Entry 6: Screenwriting

So we started in the writing after we had the basis of what we wanted to see on screen. This might have been a bad idea since after had everything written down, we had to change most of the shots in order to have a cohesive plot.

I have experience in the screenwriting field and from what I can gather from it is that it is extremely difficult to portray dialogue. In the beginning of the writing process everything, at lest for me, sounds stale and sounds like it can only be spoken by robots. It's extremely difficult and at the beginning of it, I'm always intimidated. By the second draft of the script you begin to have a rhythm with writing and you begin to have the sound you want your characters to have. It's a little funny because if you want your character to have attitude, you yourself have a little kick in the way start to speak. In other words, when you talk you begin to have an attitude. Then by the third draft, you have your little masterpiece. It might be a stretch thinking that only three drafts gets you a masterpiece but here's hoping.

Helpful Hint: When you are writing your script, don't just say it yourself and assume it's fine. oesn't matter if they can act or not, have other people act out the script. Chances are that one of you may catch something stale on the script, giving you a chance to change it.

Entry 5: Storyboarding

As of yesterday, I have started developing my story boarding skills. I had tried story boarding before but it lacked in detail and even I couldn't read it. The next time I tried I had to much detail. You'd think that a lot of detail is actually good, but again it was incomprehensible. I learned that you have to find a balance between the pictures you draw and the information you give.

The picture on the left explains exactly what I mean. The pictures are not too complex, along with just enough explanations to get the point across. I think my big problem with storyboarding is imitating and reflecting the image from my head onto the paper. Especially when I want represent camera movements. Everyone says "Use the arrows!" but how am I supposed to do that when I want to do more than one movement at a time.

You're probably thinking
"Why more than one movement?"
Now, I really like to experiment when it comes to shots and camera movements. For instance for this project I had an idea that, personally I think is complex.

This is where I get to the project. For the opening scene, the first thing you see is a waiter walking through the tables with food in hand for our main characters. This will be a long shot, following the waiter to the table; almost like the long shot used in Goodfellas, one of our inspirations for the opening, just not as long. From here it will be a shot of the food that is placed on the table in the center of the frame. An example would be the food intro from Napoleon Dynamite(picture on the right). From that shot it will be continuous from the camera facing the food to a downward tilt, followed by a slight pan in order to get another angle of the food. This action is almost like a flip as we get the food from the center into another angle, in order to see our main character. This is then followed by a focus pull from the food to the main character.

Entry 4: Music Choice

I don't think every film or piece of media needs music. It is argued that some pieces don't need music at all. With that in mind, for our piece we decided to begin our opening without the fill of music. This decision was made so that the audience's attention was paid to the couple. We wanted to put as little distraction to the couple as possible.
The scene will still involve foley sounds to keep the aroma of a diner. These foley sounds will be used to to portray the sounds of dishes being carried and utensils being clashed together. The chit chat of the people around them will be added on rather than recording the sounds of people eating, I'm pretty sure no one wants to have their conversations recorded.
The non-diegetic sound will begin to play when the camera starts to move away from the couple. This is because the couple's conversation is going to be less informative and so we can introduce the main problem. The problem being the man they have in the trunk of the car they have stolen.
In the process of picking the music we all decided to pick at least 5 songs, each, and from those estimated 15 songs we would choose the final 5 and then break it down to one. At the end of this, we came up with 20 songs. The list of songs is listed below:

My Songs-
Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Hozier
The Big Bang by Rock Mafia
How You Like Me Now by The Heavy
Paper Planes by M.I.A
Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden
I Can't Decide by Scissor Sisters

Nick Dwyer-
Layla by Derek & The Dominos
Roxanne by The Police
Just Dropped In by Kenny Rogers
Lamp Shade On Fire by Modest Mouse
Crosstown Traffic by Jimmy Hendrix
Voodoo Child by Jimmy Hendrix
Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendrix

Daren Naville-
Dream On by Aerosmith
Head Band by B.O.B
Bugatti by Ace Hood
Love Me by Lil Wayne
Alright by Logic
Fucking Problem by A$AP Rocky

Final Decisions-
Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Hozier
Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
Voodoo Child by Jimmy Hendrix
Layla by Derek & The Dominos
Dream On by Aerosmith

From the 20 songs we all have chosen, Layla by Derek & The Dominos was the one we chose because it fits with the film. The song is interesting and draws attention along with giving a hint to what the film will be about. This will give homage to many classic drama films which used classic rock in the beginning of their films. It was also a personal choice, we all enjoy the song and felt that the song fits the pace of the film intro.

