Ryan quickly finished a rough script going over the main idea for the film opening, which will no doubt be extremely helpful in our filming process. We plan on filming and editing it sometime next week to give us a good amount of time to make sure everything is perfect. With the story finished, we are one step closer to completing the opening.
The story centers around themes of nature and finding oneself, although much of this wont be explored for too long in the opening, the main character Jordan will go on a journey that is filled with hardship and conflict that will help Jordan find himself. The opening starts with Jordan in his rooms preparing to sneak out from his house with his dad yelling at him in the background. Although the father is hard on his son he only wants to see him succeed, but Jordan doesn't see it that way and only focuses on getting as far away from his father as he can. Jordan's journey of coming to understand his father and himself will be explored in the film, and slightly hinted at in the opening. When Jordan finally gets out of his house he hesitates before running off as upbeat music plays in the background. He finds himself in nature and marks the beginning of his journey throughout the rest of the film.
After discussion with my group members, we have decided to use my concept for our final version of the opening. We discussed many different versions and settled one story and Ryan, one of my group members, began writing a script for the opening. The story and overall mood of the film will take inspiration from popular and classic teen movies.
Examples:
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986):
A lot of the mood I'm going for in this opening comes from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in which the main character Ferris Bueller convinces his parents he's sick and needs to say home from school, leading to a grand adventure through Chicago as he evades his high school principal. Ferris embodies the rebellious teen character, and I want to portray this same type of rebellion in my main character as he flees from his house. I also take inspiration from the fast-paced music that plays right as Ferris succeeds in convincing his parents and his journey begins, which can play a similar role in my own film opening.
Thirteen (2003):
Although it is a stark contrast from the previous example, Thirteen shows some inspirations for elements that I could include in my film opening. The upbeat rock music is almost synonymous with teen movies and rebellion, similar to the music Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and can be utilized in my opening when the character is running away from his home. The overall mood is entirely different in this piece, with it being much darker and could be implemented in my opening if we decided to maybe take a darker route. Running away is no easy task for a young teenager, so a darker tone could suit the situation well. One other route is we can combine these examples and start the opening upbeat, until it slowly morphs into a dark film as the character realizes the trouble they are in.
It looks like I may have to change my film opening story again because my story revolved heavily around filming in Markham Park, but the park has decided to close to prevent any large gatherings of people. There aren't many other alternative filming locations as all parks are closing in my county along with Markham Park due to the coronavirus situation. Since there isn't any other place in my city or nearby that has a deep forest or similar scenery, i'd rather come up with a new story rather than make it harder for me.
from Markham Park website
One of the other concepts I had come up with when we were brainstorming a new idea, was a film opening about a teenager who runs away from home into the wilderness to live on his own. Originally it would've ended up in the forest at Markham Park but the concept can be reworked into any other setting. The main story would remain the same and would be a fun and upbeat teen movie taking inspiration from classic teen films. I'll have to discuss and refine the concept with my group members so we can decide on the final story.
With the decision of Markham Park as the filming location, we now have shifted our focus on developing a story around this location. As I mentioned in the last post, the park gives us plenty of opportunities for different genres and themes that we can represent. After discussion, it seems we have decided to go with the dark and mysterious horror route and create a story that peaks the interest of viewers through its chilling themes. The deep and dark forests provide an infinite amount of possibilities for stories.
One possible story for the opening could revolve around a character walking through the woods, maybe on a jog, the next thing he knows, a screams echoes through the trees. Eerie music builds as the main character goes towards the source of the scream, a dark trail into the woods. Panic builds as he hesitates to enter the woods, but he knows that someone could be in danger, so he finally decides to go in. The music swells as he enters and suddenly the title appears and the opening ends. This could be a basic outline for a much more detailed and complex opening that could include hints at the conflict or maybe even something supernatural, but at this point we are still discussing ideas and making progress.
Over the past couple days, my group and I have been brainstorming different themes and stories that we could use for a film opening. Almost all of our ideas have sprung from one location: Markham Park. The past couple of weeks we have been hanging out more and more at Markham Park and have always found that at night it can give a very eerie feeling. My group and I have always thought that this park would be a great place to film something in, even to film something outside of school. The deep trails that go through the forest give a dark and eerie feeling that could do well for a horror type movie. On the other hand. the quiet forests with sunbeams poking through the trees give a calm and tranquil feeling that could be the setting for a drama or romance film. The park has so many opportunities for filming locations and is also a safe place for filming during this pandemic, since we likely wouldn't come into contact with anybody else.
After some discussion with my group, we have decided to start over with our project. Our original idea could've been great, but was a little ambitious for us and especially now with everything going on with the virus. We will be deciding a new story and new filming locations so that we can make a project that is easier for all of us to achieve and safer. I still want to create a quality project that uses good technique and sets up an interesting story, while being more realistic with current circumstances. We also have to factor in that we need to have minimal contact with others to follow social distancing advice from scientists and officials. Overall this decision for our project will save us money, time, and stress for the long run.
It seems like the coronavirus has blown up into a worldwide issue, which may complicate some parts of our project. As of now there is some confusion about the continuation of the project, but it seems like our process will continue on mostly uninterrupted. My blog posts should continue as normal, since it can easily be done at home during this pandemic. It looks like I will probably order my costume online rather than risking it and going to a store.
On the other hand, filming might become an issue, as we will have to meet up in person. No public spaces are really being considered for the filming locations, so we will probably film in someones house to minimize contact with others. Over the past couple days, my group and I have been discussing when to film and so far we have not come to a decision. As of right now, filming is not a huge priority as we can get it done in as little as one day and the editing shouldn't take too much time. Even though we can finish on time, we still need to produce a quality opening and we need to sure that everything goes fine.
