Filming day #2

Today was filming day #2,  I decided to do my siblings part of the film. The initial idea was to start with Mia, my sister. I planned on following the story board, however, as I was recording, it got difficult to do exactly what was visioned. I recorded in my neighborhood, there is a green place beside my house that is pretty and found it ideal. When I started today, I was explaining to my little sister what she had to do. She is three years old and very intelligent. So she did understand when I was explaining. But with kids it is sometimes difficult, and I kind of got stressed out after 30 minutes because she would not to what I wanted to. That does not sound very well, but it is how I felt at the moment. I took a deep breath and thought that I know that she is a child, so we went home and waited for her to will to go out again and keep recording. Unfortunately, she did not want to go out again, I guess she was just tired or did not like the idea. My mother was at home working and she told me she would help as soon as she was done. 

I had to record my baby brother as well, I did not find this difficult because he is always so happy and smiley, which is what I wanted to show. Mia went out with me and my family to record. My mother helped me to get them together. I ended up doing things that I did not have planned, but had to because it was the way I found it more convenient. 

This is a Timelapse of when I started recording. (The phone died and I did not realize minutes later hahah)

When my family helped me, it was better because I had more help while recording my two little siblings. However, it was still challenging. Milan, my baby brother, at the beginning was great, running all over the place but later got difficult. But it is normal. I still got good footage. I recorded almost everything I could to have more material. meanwhile... these two were having some fun 😍

As I previously said, I had to change some things. I think I will be doing a transition of Mia walking from right to left and Milan doing the same. Since I could not record more shots with Mia by herself. I found it best to do that and then show the rest of the footage just them two. At the end of the filming today, I wanted to record something with both of them, but Milan would not go towards me along Mia, So I could not do that today. However, I want to add something with me included to add more emotion. 

I had fun recording today with my most favorite two little persons, it was challenging but that is what is about right?

I will record tomorrow the garage scene, the scene with my mother before graduation and Paula by herself in the sunset. I planned on doing the sunset today, but my time was short and had to work as well. I need to manage the time better.

Editing software

 I will be utilizing DaVinci Resolve as editing app for my project. I was planning to use Premiere Pro since I had seen it is a pretty complete platform with great variety. However, I am not sure what happened on my computer and there is an error. It is not compatible with Adobe's creative cloud. It says that there is another creative cloud running on my computer. I found ways to get rid of it and I did not got to delete the error. Therefore, I looked for other great editing platforms and there is when I found out about DaVinci resolve. I looked on internet, youtube and TikTok. I found that this platform is beginner-friendly, which caught my attention. This week I have recorded some footage and started arranging it on DaVinci resolve. I have been struggling a bit because I had never used this platform and has a lot of tools and ways of editing. So, I looked for a tutorial and found great ones. Here are some:

This brief tutorial was well enough to get me started. It shows how to cut the footage in a more effective way. The sound is explained as well and how to do various things like add other visuals while having the same sounds, which is something I wanted to know how to do. What I found interesting about this platform is the color section. There are a wide variety of tools to color grading and chance the mood of the film completely. I am not experienced in color but I want to make it nice and vivid. Since it is about Paula's every day life, and showing her stability. 

I have been arranging the footage I have so far and have been playing around with the colors. I already added some touches, like putting the cap and gown color more blue and llamative. I found it more pleasant and that it fits better. There are a lot of tools here I am not very aware of how to use. But I know that by just knowing the basics, I will get good colors.

What I need to explore more is sound, since I will be doing a voice over, I need to know how to add it here. About two weeks ago, I watched a video about VO in DaVinci Resolve but did not understand much. These days, I will be doing more research to do the VO. My plan is to finish recording Friday or Saturday and finish editing next week. So this is very important. I find sound one of the most important parts of a film, if not the most important.

 There are a bunch of tutorials on the internet as well that make it easier for the people to learn and start their editing. These days I have been using the app, I have struggled since there are a lot of things there. However, with the help of the videos and internet, I get to learn more and make my editing less challenging.

Filming day #1

Hello! I finally started recording today! The filming setting was my best friend's house. I got the mirror, work, friend, boyfriend scenes.

For the mirror scene, we ended up recording on my best-friend's bedroom mirror, I felt that it fits more in the mood and the mirror was larger so it allowed us to record the body better. My initial plan was to start off with the close up to the mirror and the graduation cap being accommodated by Paula. However, I found it difficult  because it was a extreme close up what I was thinking of doing and it did not look very good in the mirror. My best friend (Majo) gave me the idea of showing her doing this but recording directly towards her. Which turned out pretty good.

I was going to do the mirror scene here with my mother but I figured it would be diffucult to coordinate a time where everyone could. So I came up with a plan to make the scene look good. So here, in the mirror there were only two shots.  

This is how the shot initially look, I did not like how it looked so we fixed it:

After this, we went downstairs to do the work scene. I was deciding to whether show the girl packaging some things or working on the computer. I do both things, so I was choosing between those two. I work with my mother on Amazon and selling products. I help her packaging. sending and on the computer as well doing related things. However, I chose to do something simple here, I chose to work on the computer while taking some notes and look focused. This is supposed to be the first scene after the mirror scene and the beginning of the narration. However, I think that I will add something before. Like me driving or something like that, I will look at that tomorrow. 

