Filming Location

 Heyyyy! I've just been finalizing the plans for where and when I am going to be filming. I've settled on late afternoon next Saturday, which is the last Saturday before break so it will allow me to have enough time to make edits and not worry while still being able to enjoy my break. 

There will be the shots of fort Lauderdale beach to open the film for 30 seconds. 

This is going to help develop the vibe that we are in south Florida and the type of kids that would live around here. I want to make it fun and upbeat to help set the teenage-vibe for the rest of the film.

The next spot will obviously be in inside of a car and outside of a house. We will be using my house. 

It is nothing special just a plain house.  For the car we will be using either a BMW X5 or the KIA K5. It all depends on who is willing to let their car be used in the film (lol.) But either one will do and match the vibe. If I had to guess it'd be the K5. 

Lastly, the shopping center we will be using is small but has a few well known places. It has a chipotle and tanning place which are hot spots for all these characters to be at. I think this is the best place to do it at. This location isn't set in stone as I want to receive a few other opinions as to where I should film. Other than that I think i'm pretty much ready to start filming. I'm super excited to get to work and can't wait to see my ideas finally come to life!!!

Screen Play

     Heyyyy and welcome back! I have been trying to figure out how to write a screen play and where to write it. My friend Alex who is also in AICE media helped me out by pointing my to the Celtx website. It's honestly great. It formats everything for me so I also really have to worry about the content. We took some notes in class about screen-play which also helped me to understand what's really suppose to be said. Here are my notes: (I know my handwriting could use some work...)

                               

The lesson in class really helped to clear up some confusion and get me focused on exactly what I need to write about. My screenplay isn't at it's best and I know that. I plan on asking classmates and friends on advice on what I could improve on as I just don't know where I am going wrong. Anyways here it is:

Casting

     Hey guys! I've been really busy recently with lacrosse as we've had games almost everyday, so I havn't had time to put a lot of my ideas and progress on paper but I wanted to give an update on the progress i've made. Most importantly i've come up with some character names! The more feminine girl will be named Zoe, and the gothic girl will be named Ivy. The boys' name will be Troy. The name for the film will be "Three's Company" (I really like this.)

Meet the Cast!

Zoe (Lucy)

Ivy (Lily)

Troy (Drew)

    I'm really excited to work with my friends on this, fingers crossed that there will be no scheduling conflicts and I can start and finish shooting soon and it one day. The 2 girls playing Zoe and Ivy (Lucy and Lily) are not really good with film, but the boy who is playing Troy (Drew) is really good with filming/editing so it will be nice to have him on 'set' as a helping hand. He could be a big help while editing as well if I ever needed guidence on how to do something. He's my family friend so I definitely see him a lot, if I ever needed help. 

    I ran the film by the three and they all seem open to it. Lucy and Lily feel slightly awkward about being on camera but they're willing to do it to help me out. (lol) I am hoping to shoot this weekend but weather isn't looking to good, but if not this weekend, next weekend for sure. I need to get shooting before break so I can edit and not worry while i'm on vacation. 

    As for right now, I need to finish up my screen play. This is something i'm struggling a little with as I have never had to do it before. It's definitely a learning curve but it'll be helpful when shooting and editing. All of these little tedious steps will just make my life a whole lot easier when putting the film together. 

Shots List

 Hiiiii! I just developed the list of shots in order of when they'll be shown on screen in order to help organize myself when shooting. This may change if I decide to change the beginning to the split-screen idea. I am still thinking of character names (I know this is an issue) but I am going to get started on the screenplay soon. Hopefully this week. Anyway, heres my shots list :)

    Long shot Palm Trees

    Medium shot Palm Trees

    Close up Palm Trees

    Dutch Tilt Palm Trees

    Long shot Pool/backyard

    Medium shot Pool/backyard

    Dutch Tilt Pool/backyard

    Pan from sky to car

    Close up preppy girl in car

    Long shot gothic girl walking out of her house (possible jump cuts)

    Close up car door handle

    Over the shoulder gothic girl entering car

    2 shot of girls singing in car

    Tight close up of preppy girl

    Tight close up of gothic girl (eye line match)

    Close up gothic girl facing foward

    Long shot of front wind shield of car

    Long shot of male walking (slow motion)

