Group Meeting #2

    Good Morning Cambridge, today we are holding our 2nd meeting and currently we are discussing our film ideas and exchanging our views on the storylines as well as film techniques that are being used.

    The first person who went was Marissa and she talked about how she's been able to start filming, her company logo for the film, the storyline following the film as well as the philosophy she's been using in order to overcome any challenges.

    The following person to explain their progress for their project was Valeria, she explained her storyline and we suggested multiple filming techniques and scenes in order to develop the storyline. She was having some trouble trying to project the foundation for her storyline, so I suggested for scene ideas she watch a music video by an artist like Kesha or Katy Perry that have songs that have that type of theme.

    Next went Valeria (a different one), in contrast from the previous 2 storylines, this theme revolved more around the mental strain of a perfectionist student rather than, a hangover-esque type of film she established her scenes, and production philosophy very well. Though she may have encountered some hiccups with filming delays she's still on track with her story, set design, mis-en-scene and more.

    After went Gabriel his story covered more of an underdog story, we discussed alot of mis-en-scene with him and the composition of his story and how he develops it with what he shows on camera. Also experiencing some difficulties with production, Gabriel still seems to have everything planned out with his production, the only thing missing is execution.

    As for me I presented me and my partner's (G) idea of our production called "DECEDENT" we discussed film progression, shots, mise-en-scene, the title sequence and the fact that the film is in black and white. We talked about how the title will be displayed, the font, the color, how we're going to portray the storyline. One really good aspect is our film company logo which looks realistic, and so far the delay we have is filming but everything else seems to be on track.

    Finally Maximo presented his blog as well as his production he seems to have an idea of what he's doing following the storyline of a homeless man who evades the police after robbing a place, and is struggling to survive, the theme goes into why he robbed the place, how he did it and what happens after.

The Daily Valeria

Valeria's Blog

Life in the gamez

Media and Me

Maximo's Blog

Film opening Script

 Good Evening Cambridge, me and my group partner G met up and began to work on the script as well as the screen play together, and so this is what we both came up with.

DECEDENT

INT - NIGHT - DARK CORRIDOR

We see a dark corridor. Nothing is seen except bloody footprints leading the camera towards a door... as we inch closer... and closer to the door, the CREDITS WILL ROLL... about a quarter of the way to the door, we notice an arm laying on some type of surface above the ground and a bloody photo on the ground... BLOOD IS NOW SHOWN dripping off the person’s arm slowly and slowly... almost entrapping the viewer in some type of loop as the camera continues to move slowly through the corridor. The camera stops almost reaching the doorway. Suddenly, we see the body drop to the ground, inserting a large imposing title card (DECEDENT) portraying the thriller nature of the opening. As the title card is displayed, the soundtrack commences with a sinister tone, further amplifying the thriller nature. Since the film is the crossover between a noir film and thriller film, both genres will complement each other, allowing for further interpretation of contrasts and important plot points in the film without being too caught up in the visuals. 

CUT TO 

INT - NIGHT - BEDROOM

Close-ups and extreme close-ups, tagging with panning and tilt movements of bloody photographs scattered around the room. The pictures reveal the killer’s plot. This gives the film its reason and shows the setting up of the plot for the rest of the film. We then cut to a bird’s-eye view shot of the body laying lifelessly... bloody pictures... blood stains scattered... dismantled room... are all seen in this bird’s-eye view shot. 

SINISTER SCORED CUTS ALONG WITH MATCH CUT 

MATCH CUT 

INT - DAY - BEDROOM

We now see a body chalk outline... blood stains scattered... decomposing body... dismantled room... crime scene cones... and forensics and detectives enter. Still capturing all this with the bird’s-eye view shot. Detectives are seen gathering information and evidence with a variety of shot types, from close-ups to wide shots. 

INT - DAY - BEDROOM

The final sequence begins with a mid-shot of the chalk drawing of the body in the crime scene, a tilt/pan up to the lead detective looking disturbed, and as the camera moves out of the room, the camera shakes slightly in the pattern of footsteps, signifying the entity being the killer, and as we finish where we begin, slowly the sinister score returns and there we will abrupt cut. 

CUT TO BLACK 

THE END 

And for the Screen Play this is what we came up with but it was formatted mainly by G while I was more focused on the material within the screenplay as well as script.

Media Theory Integration

 Good Evening Cambridge, Media Theory's allow us to understand the narrative backbone of any piece of media, and the Media Theory that will be integrated into our film opening will mainly be the Enigma Narrative Code. 

The Enigma Narrative Code (Roland Barthes) is that which states that an element within the film is hidden or withheld from the audience on purpose in order to build suspense or mystery.

Since our film will use elements of Thriller, we both settled on the Enigma Code as the media theory that will correlate the most with our story.

Examples:

All of these films use the Enigma Code in some way shape or form to build suspense until the climax of the story, normally a big reveal happens.

Group Meeting #1

    Good Morning Cambridge, unfortunately I was not present for the first meeting between groups working on their own portfolio projects. Thankfully, my group partner was able to relay the information necessary in order to write about the discussion that took place in my absence. 

