Hey everybody! All our hard work during production is over, and it's all culminated into the creation of this final product. Myself and Tejal present: Different Worlds! Take a look!
Hey everybody, and welcome back to the blog! My last post was my Project Proposal, but now that I'm moving further along in terms of planning, I'm ready to start working on a Shot List. Today, I'll be hopping on a call with Tejal so we can plan all of our shots.
Before I include the full list, I'll briefly summarize the kinds of shots we want to get. As a general rule, we want to use a progression from wide to close-ups, establishing the environment. This applies especially to the beginning of the film, when our main characters are getting ready. We want to begin with a wide shot that gradually zooms in, showing Jessi (Tejal's character) getting ready. Then, we'll move to mid shots, close-ups, and close over-the-shoulders (OTS's) to show the different parts of her routine.
Following the shots of Jessi, we'll get similar shots of Jackson (Alejandro's character) getting ready too. The main goal for this section is to ensure the shots can blend seamlessly into one another so that we can use cross-cutting to show both the characters routines (in sequential order!) at the same time. In doing so, we can have a cohesive sequence of both characters getting ready, which will be extremely useful for highlighting the similarities and differences between them.
For the shots at school of Jessi and Jackson, we want to use plenty of close-ups so that we can emphasize the emotions of the two characters during the "meet-cute." Close-ups will help us show how the two are surprised (positively) at one another when they first accidentally meet, which thus helps convey the theme of two demographically dissimilar people finding a connection. We also want to use a few wide shots sprinkled in to show the school environment and their groups of friends, particularly Jackson's.
Now, since I've provided this summary of all the shots we want to get, you should have a better understanding of the Shot List that Tejal and I developed.
Opening shot: Push in wide pov shot of looking through the bathroom of Jessi getting ready for school
Cut to: Over the shoulder mid shot on the right, of the mirror showing Jessi applying her make up.
Transition: Pan shot of the camera moving to the left going behind Jessi's head transitioning in to the back of Jackson's head continuing the pan until you see and over the shoulder mid shot looking in to Jackson's mirror.
Cut to: Static mid shot of Jackson fixing his hair in the mirror. He then turns around to open the door
Cut: Close up shot of Jackson's hand on the door handle opening the door
Cut to: Handheld tracking shot of Jessi opening the door of her bathroom, entering her bedroom.
Cut to: Static mid shot of her entering her closet facing the front of her. She reaches over the camera and grabs a shirt then turns around and walks to her bed.
Cut to: Pan of Jessi throwing her shirt on the bed facing the front of her.
Transition: Match cut to a static shot mid shot of Jackson's shirt landing on his bed.
Cut to: Mid shot of Jackson putting on his shirt and opening the door to leave his room.
Transition: Static mid shot of Jessi opening the door to leave her room.
Cut to: Static mid shot of Jessi walking towards another door in her house.
Cut to: Close up to Jessi's face as she opens the door
Cut to: Close up of Jessi's hand on the door handle opening the door
Cut to: Pov shot looking through the door crack at her grandmother in bed.
Cut to: Close up of Jessi's smile at her grandmother then her carefully closing the door
Cut to: Mid shot of Jessi closing the door from outside of the room. Then Jessi walks pass the camera and the camera pans to follow her where she stops and writes a note on the counter.
Transition: High angle close up shot of the note Jessi wrote that fades into a note on a counter in Jackson's house. Jackson reaches for the note and picks it up
Cut to: Mid shot from the side of Jackson reading the note then rolling his eyes, crumbling it up, and throwing it away.
Cut to: Handheld tracking shot of Jackson's hand grabbing his bag and leaving his house
Cut to: Wide static shot of Jessi walking through the entrance of her school. Pan to Jackson also walking into the school
Fade in: Static long shot of Jessi at her teachers door.
Cut to: Over the shoulder of the teacher
Cut to: Over the shoulder of Jessi
Cut to: Static close up of Jessi's face
Cut to: Static mid shot of Jessi walking away
Cut to: Static wide shot of Jackson and his friends walking the hallway when Jessi bumps into Jackson
Cut to: Random movement following Jessi's books to the floor.
Cut to: Close up over the shoulder of Jessi picking up the her papers and books.
Cut to: Over the shoulder close up of Jackson helping her
Cut to: Close up of their hands meeting when picking up a book.
Cut to: Close up of their eyes meeting
Cut to: Close up of Jessi's hand quickly snatching her book from Jackson.
Cut to: Close up of Jackson's reaction
Cut to: Boom close up following Jessi stand up to go to class
Cut to: Boom close up of Jackson also standing up.
