✩Momentum- CCR

Finally, here is my CCR.

Click here to watch!! Enjoy!!

And with that, Momentum is complete :) <3

(Sidenote- I have a few shoutouts to give!

Shoutout to Kevin Macleod. I couldn't have done this without your copyright-free music!!

Shoutout to Miranda and Sophia, thank you guys for helping me out on set, ily guys <3

Shoutout to Jake, my brother, for giving me incredible advice during the production period!

Shoutout to my parents and Sabrina for also helping me out and being good listeners :P

Shoutout to my media friends for bouncing ideas off of each other you guys are cool lol :D

Shoutout to Mrs. Stoklosa! I couldn't have done this without you (I mean yeah I wouldn't have learned how to use proper film techniques if I wasn't in your class lol) but still, I want to thank you!

And shoutout to those of you reading this, if anyone is, you've officially become cool. Congrats, you've made it hehe)

BYE!!!

✩Momentum- Film Opening

The moment we've all been waiting for: Momentum!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it :) 

✩WATCH HERE✩

Have a great day <3

✩Momentum- A Reflection

Alright, so we've reached the end of my journey with Momentum. Sad :((

I really enjoyed working on this project and all the challenges that came with it. From almost including another character, having to chop my screenplay in half, choosing entirely different actors than originally intended, whatever happened with the music, and needing 30 seconds worth of more footage, my opening has certainly come a long way.

The planning process, though arduous, was really fun. I loved exploring all the different pieces of media that I could take inspiration from and adapt into my overarching story. Not to mention, actually creating the story was a blast for me because I really enjoy crafting my own stories.

Actually filming Momentum was fun too, I got to implement all the techniques I've learned in this course and see it come together to create a cohesive story. Plus, it was nice to spend time with my actors.

I also really enjoyed editing, though it took forever to get it just the way I wanted. After countless little edits, adding the opening scene, and finding copyright-free music, I was able to export an opening I feel proud of.

And of course, my CCR. Though it took a long to write and my script and edit it to be creative and incorporate multiple different pieces of media (videos, audio, and photos), I'm super stoked about how it looks.

Well, thanks for following along on my journey, I can't wait to write more stories. And who knows, maybe this isn't the last we will see of Julia and 404.

See you soon <3

✩take this quick update

Hey, so, normally I make super long blog posts but I'm currently writing the script for my CCR. I have everything planned out that I need to say, so all I have to do is write the script and, you know, create the video haha. 

I have a few ideas on how I can creatively portray this, I could use little drawings of me like how many storytime animators do, I could make a PowerPoint, follow my brother's footsteps and show many different pieces of media but never the face, or get some talking head footage to slip in between the different pieces of media.

With my restricted time, I'm leaning more towards a talking-head style video, though who will stop me if I decide to throw in a few PowerPoint slides and multimedia throughout the CCR for some diversity. I just hope I have enough time to. 

ANYWAYS time to get back to writing, we're in this for the long haul.

See you soon! Have a fantastic time of day <3

✩finalizing my film (for the most part)

Since my film was only 1:23 and that’s wayyyyyyyy too short, I needed to go and grab some more footage. Throwback to this blog post where I spoke with my brother about my film opening and he gave me the idea to preview different locations that would later show up in the film. SO, in order to add some more time to the film, I drove around town to a few different places (town center, shopping plaza, park) to get some shots. I got shots such as cars passing by, a lake view, trees, and a coffee shop, all around 7 seconds long so that I could trim them to the desired length. On each shot I included my credits which (not in order) are as follows:

• Producer: Kailey Fretwell
• Editor: Kailey Fretwell
• Writer: Kailey Fretwell
• Director: Kailey Fretwell
• Filming: Kailey Fretwell
• Miranda Ferreira
• Sophia Magette

Very cool :) I also did some audio adjusting to try and get my film to sound cohesive. This includes muting the video audio and inserting a different clip’s audio that I didn’t use in the film in its place. Overall, a pretty tedious and exhausting process, but very worth it. I’m pretty happy with how the ambiance sounds on that front.


I also had to do some adjusting to one of Sophia’s (404’s) lines. This was a line I had her rerecord after the filming day because her line didn’t sound authentic after Miranda’s. Sophia recorded the line inside, meaning unlike her other lines, it didn’t have the outdoor background noise. In order to fix this, I took two other video audios, put the telephone audio filter on them, and slapped them underneath the second line. Bam! Problem solved.


One last thing, I showed what I had to my brother Jake, the one from the blog post I linked earlier, and he and his girlfriend gave me some advice. Both thought it would be nice to add some music into the background near the end of the opening to add some more drama and I completely agree. I didn’t want something with vocals but I knew I needed something ominous to fit the mood of the opening. So, I turned to an infamous instrumental artist to find a song I could use: Kevin MacLeod! Most famous for being the soundtrack of all those cringey 2012 YouTube videos, his songs like Sneaky Snitch, Monkeys Spinning Monkeys, and Fluffing a Duck. (Side note: I have Sneaky Snitch in multiple of my current playlists and it brings me so much joy to hear them, especially with other people who are instantly caught off guard by the song LOL). Anyways, I listened to many beginnings of MacLeod’s songs, and funny enough I found the track Spider Eyes from the same album as Sneaky Snitch, one track below it. It’s just the right mix of ominous and mystical that I added the track to my film opening during Miranda’s (Julia’s) last line. The timing was actually perfect! Something like bell chimes plays in a melody right when the title card comes up, making the notes appear to be a leitmotif throughout the movie which is super cool! It also reinforces the mystery and wonder of the opening which I find delicious.


Jake also recommended that some of the opening scenes were in reverse to emphasize the reverse timeline ideas. While I think this is a neat idea, I feel like it’ll be jarring to see a car drive in reverse and then see nothing else travel backward in the rest of the opening. Especially since the story is only following Julia who travels forwards. So, I opted not to make my most obvious opening shot (one focusing on a car driving across the screen) backward but made two other shots with cars in the background reverse. This way it’s very subtle but still might catch an observant viewer’s eye to implement the theme of time.


Phew! That was a lot of progress in the last few days. I think I’m pretty much done with editing my opening though, which is a scary thought. I might change some things if I go back and decide to alter some things, but definitely nothing major.


With that, I’m gonna blast, I’ve got a CCR to begin! Wish me luck ahhhhh!!

✩updates? yeah :D

Ok so, I thought all my filming and editing was pretty much completed, but since my opening is only 1:23 right now, I need some more stuff to fill the time. My teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa, suggested that I include a credits scene before I get into the meat of the film. I like this, idea because then I can implement the idea that my brother gave me for the opening where I display multiple locations that will later be important to the film. I’m envisioning some shots of the park, a coffee shop, Julia picking up her phone, and things of the sort.


I have yet to decide if I need my actors to get that material (minus the Julia phone shot), simply because I’ll work much faster by myself, I don’t want to have to drag the girls--as much fun as we had together--out for more filming in the hot weather, and I’ve only got a week to finalize the opening. On top of that, I’ve got a CCR script to write, shots to make, and editing to perfect, and I start training for a job this Thursday. Yikes! I do tend to work well under pressure, so I think I can do it :)


With that said, I’ve begun writing my CCR script. I’ve got four questions I need to answer.

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
2. How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware, and online – in this project?

I want to take a deeper look into these questions and go over what specifically I want to talk about for each question.



NUMBER ONE: I need to address how my opening addresses the different conventions of my genre and how it discusses social groups and/or issues. Here, I’ll discuss how Julia both subverts and follows the typical tropes of a fantasy protagonist. Here I plan on discussing the Hero’s Journey, something touched on in my Deep Dive into Superhero Films blog post. I will also be referencing and getting information from this video from YouTuber tube creator Brian David Gilbert where he predicts the future of Kingdom Hearts—a video game with a notoriously convoluted plot—using this storytelling format. I’ll then branch off into how Julia is both a typical and unique main character since she falls into a group of people who aren’t usually seen as the protagonist. For social groups/issues, I want to touch on the TikTok trend where teens/young adults cast themself as a character in a movie. These ranging from the main character to comedic relief to background character.


