Progress on Our New Plot

I shared my ideas and concerns with Pearse and he seemed to understand where I was coming from (what a great person!) so we have developed a basic plot adaptation to our original idea. We plan on maintaining the idea that the main character is leaving for college. As they leave for college they reflect on their pay as memories begin to pop up when they are packing up.

Our new character: Pearse!!!! (I still believe it should be his sister but we’ll see if he makes it work)

Our new setting: Pearse’s home!!! We will be shooting fresh footage and use mise en scene elements to elevate the idea that he is officially leaving for college.

Plot: A little different. The main character is packing up when he goes to his garage and picks up a box he thought was filled with his stuff and he finds something different. Inside the box there are a ton of CDs and discs filled with hours of footage from his childhood which is now ending. The flashbacks will be focused on showing the type of person that makes him who he is today and he gets emotional, a bittersweet moment.

I hope you guys like it!

New Plot

Since Pearse and I haven’t seen each other in about 2 weeks and we probably won’t see each other for another few more weeks the options to film are limited. When we were talking with our peers in the online meeting one of them gave me a great idea. We can make the film about either Pearse or I and just film in our house. And then for the flashback footage, we can refer back to old tapes or film that we have that our parents took of us. However, there is a huge problem with that. Pearse and I would not be filming our scenes so we would have to ask help from other members of our family to film us and hope they get it right. I’m the past I have already tried before and they either get too tired or mad that I make them refilm the same scenes over and over. What they don’t understand is that filming is long and tough progress. I don’t particularly believe that it will be in our best interest to ask other people to film for us.

As for Pearse, I don’t know what he is thinking but he does have a twin sister he could film and make the project about. However, I would have to find a way to make him come to this conclusion so he’s more willing to do it rather than think I want to pin this whole project on him. It is just frustrating the fact that one of us has to do the whole project and the other can’t help out until filming is over. But as the deadline approaches, we are still running out of time and this lockdown does not seem like it will end anytime soon.

Frustrated is an understatement.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

Online Meeting

Earlier today we had an online meeting and her teacher made sure to address our concerns. Filming is still going to take place however we need to find a way to adapt our piece due to our circumstances. Due to the increased spread of the virus, Pearse and I are unable to work with our original cast at this time. However, during the online meeting, our teacher and classmates were able to give us some ideas which I wrote down and will be sharing on my next blog post since it is rather important. But in this blog post, I want to announce our original piece will not be further continued.

Cambridge announced AICE exams are canceled so as for that portion I don’t know whether or not they will view our project. But our teacher is still encouraging us to continue working and pushing through the current obstacles in our life. Unlike other teachers, Mrs.Stoklosa does not care about our grades rather what we learn from her class. She wants us to understand life is unpredictable not everything goes the way you want it.

So filming must go on!

Questioning Our Project

After a while of trying to learn how to photoshop, I think it is time Pearse and I accept the fact that we might have to change our story and adapt it to our situation. Thankfully our teacher is having a video conference the 24th were we are able to discuss with her and maybe get an idea on how we can adapt at this point. Although I know she won't be happy with the fact we have no film we still have to find a way to get this done. I will be brainstorming ideas in order to build a narrative from our houses without having to risk our safety or the safety of our families.

I talked with Pearse and he also agreed and we will also be emailing our teacher on our problem and how we can overcome it.

Cast Update and More

I have bad news which I think was foreshadowed in yesterday's blog post. As of today Pearse and I have officially been told that none of our cast members are available to continue working on this project. Right away I tried to contact more people to see who could work on our project and none of them are allowed to go out. It is looking pretty empty in the streets of Weston (my mom told me went she went to the grocery store) with stores continuously shutting down. However, after much thinking in my living room, I found a way to stay productive. I will be working on our 

(drum roll please)

Digital Component!!!

There are a few problems I have to work with but anything is progress (right?). First, the fact that we have no pictures to work with or edit in order to make and the official poster. However, I have good news. Pearse and Irina have been friends for a long time and have done many photoshoots together so I texted him with the possibility he might have a photo to work with even if it is just as a reference (fingers crossed). So I will be waiting to hear back to see if he finds anything but in the meantime, it will give me some time to learn how to create digital components specific to this project. A poster does not seem to complicate however it must fit the genre of our film and must include key components that attract our target audience.  

I took a screenshot of a large variety of posters that are considered 'coming of age films' which is what we also aim to create. When analyzing the posters as individuals and a group a lot of things stood out. First, the main cast members are in the poster but if it's more of a romantic movie only the couple is in the poster. The background is kept extremely simple in order to keep all the attention on the characters. And last but not least, the font needs to fit the aesthetic of the picture, movie, and cast. I will continue my progress on my next blog post.

Funny Story, Maybe?