Cut to: Wide static shot of Jackson's friends
Cut to: Mid shot of Jessi rolling her eyes then walking away
Cut to: Close up of Jackson looking at Jessi as she walks away
Cut to: Wide Long shot of Jessi continuing to walk away.
Fade out
Overall, working on this shot list was really helpful. Because Tejal and I were able to get all our thoughts out onto a tangible list, we were better able to understand each others' perspectives and ideas. Since we'll both be editing, it's especially useful to know not only your own vision for the project, but your co-director's as well. This will also serve as a checklist on our filming days, so that we can ensure we don't omit or miss out on any shots. I plan to print this list out and cross out every shot that we do (which is a duty of a producer, which is basically the role I'm filling).
That's it for today's blog! I hope you enjoyed, and remember to stay tuned. See you next time!
Hey everybody! Welcome back to the blog! Today's post is slightly different, since it's my project proposal. In today's post, I will be discussing my team, target demographic, representation and themes, and the materials (both hardware AND software) that we'll be using.
As for editing software, Tejal and I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, we both have plenty of experience with the software. And because school computers already have it readily available, it will be the most beneficial and convenient option by far.
That's it for today's project proposal. Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next blog. Stay tuned!
Hey everybody, and welcome back! Today's blog post is all about how we're going to handle the logistics of our film. We want to plan actors for our characters, where we'll shoot each scene, and how we'll set everything up. Let's dive right in!
Locations are extremely important, because if your setting doesn't match your diegesis, you won't be able to properly convey your story. We need to consider where each of the following scenes will be shot for our film: Jackson's House, Jessi's House, and their school.
The school is the easiest, as we can just use our own high-school (which we've used several times before for short films). For Jackson's house, Tejal and I agreed that we'll use her house to convey the fact that Jackson is quite wealthy. For context, Tejal basically has two houses on her property (yes, I'm serious). Then, for Jessi's house, we're going to use her guest house (see?). Both these options are really solid because they're close together (so we can film the scenes consecutively without travelling and in the same day). The school is also a good option because we have plenty of time before and after school to film when the campus is mostly empty (or at least not as busy as usual.
We want to make sure our actors' outfits fit their characters, so we have to plan ahead of time what we want them to wear. For Jackson, we want him to wear a quarter-zip and jeans to convey the feeling of wealth and fit the general "preppy" look. As for Jessi, we'll use more dramatic clothing items like tall boots, lace stockings, leather, and colored hair extensions. Tejal will be providing those since (spoiler alert!) she'll be playing Jessi.
We also need to establish our cast and crew so that we have a set team (other than myself and Tejal) well before our filming dates. The actors are outlined in the following list:
Hey everybody, and welcome back to my blog! Today's post will be about writing our script. Tejal and I worked together to write it, so without further ado, let's get right into it!
The length of our brief is supposed to be two minutes (since it's only the opening of a film, nothing more). So, because each page of a script roughly translates to one minute, that means we have to write two pages.
We already have the general idea for our script, that being, as Tejal put it, " a girl who is an outcast and a guy who is a popular jock that both judge each other for their social cliques but eventually fall in love due to their differences." I truly couldn't have put it better myself. With all that established already, we outlined what we need to write for our brief. Since it's only the opening, we mainly need to get exposition and establishing characters out of the way. We only want to setup and tease the story, not lay it all out in front of the audience right at the start. So, Tejal and I got a word document opened up and we focused on basic description to "set the scene."
As for our characters, Tejal and I decided on the names Jessi and Jackson. The names feel quite appropriate for modern day high-schoolers, which will help with the relatability of our script. I myself know multiple Jacksons and a Jessi, so it fits perfectly. And speaking of names, we settled on a final name for our film (credit to Tejal for this fantastic idea): Different Worlds. The driving feature of our story is how these two characters come from such diametrically opposed worlds yet still fall in love, so the name is perfect!
Now that we got back into scriptwriting, we left the first half dialogue-free. We were partly reassured by Addisyn Kostzer's brief from last year, titled "Jezebel," that an opening doesn't necessarily need dialogue. So, because it's describing setting and actions, it didn't seem like an issue. We then wrote the next scene, which did have dialogue this time. This helped to further establish the characters, but now through what they say instead of what they do.
We ended up finishing the script today, which was really solid progress made. Now that we've given our characters names (so they aren't Jock Guy and Alt Girl anymore), it feels like the story is really coming to life. I can't wait to see how our actual finished product turns out. That's all for today's post, so I'll see you all in the next one. Stay tuned!
