Sunday Stress

   Hi, blog, sadly I have been unable to watch the film Booksmart directed by Olivia Wilde as it is not on any of the streaming services I own. For some reason, I thought it was on HBO Max, but it is not.

  I just finished taking a practice SAT test so my brain is mush. 

Script:

  I have not made any progress on my script. I do however know that whenever I work on this week I will be blogging. Currently, I am taking the AICE Lang A level class, and in this class, we have focused deeply on the usage of the language as you grow up. Within this study, we have focused on how social media and the media, in general, have impacted today's youth. My main character is sixteen years old and is part of Generation Z so she is experienced with social media and due to this has specific language characteristics associated with her such as her usage of popular slang. I myself use a lot of teen slang as you may have noticed that one of my recent blog posts was titled "tea" For those of you who do not know that type of tea is not drinking tea. It means more gossip and the spread of usually exciting/confidential news.

Moving Foward:

  I need to write my script! This will be done this week

  After my script is complete I may complete an online storyboard

  I will also be developing my character's backstory this week, as I believe I will find that to be fun and calming after the stressful start of my week.

Side Note:

  Starting Wednesday night my first SAT will be done and I will have more time to focus on my short film! For now, my brain is full of SAT stress. Wish me luck!

Stressful Week

  Hello blog, this week I have my first SAT so I have been focused on studying for this important exam. This means I have not made much progress on my untitled short film.

Script:

  I may stay up late tonight and watch Booksmart to hear how it was written. I know that I want my short feel to feel very natural and unscripted, but I will still be creating a script. I am still determining how much I will have my cast follow the script, I would like to allow the cast to express their beliefs on if the lines sound like something they would use in their everyday speech. 

Outline of Script

  You may remember in previous blogs I have mentioned that there are two versions of the proposed ending for my short film. Ending two continues where ending one ends. Due to this, I plan to film the entire thing as in ending one is the middle of the film and ending two is the actual end. Then whilst editing I will create the film with the ending one and see how long that is. If it is not long enough I will continue on with the ending two portion.

Casting:

 I have still been unable to convince my friend to be the lead. I will ask again this week and if she does not want to do it I will find someone else.

Location:

  I will be filming in my own room. My room is the place I spread most of my time and I believe it expresses who I am. I am building my lead character sort of based on myself. 

Date of Filming:

  That is to be determined. Originally I would have liked to film the weekend of the eleventh. But, I will be taking my second SAT test on this date. I believe filming will take place the weekend of March 18th. I will have to make sure this works with my future to-be-determined cast.

Moving Foward:

  I may watch Booksmart tonight, if so be prepared to see an early morning (maybe 1am?) blog posting!

  I need to find my lead character. This is my biggest worry currently.

  I need to continue with my script.

  Once I have my lead I will be working with them on costuming. Props wise I already own the props I need, but I will make and share a set list of the items at a later date.

A Comedic Coming of Age Short Film

  Hey blog, I ended up completing a bunch of AP United States history homework yesterday so that I could focus on studying for my upcoming SATs throughout the weekend and also still have time to blog this weekend. Therefore the research blog is being shared with you all today rather than yesterday.

Coming of Age Genre:

  Last year my film was a psychological thriller. This year I decided I wanted to challenge myself by doing something with a more positive tone. I have decided to do a Comedic Coming of Age film.

What makes a film a Coming of Age film?

How will my film align with this genre:

  The audience will see the protagonist preparing for the SAT which is an important exam to get into college. This supports the aspect of coming-of-age films showing crucial portions of a person's life. 

  My protagonist will be a seventeen-year-old who is just about to enter adulthood

  My short film will feature some sort of crush, but not directly 

  

Side Note:

  I am leaning towards only having one character shown in the film. There will be other characters heard though. 

  

How will my film also align with the Comedy genre?

  Comedies often feature over exaggeration of events. The process of getting ready to go to school will be overexaggerated in my film as the character wants to look her very best for school.

  Comedies typically have a happy ending. My comedy will have a happy ending no matter which end I end up going with since either the girl made it to the SAT or the girl has the SAT the following morning and likely ends up making it. 

Target Audience:

  The target audience for my film is teenagers around the age of twelve to eighteen.

Source:

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-coming-of-age-movie-definition/

Citation: 

Kench, Sam, et al. “Coming of Age Movies Explained - Examples and Characteristics.” StudioBinder, 5 Dec. 2022, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-coming-of-age-movie-definition/. 

Moving Foward:

  I am hoping to watch the comedic coming-of-age Booksmart directed by Olivia Wilde this weekend to be inspired.

