Mise-en-scene elements

    Hello blog! It is nice to see you again this week. I have done my needed research in order to create my mise-en-scene elements for this project, and I am extremely excited to share. Before anything is shared, I want to take you through my process of developing the right elements in order to create the best possible scene.

    This video by StudioBinder helped me out a lo in the process of choosing what mise-en-scene elements I need for my project. this video went into depth and also stated all the different elements that should be considered while developing the mise-en-scene. Some of the examples in this video used by directors showed me a wide view of the many different options and possibilities that I have while developing these elements.   This video made me realize that mise-en-scene has to be included in every single shot that is made during filming. This means that I will have to do some more research on lighting, sound, and possibly more research on props.

    Moving on to my project, I am planning to have fake jewelers and money as the main props due to the presence of burglars. The use of jewelry, gold, and money will help the audience understand what the thieves are interested in stealing. As I mentioned in a past post, I am planning to use two different lightings for the two different settings I will be filming in. The lighting will be a key role in emphasizing the tone of both sceneries as well as the importance of one scene to the other scene. The mise-en-scene for the characters while they are on the run won't be too complex. The characters will be wearing all black for stealth, and carrying backpacks to carry what they are stealing.

    All in all, this was a major step in the right direction to make this project the best. We are coming to an end of the research phase and we will soon start filming blog! However, we still need a few more things before we start the magic, but anyways, until next time!   

Project schedule pt. 2

    Hello blog! According to our schedule at the beginning of this project, we should've finished all of our planning components and started filming the opening scene. This extra week of planning did move our planned schedule back but I believe that it was needed for the project.

    Our priorities next week will be to finish the script of the production so we can finalize the planning phase with the shot list and story board. Finishing these upcoming tasks will take some work but we will use all the time that we have next week to finish in order to begin filming.

    As this post is coming to an end, I wanted to take the time and address the topic of the next upcoming blog post on mise-en-scene elements. The final tweaks to the mise-en-scene elements will perfect the story line that we have laid out and will give the production the spices it needs. Lastly, it was great to keep in touch with you blog. Until next time!

Location scouting

     Hello blog! Today's blog post will be about where we will be filming our production. I have been thinking about all the places that could possibly fit the mood for the feeling of the production and I think we have finally found it.

    

    This video helped me out a lot as it gave me the format that I should use for a checklist while I am looking for a location. After researching the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), I have noticed that most action and confrontation scenes take place in a night environment with dark toned lighting. After the tips I received from the group meeting in class, I have decided to follow up with the heavy influence that the color will have on the production. After taking all of the options that we had in mind, I believe that we have finally made a decision on where we would like to film.

    Our final location will take place outside a the AMC movie theater in the plaza that it is located. That plaza has little lighting, cramped spaces, and a cool alley way that I think can be a useful component for our production. I plan to get most of our filming done there since the majority of the shots will take place at that location. The rest of the shots will be a happy memory of the couple so it will have to take place in a place with ambient lighting and vibrant colors. For the memory scene I was planning on shooting the scene at a beach. The beach juxtaposes the dark plaza and will most likely create the delightful tone that we are looking for.

    To wrap up this post, I am looking forward to start developing the story board and shot list of the production. Every post we keep getting closer and closer to filming and I can't wait. Anyways, it was amazing to talk to you again blog. Until next time! 

Group meeting

     Hello blog! In today's class, I had a meeting with a group of my classmates about our progress in our projects so far. This was definitely helpful in order to move in the successful path on our next objective. 

    I was impressed by the work and dedication Victoria and her partner have put into the project so far. I learned a lot from her project and will for sure consider some of the approaches that she is using to establish context and show the credits. She is interested in inserting a montage of clips to establish content which may fit into me and Anabelle's idea of establishing context throughout out opening scene. We also began to consider the idea of starting a part of the movie after the credits and the title is shown in order to not show the title of the movie as the last shot of the production.