NUMBER 2: In this question, I need to address the fantasy genre and my film’s target audience including age (13-24), gender (females), and some other facts about them (people who enjoy magic and believe they aren’t fit to be the protagonist). I’ll then discuss how I can distribute the opening as an amateur filmmaker. Essentially, how I share the film with people without the connections to streaming platforms and movie theatres.


NUMBER 3: Here I’ll need to be the most honest in my video because I’ll be discussing how my production skills developed throughout the creation of Momentum. I’ll go into detail with how I adapted to challenges that came my way throughout the process, and how I prepared for the project via all my planning.


NUMBER 4: The last question asks about which other sources I used to help me produce my film. This includes iMovie, StudioBinder, TikTok, and even Blogspot.


That's pretty much all the planning I have for the CCR, I just need to write my script, film it, and finalize editing.


This weekend is going to be a blast :)

✩editing tingssss

Guess what I’ve been up to? Editing :)

After a few days of working on the opening, uploading video and audio, piecing it all together, and making sure all the lines work and run smoothly, I have a really good base for the video!


This is to say that I’m almost done with editing! I just have a few things I need to correct in order to have a fully finished product. These being audio balancing (and getting some backyard ambiance), lighting alterations, and adding in the hangup sound.


Other than that, I think I have everything I need to have a completed opening!

(Photos of me editing! The second photo features the video Sophia had to remake of her second line in order to match Miranda’s tone. We made it work!)

The film right now is about 1 minute and 23 seconds long which is pretty short, but I don’t want to have to film again and worry about different weather and continuity issues. Besides, I think the pacing in how quickly it starts and ends adds to the confusion that Julia and the audience feels. I’ll probably keep it the way it is so far.


Also, I showed some of my friends what the opening looks like so far and one of my friends after hearing 404’s first two lines said it sounds like she’s going to off herself, but I think her final words and Julia’s reaction clears this up (hopefully).


One last thing, with my filming and editing almost completed, I’m gonna start brainstorming for my CCR. I’m pretty nervous about it, though it seems really fun. I am looking forward to coming up with creative ways to convey my thoughts regarding this process!


And with that, I’m gonna bounce :P

✩TikTok coming in clutch

I don’t think I expressed this on the blog before, but I had a lot of issues deciding how I was going to create the effect of 404 talking over the phone. I wasn’t going to film Sophia as she’s saying her lines so I knew her audio clips couldn’t sound the same as Miranda’s.


Essentially, I needed some way to make Sophia’s lines sound as if they were emitted from a phone speaker to emphasize how the story is solely told from Julia’s perspective.


I had a few ideas on how I could achieve this.


NUMBER ONE: Try and use a natural phone call. This includes screen recording a phone call (note: I didn’t actually try this because I didn’t actually think it would work but hey, worth a shot) and having Sophia actually call Miranda and have Sophia on speaker. The main issue with that is I wasn’t sure how Sophia’s would sound on camera.


NUMBER TWO: Have Sophia send me the audio afterward and record her recordings on a separate device. I know this would make the audio sound tinny. I could also use editing techniques on Miranda’s clips to avoid issues resulting from the timing.


NUMBER THREE: Find some audio filter. Honestly, I don’t know where I would find it, ut this was mainly my last resort.


Although, fear not, because Miranda had a FANTASTIC solution! I have screentime on my social media apps so I don’t waste my day away. Because of this, I didn’t know that there’s a function on TikTok where you can make audio sound like it’s coming through a megaphone. Not the same as a phone speaker, but it works!


So, Sophia recorded herself saying her lines on TikTok and added the megaphone voice filter. She then screen recorded it and sent it to both Miranda and me. Then Miranda played the video and Sophia timed how long it took for her to say her line so that she could silently cue Miranda into her next line.


It sounds pretty complicated, and it probably was, but it worked out so that's all that matters.


And hey, I got the filter I wanted without nearly as much effort as my original methods required, which is a win in my book.


If you want, take a listen to one of the videos of Sophias line with the megaphone effect.

I think it works really well!

I’ll see you later :P

✩FILMING: a recap!

WOOOOOO!!! Today is Wednesday, so you know what that means!! I got together with Miranda and Sophia to start filming!!!! YAYAY!! Sorry, I am very happy :))


SO, after getting some coffee, we headed over to Gator Run Park. Thankfully, there was no one at the pavilion I wanted to use, which meant the perfect filming location. We then ran through the script, I went over the blocking and some of the plot of the story so my friends could get a better idea of the piece, and we got to work.


I pretty much filmed in chronological order and tried to closely follow my storyboard. I won’t lie, as Sophia was reading her lined, we all agreed it was kinda cringey not gonna lie. As a result, we edited some of her lines in order to fix that.

(The bottom is the original script while the top is the revised script).

I brought the makeshift tripod and microphones, but we actually didn’t use or need them! Thankfully it wasn’t a very windy day, and since I wanted to get some establishing shots of the girls at the bench, I didn’t want to have to worry about using a mic with a cord.


Other than the family with three screaming kids playing in the park right next to the bench that we had to ask to move so their noise wasn’t a part of the video, filming went very well! I’m very happy I picked Miranda and Sophia to help me out. Miranda had some super helpful advice that helped me overcome a big obstacle I had and Sophia has some prior film knowledge so she had some cool ideas for angles in which I could film. Not to mention, their acting skills are just what I wanted and we all click very well together, so it was a ton of fun.


Here are a few sneak peeks!!

Now to start editing. Wish me luck!


See you at the next post <3

✩PREP TIME :D

Ok, the last post was super helpful for preparation, which means now it’s time for me to start gathering supplies!




    1. This is the old phone I have that I’m planning on bringing to the shoot just in case it’s needed. The front is a bit broken, but it’s still functional and adds character to whoever might need to use it. (ex. 404 broke it during a battle, Julias clumsy and has just dealt with a broken phone)

    2. I scavenged my house for any old backpacks we had to use for Julia, and the only ones I could find were a bright red backpack themed after Steven Universe and an old yellow one of my brothers (see below). I didn’t want to use the red one because I felt the red was too bright for Julia’s character, but I also don’t want to use the yellow one because the style of it (drawstring) means a lot of time will be wasted as Julia takes out her school work. So, I decided to ditch using a backpack altogether, and I know I said I didn’t want a backpack with big designs, but this bag I found felt very fitting for Julia. It’ll also mean taking out her supplies will be a lot easier


Side note, I’ve pulled ut some pens (pink, blue, and purple wink wink) and some of my notebooks/binders to put in Julia’s bag :))

    3. I texted my brother to ask if he left any microphones or a tripod that I could borrow for filming, and he had one of the items: lapel microphones! So of course, I took a few videos to try them out.

• The first video I took of me with the mic plugged into my phone and clipped onto my shirt. It was pretty windy out, so the audio cut out at times and my voice was really loud. Overall, the quality wasn’t the greatest.
• The second video I took without the lapel mic. Honestly, it worked a little better than I thought it would. I could hear myself really well, and it didn’t sound artificial like I thought it might. Verdict: not a bad option! Especially since Julia, the one saying her lines while outside, can project. Just actor things <3
• The final video once again featured the lapel microphone, but this time I kept it clipped on my shorts. Honestly, it worked really well! I was expecting the wind to make the audio scuffed, but it didn’t in the video. It made my voice more defined than if I didn’t use the mic, though I still have some concerns about using it. For example, I can’t film super far away from my actor due to the chord. Also, I fear the wind might still be an issue, and her clothes might mess with the audio since she will be sitting down.

MY DECISION: I’ll try the mic on the shorts first, but if it’s windy and the audio is cutting out, I’ll forgo the microphone altogether.

