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!

OPENING FILMS IN MY GENRE FOR INSPIRATION!

I have been coming up with several ideas of what to create for my opening film, I stick with the idea of having a girl that just moved to the USA. She is struggling internally because she left everything behind and starting her life over again. She moved with her mother and with her stepfather that she barely knows. I want to show her struggles and show relatability, since this is a situation that happens to mostly everyone that moved to another country, mostly in kids and teens. 

I did research for some opening films that have an opening similar to what i am thinking of doing. I am not sure yet if I want to add voice over, so the protagonist speaks about herself and her past life, or if I should focus more on adding emotion and leaving the audience intrigued of why she feels the way she does. I have three opening films that I like and gave me some inspiration. Including mean girls, freedom writers and ....

MEAN GIRLS (2004)

This is a film with the combination of drama and coming-of-age genre which is what I am looking for. I was thinking about what films can be similar to my idea, and mean girls came up! This particular opening scene portrays the character of Cady moving from Africa, where she was home-schooled, to Illinois where she will start high-school. This is similar to the story I want to create, both move to the United States and will are starting over, in an unknown place. In this opening scene, Cady talks about her past life, about her family, her life in Africa and noww, her moving to an entirely new place. This is a narration from the protagonist so voice over used. The protagonist is giving background of her life, with that,  the audience has context of what they will be watching next, which is that she is entering high school in an unknown place and country. This is a good narration, if I were to choose doing a voice over, this is close to what I would like to achieve.

FREEDOM WRITERS (2007)

Personally, I admire this film, due to the message it leaves of education and dedication. The professor teaches in a school in Los Angeles that is racially divided. She has a class of students that are basically incapable of learning due to the lack of opportunities and instead of her to give up on them, she dedicates on their education and encourages them to have a better future. It is moving because it is based on a true story as well. The opening scene of this film starts off showing report news of riots happening due to the Rodney King case back in 1992, which gives context clues of what the film will be about, there is also shown that gang violence was increasing at the time, this is shown for about the first minute. After this, the scene jumps into one of the students, named Eva Benitez and narrates times in her life that she has lived that have been tough since she was a girl. She narrates how life has been for her, due to the lack of opportunities and her race. She describes how she saw "the war" start, by seeing close people get killed by gangs. She also says how she remembers her father being arrested because he was respected by "his people" but he was innocent. This shows the injustices that used to happen at the time for every race except white people. However, throughout the opening scene, it is shown how from a young age, Eva was  preparing to fight fro her rights and she would not conform with being discriminated. 

While Eva narrates this for about four minutes, everything she was saying, was being shown on screen. This gives me more ideas, if I do a voice over of the protagonist, this could be a good idea, to show flashbacks of her life. This film relates to my idea because is a story of growth , struggles and learning, and they overcome the challenges they were facing. In the opening scene there is narration being used which is one of the ideas i have been thinking of doing.

In this clip, it starts off with Eva talking, the riot is not shown.

INSATIABLE (2018-2019)

Insatiable is a drama TV show and the opening film begins with Patty (protagonist) briefly narrating her story, she reflects on how she felt on her body most of her life and how she was being treated by others because of her being overweight. In this case, using narration was smart since it gives the audience insight into her character from the start, it also shows the internal struggles she has faced. Later, Patty mentions the character Bob Armstrong and he starts narrating as well. It indicates that he is an important character as well and that he changed Patty's life, since she said "He was my destiny". Therefore, it makes the audience think about what will happen? who is this guy?

I find this opening film relatable and appealing, it is entertaining as well. Since body shaming is sadly common, it is relatable and it makes the character of Patty be relatable, so it is a great start! This actually gave me a great idea that I will have in consideration. I am thinking of narrating the life of the protagonist since she moved to the United States, butttt, from the future, maybe 10 years after (22 years old) ,  the opening can consist of the good things that happened to her in the past years in the U.S , but towards the end, say something like "it was not always like this" or something that indicates that the girl used to struggle and she did not have a good time when she moved. This is an idea I just came up with, I saw this opening scene and I thought it would be a good idea. 

By watching these opening films, I got a LOT of inspiration, I have even more ideas now! But I need to decide very soon...

SCHEDULE AND PLANNING

In order to have everything planned and know what I will be doing for the next 7 weeks, I will be making a schedule and breakdown of my portfolio project. This way, I can plan out how my weeks are going to look like and know what I am supposed to be doing.

1. Brainstorming

• Brainstorm genres, based on the ones that interest me the most
• Brainstorm possible plots, develop the story to know what my opening film will look like.

2. Research

• Do research on the two possible genres I will be doing.
• Look for films from my genre of choice for inspiration.
• I plan on doing some voice over, like a narration from the protagonist, decide what is best for what I want to transmit. Look for films of inspiration.
• Research similar opening scenes to what i am visualizing to have more ideas.
• Credit inspiration (including fonts)
• In general, do research on any doubt or anything I know I need help with.

3. Planning

• Create the plot of the whole story.
• Develop the character.
• Start my storyboard, start thinking of angles and shots that will be incorporated.
• Work on the script while I develop the storyboard.
• Search music and sound effects if they are needed.
• Think about the actors, if it will be me or another person that fits the character well.
• Choose the location of filming.
• Dates of filming.