  I will further develop my plot this weekend and come up with a rough draft of my script.

  I may create an online storyboard since I lack the artistic ability to draw one.

  I need to find my lead. I have been attempting to convince my friend Paola who helped with my film opener creation last year, but she has been having a busy year so I made need to continue looking.

New Plan

  Hey blog, I have a new plan!

Plot:

  A girl is studying late for the SAT which is taking place the following morning. She falls asleep whilst studying and wakes up at her desk in a state of panic since an alarm on her phone has gone off and she assumes this means she is late for her SAT. This alarm was likely set since she was taking a practice SAT test and was making sure she finished each section on time. The girl frantically gets ready and walks outside to go to her car and leave but realizes it is still dark out and that the sun is not rising as it should be. 

Ending Option One: 

  She runs back inside to her parent's room and awakens them and they inform her that it is still nighttime and that she must have fallen asleep for a few moments.  The girl is in disbelief but checks her computer which has the SAT practice screen still up with a message stating she has run out of time. The girl decides to go back to bed. 

Ending Option Two:

  When she walks outside she makes some sort of funny remark such as "Oh no, not again!" as if this is an occurrence that has happened in the past. 

Issues:

  This idea needs more detailed development. I fear this may not fit the short film format as it seems more like a film opener? I am not sure it would fill the full five minutes. Is this too boring?

Moving Foward:

  I need to research short films and figure out which genre this film is. I believe it is a comedic coming of age.

  I need to develop my script and shot list along with how long each aspect should be.

  I need to find my cast

Bye for now blog, tomorrow will be a day full of research!

Cinderella?

  Hey blog, as I planned out my proposed short film I have come to the conclusion that it is basically Cinderella plus added confusion. 

Plot:

A girl (let's call her Ainsley) collides with another girl (let's call her Nora). Something gets dropped as Nora says "Sorry" and continues walking. Ainsley picks the dropped item up and sees it is the girl's id but the photograph on it is warn and not exactly visible. Ainsley looks around and tries to find Nora, but Nora has disappeared. This portion will take place in a busy area. Ainsley pulls out her phone and tries to find Nora on social media, but it seems the girl does not have any social platforms/ Ainsley searches around for Nora, but only finds look-alikes so she goes home. At home, Ainsley draws what she remembers Nora to look like and looks her up on the internet, but it seems as if Ainsley does not exist. The next day Ainsley goes back to where Ainsley dropped her id and asks if anyone has seen Nora, but she continues to only find lookalikes.

The Ending:

This may change. Ainsley finds Nora but when she goes to give her back the ID it appears that the name and now visible face on the id has changed to be Ainsley and that "Nora" does not exist as the girl Ainsley believed to have dropped her id is someone else (let's call her Rylee)

Overall + Thoughts:

  The idea of this short film comes from the idea that sometimes when you see a person you never had before you make up a whole persona as to who they are. In this case, Ainsley gets too invested in this as it was really her own id that was dropped.

   So clearly, today was a wasted day and I need to rethink and come up with a brand new short film idea.

Tea

   Hey blog,

 Today is a short post and I just wanted to update you all that I have decided to create the short film I mentioned in the last blog post. I spent today realizing I was never going to reach out to the people I needed to if I was going to do the documentary excerpt or music video, so short film it is.

  Tomorrow's blog will be a lengthy post as there is a lot of planning to do!

  

Unrelated:

  I watched the new Ant-Man today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Prior to the watch I read a few negative reviews and saw lots of people compare it to Thor Love and Thunder which I was not a huge fan of so I was somewhat concerned going into the film. However, this experience just retaught me that not everyone is going to like the same films and this is something I will for sure be taking into consideration when creating my short film. I want to create something which I am proud of even if that means it is not everyone's cup of tea, but hopefully it is everyone's cup of tea. 

Think Brain Think

  Hey blog, I took the day to plan and have come up with three ideas that are nowhere closely to related to each other. I will now give a small summary of each with the pros and cons. 

Option 1:

  Short Film

  Genre: Psychological Thriller

  A girl drops her id and another girl sees this happen from afar. The viewing girl grabs the id hoping to return it to the girl who drooped it, but that girl has now disappeared. Will girl two ever find girl one?

Pros:

- I am decently experienced in creating a psychological thriller film as this is what I did for my AS project

- My friend Paola who helped with my AS film said she had an interest in being in this film

- Filming locations could be anywhere

- Easy costuming/props

Cons:

- Will require a larger cast than I may be able to find

- Would this be too long of a story to fit into a short film?