For the boyfriend part, I was thinking of doing it with either my two guy best-friends. However, they could not make it.  I ended up doing it with the boyfriend of my best-friend's sister, Felipe. We are close as well, and I asked him the favor of being part of the film. It was getting late, it was about 6:30 pm so it was more dark. Due to this, I did not like the result. We tried to make it look good but the lighting and shadows were tough to manage at this time, I am not sure if I will add this scene. I will try to re-do it but I am not sure, I will keep you guys updated. However, I had fun, it started to rain after we finished and had to rush home    

 For the friend part, I included Felipe, Majo, Sofi (Majo's sister), and myself. I loved this, it is not the biggest group but I have a significant care and love towards them. Personally, I found it meaningful to have them there. In this scene, at the last minute I decided to show the group of friends playing a board game, called Parques. This is a coomon Colombian game, I remember we used to play this every Sunday in family, when I was in Colombia. Therefore, I found this even more meaningful. They are shown playing the game and interacting. Basically for this scene, I just put my phone to record and we were actually playing and having a conversation. I wanted it to be natural, as if the camera was not there.

My plan for the next filming day is to record my sibling's part at the park. If it is possible, I will be recording the part where Paula is by herself looking at the sunset, I will have to find a good view from the park or another place if that is possible. 

AUDIOO

The audio and overall sound of a film is one of the most important parts, it shows emotions and helps develop the movie and get a better idea of what is happening. As I have informed, I will do a Voice over, I will narrate the current life of Paula. I chose to do this so the audience has a context of what is happening and I figured it would transmit more emotions. I have not done my script yet, I want to edit the footage first and then inspire myself more, of course I have an idea of what I will say but not exactly figured what I will do. 

Before the narration starts, the scene of Paula in the mirror with her mother will take place. After this, the narration will start. The narration will be about the whole opening film. When the title appears, the garage scene will be shown. Six years earlier, Paula and her mother packing to move the United States, to start a new life. In the first seconds, the first scene, I want to have emotional and happy background. I have been looking at some songs on the Youtube Audio Library, Pixabay and Bensound. I have been looking at some sentimental, happy, and dramatic sounds. I have saved a few.

I have been thinking about adding another if not the same music from the first scene to the narration part. Since it is the same mood of happiness. Paula is about to graduate at the beginning and she is living a happy and stable life in the narration. At the end, the mood and environment changes, since Paula is struggling and living a life-changing moment. The music should be sentimental, I have two sounds that I think would fit well in this last section. I found them in both Pixabay and Bensound. 

I like Bensound because I can choose a mood, theme or genre. This is helpful because I can look better what I want and have different options.

These are the sounds that I have liked the most. I also chose a sound effect of "boom" when I say " Pero nunca fue asi" (But it was not always like this) When the narration ends and the title pops up. I want to add something like a boom to add suspense.

Since I will be doing Voice over, I have doing research of this. I have found a very helpful article  that explains what Voice over is and the different types of Voice overs and their functions. I found this article helpful since it gives tips to have in mind while doing a Voice over:

1. Practice and warm-up

2. Understand the script and audience

3. Use proper mic technique

4. Control your breathing

5. Master editing and post-production

I do not have a professional microphone or anything similar. However, I think a friend of mine does. I will ask if I can borrow it for a day to make the audio sound more neat.

I think I will do a couple Foley sounds, like a tape sound when the mother closes the box of memories and when the mother walks toward Paula at the beginning. My opening film does not require a lot of Foley but I will try to add a couple. 

I also think that I will use DaVinci Resolve to edit. I do not have access to Adobe Pro because my computer does not allow me. I have done research in other options of editing apps and I found this one is a good one. I have lloked for tutorials and how to add voice over in there as well. 

It is kind of confusing right now for me, since I have never done this and I am not experienced on this editing app. However, when I have my footage done and arranged, I know it will be easier and I will ace it. 

To conclude, I am sure I will do a narration. I need to explore more about voice over in DaVinci Resolve so I have an easier and effective process while editing. I have a variety of options of sounds to add during narration and during the packing scene. 

• What is voiceover? A complete guide for beginners. (n.d.). Www.descript.com.https://www.descript.com/blog/article/what-is-voiceover

Props!

Props are objects that are used to support the storyline and develop characters in a film, they symbolize certain things.

In my film, there are some props that are symbolic to develop Paulas character and gives hints of what the film will be about. 

The Colombian bracelet used by Paula throughout the opening and whole film. In the flashback when Paula was packing along her mother, she wears the same bracelet, which shows continuity between her past and present. In the packing scene, when she touches the "recuerdos" box, the bracelet is visible, which also shows this symbolic moment of her about to leave her country. This bracelet represents her identity and the parts of Colombia that stay with her, even as she adapts to her new life in the United States.

