Portfolio Posting Week 3 #4

 
 This is the storyboard. Since the start of this project, I wanted to keep it simple for the most part and the storyboard can enforce that. The shots used are mostly long shots, medium shots, and close up shots. These are the most commonly used which will help maintain the simplicity of the story, You do not want to  get too carried away trying to make the story look super aesthetic and then have viewers feel overwhelmed. For example, when Craig splits up from Felipe and Gio, me and Claudio were deciding on what shot to use since it's a key moment in the story. Claudio first thought on doing a POV shot but I said to keep it as a long shot. We then both agreed on this. A POV could easily be messed up. 

Next weekend we start filming the project. We need to find actors, Claudio and I would love to both act but then there is nobody to film and having somebody that is not from the class doing the cinematography would likely pose an inconvenience. Nonetheless, I think it will be just fine. The technical planning will not be anything complex for this project since our idea does not require a whole lot of resources. As long as we get actors that are comfortable around us and that we can get on our schedule it'll all be okay. Excited for what's to come!!!

 

Portfolio Posting Week 3 #3

 Script

So this is now the final script. I promised to give deeper details so here it is. With the original idea, it felt a bit more like a trailer rather than a film opening. We then changed it so that we have a mini "cliffhanger" but it still preserves the essence of a film opening. The largest problem will definitely be the environmental factors but we can try our best to work around it. Each character has their own unique and important role in the story. 

Craig is the source of conflict that was only visible at the start. Felipe is the positive guy that tries his best to convince himself that Craig isn't a bad person. Then, Gio was the constant doubter and is Craig's #1 "enemy". These 3 roles will give suspense and purpose to the story. I hope that once we film the project, that the characters can capture this personality. I know that we aren't expected to be amazing actors, but I still want to do a pretty good job. 

Portfolio Posting Week 3 #2

 The shooting schedule will be during the weeks of 2/28-3/6 and 3/7-3/13. But, the shooting will likely be on the weekends since that's when the actors would be available. I want to try and go pretty early on in the day to make sure we have natural lighting. We have to do the shooting relatively fast each day so we can make the most out of the sunlight. But, in the darker (metaphorically) scenes we can take advantage of the darkness of the woods. To conclude, the schedule will likely be as follows:

• Saturday, March 5th from 1pm until 4pm
• Sunday, March 6th from 12pm until 3pm
• Saturday March 12th from 2pm until 5pm
• Sunday, March 13th from 2pm until 4pm

The goal with this schedule is to match the environmental aspects of the story. Earlier on in the story, the feel will be more light and innocent so the extra sunlight will reinforce this. So, later on in the story once it gets scarier, we can use the lack of sunlight. This is why the first week of filming is earlier on in the day and the second week is later on in the day. 

Portfolio Posting Week 3 #1

Characters 

Craig: Craig is the main villain in our story. He has a hidden past of crime and abuse, but he quickly changed his identity and moved to Florida in hopes of becoming a tour guide. He uses his tours in hopes of exploiting people. He gained a new friend group in the recent months and promised to take them to the woods to explore. He is using this opportunity to pull off his tricks.

Felipe: Felipe is Craig's best friend. He started to gain a lot of love and respect for him in the time of their short friendship. Felipe's friendship with him will most likely cause some conflict of interest. He is innocent and always caring about others.

Giovanni: Gio is the one that likes Craig the least. But, he tolerates him because his friends like him so he feels like he needs to like him too. Gio's doubtful mentality will create constant tension within the story. Gio will be really cautious and the second things go wrong, he will blame it on Craig.

These are the current 3 main characters. They each serve a purpose to the story. Felipe's conflict of interest and Giovanni's secret hate for Craig will add the needed substance to the story. It's character vs. character now, but nature still plays a role of conflict in the story. 

Portfolio Posting Week 2 #4

I have been thinking about how the shooting is going to go. A big fear is if the lighting in the woods is too dark, or the sun just does not hit in the right directions. A tripod will also be a necessity along with some artificial lighting if necessary. After discussing with Stoklosa, we realized that for the story to have more purpose and meaning to it we needed to have the opening include multiple main characters instead of just one, which was the original plan. There needs to be a reason on why the characters get lost. I have been doing some research on our theme and I’ve found some great discoveries.