    4. Also, a day later my Dad found a tripod-like stand in my brother’s room that I somehow missed. It doesn’t have a place to attach a camera, but luckily my Dad has a clip I can insert my phone into and attach to the stand. Bam! Makeshift tripod :).



    5. One last thing to discuss: locations! I envisioned the opening scene occurring in a park on a bench, and luckily for me, I’ve got a few parks nearby my house, so let’s take a look at them!

• First: Tequesta Trace Park. Not bad, it’s right by a football field, track, and park, which means there’s a lot of people around. This pavilion has a lot of benches, which I think could make for some cool shots. The main issue is there are signs saying the shelters are closed. While I could say screw it and use them anyways (because people do that) I would feel too much fear and also have to avoid filing the shelter closed sign which is annoying. Then again, If I need to, I can use it.
• Next: Regional Park. Honestly, the same things as the Tequesta Park. Has the shelter closed signs so I’d feel bad about using it. Plus, there’s a lot of people at that park so :/ but like before, if I need it I can use it.
• Finally: Gator Run Park. Doesn’t have shelter closed signs!! Woohoo!! It also has a lot of people but I’d feel more comfortable working around it. Plus, there’s a really pretty shelter right at the top of a hill which would be the perfect spot for the opening, I’d just have to claim it before anyone comes and takes it. Though there are 2 other shelters also at this park, so I can always move to another one. I think this park is my first choice.

(The Tequesta Trace Park shelter, its kinda hard to see with the foliage, sorry)

(The Regional Park shelter)

(One of the shelters at the Gator Run Park, my first choice for filming!)

Goodbye for now, I’ll see you next week when I start filming!!

✩Lists x3

Today, I don’t have a whole lot to say, mainly because I think it’s self-explanatory. Anyways, enjoy some pre-filming planning!


PROPS LIST

• (most of this I can get myself :))
• 2 cell phones (can be actors personal phones, will bring the extra I have, could be cool to have 404 with a black/red phone, clear case, and image of a symbol in the case)
• School backpack (light-colored, preferably plain or minimal designs)
• A binder with papers
• A notebook

COSTUMES LIST

• 404: edgy, blacks and reds, should appear like the interesting main character)
• Combat boots
• Jeans
• Tank top or T-shirt
• IDEAS (thanks Pinterest):

• Julia: light, comfortable (yellows, light blues, light pink, should appear normal and unassuming)
• Sweater/comfy T-shirt with preferably stripes or a simple design
• Jean shorts
• Sneakers
• IDEAS (thanks Pinterest redux):

OTHER TOOLS I’LL WANT TO BRING TO THE SHOOT

• My phone (to record)
• A tripod
• Two copies of the screenplay (for both me and the actors)
• The storyboard
• Something to make the teardrop effect (ex. Pipette, though I don’t think I have one, will check or ask around, or research/experiment to find another method)
• Microphone (ask my brother if he left any in his room, ask my Dad, ask friends, or order from Amazon)

I think with that, I’ve got a solid plan for filming day :)

✩omg guys the cast list is out

As a theatre kid, I thought the name was funny. ANYWAYS, as you can tell by the title, I’ve got my cast for the opening!


I mentioned before that I had a few friends I was planning on asking and that I had some concerns about having non-actors for my film. As a perfectionist and as I mentioned before, a theatre kid, I realized that I wanted actual actors to play Julia and 404. So, I reached out to two of my theatre friends!


As Julia: Miranda!


I’ve been friends with her since 7th grade, and she's a really talented actress. In fact, she's currently playing Doralee in our school production of 9 to 5! She has mid-length light brown hair, wears a lot of cute sweaters, and has a sweet look about her. For these reasons, I think she's a great fit to act as Julia. Plus, I trust her to have big facials when Julia isn’t speaking.


As 404: Sophia!


She’s helped out one of my other friends in AICE Media Studies with their Music Marketing Project, has done theatre with me since elementary school, and already has a somewhat “edgy alt” look/style about her. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, and I’m confident in her abilities to convey the complex emotions of 404 as she opens the film and bids her goodbye to Julia.


As an added bonus, the three of us are already friends, so filming won’t be awkward. Also, my actresses have chemistry with one another which I believe will make their lines and presence on screen with one another appear natural rather than uncomfortable.


Since both of them agreed, I asked if we could start filming over spring break, more specifically, Wednesday, March 24th and they both agreed!! Woo!! My next course of action is to send them the screenplay so they can get a feel for the scene and potentially type of a schedule/shooting plan (like what shots we film first, when we do a run-through of lines and blocking), and also a prop and costume list. I’ll post the documents to my blog.


That's all I got for today, I just wanted to update you on the progress I’ve been making. Overall, super excited to begin filming, and with two talented actresses no less :)


See you soon! Byeeeeee <3

✩In Regards to Music

Okay, so, I know I mentioned in my post titled Discussions, Improved Ideas and Extras, one of the extras was about including music. So, since I’ve done some more planning for the scene and listening to some music. This means I’ve got some UPDATES AYOOOO!!


First, let’s recap the main songs I’ve been thinking about including in the scene.


NUMBER ONE: Fever dream by mxmtoon
(The best option, though slightly more upbeat than I envisioned the perfect song to be. However, the lyrics are perfect for Julia’s character)


NUMBER TWO: Since I Saw Vienna by Wilbur
(Not the perfect option, but the lyrics are also quite fitting even if the vibe of the song doesn’t really match the aesthetic of my film)


NUMBER THREE: Ocean Stars Falling from Homestuck
(I’m really trying to find a good Homestuck song to use (they’re all instrumental and I’m fairly confident they aren’t copyrighted) but most Homestuck songs are very high energy and this one is no exception. It is one of the tamer songs I listened to though)


NUMBER FOUR: Homefree from Homestuck 

(Same as the other Homestuck one, it’s just so hard to find chill songs from Homestuck when every song is created to play under either epic fight sequences or sad moments. These two were some of the best I could find)


With my top options listed, I had to sit and think. When I wrote my storyboard, I didn’t include that Julia would be listening to music. Also, since she’s entering in the middle of the scene, incorporating the music would be a challenge to incorporate correctly. Not to mention I already have a lot of audio files I’ll need to be working with so honestly, the less audio I have to worry about, the better.


THE FINAL VERDICT: yeah, I don’t think I’m going to include any music. The process of getting a perfect song is arduous, I don’t have a lot of time for my film already, and the location of a song in the opening is now ideal. SO I’m just opting not to do it. Besides, it would be nice to have more focus on 404 and Julia’s relationship.


This makes me feel so much more relieved and makes the opening a less daunting task.


Anyways, I’m gonna go eat ice cream. See ya!!

✩Snip Snip!

Listen I thought the title was funny because today, I’ve got some sad news. I timed my screenplay (see my last post :P) and as it turns out, I will have to cut it before Julia calls Forrest.


This is how long the opening would be if I included Forrest:

(Yikes,,, that's way over the 2-minute limit for my opening)

And this is how long the opening scene would be if I cut it before Forrest is introduced:

(Much better!!!)

I did mess up a few times in the actions and lines so I’m sure that the time can go down a bit, especially if I cut some of the parts where the characters would be just walking or processing their situation (aka 404 crying and preparing to leave and Julia’s shock and setting up her studying). Though I’m upset that I wouldn’t get to introduce Forrest, Julia could probably talk to them about the weird call in the next scene. Besides, cutting them out of the opening means one less actor to find. 

We will all miss you, Forrest. o7 (look it’s like a person saluting! The “o” is the face and the “7” is the arm! Sorry for the little tangent, I wanted to say goodbye to Forrest properly :))


And with that, I bid you all a great day/night/time.


See you later!

✩Screenplay ayup!

