✩colors! smile

I've been wanting to talk about this for a while because it's a big part of my concept, and that's colors.

Two blog posts I kept talking about how things I noticed in the short films I watched did or didn't match the vibe of my concept. A large portion of that has to do with colors. Specifically, orange.

Orange is the collor I associate with summer time, spontenaiety, and adventure, along with high energy and excitement. I also think about those creamsicle popsicles from my elementary school days, and the University of Tennessee (my Dad's college, he has UT orange everywhere).

(These were so good and I stand by that)

(Its such a specific color of orange that I will never be able to forget about)

I also researched a few articles about the orange and here are some facts I found out about the color.

(article 1, article 2, article 3, article 4)

• stimulates our appetite
• increases energy level
• warning of danger, excersice caution (traffic cones, road work signs)
• "saucy, vibrant, and fun"
• also characterized by flamboyance, determination, warmth, and success
• cheerful, optimistic, creative
• "attention-getter without being too aggressive" 
• in the US its used for prison uniforms
• in the UK its the color of the Liberal Party
• in the Netherlands, its associate with their royalty
• in China and Japan, it represents happiness, love, good health, and courage
• reminder of fall and the changing of the seasons, transformational color
• strong association with summer
• warm color, has associations with fire and the sun
• "a crackling campfire is the perfect illustrative definition of orange"
• calm yet lively
• the most extroverted color (I disagree, yellow is right there)
• associated with freedom and risktaking
• either you love it or hate it, very polarizing
• used to heal the lungs
• royalty and spirituality on other countries
• 2018 study found it made studying harder (thats tough for UT and UF, both Tennessee and Texas)
• playful and friendly
• used often in advertizing
• shoppers associsate it with inexpensive products

Apologies for the long list I did get a little carried away. Theres definetly more notes I could put, but I think I have plenty. I am pretty pleased that a lot of my initial assumptions about orange that I listed above are all common for orange, lets go.

I would like to draw your attention to the two underlined notes, "transformational color" and "either you love it or hate it, very polarizing." Both of these notes are probably a very important reason for why I've been so attached with using orange as a major color for my film. As a reminder to this blog post where I first describe the feeling I want to highlight, these two fatcs I feel match up with it perfectly. The polarizing feeling with the fear of change, not to mention the symbolism of a sunset and golden hour as one day transforms to the next, all are represented by orange. When I first came up with the idea to make a short film based on the polarizing feelings about change, I had a lot of thought about using orange lighting, including golden hour and orange tinted shots that make the shot feel like a memory, and now I know why. Strange to have the thought and then do research but hey, it works out in the end. I don't doubt I'll do some more color exploration later on, so stay tuned for that.

Also, I made a pinterest board with a visual for the lighting and look I want my film to have. You can check it out here. I added some nighttime images because of the idea I described in my voice memo in my previous blog post and many of the scenes in the short film "Night Swim".

I thinks thats all I have for today, have a wonderful rest of your day!

Song for 2/20

"Tangerine" by Glass Animals (listen, I had to)

✩ah the drama

 

So yesterday was a slow day, and since I've already explored a lot about experimental films to realize it didn't perfectly fit the genre I wanted, today I'm gonna talk about some other short films I watched today! These are dramas rather than coming of age, but the two genres work hand in hand when the main character is a teenager. 

FILM 1: "Night Swim" 

("maon" is me misspelling main, my bad guys </3)

This film focused a lot on the relationship between the characters and a major choice the main character made. I know that my film would focus on a feeling and specific moments rather than a chronological event if that makes sense. Obviously, I'm going to tell a story, but not in the same way that this one was presented. Idk how else to describe it so I hope you know what I mean.

When Night Swim finished, my jaw dropped. It ended so suddenly and left me with so many questions about the future of the three characters and their relationships with one another. I really enjoyed how much it focused on the main character and her emotions without stating them, instead of letting the audience make assumptions.