    Close up of preppy girl (looks over)

    Close up of gothic girl (looks over)

    2 shot of girls in shock (looking at each other/around)

    Long shot of car pulling into spot

    Close up gothic preppy girl in car

    Long shot of preppy girl getting out of car and closing door

    2 Shot of girls walking

    Long shot of male walking (slow motion/eye line match)

    Medium shot of gothic girl starring/walking (looks over) 

    2 Shot of girls walking into store (gothic girl looks at friend)

Group Meeting

     Whats up guys! This week we had our first group meeting. I thought it was really beneficial for everyone and I learned a lot. We were split into groups of 6 but one girl that was meant to be in my group was not in class.

    I wasn't the first to go in my group, but I enjoyed hearing other peoples' project ideas and seeing where I am at compared to them. Being able to hear other peoples ideas and give them feedback alone helped me put together my ideas more. Also, reading their blogs and seeing what they write about helped me to see how I can better my blog.    

    When talking about my film opening I didn't get many critiques. They agreed with me that the voice over is going to be a challenge and gave me a tip to select very different voices and have them speak in very different tones. I think that will help to distinguish the voice over and definitely takes some stress of me. The only other suggestion that I go was instead of establishing setting in the beginning to do a split screen of the two girls getting ready showing how different they are, and towards the end of the routine they both look at a picture of them when they were little. Then cut to when the preppy girl is going to pick up the gothic girl. This is something I am considering but I'm not sure. I am going to have to weigh out the pros and cons. 

This is similar to how the split screen would be. It helps to infer that these 2 events are taking place at the same time in different places. I think this could look really cool i'm just not sure if it fits as the first scene in the film opening. 

Mice-en-Scene research

Heyyyy!! I am going to be incorporating a lot of mice-en-scene elements in my film opening, so I think it is best that I do more research on mice-en-scene in the romantic comedy genre. 

Setting

The setting in a romantic comedy is typically in a school or workplace. The genre is realism so any typical place fits. The Kissing Booth is a perfect example. While most scenes take place in school, there is still shots in their house, at the fair, the pool, and arcade as these are typical places for teenagers to be. 

Props

Within romantic comedy's, props are not uncommon. Usually love notes, flowers, chocolates, bears; always a naturalistic style. For example, in To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Laura Jean is giving her boyfriend a variety of gifts from her trip. These props contribute to the emotion and genre of romantic comedy. It helps do display the passion she sees for her boyfriend.

Weather

Weather in romantic comedy's would be expected to always be perfect, but it's quite the opposite. It is used to create a specific mood or atmosphere. When obstacles are placed in a film it usually rains or snows, and when there's a happy ending sunshine radiates. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes it's the opposite and when a couple reunites it rains shows their passion. In My Life With the Walter Boys, the rain helps to contribute to the mixed emotions the two are feeling. It adds to the mood the directors are trying to create.

Costume

The costuming in romantic comedy's is usually naturalistic and depends on the setting on the scene. For example, Sharpay in High School Musical has different costumes depending on her setting. 

Here she is seen in a bathing suit as she is laying out by the pool. She is accessorized with the appropriate pool side accessories (sunglasses.) Her personality is also shown through her costuming. Just by looking at her you can tell she is a girly-girl with a big personality. She has a big statement necklace which tells us she is outgoing, pink and sparkly clothed which tells us she is very feminine, and big sunglasses that tells us she is very confident. 

I plan on using a lot of naturalistic elements in my film opening. I'm going to be utilizing the school or shopping center which is a typical place for teenagers to be hanging out. I'm not sure if I am going to be using any props within my film though. If a car counts as a prop I will be using that, but maybe as I am filming I will find that a prop is necessary. The weather is going to be a sunny day as I want too depict the highlights of Florida as it is the 'sunshine state.' The costuming is the most important part of my film. I have to show the contrast of the two girls' personalities. I am going to have to utilize accessories to the max in order to really show the audience each characters personalities. 

Small change...

     Hello! I'm going to change up the order of my blogging schedule just a little and make my story board first, then shots list, and then script. I think this is a better way to organize my ideas and gives me a little more time to think about exactly how I want to characters to be represented and act.  My story board is a little messy but it's just a rough draft and a way to visually see what I want to do.

    Here is my story board: