We're getting somewhere...

  Yesterday, I took a nap. But not just any nap... the nap. I woke up and instantly reached for my journal and wrote down what is now my rough draft for my film. The basics of what my film is that it revolves around two best friends, Rose and Eden (I have no idea where these names cam from, somehow they won't leave my thoughts). Before the film starts Eden unexpectedly goes missing, only to be found a couples weeks later dead. Rose, dealing with a lot of grief tries to not only put together the pieces of what happened to her friend but evaluate her life with different people from her past and present. Right now it sounds a little cookie cutter/cheesy/potentially just another angsty teen drama but I've come up with some different ways to help combat these assumptions.

  Recently I was talking to my friend Cassie about media studies and our final projects for the year. Since she's in A Level she gave me tons of insight into the process and her experience making a film opening last year. While telling her about my idea and what I had in mind visually, we ended up in a conversation about Barry Jenkins and his inspirations for his critically acclaimed film Moonlight (2016). Both the videos attached to this post were mentioned in the conversation have really inspired me to film my opening as artistically and abstractly as possible, almost like a visual poem. I think with such a simple plot and minimal dialogue, I need to really create something visually to draw in audiences and make them want to know what happens next. 

  As you can see in the video above, Moonlight has some beautiful cinematography. The shots and angles are all so meticulous and all serve a purpose in the particular scene. Before viewing both of these videos, I had no idea who Wong Kar-wai was. After watching these shot-by-shot comparisons, I'm definitely interested in watching some of his past works, particularly Chungking Express (1994) and In the Mood for Love (2000) as they were major inspirations for Jenkins when filming Moonlight. I'm  in love with the closeups of characters, frame within a framework, and interesting perspectives and angles. All things I hope to incorporate when filming. In another video I viewed with Jenkins actually going into detail on why he's so inspired by Kar-wai, he talks about non-linear storylines and juxtaposed images. I'm definitely going to look into these things a bit more when it comes time for me to film! Planning for my film starts next week, so stay tuned for lots of interesting posts.

                     Over and out

                          IM

Criterioncollection. "Under the Influence: Barry Jenkins on Wong Kar-wai." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

"Moonlight and Wong Kar-wai." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.