In the scene where Mia and Milan are shown, there will be a stuffed animal that either Mia or Milan will hold, and it will be shown at the packing scene as well. This toy has been Paula's since she was about 7, and it was meaningful for her. It is still hers but their siblings love it. The stuffed bear shows Paula's growth and that it has been with her throughout her journey, because it would be shown in key scenes where she struggles. It even has a Colombian shirt ☺☺☺☺☺😃

I think that when Paula is at the park, she will look at Polaroid pictures instead of photos in her phone. I thought about this to make it more meaningful, since these pictures where taken at the exact moment and they are physical. When she is at the park by herself, her journal and the pictures will be shown. These pictures can be considered a prop, they remind Paula and show the audience how much she has changed in the past years. While Paula looks at the pictures, she reminds her life before but is happy to be where she is now. These pictures, are mine, one shows me with my mother, me in my 11th birthday, with my friends, and the other two with my family before I moved. I still do not know if I will show all five, but at least two.

The "recuerdos" box that is filled with photos and important family memories is one important prop. It is the last thing shown on the opening film. The box represents her life in Colombia and the struggles of moving. The way Paula touches the box shows her mixed feelings and hesitation. 

The setting of my opening!

One of the most important things to think about is the setting and set of the opening film. My best friend, Maria Antonia, will be playing Paula. With her permission, I will be recording most of the shots at her house. I figured that it was a good setting, I find her home very comforting and visually cozy. 

For the first scene, Paula about to graduate and looking at the mirror with her mother, it will be filmed at her house. My friend has a mirror that works perfectly for the scene. I actually passed by her home yesterday to look at some shots I was thinking of doing and see if they looked good as I imagined them. I recorded her at the mirror, I was trying to get a good shot and have a good angle.

The next scene is Paula at her work. My friend has two jobs, she has her own business of gifts and works at a camp. The initial thought was to record her at the camp, as I put on the storyboard as well. However, yesterday she was thinking it through better, and is not sure if I will be able to go and record there. I told her to ask as soon as possible because I need to start to record this week, most likely tomorrow. If not, I will show her working at home with her business, that is what I am thinking of.

The next scenes will be recorded at Marianto's place. I initially thought to record the friend scene at a restaurant or coffee place, most likely at the town center. However, when I was at her home yesterday, I saw the balcony she has. I had completely forgotten about it, and I found that it fits really well because it is cozy and comforting. I also would have more freedom of filming and coming up with new ideas at home, instead of in a public place.

The scenes with boyfriend and little sister will be filmed in an open space Marianto has at home. She has access to a golf place, I will show a picture below. I find this practical because I can record most of the shots at her home. Ohhh and also the last shot before the title pops up, when Paula is by herself looking at the sunset, it will be recorded there as well but in another angle.

The scene when Mia and Milan are shown, will be recorded inside the house. I am not sure if in my friends bedroom or living room. Marianto is a person that loves cartoons, Disney, and Princesses, so her room is pink full of toys and stuffed animals. I think it can add meaning to the opening somehow. Even though she has faced a lot of struggles and is an adult now, she still loves to be a child, mostly since her siblings were born. I am somehow like that, I love to share with my siblings because i can be myself and my inner child is activated hahhah. So I am not sure if  shots 17- 22 will be filmed at the living room or bedroom yet.

The last part of the opening is when the mother and Paula pack to move. I plan doing this on my friend's garage or in the living room. Most likely in the garage. I will bring a lot of boxes from my house and record in garage.

GUYSSS... Change of plans

All I had said before about the setting will be changed. I have faced an inconvenience this weekend, and my friend, Marianto, will not be able to help me in my opening. She got very sick this week and she works until 7 and is hard to coordinate the same days and time, and we have been postponing the filming. I was supposed to have the footage ready by today and we have been postponing and I can't really wait more. I had done this blog about five days ago, but I will change it now. I thought about erasing what I put, however, I thought this was part of the process, I have faced a "problem" now i have to solve it.

I think that the best idea is for me to play Paula since i am basing the character in myself. I made the error of basing the work on Marianto's, the camp she works at. Now I do not know what I would do to start the narration. Maybe working at the computer or packaging some things, since that is what I do. 

Everything I had said will still be the same. The first scene of Paula looking at the mirror will be at my best friend's house or my house.

The parts of the park, with the boyfriend, sister and by herself, will be done at a park this time. I was thinking one that is close by, probably emerald states park. It would be a good setting to do what I want to.

The last scene in the garage, will be done at her garage, or probably mine. The thing here is that I want to get the filming done by maximum Thursday, and there might be days we will have less time, so based on what we have, I will decide if this last scene will be done at my house or hers.

This has been kind of stressful, I did not expect to change some things or that my friend would not be able to do this, I had the things planned. But it does not matter, it already happened and I will make the best to have a good outcome and deliver a good project.

Character development of Paula

The protagonist of my opening film is Paula. To start off, this name was chosen because since I was a little girl I have loved this name. I was having a conversation with my mom related to the project and I asked her about the name. I had several names on mind and she immediately said Paula. My mother loves that name too, because when I was about 8 years old I wrote a story to her and the name of the protagonist was Paula. 

As I have documented, I came up with the idea of this character and her story by inspiring on my experience of moving from Colombia to the United States. The character's development is based on me and my experiences for these past six years. 

Paula is shown in the film during different stages in her life. Each stage shows a part of her personality shaped by the challenges and experiences she has faced. The full story shows her journey from when she started packing from Colombia until she is about to graduate high school in the U.S, brief and crucial moments are shown throughout the film. 

