1st Minute Shot List

 This is sort of bare-boned but I don't want to rush into completing the shot list before seeing how I even like the current one. Therefore, I've created a one minute shot list that covers what I want to show in the first minute of the film opening. My opening is one that is trying to establish character, what I'm trying to show to the audience is a mundane morning for a mundane person, in a way conditioning them for a very normal situation while the rest of the film is intended to devolve into character centric case studies that examine their psychology and commentates on it. But of course, when an opening is so normal, it makes one feel that something is missing, there has to be some action right? 

Something has to happen, right? I want to capitalize on this curiosity and while the first minute of the opening is lackluster and expositional, the second minute will set up the main conflict, but won't show it immediately. I want to continue to develop the thrill. 

0-6: Monte brushing his teeth, close up of his eyes in the mirror  

7-17: Monte preparing breakfast, medium shot of food close-up of his eyes  

18-34: Medium shot of Monte eating, music begins to play  

34-45: Monte dressing apathetically, camera is still, music continues, wide shot  

46-60: Monte finishes dressing and leaves the house, title screen plays in the vacant space within the house, music gets louder, film continues 

There's my 1-minute shot list, I'll definitely revise it as I go along because nothing is set in stone. But for now, I know the mood I want to set as well as opening type, and that's as good a starting point as any. I'm going to start shooting soon! Excited, excited, and excited.

Film Composers Research (Also, Music Research!)

 So in my previous post, I said I wanted to make music and I used Kendrick Lamar as an example but that's not the most appropriate is it? I find that films like to keep things orchestral—grandiose, triumphant string ensembles and larger than life percussion.

But in my researching of film music, I've learned some other characteristics about it, beyond just how it sounds. 

• Provides continuity 
• Establishes tone 
• Geosocial references
• Time Period references 

So film music can tie in events together and allow the audience to understand what's happening easier—perfect because I'm thinking I want my film opening to be nonchronological or kind of similar to a montage. Obviously, establishing tone is an obvious one but the process of making the music itself is what's difficult, I know it's going to be hard to make inspiring music or somber music and as someone with pretty much no music background, I'm also looking into music production techniques and some of the masters at it (specifically film music). 

As for geosocial and period references, music can reflect current trends in a way that only visuals can't or at least has to work harder for. For example, if you play a Led Zeppelin song over someone on a skateboard, you might get the impression you're in the 70s or 80s but for amateur filmmakers like me, evoking that same sense of nostalgia or antiqueness is difficult due to the lack of costumes and set design. Therefore, music can be an appropriate substitution. 

Hans Zimmer is a master of film music and follows the trend of making grand, orchestral soundtracks. Some of his key techniques I saw when researching were

• Choosing a key theme
• Storytelling
• Don't get too technical immediately 

Finally, John Williams, Spielberg's partner-in-crime is famous for his lush symphonic style. Another composer who I admire a lot and was exposed to quite a bit growing up—those star wars movies were no joke.

Anyway, that's all for this post. Entering my producer phase! (I'm a true renaissance man)

Beginning to Create Music

It can’t be understated how important music is in a film—it directs audiences and controls emotions while adding a new layer of technical depth and nuance. Music isn’t just at the background of a movie, it can take on its own artistic meaning and significance. 

Though not part of a movie, Kendrick Lamar’s album, ‘Good Kidd Maad City’, which he himself describes as a short film, is just as cathartic as any visual medium in its presentation and storyline. Taking this into account, I’m aiming to have outstanding audio visuals on the film opening. Ultimately, it’s the perfect mix of what you can see and what you can hear that makes a great scene with both present greater than just music or just a silent screen. 

Underneath, I’ve attached an image of a rough outline of my music that I want to play over the film opening. It’s just the drums and a piano melody thus far, but I’m hoping to take it as close to what I’m envisioning as possible. 

Production (Practically) All Prepared

 I've finally cleaned up the rough outline of what I wanted to do with the film opening—not to say that the entire process is smooth riding from here on, I doubt that'll ever be the case. However, I've got a basic list of characters for my actors and am currently working on a script (which should be done somewhere around tomorrow).

A large obstacle in my way was the shooting location and equipment to shoot with. At first, I had some ideas for a plot that may have been too ambitious for just a student in high school so I had to look past them. In the end, I'm going with an office/white collar crime drama film and this was realized thanks to a conversation I had with my teacher! I was hesitant to buy lighting equipment because I wasn't sure how the investment would pay off in the end but I was able to speak to my teacher about it and get access to her tools for filming. It definitely made me much more comfortable and imaginative with my planning, having plenty of new paths to go forward with and whatnot. 

I was also able to talk about shooting locations with my teacher who told me ideas for homemade studios and areas that she could help me get into. Certainly, it was an important conversation and one that was completely necessary for the full realization of my film opening, which I had always wanted it to be on a grand scale but never thought was possible. If anything, I'm sure I could ask the TV production members or teacher to also help me out if I needed more assistance. Basically, I'm making the most of the people around me!

So yeah, lights, plot, and locations prepared. Definitely way more ready to take this project on from here!

Once again, I'd like to thank my teacher!

Props Research, Mise-en-Scene Aspects

 Of the many things that amateur productions are lacking when compared to professional productions, mise-en-scene elements have stood out to me recently. Obviously, camerawork and lighting is one thing but when you get past that, you realize there's yet another level of immersion that has not yet been reached. For example, what if Joaquin Phoenix did not have this costume on during the shooting of Gladiator?

I imagine that no matter how good his acting was, it would still fall flat completely. Therefore, a big obstacle in my way is to create a believable world that my audience can both believe in and fantasize about. 

I've put some surface level research into props and I found out about propmoviemoney.com, a website where they sell very realistic fake currency (for the purpose of cinema, anyway). Apparently, they've been used by Marvel movies and other popular films and shows too. Basically, it's a pretty big deal. If I need fake money, I'm definitely going there. 

Other props I've looked into and might use:

A bald cap and cigarettes! Just for more believable actions/designs, of course. Anyway, I'm sure I'm going to need many more props in the future and this is just the starting point. 

That's all for this week! I would summarize this as an establishing week where I'm preparing for the filming. Getting the location and mise-en-scene elements in order is pretty important and I'm glad I'm doing it earlier than later! 

Shooting Locations Research

If you're like me and you live in the middle of Suburban Utopia, you'd probably have a pretty difficult time finding a proper shooting location. I mean, the lighting out here is only good for a couple of minutes and sometimes the weather is bad so, really, the entire thing is too inconsistent. Besides, I'm not too interested in being outside for hours at a time in the smoldering sun just to capture some aesthetic moment ASSUMING I could even capture that moment and be satisfied with it. The next thing I know, I'll be outside again on the next day, capturing that same moment. 

Luckily, I have a wider variety of places and a moment of not financial but creative genius came to me! 

First of all, my parents live out in Miramar and so even if that's just Suburban Utopia #2, it should at least offer something that maybe isn't offered here in Weston. That aside, my family also owns a restaurant that I could shoot in and the moment of creative genius was realizing I could just film at a studio!

Not exactly a studio but this was one place I saw online and it's listed at $98 an hour. Assuming I pay the majority of it and the rest of my actors also pitch in, it's not too overbearing. 

A list of all the possible studios near Weston! All prospects indeed. I'm willing to put in the resources to make sure the finished product is as good as possible. I'm just hoping the effort does pay off in the end. I know it can always be worse, but sometimes it can be better and that's what I'm praying for. 

Genre…what genre?

 For now, beyond the production process, I have found that brainstorming is a particularly grueling routine. Not only have I ran into issues with perhaps over depending on my influences but I’ve also faced some mighty roadblocks concerning enjoyability—will my cast even enjoy acting this out? A while ago, I watched the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and something that stood out to me was how fun it looked to act in. Those plain conversations Jordan and his pals would act out looked exhilarating and not only was the acting phenomenal, but it just seemed to come so naturally. In short, that’s an environment I want to emulate for my actors. 

But it’s difficult to try to come to grips with my admittedly more serious inclinations and the fact that my actors gravitate towards comedies and comedies of the lowest common denominator too. Whenever I’ve tried to pitch an idea, conversation always devolves into nonsensical discussion—“what if I’m a therapist killer?” 

“What if we’re both killers and then she’s a bully girlfriend?” 

Needless to say, it’s a little…hard to deal with. But I’m going to stick to my instincts and shoot my most comfortable genre: Drama. 

I’ve come to the conclusion recently that with this film opening, I want to really play with lighting and simple but symbolic framing of the subject. Some of my favorite dramatic movies do this and my favorite example of this is from ‘The Godfather 2’

I'm a sucker for mafia movies as it is (my favorite TV show is The Sopranos!) and The Godfather opened up this entire world of presentation to me. From the chiaroscuro lighting to the contrasting warm and cool color palettes, The Godfather made me fantasize about the dramatic portrayal of my own characters. What kind of lighting can I employ to capture that moment, just as Coppola did when Don Corleone mourns Sonny. Or what about the tension as Michael stares down two other mobsters in the diner? 

That kind of masterful directorship and camerawork is something I feel all filmmakers are trying to capture. Choosing my genre has not just helped me realize what kind of story I want to create but also the techniques necessary. I can visualize myself returning to The Godfather many times in the future for much needed inspiration.

Practice Opening

 So on Sundays I work (a service job…) and since the bulk of the work I wanted to do today was already finished, I asked myself, what’s an effective way to progress in the creation of the film opening that I could do while sitting here? Well, a little context, I work with my cousin too and I’ve made it a personal policy of mine to make him star in pretty much every production I’ve ever made. So, I made this (enjoy)

I came up with this short thirty second “intro” and decided to shoot it and edit it with the music (which I has not been authorized yet but this is just a practice run :D)

For something kind of haphazardly thrown together, I really liked it. Especially the ending with the song and the three nonchalant shots of him eating, I thought it added quite a bit of flavor to the intro overall and the premise is well established too. I may or may not want to revisit this idea when it comes time for the official film opening but for now, I’ve learned a decent bit about how to frame an effective and interesting intro. Definitely going to use what I learned here going forward!

Transition to Portfolio (woo!)

 The biggest project of the year has come and it's one that I've kind of prepared myself for throughout the year since I knew people who took the course last year. I even helped two of them out with filming and I think that experience is definitely invaluable—my confidence is through the roof! This seems to be to be an unparalleled opportunity to really show my creative chops and even if the finished product isn't up to par with what I have in mind, I think this journey I am soon to undertake will be fun enough to justify it. With that acknowledgement in mind, it's time to talk about: 

Approach, inspirations (suggestions too!), plans, and feelings

My approach to this project is, at least hopefully, going to be very meticulous and planned. Throughout the year, we've learned about metacognition so of course, to not be cognizant of that for such a large scale project would be a travesty. I've gathered a cast of ready actors already and I'm beginning to weave together the narrative I want to develop, in fact, I have even more grandiose plans of finishing the film but of course, Cambridge will only see the opening. What a shame! 

As for inspirations, I can't lie, even if it does seem a little less "high art-y", I've always consumed...a great deal of anime. Which is NOT TO SAY I don't consume traditional media because I DO but I find that the online library of really niche anime is just so widely available, it's difficult not to find myself watching certain cultural centerpieces, at least to that form of media, that is less popular amongst Western audiences. Obviously everyone knows the super popular stuff but things like 

Tatami Galaxy 

Evangelion (okay, definitely better known in the West but still)

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms 

(NO IDEA HOW THIS DIDN'T GET SUPER POPULAR)

And a TON of other titles are media that I feel get a low amount of recognition in the West due to extraneous circumstances that don't regard the work's qualities themselves. Anyway, I don't intend to turn this into a rant but basically, a lot, lot, lot of anime that isn't popular really does enter the territory of higher art if such a thing even exists. For example, Tatami Galaxy has a really huge color motif going on which is explained at the end and it is also filled to the brim with cultural references that while I don't completely understand, I can 100% appreciate for its unabashed nature. After all, these creators are making stories not just for others but for themselves and the above works display that concept perfectly. I think abrasive work always stands out to me because I know it derives from some part of the creator's mind and that their self expression is going to be an unique experience that can't be produced by any other human on Earth. 

That's what concerns me the most—how can I show off my stuff while keeping to conventions? How can I take inspiration from my favorite works while keeping my mind open to improvements and refinement? How can I make my mark on the viewer's mind, to let them know that this is MY story and that even if I'm not a good storyteller just yet that you can only get this story from me? That's what I'm trying to capture in my film and film opening.

As for planning, I of course have the classic storyboards ready but I've also been working on drawing and the visual arts which is exciting because I might be able to put it into practical use sooner than I could have imagined. Naturally, I'm writing the story out and planning locations too. Overall, I think I'm sufficiently planning things out!