    According to my group partner the meeting was a great success, in the meeting many ideas were discussed and it showed overall where we were in our project, alternatives were discussed, as well as criticisms were made.

    Out everything my partner and other groups discussed these are what we extracted from that meeting:

• Tone
• Overall Idea
• Lighting
• Ending Shot
• Character Arc
• Opening Shots
• Shooting Ideas

While we did cover those topics we still need to cover:

• If we decide to use noir film elements
• If we implement a love interest
• If we saturate the pictures in the black and white film

But overall we believe that we'll be able to incorporate our new ideas fully, we are also able and willing to tackle every obstacle that comes our way as we continue our production of this film.

Openings Research

    Good evening Cambridge, this was one of my first ideas when it came to our film project brainstorming with my project partner G. One of my favorite things in this world is motorsports and given that I work in it I knew that I could come up with an idea that had to do something with it. Our idea was to film the opening of a film that had to do with a Go Karting driver who faces the issue most motorsports athletes face constantly, funding. Driven completely and utterly by his passion for driving to the point of getting into arguments with those who care about him, the main character strives to make his career as a motorsports athlete as attainable as possible. This highly resonates with the Sports Drama genre of film, having a story that revolves around a certain sport yet embodies every aspect of a Drama film. That being said I thought I would research movies that correlate with this storyline as closely as possible.

    And so, I introduce Gran Turismo the movie, a story that revolves around teenage racer Jann Mardenborough and his journey from an aspiring Sim-Racer to a genuine race car driver. In this story Jann faces many trials and tribulations, be it crashes, lack of faith in himself, and being the underdog, this film captures many elements of the Sports Drama genre. First and foremost, the classic underdog story, a character who seems the least likely to accomplish their goal is given a chance to do so, facing many opponents that are stronger and in a better position than the main character. Another Element is personal struggle with oneself as well as relationships, Jann losing faith in himself after serious setbacks and experiencing the classic teenager struggle of having an interest in a person. Other examples of elements found within the Sports Drama genre would be, mentorship, perseverance, and high-stakes competition. Through the GT academy Jann gets a shot at being a full-fledged race car driver and proving not only himself but also that Sim-Racers can race alongside real race car drivers.

    Within Gran Turismo Jann faces many challenges that he is able to tackle, through faith in himself as well as the faith of his peers and mentors in him. This coming-of-age story could help us develop and reach the goals intended within this project, while maintaining our own identity within the film opening.

Genre Research (Existential Drama)

 

    Good evening, in this post I'll be talking about the one of the ideas considered for the film intro that me and my project partner G will be creating, and the research of the genre that the intro will be embodying. The genre is drama, specifically Existential Drama This genre is characterized by its exploration of themes such as the meaning of life, the nature of existence, and the struggle to find purpose in a seemingly meaningless world. (RT Book Reviews, n.d.). Our story mainly revolves around the idea that someone with limited time to live is trying to document their time left alive to pass on those memories to their loved one. The story does need some additions but as of now that is the spine of the story. Though in order to capture the meaning of a Existential Drama, we needed to research films that define the Existential Drama genre. 

   One of the most recognized films that reflect powerful existential themes critical to the Existential Drama genre is "The Pianist" (2002). While it is a biographical film, The Pianist covers themes of Existential Drama in its true story, following the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman a renowned Polish-Jewish pianists during World War 2 and the mass persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany. Many of the exemplifications of the Existential Drama genre found within the movie cover, Radical Isolation, Szpilman spends much of his time alone in the movie. Survival Without Meaning, when Szpilman loses everything, he tries to survive without a true purpose his only motivation is purely instinctual. Through the progression of the movie Szpilman goes through many identities, from being a celebrated pianist, prisoner, fugitive, and a survivor. He has nothing attributed to him at that point and so begs the question, who are you when you have nothing? And finally, a Confrontation with death the psychological toll on an almost guaranteed death alters the brain chemistry of an individual, this is where our film opening connects with the pianist the most. 

    Using the elements found in "The Pianist" we are able to find the key defining elements of our film that allow us to evoke the emotions found in the audience of this film, in our film.

Portfolio Project Development part 1 (Transitioning)

    Good Morning Cambridge! Happy New Year, it's the 2nd semester of the school year and so we'll be starting our Aice Media Portfolio projects. I have partnered with my friend G, and together we'll be making our portfolio project for this year. Our main goal for this project is to ensure that the process of making it goes as smoothly as possible, this means: scheduling our filming and editing, brainstorming a genre that will realistically be able to be filmed with relative ease and efficiency. Given the parameters we've set for ourselves so far I believe that we will be able to deliver a quality project, granted not without it's bumps but I look forward to seeing what we can come up with.

    From the notes so far in the class we've been able to set the foundation for the brainstorming of our ideas and how we are going to document the process of making this film. We've discussed possible ideas right off the bat, as well as collaboration with other groups to help with casting and filming. While the large project might seem daunting, me and my partner are ready and willing to tackle the challenges that will inevitably be presented to us.