Editing Process

   I have now filmed to the point where I have enough footage to be able to begin to edit some of my film opening. So far, I'm able to edit what I have in a way that provides structure for the rest of the opening. What may become difficult in the future is being able to get all the scenes I want in the opening to fit within the two minute time limit. The way I see it, the film opening is not going to flow smoothly if I try to cram in all the scenes I want so I may have to cut some of them out.
   Since I have been editing what I have so far and have been planning what other scenes I want to include in my opening, I realized that editing is important in regards to how a story is told. In the editing process, it is important to develop a plot, characters, and a storyline for the film opening. The point of each scene is to progress the story. That makes me have to choose which scenes I want to include in the opening carefully and also causes me to be more attentive as to whether a scene I include makes the film opening flow better or not. Editing is vital in determining how the opening will turn out.



Professional Video Editing Tips and Techniques. (2016, October 11). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/professional-video-editing-tips-and-techniques/

Confronted With a Problem

   Today was a day that was dedicated to filming. So far, things have gone pretty smoothly throughout the filming process, but today wasn't so simple. It was the first time that I had run into a problem while filming. While I was filming, my SD card had run out of space. This was a major inconvenience since I wasn't able to film anymore. It stopped me from being able to progress with my film opening and interrupted the time that was meant for filming.

   Although this was a problem, it was something that I was able to overcome. I was able to go and buy another SD card which allowed me to continue to film. It did end up being a major loss of time since getting ahold of a new SD card took a while. This issue resulted in me not being able to film for the rest of the day since it had become dark outside by the time I was able to get back to my filming location. Earlier, I had been trying to shoot some scenes outside while it was still light out but the change in light was no longer consistent with the earlier footage. Even though this was a problem that stopped me from being able to film, getting another SD card allows me to be able to continue to film in the future.

The Script

   I don't think that my film opening will contain much dialogue. I think that it will be an opening that builds up emotion based on several other factors. Music is going to be important when it comes to the creation of the film opening as it will add feeling to it and guide the audience. Editing is also going to play an important role in the making of this film opening. It will allow for me to be able to edit the footage in a way that gives the film opening meaning.
   If I do end up writing a script along the way, it will most likely be short and won't contain much discussion. The lines that are said in the film opening might actually be improvisation, like in the film Blue Valentine, in which Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams improvised their scenes. Improvisation allows for the acting in the film to seem natural and not forced. It creates an idiosyncratic, lived-in feel that can be difficult to create through a script. Again, I don't plan on having much dialogue throughout the film but if anything changes throughout the production process, then I will create a short script or use improvisation.





Screenwriting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from http://masteringfilm.com/using-improv-as-a-screenwriting-tool/

Top 5 Entirely Improvised Films. (2015, September 14). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.monkeysfightingrobots.co/top-5-entirely-improvised-films/

How I'm going to make this

   For the production of my film opening, it is not going to take many people to have to get involved in order to be able to create it. It is a minimalistic production since it will only have one main protagonist. I plan to bring one other person along to help me film since I am going to be acting in the opening. My friend and I should be able to get all the footage we need since the opening takes place in the real world. We can shoot in most places and still be able to incorporate it into my opening.

   You don't need a large amount of people working on a project to make it good. Sean Baker made a film called Snowbird back in 2016. For the production of the film, at times it only consisted of him and his director of photography using smartphones. He was able to make a successful film with few people.

LaPorte, N. (2016, February 19). Director Sean Baker On Why He Shoots His Films On iPhones. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3056710/director-sean-baker-on-why-he-shoots-his-films-on-iphones

Snowbird. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.kenzo.com/en/snowbird

A Potential Solution in my Car

   Since my film opening has scenes of Remian seeing water bottles wherever he goes, I figured that I can film in various locations and still be able to use the footage in my film opening. The scenes that I film will constantly involve water bottles. Instead of having to bring water bottles everywhere I have to film, I realized that it would be a good idea to put a 24-pack of water bottles in my car. If I'm ever driving around and see a location where I think it would be a good place to shoot a scene, I am now able to film there since I have water bottles in my car. It also allows me the opportunity to film wherever I would like since I would always have what is necessary for the scenes with me in my car.

   It also serves as a solution to any problems that may arise throughout filming. If I need more water bottles for a scene, then I have additional bottles in my car. If I ever happen to lose water bottles, then there are more in my car waiting to be filmed with. The pack of water in my car is something that I think can be very helpful during the production process of my film opening.

