Hi! Tonight I started to sort through some of my footage and edit to save myself some time once I shoot over the weekend again. I have some good shots from last Saturday, but now I think I have a better idea of what shots I want and how I'm going to achieve them. I hate to admit it, but I spent way to long looking at different text options for my opening credits (which ironically, are going at the end). I'm going for a simple and minimalistic look, as my opening is pretty understated and subdued.
To make sure I stay on track for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to use my Google calendar to create some deadlines for myself. I also want to story board a bit more if time prevails, and create one final to-do list for myself!
I did get around to getting that free trial of Adobe Premier, only to find out it's only 7 days when I was under the impression it was 30! Though I'm quote happy it worked out that way, since I could not figure out how to use it at all. I literally had an anxiety attack trying to find out how to put clips together. Right now, iMovie is my best option as i'm comfortable with all the features and know how to work my way around it easily.
In light of my setbacks on Saturday, I'm thinking I need a more clearer vision of what tone I'm trying to set. I want it to contrast between the happy times of the two girls, but also be sad and dreary of the single scenes with Rose. Today I looked into some scenes from movies with a beach location. Some of my favorites I found was the one from Spring Breakers (dir. Harmony Korine) that I linked in my last post, Grease (1978 dir. Randal Kleiser), and Moonrise Kingdom (2012 dir.Wes Anderson). Wes Anderson uses the camera so beautifully in this beach scene with the two main characters of the film. I love the contrast of steady shots with more unsteady ones. Also the use of color is so cool. Its dark and gloomy, why still having the vibrant pops of color need to keep the shots upbeat.
The day was going so well, my actors and I got to the beach and got a good bit of filming done. But, it was bound to happen. Filming was cut short by an unexpected hailstorm/tornado/thunderstorm at Dania beach. Though I did get some good shots, there is still much more to film for my opening. I got a lot of the flashback scenes done as you can see by the screen caps down below:
Next Saturday I will venture back down to the beach with Megan and Fabi to film everything else I need. I'm almost a little thankful for the rain, because when I looked back on footage, there is a lot I still wanna film. Also, I want to have a voiceover somehow of Rose speaking. Though I'm not sure how I'm going to pull that together, I've stored it in the back of my mind for post-production. I want to get some more shot with emotion and setting the tone of what would be my hypothetical movie.
While I was searching thought the footage with Megan at my house, she mentioned a clip from Spring Breakers (2012 dir.Harmony Korine), that had some beach shots into very similar to what I'm trying to do. Also, it coincidently has a voiceover in it as well. I'm sure this will come in handy next Saturday for filming, as well as the voiceover.
This Saturday I will be filming my opening that I have officially titled: To Rose, From Eden.
I've decided on this because hypothetically if I were to make this film, it would deal with Rose dealing through this tragedy of losing her best friend, and how she learns to cope with it. Along he way she starts to realize things about her own life, and how fast it could be taken away from her. Flashbacks would be a great part of how she would do that, particularly ones where Rose looks back on things that she has learned from Eden. So I guess you could say the flashbacks are "from Eden" (God, I hope this made sense).
After critiquing blogs and ideas with my fellow classmates, I feel confident that not only me, but the rest of my group are on the right track and will create some amazing projects!
To keep myself organized, I've created a checklist for things that need to get done before and on Saturday:
Gather props
Gather filming equipment
Put together looks for both my actors
Decide on the location (what beach we are filming at)
Get a free trial of final cut pro (what can I say? I'm a #struggling #artist 😌)
Good news! Thankfully my good friends Fabi and Megan have agreed to be in my opening. Megan will be playing Rose, and Fabi will be playing Eden.
Fabi (courtesy of Fabi)
Megan (courtesy of Megan)
I'm planning to film the majority next Saturday, and then plan from there if anything goes wrong. As I said in my last post, I needed to figure out how to give more context to the fact that Rose has just come from Eden's funeral to the beach. I came up with the idea to create a fake memorial pamphlet for Rose to put into the sand at some point in the opening (which I will then do a closeup of). I think this is an easy and quick fix to my crisis (woohoo!!).
Since I've done a good amount of research on the technical aspects of filmmaking, I'm gearing my attention more towards aesthetics and mise en scene. I came across an article about color psychology that though did not have a lot of text, provided many screenshots from movies with different color themes. As I'm hoping to evoke a sense of youthfulness, I'm thinking I'm going to use colors like pink, orange, and yellow, with undertones of blues and gray for a dreary, melancholy tone.
As for my location, I'm thinking Dayna beach is my best option, as it's not as crowded as some others on the coast. Although, Megan did tell me about a cool beach with a lighthouse that I'm going to look into.
