A Different Order Than Usual...

When I usually produce short films, I often find myself moving through the process like this:

Researching.

Filming.

Editing.

SCRAMBLINGFORMUSICFORFIVEHOURS

Editing.

Exporting.

It's a fun process and all, but the whole "SCRAMBLINGFORMUSICFORFIVEHOURS" part just... isn't for me anymore. For my film this time, I'm going to take some inspiration from... *sigh.* Musicals.

With musical dramas (typical dramas also do this, but musicals are more likely to), there are usually songs in mind for certain scenes that the ENTIRE FILM IS BASED AROUND. Think about the film "Bohemian Rhapsody." They didn't just decide "hey Rami, can you sing Bohemian Rhapsody for us in front of this huge crowd? It took us a while to make this decision, but we really think that song will just hit for this part."

NO! They had this song in mind before production even started. It's literally the title.

So, to have a more fluid drama, I will try filming and editing around my music for a change. Here is a list of songs that I wish to use (some will have to be cut, obviously):

MUSIC LIST

1. LOVERS ROCK - TV GIRL: This song is exactly the mood that I wish to portray with my piece. It is mostly solemn, but has a blend of highs and lows. The tone is overall depressing, but has some oddly sweet sounding lines, such as "but if you're too drunk to drive, and the music is right, she might let you stay, but just for the night."

2. PIGEON - CAVETOWN: This song has a lot of high frequencies that can blend in with those of the first song, which can allow for song switches that aren't too drastic, but do change the tone. I view "Pigeon" as the main character's theme, with the main line being "Circling around the kitchen, why has nothing changed?" Overall, this tone is significantly sadder, and can be played in the background of intimate moments. I plan on finding an instrumental version of this song or creating my own with my piano this week that can play behind dialogue scenes.

(UPDATE: 3/15)

Today in class, we had group meetings, in which I was able to discuss some of my music choices with some other creators. They really liked the idea of having those higher-pitched "droning" sounds incorporated throughout the piece, and they offered some suggestions that I really like! Here are some of them:

3. SWEET DREAM - ALESSIA CARA: Recommended by Maria Peacock! This song is full of energy, heavily contrasting the sadder, slower tones of the other works within my film. It has that nice high-pitched noise I needed and many drums in the background, so I think this will work perfectly for the party scene! The lyrics also match PERFECTLY with some symbolism I'm incorporating in my film, but I'll make a separate post about that!

4. DARK RED - STEVE LACY: Recommended by Sophia Ferraro! This song is absolutely- pardon my French- SEXY. The voice has a mysterious tone to it, and the guitar part is high-pitched. This could also work great for a party scene.

 REDACTED

When discussing my characters, I have avoided talking about one big part of my short film: a character by the name "redacted."

Supposed to represent the trauma the main character experienced, redacted is never named or shown throughout the piece. Each time he is shown, I only wish to show him from behind, the side, or simply any part of him that is not his face.

Why? 

Well, quit asking me questions. This is my project, my decision.

Ok, but seriously, let's talk about it.

"THE FACELESS"

When doing research on characters that go unseen, I came across an article from Wikipedia that read:

"The use of an unseen character take[s] advantage of one of the simplest but most powerful theatrical devices: the manner in which verbal references can make an offstage character extraordinarily real [...] to an audience,..."

What exactly does this have to do with my story?

Well, "Under Construction" aims to describe the various emotions that come from recovering from trauma. This is something that everyone will experience to some degree at some point in their life, and, in order to make this more relatable, I feel as if it's important to avoid giving the main character's trauma a face. This can make it easier for the audience to see redacted as more of a symbol rather than an actual character within the piece.

Not showing redacted's face also represents how memories can fade, but still leave a lasting impact on someone. Whether the audience chooses to believe that the main character is attempting to forget him or actually did forget what he looks like, both of these ideas portray that the trauma still sticks, even when the trauma is faceless. 

Some Updates

 Some Updates

Hi guys! I just wanted to share a few updates.

Update 1: After speaking to Virginia and Maya, I am glad to say that they will be the main actresses of my short film! I am excited to see how they work together to help tell this story, and we will begin filming this week.

Update 2: I have finalized a location for the main therapist scene. I will be using my own living room, as there is a more secluded/closed couch, and an open couch on the other end. If you read my last blog, you know that I wish to use tighter shots to represent the reserved, tense nature of the main character, and wider shots to portray the openness of the therapist.

Update 3: I have figured out a title for my piece! Given that there are some repeated shots with yellow tape in my film, I decided to play upon this idea for the title. Originally, I was thinking of "Do Not Cross" to match the police tape that will be used during an intense flashback. However, I felt as if this does not truly portray what my film is about, which is recovery and learning to cope healthily. I have decided on "Under Construction," and I even have a new idea for a scene. When the therapist speaks with the main character about recovery, the yellow tape covering the main character will once again appear over her voice, but this time reading "Under Construction," rather than "Do Not Cross." This will represent how she is allowing others to help her through this difficult time rather than shutting herself out.