Now, to talk about Pula's character in her different stages. At 11, when she first moved to the United States, she was hesitant and uncertain about the future and how her life was going to look like. The thought of leaving everything she knew, her father, friends, home, culture, people was overwhelming. She struggled to open up to this new world, she was felt like she did not fit in. But she knew that she was not going to be left behind, the thing is that she did not know how to express it yet or what to do to change her mindset.

As time passed, Paula started changing in small steps. However, when she was 13, her sister, Mia, was born. There is when Paula started feeling a sense of responsibility and purpose she had not felt before. She was not thinking just about herself anymore, she started thinking about her sister and new family. Paula somehow became more mature and started taking house responsibilities and learning to care for her family more. As Mia started growing, Paula started to understand the beauty of the little moments and saw  Mia as her motivation, since she was becoming a role model for her little sister. She started changing her mindset drastically, in many ways. Her new responsibilities led her to grow up more quickly mentally, but by doing that, she became stronger.

When Paula changed her mindset, and realized that she had no make things get better, and stand up, keep moving forward, there is where everything changed. She had to find a balance in responsibility and facing the pressure of adapting to a new life, since she was in her first year of high school. But things during these years changed for her in a positive way. Clearly, during these years a lot of conflicts happened like conflict at home with her stepfather and mother, economic problems and internal problems outside the feeling of change. 

By the time Paula is 18, her personality is shaped by the years of experience and the struggles she faced during these years. She faced problems with friends and people that made her realize a lot of things as well about the people and the world. By now, she had learned valuable things and is a selective person when it comes to her close circle of friendships. She is shown as strong, resilient and protective of her siblings and loved ones. She lived happy with her new family and baby brother that is one year old. But an important and crucial part here, are her siblings, Mia and Milan are her reminder of what really matters.

Paula's growth shows how strong, determined and resilient she is. She never gives up on herself or those she loves. This is a story dedicated for those who have faced this emotions of leaving their countries and keep moving forward. Everything gets better, it is about time and a good mindset. Paula's journey is full of self-discovery and growth. She goes from an uncertain and close-minded 11-year-old, to the 18-year-old who is confident, resilient and caring. Through every challenge she faced, she understood that she was going to change her life by her own will, not by waiting for things to change by themselves. The challenges she experienced made her learn and become the woman she is now. She is determined to keep writing her own story after graduation. 

Media Theory

I will incorporate the Todorov's narrative theory. It is about five stages of equilibrium in a story, which is to show how the character evolves over time. I will use this to develop Paula's character. The five stages are: Equilibrium (stable state), disruption of equilibrium (something changes), recognition of the disruption (understanding the change), attempt to fix or repair the disruption (adapting to change) and lastly the new equilibrium ( a return or restoration of a new equilibrium at the end of the narrative, growth)

Here is how I envision this Theory in my opening film:

1. Equilibrium: The opening film shows Paula at 18 years old, living a happy and fulfilling life. She narrates her happiness and everything seems stable, making the audience think that her life has always looked like this.

2. Disruption of Equilibrium: The scenes suddenly shift to six years earlier, Paula is 11 years old at this time, packing along her mother. The mood changes and the environment feels heavy. The audience does not know the full story yet, but it feels that something drastic happened.

3. Recognition of the Disruption: The audience realizes Paula's stability has not always been there, she had lot leave everything behind and starts over to get to  where she is now. This will not be shown clearly on the opening film, but as the story develops. Paula realizes her life will not be the same.

4. Attempt to resolve the Disruption: This will be explored during the film, Paula struggles to adapt in a new country, feeling lost and looking back to her past. She tried hard to feel better but did not find her place and felt like she "didn't fit in", she eventually starts making friends and finds her place. Her life changes to the better primarily since her sister was born. This part is about Paula finding balance between her Colombian identity and new life.

5. New Equilibrium: The film goes back to the present day. It mirrors the opening, she is happy and the audience now understands what it took her to get there.

• ‌Todorov and Propps Narrative Theory. (2019, April 3). Richard’s EDCM2 FMP Blog. https://richardedcm2fmpblog.home.blog/2019/04/03/todorov-and-propps-narrative-theory/

• Todorov’s Equilibrium Theory. (2025). AS Media.  https://lucytownsendasmedia.weebly.com/todorovrsquos-equilibrium-theory.html‌‌

STORYBOARD!

I started working on my storyboard this week and finished it yesterday. The function of the storyboard is that it let's me see what I will be creating in drawings. It is very helpful because it helped me develop the scenes and shots, while creating this I had to think thoroughly about the scenes and in what order I was going to put them. While I was drawing I was imagining it, like some transitions so the change of scenes would not look weird. I want them to connect somehow. On the description I put what kind of shot it is, the description of what is happening and how long the shot will be.

The past week I was decided of what I want to do, However, had a hard time coming up with the first scene. This weekend, I came up with the idea to start off by showing Paula (the protagonist) about to graduate. The first shot will be about her fixing her graduation cap, she is at home here. It is about an emotional moment because her mother comes up to her and says that she is very proud. From there, I want to start showing Paula's happy moments and the narration would start as well.

