CCR PODCAST

Movies By Maddy

Too Much Footage, Too Little Time

The biggest problem I had with this video was making my opening fit the 2 minute minimum. My film opening was originally 4 minutes before I was forced to trim half of it. I was heartbroken but it had to be down for the sake of my grade. When I filmed the footage I got all the shots I intended to but did some extras incase something didn't work or new ideas emerged. Unfortunately, too many new ideas did emerge and I guess I got too much extra footage. But that is much better than having too little footage. I felt I was cutting out a lot of important parts of the introduction though making it harder to introduce the character. I wanted my film opening to have a morning routine in it, starting off the day and introducing the characters.

Turning Ana into Maddy

It was easy for me to turn Ana into myself because I know how I dress and act. I wanted Ana to wear something vibrant so I asked her to bring me 3 outfits as options. I also wanted her routine to be very similar to mine. I don't do much in the morning I kinda just brush my teeth, get dressed, and go. So that is shown the same way in my film opening. These are the 3 films Ana let me choose from:

The first is a ripped pair of jeans and a Jimi Hendrix tee. A great choice Ana. I am a big fan of Jimi Hendrix but not enough color.

The second is a denim skort and a stripped crop top. Another great choice because I wear a denim skort maybe once a week but again, not enough color!!

The third outfit was the one. The colors were just enough for her to be the vibrant I feel Maddy is.

Lights! Camera! Action!

The most important aspect of our film was the lighting. We are high school students so we don't exactly have all the equipment and resources to make our film spectacular so sunlight had to do. That left us with limited time to film with Ana and I's busy work and school schedule. With spring break coming up it will be easier to film during the day. Since the film opening is a morning routine we need plenty of sunlight. We filmed our scenes after school while it was still light out and in the morning on weekends.

Unfortunately, Ana's sister was in a serious car accident causing us to have to start over and put a hold on filming. We began our filming again about a week after we found out about the accident and everything was okay! Her sister was home safe and Ana was ready to get back to filming. We used our weekends to finish up since we were running out of time. It was easy to film because we had no school during the day so we met up fridays and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. The filming overall wasn't too bad because I got to spend most of the time with my good friend. We even had some good laughs and made some great bloopers.

Preparing the Actress

The movie is to be shot at my house so Ana needs to be prepared with all of the things she will need to get filming down faster. I made her a to-do list seen below.

Introduction Music

Another obstacle was finding a quality song that was also a non copyright song. What I originally wanted was either a Wes Anderson like introduction with dramatic music and simple unique shots. An example of this would be The Royal Tenenbaums.

The song I was planning to use was "The Canyon Wants to Hear C Sharp" by Andrew Bird. But it was too difficult getting permission to use it in my video. I attempted to find similar songs on a non copyrighted music website www.bensound.com but none of them played the part.

Since my first idea didn't work out I wanted my introduction to be similar to Juno. I wanted indie folk music in the background to make things a little more quirky and cute.

I found some songs similar to "All I Want Is You" in the film opening of Juno but I didn't like any of them enough. So I decided to go with a funky song. I was inspired to do so when watching the title sequence of Superbad with my friends. 

Finishing Up

I finished editing my video but it's time to start adding in some opening credits such as the production company, the director, the writer, the actors, and the movie title. I wanted the writing to be thin and simple so it didn't distract from the content on screen but I still wanted it to be visible. My inspirations for my opening credits are the movies Memento and Little Miss Sunshine.

Memento isn't similar to my film but the simple spread text I find effictive yet not distracting.

The genre of Little Miss Sunshine is similar to the one in Movies by Maddy. I liked how the opening title but emphasise on important words in the text and used a simple white font.
Here are some other film title openings that inspired me.

Sources:
http://www.rogerebert.com/opening-shots
http://outofmud.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-capture-title.html?m=1
http://www.shillpages.com/movies/mt2000s.shtml

Key Moments Within my Film

I decided it would be easiest to edit on iMovie because I could edit at home on my computer or on the go on my iPhone.

It took about the whole day to complete the editing. While editing I wanted to emphasize certain things like colors and things for color psychology and mise-en-scène. Some of the minute yet important elements in my film have meaning.