Also, for those who want to read our script, I unfortunately can't attach it here (who knows why) but it should be attached in Tejal's post, which is linked below. Enjoy!
Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog. For today's post, I want to do more research on the target demographics of a romantic drama, which is a huge part of creating a film. Before creating a media text, filmmakers usually think about who the film is meant for and what kind of viewers they want to attract. Tejal and I looked into this topic so we could better understand how audience expectations influence the way films are made.
A target audience refers to the specific demographic (group of people) that a media text is intended for. Filmmakers often consider several key factors like age, gender, interests, and general viewing habits when identifying their audience. These factors help determine what type of story or characters might appeal to viewers.
For example, coming-of-age films aimed at teenagers might include characters of a similar age or general themes that younger audiences can relate to. This makes it easier for viewers to connect with the story, thus making the film as a whole more successful and easily understood.
When analyzing audiences, producers and companies often look at demographics, which are categories such as age, gender, income level, and education. These characteristics help identify the types of viewers who are most likely to watch a film.
Understanding demographics can help filmmakers make creative decisions that match audience expectations. Different genres also tend to appeal to different audience groups depending on their interests. What's important in my case is to figure out what demographics will respond best to the details we include in our script, so that we can better tailor our story to a target audience.
Another factor that filmmakers consider is how a film hooks the audience’s attention. Story elements like relatable characters, engaging conflicts, and emotional storytelling can make a narrative significantly more interesting for viewers. Visual style, pacing, and music can also influence how the audience experiences the film. If all these elements adequately match the preferences of the intended target audience, the film is more likely to be engaging and thus successful
Researching target audiences helped us understand why filmmakers consider viewers when developing a project. The story, characters, and overall style of a film can all be influenced by the audience the filmmakers want to reach.
For our film opening, we will need to think about who our intended audience is and how we can make the story appealing to them. Considering audience demographics and interests will help guide the creative choices we make throughout the project.
Hey everybody! Welcome back to the blog. For this blog post, I decided to focus on cinematography and how filmmakers use visual techniques to communicate information and meaning to the audience. I've focused heavily on story and characters so far, but now that I'm beginning to analyze the technical aspects, I'm realizing just how important they are as well. With poor editing or subpar cinematography, it's impossible to deliver the meaning that you want to convey through your film. So, to ensure it won't be an issue, myself and Tejal are researching cinematography.
The main aspect of cinematography is the type of camera shots used in a scene. Different shots provide different kinds of information to the audience.
For example, a wide shot is often used to establish the setting and show the environment around the characters (this use is called an establishing shot). This helps the audience understand where the scene takes place, and can help to subtly immerse them in the diegesis. Another shot is the medium shot, which usually shows a character from the waist up and is often used during conversations.
A close-up focuses on a character’s face and highlights their emotions. Close-ups are commonly used during important moments in a scene because they allow the audience to see the character’s reactions more clearly. This kind of shot is always emphasized as one of the most important, especially in dramas and romances, because it greatly helps to convey the raw emotion that the characters are feeling.
Another element of cinematography is camera movement, which can affect how a scene feels and plays out. A pan moves the camera horizontally and can reveal new information within the setting. A tilt moves the camera vertically, drawing attention to something important in the frame.
Filmmakers also use tracking and trucking shots, where the camera follows or moves straight alongside the subject respectively. This can make the audience feel more involved in the action because they follow the character through the scene.
Lighting is another important part of cinematography because it influences the mood of a scene. Bright lighting can create a lighter or more positive atmosphere, while darker lighting may create suspense or tension. For a romance, you generally want to use moodier lighting in serious scenes to evoke a sense of strong emotion, but use brighter, more ethereal lighting in moments of joy or pure love.
A common technique used in both filmmaking and interviews is three-point lighting, which includes a key light, fill light, and back light. These lights help illuminate the subject while still creating depth within the image. I also have practice with this lighting technique thanks to my expertise from my TV program, so it'll be very convenient for me to implement it.
Researching cinematography helped Tejal and I understand how visual choices affect the way a story is presented. Camera shots, movement, and lighting all influence how the audience interprets a scene and how they feel about the characters.
For our film opening, we will likely use wide shots to establish the setting and close-ups to show the characters’ emotions. Thinking about cinematography ahead of time will help us plan our shots more carefully and make sure the visuals support the story we want to tell, especially when we storyboard.
Hey everybody! All our hard work during production is over, and it's all culminated into the creation of this final product. Myself and...
