And finally... the Creative Critical Reflection

This project was certainly an experience that taught me a lot. I had a lot of fun filming both the film introduction AND the CCR. And here's the link to view my Creative Critical Reflection!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rdx_IcgAWh6l0Igj9upStfooucEFdxc2/view?usp=sharing 

Presenting... THE LOVE SHACK

    And after all the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, our film intro is finally done! Sabrina and I have been working on this for the past month or two and are incredibly proud of the final product. Please click the link below to view it!

Editing Process

    We are using Davinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro in order to edit our project. We both have a basic understanding of each program and will be figuring things out along the way. We are about halfway finished with editing but, since we didn't receive a response from the B-52s, we are going to have to scrap the idea of using the song Love Shack in our opening of a film titled The Love Shack. This puts us a bit behind as we now have to use copyright-free music in our editing.

    Luckily, we are both working very diligently and are almost done with editing. I have also been working very hard on my CCR and that will be done by the end of the weekend. I am very excited to show you all what we have been working on and I hope you like it as much as we do!

    That's all for today!

    -Isa :)

Target Audience

    Our film's genre is romantic comedy. Specifically, a teen romantic comedy. Due to this, the film would be primarily targeted at teens, 13 to 20 years of age. Women tend to like romantic comedies because of their light-hearted nature. Additionally, many teenage girls are in a time in their lives were they are seeking romance. 

    Teen romantic comedies usually have relatable and semi-realistic plot lines. They usually contain realistic characters and character arcs although sometimes many movies can be repetitive of each other when considering the characters' issues and the main plot line. We would be targeting this film at primarily teenagers ages 13 to about 20 or 25. 

    Teenage movies usually have age ranges recommended when they are rated. For example, The Kissing Booth was rated TV-14 while Tall Girl was rated TV-PG and The F**k It List is rated TV-MA. What this means is that there are perhaps some scenes or lines that inappropriate for younger than 13 or 14 (PG-13 or TV-14), younger than 18 (R or TV-MA), or parental guidance is recommended (PG or TV-PG). When taking this into consideration, our film would most likely be in the pG-13/TV-14 rating category as a result of it being aimed towards teenagers and may perhaps use some words that those younger than 13 should not be exposed to.

https://www.slideshare.net/mrawal123/target-audience-for-romcoms

https://mesnedalmisned.com/2020/04/11/audiences-for-different-genres/

http://slides.co\\m/shannonlogan/target-audience 

    Well, that's all for today! Write to you more later :)

    Isa

Shooting Process

    Sophie and I have been friends for years so we were really comfortable with each other and had a great time filming. I had to get creative when I was filming as the only equipment I had was a tripod. Some of the shots were on the storyboard, such as April on her bed, while others were improvised. Sophie was an excellent worker and since she's known me for years, she was not afraid to input her suggestions and opinions while we were filming. 

    The next step in the shooting process would be the beach scenes. Our plan is to go sometime in the near future to the beach with our actors. Near future is most likely going to be this upcoming weekend or the next. I would take Sophie and since our actor for Ricky is Sabrina's brother, it only makes sense that she would take him. In the meantime, I will begin editing the scenes we already have done this week, when I get back from Spring Break.

    That's all for now, write to you later :)

        Isa

Props - Ricky's room

    Sabrina was able to film Ricky's scenes in the last few days and was able to acquire a ton of vinyls, posters, and other props that fit the 80s aesthetic we were aiming towards. She bought a red rotary dial phone so that she could film our actor on the phone. The set design of Ricky's room succeeded in looking like a room straight out of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. 

    She put of posters around the room. Such posters were of movies such as Rocky, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars. She also grabbed books that were published in the 1980s and used them as props around the room. In accordance with Ricky's mood board that we made, Sabrina included skateboards, a desk, and clutter around the room. This worked to support the idea that Ricky maintained a messy room. 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Set Process

    One of my best friends was the actress for our film making everything easier. I bike home with her after school. I asked her to film last Monday and she said yes. In case she said no, I had a back up actress in mind but luckily I didn't have to go through the travel of replanning everything. On Tuesday, March 15th, I biked home after school with Sophie (the actress) and told her to come over to my house in about 40 minutes. In those 40 minutes, I had to "unmodernize" my room if you will. By that I mean I had to take out everything that I had in my room that was too modern to fit in with the time period in which our film introduction is set, in other words, the 1980s. 