My next plan of action after finishing my storyboard was to time how long the scene was so I could determine how much of it fit under the 2-minute limit. So, I was initially going to time it out; however; I realized I couldn’t time the scene without having a scene to time. Simply having the shots planned doesn’t account for the lines and movements of each shot. As a result. I have begun writing my screenplay. Hooray!! As daunting of a task as this might seem, I love writing stories which means that this isn’t the worst way to spend a Tuesday night.

(My screenplay for the first scene! This is subject to change, but I'll update the blog if it does. #Notsponsored by StudioBinder where I typed up the whole scene :P)

I’m pretty proud of how the screenplay turned out! It makes me feel like I could write a whole story. I don’t think I’ll time the whole scene out tonight, hopefully, it doesn’t end up super long! But, if it is, I can always chop it before Julia calls Forrest. Anyways, I have other homework I need to complete, but my progress on my final project so far has made me elated.


See you later!! :D

✩Storyboarding

Ah yes, the storyboard. In previous blog posts I've pretty much said everything about my film opening that I could before making my storyboard, so, here it is :)








Phew! Ok, so, I have a few notes regarding my storyboard

1. I’m not too sure of what the timing of all the shots will be, so I have planned that if the section before Julia calls up Forrest is plenty of time, then I’ll cut that whole segment. How I’ll find out if I need Forrest or not is by timing myself saying the lines and each shot and how long the movements will take.
2. I realize now that I’ll have a lot of audio files to work with if I use Forrest, Julia, and 404’s dialogue, so I have a few ideas on how I could deal with this. Either I record some clips of the character Forrest to add more dynamic shots and reduce my concern about adding a filter to the audio, or I say “screw it” and roll with the task I’ve given myself. Either way, I’ll update the blog with what I decide.
3. My last major concern is that the actors I have in mind to ask to participate won’t be the best actors. They’re my friends who fit the look I want each character to have, but I’m worried they might not capture the full intensity of 404’s goodbye and Julia’s intense confusion and overthinking. So my options are, asking some of my friends in drama to fill in these roles, fill in one of the characters myself, or just continue with the people I had in mind and make it work.

I think that's all for today, I feel a lot better about my opening now that I have a storyboard though I know I should start picking up the pace.


Peace out bean sprouts! :p

✩Finally: Tenet!!

Hey guys! This just in, my bean hurts. My brain is struggling to comprehend the new movie I just watched: Tenet. That's right!! I finally got around to watching it and oh boy was it worth it. I promise I won’t spoil the movie, I think it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen, so I’d recommend watching it yourself. Instead, I’ll do my best to scrape the surface of what pieces of the movie I can try and use in my film while doing my best not to spoil anything. Here goes nothing!

(A screenshot from the movie, Tenet! Please go watch it, it’s fantastic!)

The plot is very time travel-focused (obviously) and at many times is very convoluted and challenging. This is due to the strange science terms, time loops, and fast-paced plot. It does sort of seem to follow the reverse timeline. Though the characters don’t exist of opposite timelines, many of the characters and objects travel backward through time to fight. It’s in a different method than I plan on using for my story since the characters travel back in time and end up in the same area as their past self. However, in this way, both are similar. Honestly, I’m not sure if my explanation is any good, but the point I’m trying to make is that Tenet does use a “reverse timeline” method in its plot, though I don’t think I’ll use my “reverse timeline” in that way.


Without getting too deep into spoilers (because I highly recommend watching it!) two of the characters’ relationship does follow a reverse timeline to some degree. Following the Protagonists story, we see him bid farewell to a character whom he has only recently met. The character goes on to explain how the two of them have already been friends, saying that they had made countless memories with the Protagonist already. This means that the other character had already met the Protagonist before we saw the Protagonist meet said friend. Because of this, the two Tenet character’s friendship is similar to 404 and Julia’s friendship.


One thing I would like to try and take from Tenet is the goodbye scene. It’s bittersweet, knowing that we are at the end of the Protagonists friend’s timeline, but that the Protagonist will spend more time with them in the past (or the Protagonists future). At the opening of my film, 404 would be bidding her farewell to Julia, so I want to capture this bittersweet moment between the two: 404 is happy for the memories the two shared while simultaneously upset that she has to leave, Julia, on the other hand, is confused, yet almost hopeful because of 404’s words.


I am so glad I got to watch Tenet, not only because it aided me in deciding what my film opening will be like, but it was also such a cool movie. I was so invested in the story and would recommend it to anyone.


And with that, I’ll see you later <3

✩Communication Methods

So, as much as I wanted to talk about watching Tenet in this blog post, I might have to hold off on that. I haven’t gotten the chance to watch it, yet I might have some time this week. Hopefully, I’ll be able to talk about it.


Today I’d like to discuss how Julia and 404 are able to communicate with one another. I have a few options that I have been debating, so let’s go over them together.



First option: crystal pendants


I got these for my birthday, and I love them a lot. Using these as the method for Julia and 404 to communicate was something I thought about back when I envisioned the two girls in different worlds. Since I changed it to where they are both in the same world, I’m not sure if using the crystals still works. Though, if I wanted to highlight 404 and Julia’s friendship being magical, these would be a neat option. The biggest challenge of using them would be conveying how the girls communicate with one another. I’m not going to put too much thought into it, mainly because I’ve already decided that I’m going to set the story in reality. So, I won’t be using these.

(These are what the pendants look like :))

Second option: texting


This is the method that the characters in Homestuck used to communicate with one another. So I know that it works in storytelling, however, I would need to find a way to display the messages on screen. The whole reason that I chose the reverse timeline idea is that I wouldn’t need any graphics (and because I like it) so I’m not too keen on using texting as my way for Julia and 404 to communicate. Plus, the audience wouldn’t be able to hear each character’s tonality which I find important to the progression of the story. This leaves me with only one option.




Third option: phone calls


If my characters are never going to meet face to face but I want to hear the characters speak to one another, then calls are the only option that I have left. I don’t think phone calls are a bad idea in any way, in fact, I think it’s the best idea for the film. We would get a lot of lines from 404, which would help the audience’s immersion in Julia’s story. This is because they would hear 404 and could believe Julia when she insists that 404 is real. Not to mention, using phone calls means less complex editing for me!


This leads me to an improved intro idea that I feel confident in. I have a vision for it in my head, but I’ll make a blog post about it later this week after I make my storyboard. One last thing, I think I know who I’ll ask to play my characters, but I won’t spoil that just yet.

I’ll see you soon!! <3

✩Discussions, Improved Ideas, and Extras

In AICE Media today, we were split into groups to get feedback from our fellow classmates about our plans for our openings. When I told my group about my plot, they all mentioned how it was pretty similar to the movie, Tenet. I had heard of the movie and watched the trailer, and though I’m very interested in the plot, I never found the opportunity to watch it. Everyone in my group said that I should watch it to make sure my film’s plot doesn’t get too close to Tenet’s plot. So, the next thing I’ll do to progress on my film will be to watch Tenet (and likely make a blog post about it). I don’t think Tenet and my plot have the same aesthetic though, Tenet appears to have more of a sci-fi/action feel whereas my idea tends to lean more into a coming of age feel. I will still take a look at the movie (especially because I’ve heard it’s really good) to see if it gives me any ideas.

(The poster for the aforementioned movie, Tenet)

Another thing my group recommended me was in regards to the actual opening shots. I told them that I wanted my opening to feel like a coming of age movie so that the integration of fantasy elements made the film more intriguing. I was given the advice to have Julia sitting in a coffee shop, doing her thing, and then she can bump into 404. This idea to open the film is neat, and I think starting with Julia already doing something rather than the stereotypical “getting out of bed to get ready for school.” I would like to note that I forgot to mention to my group that I didn’t ever want my main characters to meet, they would be talking via text/phone calls. So, as much as I think having them meet up right at the beginning could be cool to play off of, it’s not what I had envisioned. I could still make it work though, and tie it into my original idea where 404 is passing by locations that would be important later in the story.