4. Filming and overall production

• Film about 2 days 
• Record the foley if it's needed and the voice over if I decide to.

5. Editing

• Gather all the material recorded, choose the best shots.
• Organize them and look what is best to incorporate.
• Credits and title, have the fonts and style chosen.
• Review and make some changes if needed.
• re-record foley, footage or voice overs if necessary.

6. CCR

• I do not have full awareness of how the Critical Creative Reflection needs to be done, but I know it is a crucial segment of the portfolio, so I will spend about two weeks working on my CCR.
• Edit it and review it.

7. Blogs!

• As I am doing it right now, I will keep track of my blogs and getting them done efficiently.

Nowww, I will be planning my work for each week, I have 7 more weeks to get everything done, so I find it convenient to have planned out to have a guide. This weekend, I starting planning my next 7 weeks regarding the project.

That's it! I might be making some changes and doing some things first than others, but this is a guide for me to keep track. I know this will help me a lot, to not miss anything and get everything done on time. 

Genres for the portfolio project

Choosing the genre of my portfolio project is the first step I want to get done. I like several genres like thriller, drama and romance.

For the plot of my project, I think about making a representation of what my life looked like when I moved from Colombia to the United States, which would fit into the coming-of-age genre. Or I would do something still related to moving to another country but with the drama genre, showing the the main conflict with the character's relationships and emotional struggles, with a happy ending. Any of those two genres most likely will be my choice. I got inspiration from my own story because I know it is relatable to a wide group of people, like immigrants. It was a very though process, I had to leave everything behind and start over when I was an 11 year old child. However, I want to show how everything gets better over time, how life does not stop there, since that's what I thought 6 years ago. Over these years, amazing things have happened that have changed the way I see life, I found my purpose. I am inspired by this because I know i will have fun during the process. Now, let's do a little research about these two genres!

Drama Genre

I found a great article about the drama genre and the most important elements that should be incorporated. In this genre, the characters should receive the main attention, showing their growth and struggles. The characters evolve as they face both external and internal challenges. 

Some tips:

Authenticity: Be real, be vulnerable so you are being vulnerable with your audience, which makes the characters be more relatable, show they are not alone. This is what I want to transmit to my audience, realism. I want to make them feel different emotions and that they identify with what they are watching. 

As stated in the article "The ability to manipulate an audience’s emotions from laughter to tears, then back to laughter again is an essential trait of great storytelling. If your story produces the desired emotional effect that you wish to elicit — whether that’s to cry, scare, or laugh —  then you are doing your job as the writer" (Kevin Nelson).

Conflict: In Drama, the protagonist is out of their comfort zone, the story shows the decisions the character makes throughout their journey. The way the character responds to the problems ultimately defines them and shows their outcome. 

The Pursuit of Happyness is a film that deals with perseverance, hope, and the relationship between a father and his son in difficult circumstances. It shows the idea of starting over and the outcomes of hard work. This is what I want to transmit to the audience.

Coming-of age Genre

This genre is centered around the themes of youth, growing up, and maturation, focusing on a character. This shows the protagonist as they progress into the next stage of their life (adulthood), focusing on the mental, emotional and personal growth of the individual.

It is quite common to use narration from the protagonist's point of view. This is used to provide internal thoughts and their feelings as they go through their conflict. This is why many coming of age films take on an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical nature. This gives me an idea for my opening film, I would like to add narrative to provide more context to what the audience is watching.

These would be the things I would include if I were to do this genre:Show the protagonist facing real-life struggles, the internal and external conflict of the protagonist, and the character overcoming the problems. Both challenges and triumphs would be shown. I am not sure of what to exactly show in my opening film but I know what the story would be about.

Some films include:

- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

- Boyhood (2014)

- Moonlight (2016)

The start of portfolio project!

Hello Cambridge! From now on, I will be documenting my process of creating and developing my portfolio project. When I started this course, I knew this moment was going to come but time has passed by so fast! I cannot believe I am about to start this project. To be honest, before entering this course, I had not previous experience in this area, I had not edited or created sounds, so this had been a journey of learning. These past months we have learned all the concepts and techniques that will make me be successful on this project. I have never created anything "from scratch" like creating a story, and I am thinking about what I can do to make this opening film appealing and engaging.

I am not sure yet of what I will be doing, but I want to start off by planning the tone, create the context of the opening scene, and develop the character. I have several ideas of genres I want to approach, yet not sure of what to decide between those. I have been thinking about something that would make the audience feel emotional and melancholic, make them feel relatable to what they are watching.Plus, I would like to start the scene by showing the conflict, to make the viewer feel intrigued of what will happen next. My goal is to make the audience feel different emotions in a brief time.

However, I am still thinking it through and wisely, I want to make it enjoyable to make the process more fun. I will keep researching and thinking about potential films for inspiration. I am still sticking with the idea of making a heart felt and melancholic opening. I would like to have in the background some moments of narration as well, if not I will add soft music.

This weekend I will spend time trying to decide my genre and have a better idea to start this amazing process. I might be new at this, but I will put all my effort to deliver a successful project with the material, with the help of the material I have learned these past months. 

I will be consistent with my research and will be using the notes taken in class throughout the year, to make better decisions when thinking about sounds, shots, colors, lighting, editing and props. 

These are the notes I took for the opening films, i will be using this while preparing my project.