    While I took stuff out of my room to shoot in it, I also put stuff in my room such as my record player and my vinyls that were of bands and artists that my dad listened to when he was a young adult in the 1980s. Those records are 80s vinyls so they fit in with the aesthetic I was going for. I also had my keyboard in the room as April, the character played the acoustic guitar (which sadly I was not able to acquire to film with) and the keyboard. I took my large collection of scrunchies that I have from a couple years ago (when that trend came back for like a year) and we threw those around the room, basically everywhere. 

  The only piece of furniture that I didn't completely "unmodernize" was my bookshelf because practically every single book on that bookshelf (and it's a tall bookshelf) was published after the year 2000 and I didn't think it would be really realistic for there to be an almost empty bookshelf in the background. 

    Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Fonts

    While I'm away, Sabrina is in charge of filming Ricky's scenes. In the meantime, I will start researching fonts to use for our credits. Since we are starting our introduction with a black screen stating the production company's or main producer's name, (such as "Steven Spielberg Presents" as can be seen in the very beginning of Back to the Future) we need to figure out fonts to use for that, the actors' names, director's name, and the title. We are unsure of if we are going to be using different fonts for all of the different categories of credits in our intro or if we will stick one (which is most likely).

    I was thinking of perhaps using a font that is "beach" themed but also easy to read. This eliminated a lot of options. Additionally, I wanted to use a font that had 80s vibes, something that screamed retro. This would be a great addition to the aesthetic we were going for. When considering these 3 things, I found two or three fonts that I thought could work but I would still need Sabrina's approval before officially declaring them the font for our film introduction.

    The first font is one that I personally love as it gives me vintage vibes as well as it is simple to read and it is smooth and clean which to me fits the beach aesthetic dictated on the checklist. Let me know what you think!

The next one is SUPER retro, SUPER 80s. It's easy to read but it doesn't really give off the beachy vibes I would like. It's still super cool and I do really like it. It fits the idea of this film being an 80s film though. Opinions?

Lastly, this one is kind of like the keys of a typewriter or an old keyboard. I actually really like this one but am not sure if it fits our theme and aesthetic. I think it does because of the keys being kind of 80s looking but the beach vibes are no where to be found. Write your thoughts in the comments!

    Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Filming

    Three days ago, Tuesday afternoon, my actress and I worked on the April scenes at my house. We were able to get a lot completed. I let her know that I may need her for reshoots down the road. Luckily, she lives right down the street from me. 

    When we filmed, I told her to wear 80s style attire so she came with jeans, Converse high tops (inspiration from Back to the Future), and a Pink Floyd graphic t-shirt. She also did her make up with purple eyeshadow and used a purple scrunchie in her hair to create a very 80s half-down half-up look. 

    She had the idea to do a shot that I ended up loving that was super creative and fit the time frame we were going for perfectly. She suggested that I record a close up/medium shot of her hanging upside down on the side of the bed. I loved the idea and will definitely be using it in the film intro. 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

April scenes

    I filmed the scenes of April in her bedroom yesterday (3/15)! It was actually so much fun. One of my best friends is my actress, she's playing April. I had to clean my room before she came, taking out everything that was too modern and shouldn't be in the piece at it was set in the 80s. I spent about 40 minutes "80fying" my room, finding scrunchies to throw around, clothes to have on the chair, and other 80s style decorations.

    I used my Queen shirt to be hung on my door so it looks like her outfit for the next day. I brought my record player from downstairs, in the living room, to upstairs and took a bunch of old pieces of vinyl that Pink Floyd shirt, jeans, purple eyeshadow, and wore a purple scrunchie in her hair. We used an old black landline for the phone!

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Updated Script

    We have officially finished the second draft of our script. This could be considered our final draft unless we may have to cut lines if we are in a time crunch for the 2-minutes that we need for the film introduction. Sabrina cleaned up our script and made it really professional-looking. Click here to view!

    Something that we definitely need to work on is the shot list. Although we have the storyboard and the script done, we need to figure out how we're going to film this while we're both on vacation. I think that during Spring Break, Sabrina and I will be working on our own things. I will be trying to film the parts of April talking on the phone in her room this week before I leave and Sabrina is going to film the Ricky portions. Immediately once we both get back from our vacations, we need to film the last couple of scenes and begin editing. I think we have a solid plan outlined for right now. I'll keep you updated! 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

March 11 Updates!

    We have finished our script! This is just a rough draft as I think we may have to cut some lines because as it is, it may be too long. Additionally, we wrote it more like a script for a play than for a movie because we weren't sure how to format it so it looked professional. We'll work on that. Just click on the photo below of the first page of our rough draft to view!