I can start with an establishing shot of a coffee shop (or some similar building) where we can see a character seated nearby. The camera then shifts over to this character, 404, who is looking at her phone with something like sadness or remorse. She then puts her phone away, gets up, and walks away, turning back to the building briefly. As she continues walking, she passes by Julia. From there the focus shifts away from 404 to remain on Julia as she enters said coffee shop/building. I imagine her listening to some music (which means I need to find some non-copyrighted music and/or reach out to an artist which is a little scary lol) and then Julia receives a text message (or phone call, I’m still deciding) from an unknown contact that says something along the lines of “I have to go, I’ll miss you.” This leaves Julia confused, and she texts (once again, or calls) Forrest about this strange message. They pick up and essentially tell Julia that it’s just a random number, nothing for her to worry about. I think that would be the end of the opening. It would introduce something weird that would later be expanded on, but on the first watch, the audience would not suspect anything about this interaction.


I have two more things to quickly touch on before I finish the post:

1. I spoke with some of my friends from other media classes and we spoke briefly about collaborating on the project. I’m not sure if this is something we are seriously going to act on, but it’s comforting to know I have some friends willing to help if I reach out to them.
2. Since I envisioned Julia listening to music as she walks into the building (mainly to avoid any awkward silences in the film), I need to find some music. At the moment, I have three options:
• Instrumental tracks from Homestuck. I’m pretty sure they don’t have copyright but I will have to check on this, and also dig through the vast number of songs from the comic to find the one that fits.

(The cover of one of Homestuck’s albums titled “coloUrs and mayhem.”)

• Songs from Wilbur’s album “Your City Gave Me Asthma.” I also don’t think this has copyright, and though most of the songs wouldn’t fit the film, the song “Since I Saw Vienna” is one of my personal favorites, and has a nice tune that is simple enough that it might work.

(The cover of Wilbur’s album, “Your City gave me Asthma.”)

• OR a song by mxmtoon. I know she has excellent, chill music, and the song “Fever Dream,” feels so perfect, but I am pretty sure I would need to reach out to her in order to get permission to use her songs. Reaching out to her would be a little out of my comfort zone, but I would do it if I needed to.

(The cover of mxmtoon’s single “Fever Dream,” which was later the first track on her album “Dawn.”)

And that's it! You’ve reached the end of the post :)

(Fun fact: I wrote this whole post while at the beach)

✩Characters? Characters.

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about my film’s characters, both in what their names are and what their personalities are like. So I did a few things.


First, I took a look at Pinterest to get some inspiration. As soon as I saw this photo by artist alaylays, I knew that this was exactly the type of character I wanted One to be like.

(Art by alaylays! Check them out on Instagram! Similar to how I envision One)

I love the comfy yet stylish indie aesthetic that this character has going on, not to mention the long hair with bangs really fits to me. At the moment, I’m not sure if I have an actress who would fit this description, but I do want to make sure the indie aesthetic is visible. This way, she can appear as an interesting character to follow, while also not appearing too much like a traditional main character. Though I want to make sure she doesn’t hit the “I’m not like other girls” trope typically seen in teenage films (she's probably going to be a teenager because I’m a teenager and have other teenagers at my disposal to use as actors). So, I don't want to make One appear too quirky, instead, I want One to be more goofy and plain. For example, maybe she plays guitar and watches a lot of popular TV shows, but isn’t particularly fond of sour foods and high-risk scenarios like bungee-jumping. I also want to make her LGBTQ+, likely bisexual; however, this won’t be something the film focuses heavily on, merely something mentioned or implied.


Now for a name for character One? I feel like the name Julia Summers fits. I want her name to fit her unique, indie, yet almost overlooked persona. I ideally want her to appear as nothing more than a regular girl whose story at first glance doesn't seem eye-catching or movie-worthy, something I feel a lot of people can relate to, especially in my target audience (teens and young adults) due to the popular trend of assigning people as roles in a movie.


I’d also like to give Julia a best friend that she can turn to in all the confusion that Two brings Julia’s life. I feel it could be super neat if her best friend was pretty skeptical of Two’s existence but would continue to help Julia on her search for the truth because they care for Julia. Though they wouldn’t get a lot of focus throughout the film, I feel they would be a valuable character to add to the story. I imagine this character, whose name I like as Forrest (I don't have a last name for them yet), to be very close friends with Julia for a long time, and a lot calmer than Julia. They would be able to understand Julia and help her by being a good listener. I totally didn’t plan this, but the image I had in my head for Forrest matched up really well with this image I saw on Pinterest by the same artist I linked above, alaylays, featuring the character design I showed above for Julia.

(Art by alaylays on twitter! This is how I imagine Julia and Forrest’s appearances and dynamic)

Now, for Two. Honestly, I don't have a solid idea for her, though I know she will be female, lesbian, and have an edgier aesthetic. I ideally want her to appear (that is if I decide that I would like to start my film with Two visiting locations seen later in the film) much different than Julia or Forrest, to solidify that she is not from the same world as Julia and that she is here to fight (what she is fighting, I don't know yet). This artwork by leecheedoodles on Instagram of Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls gives a good idea of what I would like Two to look like. Also, the character Lake/MT from Infinity Train season 2 gives off the vibes of the tough, strong, but emotional type of character that I want Two to come off as.

(Check out the artist, leecheedoodles on Instagram! The version of Buttercup on the furthest right is closest to my idea of Two)

(A screenshot from the show, Infinity Train. MT/Lake is the silver character on the right)

As for her name… Honestly, I’ve grown a liking to referring to her as “Two.” And, the way that my story seems to be progressing, the audience would rarely see her, or learn anything about her until the climax/end of the movie. As a result, I think Julia (or Forrest) should give Two a nickname. Since I really like the number name and Two is not from Julia and Forrest’s world, I think the nickname “404” is very fitting. If Julia tries to find 404, she won’t be able to find anything since 404 doesn’t exist in Julia’s world, which is very reminiscent of the “404 Not Found” error pages that can be found on computers.


So, with a better idea of my characters, and finalized names, I feel I have a better idea of what my film opening will look like. Hopefully, I can begin getting ideas for different shots that will make up my film opening.


Also, if you want to check out my Pinterest boards I created for Julia, 404, and Forrest, you can check them out here.


Anyways, that's all I got for today!!

✩The Last 5 Years Redux ft. Opening Thoughts

Welcome back to the blog!! In my last post, I talked about the musical adaptation of “The Last 5 Years” and I really enjoyed the musical as a whole. So, I wanted to see if/how I could incorporate elements of this story into my film opening.


I really enjoy how the musical utilizes its two actors to independently tell the story. The method of distribution (musical) helps make this format of storytelling possible, and a movie is very similar to a musical. So, seeing how successful the reverse timeline is displayed in The Last 5 Years, maybe I could use this method to tell my film opening? In my last blog post, I talked about what my plans for my film could be. With what I have in mind, I initially thought that the story would only show the story through character One’s point of view so that the audience, nor the main character, gets the full story. This allows for fans to have multiple theories about what the truth of the story is.


Although, if I plan on using the idea for the film opening that I described a few posts ago (it would be shots of Two at locations that One would be seen at later in the film), I’m not sure how I would incorporate seeing things from both characters perspectives, primarily because I didn’t want to delve too deeply into Two’s motivations and reasons for being in One’s world. Although, in theory, I don’t have to worry too much about this, since my film opening is only 2 minutes, which is not nearly enough time to switch perspectives between the two main characters.


I will say, as much as I love the prospect of switching characters, for simplicity’s sake, I’ll likely keep the story from One’s perspective. This way, I don’t have to worry about trying to include any foreshadowing in the opening or worry about a change in either aesthetic or tone of the film alternates between One and Twos perspective.


