Current Favorite Shots

The lighting was great during our shooting. It’s slightly overwhelming but it’s also sort of angelic and dreamy, completely on base with the emotions that I want to convey with this piece. After color grading, I can likely make this look even more ethereal. 

I loved the orange accents from the sun in the background. The clutter was semi-intentional but it was poorly composed on my end. If we retake this scene, I want to be more purposeful with the props on the table, if it’s possible. Otherwise, this scene is a little too dark and is also cropped due to the lighting being slightly visible in the top left corner. I’ll have to resize it if I go with this shot which isn’t likely but I do have to say, I liked the colors. 

Once again, the gold accents from the lighting of my house comes through. I really loved how this sequence played out, our main character in the shadow, continuously building his identity as he learns and remembers things new and old from his childhood in a new, grown up lens. This also will parallel another hallway scene from earlier in the piece and it’s largely symbolic but also very pretty in my humble opinion. 

A dramatic shot with our protagonist looking into a bedroom where his younger self and father slept in. This is following a scene where the father and his brother argued and this scene captures his hesitance and reluctance to learn a new, more emotional side of his father. 

This shot is of our father after the brother leaves the house post-argument. Its cool tone contrasts the warmth of many of the other shots and the shadow captures the father’s instantaneous regret but also his pride and inability to change, making his character development at the end (telling his son he is proud of him) all the more powerful. 

 These were my favorite shots from the filming so far. I have a ton of footage but these were stand-out to me and I thought they captured the feeling of the narrative very well. Also, the importing process into blogger has scaled down the resolution of the images for some reason. They look a lot better in the footage I have access to.

Editing Issue (and More Research)

 I'm aware this isn't the best time to see this but only after I shot was the issue prominent on my mind: how am I going to shoot this? 

Given my story, there are two main options:

1. Shoot the scenes of the modern day and past separately, then blend them.

2. Shoot the scenes of both actors all on the same frame. 

The reason 1 is preferable is that even if I shot the entire thing very poorly (and in truth, I'm not entirely enthusiastic about the footage I do have), it would still be extremely clear what's happening when the young protagonist and father faze through the protagonist (in that the audience would be aware it's just a flashback or some sort of thought in the protagonist's head). The reason I would do 2 is because it's just more convenient. I have hardly a clue how to edit the first option, even though I'm pretty sure most films that do something similar with memory to mine shoot in that way. So far, I have a couple of shots which are appropriate to blend/be overlaid, but there's a lot of camera movement in those and I'm afraid what the finished product is going to look like. 

Moreover, and this isn't an editing issue, but I just didn't do a good job with mise-en-scene. My actors wore the same clothes the entire shoot which means I may as well throw out a good portion of shots, especially when our father is supposed to age throughout the piece. The hard truth is that I'm growing increasingly nervous about this piece. The scale isn't that large but most of what will make the idea worthwhile seems to be out of my expertise or requires much more planning than I initially thought.

Add grain to indicate our character is looking at a flashback?? Maybe it can work but it doesn't make complete sense to me.

I've also come across suggestions to use a filter to indicate the scenes of the past but that literally makes no sense. The flashbacks aren't really flashbacks but our character's current understanding of them—a recontextualization after his maturation from his childhood! That's the entire premise. I don't even have enough experience in this field to practice it because I just opened adobe and I have no idea how to even do the first step of the blending that the first video I watched told me to do. I feel stupid only trying to see how to edit this piece now, but I'm also sure I can find a way around it should it not eventually become clear to me at some point. 

Some Storyboard

 I have very little storyboarding done which is regretful as I plan to start filming this coming week. However, I don't plan on starting right on Monday or Tuesday which leaves me with a couple more days to storyboard. I'm also going to largely neglect storyboarding the shots which are likely going to just be shot-reverse-shot. 

My Toolbox

 Over the last couple of months, I have purchased a lot of equipment to help me shoot this piece. The first is:

This fog machine (well, not the one in the picture, but I bought one). After doing some research, I found out that fog and haze (mostly haze but haze machines are so much more expensive) are used to create a dreamy atmosphere. That or a sense of tension, mystery, and concealment. For my film, I figures I needed all of those things and so, I bought a fog machine. It's one that works inside and I plan on testing it out as soon as my fuel for it arrives tomorrow. The amazon delivery got delayed twice and I would have been trying it out much earlier, but alas, I can't control some of these things. 

This sequence from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006-7 were great years for Westerns) utilizes haze/fog. It adds a layer of serenity but also tension. 

I also bought lighting equipment. I have two hard lights now. Although I considered buying more lighting equipment, I think I can rig a basic three point lighting system and figure out the rest afterward. Since I brought up lighting, I figured I might as well include some of my favorite examples of excellent lighting in films.

The beginning when Alex and his droogies appear as shadows

Vito looking at Sonny

Raise the Red Lantern

And of course, Suspiria

It's important to note some of my favorite lighting from films accentuate the colors on the screen. Lighting is very common, to the point that a well-lit shot to me, the viewer, feels as easy to do as breathing. But with colorful scenes from movies such as Raise the Red Lantern and Suspiria, the lighting is much more noticeable. I hope I can nail the colors like they do.

Print Research

 

Here's to the fools who dream

The poster for Chazelle's La La Land is taken from a scene where Mia and Seb dance amidst a gorgeous Los Angeles backdrop. At a glance, it's not evident that's it Los Angeles but the scenery is breathtaking and coupled with the strong Hollywood idealization in the film, the imagery serves to further romanticize the film. The font used for the title is the same as used in the film for the seasons. Stone and Gosling's names are both in the poster and Chazelle is mentioned in passing under the title only because at this point, Whiplash had more notoriety than Chazelle himself. Finally, Mia and Seb's dance in the poster indicates the musicality of the film and the romance. 

It's a very scenic poster, it's one of the first that come to my mind when I think about pretty looking film posters. My main inspiration from it is the dynamic movement from Seb and Mia, I think a poster/postcard which captures my characters actively interacting with each other would be good. Moreover, the picturesque background is something that I'm naturally after. 

This poster for No Country sees Llewelyn running while the sun is emerging and Chigurh's face looms in the background. It's a perfect summation of Llewelyn and Chigurh's relationship in the film which is a cat-mouse chase and the tag line lingers just above, helping to construct the western vibe. The three stars of the film are prominent in the poster, Tommy Lee Jones, Bardem, and Brolin all gets considerable nods and the credit block is a convention for movie posters. 

Of course, I'll likely use a credit block for my poster but I think the visual storytelling of the poster is the most vital part of it. Chigurh's cold gaze, Llewelyn running, and the tag line all help to create instant comprehension of who is the antagonist and who is the focal point of the film. 

A Reflection on the Screenplay

 The purpose of Looking at a Memory is not just self-indulgent. I mean, it certainly is self-indulgent, but it serves as a real reflection of my own life from infancy to now, and ignoring the less positive feelings I've experienced in the time would be disingenuous to the very experience of growing up. The premise for Looking at a Memory has always been clear to me, ever since I stumbled upon the actual photo album which comprised of pictures of my father holding me as a baby above the pool, me and my siblings running about naked in the bathroom, and other images that seemed almost fake. 

The challenge of writing the story was trying to make it not too much about myself. That's difficult because it came from, well, myself. The obstacle was that I was perhaps too emotionally invested in trying to convey my story that the finished product I would end up with would be maybe detached from the average person's relationship with their father. I don't want to indict the entire Asian culture but there's something about Asian parents that make for ripe drama, detached from the world of Western struggles. The very language of love is different with Chinese parents. 

For many years, depicting the unique relationship between Asian parents and their children have been a particular interest of mine. Ask any Asian child whether or not their parents have ever said direct affirmation to them and I'd be pretty sure the answer is no. Just two years ago, I watched this video:

Growing up, watching Disney shows and movies, the idea that parents would just casually say "I love you" or the sort was perplexing. In my mind, it never registered to me that my parents didn't love me just because they didn't say it aloud. But as I've grown up, it's been difficult to remind myself of that all the time, particularly in the times that their behavior isn't so collaborative. I cried watching that video because I could imagine my parents calling me and struggling to tell me that, or even worse, my parents dying without ever saying it. Maybe a year after, I was at a party with only Chinese friends, around my age, and we did played some games which included dares. They chose the dare for me, to call my dad and tell him I loved him. 

The entire time, I was nervous. When I said it, my dad only chuckled, but it was like a huge weight had unloaded from my body. The point is, Asian families don't really show affection so boldly. Therefore, the ending of my screenplay is easily the most self-indulgent part of it, having the father say "I'm proud of you". But it's self-indulgent in two dimensions, one because I think it'd be nice to have that moment but two because I think it's ultimately what my father really feels deep down inside. And that's the motivation that keeps me moving, it's what motions me to try to live up to expectations that were never explicitly set to me. 

One time, I was reading the translator's notes on a Japanese novel which described his style as "unapologetically Japanese". I thought for a second, what does that mean? I think I sort of understand it now. I think of directors like Wong Kar-Wai or Zhang Yimou when I think about Chinese cinema. But rather than being shaped by the conventions of nationalistic imagery, they have shaped the imagination and boundaries of Chinese cinema. Ultimately, this screenplay aims to depict a myriad of familial relationships, but it's an individual story ultimately. It's why the ending of the screenplay is perhaps pessimistic in a sense, ending on an aside, the child failing to say his real emotions to his father. Growing up is an ongoing struggle, I don't imagine me or the character will get over our struggles any time soon. And we still have a lot of growing up to do.

I wanted to capture the essence of maturing and the essence of tender love, not a perfect story about reconciliation. And I have to say, I think I did a very decent job. 

First Draft Screenplay

Group Meetings: 03/04/24

 We had group meetings on 3/04/24 in my AICE Media class. Admittedly, I don't love the group meetings. Sometimes, I don't feel as though I can articulate my problems, or that it's harder to do so in front of people, at least a group of people, as opposed to a singular other person. It feels less like consultation and more like airing out issues into the crowd. Nevertheless, the group meeting gave me some insight to the others' projects and also my own. 

The first thing we spoke about, or at least the first thing I remember wanting to really hear from the others was about shooting schedule. Originally, I was planning on beginning to film in two weeks but most of the members said they were planning to shoot next week. I thought about my schedule and thought, I could do that. So, I'll start shooting next week, after Monday since I want to put final touches on my screenplay that day. 

Two of the group members were doing music projects. one was doing a documentary, and the rest of us were doing short film. The thing I noticed is that they were all very impassioned and stated a clear distinction from this year and last year, and I feel much the same. Taking into consideration the ways in which I've improved since last year and a general inclination towards planning which is stronger than ever before, I've prepared a project that I think can both be really personal to me and a spectacle for others. I look forward to producing my project and also seeing the finished products of the others in the class. This seems like a real passion project for many. 

As for advice I've gotten, I asked if anyone had ever worked with a child actor before which was a resounding no. I did, however, receive a lot of praise for the idea and that felt nice. The most beneficial thing I heard in the group meeting was an editing technique to achieve the flashbacks as I want them which is overlay. So, I'll look into that. I'll play with it this week, blog about it, and it should make things a lot smoother.

It could be my fault but I didn't take away much technically from the group meeting. I think what it did inspire in me was a greater sense of drive and motivation, realizing the excitement of which my peers are approaching the project caused the same ambition to well up in me. I want to make something good.

Characters, Settings to Actors, Locations

 Below is a list of characters and my intentions with them. 

Miller: Our protagonist! You may be wondering why I named him Miller. Well, honestly, it's because a long time ago, I was writing a story and it was semi auto-biographical too and I had named the main character Miller and it stuck with me ever since. If you want to know why I chose it then then I really couldn't answer, my brain from two and a half years ago was, in my opinion, wildly different so I can't rationalize much from what I did then. But anyway, this character is the son and he has a shaky relationship with his father. 

Young Miller: Our protagonist!-but younger. The film is about Miller looking back on his memories, the past playing right in front or behind the present. Miller is going to be present during all of the scenes which is why Young Miller is a distinct character in the screenplay. Young Miller is going to be noticeably more enthusiastic and happy-go-lucky than his grown up counterpart. 

Father: It's time to get to the nameless characters. His father is the thing he has to face in the story, both from his memories and in the current. In his memories, he sees his father as greatly caring and loving and in the present, he faces a much colder, much more reserved man. The conflict is reconciling his love with his apparent apathy. The father is a complex conglomeration of my father and many, many other Asian parents I've interacted with. 

Brother: Our protagonist's brother is an ambitious young man who wants to work in the film industry. It's through the Brother and Father's argument that the young Miller first starts to think that the family isn't as organized as he thought. But from a modern reaction, Miller sees it as a much more dynamic and nuanced interaction between a father who wants the best for his child and a child whose dreams are too big for his father—which is the same for Miller as well. The brother is central to the story not because he appears much in the film but because he is essentially a parallel to Miller and be a narrative elaboration to Miller's feelings and thoughts beyond just Miller's voice-over. 

I've found actors for all four characters. The one character that might be undoable is Young Miller because I'm trying to get my little cousin to play him. My little cousin is seven and can't act to save his life. Otherwise, the cast is set, and though one would expect me to play Miller, it might be too emotional of a role for me, so I'm going to set myself aside for the Brother instead, which is equally personal. 

This was the sight that inspired me, many months ago to film this. The only setting of the film is going to be the interior and exterior of the house. This is just one of the potential shots from the interior (when I ultimately shoot it, I'll rig up better lighting with a better color grade hopefully) and I feel confident in the potential for my house as the location. Plus, it will be so much more emotional for me, filming this story about my family in my house. 

The Rhythm of Foreign Language and Film

 My film is going to be half English and half Mandarin (these percentages may in the end, be a bit, or very much off). I think immediately when people watch a foreign film, one of the first things they think is, "unique". 

Now, a lot of foreign films aren't actually that far away from home. For instance, Past Lives (2023) is from Canadian filmmaker Celine Song and its stars weren't born in Korea, both Greta Lee and Teo Yoo being born in America and Germany respectively. This doesn't make any less Korean, but the sense of their foreign-ness is a constructed one, and that makes me think that foreign films evoke a sense of freshness not only because of a different auditory language (their literal language) but the visual language and contextual content. Two incredible original screenplays from this year, Anatomy of a Fall and Past Lives are both considered foreign films...actually I'm not sure because when I google it, Past Lives is apparently an American film? Either way, Past Lives features a ton of foreign language in it so I'll talk about it and Anatomy of a Fall is a full-fledged foreign film.

If you've watched it, you would know that even the title of Past Lives is a reference to the Korean folklore belief of "inyeon" or, the accumulated fate an individual collects from their past lives. It's a Buddhist belief following their belief in reincarnation. Every time you interact with another individual, it's an "inyeon" and after a million of them throughout countless lifetimes, you ultimately end up with them. 

Foreign films are unique because they carry the filmmakers' cultural identity with them. While all American films have a distinct American-ness to them, even regional differences can account for the peculiar interests of some directors. For example, Scorsese and De Niro's experiences shooting Taxi Driver, both driven by their sense of isolation in the worst parts of New York during that time period. But for an Asian-Canadian filmmaker like Celine Song, the balancing of identity resulted in a story that showed a conflict between both sides of her and it's glorious. I have a very similar experience being an American-born Chinese child and so seeing Song use "inyeon", a Korean concept and exposing it to the American audience, I feel too, very inspired to bring up things from my culture and my childhood outside of just the language. 

Of course, the best foreign films have a sense of universality to them. While we might have different experiences geographically, the human experience is one of many different sensibilities that all people share. Touching on these sensibilities, no matter in which cultural context it's done in, can appeal to all around the world. 

Since Miyazaki is potentially going to win an Oscar again, I wanted to mention that the Ghibli films are perhaps the greatest example of universality within an obviously narrowly-inspired aesthetic. Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies is even more so, exploring the Japanese perspective of the atomic bomb (and this year's Boy and the Heron expanding on that). Despite the obvious Japanese perspective of these films, we don't think that only Japanese people can watch them and appreciate them, in fact, it's quite the opposite. There's a charm in knowing that a certain audience can watch this film and take one thing from it because of their experiences and being able to, to an extent, share in that moment with them even if all other things are different. Because these movies are both stylized and general, they allow for audiences to break beyond the boundaries of language and culture. 

In a growingly globalized world, Bong Joon Ho's parasite speaks as starkly about American capitalism as it does about Korean capitalism. It'd be a mistake to think that foreign films, despite their freshness in production techniques, say anything less about us, their audience overseas, than it does about themselves, right at home. I was conflicted for a while, whether or not I should make a story that was still very personal in nature but just make the characters American or not, but then I realized, a foreign-language film explores the question of identity and culture so much more. So much subtext is created just by using a foreign language and for me, who thinks of Mandarin as one of the main ways I remain rooted to my parents, my grandparents, and my country of origin, it's an especially powerful tool for storytelling and emotion.

Looking at a Memory: How I Decided on a Story

 I've always been acutely interested in domesticity. Lots of people think the most ripe subjects for drama are the climactic things we see in life but the truth, I think, is that true drama lies in what we rarely see. For instance, the first two godfather films. 

Michael asks his mother in the second film, "can a man lose his family?" Well...he sure can, Michael.