    Sabrina and I are both going to start filming this weekend and next week before I leave for spring break. I will be out of town so we are going to try to work as much as we can over spring break without being able to film together. 

    In other news, we sent The B-52s management team an email asking if we can use their song, Love Shack, in our project. Once they respond, that will be a separate post detailing what our plan will be based on their response. 

 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Storyboard!

    We finally finished our storyboard! It's so satisfying to see our vision come alive on paper. Though we already had our story written down and our shot list ready, our storyboard helps us see exactly what we need to film and how to edit it all together to get the best result. Our film introduction starts with a black screen that says "A ________ Production" (we have yet to determine what our producing company's name will be) and opens to a split-screen of April and Ricky on their phones. Since our film will be set in the 1980s, we want to make it as authentic to our chosen era as possible. In doing so, we will try our best to acquire wired phones that give off the 80s vibe. 

    The concept is that the screen will take turns showing April and Ricky's rooms, going from a split-screen to alternate which room and character are being pictured. I really enjoy our idea and hopefully, you do too! We tried our best to demonstrate our idea as clearly as possible in our storyboard. We have the idea of filming April on her bike, biking to the beach, and Ricky skateboarding to the beach where they are to interact for the first time. And here, as promised, is our storyboard! Just click on the link to access it!

Storyboard!

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Sets, props, and costumes

    Before we begin filming, which is going to be very soon, I want to make sure I have all the sets, props, and costumes ready. I have one of my friends in mind to act as the eccentric, artsy, and introverted April but I have yet to find an appropriate guy to act as Ricky. Besides that, I think we are pretty much on track with our sets and our props. For costumes, I was thinking of giving our actress some funky-looking earrings and other 80s jewelry such as scrunchies and chunky bracelets. Ricky, our male lead, could have band t-shirts all over his room and band posters everywhere. 

Here are some examples of the potential costume pieces as well as jewelry.

    We're planning to use my room as the set for April's room. My room is painted turquoise and white which, as previously seen, are the main colors associated with April's character. We're going to put a guitar, an easel, a keyboard, and anything that could be associated with her artsy aesthetic. Our storyboard will be done really soon and will probably be my next post! 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

The Love Shack?

    Since the idea is that our two main characters will be seen interacting at a snack shack at the beach during our film introduction, I had the idea of calling our film The Love Shack. I think this is a very 80s themed name and since there is a song by the B-52s by the same name, I was wondering whether or not I should e-mail their management team to see if we could use it in our film introduction. 

    Though this is a very cheesy title, I think it fits with the aesthetic as we have planned to film at a snack shack and maybe even hide the words love and shack around the 2-minute intro's setting. I really love this idea and I think I may e-mail the management to see if we could utilize a bit of their song. Let me know what you think!!

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Planning

    We have developed an outline for our film intro and the storyboard is in progress. The overall idea is for a romantic comedy film introduction set in the 1980s. We have decided to take inspiration from various 80s, 90s, and 2000s romcoms for our shooting and editing techniques. I got inspiration from the movie Mean Girls for a split-screen. 

   

    The idea is that the two main characters share the screen in the beginning and then the screen takes turns showing each of their perspectives and lives.  

• Black screen (A something something production)

Examples: 

• Split-screen of Ricky and April talking to their friends on the phone “no I don't want you to set me up w someone”
• The guy's screen takes over to show stuff in his room
• Split-screen
• Girl Screen takes over “okay bye” at the same time
• Tracking shot showing boy walking out of the room and taking skateboard w him

Examples: 

             

• POV shot of girl getting ready to get on her bike
• Tracking shot of girl biking
• Shot of boy skating and he is getting closer to the camera as shot continues
• Girl with a friend reading on sand or getting in the water
• Boy dabbing up friends
• Split-screen “I am going to go get some drinks.” ; “I am getting some snacks, do you?”
• Walk past each other
• Name of production
• "Oh wait wrong way" and he runs back in her direction
• Bump into each other? At the snack shack? (We might call the film The Love Shack)

Examples: 

                

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Mood Boards!

    I designed mood boards for our two main characters and a couple post ago I promised I would post them soon. Well, here they are! The first mood board I designed was Ricky's. Ricky is of the bad boy trope and I tried to show that on his mood board. His mood board shows his hobbies, his aesthetic, and a couple of his favorite things. 