Cinematography

This past year, I have had the amazing opportunity to purchase my own camera and explore my interest in cinematography. In my previous projects, I was very limited regarding equipment- not because I didn't have access, but because I was too afraid of failure. Last year, I was limited to a camera, tripod, and microphone, and if you've read my "Gathering Equipment" blog, you would know that I have far more to work with this time around. 

With equipment I am comfortable with, I plan on utilizing techniques that have given me inspiration, and ones that will especially test my own skills as a cinematographer. 

"Making the Camera A Character"

The biggest thing I would like to do with my film this time around is to incorporate the camera as a "character." Life is constantly moving, and in scenes where the character is in situations that present this, I wish to use as much camera movement as possible to portray this idea. For example, in "flashback" scenes, the camera will flow between scenes or just simply zoom in/out slowly. The point is, NEVER STOP MOVEMENT. This will directly contrast the scene with the therapist, where there will be many hard cuts between shots.

Tight vs "Open" Shots

Another idea I have is to alternate between more tight and open shots, especially in the recurring scene with the therapist. A wider shot will be used during moments of openness and trust, whereas tighter shots will portray the main character and her reserved nature.

Location Scouting & Set Design

As I am almost done with my script, I have started thinking about the sets I have in mind and how I will match them to what I've got going on in my head. Luckily, I planned my script around my limitations, so it shouldn't be too difficult to achieve the looks I want.

The first set, that will be revisited the most throughout the piece, is the therapists office. This might sound weird but I'm taking a lot of inspiration from my own therapist's office: many paintings up, a nice, cozy couch, blankets and pillows, and an armchair for her to sit on. And... luckily for me, I have all of these things in my house. All I would have to do is make sure that characters are not shown in areas that are obviously a house. I could use many closeups or utilize a more shallow depth of field to prevent the audience seeing too much of the background. I will say, though, that my house feels far too modern for my therapist's aesthetic, so I will ask around to see if I could film at a friend's house instead.

Here's what I'm imagining the set to look like:

Another scene will take place in a party. I've done many, many party scenes before because honestly, I am obsessed with the colors. I have some disco lights, though they're not very powerful, BUT... I've got some great news. My birthday was yesterday and my friend Maria gifted me this awesome little astronaut projector (as seen on the right). Not only is he really cute, but he projects moving nebulas across walls, and they're very bright. I use the projector to fall asleep, and now I can use it to add some needed color to my film! Here are some photos of the projector at work:

The party scene, like the others I've filmed, will take place at my house. I don't want to have to ask for many background actors, so I'll ask 2-3 friends and have them face away from the camera in every shot and change shirts to create the illusion that there are more people. I will also have to use some tighter shots to make this convincing.

Another set of scenes was actually inspired by the location I will be filming at: my neighborhood park. One of these scene is what inspired my entire film, and I believe it deserves its own blog post, so I will post more details about that next week. Location wise, it's alright to film there, and I have filmed there before. It is usually completely empty, especially near the trees where I'd like to shoot.

I'm glad I chose this park, as these scenes are the most important to my piece. They are the look into the protagonist's mind, and portray how they feel about themselves. That's why a private, quiet location is best.

 Final Preparations

Now that I'm almost done with my script and have an idea of what I'm doing, I'm able to make the final preparations. 

I have chosen my strongest actors to play my two main characters, the protagonist and the therapist. For the protagonist, I will be working with my friend Virginia. We have worked and acted together in the past, and she is someone who also sees the importance of minor details in acting, like body language. She is also fond with camerawork so she will be much easier to work with, as she too understands the struggle of getting that perfect shot. 

For the therapist, I have chosen my friend Maya. I briefly spoke to her about acting as this role, and she seemed interested, so hopefully she still is (fingers crossed!). Honestly, a lot of therapist was based around Maya's personality as she is someone I've gotten closer to this year, so it feels only right that she plays this character. She has acted for me in the past, and she, just like Virginia, is great. I've made her say some ridiculously melodramatic things on camera, and she's been able to get right into character, and quick. This will definitely make filming go much faster.

I plan on renting equipment from BECON TV next week to begin shooting the first scenes. I'm also starting an IndieGogo fundraiser for my film, just to cover some expenses like props, because, if you remember from last year's blog, I'm a broke teenager.

Here's one of the props I bought:

Since the film takes place in modern day, finding costumes that fit the color and aesthetic of each character shouldn't be too difficult, but I'm going to let the current cast know to begin searching their closets. I'll be sure to send them the moodboards I made.

Character Moodboards

Okay, I know, I know, I'm doing a lot of blog posts about characters. But this is a drama, and character depth is the most important part of drama, so... I'm not sorry. We'll get into production next week, and you'll hear about those sweet, sweet camera angles then.

I decided to have a little bit of fun today and create some moodboards for my characters. I hope that some of their opposing aesthetics help reinforce the idea of contrasting personality traits.