 

Things cannot go right all the time for everyone. For an impostor movie to work, everybody needs to have their own errors and flaws. Even the main villain has to somehow slip up at one point or another. Suspense is also the most important part. We need to make sure that the audience almost always feels uncomfortable, if not then we failed as producers and directors. At least that’s how I see it. Next week we will start to plan out the shoots and provide extra information on the development of the story. We will find the deeper details within the story. I’m kind of excited for what’s to come and I think me and Claudio will work pretty well together.

Portfolio Posting Week 2 #3

 On my research, I found that showcasing motives and reactions is key to a drama movie. The audience needs to feel and understand the emotions of the actors to truly enjoy the movie. 

Close-ups will be an essential part of the project. Also, showing the vulnerability and imperfection within the characters is important to make sure viewers do not always know where the story is leading and are on the edge of their seat. Drama is a very broad genre with a large scale of things included in it so we can take our idea and do so many new things with it.

The scenery and location will be displayed right away so we can establish the setting ASAP. Then, I want the feeling to be a little eerie since the start but still have innocence to it. The story will get really dark really fast which will catch people off guard. Later on, we will find the deeper details within the plot. I do not know yet if getting lost should be the only conflict, but I doubt we would have time to display other conflicts because then it would just feel more like a trailer. Some sort of supernatural conflict would be cool but sounds way harder to execute properly. After discussing with Mrs. Stoklosa, we also got told the idea of character vs. character instead of it just being against nature. This would add substance to the project. 

Portfolio Posting Week 2 #2

Claudio and I finally decided what we wanted to do. We were brainstorming and landed on the idea to revolve our story around a man on a hiking trip getting lost. It's a simple idea and it's perfect for a film opening. The movie "127 hours" is a perfect example of the feel and look we are striving for. On our research, the general techniques for this topic use time-lapses, hand-held shots, asynchronous sounds, and dark lighting. One of the best locations to do this in that's also accessible is Markham Park or just any nearby park. If we really put in the work, this idea could end up making a great project. I am just afraid of making it corny or unprofessional. 

In the coming days, we will plan on visiting Markham to scan the area for some great spots. We will take notes and visualize how the plot will go once we are there. We will take pictures and upload them on the vlog showcasing which spots we will choose. Our genre is drama so we want to keep the lighting and the music very dark. I'm going to also research on ways we can add suspense and drama to this piece, since that's the main focus. The cinematography for this specific project will be a key part of the project, because I feel like survival type movies rely a lot on visual aspects.  

Portfolio Posting Week 2 #1

 I have been watching videos and reading articles for the past days to try and get some sort of inspiration for my project because I'm usually a very hesitant person. Later in the week me and Claudio will decide what will be the final idea. As of now, my best chance at creating something great is by creating something that I know about. Doing a film opening related to the gym, work ethic, and pushing ourselves past our limits is my main idea as of now, but I do not know how I could properly execute this type of idea. 

People usually do cool projects like about a plane crash, humble beginnings etc. I just hope I can transform my real life passions into a project that embodies these passions and demonstrates my care and interest for them. I want the story to involve two best friends who have this friendly rivalry between each other that drives them to be better. I know the story will not involve a lot of people, there will likely be 2-3 characters in the story. 

Portfolio Posting Week 1 #1

 When I first got this project assigned I was very hesitant on what I wanted to do. But I remember Andrew Stanton’s Ted Talk saying to always write about what you know. So, I decided that my project will likely revolve around some sort of gym motivational video or something related to suspense. Then, me and Claudio decided to team up and work together to support each other and combine our ideas to create the best project possible. He also has similar ideas on what to do, which makes the brainstorming a smoother process. 

 

With this project my idea is to keep it simple. I always feel like I take instructions and over complicate them and make it harder on myself to create something. I want to do something that I enjoy and that’s it. The best stories are created with true care and interest for the story and its execution. I think me and Claudio will be just fine when it comes to deciding what to do at times. We have done projects before and we usually never clash heads, it’s always pretty collaborative. I think the whole pressure and importance behind this project scares me a bit, but I will try my best to just not worry and do my best.