Title Decided!

This is a very exciting moment for me. I have finally decided what title I will be using for this opening film. 

I honestly feel like titles are extremely important, they can determine whether a person decides to watch a film or not. For example, if a film has a title that doesn't give it all away and makes you wonder as the audience what the plot really is about people may be more attracted to it. Because of that I have decided to use Vice Versa as my title. The Call and Runaway were way too straight forward, they gave away a large part of the story. Not only that but they are the typical titles that are basic and you feel like you have heard those names about a thousand times. I didn't end up liking them that much. The other option that I had was The One That Got Away which I actually liked a lot but I feel like a catchier and easier name would be more effective and will be more eye catching  to my target audience. I crossed all of those out and I ended up loving Vice Versa. At first I didn't like it that much but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to choose that one. 

Vice Versa fits the story perfectly without giving it away. Vice Versa is used when talking about to opposite things, in this case the life of the two girls on the film opening (should I give them names?). The girl that is shown in the opening film is clearly going through something that is not so good. She is crying out for help, the way she is acting shows her desperation and stress to get out of the situation she is in and fast. On the other hand, the other girl is calmly taking her day off to go shopping just because, grabbing everything and anything she likes. When you see her you get the feeling that she is always happy in her own world, dealing with normal problems just like anyone else. As she finds that note in the pocket of the coat those two worlds collide and their worlds and reversed. The normal girl is faced with a problem that she has never had to face and the desperate girl is faced with hope. 

XOXO

-Corina

Storyboard

I finally did my storyboard!
I felt a lot better to visualize all of the ideas I have in mind. I decided to end up drawing my storyboard instead of the website that was recommended to me but I feel like they both would've worked out perfectly fine. Not only did I draw the opening film myself BUT in the caption spaces that were below each square I wrote down how I am planning on shooting every part. By this I mean that I wrote different shot and angle options that I will use throughout the film.

Here they are :)

Group Critiques

Hellooooooo!!
Today in class we did group critiques and it was sooo effective. I felt as if all my doubts were talked about and worked through with the help of 4 of my peers. I told them all the problems I have been having such as finding a location, choosing a title, choosing a font for that title, finding new music and they just gave me tips on how to improve my project overall.

First of all, they recommended a website where I can do my storyboard which I am planning on doing this week. Also the helped me clear up some things such as the title, between the call, runaway and vice versa. I think Vice Versa is going to end up winning but I will sleep on it and then see what I like the best. I also told them about my dilemma on going to all the different boutiques and they told me that I should call them instead of wasting my gas and a whole day on doing that, which is actually pretty smart. I also asked them about the font and we all agreed that I should choose a title, film my video and when I am editing I can see which one fits the story best depending on the outcome of it. I also told them that I need to make a decision on what music I should use, so we asked my teacher where we can find more copyright free music and she told us that on her Pinterest page there is a lot sooo I am going to take a look at that when I am editing. Lastly, I asked them if the first scene, in which the mystery girl is anxiously trying to find a paper to write a note and find a place to hide it, should have music or not. They ended up agreeing with me in leaving the sounds and the music of the store playing at the time and on top of that add panting and low heartbeat sounds to intensify the scene.

Putting us in groups to discuss everything was a really big stress relief. I didn't only feel better with the advice they gave me but I felt good about helping the others improve their film opening and making them feel the same feeling of stress relief. I hope we got to do this again soon, I really really enjoyed it.

XOXO
-Corina

What else should I do?

Not only do I have to choose what title and what setting I want BUT another crucial decision I have to make is the sound and the fonts of the title. 

These are the titles I have liked, however I feel like I need to make up my mind on what title I want so that I can see how the name would look in these fonts, if I make a decision now it won't be as accurate. When I do choose a title I need to see which font fits the name and the plot better and which one the target audience would like the most.

Another decision I have to make is what sounds I would like to use throughout the two minutes of my film opening. For the beginning scene, in which the mysterious girl is writing down something as fast as possible and roaming through the clothes to hide it, stressed out and scared, I have to decide what I want to do. My decisions are to just put a heartbeat sound and breathing noises coming from her to reinforce how she's feeling at that moment or include a song along with that to add suspense. I think I am going to like better the breathing and heartbeat sounds that suddenly stop as the title shows up on the screen and the following scene of the other girl in the store shows up. For this next scene I wanted to changed the tone and add some upbeat, "cool" music as the girl comes in the store and starts to try on clothes. I don't have a specific song that I would really like to play for this scene so I was looking for copyright free music that I could use:

Music:
All of these copyright free songs come from Bensound.com

Under the groovy and the pop sections:

-Easy

-This Is Your Time

-Spinning Collins

-Creative Minds

-Go Get It *

-Punky *

-Can You Feel It *

* means that those were the ones I liked the most

The song that I choose will slowly fade and the girl finds the note in her pocket, gives it a confused look and the scene ends.

What should I do?

Alright, now that I've settled down what story I want to do and have a clear vision of how everything will look, I need to decide other things. First of all, I need to decide the title of my filmo opening. I feel like the title of a film is very crucial, it is able to catch the attention of the audience with just the name. Here are the ideas I have come up with, I am open to other ideas it doesn't have to be these:

The Call- I chose this name because the note that is found on the quote has a phone number in it so later in the film there would've probably been a call involved. This name is short and to the point.