Since our film opening deals with some pretty mature themes with addiction and alcoholism, I have decided that the target audience for the film should be young adults from 17-25. Of course, this is just for the main audience, with many people of different ages being able to enjoy the opening. I don't want to dial back on any of the themes we are presenting and I want to show an authentic story about a man struggling with addiction. A more mature audience allows us to show the true grittiness and darkness of addiction. Movies that have similar subject matter like Trainspotting and Half Nelson, bot have an R rating for a mature audience.
My group and I still haven't met up to buy our costumes and make final decisions about filming locations. On Tuesday after class we went to Goodwill to look for clothes, but realized the store was only for donations, so we postponed it for another day. There is a Goodwill about 11 miles away that is not a donations only location, but there might be other alternatives and we could order our costumes online.
Donations only Goodwill
Although we are almost done with preparations, this is one of the last things we need to get done before we can film. Most likely, we will end up getting our costumes separately, without meeting up. To discuss the filming locations and final planning, we will most likely talk on discord or facetime so we don't have to actually meet up.
So far the project has been running smoothly with the all of the pieces falling into place, for the most part. My group and I have been planning on meeting up to buy costumes, discuss filming locations, and plan the filming process. Although we planned to meet up on Wednesday we postponed it to Saturday so we would have more time. On Friday, Ryan told us that he could not make it for Saturday because he was practicing for an event for another class, so we postponed it to Sunday. Hate to say it, but looks like it wont happen once again and we will have to go tomorrow after school. This time, nothing can come in the way of us meeting because we have to discuss these important topics.
One of my friends suggested we talk over discord, an online voice chat software, so that we could still discuss ideas without having to actually meet up in person. The only problem s that we would still need to meet up to buy the costumes. We plan on going to thrift shops on Monday to find clothes that will fit with the 80s time frame. If all goes according to plan we will be back on track and ready to film.
After some time I finally finished the storyboard for my film opening. The storyboard covers the most important shots of the film and gives my group and I and idea of how some of the final shots will look. I initially planned to finish the storyboard much earlier but I wasn't sure which direction to go with some of the shots, but I figured out a good basis for what we can change or keep while we film.
Storyboard:
The first two boxes make up a good chunk of the opening, with the main character talking with the manager in shadow to add to the tone. In the same shot, the camera moves forward as the main character begins to walk onto the interview set and into the light. It then cuts as he sits down to show the interviewer and Keith sitting next to each other. The interviewer, Mike, gets ready and it cuts shot of Mike with television effects to show it is being filmed on TV. Mike introduces his guest and its cuts to Keith who doesn't look to great. It goes to Mike, this time without the TV effects and he asks Keith how hes doing. Keith looks up and puts on a smile to hide his true feelings and says, "I'm doing great!" At this moment it cuts to the title.
Ryan, one of my group members, made a script outlining the film opening and providing a basis for the dialogue. The script is filled with many interesting pieces of dialogue between the main character, Keith Floyd. and the manager, Cole Pines, as well as between Keith and the interviewer, Mike Merriweather. Although all the dialogue is good, we may run into some trouble fitting it into the 2 minute time span of the film opening.
Script:
The main story of the film centers around a famous actor, Keith Floyd, who is trying to get back into the spotlight after the public finds out about his alcoholism and drug addiction. Still struggling with addiction and the effects of his action, the film opening centers around a press junket he is at to promote a new action movie he is starring in. His manager gives him a sort of pep talk and tells him not to mess up his chance of getting back his fame. When Keith settles in his seat for the interview he is tired and waiting until he gets a chance to feed his addiction, causing the interviewer to ask if he is alright. Keith, obviously not alright, puts on a big smile and says hes doing great, followed by the opening title.
On Tuesday we had a group meeting activity in class where our groups split up and discussed our progress on the project with people from other groups. This activity allowed us to give our ideas to other people and receive feedback and solutions for problems we were facing. In the group I was assigned in, everyone was able to explain their ideas for their openings and gave me some inspiration for my own opening.
During the activity I told them an overview of my film opening and they gave some good feedback. For the most part they enjoyed the story and found it interesting. One of the people at my table suggested that I delve more into the manager character which gave me the idea to explore the greed behind him and how he essentially is using the main character. This can be hinted in the opening to show how the manager is relying on the main character to make money.
After the activity my group and I discussed some of the ideas we got from other peoples project and suggestions. My group members got suggestions for possible filming locations like the auditorium, but the only trouble I am finding is that we would need to set up curtains for the background which would not be possible for a place like the auditorium. We also got several tips for different shots which we can implement in the opening.
At this point in our process, the planning for the film opening is leading closer and closer to filming. Only a few parts remain in our preparation and soon we will be able to start filming. Ryan, a member of my group, created the script for the opening, which lays out the events of the opening and how to dialogue should sound. The script is a big part of this process and now gives us a physical outline of our opening and establishes a bit of the tone we are going for. Of course, the script is still up for revision and will most likely be changed during filming process.
First page of script
Now that Ryan has created the script, I was able to get a better idea of how some of the scenes would play out. With this help, I was now able to get started on the storyboard to give the group a good visual aid for the filming process. Although I planned to finish it yesterday, I found it to be much harder than I thought, and changing opinions on certain scenes in the opening interfered with the process. The storyboard is still a work in progress, but since we still are a little but away from filming, it is better to do it right than to rush it.
As we get closer to filming, we are beginning to think about what we may need to buy for the set and costumes. Although we planned to go thrift shopping today, we ended up postponing it for sometime during next week. Thrift shopping will allow us to find some vintage looking clothes that will fit in with the 80s time period in the film. Set design also plays a large role in the opening and we will need to order some supplies. Most importantly, we have to order large bed sheets to act as the background for our interview set and also the print out of the poster of the movie that the main character will be promoting in the film.