After deciding that I won’t switch perspectives, I did want to throw out that I don’t know which type of film opening I want to go for. I’ve been thinking for a while now that perhaps I want to start off the film similar to a coming of age or slice of life film. This way, when One suddenly interacts with Two, we are just as lost as One is. (Somewhat unrelated, but I really need to come up with my characters so I don’t just refer to them as One and Two, I think that's what my next blog post will be about but shh! Spoilers!) I think that starting my film as a “coming of age” or at least one that details One’s simple, plain life (at least before Two is introduced) would make the integration of fantasy that much more impactful for the audience.


Maybe I’ll go back and watch the first Harry Potter movie to gain some inspiration for my opening, so I can start planning my shots and prepare for filming.


Later gators, see you soon :)

✩The Last 5 Years

Okay, so, in my last blog post I talked about how I spoke to my brother to gain his insight on my project. He gave me countless ideas, as well as another piece of media for me to examine. Today, I’ll be discussing the musical, “The Last 5 Years.” It is a movie as well, but I’ll only be discussing the musical version. If you're interested in watching, here's a link to watch the musical :).

(The playbill for the Broadway production of “The Last 5 Years.” )


This show follows the relationship of Jamie and Cathy as it starts and ends, and the aforementioned characters are the only ones the audience sees through the duration of the performance. If you check out the Wikipedia page for the musical, it’ll explain what happens in each scene of the show. I found it to be confusing, so I’ll take over.


The show opens with Cathy lamenting over her ex, Jamie. Since this is a musical, it is important to notice that all of the storytelling is done via song. After she finishes, the story switches to Jamie singing about how excited he is over a girl he just met, this being Cathy. At this point, one might be confused if the two are talking about the same person or not, since Cathy has already broken up with a man named Jamie while he has just met a woman named Cathy. This is where the reverse timeline comes in. Both characters are talking about the same relationship, but from both different perspectives and points in time. Jamie is telling the story from its beginning to end, while Cathy is describing her POV from finish to finish.


To simplify, Jamie is traveling forwards in time as Cathy travels backward.


Throughout the show, the two continue singing through the story in their respective directions. In almost every scene, each character stands alone as they perform, which makes it easier to differentiate between the opposing timelines and minimize confusion. It also provides for some very cool moments when the characters do come together. The characters unite at both the moment Jamie proposes and at the end of the musical. Here, Cathy is telling about her first time meeting Jamie and how excited she is about their budding relationship. Jamie, on the other hand, is bidding his final farewell to Cathy. When she says “goodbye, until tomorrow!” Jamie simply says “goodbye.”


“The Last 5 Years” gives me some interesting thoughts on how I want to make my film. I’ll discuss these thoughts in my next blog post.


Thank you for reading!! Have a lovely day/night <3

✩Getting Some Advice

It’s been a little over a week since I was given this project, and with my research into many different uses of time travel in media, I think I have a pretty decent idea of where I want the plot of my film to be. Let’s recap where my head is currently...

• Fantasy genre
• Target audience: teens-young adults
• Set in the real world
• Include magical elements, but nothing too flashy, costly, or challenging
• No ensemble cast, focus on 2-3 main characters
• The plot centered around characters living on opposite traveling timelines
• To spare confusion, don’t explain how the time-traveling phenomenon works

Armed with these concepts and my wild imagination, I decided to call my brother, Jake. I often turn to him when I am creating stories because he is an avid film/story loves like myself. We have watched many TV shows together such as Steven Universe, WandaVision, Cobra Kai, Voltron, and the Dream SMP. The two of us have spent countless hours discussing lore, characterization, motives, and symbolism in the media we indulge in. Not to mention, he took AICE Media when he was in high school and is currently taking courses in filming at UF, so I highly value his opinion. Thankfully, he had some time to chat about my film opening ideas.


I shared with Jake all my thoughts regarding my project, and he really liked the ideas I had come up with. He thought the time travel idea was a super neat plotline to work with. He proposed an interesting way that I could open my film: the character who is traveling backward visits numerous locations that would be later seen in the film. (Side note, we dubbed the character traveling forwards as “One” and the character traveling backward “Two” to aid in conversation). I think this idea is super cool and definitely something I can work with; however, this implies that One and Two live in the same world, which I had not thought of. I had initially thought that it might make more sense to have the characters live in two different worlds. This would make it simpler for the audience to comprehend how One and Two can communicate. But Jakes’s idea made me rethink.


Wouldn’t it be interesting to have both characters live in the same world? The characters could talk about places the other knows about, and even attempt to find one another. It could make for a more compelling story than my original idea in my opinion. I believe there is more for me to play with if One and Two lived in the same world.


I had mentioned in a previous blog post that a theme I might want to work with is how “magic is everywhere” or something along those lines. Using Jake’s inspiration, perhaps I could make my story follow One, but they somehow stumble upon a method to communicate with Two. Though I haven’t decided what this is yet, it is perhaps something I can foreshadow in my film opening. From there, One is confused as to why Two contacted One and who Two is. Two, however, is bidding their farewell to One. This could be because Two has other places to be, and only visited One’s world to take care of something, most likely magical. From there, One tries desperately to find out who Two is and how to find them for reasons I have yet to develop. But, when One finally reaches Two's first conversation with One, One finally learns Two’s backstory, but by then there is nothing One can do to bring back their friend. One would have to continue on with their normal life, leaving the audience to wonder if the story was all made up or not.


Jake’s idea ultimately spiraled a major brainstorming session on my part, and this idea is super unique and exciting to me. He also recommended that I check out the musical “The Last 5 Years,” for it also utilizes a reverse timeline structure to tell its story, which I will discuss in my next blog post.


Shoutout to Jake for helping me out, your advice has made me super hyped to start filming!!


Well, that's all for today, thanks for reading!

✩Being Homestuck Isn’t a Problem Anymore!

The other day, I was recently reminded of a fandom that I was a part of in middle school that utilizes the concept of a reverse timeline. I knew the concept was familiar to me when I began developing my film ideas, but I couldn’t figure out where from. Turns out, I remembered the concept being used in a popular comic called “Homestuck.”


Similarly to the Dream SMP, the plotline of Homestuck is complicated and extremely long, so I’m not going to explain it in its entirety. If I did that, I would be here all week. Instead, I’ll only talk about how Homestuck incorporates the reverse timeline idea.


Since the story of Homestuck typically follows the protagonist, John Egbert, the first time that we see evidence of the reverse timeline is from his perspective. The reader sees John respond via text to another character, whose name we later find out is Karkat Vantas. At this moment in time, it is John’s first time speaking with Karkat. Karkat, however, says this:




(A photo showing Karkat explaining to John over messages about the reverse timelines when John first speaks to Karkat).


John has a hard time believing this, and so do the readers. Primarily because this idea of opposite timelines, someone knowing more about you than you do about them, and future selves speaking with past selves are unnatural concepts to humans. In our non magical world, none of these things exist, which makes it hard for our mind to comprehend abstract thoughts like the ones listed above. Karkat does do a pretty good job at explaining the basics of the reverse timelines idea, even if John remains suspicious. As we continue reading, Karkats words prove true. John continues to learn more about Karkat while Karkat seems to know less about John. And, like Karkat said, he has to repeat himself a lot. When we finally arrive at the highly anticipated first contact with Karkat from Karkat's perspective, it is a stark (and quite funny) difference in each other's first and last conversations with one another.




(An excerpt from Karkat's (grey) first and John’s (blue) last conversation with one another).


John does a much better job at explaining the strange backwards conversations the two engage in. We also are given a bit of backstory in the dialogue as to why Karkat chose to speak to John backwards. Spoiler alert, it’s because Karkat embarrasses himself. He also chose to speak to John right at the end of the available time that Karkat can converse with John, which means if Karkat wanted to speak more with John, it could only be past Johns. Note: Karkat's access to John’s timeline is never explained in clear detail, the mechanic is pretty much chalked up to Karkat and his other friends having created the world/dimension that John lives in. There's a lot of strange time shenanigans and general weirdness in Homestuck, so a lot of times the readers simply have to accept that these things just happen in the story.


