helped us realize how we can improve it significantly if we give it a little more time.

Anyways, back to the main idea of today, the most dreaded blog for what I think the whole project. Mise-en-scene. I HATE having to work with this. Like its just so annoying for absolutely no reason and now I have to do a whole blog and NOT ONLY THAT, but I have to research for the next couple of hours (even at home) and implement it to our film opening 

My poor computer is going to be receiving head bangs for the whole day today because I just can't ignore my anger with this subject.

Let's Begin

Ok so me and Fran have been discussing what we want to do in terms of color for our character and w have decided that we are probably going to go with a blue soccer shirt of our character to try and represent the sadness that he is feeling inside due to his poor life and the constant handling of bullying that he has to overcome.

In terms of lights, I have BEGGED Fran to try and incorporate a constant flashing in at least one of the scenes that we do in the opening. Although the place that we want to film at (our local Regional Soccer Park) has a lot of bright lights when it is dark, I remembered this commercial back from when I was a kid from Nike.

This commercial was way ahead of its time without a shadow of a doubt (I'm obviously being delusional but this commercial was one of my childhood favorites so it holds a very special place in my heart) 

There are 2 main reasons to why I choose this Ad as such inspiration for me and Fran's opening project.

1) The whole aspect of an irrelevant kid being swapped into a world famous soccer star is a good concept that me and Fran could tweak to get the "getting famous" aspect done

2) The flash aspect from the fans in the stadium is something I really enjoy and I feel I could use it in some way for the project

That's all I got for today guys, next time I am going to have  meeting with some of my classmates to talk bout potential feedback and ways to improve my blog because I do feel like I am struggling a bit when it comes to writing down the ideas in my head and how to express them 

Hope you guys enjoyed today and peace

The Script

February 25th, 2024

Hey guys what's up hope you're all doing well because I know I am. I know I told you guys that I would be writing in the blog yesterday to talk about the script, but after being so occupied doing so many important things I was just too busy to write

Totally not what I did for 12 hours yesterday feeling like an absolute dork not moving a single inch from my bed all day yesterday. (I totally did)

But anyways that is besides the point. Today I have a fresh mind and I'm ready to tell you guys about the script that me and Fran have been working on the last couple of days in and outside of class. Like I told you guys last time, Fran is going to to be the bully with his friends and I'm going to be the poor kid. (No racism involved because I'm Venezuelan and my countries economy is currently in the mud guys I promise)

So now to what you guys all came here for today (whether its because you want to or because you're forced to)....... THE SCRIPT!!!!!!!!!! I know I know that just made your day and you can't wait to read this thing

How I imagine you guys after I just filled you guys up with excitement.... (hopefully or this is really embarrassing)

Anyways back to the serious stuff. This is what we have so far on the script. I hope you guys enjoy and I'll update this if anything changes in the future.

The Script:

The screen is going to open to our high school hallway with all the commotion in the world and everyone trying to get to class. Our protagonist (named Jake) a 16 year old poor kid who has a worn out backpack and a REALLY old faded soccer shirt of his favorite team is going to be among the crowd trying to blend in but will be spotted by the school's bullies because of his ruined shirt.

The bullies are going to be laughing at him and saying stuff to try and make him feel bad and potentially provoke him into doing something dumb

(Now these lines aren't set in stone yet but it's definitely a possibility that can be in the opening)

Bully 1 named Brock (Fran): Hey, nice shirt, Jake! Did you get it from the dumpster?

    - His friends are going to be laughing with him to instigate the joke more

Jake is not going to pay attention to the first insult as he is just trying to get through his day and just get to class.

Then Bully number 2 (named Dirt) will say "Look at him, wearing the same old shirt every day! What a loser"

Jake is going to increase his pace significantly as he is trying to get away from the ridicule and not be laughed at by other students. His face is obviously turning red in embarrassment

Then the screen is going to cut to black and you will see Jake at the Soccer field practicing alone, his movements swift and determined. Despite the earlier bullying, he's focused on perfecting his skills, using soccer as an escape from the harsh realities of his life.

As he starts going home, He passes by a group of kids playing soccer in the street, their eyes lighting up as they watch him

The first kid says: "Hey isn't that Jake?"

"I've heard he's good but I've never seen him play"

His friend says: "bro you don't get it, he's amazing"

The first kid again says "Why does he always wear the same shirt though?"

