Inspiration

     To get a better idea of the possibilities when it comes to short films, I decided to research some short films and gather information and ideas. I mostly searched for films that are around my film's runtime range (5 minutes) so I could get a good idea of making a story that has impact in such a small amount of time. I made sure to pick many different types short films to get a good variety in my inspiration. Here are a couple examples of some short films that stood out to me:

Found Me

https://www.davidwfindlay.com/found-me

    Found me is a great example of telling a compelling story with very simple elements. The story revolves around a man who discovers the world of underground wrestling. The film is interesting in the way is structed that seems to be more like a music video than a short film. It is unconventional in the way that it pieces together small moments that work together to show the characters feelings and thoughts. The characters barely talk throughout the film yet the story is clear and emotional. I definitely want to emulate the colors and lighting that the director uses in this film because it gives those small and seemingly insignificant so much more impact and emotion.

Bear With Me

https://www.daphna-awadish.com/bear-with-me

    In this short film, the director explores the story of the romance between two immigrants who left their homes. This film is especially interesting since it is in an animated film. I wanted to explore more mediums and get a better idea of my options. Although its very unlikely that anything could get in the way, I do have the option to create an animated film that wouldn't require me to even leave my house. In the film they show that a touching and emotional story can be conveyed with very simple animations that could be possible for me even though I don't have much practice in the medium.

    

    These were just two examples of the many short films that I watched to get a good idea of what is possible for my project. From what I've gathered, lighting and colors and the most important elements that I want to make sure to get just right for my project. I have endless possibilities when it comes to the shots and camera movements and I know now that I can make a great story that is also very simple.

Welcome Back

    Here it is! The very beginning of a brand new project and with that begins the brainstorming process. My partners (Ryan and Oliver) and I have begun the the task of coming up with a fresh and unique idea for our upcoming short film. The genre and overall feeling of a film is what seems to be most important for us right now as we start to explore possible stories and themes. With each of us having different ideas for our ideal short film, we decided to each construct a playlist that embodies our ideas. With a playlist we are able to express a certain feeling and overall vibe for a potential production so that we can compare and narrow down our ideas into one perfect story. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PoRUAVW7BmwDFf1vj6Zd5?si=399c3e5d47704a93

My Playlist: With my playlist I went full into this idea of a moody yet charming indie drama. I took some inspiration from the Netflix series The End of the F***ing World (good show check it out) and incorporated some 60s songs along with the more modern pieces to change it up slightly. Themes of calmness and sadness are explored through the soft acoustic guitar and pianos songs while excitement and adventure are explored through the more upbeat songs. Overall the playlist is subtle but still makes room to explore many themes like romance and drama that is commonly shown in many indie films.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5zSKcAHzlc1rNNvwWok6Fy?si=e359ccaae02d4322

Oliver's Playlist: With this playlist, Oliver has gone with a much different approach that evokes a very distinct and moody dark style. There is a large focus on deep synths throughout the playlist that gives the idea of a dark and moody drama set during the night time. The songs create an atmospheric and gloomy feeling that is unique and cohesive, perfect for a short film. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3nLbaAHMfE6qGiKOkDrVVu?si=a111c5f3e00044cc

Ryan's Playlist: Out of all the playlists, Ryan's has the most variety in terms of sounds and genre with the music. The playlist has a good combination of more toned down songs and more upbeat songs that give it a good range when it comes to themes. Overall the playlist gives a feeling of anticipation and wonder that continues throughout each song that makes it great for a variety of short films.

    Each of us had very different directions when it comes to our playlists and through this we really learned about what we each want to explore in our project. We all seem to agree on taking on an indie style short film that will most likely end up being a drama. We also agree on exploring a variety of themes that range from subtle to dramatic. In the coming days we will slowly come together and create a rough idea for a story that we can all agree on.

CCR

Here it is, my creative critical reflection for my film opening project:

Film Opening

The opening is finally complete for our film "The Runaway," a teen drama about a stressed out teen that runs away from his school and family problems. Enjoy:

Reflection

Now that the project is finally done, I can now look back and see all the work my group and I have put in for the past couple weeks. Even though we changed the story multiple times due to complications, especially due to the coronavirus, we were still able to complete the project. I think we managed to create a quality project, despite the circumstances, and make an opening that uses good technique and creates an interesting story.

Although I wish we could've still used our original story, it would've been pretty hard even without the quarantine. At first when we started this project we had a lot of great ideas and decided on the story of an actor struggling with addiction. The story had many details and was extensively thought out, but due to our current situation, it didn't work out. After deciding that we would have to change the story we struggled to find something that would be reasonable, but we eventually landed on the story we used in the opening.

Filming of the project was a challenge since we had to do our parts separately in our homes, but since we changed the story it was much easier since the setting was now in a house. Filming took a couple of days, because of the weather and some lighting issues, but I eventually got all the shots done. The editing was soon done by Ryan who did a great job at putting together all the clips and audio. Overall, I think we succeeded in completing the project while still making it interesting and well made.

Filming Update

I have finally begun filming today and got a good portion of my part done, before realizing that the lighting outside was pretty bad due to how cloudy it was. Although it wasn't too bad, I had to postpone the rest of the filming since some parts will take place outside. Some parts of the window scene may also need to be refilmed since most of the lighting comes directly from the outside and the clouds made the lighting very cool colored. The hue of the lighting doesn't go very well with the feeling I'm trying to achieve since the opening has a very upbeat and fast-paced feel to it that would benefit much more with a brighter and more neutral hue to a warm hue. The hue could also be corrected while editing as we will be color correcting almost all the shots to make some of the shots look more visually appealing as well as connect Ryan's footage with mine.

warm (right) vs. cool lighting (left)

Last Steps

Since I will be filming a majority of the opening, Ryan created a quick storyboard to outline the story and some of the shots. From this I can film easier with a clear guide that gives me an idea of what I should be doing. I can also build off the storyboard to add more shots and alter some of the shots. Most of the nature shots will be filmed by Ryan, while the indoor scenes will be filmed by me. With all the planning complete I can move on to filming with the storyboard as an outline.

In preparation for filming, I had to rearrange some parts of my room to better fit some of the shots that we planned in the storyboard, specifically the section with the window, leaving my room pretty messy. Hopefully I can pull off a clean yet deliberately artistic look with the props I have laying around my house. One issue I may face is lighting, since I will probably have to rely on daylight and my single room light, which happens to be a pretty warm colored light, but will hopefully balance out with the daylight and provide good lighting.