The Idea (for real)

  I've realized I haven't really updated you guys on what's happening with my actual story/script in awhile. I've made some changes to the plot since my original "the idea" post that I think make the film easier for me to produce and for audiences to consume in the short, five-minute time frame.
 The idea still centers around a girl and guy who meet each other and fall in love, but I've changed the focus of the film to be solely of the girl character, developing her loneliness and a deep desire for connection and love, whether it's a real connection or not.
  In a nutshell, the story will begin with her getting ready to go out in her house, or ideally her apartment, where her loneliness is established by its emptiness and how hauntingly quiet it is. Once finished applying her makeup, she'll gather her things and head out on the town, something she normally does to be surrounded by people. I'm planning on expressing the idea that she's seeking love by having her intensely watch as couples walk by her on the street and focusing in on their laughs/happiness primarily with close-ups. Because she's not paying attention, she doesn't realize the there's someone right in front of her, who will be the guy character, and they bump into each other. When I picture it in my head, it's the very cliche moment where she drops her things and he helps her pick them up etc. However, because I want the story to mainly be about her and her manifestation of love, I don't want to show the face of the male love interest at all; audiences will be able to hear his voice and see them interact but never get a good look at his face. 
 The two go on dates, do "normal" couple things, but he quickly disappoints the image she has for what love should be; he's disinterested and detached. I'm planning on making this portion of the film feel more like a montage to really capture how quick and fleeting their "relationship" is. 
 The ending, put simply, would just her yelling at him back at the apartment for not doing what she expected, shot in chaotic close ups resulting in her pushing him away and then ultimately "disappearing." She calms down and then hears music (similar to the Abba song mentioned in my first post) coming from the kitchen area. She runs into his arms, glad that he's back, and here I pictured the lights fading to black and then a single spotlight shining on them while they slow dance to the music and she grins silently to herself. 
 I've kind of been sitting on the complete idea, making sure I like it 100% so I don't flip-flop on you guys again, but after we met up in groups in class and I told my peers the changes out loud, I knew this was it. 
  I'll update you guys further with filming, which I plan on starting tomorrow after my AP Art History review in the morning.

Stay tuned!

Symbolism in film

  When I met up with the teacher earlier last week, she suggested that if I want to create a story that focuses on showing the audience rather than telling them I should look into using symbolic images and motifs. I've watched a couple of video essays in the past that have dealt with the importance of details and how something as simple as a chair can hold so much meaning, which I'll link below, and I think I can definitely take what I've learned from these and apply them to my short film. Because I'm working with black and white, I also want to play a lot with lighting and the meaning it could have if used right. One of the genres I am vaguely influenced by is film noir, which typically uses dramatic lighting schemes. 

Lynne Ramsey-Poetry of Details Video Essay by Tony Zhou 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjY9kf7TuUU

In Praise of Chairs Video Essay by Tony Zhou 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfGKNJ4mldE

Writing writing writing

  As stated in my previous posts, one of my goals for this week is to have the script done by at least Wednesday. I am mildly freaking out because there is still a lot I have to figure out about the story, plot wise, as well as the characters. I really want to have the script fully developed before I even pick up the camera or meet with my actors because not being prepared was a major flaw in my project last year and I want to ensure that I have a full grasp on my story so my actors are able to give their best performance. 
 I'm still finishing up the script, but I will hopefully post the rough draft here once I finish it!

Schedule

  Alrighty, so one of the major updates that have occurred since we last spoke is an extension of the due date to April 16th; thank god. With this blessing of about seven days during spring break, I realized I better take full advantage of it and get my life together. 

  Google Calendar is by far my absolute favorite organization tool. I've included this overlook of the month of April and the remaining days in March to figure out any possible major conflicts with filming. One of these conflicts being work which does take up a good amount of time. I typically work on weekends (prime filming time) and a new work schedule comes out every week, making it a little hard to plan ahead. I think my best bet would be to request spring break off so I can finish this project without stressing about anything else.   
 As for my goals in the next coming days, I have to finish my script by at least Wednesday of this week so Yasemin will be able to get familiar with her lines and character. Hopefully, if everything works out well, filming will be able to begin this weekend and continue into the following week. Around that same time, I'll be able to piece together my website and the post card ad while beginning to edit the film. In that following and final week, I'll just have to build my CCR and worry about final touches.
  Easier said than done! 