To which his friend shrugs his shoulders: "I don't know"

A final clip of Jake going to his car will be shown and this is where we will show our tittle (We haven't decided on it yet either)

When Jake finally gets home and gets ready for bed, he closes his eyes with his soccer ball on his nightstand and all of a sudden a gasp of wind comes and it is clear something has happened to Jake.

( This last part we might change too in the next couple of days)

Reflection:

So that's what we have so far. I'm really looking forward to this project because working with Fran is just so much fun. I think this project is gonna come out excellent and we're going to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading guys I know you don't have a choice but still means a lot because we work hard on these things.

I'm going to write in here tomorrow after talking with Francisco and we will see what our next step is for the project

Peace guys

Story Outline

February 22,2024

Hey guys, how you guys doing. hope your doing well. Honestly, today has been a really good day and my teacher just finished showing us previous projects to give us motivation. I'm back with a refreshed mind (and more importantly, fingers) and me and Francisco are ready to work on the Blog for today. Enjoy:)

So last post I told you guys that today I talk about the outline for our project. So far we have a pretty basic idea of what we want to do and after meeting up with our teacher last week to discuss possible ideas, we decided that we have a very good idea and that we only need to make some changes to make this opening great. 

The idea:

Me and Francisco are both really competitive and passionate sports fans. Even though we play different sports, he's Argentinian so he has a massive love for soccer. And so we decided to take the concept of being bullied, and the idea of cruelty, (one of the projects that we worked on earlier in the year) and combine it to make an opening.

 After searching for quite literally 25 minutes to find an outline template that can help me organize my ideas so that it isn't a complete disaster of cluster for you guys to read, I found one that I think perfectly fits what's going on in my head right now

                I feel like this outline helps me get my ideas in order and then if I feel like I need to change something or add a concept, then this is easy to do it in so without further ado. Here's the outline

Origin/ Backstory: Me and Francisco were thinking that our story is going to be based off a poor and bullied boy who's only able to go to school with jerseys (sports shirt) of his favorite soccer teams. Due to the fact that he trains before getting to school, he is constantly bullied because of his hygiene and repeated outfits of soccer.

Characters: There is no doubt that me and Francisco are going to play the main roles of the opening (The protagonist, and main bully) The bully will also have various followers but we haven't gotten the chance to ask our friends if they're willing to help us out for the opening. I have a feeling that I am gonna be the one that plays the poor protagonist, and Fran as the main bully for 2 main reasons.

1) Fran plays rugby and I'm not gonna lie his friends are HUGEEEEEEE. Like I'm talking massive both in height and muscle size. However Fran is somehow the most respected among them so he bosses them around.... This is how I imagine their friendship constantly.

This photo to me perfectly represents their friendship (I've been balling my eyes out laughing for the last 20 minutes after seeing Fran's reaction to me adding this to my post)

2) The second reason why I feel like Fran is going to end up as the bully in the film is because he's played the bully in the previous project that we had related to bullying and he played the role perfectly. His acting skills are for sure questionable (he's getting better though) but he's already comfortable with the position and I feel like he is going to have the most success both individually, and for the group if he plays the bully. 

(P.S he also loves to hit me any chance he gets so that's gonna be interesting)

-> How my body felt after the last bullying project with Fran.

Obstacles: Obviously our character is going to face the obstacle of being bullied at school, but at the same time he is also going to deal with the obstacle that he does not have clothes to solve the issue, so as much a she gets bullied at school, there is absolutely nothing that he can do.

That's all me and Fran have for right now, but if I get any ideas by the end of today or tomorrow, I will definitely make sure that I add it before the next post.

This One was lowkey fun to right just because me and Fran discussed a lot and his reaction to the photo I put in just made my day. Anyway, today is Thursday, so on Saturday I am gonna write to you guys about the script that me and Fran have in mind for the film. (Apparently, I am now in charge of reminding Fran to do his posts on the weekend cause he has the worst memory I've ever seen)

Peace guys, hope you enjoyed

 

                   

The Approach

2/20/24 (Tuesday February 20th, 2024)

Hey everybody, I'm back and today you guys are gonna read about the approach of everything. Enjoy <3

 Alright so with this whole idea of this massive project coming at me, I'm a bit stressed out, so I decided to not write yesterday, and continue with a fresh head and mindset today. I talked with Francisco literally the whole day yesterday through call to figure out what kind of approach we are going to take for the project. It didn't really take long for us to figure out that we wanted to construct our project based off a character vs character conflict. We feel like this type of conflict is one of the most engaging and entertaining conflicts in film right now as they grab the audience's attention from the very beginning. 