By examining Homestuck, I now know that there is a way for me to incorporate my reverse timeline idea into my story successfully. I also know that I could potentially take inspiration from how Homestuck doesn’t explain how this happens. Doing so could prevent myself and my viewers' heads from hurting as I try to explain how a reverse timeline works in modern day. I mean, it has worked before. I could also provide no explanation as to how the magic works as a way to share with the audience how “magic is everywhere” or even “the power of imagination.” These themes will work really well with my modern day setting, and could be a cool take on a fantasy film. Homestuck has given me plenty of ideas that will be helpful in creating my final project.


I’ll see you soon :))

✩More Space/Time Shenanigans

To recap where my head is at regarding the story of my film, I want to do something in the fantasy genre where time travel is the main source of the supernatural. However, the time travel will be as minimal as possible to prevent complexity that could drive away consumers. I already have an idea for my story's plot in regards to time travel, but I thought it could be beneficial to explore all of my options.


I don’t think I’ve said it before, but I have been interested in a variety of fandoms. One of which is Voltron: Legendary Defender. This show was originally released in the 1980s and saw a reboot in 2016. It gathered a large fanbase, myself included. I feel the show would be classified in the “sci-fi” genre, due to its interstellar travel, advanced technology, and time travel. Though, the show used time travel in a manner unlike Doctor Who and Back to the Future. In the show, a character, Keith Kogane, leaves the main cast to go on his own adventure with his mom. The two travel through warped space and find what is called the “Quantum Abyss.” Here, Keith and his mom bond with one another, and find a group of an almost extinct alien species. For the two, they stayed in the Quantum Abyss for two years, but for everyone else, it was not even a year. As such, he time traveled. Here is a visual of what Keith’s timeline looks like compared to the story’s linear timeline:

What I’m trying to say by sharing Voltron’s use of time travel is that there are ways to include time travel (or weird timelines) in a story that doesn’t make the plot difficult to understand. I will reiterate, that I have grown quite fond of the reverse timeline concept since I feel like there is a lot of room for creativity, whereas Voltron’s timeline weirdness feels a lot more limiting. I'm starting to get a lot of ideas for my film plot, so I'm super excited to conjure my opening.


Anyways, see you soon!

✩River Song and the Doctor

If you recall my last post, I mentioned a Tiktok that gave me inspiration as to what I think the story of my film will be. In the video, the speaker talks about the Dream SMP, but also mentions “River Song and the Doctor.” Now, I had no idea what this phrase meant, so I decided to do some research, which is what I will be sharing in today’s post.


At first, the phrase sounded like a song, so I looked it up on Spotify. After an unsuccessful search, I turned to Google, which gave me some helpful results. Turns out, the phrase comes from the popular franchise Doctor Who. I never watched the show but I know a little bit about it, so I decided to pursue research. What I found, among loads of confusing terms and lore I did not understand due to never watching the show, was that the sci-fi show about time travel really likes to push the limits of this superpower.


The show used time travel in such a unique manner, unlike other pieces of time travel media. Contrary to stories where a character simply goes back in time and then returns to the present (as seen in Back to the Future), Doctor Who utilizes time travel to its fullest capacity. In this article from Screenrant, the article finds a way to simply describe the two characters, River Song and the Doctors time shenanigans with one another and throughout the course of the story. The main takeaway from the article is that River Song has abilities of which time travel is one of them, so as a young child she is trained to kill an adult Doctor, and when this plan fails she finds her parents as children and grows up with them (unless I understood the article wrong, which is entirely possible). There are a few other explanations of how convoluted River Song’s relation to the story is, but all of them are weird like the example I provided. Needless to say, using time travel in this manner is super neat, but super confusing for viewers, no matter how much of the show they watch. Take a look at this chart a viewer of the Doctor Who franchise made to show both the Doctor’s linear timeline that the story follows and how it relates to River Songs' wild timeline.

(On top of not understanding half of the terms due to not watching the show, this diagram is almost painful to look at because it is so confusing. There are plenty of other charts similar to this that you can see here, yet none of them are easily understandable to someone like me.)




I do believe it would be really cool to do something like this since many fans could theorize and chat with one another about how the time travel in my film functions; however, my target audience is teens and young adults, and many people in this demographic (even outside the target audience), might not have the energy or willpower to watch a film with a timeline system as strange as the one demonstrated in Doctor Who. Though the system works very well for Doctor Who, this can be chalked up to the show’s long runtime which gathered a massive fanbase, along with its preestablished “wibbly wobbly time wimey stuff.” For a film without a plan for a sequel, a budget of $0, and no fanbase yet, I don’t believe that making my film have a timeline like River Song and The Doctor would be the best choice of action. For now, I will stick to my idea of characters who live on reversed timelines.

Until next time :)!!

✩Brainstorming ft. Minecraft

I mentioned in my previous blog post that I would talk about some fandoms that have provided a good starting point for what I would like my fantasy film story to be like. The one that I will be discussing today is the Dream SMP.




The Dream SMP is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It is, in rudimentary terms, a play performed through many live streams on a multiplayer Minecraft server. I promise it sounds much more complicated than it actually is. Essentially, the different content creators all live stream, on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, themselves playing the video game Minecraft while they act like their character. I won’t go into full detail regarding every character (there are over 30) and the entire plot of the server since it can get very convoluted. What I will say is that this storyline does an incredible job of providing captivating lore, backstory, character motives, and conflicts that make viewers, such as myself, constantly tuning into the streams to see what happens next. Although, the way that the content is being distributed (each character/actor is able to stream and provide their own backstory, lore, and conflicts into the overall story) is a major factor in allowing this type of story to be told. Since my method of distribution will be a movie, trying to follow multiple characters and plotlines all at once like the Dream SMP, as riveting a story this could be, would be ineffective and confusing in movie format. Yet, I am such a big fan of the series that I would love to utilize some aspects of the Dream SMP in my film.

(Art by u/Every1TookMyName on Reddit, depicts every member of the Dream SMP, though some newer members are not seen here.)

Since the story takes place in a world unlike our own due to features like monsters, different dimensions, and supernatural abilities, the Dream SMP would likely fall under the fantasy genre. This is mainly due to the story being told through Minecraft; although, the world is not completely unlike our own. Minecraft is based on the real world because the game uses furnaces to cook food, pickaxes to gather stone, and uses diamond as one of the strongest natural resources. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I will be using the fantasy genre, but not in a way that requires me to create a completely different world due to my aforementioned limitations. So, since my film will be set in the “real world” in a manner similar to Minecraft, there are definitely ways I can find inspiration from the Dream SMP’s plot. Even though the cast is massive, there is plenty of ways for me to find inspiration. The story features wars over killed pets, stolen valuables, and a nation's independence, something that I could bring down to a small, 2-4 person conflict. I also really enjoy the dynamic between a loyal to a fault sidekick and a hero who turns to more “evil” actions to see their desired result.




Another plotline from the Dream SMP revolves around a character, Karl Jacobs, who can time travel. It is never explained how, but Karl travels to the past in order to try and learn more about the world of the Dream SMP, provide more backstory to pieces of lore in the current storyline, and try to fix mistakes. I find time travel to be a super interesting ability and love the variety of stories this power can help create, as one of the stories I had invented in middle school featured a character who traveled back in time to try and save the world. Though time travel is super tricky to work with, with the time loops and potential butterfly effects, as well as an effective method to portray time traveling. I do, however, really enjoy the concept and find it to be something from the Dream SMP that I can potentially use for my film.









(Fanart of Karl Jacobs from the Dream SMP time traveling by @TheLemonDrink on Twitter!)