Entry 3: Character Development

My group and I haven't come together to talk about the film opening since I last wrote. I was absent on Friday, so all my ideas have come from my own research. I've been thinking a lot about the main character and her look for the film. It's hard to develop a look for a character without pulling straight from your inspiration. When I imagined her I saw her as an edgy teen, yet casual. I didn't her to look so messy that her look was clearly artificial; again, it's important for the audience to connect with these characters. Of course, when I imagined the character she was somewhat famous so I understand that I won't get my ideal girl. I just wanted to set the ball park for our character.

As the physical body structure of the character, I would base her look off Britt Robertson, or Casey Newton from the film Tomorrowland. Personally not the best of actresses and not the best of movies, but her look is what I found important to the character. Trying not to sound too terrible, I wanted our lead to have a face filled with emotion. This is important because I would like it to seem as though she fools the male lead and the audience. Making it seem as though she is the Rapunzel who needs freedom, who needs to be saved. When in reality she is the villain, doing anything to get her way. So she gets her happy ending.  On the photo on the top left the image shows the seriousness in her face and the almost closed physical traits, practically innocent. In the next photo, my thoughts about her look driving her performance is also shown. What drove me to her look were the eyes. I believe the eyes are the windows to the soul. When you look at the eyes, which surprisingly common, you can tell their story through emotion. What our lead can do is manipulate that thought to her advantage, falling into the lies of a succubus.
As for costuming, I had to take into great consideration of many looks. It might all look the same but they all are unique in their own special way. This, unfortunately, is a decision i can only make with my group. But just to get an idea of what inspires me, here are some photos of what I had in mind.
 

Entry 2: Scene Construction

Day 1: Part 2
Now that we have our idea, it took us some time to come up with an opening and we have an idea now but nothing is set in stone. I was a little uneasy about Nick's idea only because he is OBSESSED with Quentin Tarantino. Given he is one of my favorite director, I really didn't see the film being a dark comedy. I just saw the film being dark and emotional. It was just clear that Nick and I were looking two different ways.

 For the art direction and the lighting I was looking more towards the path taken from the film opening of  Room. The close ups used throughout the scene created curiosity and intrigued me, they were shallow focused and the shots that were seen were oddly confusing. Objects that were shown, like the bucket or the scrapping of the wall, pecked my curiosity. Followed by the clicking sound heard when the images switch to and from the title images; it created a dark aroma. Then when you finally see a physical person, its blurry and almost distorted. Through the point of view you can only assume that was from this child, you see a woman next to a light; which the audience finds out was the source of the clicking sound. All these elements were used in such a simple way that were fascinating. All this to create a tone of darkness and a source of tension.

I wanted to use all these kinds of techniques but alas, they were unwanted. Instead, Nick took a different approach. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, its actually not bad at all. It's just not a way I would approach the situation of the young girl, yet it is quite unique and I think that is why I liked the idea. We're taking the openings of Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas and mixing them into a rather comedic take on the story.

An opening like Pulp Fiction, where you see a couple talking ,in a restaurant, about a certain dilemma. The girl is in a excited state, almost on top of the table, explaining the problem that they happen to be in. The boy in the other hand is quiet and keeps to himself letting the female lead do all the talking. A very dialogue driven opening, I plan to have a stack of drafts by the end of three weeks.

We plan to play with sound by using foley in order to make the setting of a restaurant more believable. Not only this but the real hook to captivate the audience will be the faint beating from the car. From the couple, we pan away and start to focus on a car outside on the parking lot. As the car begins to focus and is placed in the center of the frame, the banging crescendos and the camera zooms to the insides of the car. We see a plastic mantis hanging from the mirror of the car framed on the top of the shot and the title appears.

This I based off the title image of Moonrise Kingdom. We would then start to the beginning of the story. This is where we incorporate the ideas of Goodfellas; we decided to place the middle of the film at the beginning. This decision was made in order to intrigue the audience. Giving space to ask many questions. What's that sound? What are they talking about? and Who's in the trunk? Of course these are rough ideas but I think we're making great developments.

"Pulp Fiction - Official Site - Miramax." Miramax. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
"Goodfellas." - WarnerBros.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
"ROOM - Official Movie Site - Own It Now." ROOM - Official Movie Site - Own It Now. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.