Monochromatic fun

  Following trends of the films I have researched and films in the arthouse genre as well as neo-noir, I've decided I will be shooting this year's film in black and white. Black and white is typically used in films of a lower budget because you don't have to worry about spending money on color grading or color specific mise en scene elements.
  Although I'm super excited to be working with something new, I'm a tad bit nervous because it's so different from what I normally do. I'm such a visual person and a large part of that for me are colors and working with them to create something that is visually pleasing and meaningful. However, working with black and white forces you to rely on lighting and composition to create a stimulating image, two things that I've never really focused on before. I've read multiple helpful websites that advice to not film using a camera's built-in black and white feature, and to instead add the effect in post, allowing you to have more control over the intensity of it.
 I'll be looking to films like Ida for inspiration on lighting scenes that will be in black and white (I've even found a blog post online that breaks down major lighting schemes used by the cinematographer Lukasz Zal,) as well as a majority of the films done by Japanese director and master of depth and composition,Ozu, as my ultimate b&w guides. The beauty of Ozu's work is nothing new and has been studied throughout his career and years after. He typically utilizes deep focus throughout his films, having something interesting to look at in the background, middle ground and foreground. Ozu also had an interesting technique, discussed in this commentary provided by Roger Ebert, in which he would place the camera right in between the characters, putting audiences right in the middle of the action.These elements paired with his incredible understanding of blocking and the physical space these characters occupy within the frame, help to create interesting layered visuals.
  There's a video essay by Lewis Criswell that further explains Ozu's style that I will link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G7oeyOsfSg
   
  I'll keep you guys updated! Let's hope this works!

Behind the scenes of Ida, kitchen scene

Sketch of Zal's lighting plan for the kitchen scene Ida (2013) 

Ozu's Floating Weeds (1959) screencap of video essay by Saladino

Resources: 

Behind the scenes of Ida. Digital image. The American Society of Cinematographers. N.p., 13 May 2014. Web.

Lukasz's sketch. Digital image. The American Society of Cinematographers. N.p., 13 May 2014. Web.

B, Benjamin. "3 Scenes from 'Ida'." ASC Web Site. N.p., 13 May. 2014. Web.

Quiet Cinematography- Floating Weeds (1959) Video Essay by Andrew Saladino 2016 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ra0xEQ8yaU&t=210s

Casting

  Okay so there may still be a lot of things for me to figure out, but I've officially secured my main actress. Just like in my portfolio project last year, I wanted to choose an actor with some sort of experience and one that I would be comfortable working with. This year I've decided to work with Yasemin Atesnak, a junior in the musical theatre and chorus program. After seeing her performances in school musicals such as Cats and Hair, playing major roles in both shows, I've seen her talents as a performer and know that she has a wide acting range. I've already reached out to her and she's told me she'd definitely be able to help me! The problem is finding male actors, which is a lot harder to come by than I thought. However, Yasemin has said that she should be able to hook me up with either Gianni Palmero or Michael Valladares, who are both in Musical Theatre as well, to play her co-star.

Yasemin, picture courtesy of her

  With the deadline for the project approaching (3 weeks), I'm going to have to figure out a shooting schedule pretty soon. When we last spoke, Yasemin said that she didn't have any major conflicts, except for a Thespian competition which she will be coming back from today. Besides that, the only other conflict I can see coming up would be my work schedule, gross, so I'll have to try to figure days that work for Yasemin and I and either find covers or request those days off. It can be done! With that settled, I just have to finish and pump out this script before moving on. Oh boy.

Yasemin, picture courtesy of her

The Idea (hopefully)

  I've had a little trouble formulating an idea for this years project. I think the fact that it has to be a complete, 5 minute short film has added to that stress, but I've also been experiencing a serious creative block and the timing couldn't have been more worse. I know exactly what kind of film I want to make, it's just been taking me awhile to figure out exactly what it will be about. I've definitely come up with some ideas and I think I have a basic plot that I can work with, and that I actually like. 
  I'm going to have the story follow a girl who's infatuated with someone who they believe is a well-known celebrity. The two spend more time together and eventually grow fond of one another. I imagined the "celebrity" to confess to her at the end of the film that he isn't who she thinks he is, and her admitting that she's known all along. I know the idea sounds a bit weird, but I can picture it so clearly in my head. I really want the film to focus on the idea of false perceptions and wanting to be ignorant, things that were explored in films that I've talked about in the past like Memento. 
  In the next couple of day, I hope to have the complete script which I'll share with you!
  