The lighting also rocked; I didn't write that in my notes because it's not something I strictly can or can't use, more of an observation. The lighting in the scene by the fence I really enjoyed, the contrast between the orange-tinted lamps and the dark blue sky is visually very pretty (since orange and blue are complementary colors) and makes the scene feel almost unnatural and fantastical. I'd really like to use a scene in this lighting, though I'm not sure how or when. The other cool lighting scene was the one in the bathroom with the pink tint. I really liked how drastic of a change it was from the natural lighting used in every other scene and I'd love to recreate this idea in my film somehow.

FILM 2: "Polished"

Wow, this one was really good. Very helpful in visualizing my idea for my film. It worked in a similar manner that I imagined my concept to be like. I also ended this one in awe, since the film never went into details about anything the character was doing, so when she ended up at the doctors office, it was so impactful. The way that nothing was explicitly told to the audience yet we could decipher what was happening was a really cool idea, one I'd love to use.

I honestly have no words for how amazing this one was and how good of an example it was for my film concept. I guess what i can articulate is how much of a motivator it is to know that I can achieve what I set out to.

FILM 3: "The Voice in Your Head"

Ok so this one isn't actually a drama, it's a comedy lmao. I just saw it and it looked interesting because its a comedy short film, an idea I thought about using in the past. I can still use some things from it, in fact the end scene gave me inspiration for a scene I could include (voice memo, length 1:16). 

Overall, looking at genres was probably more useful than the experimental films, since my concept focuses more on the main characters feelings about growing up then doing something unique with presentation. Or at least, the drama films I watched did what I want to do and are labeled as drama, so I'll likely do the same.

It does make more sense to be a drama film with elements of experimental for what I have in mind.

I think thats all I have to day for today, see you soon blog <3

Song for 2/18

"Everything You Know" by Happy Body Slow Brain

✩help .

So I might have lied...

I'm not 100% sold on the experimental film idea I described in my last blog post.

I'm so sorry team </3

But I'm not sure what else to do. I'll probably talk to my brother and Tina about it to see what I need to do because haha! Help.

I did take a look at some experimental films (other than "Obscura") to see if they would help my creative thoughts and what I could use to build my idea. Here are my notes :P

FILM 1: "Forever"

(the notes are a screenshot because Blogger Doesn't Like It when I try to copy & paste my notes from other places)

I mainly watched this one to get a feel for the genre and because the tech visuals were unique and cool. It gave me a good insight into the genre of experimental films but is far from the vision I have for my film.

FILM 2: "Suburbia"

This one was really neat and heavily stylized, had a little jumpscare as to how the school wifi didn't restrict the video when one of the people in the film pulls out a realistic-looking gun lmao. It has a drastically different feel than my vision (I promise I'll touch on my vision I literally have the post drafted, I'll probably post it this week or the next don't worry team we'll get there) but I do think Suburbia helped with the presentation and composition ideas.

I'd also like to mention bc I didn't put it in my notes that I'm really fond of the composition of the person sitting in the car on the phone (1:40) and of the guy singing in his room (1:00). Might use shots inspired by these in my film, we'll see how the cookie crumbles.

FILM 3: "Weltschmerz"

(glitch timestamp hyperlink: 1:50)

Guys. Guys. This one actually changed my life. Not only was it super pretty in its lighting choices and misc-en-scene, but it matched surprisingly well with the vibe I'm looking to create in my film. Seeing this film spurred a lot of thoughts in me!!! Which I am so thankful for because I needed a boost of creativity and motivation so badly. 

I made a voice message (memo length: 3:24) to try and communicate the variety of ideas I had as a result of viewing Weltschmerz because they hit me all at once I didn't think my mind would calm down enough to type it all out coherently.

I'm very very glad I found this short film, it gave me the hope I was looking for because I literally don't have any other ideas for a short film that I'm passionate about pursuing. Plus this emotion is very near and dear to my heart (but in like a negative way if that makes sense) so I want to be able to discuss it using my creativity.

I also looked at two other short films, "Orpheus" (super cool concept/story, did start to scare me a little bit, pls don't judge I am a Sensitive Soul) and "Mr Madden" (really liked the opening shots with the geometric scenery). Don't hate me for this, but I didn't finish either of them (I'm sorry I'll finish them later I promise </3) because I got distracted thinking about my piece. Both films were filmed using minimal color (Orpheus was very faded, Mr Madden was in black and white) which is the exact opposite of what I want, and fits closer to the Experimental genre. By this, I mean that there was underlying suspense that was emphasized to create unease and discomfort, which I realize, is also the exact opposite of what I want.

That's now two experimental genre conventions that don't fit my vision.

I'm not sure if experimental is my genre anymore. (At least, not the only one).

I started this blog post hoping to get a better feel for the task I have ahead of me, and while I achieved that goal, it came at the cost of knowing my concept toggles between the experimental and coming-of-age genres. Surprisingly, I am not a fan of coming-of-age films, so it's quite the task for me to want to try and make a coming-of-age esque film; although, the fact that I want to add elements of experimental films into it might make up for it. You decide.

And with that, time for me to go to bed.

Gn <3

Song for 2/16

"Pantomime" by Imagine Dragons

✩preliminary idea

Hey team welcome back to the blog

So today I want to jot down my basic concept/idea for my short film and I hope its comprehensible because my parents keep asking me to tell them what my new idea is and I literally can't begin to explain it so hopefully (🤞🤞) this will help solidify the idea.

I got the concept of my film from seeing an email about a fanfiction author posting a sequel to a story I loved from them. I was stoked to see it and then saw in the description of the story, a reminder that my favorite character was removed from the universe. There's a justifiable reason for the author taking him out and I completely understand and support the decision, but it left me with a feeling of... I don't know, it's hard to describe. Unease? Discomfort? I'm not sure if there's a specific word for the feeling but essentially, I was slapped with the feeling of "understanding that this is just how life pans out but I'm deeply upset because I know something that made me happy will never be the same again." Isn't that so swag. 

Anyways, it's such a specific feeling, but I've felt it a lot these past few months. Mainly from some of the stories I've read (such as the two I mentioned in the previous blog post + multiple others) but also because of college. As a senior, all people seem to want to talk about is where I want to go to college, if I'm excited about college, how I'm going to behave in college, what I want to major in in college, and so on. I'm getting sick of it because I don't have an answer to any of those questions yet, but also because it makes me think about change. My life is about to irrevocably change so dramatically in only a few months, and having to deal with everything that comes along with going away to college is so mentally taxing, so much so that I try not to think about it. 

This feeling is very specific, and I feel like with my experience in it, I could tell a cool story dealing with this emotion, which leads me to my next thing.

what do i do for a story   ?

I'm finding it really tough to come up with a story about this feeling because I don't want to make it about going away to college (feels cliche, I don't want to think about college in the first place lmao), nor do I want to make it about a fanfiction (it's so embarrassing pls), so I'm at the moment at a loss for a story. I could swing the story in the direction of growing up, which also feels cliche, but could give me more opportunities to make a coherent story. However, there was an experimental short film we watched in class called "Obscura" (I'm sorry, I couldn't find the link for it </3) which was mainly about capturing a feeling, one of longing, rather than telling a cohesive story. I really enjoy this concept and feel like I could work with it. I'm not 100% sure how I would do this, but if I do some research on experimental films, it could help me get a better idea.

Although, I do have a few miscellaneous ideas for scenes/moments of the film which I'll share to help paint a better picture of what I'm envisioning the final product to look like

• shot of the MC sliding down a closed-door, head in hands
• MC lying in bed, holds a beloved stuffed animal in the air and talks to it or looks at it, throws it on the floor, and turns away from it
• MC reluctantly answers a question about what's getting them down at the dinner table from parents as they're pushing their food around.
• and maybe something with the MC driving/visiting around their city, taking in the world around them
• I'd love to do a roof shot with the MC staring at the night sky or the sunset, something about the night changing

I also know that if I were to add another character in the film, I wouldn't want to show their face. The story isn't about them, it's about the main character. Plus, I think it would make for a neat exploration of shots.

For some more references as to how I want the short film to feel, here are some songs (the italicized ones are the best examples, but they all work).

• "Sparks" by Coldplay
• "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles
• "Come a Little Closer" by Cage the Elephant
• "Summer Is Like a Dream" by khai dreams
• "right where you left me" by Taylor Swift
• "La Jolla" by Wilbur Soot
• "Maryland" by Coyote Theory

Alright thats enough ranting for today. I'll be back soon don't worry.