    In addition, I felt extremely comfortable explaining my project to my group while I received some of the best feedback and guidance that I have been waiting to hear. As I pitched my idea of a runaway couple fleeing the police, my classmates were hooked on to my Idea but they noticed that it lacked depth. I told them about my ideas of what I was thinking to add to make the opening scene more interesting and they helped me shape it into a better form. My aim was to show a contrast in tones through out the chase scene to show a sense of a regretful tone while they are being chased by the cops. The idea that I ended up going with was showing a comforting memory of the couple in a place where they would rather be while they are being chased by the cops. Lastly, another good tip i received from another one of my classmates was to use a police siren as a sound bridge as I switch between real time and the memory of the robbers.

    As I come to end with this post, I just wanted to say that this group meeting was something I needed for my project and I also had some fun giving advice to some of my classmates. Anyways, I will see you soon blog. Until next time!

How will I develop my script?

    Good evening blog! Today's post I will talk about how my script will be written and what we have came up with so far.

    I have never scripted a movie scene in my life and creative writing has never been one of my academic strengths in my school career. I was extremely confused on how and where to start so I obviously hit up YouTube for some advice. This video did an immense amount of help in teaching me the beginner tips on scripting. It also helped me think of what scenes and what type of dialogue will be used during my opening scene.

     This video helped me brainstorm ideas for the production while also adding a conflict to my story. A possibility for the storyline may be a police chase which will use majority off camera (O.C.) and off screen (O.S.) dialogue. This technique of dialogue will turn the focus of the film to be the runaway thief who is on camera. I am hoping that the use of this technique will enhance the emotions and the visual sensations of the character who is being shown on camera. The scene that I have developed in my head so far involves an outside setting and a lot of camera tracking since it is a chase scene.

    Well blog that will be it for today. Thank you for your attention and I will see you later this week!

    

 

Developing our storyline

    Hellooooo! I am excited to be starting one of the most important stages of my project which is the planning stage. During this post I will discussing the storyline that me and Anabelle are most likely going to use.

    Due to our action genre, we have to create an attention grabbing story that will guarantee that the audience will be interested in our production. I found an article that helped us enrich the most out of our genre and have a large connection with our character and context approaches. We ran into many dead ends throughout our brainstorming process but we the article helped us think through and get our final decision. Our final decision will be based on a romantic runaway thieves who are currently being chased by the police. 

https://raindance.org/how-to-write-a-story-for-film/

    I did some research on movies that I was recommended on and decided to take a deeper look into these productions. One of the productions was Ghosted (2023) starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. This film involves the same mashup that we were looking for and it also gave us great ideas to use on our film. Some of the scenes will be extremely hard for us to attempt them but we will avoid any scenes with massive special effects that we can not add to our shots. I was entertained by the intensity of the gunfight scenes and I will definitely try to get some techniques from the chasing scenes.

    The other movie I think is easier to base of off because it has less editing difficulties and is based more on camera movement. The second movie is Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)  starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The chase scenes in this movie seemed a lot simpler and were fully done using camera movement techniques. The movie used a series of fast pans and also many tracking shots that follow the overall motion of the scene. However, the gunfight action looks simpler in this movie and I don't think I will be using much of it through out my opening scene.

    That was it for today's post. Thank you for your attention blog. Until next time!

Introducing context

    Hello blog! I have great news to begin this post with and I am stunned to announce that me and my partner Anabelle are advancing with the action movie approach.

    We are aware that this will be a rough path but we are willing to do the extra work to make this project the highlight of my Junior year. We will pair the action movie genre with a technique using context and character development. Previously on my blog, I was planning on developing tone instead of establishing the context, but after a lengthy talk with my partner, we agreed to move on with building up the context from the beginning. After reviewing the videos and articles that we included on previous posts, we reflected that developing the tone will not draw our audience to the production. Context is what sets up the film and is what the audience wants at the start of the movie, to be entertained from start to finish. 

    We have been having some trouble on applying these techniques to a storyline that will fit in well with the two approaches. we have developed one idea but we are not sure if this will be our final decision for the production. Me and my partner where brainstorming a film including two lovers who are runaway thieves searching to be out of the police's sight. By showing an intense situation at the start of the movie, the audience will have enough information to know the base of the film and start filling up the puzzle of how the characters will be all throughout the movie. 

    Moreover, we are extremely excited to be making progress and to be reflecting on our previous ideas to take advantage of every opportunity that is given to us. However, we have a ton of planning ahead of us these next few days and we will use it to keep advancing through this journey. That was it for today blog, catch you guys later!