The One That Got Away- This name is a little bit longer and the audience would've had to watch the rest of the film to understand. In the film, the girl that seemed in a hurry and in trouble could possibly be a part of something horrible (maybe something like human trafficking?) and is the one trying to get away by doing things such as leaving that note for anyone to find and hopefully help her.

Vice Versa- This name was a suggestion from a friend. I don't feel like I understand this one as much as the others because I did not make it up. Vice versa means the other way around, therefore it could be seen in two ways. One could be the comparison between the life of the first girl who seems to be crying for help, while the other one is happily shopping because she felt like it and came across the note. The other way to see it is that the movie will be based off in trying to turn the situation "the other way around" for the first girl.

Runaway - This name was the one I had for the other film opening idea but I noticed that it fits well with this plot too. I liked this name a lot ever since I came up with it for the other one. It would fit with this opening too because the first girl is clearly trying to runaway from something: someone, a situation, a lifestyle.

Another decision I have to make is where I will shoot my whole opening film, the set design. I looked up boutiques or clothes stores near me and I found a few:

Isabel Boutique 

Marcella’s Fashion Boutique

Turnstyle

Via Moda

Something Else Boutique 

Eli & Pearl Boutique 

Next week I am going to go to these locations, tell them my situation, show them my schedule and see where they give me permission to do it. I want to have these two things decided by next week so that I can begin filming. We've got this.

LETS DO THIS!

I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!

Alright I finally concluded what I am going to do. After getting feedback from my teacher I feel confident about what I am doing. The second idea, the one with the coat, is the winner. I decided to do that one, however, I am gonna add some twists to it so that it is not as complicated to film and so that it looks AMAZING. I will begin the opening film differently now. It will begin with chaotic, short cuts of a girl with her face not showing. She will have a stressed look on her face as she quickly writes something down on a paper and rushes into putting it in any piece of clothe in the store that the film would be shot in. The scene ends and cuts into the title of the film, which I have to come up with. After the title scene, the scene of another girl begins. This girl is shown trying on different outfits in the changing room. As she is trying on a variety of outfits, she puts on a coat that she really liked. As she is checking herself out, looking and herself in every angle, she puts her hands in the pockets to see how it would look. As she does this she feels what seems to be a piece of paper in the right pocket so she pulls it out. She unfolds the piece of paper to find a phone number written down and the words "please help me." The confused look on her face is shown and that is when the opening film ends.

I decided to change the amount of settings in the film to not complicate things, instead of showing the girl in the changing room, paying for the coat, her drive home, and her trying it on in her room, I will just show her in the store trying on clothes, finding the coat, and finding the note there. As I previously mentioned, I also changed the way the opening film begins, adding a more chaotic scene in the beginning. This will not only catch the viewers attention, but the face of the person leaving the note not being revealed creates suspense. The viewers might ask themselves: Who is that girl? Why does she need help? Why is she in a hurry? Why does she seem scared?

I was also thinking about the problem I previously had with this film, driving 20 minutes to the mall every time I need to shoot and deal with the other customers around me, the extra noises, babies crying, people getting in the way, etc. I think it would be best to shoot in a small shop or boutique that is more calm and near my house. I am going to ask my mom to see if she has any friends that own a store like that one to see if we can shoot there. Well I finally feel like I am doing the right thing and I am so excited jfnsgwjdbdhjxj!!!!

XOXO
-Corina

Final decision made...Almost made

Alright I feel confident about the decisions I am making. After getting feedback from a few friends and thinking about every option with myself, I have come down to two ideas only: runaway and the one of the note in the coat. I thought about making an opening film on teen pregnancy but I decided to let it go since I couldn't expand my idea any longer than that. 

I really like the runaway opening film. It was the first idea I came up with, I automatically visualized what everything would look like; every shot, every angle, the tone, the credits. I know that I would put a darker tone, find the right font for my title and credits, the perfect music for the film and film the teenage girl packing everything with a frustrated, stressed, disappointed look on her face. While this is going on there would be really small, short cuts of her abusive parents, domestic violence issues, etc. I also really loved this idea because I have always liked when films open up with someone getting ready, for example a girl getting ready for a date. I grabbed that idea and tried to add a dramatic twist to it, a teenager running away. This film would lead to a series of events in which the girl experiences being homeless, her parents' reaction to her decision, etc. The only problem with this idea is that I would have to work hard to make it look like a film opening rather than a teaser or a trailer. 

The opening film about the note in the coat could also be great. This film would be of a teenage girl at the mall trying on different clothes in the changing rooms. This scene would have "positive" music as the credits show and change as she is changing the outfits she picked to try on, checking herself out in the mirror. The film would then cut to her paying for a coat that she decided to purchase. After so there is another cut and she is then in her room trying on the coat that she just bought. You know how we sometimes come home from the mall and try on what we just bought? Yes, that's what she is doing. She is checking herself out in every angle and puts her hands in the pockets just to see how it would look and she feels something. She is confused and she pulls out a folded, little piece of paper that has a phone number and the words 'please help me' written on it. It would end there. This one would not have the problem of getting it to not look like a teaser BUT shooting at the mall might not be as easy as I think it is and I would need to think on what the rest of the story would look like.

I was planning on having my mind made up by today but I think I am going to sleep on it today and make up my mind tomorrow. I promised myself I will not make any impulsive decisions anymore. It is really late and I am tired so I will try to dream about them and see which one looks better. 

XOXO

-Corina