Another thing regarding Karl’s time-traveling adventures, in one of his adventures he meets a character named James who is played by the same actor as Sapnap (see full cast photo for reference). When Karl first met James, James said “have we met before?” and fans of the Dream SMP created a unique idea based on this. In a Tiktok by user @twotrucksholdinghand (click the link to watch if you want!), they describe how the phrase could be a reference to Karl and Sapnap’s friendship in the main Dream SMP storyline, or it could be something more intricate. This being that the first time Karl meets James is not James’ first time meeting Karl (confusing, but please bear with me). After this initial meeting from Karl’s point of view, Karl time travels to another event before the first meeting, where James is once more. However, here, James knows just a little bit less about Karl since he hasn’t yet lived the day where Karl first meets James. To put it simply, Karl and James are traveling on opposite timelines, so every time Karl meets James he knows more about James as he time travels, but James knows less about Karl. If it makes it easier to understand, here is a diagram I made to visually explain the idea of the reverse timeline, though the Tiktok I linked does a great job explaining it.

After seeing this and doing some research into some other fandoms (blog posts about these soon!) I think that working with two different characters as they travel on opposite timelines is a super cool idea. I think this concept is something unique that I can work with for my portfolio project and I cant wait to see where this budding inspiration will take me!




See you all soon!

✩It Begins!

Today in class I was introduced to my latest endeavor: creating a 2-minute film opening for my Cambridge portfolio. Though this task appears daunting, thankfully I have ample amount of time to create a finished project I can feel proud about. On the whole, I’m pumped to begin working on this project.


My first task was deciding what genre to make my film. There are a plethora of options, from action, mystery, fantasy, and romance. However, I have always been a huge fan of anything and everything magical or supernatural, and I want to design a storyline that I will be motivated to work on. As a result, I will be utilizing the fantasy genre for my film opening.


An interesting fact about me, I love stories and creating all sorts of original storylines. As such, when given the task of creating an opening for a film, I found myself thinking back to all the stories I have created in the past. This ranges from middle school original stories all the way to alternate universes where I take preexisting characters from a series I enjoy and fit them into a different setting. While reminding myself of these stories I created, I took some time to think whether the stories I have previously thought of were something I could adapt into a film in a visually satisfying way. I found that the majority of my stories featured a very specific setting, one that I could not pull off in my hometown or using a green screen. Many of them also included an ensemble cast, something that would be challenging due to the virus and gathering willing actors. Others featured an intricate power system that would only look believable using special effects, something I have no experience with and would likely appear extremely fake. So, as much as I’d love to make a film opening that takes place in a forest and all the characters have some sort of magic power, it’s sadly not something within the realm of my abilities. I don’t plan on completely scrapping my story ideas, for I could find some inspiration from them when producing my final story idea.


In my next blog post, I plan on talking about some different fandoms that I have been a part of that I think I could pull inspiration from during my brainstorming process.


I’ll see you on the flip side!

✩Music Marketing Project: A Recap!

I mentioned in my previous blog post that I have been working on a Media Marketing Project. To recap, three classmates and I are tasked with creating a music video and a marketing/distribution plan for a brand new artist. Here are my thoughts regarding the process of this unique project.

As mentioned before, my group selected the song, “Aint No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant (click to listen to the song!) which falls under the alternative rock genre. In order to get an idea of what similar, popular, bands of this genre have done to market and distribute their music, my partners and I took a look at some case studies. Namely, Cage the Elephant, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, and Arctic Monkeys. We discovered that social media is the primary method that successful modern bands utilize in order to create a large profit and fanbase. Especially noting alternative rock band’s target audience ranges from tweens to young adults whose daily life is influenced by social media. So, our band will be promoting themselves heavily via social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and especially TikTok to market towards the same demographic.

The next step was to create a band and a brand for it. After brainstorming and reminding ourselves about an alternative band that blew up due to social media, 100 gecs, we decided to emulate that strange, quirky vibe with our band we dubbed Ozone Layer. Ozone Layer’s brand would be easily distinguishable from other alternative bands due to its use of highly edited photos and darker themes. This pairs well with the song we planned to use for the music video whose lyrics tell about a mugging, prostitution, and a life of crime. To exemplify what the brand looks like, below are some photos displaying Ozone Layer's Instagram page and website.



INSTAGRAM:








WEBSITE:






Now that the brand and band have been established, it was time for Brett and me to work on the music video portion of the project, leaving our other two partners to tackle the marketing and distribution questions. Brett had created a general idea of where we wanted the music video’s story to go (full outline posted in the previous blog post), so I created a loose storyboard depicting what each shot would look like, though the order and specific shots were subject to change as we filmed (refer to below for images of storyboard). Next, we needed to get two other extras for our film. Brett and I had already established that he would play the leading character and I would play one of the featured characters, which left the other featured character and the face of the band. A mutual friend of ours, Ben, and Bretts younger brother ended up filling these two roles as they lived nearby and were willing to help us. All that left us to do was begin filming.



STORYBOARD:












On a Saturday night, the people participating in the filming process (aka. Me, Brett, Ben, and Brett’s brother) got together to begin gathering footage. We first filmed the shot of Brett mugging his brother on a sidewalk nearby his house. It took multiple takes to get the composition and timing of the shot right, after which we began working with Ben to film the promotional shots. To do this, Brett and I filmed two different angles of Ben lipsyncing the song at the same time, one of the shots being a front-facing long shot and the other a close up from the side. We filmed both shots twice to ensure we had enough footage to work with. I also gathered some tighter shots of Ben playing the guitar or having fun pretending to be a musician. After shooting ample footage for the promotional section, Brett and I continued filming the storytelling segment for the video. Rather than change locations so late at night, we filmed Brett's house specifically so that the back part of his house could not be seen. This way, viewers believe that two different locations were used when actuality, there was only one filming location. The last hurdle we had to conquer during filming was the shot where the main character kills the owner of the home he broke into at the end. We saved us the struggle of making a realistic kill scene with a budget of $0.00 and instead had the main character stab the homeowner off-screen. And with that, our filming was complete.









(Seen above, some photos of Ben, the actor used in the promotional scenes, from filming for our music video)





Though we originally planned for Brett to edit together the music video since we filmed from his phone, his editing software was having trouble so he sent all the footage to me. As such, I was challenged with editing together a music video that fit the vibe of the band and was visually appealing. I had never edited a video of this importance before, so I felt a lot of pressure to make it as best as I could. I began with piecing together the story and fixing up the lighting and filters of the shots (many of the shots were way too bright for the tone of the video) to create a cohesive story. Afterward, I began to sort through the wide assortment of shots for the promotional parts of the video to sprinkle throughout the video. These pieces I inserted where cuts were not the cleanest or the story wasn’t as interesting. I also edited the colors and saturation of these clips to match the band’s aesthetic and the video’s tone. Once this was done and I performed some final touches (including an intro and end screen telling the name of the song and the band) and the video was finished.



The time finally came to present our finished project including the finalized music video, a merchandise and website design, a discussion of our case studies, and a step-by-step plan of our marketing and distribution plan. Overall, our group did pretty well considering technical difficulties. I do feel that we would have performed even better if we rehearsed the presentation together and discussed it before we finished it, but time constraints did not allow for this to happen. Looking back, if my group had better communication and deadlines, we could have easily fixed this and made our presentation flow smoother and appear more cohesive.




All in all, I really enjoyed this project. I found it invaluable to learn how to edit together a high-quality video. I also discovered how important it is to properly communicate with group members since my group had some difficulties with this for the duration of the project. If we had better communication, perhaps we would all have had a better idea of where our minds were at regarding the band's identity and what part of the project was being worked on. Good communication skills are something I will need for the future, so it is much better to learn them now rather than later. Another thing that I learned is to have a distinct plan of what shots are being filmed. When Brett and I began filming, we more often than not strayed from the storyboard to captured other shots instead. This made the filming process much longer than anticipated and a firm plan would have made filming much quicker. Planning ahead and communicating clearly are definitely skills I will find beneficial when developing my Cambridge portfolio.