I wanted my small red Buddah to be shown in the film because red is a color of passion, desire, and love. This movie concentrates on a love for movies and the desire and passion to pursue in the film industry with little experience.


I wanted movie posters to be present in the film because Maddy is passionate about film. I have a Pulp Fiction illustration and an Across the Universe poster hanging in the closet before she picks her outfit. The mess is also important to the film because Maddy is supposed to be a bit unorganized and a young teen.


I wanted Maddy to be as close to her real life character as possible. The Maddy Ana is portraying has bright purple hair and tends to wear bold colors in her clothing and make-up. I found the most colorful and bold thing in my closet that fit Ana best.


I had Ana hold my blue chemistry note book where I tend to hide my sketches and ideas about future movies I want to make. I had her carrying it up the stairs while coming back from school because I usually write most of my ideas in class and we had no scenes in the school because it wasn't necessary.


I had Ana write her movie ideas in purple sharpie because purple is the color Maddy likes most and because it tends to represent wisdom. Movies are where most of the wisdom I have collected is from.


I wanted the movie Beowulf to be present because that is one of the movies that brought me to obsess over films. The adult animation in the film intrigued me and made me want to pursue a job in the film field.

Key Moment Inspirations

I needed to look for inspiration in the way I carried my film. Quinten Tarantino and Martin Scorsese tend to use foreshadowing in their films not realized by his audiences til much later. For example in Scorsese's The Departed he foreshadows the eventual death of characters with a scene of them in the movie with an X on or near them.

Quentin Tarantino tends to foreshadow as well in his films. He uses context and visual clues in almost all 8 of the films he has made. Tarantino actually introduced the plot of Kill Bill in Pulp Fiction. There is a scene where Mia Wallace sits at dinner with Vincent and tells him about a movie she once filmed. The movie she speaks about is the story of Kill Bill. 

Sources:

http://www.therichest.com

http://m.imgur.com/gallery/XrExH

Changes

There were many adjustments to my film opening.  My original idea for the opening was to have my friend Ana doing a lot more research and filming in different locations like parks, school, and libraries. Unfortunately my friend Ana had a serious family emergency so our filming schedule became limited. My camera also broke so that was another issue. I ended up filming with my iPhone. It wasn't too bad. My only serious problem was keeping the footage from being shaky. Another problem I had was filming with my dog in the background. She would come in between shots and make strange noises in the back of the takes causing us to break and laugh. I literally have a video of her yaking in the background of a mirror scene. With all these obstacles, I changed the movie opening. I decided to make it more of a morning routine for the character Maddy. The idea of Maddy being into movies is put into the opening by showing her watching movies when she returns from school and jotting down ideas in her notebook.

Managing Time

With Ana playing the main character and us both being high school students with jobs on the side we will need to create a shooting schedule.
A majority of my shots will be filmed within my neighborhood, my home, and my school. Making it easier to get the shots done and easier to fix if it needed to be replaced. 
Considering most of our lighting is natural we will have to be cautious of our time and use it wisely. Ana and I can meet up on Monday's, Wednesdays, and the weekends. We both are available around 2:00 P.M. giving us time before the sun goes down. We have to be careful with the breaks we take in-between shooting in case it doesn't match with the prior shots and scenes.  
I decided to film not chronologically, but in order of the location to save time. We decided we would get all the filming at my home done first, which we would take a couple filming days to do. Next would be the shots at school, which I expect to take one filming day considering not much happens in the school in my scenes. After would be the shots around Weston, like Markham or Peace Mound Park. Markham is a great filming area because it is such a large park with many different settings. These shots we expect to take around 3 filming days. Together Ana and I made a film schedule to prevent our busy everyday schedules from clashing with filming days.