The Concept

After taking a lot of inspiration from the 2 movies mentioned in the previous post, Francisco and I decided that we are going to take a similar approach in the introduction when introducing our character to the audience. 

The Schedule

This is how me and Francisco will plan on taking on the challenge of the movie and how we will schedule ourselves so that we have more than enough time to film without any issues since we are both athletes outside of school

Week 1 (The Basics)

Brainstorm potential ideas

Week 2

Choose Project Genre

Research film openings to get inspired and grasp and idea

Develop Project Schedule

Week 3

Write the schedule down

Choose film opening approach

Develop the story outline and timeline

Develop the script for the film

Week 4

Create shot list

Create Storyboard for the film

List potential film locations to record

Develop Filming and Editing schedule for after filming footage

Week 5 (Hardest week for me)

Develop Mise-en-scene elements for film

Begin Filming our film

Week 6 

Continue the production for our film

Begin the editing for the opening

Develop Responses for the CCR questions

Create the Critical Reflection projects

Week 7

Research Information that relates to the creative reflection

Finish editing for the film

Get peer feedback 9among classmates) for our editing

Week 8

Make the Creative Reflection Project

Me and Fran meet up to check each other's posts to make sure everything is in order

Week 9 (Halleluiah) 

Post both the film and the CCR projects to the blog for you guys to enjoy

Back to the Approach

Now that you guys finished reading my whole life for the next 2 months we can continue with the approach for the film. Now, most films like ours, would include a narrator to commentate on the character's daily life and what led up to the exact moment that they are in, however me and Fran find that whenever there is a narrator, we get bored and tend to get on our phones, so to avoid that happening to you guys (if they even let you guys have your phones at work) we decided that we aren't going to use a narrator and instead are going to approach the timeline of our character directly

That's it for this week, hope you guys enjoyed this one a little more as I had more fun with this one then the last one, even though writing out schedule made me want to amputate my fingers. I'll write back here either tomorrow or on Thursday to discuss the outline an timeline for our film.

Peace.

Genre and Drama research

2/15/24

So VERY good news!!!! Francisco agreed to working with me on the project and I'm super excited to start working and creating ideas with him, because we are both very similar in minds and we have the same tastes when it comes to creating film projects. So far we have come up with 2 major genres that we feel could be executed at a high level for us and that will guarantee a good score for this part of the exam.

The first genre is Drama. Now, this was Francisco's recommendation initially. I personally don't feel as comfortable working  on that genre as I am not very skilled or experienced when working with this theme as it requires a lot of elements that I am not usually used to working with. But I'm not gonna lie, Fran is an expert working with drama films and he always scores well when working with this genre so I feel very safe trusting him with this idea and I can't wait to see what story he comes up with so that we can research and discuss it later. The costume aspect of this genre has always been something that has fascinated me in so many different ways, but at the same time it frightens me, cause I am not sure if we have time to make our own costumes or if we will have to buy some from online.

The second genre we had planned (my suggestion) is action. Action films are some of the most entertaining and attention grabbing in the entire film world. This genre is vary engaging and it comes with a lot of exciting scenery from the start which is my goal with this project. I feel like if we come up with a good idea for this genre, we could have so much fun at the same time that it wouldn't even feel like working for a grade. My first concern with action though, that I had not thought about previously, is the fact that action movies often require a lot of visual effects and explosions that we don't have time to do, but at the same time could be covered up with other action moves and characteristics like fighting and running. I'll tell you guys by tomorrow what we came up with and how we plan to move forward with this exciting project.

Transition to Portfolio Project

 February 9th: Thank god its almost Friday. This week felt draining like never, but at least I can always rant in here. So it turns out we’re starting the Portfolio Project today even though the due date isn’t until like April so that’s pretty weird. I'm not going to lie I have absolutely no clue what I’m going to film and create but like always I'll go along with life. That’s all anyone ever can do. 

 

I have an idea of who I’m going to work with on this project but I'm not sure what he thinks will be best for him so. Franciso has always been my partner for anything I do in this class with groups whenever we get the chance to. I’m Excited though like I feel like this project could change my mood for the better, and once I'm done with this project, I can focus on the essay part which I’m much better at. 

 

I feel like being able to create my own project is terrifying. Like why I can’t just be given a specific topic. That pisses me off heavy cause then I must think about what I want to do and how I’m going to do it instead of just following and submitting.