As previously stated, Ricky rides skateboards, drives a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, and is a mountain biker. He plays video games, loves the movie The Breakfast Club, and is a huge fan of rock and heavy metal music. In fact, he will have tickets to a Queen concert in our film opening. Additionally, Ricky loves the drink Mountain Dew, he drinks it every day and even takes a bottle with him to school. He loves junk food and you would be able to find countless bags and wrappers of unhealthy food around his room. 

April is a very introverted young girl who focuses on her studies and hobbies above anything else. She loves to read, play the piano and acoustic guitar, and paint. April could also be considered a bit of a goody-two-shoes as she has never sneaked out, never gotten drunk, never gotten a detention, nothing that would end in a severe punishment from her parents. She drives a 1978 Volkswagen Super Beetle Convertible and bikes around her neighborhood and even to the beach. 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

More Characters

    We went above and beyond the call of duty and developed some side characters for our film opening. Although these side characters are most likely not going to be pictured in the two minutes we are going to submit to Cambridge, we may have so much fun working on this project that this two-minute film opening may turn into a short film! Who knows? We just want to be prepared. And in doing so, let me introduce to you our four side characters!

    Our first side character is Danielle, April's best friend. She is also a senior in high school. The idea is that she and April met at the mall about a month before the film begins. She and April instantly clicked and got very close, they became best friends really quickly. Unlike April, Danielle is very outgoing as she is involved in many clubs and extracurriculars, even being the leader of a couple. She additionally is a hardcore feminist and supports multiple human rights movements, having stickers and posters of such movements all around her room and school supplies. 

The other three side characters we developed are Ricky's group of best friends. This group consists of Will, Noah, and Jake. Will is a senior in high school and Noah is a freshman in college. These two are both players who date girls just for a week then dump them and ghost them for no apparent reason. Jake is the nicest out of the three friends. Jake is also a senior in high school with Will and Ricky. These three are Ricky's best friends. They're all athletes although they all play or participate in different sports. Will is a lacrosse player, Noah plays basketball, and Jake surfs. 

            

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Characters

    We've decided to take major inspiration from older 80s romantic comedies such as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Say Anything, and When Harry met Sally for mise-en-scene, characters, and costume designing. We've started brainstorming our main characters and started designing mood boards which I will be posting soon. 

    So far we have established our two main characters and their aesthetics. Our female lead is named April, she's a senior in high school and is one of the artsy kids. What do I mean by this? Well, she paints, plays the guitar, plays the piano, and used to dance ballet. She's also a bookworm and a goody-two-shoes. We have a really well-rounded idea of who she is. Additionally, she'll drive a 1978 Volkswagen super beetle convertible which we thought fit her personality and aesthetic pretty well.

Our male lead is named Ricky and he's also a senior in high school. He is of the cliche "bad boy" type however not too cliche that it's cheesy. Ricky has 2 little brothers, skateboards, mountain bikes, wants a motorcycle, and drives a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa. He spends his Fridays partying with his friends and may end up in detention multiple times a week. He puts on a facade when he's at school compared to when he's at home with his family though. 

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)

Romcom: 80s film

    Sabrina and I have been working on thoroughly developing a plan and schedule for our film opening. We have decided to set our romantic comedy in the 80s and portray that on camera through the mise-en-scene. Here are some of our ideas. 

    We are focusing on the set design in order to clearly show that the film is set in the 80s. Our two main characters, one male and one female, will have rooms full of 80s props such as walls covered in posters, 80s technology such as cord phones, band instruments, and perhaps even roller skates. I took inspiration from the character Kat's room in 10 Things I Hate About You (first image seen below). Additionally, Nancy Wheeler's room from Stranger Things (second image seen below) also has many 80s props that we could include in our film opening. 

The boy could have the following in his room: 

• Stickers
• Converse
• Sammy’s electric guitar?
• Video Games
• Skateboard (s)
• Comic books
• Concert tickets
• Same posters
• Jean jackets
• White tank tops
• Caps
• Clothes on the floor
• Trophies

While the girl could have  the following in her room

• Posters (Guns and Roses, Queen, The Bangles, etc) 
• Wired phone - Amazon wired phone 
• 80s filter
• Scrunchies on the bed on top of burrow or bookshelves
• Skates 
• Rubix cubes
• Polaroid 
• Polaroid pictures
• Ring pops
• Fun glasses
• Pacman related
• Stuffed animals on the bed
• Same concert tickets
• Typewriter

Well, that is all for today! Write to you guys later! 

    Isa :)