Filming update:

1. After a major panic attack, we (Pearse and I) had yesterday due to the fact that I can't go out and everything is becoming stricter we decided to try and get some filming done while we can. We really have no clue what is going to happen in the next few weeks so we are trying with this whole situation.
2. Pearse and Irina talked and agreed to go film earlier today so they could get some footage in, or at least some photos for our digital component. Anything at this point is progress, and yes I am aware that film is doing a lot of the work right now but I will find a way to become more helpful. So off they go!
3. Here's the funny part: most if not all city parks are closed, and beaches too! So, after trying to get some progress with our shooting we can't even shoot in the locations we planned on. Even the volleyball and basketball courts are closed so it is not like we could improvise. Not looking so great for us.
4. After many stressful phone calls, Irina's mom asked her to please return home. As of now all of our actors are officially not allowed to leave their houses. We understand these are safety precautions we must take (given that I am also taking them), but we don't know how to get our filming done now. As of now, our project is endangered, and so is our grade.

Updates:

Ok, so the change to online school has really messed me up. Apparently, a classmate messaged me that we had an online meeting (which I did not know about so I missed) were my teacher announced some major changes. Our portfolio project is due a week later than it was originally due. As of now, the project has been moved back to the 19th instead of the 12th of April. We are still being expected to get our project done by that time but I have no idea how to do this since I am not allowed out. Our filming dates have been postponed indefinitely. A lot of our actors are unavailable due to the fact that they are also taking various safety precautions recommended by the CDC. It is a pretty unusual situation we are in and a lot of things are going to be impacted by this pandemic but there is not much we can do about it but try and follow the right steps to stay healthy. I can't take any irresponsible risks because I have various family members who suffer from asthma and cancer. If they were to be exposed to the virus it would be life-threatening. In other words, I am stressed and confused, I feel powerless since there is nothing I can do.

Covid-19

As of today, schools have been canceled in our area. Covid-19 has had a huge impact around the globe and it has begun to make its way into the US. People infected with the virus continue to increase every day and it has become a real problem everywhere. Mr.Trump has even declared a travel ban on many European countries. The Ymca which I work at has been closed till late March. This will really impact our project since many places have begun to shut down and lock up, which they should. The point is to stay isolated as long as possible to control the virus spreading to many places.

As for me, I am not allowed to leave the house and I will not be able to attend Pearse's birthday party. I feel insanely terrible for not being there for my friend since we have grown very close but it is a precaution I must take. I hope this clears up soon so we can get back on track with our projects but for now, I won't be able to film anything till this problem clears up.

Wash your hands!

Filming Dates

In order to meet up and start filming, we needed to know when everyone was available so I created a group chat on iMessage to text everyone at the same time. Then Pearse sent a google doc questionnaire that asked everyone when they would be available to film. After many hours of pressuring everyone to answer and make sure they replied we finally got our results which are down below.

We got good results, out of all the 7 options 5 of them got 80%. This is pretty good cause we don't need everyone to attend every single day and we can map out what scenes to film each day. With that said we will be filming March 22nd and the 23rd. After we will look at our footage and review if we need to reshoot or anything else.

Cast

For choosing our cast we decided it would be best to give our actors easy roles that they could learn and portray with no problem. So we actually came up with the idea to let them play themselves. Now their lines will be scripted but what they are saying would more or less be what they say in real life. I will be acting and Pearse decided that he will be filming so he won't. So here is our cast: 

Stevie- Irina Blanco (She wanted a name change)

Raul- Raul Passarini (me)

Diego- Diego Machado

Sara- Sara Briones

Locations

Based on our screenplay we have decided to film in 5 different locations. This is a drastic jump from last year which we only filmed in one location. I think it will be fine since we will have 5 minutes to develop a narrative but we have to make sure the scenes that are flashbacks are somewhat quick but add to the narrative. So here are our 5 locations:

1. Stevie's Bedroom: This will be our main actor's room, which will be a female actress, so it will be either Pearse's sister's room or Irina's room (Irina is a top prospect for the main role). We want the room to look like a real teenage girl room, no dolls but also still messy and filled with teenage girl decorations.

2. Volleyball Court: For the volleyball scene we decided to use the courts at the Ymca Regional Park. Usually, they are filled but if we go early enough we can find an open court to film in. But it will be a bit of a challenge since the sun is going to be shining HARD.

Volleyball Courts at the Ymca

3. Dining Room: For this scene, we are still in between my house and Pearse's house. We have still not decided but we have to find a place with good lighting, which I believe could be either house. We will figure this out later.

4. House: The house we don't use for the scene above will be the house used for this scene. We just need to switch locations to make sure the audience knows it is a different scene.

5. Field: For this scene, we are looking at Everglades Holiday Park and Vista View Park as the main two locations to shoot. I also suggested Markham Park but the other two locations are more atheistically pleasing. Both of those parks will look awesome on camera and filming in the sunset will turn out really cool for our scene.