Until then!

Song for 2/15

"Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon

(this song has a wildly different vibe than the other ones listed LMAO sorry guys its a banger)

✩so many thoughts

 

Hi again blog :)

So, as I said in my last post, I'm starting to work on my next big project, aka the A-Level Portfolio project!

In this project, I can decide to create either two movie trailers, a piece of a documentary, a music video, or a short film. If you remember from last year, I mentioned that my brother had taken this course before, so I'm familiar with the project and its process. He made a short film (which I acted in B)) and I can still remember his experience making the film. Also, I always have a ton of story ideas, so coming up with a short film idea shouldn't be too hard.

You would think.

Since August of 2021, I've had two major ideas for a short film. I'm gonna talk about my different ideas in this post to share my complicated process of coming up with a story/idea for this project.

IDEA 1:

So this concept was based on a story I read about a boy who was a superhero. The story's chapters read like episodes of a children's cartoon (like The Amazing World of Gumball), where each chapter features the same cast, but with different, unrelated events. As the story progressed, the chapters got more and more outlandish, including the main character's best friend making a hideout in an oven and another character putting spaghetti in literally every single meal he made. Right before the end, the universe began to unravel to the point where the universe literally fell apart around the main character. Afterward, the story completely switched settings, from the fantasy cartoon world to a domestic home in the middle of a war. The city then becomes the target of a largescale fire and all of the characters tragically die </3, revealing how the fantasy world was the boy's limbo where he waited until he accepted he and all the other characters had died before he could finally pass on.

I hope I explained that well lol. It's a super neat concept and my small summary can't do the story the justice it deserves. This story had such an impact on me and my friends, two of them sobbed while reading it and I too, sobbed. I even have a picture of me crying over it on my phone lmao. 

Though as good as it is, the story is a fanfiction so I'm too embarrassed to link it to my blog, sorry team.

Moving on, I thought a cool idea would be to take from this concept of the fantasy world that was covering up for some sort of traumatic event. I wanted to have the main character in some sort of video game world where the main character's friend is an NPC in the game whos trying to get the main character to wake up from the game because in real life, the main character is in a coma. In my head, the fantasy world would have a lot of bright colors and graphics on screen; however, I realized my skill set (especially in the editing field) wouldn't live up to my expectations of the final product, so I decided to scrap it.

I do think if I took the effort to flesh out this concept, I could create something within my skill set that still looks cool, so I haven't entirely abandoned this idea.

This is the closest thing I could find to what I had in mind, primarily because this image has the GAME OVER text on the screen. I really wanted to put health and objectives in as graphics on the screen as well, among other graphics.

IDEA 2:

Ok explaining this idea is going to be much tougher than Idea 1 but I'll do my best! 

This idea stemmed primarily from this story (yes it's is also a fanfiction and no I don't want to talk about it) that showed 10 characters living in essentially a large apartment together after all 10 characters (stay with me now) each won the Hunger Games. They all have their own trauma responses to being thrust into a completely new life of unfathomable luxury where they must constantly play a character often associated with their gruesome actions during the Games. The government watches their every move to ensure they stay in line while simultaneously requiring them to constantly create content to release to the citizens of their world. I really enjoyed this story in how it tackles themes of grief and stagnancy, along with unstable family dynamics, especially in the different characters' reactions to their situation and how that affects their relationships with the other people they're forced to live with. 

In this story, I saw five main types of characters that really stuck with me: 1) the unsatisfactory "parental" figure, 2) the angry one, 3) the resigned one, 4) the young one who learns how awful of a situation they're in and looses their childlike wonder, and 5) the silent one. 

Because of my fierce adoration for this universe and concept, I was dead set on following through with this idea since about October. I even had a really productive conversation with one of my friends who I planned on having play the young character about my idea and the themes it addressed, along with other pieces of media with the same concept, like Omori.

