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.
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.
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