Vista View Park

Final Script

Here is our final script. We have been working hard on getting it done by researching various sources on how to do it. Click the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15oUiYEjHb9s7jX9McK7mvr9PWsMKFVv3/view

Permission Update

After a while of trying to find contacts to send emails to, I got so tired. I don’t know why it is so hard to find someone to contact and try to get permission. After a while of searching for someone to contact Sony, I found an email that could lead to a reply. Even if the person that receives it can’t help us by giving us permission they could probably redirect us to someone that can. That’s why I wasn’t too stressed about finding a specific email just simply finding one that can help us. Below is a screenshot it the email:


For the song “We Are Young” by Fun. I had no look finding anyone from Fueled By Ramen to contact. I will try to ask my teacher on tips on how to get permission because I am a mess. However, in a world with social media, I usually don’t give up so easily. Instead, I searched up every single person from the band on Instagram and sent them a direct message individually all saying the same thing. And just a few hours later I received an answer from one of the original band members himself (my friends can testify that I started screaming with joy). Not only did he answer back but he also gave his permission to use the song (under certain terms). Here are the screenshots:

Although he did warn us there might be chances that it could be taken down or flagged I still think this shows we are on the right track. I call this a win!

(I still haven't found a way to get in contact to ask permission for "Stereo Hearts" but I will keep trying)

2010 Throwbacks!

I began my search by searching up “throwbacks 2010s” and the memories were endless. From the old Justin Bieber songs that I refused to let anyone know I listened, to the old Drake songs that made me release my inner street side. All these songs just made me feel so happy and thankful for the life I have had. And that’s the feeling we are looking for. I felt it the most in some songs specifically starting with Khalid’s song “8teen”, “We Are Young” by Fun., and “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes. I would like to analyze all these songs individually.

“8teen” - The pros about this song is that it talks about a stage our target audience is in, has been in, or is going to be in. The con with this song is that it doesn’t have the same emotional attachment as the other ones. It is very recent and wasn’t as big of a hit when released. However, it is still an amazing song and I would love to work with it.

“We are Young” - I can’t say anything bad about this song. It is such a classic to me and I love it more than anything. I know I seem biased but no song makes me as happy as this one. I remember this song clearly playing in my eighth-grade dance and I was having the time of my life with all my friends. I know every single lyric to this song.

“Stereo Hearts” - The pros to this song is that it holds a huge attachment to my generation. It is equally as big of a hit as “We Are Young” in my opinion. The cons are that it talks about love rather than growing up or this specific time that we look to represent in our film.

All of these songs would work perfectly in our movie and I hope I find a way to get permission to use them.

Bitter Sweet!

One of the most important elements in filmmaking is sound. Last year when we worked on our movie introduction we tried to request the use of very well known pop songs however none of which gave us permission. Not only did they not give us permission they also did not answer us when we tried contacting them. It was frustrating but a truly eye-opening experience that I have kept with me since. That is why I decided to start my search for songs early on in the progress. First I had to find the songs we would want to have as part of our movie. The songs would be mainly used in the flashback scenes where our main character is remembering her past times. Since this is a coming of age film and we are targeting teens to young adults the decade we believe this song should be released in the early 2010s. Why? Simply because many of the pop songs in that era were played constantly through our school dances, car rides, parties, and by ourselves. It would trigger emotions that we look to create in our film. We want viewers to feel what the girl leaving to college feels: bitter-sweet. The wonderful feeling she’s getting from all her childhood moments and the sadness from having to grow up and leave. Which is also how I’m feeling right now since I had to sign my apartment lease... yay!...

Major Changes

Issues with our plot:

Pearse and I just got off a phone call and I want to summarize really quickly what we talked about. To begin with we have decided to change the plot but keep the main idea of our short movie. Talking over the phone we realized that our current plot was gonna come out too cheesy and wouldn’t show any effort. This is because we were thinking of creating a montage of the times this group of friends would spend together. However, having such a large cast was also beginning to bring up a lot of problems with scheduling. We decided not to force anything and just adapt to the situation and this is what we came up with.

Our Changes:

Like I mentioned before the leaving for college theme is still in play. Now we are gonna be focusing more on one main character instead of a group of people. So the new story revolves around a female who’s picking for college and she’s getting her stuff ready to leave but as she does that she starts looking at the images around her rooms. She starts to look at her photo albums, Polaroids, all types of pictures that she has taken. As she does that those moments come to life and we actually show small clips of her life with her friends. It would be like a collection of flashbacks of her last moments before she leaves for college. The piece would finish with a flashback to her last moments with her friends where they all say goodbye to this chapter of their life.

Now we have to write a screenplay and begin working and continue developing our story!