Here is the breakdown and explanation of each shot:

1. Close-Up of Paula fixing her graduation cap, she is looking at herself on the mirror. So will record the mirror. 5 sec

2. Mid-shot of Paula looking at herself sighs and looks determined. 3 sec

3. Mid-shot, Paula's profile. Her mother is approaching her and is seen walking in the background. 5 sec

4. Two-shot, Mid-shot showing both Paula and her mother on the mirror. Mother puts her hand on Paula's shoulder, says "Estoy muy orgullosa de ti mi amor" (I am so proud of you sweetheart) and hug. 8 sec

There is a change of scenes, here Paula's happy current moments are shown.

5. Long shot of Paula at work, she works at a camp. She is walking. 4 sec

6. Over the shoulder of Paula, showing her view, kids running around or showing her friends that work with her. 5 sec

7. Over the shoulder, a kid tells her to play with her/him, show happiness. The idea is to show Paula's reaction as well. I am thinking of changing the shot to show Paula's profile to show her reaction. 5 sec

Scene changes, transition with her friends.

8. Two-shot, mid-shot,  of Paula and her best friend, laughing, having a good time. They are sitting in a cafe or restaurant. 4 sec

9. A mid-shot or long-shot (I will decide while we are in the place) of the table they are sitting at. Here the friend group will be shown, at the same restaurant/cafe. Showing them having a good time. The idea is to start recording them sitting, chatting and then go around the table and show their faces more closely. There will be four friends. I am still thinking better this shot, I will see better at the moment, but I will update!

10. A mid-shot showing the friends putting their hands together, to show their close and genuine bond. Paula's phone is shown on the side, it is shown on the frame. A message from her boyfriend "Leo" pops up. 6 sec

11. Mid-shot, showing Paula's profile, looking at Leo's message, smiling. The friends are shown in the background, smiling as well. I want to record it closer to the message and then do a transition. 7 sec

Scene changes, transitions to boyfriend.

12. Close-up or mid-shot of Paula and Leo holding hands. The setting would be in a park. I am doing the transition from Paula looking at his love message and their physical connection of holding hands. I think it would be meaningful. I need to figure out how to make it smooth and look good. 3 sec

13. Paula and Leo still holding hands and walking towards the camera, smiling. Paula has flowers on her hand. The idea is to show them walking towards the camera so the landscape is the last thing shown. 7 sec

Scene changes, transitions to Mia, Paula's little sister.

14. Mia appears on screen, walking from the right part of the screen to the center. The camera will be placed the same as the last shot. on the same or similar place there is a smooth transition. 5 sec

15. POV of Paula, looking at Mia, a slight high angle. The idea is that Mia walks towards Paula and says something like "I love you". 4 sec

16. Full body shot of Paula and Mia hugging. 3 sec

Setting changes, now Paula and Mia are at home.

17. Transition from hug to them doing the high-five. Mid-shot of Mia. She was drawing something, takes the drawing after the hug. 5 sec

18. POV of Paula, slight high angle. Showing Mia, holding the drawing and smiling. 4 sec

19. Same POV, but now Milan (little brother) comes running towards her. 5 sec

20. Mid-shot of Paula, looking at them. She has a sentimental expression and shows emotion by looking at her little siblings.

21. Close-up of Mia's face. 2 sec

22. Close-up of Milan's face. 2 sec. I chose this to show that Paula is looking them, they are the most important little humans for her. I chose to add these close ups to represent that. 

Scene changes, Paula is alone, sitting at a park looking at the sunset.

23. Transition, close-up of Paula's face, in the same position as the previous shots of her siblings. She is sitting on the floor at a park, it is shown that she is looking at something. 3 sec

24. Mid-shot of Paula looking at a sunset. 4 sec

25. Mid-shot showing both a journal and her phone on her lap. A notification from Photos pops up, showing a memory from 2019. She takes her phone.  6 sec

26. Paula opens the picture, it is a picture of her when she was 11. I am still not sure of what picture, I would add one of her and both her parents when they were still together or one with her family in Colombia. 3 sec

27. Mid-shot or close-up to Paula's face, sentimental, giving an innocent smirk. 4 sec

28. Title of the film. 4 sec

Second parts starts, 6 years earlier...

29. A full body shot showing Paula as an 11 year old and her mother from the back. They are packing some things, like pictures and memories. They have a box and they are packing there the both of them. 10 sec

30. The same shot, but here the mother closes the box with tape. 5 sec

31. Close-up of the box from the top showing that they were packing some valuable memories, they label the box "memories". 3 sec

32. same close-up, Paula now puts her hand on the box. 2 sec

33. Last shot, Paula has her hand on the box and the mother puts her hand on Paula's. Paula removes her hand quickly. I chose to do this for the last shot to leave the audience ask themselves why the attitude? why did she remove her hand? 5 sec

This is the breakdown of my opening film. I hope there are not much changes from what I put on the storyboard. I know I will get inspired in the moment where I'm filming, so some things might be changed. I will update everything I do or change. This will be very useful while I film, I am very excited!

Group meeting outcome!

Hello! So today we met in groups of 6, for the group meetings. This activity allows each individual to talk about their project and get some feedback. The idea is to give real and honest opinions about it. If we think changes could improve their project, we give ideas and possible solutions that can help our classmates get better and have other perspectives.

When we got in our assigned groups, we shared our Blog URLs, this was done to have a reference while we were listening to each person. During the meeting, I took notes of what my classmates were saying and the summary of their opening scene and overall plot. Today I realized that not everyone has figured out what they will do yet. Either they know the plot but not how to start or they know what they want to add to the opening film but do not know the plot yet. I listened to them and I gave them feedback. 

Jano started out, he is planning on developing two characters, one that is serious and other that is more fun. I liked that he want to parallel edit in a part. He wants to show both characters but doing different things at the same time but in different places. For feedback, I said I liked his idea but needs to work more on the overall plot. Since he kind of has an idea, which is that at the end of the day, even though they look as different people, they have the same goal, which is doing a bank heist. However, Jano does not know their motives yet, or what else connects both characters. Therefore, the feedback was to think through it better, so he can have a better outcome.

Isabella was next, when I opened her Blog, I found it very organized and appealing. She talked about her plot, which is about two friends that are about to graduate and want to do a list of things they will do before college starts. Isabella has her idea, and her genre, but does not know how to start it yet. We told her to organize her ideas better. She was indecisive of the setting, she had three options. I told her that the bedroom was a good idea, and it aligns with the plot, it would start a good movie. 

Parker will do a coming-of-age opening film, the setting would be in a crowded place. He said the school hallway but then we asked him how he planned on recording that. He then said the setting could be easier in the cafeteria, since is a very crowded place. We gave him the idea of taking a good footage when school is about to end, when everyone goes out of their classes and the hallway gets pretty crowded. He said he would need to get creative and think it better so he and his group would have a good opening. I liked his idea, he plans on doing a voice over, from the characters and their thoughts. 

Charlie did not have his idea fully developed, he said he was doing an horror/mystery opening. He planned to do it about a serial killer and show pictures (maybe polaroids) of his victims, murdered. In my opinion, horror and murder films, mostly if they are in action, need to be well thought because it can turn out to be not so good. It needs to be better prepared and have a plot. That it what was said to him.

Lastly, another classmate told us his idea, he had it developed. It will be about a four boy rock band, one of the members (guitar) has psychological problems mostly anger issues. He gets kicked out of the group and starts revenging by killing the members. This is mostly the plot, but he said that the goal of the opening film is to develop the characters and their band. It is to show the guitarist anger issues and show the other characters as well. They already have planned their setting and they all have the instruments so they have done their planning. I liked it, he seemed sure about it.

Lastly, It was my turn to tell them my plot and opening scene idea. I told them everything and they asked some questions, about the narration and transitions. They overall said they liked my idea and that it was creative. They really liked the fact that I will be narrating in Spanish because it adds more meaning to the whole story. I am worried about the editing part, and I commented this. They said that I need to leave a good amount of time to spend editing and do good research about editing, like adding VO and subtitles. I commented that I need to do good transitions from each scene, because I am still thinking about that. They did not say a lot about that, just that I need to figure out so it looks natural and well done. But at the end they said that they liked it, that it was going to turn out pretty good. I HOPE SO 

This activity helped me see other people's process, ideas and creativity. I enjoyed it because I got to see my classmates ideas and how they are planning on developing everything. I am excited to see their final products. I hope that my feedback helped them in some way!

Plot of my opening film!

It has been two weeks since we were introduced to this project. I had a hard time choosing what it would consist of, I had several ideas on mind. But now I will give an update of the plot of my film!

For this I thought of showing my story ever since I moved to the United States. I moved from Colombia almost six years ago when I was 11 years old. It was a very difficult time in my life,  I moved only with my mother since my parents had gotten divorced a couple months before. I was used to living with my parents and it was a sudden transition that I was not prepared for. Plus the fact that I moved and started living with both my mom  and her partner whom I had not met previously. For context, my mother moved to the U.S six months before I did. So I lived six months just with my father before moving. My mother met her partner and moved together within a few months and when I arrived here, I started living with them.

For an 11-year-old is a lot to take in, I moved in summer of 2019, so I was going to start school soon as well. My school in Colombia was bilingual so I was used to listen to the English language, however, evidently it is not the same. I understood what i was being taught but was embarrassed to speak, I was afraid of being judged since I did not speak very well. The following two years went by and I felt I did not fit in, I was still not that used to live with another man, and I did not connect with my classmates. I used to think of Colombia, my family, school, friends, my father! I wished to be there, with them. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in this time so I had more time alone, it was only us three at home. In graduated middle school in 2021 and the decision of moving to a zone that offered better education was made. My mother was not convinced of the high schools that were near our place. So my mother found my current school, Cypress Bay High School.

I forgot to mention previously that my mother was pregnant at the time, it was a major shift in my life as well. I never thought of being an older sister, I never saw this happening, since I had been an only child my entire life. My baby sister Mia was born a month after I started High School. It has been an amazing experience full of learning, patience and happiness. I felt that everything started changing, in my new school I felt way better, it is a huge school so I crossed paths with amazing people. Of course, everyone goes through difficulties and hard times in life. During my high school I went through a lot of changes and difficulties but they made me the person I am today. And guess what... I have a baby brother now! Now I have two baby siblings that I do not know what I'd do without them, they are my happiness. 

I feel that my teenage years have been somehow different than most teens, I am not comparing myself, I just analyze my life in a lot of perspectives. The fact of having a three-year-old sister and a year-old brother is not something everyone experiences. Due to this, I have developed a lot of skills and gained somehow a lot of knowledge at an early age. I learned to cook when I was 13, learned to change diapers and take care of two little human beings. I have done this to help my family, both my mother and step father are very hard-working people that have sacrificed a lot of things throughout these years. So, I do not help them out because I have to, but because I enjoy helping them out with my siblings and want to take care of the two beings I love the most. By saying this, I do not mean that it has been easy. It has been a very challenging experience, having two little humans at home is not very easy, but I have learned a lot of things that I probably would not know if they were not in my life. 

After almost six years of being away from my country and family, one month ago I finally got to go back. It was something I had been looking forward for years and it was incredible. The hardest part has been being away from my father, but now I can see him more often, which is all I need. Now, concluding this, I can say that I am happy, I got into the university I always wanted to go and the career I wanted. I can say that I have met a lot of people in these four high school years that have shaped who I am. I am a very selective person when it comes to friendships, and with to my current friendships I feel more than happy and loved. I love my family, My siblings are mostly the reason why i smile every single day of my life. I am thankful of the  family I have. I get along with my step father perfectly fine, which used to be a conflict  for the first years, but then I realized that he is a great guy that respects my mother, his kids (my siblings) and me. There is a lot more in my way, I know that, but I know that the positive and the not so positive experiences, are both opportunities to learn. I do not regret anything, I do not regret moving from everything I knew, I can say that I would do it all over again. 

It is me there in this picture, the morning after I arrived to this country. Having mixed emotions and a lot of questions on my mind. I find this photo symbolic, i am looking at the amazing landscape in front of my eyes, wondering about the future at the moment. I wished I could talk to this girl and tell her not to worry so much, everything's going to be fine.

NOWWWW FOR THE ACTUAL IDEA OF MY PROJECT. Sorry for this long story, but I wanted to give a background of my experience ever since I moved, since it is my inspiration.

The idea of my opening film is to show the positive things the protagonist is currently living, so showing the protagonist at 18-year-old. I want to show that she graduated, has amazing friends, is in a relationship, is an older sister, has a job, has a great relationship with her mother and show more positive things. I want to add narration, narrating possibly in Spanish, to add more meaning. The last line of the narration would be something like "but it was not always like this", showing that she had to go through some things before reaching this stage in her life. Suddenly the screen would go black and the title would show up (I am still deciding the title). After that I doubt there will be narration. Melancholic background music or TV background would be added. I was thinking of showing hints that there is a moving taking place. Probably showing two adults (which would be the protagonist's mother and another adult, maybe a friend) moving around with boxes and packing thins. I would add the "6 years ago" to show the time and show when she moved. I want to show hints of her nationality, showing maybe a flag or some Colombian music in the background. I still need to think that part through. But my idea is for the viewer to understand that she is moving.   My story is my inspiration but I am changing some things up. For instance, I will give context that she is moving with her mother at the same time. I might change some things up while I develop my story board and the first part that includes my narration.

I took this approach of showing the positive things first, to remind the audience that there is there is always a journey behind. Not every experience is enjoyable and not seen as positive at the moment. I also believe it gives hopeful, for my audience that is young adults and teens, also immigrants, starting with this positiveness and then showing that it was not always like that, can make it be relatable and give hope that things get better with time. 

I have a good feeling about this! I think I have got a good idea for an opening scene. There are a lot of things that I need to plan as soon as possible, I need to create my storyboard to have my visual idea, and my script of the narration needs to be well thought. I imagine most of it in my head and I hope it turns out as I hope so. As I have previously mentioned, I am not very experienced in editing everything at once or do things like voice overs. However, I will not take it as an excuse, I will do my best to make this opening scene be successful. I believe it is going to be more fun to develop since I am inspiring in my experiences, which I am excited about.

TARGET AUDIENCE

When starting creating a film, one of the most important question to ask is Who is this for? Who is my audience? Coming of age movies usually consist of a teen or young adult going through a major change in their life, while exploring themes of growing up, resilience and maturation. In my film, the main themes are about personal growth, resilience ad immigration. It focuses on a girl who moves from Colombia to the U.S and faces various challenges while adapting to her new life, everything she was used to was left behind, her culture, father and friends. The idea of the film is to show that the protagonist overcame her struggles to reach the happiness that is seen in the opening scene. Therefore, to make this story more meaningful, it is important to understand my audience.

Target audience of the film:

• Teenagers & Young adults from ages of 12-25. I chose this audience because many teens and young adults experience major life changes and explore emotional struggles. This range of age connect with coming-of-change stories. 
• Immigrants have felt out of place in a new country and struggled adapting to a new environment.Therefore, people that have experienced moving will relate to this film.
• Hispanic audience, the narration will most likely be in Spanish, narrating her current experiences and showing hints of her struggles. I am considering this decision to add more meaning, hispanic individuals will relate and mostly if they are immigrants.
• Individuals that enjoy movies of personal growth and resilience. There are a lot of people that enjoy authentic stories with messages of overcoming challenges.