MONDAYS:  

3/20/17:2:30-6:00  MADDY'S HOUSE (ROUTINE IN OPENING) (WATCHING MOVIES)

4/3/17: 2:30-5:30 MARKHAM PARK (SCENES OF FILMING A MOVIE)

WEDNESDAYS:

3/22/17: 2:30-5:00; 7:00-9:00 MADDY'S HOUSE (WRITING IDEAS/SCRIPTS)

3/29/17: 2:00-4:00 MARKHAM PARK (CREATING FILMS)

FRIDAYS/SUNDAYS:

3/24/17: 3:00-5:00 MADDY'S HOUSE (ANY MISSING SCENES/FIX UPS)

3/26/17: 3:00-4:00 MARKHAM (FILMING A MOVIE)

Bringing the Character to Life

After studying all my friends potential to play me in a film, I found my actress. My friend Ana will play Maddy in the movie. I chose Ana because I found she was the best actor but we also had the most in common with our views, fashion, and movie taste. These similarities we have will make it easier for Ana to portray me with her words and actions. 
Considering I will be filming the scenes with the camera I would usually make my films with Maddy in the film would have to use a different camera and different filming supplies like tripods. My friend Jessica is going to lend me her Cannon for Maddy to use throughout the film. 
I do not have all the fancy supplies and cameras real movie sets would have so I'm going to have to put a lot of small detail into this. Most of my shots will be handheld or filmed with my tripod. I plan on filming the shots with my Cannon T3 to assure the best quality shots I could possibly get. The lighting I use will mostly be natural considering I don't have much equipment for other methods. 
My film will be edited on iMovie because it was I know best for editing videos. It is simple and effective in editing a film introduction. 

Options for an Opening

There are many ways to open a film. The opening of a film hooks viewers in and gives viewers a first impression of your film. There are 5 essential types of film openings.

• Teasers

A teaser is an opening scene meant to hook the viewers in. It leaves the audience with curiosity keeping them out of their seats wanting more. 

Example: Memento

• Theme

Openings have the ability to demonstrate a film's theme.

Example: A Few Good Men (represents honor, the film's theme) 

• Tone

The opening of a film can display the tone of the movie. It tells audiences how to view the film. It can be viewed as serious, funny, dark, et cetera. 

Example: Goodfellas (sets tone as violent) 

• Character

A film opening can introduce audiences to characters in the film. This can be done in many ways, with a monologue or with no dialogue at all. 

Example: The Royal Tenenbaums 

• Backstory

An opening can provide a characters relevant history prior to the story. 

Example: Up

 Out of all these options I decided the opening of my film will be made to introduce the main character, Maddy. I have considered numerous options to do so. I could introduce my character as a student by showing her daily repetitive routine that she is tired of; I could show her passion for films by showing the numerous movies she watches within about a month; I could introduce my character in her lost phase while she is searching for her passion by trying many new hobbies. 

Sources: https://screencraft.org/2017/01/04/5-essential-types-powerful-opening-scenes/

Inspirations to the Vision

The genre of my film will be a drama because that is the genre of the majority of my favorite films. Dramas typically portray characters, real life situations,and stories demonstrating intense changes in character. Dramas are probably the largest film genre, with a hand full of subcategories. Films with the label drama do not have to stick to one genre. Many times dramas are comedies and can have some aspects of adventure/action movies. This would allow me to add some humor to my plot and characters. 

Drama sub-genres:

• Biography- Contains dramatic events in a biographical film. Biographies attempt to show an accurate picture on specific subjects in life. (Examples: Blow, The Basketball Diaries)
• Courtroom- Dramas that center around the justice system. The plot typically unfolds in courtrooms. (Examples: To Kill a Mocking Bird, 12 Angry Men)
• Dramedy- A drama that contains comedy. They are usually equally balanced as a drama and a comedy.(Examples:The Royal Tenenbaums, Little Miss Sunshine)
• Historical- Dramas that scrutinize true historical events and people. They tend to over dramatize the real life events.(Examples: 300, Pride and Prejudice)
• Melodrama- Genre that tells story during great struggles and obstacles. (Examples: The Bridges of Madison County, Sophie's Choice)
• Period Piece- Drama that focuses on a certain time period. The time period adds to the plot, characters, and costume in the film. (Examples: Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice)
• Political- Plot is about politics or the systems in politics. Typically center around corrupt politics and conspiracy theories. (Examples: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Butler) 
• Romance- Centers around the complexity of love. Typically contains an obstacle for the pair to surpass. (Examples: Titanic, The Notebook)
• Tragedy- Plot about the downfall of a character. Typically results in death of character or form of degradation. (Examples: American Beauty, The Great Gatsby) 

The films that inspired me in making this movie are "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "American Beauty".

