Slow getting there...

I mentioned previously that my group and I were going to get together yesterday, but unfortunately we were not able to because I had a last minute inconvenience so we moved it to this afternoon. Although we weren’t able to meet out of school yesterday Gabbie and I were able to talk about the plot a bit further and what the opening we consist of. I still didn't feel we were completely clear on the plot after our last conversation. While I was still insisting one how we can make it original and unique, I didn't want to do the classic werewolf or vampire. Then I came up with the idea to make the Man a cannibal and is trying to capture the girl to kill and eat her. I liked this idea because I have never seen many films about cannibals and I think it will be a challenge and fun to find props and finding a way to make it look as realistic as possible.

Then we moved on to further discuss how to set up the film opening because I went to watch parts of Quantico again to review how they used this technique. I realized I made a mistake as I thought it started at the end of the climax or in the beginning of the falling action but no it really does start on opposite sides. Meaning the film opening should start with the very end of them film and then after we present the title is would be the beginning of the plot. As of now we are thinking of starting with the man cleaning up the scene of killing and eating the girl and showing him put away her organs to begin to tell the audience about one of the main character. Following that scene we would present the title of the film which, we still need to come up with, then it would be day time and the beginning of the plot again.

Today my group and I are going to meet at Starbucks and our goal is to finish or do most of the storyboard. I will update tomorrow hopefully with my our storyboard done!

Deciding Genre and Plot

Yesterday in class my group and I finally sat down to discuss and brainstorm what we want to do with our film opening. First we said we need to determine what genre we want to do, which in my opinion was one of the most difficult decisions. Thabata mentioned that was should do horror but what worried me about this is it would come out too cliché which is what I want to stay away from. I truly want to try to do something different, original, and unique. I mentioned my concern to them and both agreed so we brainstormed a couple ideas back and forth of how we can pull off a horror story without making it cliché but this wasn't easy. We came across the idea of combining a Purge and the series You and putting our own spin of the story. So we want to do a Purge them keeping the masked theme and killing but the story will be with a male stalking a female. The genre we feel this would fall under is horror drama film. Today we are going to get together at Starbucks to finish deciding the last details of the plot and hopefully begin the storyboard.

    We also came up with a few ideas of how to organize our film opening. Like I brought up the idea that we can use a feature also used in Quantico which is to show opposite end of the plot. The first scene we would present would toward the end of the plot near the falling action for example it could be when the girl is already killed or captured then it cuts into the title of the film, then the following scene would be day time and it would be the beginning of the plot. I thought this idea would be good because it creates a lot of suspense, the audience would want to continue watching and it is a unique approach to the film opening. This would continue going back and forth and we would be made clear to the audience that it is going back and forth by using different filter. We also want to insert the credits in different areas where is she hiding by using strategic camera angles to get negative space to put it in. I will update again tomorrow when I get together with my group again and hopefully have most of the storyboard done by then.

Brainstorming & Planning

    After many months of studying and learning about different types of media it is finally time to begin out final project. The entire year I have been looking forward to this project as I’ve had some ideas of what my group and I could do. But obviously the first step to any planning process would be to decide what we are doing. Tomorrow the three of us are going to sit down and compare all of the different ideas we have brainstormed. This will be no easy process has it is a big decisions and we don't want to be changing our idea half way through the project. So hopefully by tomorrow or the following day we have a concrete idea of what we are doing. My goal is to have the entire or the majority of the storyboard done by Saturday so we can get to filing right away.

    Most of the ideas I have found myself brainstorming are films about breaking a representation in film. I am female Colombian and have been insulted and stereotyped time and time again. I want to make things clear that not just because one person from a country does something doesn't mean we all do that. I am Colombian and I've never done a drug in my life nor have I gotten surgery and my parents are not maids or thugs. But yet I play soccer and have had a passion for it since a young age and since i was small people would say “that is a men's sport” or “girls don’t play soccer, its too rough”. Furthermore in this final project I’m doing I would want to break representation in media may it be Hispanic, African American, or Muslim.

    The main message I want to have in all of the ideas for this project is- don’t listen what society or anyone says just listen to your heart and what makes you happy. One of my favorite ideas is to do it about a Colombian girl from a wealthy family that want to tell her how to live but she refuses. She goes her own way to be independent and playing soccer and working to keep her little apartment and food on the table. I would want to show how she makes it out all on her own and how she can be independent doing things that are “traditionally” female roles. The most challenging part of all of this is how to show all of my ideas in just the opening of the show. This is an obstacle my group and i will overcome as we are going to have to learn for to use every second very wisely. I’m very excited to meet with my group tomorrow to brainstorm ideas and see what we come up with.  

Drama Genre Research

Drama

Drama is a genre the attempts to generate emotion and relational development of these realistic characters. There are many sub genres within drama so its characteristics such as character development, and storytelling method. The four main sub genres in drama are: tragedy, comedy, melodrama, and tragicomedy. This genre was traditionally intended to be performed out on a stage live so a drama brings a story to life right before your eyes, may it be live or on a screen. The story is told with a series of dialogue and actions as well as different settings and scenery. Moreover all dramas bring these 5 characteristics: idea/plot, characters, language, music, performance. With all of these characteristics it reflects human behavior in form of a story through acting and in some cases dancing. When people hear a film is a drama they tend to associate it with words such as impactful, real and attractive.

Even though there are so many different sub genres in drama most of them still have similar production techniques. For example the lighting, music, special effect, and sound all have a big importance in drama as this is used to develop the understanding of the atmosphere, the character, theme and conflict. Another technique used often to make an action seem more dramatic is putting it in slow motion. Many dramas also play with the dialogue by either adding a narrator, using an ‘aside’, or soliloquy. An ‘aside’ is when the directly addresses the audience during the film. A soliloquy is when one character speaks to give insight of what he/she is thinking.It is also seen used frequently in dramas that they use music to underscore the drama. Also the great majority of dramas use basic symbols as a lab coat which means medicine or science, a dove to represent peace, and torn wedding pictures to show a divorced couple.

Marketing these big name drama films they need to go through many different marketing strategies. For almost all of the film has a trailer that highlights all the best part or most dramatic parts of the film. Also there is usually more than one trailer and it is played on social media such as youtube. Once the film comes out and continues to grow many times these companies begin to make posters for fans to buy.

The film “Boyhood” which is a drama directed by Richard Linklater was released in July 11, 2014 and follows many characteristics of a drama. This film you grow up in the eyes of this boy named Mason for 12 years. It takes you through all the real moments in life, may it good or bad. It takes you on a ride through the ups and downs of this boys life and the audience can relate to this as they were a child once as well. It also uses music to underscore the drama and throughout the film you can hear is “Yellow to Arcade Fire’s Deep Blue” by Coldplay.Lastly throughout the film you can find symbols that show family and growth.