Option 2:

  Documentary

  Genre: Sports

 

  An episodic documentary covering women in sports focuses less on the difficulty of it and more on how these women are impacting society.

Pros:

- This would interest me to film as it is something I am passionate about

- I know women involved in the sports industry

Cons:

- Would the people I know be interested in partaking in this documentary?

- I saw a previous AICE Media Student had a project covering women in sports, would mine be too repetitive?

- Filming locations may be difficult as I am unsure if I could film at school games

Option 3:

  Music Video

  Genre: Promotional/Story Telling

Pros:

- I would enjoy making a music video as I love music

- I know someone who creates her own original music

- Filming locations would be accessible 

- Costuming/props would be basic

- Creative ideas for lightning

Cons:

- Would the person I know have any interest in being a part of this?

Overall:

  It is clear that these ideas are all underdeveloped and all share the common con that I am really bad at reaching out to people to be involved in my creations. I posted something on my social media story that did not directly ask my musically inclined friend to have her as my artist if I did the music video, but I think it got the point across. I will be waiting to see if she replies to this and if she does not I may reach out to her and see if she has any interest. If she does not, which is my assumption, I can easily cross the music video idea off of my plans. Then I may reach out to one of my athletic friends and see if they would have any interest in being part of the documentary. If both people say no then I believe the short film will be the way I am heading. 

Wish me luck, 

I will update you all tomorrow

Lost Focus

  Hey blog, I have some news.

  I have decided to do my project alone as I believe working with someone else may be too complex during this time of mental difficulty. I have no set plans yet and that is an issue as my time is ticking away. For example, I just spent a half hour staring at this blog post questioning what to write. Nothing is clicking like it did for me with my AS project. Also as I was staring at my computer I was hit by the fact that I am so stuck on seeing what is happening in other people's lives that I can never stop and focus on my own. Maybe this is an idea I could develop on? 

Apologies for the lack of updates and the lack of creativity flowing through my brain. Tomorrow I will try and have a brainstorming hour and develop some sort of clear plan and then will share that here.

Project Timeline

 Hey blog, I feel as if I am already behind on this project. Lately, my brain has just been a cluster of thoughts and I have been unable to come up with a clear plan. Below is my proposed project timeline which will hopefully get me focused and on track.

Week One:

- choose if I am working alone or with a group

- choose which option I am doing (doc, short film, trailers, music video)

- post to the blog

Week Two:

- choose the genre of the film

- research similar films

- develop overall plot

-post to the blog

Week Three:

- develop a script

- create a shot list/storyboard

- post to the blog

Week Four:

- find props/filming location/cast

- create a film schedule 

- post to the blog

- create social media 

Week Five:

- film project

- begin to edit the project

- document production process

- post to social media

- post to the blog

Week Six:

-create postcard advertisement 

- continue to edit a short film

- post to social media

- post to the blog

- receive feedback

Week Seven:

- make changes based on feedback

- finalize social media and postcard advertisement

- post to the blog

- post to social media

Week Eight:

- receive feedback

 - research Critical Reflection

- post to the blog

- post to social media

Week Nine:

- finalize all aspects

- create Critical Reflection

- post to the blog

- post to social media

Week Ten:

- post all project components to the blog

News:

  I have decided to work with my friend Brooke on this project. I am hoping the two brains focusing on the same tasks will benefit our project! We both agree that we will likely do a short film or documentary

  Topics:

  Last year when brainstorming for a film theme I typed them up into a notes document. I still have this document so I decided to add to it with a few new ideas. 

  If we decided to do a documentary I am leaning towards doing it on women in sports. If we do a short film I am leaning towards doing my AS level idea which is related to seeing someone and trying to see them again, but failing. 

 Wish me luck as I continue my planning stage!

Finding Purpose

Hello, again blog, 

 

    It is that time of year when I have begun thinking about what I will be doing for my AICE Media Studies A-level Portfolio Project! 

    This year, unlike last year at this time, I have been dealing with some mental health challenges and am really hoping I will find an interest in my project that will help me overcome this For the A-level project I can either choose to do a music component, a documentary component, a film promotion component, or a short film component. 

    I am leaning towards either doing the short film or the documentary option. In an ideal scenario, I would do the music component, but I believe this will not be possible as I do not know any artist/band I could work with. I am excited about this opportunity to create a project specifically since a portion of whatever component I choose has me creating a social media page. I believe social media marketing may be what I pursue as my future career so this will benefit me. 

    Tomorrow I will spend finalizing which opinion I will be completing and then will begin to dive into the specifics. 

    Here's to finding a purpose through the film!