Prominent Shots

   I've put some thought into a couple different ways that I want to start my film opening. I've settled that I want the first shot to be of the protagonist drinking water from a water bottle. It will be close-up and then the camera will zoom out introducing the main character to the audience. I feel that this is good way of introducing a character and at the same time, foreshadowing his problem with water bottles.
   Another shot I want to get included in the film opening is an over the shoulder shot of water bottles waiting for Remian (protagonist name is still Remian) in his room. I feel that this would fit in well with the rest of the opening and it will contribute to the fact that Remian can no longer control the water. An over the shoulder shot would make it seem as if the water bottles were actual people themselves and that they are staring at Remian once he enters his room.
   According to Film Shortage, the first shot of a film opening is important. It is what contributes to a viewer deciding whether he or she will stay for the rest of what they are currently watching. It is important to set the mood early and get the audience interested from the beginning. I feel that my idea for the opening shot of the film opening will be able to grab the audience's attention and make them want to keep on watching.

Location

   I realized that it would be useful to have an idea of where I am going to shoot. I think that the film opening will be shot in various places. The reason it would be shot in different places would be to show the different places that the water bottles keep following him around and how they are starting to affect his life. Location can bring a lot to a film including dictating the look of stage sets and setting the psychological mood of the story.

   One place that I want to get some shots is at a supermarket or drugstore. I feel that I could incorporate all of the water that they have together in one place into my film opening and that it could complement the film opening. These types of stores have a fair amount of water in specific sections so I think that I could be able to shoot a scene with this. The idea that I currently have for this scene is that after some time of the protagonist having been annoyed greatly by water bottles, he is walking down an aisle and sees them all at once which infuriates him. This scene could add to the tiredness of the protagonist from having water bottles follow him around.



The Importance Of Locations. (2013, August 14). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://thedesignersassistant.com/2013/08/14/the-importance-of-locations/

Outside Help and a Change in Direction

   You know those meetings where people discuss and improve ideas they have? Yea, I had one of those today. It was actually regarding our projects. I was in a group with three other people. So we got together as a group and started to talk about our projects and ideas that surrounded them.

   My film opening actually got a fair amount of feedback. During the discussion, it was brought up that I should use shots of a city as my opening shot to establish setting. We also talked about different ways in which I could explain the situation of the protagonist's life. What I was going to fill the opening with as a voiceover progressed was also spoken about. As the discussions continued, my idea for the film opening seemed to get more difficult. I couldn't figure out what to make the opening consist of so I turned to an alternative.
   We talked about other ideas that we had for our film openings. I ended up talking about an idea which was about a guy who drinks water, and then slowly starts seeing water bottles wherever he goes and then eventually water bottles start appearing in his hand at random moments until he reaches a point where water bottles are following him around. This is what I am changing my storyline to.

Scheduling

So I've been trying to set a schedule that I am going to be able to follow for the creation of this film opening to occur. Now this is how I currently see myself with this film:

- Week 1 consisted of introducing the project, talking about format and seeking inspiration.
- It is currently week 2 of the project and I've been able create an outline for the story that is to follow, narrow down my idea to make an actual plot and storyline, and I've been able to create a schedule.
- So week 3-4. This is where the majority of the film opening will be produced. All of the shooting will probably be done during these two weeks along with some of the editing. The reason I will do most of the film's creation in these two weeks is because I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing week 5.
- Week 5. This is the week of spring break. The answer as to whether I will be able to work on my project this week is unclear. I'm not sure if I will be around to be able to shoot anything but some editing might be done this week.
-Week 6 is the week I plan to have any reshoots of scenes that may not have come out well. This week will most likely be dedicated to making the last finishing touches to the film.
- Week 7 is the week where I work on the Creative Critical Reflection. I'm going to finish the CCR and then have the project completed by April 14.

So it's Starting to Come Together

   Remian. That's going to be my protagonist's name. As to whether there will be more characters, there will most likely be minor characters that won't be seen much during the opening. He lives in the same   home where he has lived for a fair part of his life and the story takes place in 2022. In this society, every six years, every person receives pictures of the people who are alive in their family. This is a protocol that the government does to be able to keep track of all living people. 

   The backstory of Remian is that he was abandoned by his family when he was 14 in 2019. He doesn't know what happened to them but one day he woke up and the were all gone and left no trace behind. He eventually accepted them leaving and remained living in the house. He kept living his life as he tried to sustain himself alone. 