Finally, how I feel. Well, as you might be able to tell, pretty darn good. Recently, actually, I've been on a little journalism craze with a friend on this server of ours. I write a deluge of reviews, analysis, and comedy pieces about the different types of media I consume and that time spent will hopefully translate into a higher level of media literacy. I know I'll need it if I want to capture my ambition in film. That is all for this post, excited, excited. 

And, excited. 

More Inspirations (because of course)

Crime and Punishment (what an incredible experience)

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (favorite psych/prog rock production ever, definitely PF's best studio album and yes, better than Animals)

Kanye's West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (awful individual but one of the greatest albums ever sonically, I love every song and wowowow the production but screw Kanye)

Chainsaw Man (definitely don't need to be familiar with anime/manga to watch/read this but it never hurts, certainly a large weakness of anime/manga is that many of the really great work are self-referential and end up making obscure odes to OTHER anime/manga that might be great but just aren't popular. Anyway, Tatsuki Fujimoto is crazy good. He watches a ton of movies and his panel layouts are incredibly cinematic, my personal prediction for the next renowned household name akin to a Miyazaki albeit with a reallyyyyyy bizarre and shrewd sense of humor and a proclivity for violence and other taboo topics!) 

See you in the next post! Maybe more inspirations will be unveiled as I go along...not a bad idea...

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

 Looking back on the creation of the music video, I remember thinking that our group had an incredibly novel idea. Or maybe that it wasn't super novel but rather that our execution of it would be really good. And I was right! When we were shooting, I had my share of doubts about the lack of dynamic camera movement or just a general shortage of takes but the finished product was exciting and resembled a music video practically perfectly. My cousin had also taken this course in the last year and to my great surprise, when I was showing him my finished music video about a week ago, he told me, through laughter, about how his group also got Night Running for their song. 

What's more is that even the music videos themselves aren't too different with his also being about someone running from the police at night. It does devolve into...weird stuff though. I just thought that was a funny story.

Anyway, after we had finished the music video, we were definitely under the impression that the rest of the project would be easy. And while it was, we also could not afford to slack off because the presentation was bare boned and most of us had yet to even work on our slides yet. However, the enthusiasm was palpable. The person in charge of designing the merchandise messaged the rest of the group a LOT about updates with the graphic design and consistently asked for opinions and thoughts to which we responded positively each time. I'm glad we had someone who enjoyed graphic design in the group because that excitement definitely translated over into the presentation with an abundance of visual aid, something I thought most other groups were sorely lacking. 

The music video did induce a little panic in its editing stage. At first, we had a very optimistic expected date for the music video, about one day after filming, it would be done! But it wasn't. It wouldn't be done for a couple more days and THEN we had difficulty even putting in the presentation and with some classic miscommunication, a lot of things ended up getting messy and yeah, it was a bit disorganized. But we powered through it and it ended up being really good, as I said. 

The only thing left to figure out was how to present. One member spearheaded the discussion about how we should fragment our roles and the person who edited ended up presenting the least which was fair due to equalizing the workload. The other three members, me included, would have a select number of slides to present but then another bombshell was dropped on me. I had to fulfill three and a half minutes of presentation time. So, I furiously scribbled down on a couple of notecards and on the presentation day, I swear I knew my information and I honestly wasn't even nervous but as soon as I looked at my notecards for information, it just felt so much more comfortable then looking at the crowd of eyes staring at me. It's safe to say I bombed that part but the rest of my group hit it out of the park with the presentation. 

I learned a lot about proper filmmaking in this project. I know it wasn't supposed to be a project purely about the production process but it's what I got the most out of. Seeing my fellow students film instead of being the sole person behind the camera really opened my eyes, especially seeing how the finished product ended up. Clearly, I am a bit outmatched in technical ability or just having a natural eye for the camera so I'll just have to make up for it with really meticulous planning for the portfolio project. I'm glad this happened sooner rather than later and I can take these months to get up to par with where I think I should be at skill-wise! 

Overall, it was an enlightening experience and I think I speak for all of us, even though I don't need to since I'm sure everyone else agrees, that it was a very fun experience. Both creating the music video and making the brand of the artist, I've certainly taken a lot out of this project.