American Beauty

This film is directed by Sam Mendez. It is a Drama and Romance about a middle-aged man in a mid-life crisis. He hates his job and his life but over time learns to love and appreciate the people around him. Lester Burnham goes from living the same miserable day to doing what he wants everyday. The film touches subjects like beauty in simple things and happiness.. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

This film is a drama and comedy directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. The film centers around a high schooler, Greg, who spend most of his time making film parodies with his friend, Earl. He soon befriends a girl with cancer and his life begins to change for the better and sometimes for the worst. A quote I remember from this film is "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times; it was life." This film was very emotional yet comical which inspired me for the genre of my own film. 

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582496/?ref_=nv_sr_2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/me-earl-dying-girl-review/395672/
https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/drama

Behind the Plot: Finding My Passion

Most of my High school years consisted of trying to find my passion. I tried things like horseback to scrap booking. I didn't feel like a truly loved the hobbies I was participating in. I just knew I wanted to be the best at what I did. I soon became discouraged because I couldn't seem to find something I loved that I wanted to pursue in. I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching WatchMojo videos about things like "Top 10 Most Rewatchable Movies" and "Top 10 Movies That Will Become Classics In The Future". I started making lists of every movie I wanted to watch from these videos and after hours of watching my list was filled with hundreds of movies.

Crossing a movie off my list was a satisfying feeling and all I wanted to do was to open myself up to more. I watched a new film everyday. I loved the fact that a movie could feel so many different emotions and leave me with a new idea. I want to do for others what movies have done for me, inspire. To me, film was always much more than just pictures on a screen. I always felt a new emotional connection to a new film. I started jotting down film ideas I had but I couldn't get to actually creating the film. The most progress I made with one of my films is just writing an introduction. The film opening I create will inspire me to complete the films I start like the Maddy in my films will even with the obstacles that come with being a broke teenage girl. This film is being made in hopes to push me to reach for my dreams. 

A Movie About Me

I spent the day picking through my brain for a movie to make that felt right. I wanted to make it about something I know well so it would be made with passion and accuracy. So I decided my film would be about me. I mean, who do I know better than myself? I'm with myself more than anyone else. This film will be about my passion for movies and trying to find my place in the dynamic film industry with no money and a Cannon camera I was gifted Christmas of my freshman year. 
Being the main character in my film will be an advantage in creating the character Maddy Koslow. My character will need to portray my flaws and good qualities, which will require me to dig deep within myself. Through out high school my character has matured and changed due to the obstacles of life. Maddy will have to seem mature, witty, sassy, funny, and passionate to audiences to convince them of my need to create my own work and films. I tend to be the biggest obstacle in progressing in life, so I may add a scene where Maddy is in self-destruct mode and needs a bit of a wake up call. 

My character will have to portray a similar fashion sense because the clothing a character wears can help audiences discover a bit more about the type of person Maddy is. A majority of my clothing comes from Goodwill so I don't think finding a woredrobe would be too difficult. Thearticle "Costume Design: When Wordrobe is More Than an Outfit" states, "Costumes (as well as clothes in general) can be seen as ‘language’. They speak on a subconscious level. By using culturally known clues, symbols, clichés etc, the costume designer transforms the characters from the written page into multi-dimensional people. ‘The costume designer gives the clothes to the actor, the actor gives the character to the director, and the director tells the story.'"

Considering I will be the one filming there are many aspects of myself I will have to transfer to another actor to portray me. I will have to feel the person has the ability to do so. I have many friends who feel the same way about film as I do. All of them offered to attempt to portray me for my film and I will chose who I feel fits best. 

Sources: 
http://www.camberwellstudios.co.uk/film-production-guides/film-making-tips/92-costume-design-when-wardrobe-is-more-than-just-an-outfit.html