Art Hizzy House

  After further research, I think I'm finally ready to define my genre as an art house or art film. 

movie poster for Melancholia (2011)

An art house film is defined as an independent film created for a specific niche market rather than mass audiences that are typically described as a serious artistic work. Many critics and scholars claim that these types of films focus on the dreams, motivations, and thoughts of the characters rather than clear, unfolding stories that are driven by definite goals. As far as distribution goes, art films tend to be presented in specialty theaters or film festivals and are rarely shown on the big screen. 

 I feel as if creatively my mind is set on this path and an art house film is most likely the direction I will go in for my short film. Some gems of the genre that I will be focusing on will be Lynch's Mulholland Dr, Wild Strawberries by Bergman (my guy,) and Lars von Trier's Melancholia. 

  I specifically would like to incorporate the essence dark elements included in these films and, most notably with Mulholland Dr, a sense of mystery. 

Mulholland Dr (2001)

"...art films often deal with an inner drama that takes place in a character's psyche, such as psychological issues dealing with individual identity, transgressive sexual or social issues, moral dilemmas, or personal crises." David Bordwell

Digital Image Mulholland Dr http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/mulholland-drive-podcast-review.jpg?w=780

Digital Image Melancholia https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTk4NjM0MjI3MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjcxMDYzNg@@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg

Nolan & Neo noir

Still from Memento (2000) 

  Alright so I most certainly know how I want the film to look, cinematically, but I feel like, as genres go, it's a little hard to define exactly what I want to do. Currently, I am being heavily inspired by director Christopher Nolan and the influence the crime, neo-noir genre has had on his work, specifically his first two films, Memento and Following.

Still from Following (1998) 

  Although the two films have release dates that are only a mere two years apart, they differ drastically. Memento is most definitely the more acclaimed, but there is something striking about watching a director's first film. What initially drew me to Following, besides the fact that it was Nolan's debut feature, was this Vice interview where Nolan discussed the problems that he ran into while creating the low budget film. It was incredibly interesting to hear such a big time director breaking down his filmmaking process. In the interview, there is a point where he addresses his fascination with the genre and how it extends further into melodrama and the idea of heightened reality which interested me the most. I want to incorporate these themes into my final piece; mystery, drama, and the idea of a heightened or exaggerated perception of reality.

Resources: Dark Roots: Christopher Nolan and Noir Jason Ney 2013
http://filmnoirfoundation.org/noircitymag/Dark-Roots.pdf

Power in silence; Ida

  Something that has been inspiring me a lot lately is the Polish film Ida that was released in 2013, winning the Academy for Best Foreign Language Film. The film follows Ida, a young Polish women, as she prepares to take her vows to become a nun in the early 60s. 

Still from Ida (2013)

  Through it's simple static framing and understanding of composition and lighting, Ida beautifully captures emotion and feeling in the most subtle yet striking way. This is perfectly exemplified in this scene in which main protagonist Ida has just returned from her travels and is now questioning her religion and decision to becoming a nun. In this short scene that is just under three minutes and has barely any dialogue, we learn exactly how Ida feels; how isolated she feels in the convent, her reluctance to praying, and her true desires. Having the ability to expose the characters to the audience in such a seemingly subtle way allows for a director to show you something significant in a short amount of time, a technique that I wish to incorporate in my final project. 

Still from Ida (2013)

Back again

  Hello again! It feels good to be back blogging, a little scary, but good. A lot has changed since we last spoke almost a year ago and it's crazy that we're already here. Over the course of the year, I have undoubtedly learned a lot about myself and my creative process and hope to apply what I've learned to my five-minute short film for this year's portfolio project. 

  Reflecting on last year I feel like I bit off more than I could chew trying to capture an entire genre and feeling into a two-minute opening, and although over dramatic and campy is my style, I want to incorporate those stylistic elements into something a lot more simpler this time around and dedicate much more time to the meaning of the film and its story. I'm not entirely sure what that story will be yet, but I do know that I want to focus on showing more than telling the audience when it comes to the emotion of the characters and can't wait for you to follow my process over the next couple of weeks.


  Just as I was during the previous project, I rely heavily on music for inspiration and I've found myself being inspired by some of the pop music during the seventies, specifically ABBA. Although they are more well-known for their upbeat and catchy hits, I've recently fallen in love with one of their more laid back songs, Hasta Mañana. The song is beautiful yet almost hypnotic and haunting. I obviously can't include their music in my final short, something that I learned last year with darn copyright laws, but I love the overall feeling this song gives me and hope to emulate it in my final project. 


Resources:

ABBA. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://postimg.cc/image/hr379smv7/>.

Last year's blog: The Queen of Boogie