The genius of the Godfather films lie outside the realm of mob violence. Sure, it's a spectacle that appeals to the primal instinct of people who want to see the Corleone victory visualized through visceral imagery  but the violence in the films are mostly a vehicle for tension and the release of that tension. When hitmen try to kill Michael outside of his home in Part 2, it serves to be the first event that drives Michael away from his family as Kay begins to realize that the family business isn't redeemable in the slightest. The Godfather is obviously a spin on American capitalism with its striking parallels between Cosa Nostra and corporate greed but how it most poignantly influenced me (besides just how visually beautiful the films are) is how it interplays stories of greed, power struggles, and family. 

Michael is chiefly concerned with keeping his family apart. It's what makes the otherwise slightly glorified mafia piece into a sweeping family epic full of emotional peaks that turn on the waterworks. 

It doesn't get more emotional than this

Sure, it's an Epic trilogy (though we all ignore the third film) only because it can use many different storylines with such powerful effect but I feel the family aspects of the Godfather films are easily the strongest. 

As for how that relates to my film, I just wanted to make the point that even in a movie where murder happens, a lot of moral ambiguity is up in the air, and general mafia drama ensues, the family still somehow shines through in the end. My own life is filled with problems revolving around domesticity and that's probably why I'm ultimately so darn in love with films that center on it.

My film is a family drama which depicts the shaky relationship between a father and a son soon to go to college. When the son finds a photo album with unseen pictures from his childhood, he begins to reflect on the 18 years spend in the household. It's obviously strongly influenced from my own life, some might even call it semi auto-biographical but as Scorsese said (and later Bong Joon-Ho reiterated): "The most personal is the most creative". 

I want to tell a story only I can tell, but a story that a lot of people can identify with. Family is complex, and everyone has one. I can't encompass the entire breadth of familial experiences but I'm aiming to accurately grasp the feelings related to the ones like mine, the nostalgia, the beauty, and the anguish, all in one short film. 

Social Media Research

 Media text: Poor Things

Social media tool: Instagram

Description of types of posts: A TON of promotional pictures of Emma Stone (understandable), promotional events (costume exhibit), trailers and teasers, pictures of the set, post-release posts about its awards.

Description of how branding is developed (or not): It develops the image of Emma Stone incredibly well who of course, plays the main character, Bella Baxter. The film certainly doesn't live or die with Emma Stone, but marketing such a high profile actress who is also incredibly recognizable is certainly beneficial for Poor Things' branding which is a feminist piece about self-discovery. It shows Yorgos Lanthimos, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe too, but it's unquestionable that the vast majority of the branding is developed through as association with Emma Stone and the character of Bella Baxter. The pictures of the set and promotional events associated with costumes and exhibiting props is indicative of its luscious set design which considering it's a forerunner in this year's production design race at the Oscars is a strong brand for the film.

Analysis of how you will use this to develop your own social media presence: Honestly, I chose Poor Things because Emma Stone is my favorite actress and she is obviously incredible in this film even if I do think Gladstone should win best actress. Anyway, since I don't exactly have any marketable stars, I'll think about marketing the aspects about my film that are the strongest just as Poor Things marketed its production design (so hopefully cinematography). I want to build my brand based off of pretty visuals. 

Media Text: Aftersun 

Social media tool: Twitter

Description of types of posts: Posts about Paul Mescal (heavily marketed him before and after getting nominated for best actor), reposting audience reactions, marketing the daughter-father duo in the film 

Description of how branding is developed: The posts with the two stars Mescal and Frankie Corio who serve as the father and daughter in the film are greatly effective. They seem to have excellent chemistry and so anyone wanting to watch the film would expect an equal level of synergy, especially playing such an intimate and complex relationship. Paul Mescal also has many photos with his actual family members and I have to imagine this only serves to further strengthen the sense of family that Aftersun is meant to exude. 

Analysis of how you will use this to develop your own social media presence: Twitter is a much better social media platform to respond to people on. Aftersun's account uses audience reactions and retweets quite often, citing positive reception from others as a reason you should watch it. I am enticed by the opportunity to talk and respond to people but of course, I'm also afraid that I won't get any interaction so...anyway. I learned to take pictures of my actors together because my actors will also be having a similar relationship (father-son) so it should work out.

Media Text: Moonlight 

Media Tool: Instagram

Description of types of posts: Posters, trailers, teasers, reviews, actors. 

Description of how branding is developed: The first post is a mashup of the three posters with Chiron as a kid, teenager, and adult. This is crucial to the branding (the tag line is "The story of a lifetime" after all) and tells right away that it is a film about the progression of time. There's pictures of Mahershala Ali who is the most recognizable actor in the film.

Developing my own social media presence: A striking visual poster to clarify story events and the selling point of the film is crucial.