I did some research and found an article of immigrant young individuals that have entered U.S schools in the past years. As immigration is increasing, this number is significant.

"More than half a million school-age migrant children have arrived in the U.S. since 2022"

According to the Migration Policy Institute posted on October 2023:

"About half of recent immigrant children in 2021 were Latino and, likewise, about half spoke Spanish at home."

"In 2021, there were 649,000 recent immigrant children ages 5 to 17, representing 30 percent of all foreign-born children. About one-quarter of all school-age children come from an immigrant background; among these 14 million immigrant-origin children in 2021, 85 percent were U.S.-born children with immigrant parents"

These facts of immigrant children arriving to U.S schools in 2021, shows how immigration has been increasing. Which is why I am sure that my opening film will be relatable to my audience. It will give hope for the people that are just going through this journey of moving. I want to show that even though it seems like nothing will get any better, you need to know that it will, if you have a good mindset and are willing to be positive, even if it is difficult.

My goal is to: use realistic, personal and relatable storytelling, showing victories and hints of struggles. My narration will be intimate, I will think back to what I felt at the moment of moving, with a nostalgic but hopeful tone. I want the audience feel part of the protagonist's journey. 

Therefore, understanding my target audience will make my film more appealing and powerful. By focusing on young adults, teens, immigrants and hispanic individuals, I can tell a story that feels real and transmit various emotions.

• Sugarman, J. (2023, October 17). Recent Immigrant Children: A Profile of New Arrivals to U.S. Schools. Migrationpolicy.org. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/recent-immigrant-children
• Hesson, T., Cooke, K., & Pell, M. B. (2024, October 5). An American education: Classrooms reshaped by record migrant arrivals. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigations/an-american-education-classrooms-reshaped-by-record-migrant-arrivals-2024-10-05/

CREDIT INSPO!

The credits and the title of the film are an important section of this project, without them, it would not look realistic and would not get the same attention. I looked through some opening credit sequences in my genre, mostly coming-of-age to look for inspiration.

Almost famous (2000)

In this particular production, the opening scene divides into two. In the first part, the credits are being written out in a yellow notebook paper. This decision might represent the development of the character. I made some research and found an article about the analysis of this opening scene. The handwritten credits at the beginning tie with the plot of the movie, a 15-year-old kid that gets assigned by Rolling Stone magazine to do a written documentation of a rock band that has been rising. During this first half, during short pauses, other items are shown to show context of the time. The purpose of showing the items on the desk are to show the time period which is the 1970s, showing concert tickets (mostly rock and bands) and posters from the time. Plus, there are warm colors being added to this first part, which is used to give the sense that it is where the character feels more comfortable at. On the second part, the credits are seen now in text, the font is very similar to the handwriting of the notebook credits. Also, the credits are dispersed all over the screen, not in a particular place. The shots show a beach, small houses and surf shops. Towards the end, there are Christmas stores shown which indicates that the time is around Christmas. I find this credit opening scene creative to the ones I have seen so far, it has a variety of symbols and notice more as you analyze and watch the movie. I have personally not watched the film, but in the research I have done, I get to understand some things and why they were included to the opening credits. For example, the band/music posters and the handwritten credits give context clues of the character. This is innovative to create an appealing opening scene.

Lady Bird (2017)

This production is a coming-of-age drama film, the protagonist is a rebellious teenager named Christine and calls herself "Lady Bird". The credits are in a capital letter fonts in a yellow color, it starts with the names of the actors. Then, the names of the  music supervisors, costume designer, editor, production designer, director of photography, co-producers, executive producers, writers, and directors are shown. The title is in a pretty different font from what I have seen so far in my genre, it can be recognizable for this particular production. The title is introduced at the beginning of the scene at the second 0:11. I like it because it connects to what you are seeing on screen, with the tone and the colors. The colors of the overall scene are yellowish, it is a warm palette that combines with the title and the credits, it was well chosen. For my opening scene, I would like to have a yellow title, I am not sure if the credits as well but I want to incorporate this color to add meaning. I also want the color and the font of my film to align with what is being shown on screen. So I will think about this wisely as well. Everything need to be well thought. Click here to watch the entire opening scene.

Eight Grade (2018)

This coming-of-age film shows a girl called Kayla in her last week of middle school. It begins with a realistic opening, of what middle school looks like for her. Kayla is introduced as a quiet and shy thirteen-year-old. It is seen in the first seconds of the opening, that she posts make-up tutorials and vlogs of positiveness on self image. The opening scene credits are in a white and small font, all positioned on the bottom-left side. The title is introduced at the end. The screen goes black and the title " Eight Grade" is shown in capital letter font which is white as well. I find it a simple and straight-forward credit scene. It can align with the protagonist's character of being shy and reserved. Here is the opening scene.

By watching credit scenes in my genre, it gives me ideas of what I want to incorporate into my project. I find that the opening credits also serve as a way to add meaning and establish symbols, even if the viewer does not know yet. It is something about being creative and think wisely of what you are delivering to the audience. I will be looking at more credit scenes that follow my idea, and I will give more updates!