I'll be back
IM
About NathalieNathalie Is a Story Fabricator and Storyteller at Heart. She Created Mentorless.com in 2011 to Share Content She Thought Useful to Craft and Nurture Her Storytelling and Creative Skills. To See More about What She Does When She Is Not Here,. "The Psychology of Color in Films: 17 Colors and Their Associated Concepts."Mentorless. N.p., 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
Hello, all! This weekend I'm in full prep mode, as I plan to film next weekend. I've decided I'm going use the beach as my main location for filming. I'm leaning towards using a non-linear storyline switching from flashbacks to present day, but filmed all in one location. This is not only easier for me but also I think will aid in the story "coming back full circle", if you will. There will be a short conversation at the beginning of the opening, between Rose and Eden, overlaid with different clips of them having fun on the beach. It will then switch back between Rose and Eden, to just Rose. In my head right now I'm thinking that the clips of just Rose will be occurring in the moments following her funeral. As it's easy for my actress to wear just black, I'm thinking there needs to be more for the audience to be fully aware that this has happened. I'll be thinking about that some more this weekend. Though it's hard for me to put into words what my detailed vision really is, I've attached some very horribly drawn storyboards (that probably won't help to visualize one bit.)
Obviously, my artistic talents cannot be matched.
Are these helping? At all?
12 Years a Slave (2013 dir. Steve McQueen)
Even though I did construct some storyboards to help me when I start to film, I wanted to research more into how to convey emotion through my shots. I came across a video by CineFix that analyses three clips from various films and goes into immense detail about why they are so impactful and evict so much emotion. I was particularly interested in learning about contrast and layers in the film when the narrator was discussing a very heartwrenching and uncomfortable scene from the film 12 Years a Slave (2013 dir. Steve McQueen). Somehow, I plan to try and utilize this skill in my opening.
As I have now solidified my idea of having two characters in my opening, I think the next best step is to figure out who they are and go from there. In another post on my blog, I mentioned how the two characters in my opening with being named Rose and Eden. Recently I rewatched Palo Alto (2013 dir. Gia Coppola) and got very inspired by some of the characters in the film (and cinematography). In my opinion, Palo Alto is one of those movies that depicts teenage life in a more accurate perspective than some of the others (I'm looking at you Mean Girls). Its slow pace, minimal plot, and interesting characters make for a very entertaining hour and forty minutes. The characters are all so different from one another, yet so the same. It's a tale, if you will, of misunderstood youth and mundane life. After viewing the film for the second time, I took note at some of the characters a bit more, particularly the two main female characters: April and Emily.
April (still from Palo Alto dir. Gia Coppola)
April (still from Palo Alto dir. Gia Coppola)
April is the more subdued of the two, she's on the soccer team, smart, shy with a little bit of a dark attitude, but innocent (and engaging in an affair with her coach outside of school). But besides that, I'm hoping to use some of these qualities for one of my characters, Rose. There's a scene in Palo Altothat is one of my favorites, where April, alone in her bedroom tries to embody this tough, cool girl exterior and talking into the mirror saying things like “Well I don't wanna talk to you either, because I don't give a …” I think you can fill in the dots from there. I imagine that if I were to create a full feature film, I would have a similar scene involving rose. The reason being is that I think like April, rose has tried to embody someone who she is not, Eden. And if I were to create the whole movie I would have her figure out along the way that she is the person she was always meant to be.
Emily (Palo Alto dir. Gia Coppola)
As for Eden, she's the one in the film who ends up dying. She's impulsive, confident, and a little manipulative. I guess in some ways Emily from Palo Alto could be compared to Eden. I think Emily was supposed to be a more realistic version of a mean girl of sorts in Palo Alto, the one that's always all over guys and smoking cigarettes. Just a bunch of angst and more angst. Although Eden is a lot more wild than rose, she's not the type to go out and party whenever she has a chance, she is still reserved in her own manner. In one scene from Palo Alto, there's a great montage of close-up shots of Emily, with a monologue from a male character in the background. Also, the cinematography in the shot is so beautiful. I love the dull tone and lighting, combined with the close ups of this reserved, yet seductive character. This small part of the movie really embodies and established Emily as a character. These are some of the characteristics I would like to incorporate into my opening.
Emily (still from Palo Alto dir. Gia Coppola)
Tribecafilm. "PALO ALTO -- April in Bedroom (Tribeca Film)." YouTube. YouTube, 29 May 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2017. Filmlincdotcom. "Palo Alto | Clip: "Emily Didn't Have Any Friends" | New Release." YouTube. YouTube, 05 May 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