    In 2022, he received pictures of his family and found out that they were alive. He didn't know this protocol existed since his mother had always kept it from him since he was a child. Now 3 years later, at 17, he realizes that his family is out in the world somewhere and he goes out to find them. He doesn't know where they are or why they left him behind, but he wants to find out.

   The opening will consist of the use of a voiceover and at the same time diegetic dialogue that the character uses. This will allow for the character to be introduced to the audience along with his current living situation. The voiceover from Fight Club is a good example of what I am going for as it creates a smooth narrative for the film. The dialogue that will occur in the scene, will give the audience a chance to see what Remian is like.

An Outline of What is to Come

I've officially entered the second week of this project and I might just have an idea of what I'm going to do. A couple of ideas have come up and I think that I've settled on a concept that I can work with. I'm thinking about working on a film opening about a someone who lives alone and is out to search for his family.
The outline for this opening would be:

• Audience is introduced to the protagonist.
• Protagonist explains the current situation he is living in.
• Protagonist goes out to find his family.

I'm pretty sure that the protagonist will be someone who is generally quiet and goes on with his life just trying to sustain for himself. He probably wouldn't have many people in his life due to his living condition and he would not be in a good financial situation. I'm not sure where this will take place but I think it will most likely start off in the town where the protagonist will live, and I'm not sure where this is yet. The protagonist will definitely be in the 15-18 year old range and this whole story will take place a couple of years in the future. It would play out well if my protagonist was poor since according to Eurostat Computation, 63% of young people between 16-19 that are not living with their parents in Europe, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.




Young people - social inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Young_people_-_social_inclusion

Quest for Inspiration

   I've had been looking around for some inspiration since the moment I began this project. Now, I think inspiration is a good thing to have, the problem with me is, I wasn't sure where to get it from since I didn't have a clear image of what I wanted to do. So I took the past day to think about what movies or shows represented an idea of what I had going on in my head for my film opening.
I'm thinking about producing something that is somewhat comedic but at the same time keeps a level of authenticity. Some inspiration that has guided me towards this direction has come from the following:

Atlanta

Master of None

   I think that both of these shows have given me an idea of what kind of theme I want my film opening to represent. They are both brilliant shows and are apart of the same genre. I feel that in both, the comedic and dramatic elements blend in well together and end up producing a quality show. This is the type of style that I want to go with for my film opening. For now.



N. (n.d.). Master of None Recap: Amazing Bites. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://www.vulture.com/2017/05/master-of-none-recap-season-2-episode-2.html

Opam, K. (2017, January 12). FX's Atlanta won't return until 2018 because Donald Glover is busy being Lando Calrissian. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/12/14251406/atlanta-fx-donald-glover-star-wars-lando-calrissian

Where I'm Headed

   So I've been thinking for this for about a day now and have gained some insight into what kind of style I want to approach this with. I want to go with a format that will make the opening present itself in a realistic light. For it to have a style that feels natural and still appeal to the majority of people.
   I'm thinking that my opening is going to consist of most likely few people. Maybe one or two characters. This will be because it will allow me to go into more detail with a few characters instead of having many characters which may leave the viewer confused about what is going on, since I only have two minutes. I've been thinking about making my film opening in a way that will be minimalistic but leave a strong presence.

   You ever watched The Social Network? The movie with the guy that replaced Michael Cera? Yeah, well, I think an opening like that is a good example of what I was talking about earlier. It consists of a conversation between Zuckerberg and his girlfriend. Within one conversation, the audience is able to understand what is happening and what kind of person the main character is. I feel that introducing characters in depth is essential to a successful story and this can be done well in an opening.




Jesse Eisenberg Movies Spotlight. (2016, April 10). March 02, 2018, from http://www.comingsoon.net/extras/features/652855-jesse-eisenberg-movies

The Initiation of a Concept

   So this is the official beginning of my media project. After this post, all other posts will consist of my progress and process throughout its completion. I'm excited to be creating a film opening but at the same time have no idea what it's going to be about. I have had a couple of ideas so far but nothing that I have elaborated on to the point of being able to create a film opening with. I might just combine all my small ideas into one large collaboration and see how it turns out, but I'm still not sure about that.
   As far as I know, I want my film opening to fall into the realism category for now. I have a pretty loose schedule regarding the project. All I know is that I'm going to work on it, but it'll most likely be at random moments throughout the following weeks.
   The truth is, I can only predict so far into the future regarding this project. At anytime, the idea that I come up with can be altered or even changed completely. All I know for now is that its going to be two minutes long, it's going to be a film opening, and it's going to be great.