Setting the Mood

     I am on a 6 hour flight to California and the boredom is KILLING ME!!! But what better way to kill time than by creating mood boards for my characters. I think that Lynda (the actress for Lluvia) could get a better idea of who she is playing if I created a mood board for her, specifically the part in which she sneaks into the closet because I have a very specific vibe in mind for that. She also said that she had lots of dresses she could bring, this way I could choose all of the costumes but this mood board will definitely help her understand what I truly want her to wear and convey in the scene. I used Canva and Pinterest, also known as my two favorite sites to feel "aesthetic", to create this board and I am so proud of how it turned out.

    I find it kind of funny that this is the mood board that represents my film opening because I feel like this is a mood board that represents me. I love how this project is sort of a demonstration of who I am and that I am staying very true to myself throughout all of these processes. On either the first or second week I remember saying that I wanted to create something that was like me and that I had experienced which would make the video very real, and even though I've never done what Lluvia does in my film, making this proved to me that I 100% stuck to something that I can relate to in one way or another. I will give more updates as they come but there are only a couple more days til production and I have never been more excited. Let's hope I can get internet in California as soon as possible so I can post this blog!

Adapting

    After the obstacle I faced last week, I made sure that this week I would not make the same mistakes. I have all of my equipment ready, however, the problem I have now is that I lost my actress Gio. She is traveling all spring break so I'll have to find a replacement. However, I was able to adapt to this very quickly because another one of my friends (also going to the competition with me) volunteered to act in my opening, and she's a theatre kid so I KNOW she can act. I have a feeling that the setback I had last weekend was fate telling me that it wasn't the right time to film anyways because the friend that volunteered had a 10-year-old brother who would be absolutely perfect for the part of Dani. I'll just have to make some adjustments to the set design and script to make it match a 10-year-old boy but I am thrilled to be working with the two of them.

    Tomorrow, both me and the actress for Lluvia are leaving on a field trip to a film competition called STN, and we won't come back until Monday late at night so I've created a new filming schedule to try and accommodate both of our schedules and catch up on the work. 

    We will most likely film it all in one day, the day I've scheduled is Tuesday the 21st from 6pm-9pm. I will get started with editing the next day leaving time for any re-filming and critiques from Thursday to Sunday. I can probably also start writing my CCR on one of those days, but I definitely plan on filming them by Wednesday the 29th. 

    I've become very optimistic about this project and cannot wait for the final result, I can visualize it so clearly! Right now my priority is the competition but I will keep on updating the blog this week on the final steps before filming, stay tuned!

A Small Setback

    I made a mistake. I forgot to contact the Shortcuts Instagram in order to check out equipment for this weekend. I thought to myself: "this isn't the end of the world ill just solve this problem by getting equipment from CBTV and borrow some of my friend's extra equipment", but this was not possible because all of the equipment had been checked out for a competition practice that weekend and the only items left wouldn't have been enough. 

    Deciding not to film this weekend would set my schedule back by a lot since I'm leaving for a competition on Wednesday and won't be able to film until the first Monday of spring break, but I think its the right decision if I want my opening to be the best it can be. I texted the Shortcuts Instagram already, and now I'm just waiting for a response to see if I can check out equipment over the break. In the meantime, I'll keep on planning for filming and for my CCR. I realize the due date is way closer than it seems so I should definitely get a head start on that. Stay tuned for more updates because the action will start very soon.

Music

The Right Beat

    In order to film the montage of Lluvia dancing and modeling, I realized that I needed the music that will be playing in the background because she should probably be modeling to the beat of the song. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I needed to start looking for some electro-ish, upbeat songs and after some digging, I found this youtube channel that makes non-copyright songs that are exactly what I'm looking for. The issue is, I'm looking for something very specific, so it's taken me a while to find the perfect one but I have 3 options so far.

Link to NoCopyrightSounds Channel

    Im currently leaning more towards the second option, "Wish You the Best" because I think it still has that playful vibe while still having the EDM electro beat to it. I might keep on looking for more because the channel has hundreds of songs, but when I film I'll keep that one in mind.

More Pre-Production

Mise-en-scene Elements

    I recently got the script down to my desired length so I am at a great spot right now. I should be able to film this weekend if everything goes as planned. I got two actresses who would love to play the parts, and I decided to film at my house since I have more control of the closet and the wardrobe decisions. 

Samy's Film Opening Script

Dani's Room

    As for costumes, I have a lot of options for the things in the closet. Lluvia is a teenage girl so I told Gio that she can wear something that she would be comfortable in or something she would wear if she were to babysit a kid. I also told her to bring her own dresses and accessories, but I have a lot of options anyways for that part of the film. For Dani, I have already put together some props and set designs to make my 13-year-old sister's room look like a room for an eight-year-old.

Wardrobe

Accessories

    All of these sets would be enhanced by lighting and other elements, (like probably organizing the closet before filming) but I know that I am now closer to filming which also means I'm closer to editing and color correcting which is my favorite part, but I shouldn't get ahead of myself.

Creative Critical Reflection

CCR Lesson

    I know it may seem soon to start thinking about my CCR but in class, we did a lesson about what was required in it. This lecture was extremely helpful because I'm always trying to think three steps ahead this way I can plan ahead of time. Now I know that I should take more pictures through all of the processes which I've already been doing. I am so thankful for this blog, now I know that it will make the CCR a lot easier to make because I have all of my research here. 

Notes I took on the lesson

    I am definitely a person who looks at the bigger picture of things and likes to plan ahead of time so this lesson was very helpful for me. I'm already thinking of ideas for my CCR, maybe ill do one where I fall asleep and dream of me winning an Oscar, and in my acceptance speech ill answer the questions. Im not sure yet but I'm definitely sure that I will go all out for it and keep you updated in the process.

Pre-Production

Starting to Write

    Last time we went to class we had individual discussions with our advisor and if the group discussions weren't helpful enough, this certainly was. I didn't necessarily have a concrete idea of how I was going to make hours of time passing all be two minutes long, and I hadn't even thought about this issue until then. I began researching how movies make time pass by fast and found this article very interesting, but not what I was looking for.

How to Write the Passage of Time in Your Screenplay

    I decided that the best way to research the passing of long periods of time in a short span was to simply watch content. I now have collected the data, calculated the numbers, analyzed the patterns, and concluded that switching locations and shot compositions was a technique used in these situations. This helped me develop the first part of my script. I used the website celtex.com to write it because it creates the format of a script perfectly without much of a hassle.

   The main issue I'm having right now is cutting down on time because right now the dialogue is just taking up too much time and I need to save it for the rest of the opening. I don't necessarily want the babysitting part to be the focus of the piece, but I need it to provide enough context so that the viewer isn't confused. 

    I also had a new idea that I thought would be kind of funny. In the middle of dressing up, the kid she is babysitting walks in and scares her and then they both did the modeling together. It would end in the same way which is with the parents catching her in the act and firing her, but it would be a quirky addition. Soon, the final storyboard and script will be done and I will be able to start filming, but I'm certainly seeing more and more progress, I just need to stop being indecisive and solidify my concept in a way that it all makes sense.