I had also come up with two ideas for scenes. One scene would have all the characters sitting together eating dinner (like a family) until two of them (parental figure and resigned one) get into a heated conversation until the resigned one leaves the table. The angry one would then yell at the parent until both of them left as well, leaving only the young one and the silent one. After a moment, the silent one would leave too, so just the young one would be left at the dinner table.

Something like this except, you know, sad.

The other scene would follow the dinner one (idk if immediately or not) where the resigned one would be playing a guitar in their room and one by one, the other four characters would join the resigned one in their room, leaving them to exist together in silent solidarity as the guitar filled the air. I would've wanted either "Since I Saw Vienna" by Wilbur Soot, "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles, or "Yesterday" by The Beatles to be the song played in this scene (or at some point in the film).

I've literally thought about this idea so often, I have four voice memos talking about it.

In case you wanted proof of how much I've thought about this. I would put them on here for everyone's listening enjoyment but they're so long and I ramble so much I don't think they're cohesive at all </3.

And yet, once it began time to actually come up with a plot and how the film would actually play out, I realized there were many issues with my idea.

1. Five characters are so many and I do not want to work with that many actors. I could combine the silent one and the resigned one but 4 is still a lot. 
2. I'd have to create four fully fleshed-out characters with distinct personalities and reactions because of trauma which is, so hard, especially in a limited time frame.
3. Dialogue. Imagine having to write all that hefty dialogue from four very specific characters who are going through a lot, especially to try and convey such a serious topic. 
4. What would the plot be????? Like I have no idea what would happen aside from the two scenes I listed above except that it would probably focus on the young one. But what would the young one be doing? Head empty I have no idea.

There was so much I needed to think about and work through, and I realized that once again, I had come up with an idea outside of my skill range and I wouldn't be satisfied with the final product. Not to mention, the subject matter would be quite the challenge to accurately convey. Ultimately, as much as I love this idea and story, I'm scrapping it. At least for now.

Also, as much as I'd love to link this story to my blog simply because it means so much to me, I can't because the story was deleted :,(. Ngl I was so upset about it, I still am tbh I miss it so badly.

Somehow, that's not all though! I have a few other concepts for a short film that I pondered over:

• Something about soulmates? I really like soulmate alternate universes but I'm not sure how I would translate that into a short film; it might be too short to have someone find their soulmate by the end of the film so I'm not sure how to continue from there...
• I have a color-changing light bulb in my room, so maybe something where someone is forced to do something every time the light changes? Pretty dystopian, the concept would be similar to that of this video by YouTuber Jschlatt (warning for cursing and some relatively loud audio), I just can't think of a story using this idea. Not totally scrapped though, I still want to use the light.
• Short films to me are always associated with really deep stories that make you think about the world, so I thought it could be neat to try and make a comedic short film, though I'm completely lost as to how to go about that. Plus, my humor is so hit or miss, like it has a very specific target audience. Which is fine, I'm just not super driven to research how I could achieve a comedic short film.

With all these ideas out of the way, today I was hit with a wave of inspiration that originated from (you'll never guess!!!) a fanfiction, and I'll talk about it in my next post because I'm thinking this one might be a keeper (don't take my word on it I'm a Libra and I've never made a decision in my life).

👋👋👋Bye for now!

Song for 2/10

"Under Your Skin" by Jukebox the Ghost

✩film distribution project

 

Another project I worked on while away from my blog was the Film Distribution Project!

Here my partners, Sofia, Maria, and I received a prompt for a story from another student and were tasked with creating a trailer, teaser, and distribution plan for the film.

Our assigned film was an action film about a vigilante, Raith, who returned to being a vigilante after an old friend and villain, Crimson, reemerged into the public eye for ~nefarious deeds~ like poisoning the city's water supply. 

Though the writer originally titled the film "Sinner's Past," we really liked the idea of poisining the water supply, so we changed the name to "Crimson Wave."

We were super stoked to work on this, and immediatley began planning.

We first decided to have Maria play Crimson and me play Raith, that way we could have more control over the characters without worrying about planning around someone outside of our groups schedule. This decision did ultimatley change how we could distrubute and market our film, since an action film with two female leads would not target the typical action fan.

Also, we were provided some ideas about scenes from the film and were provided this: "Crimson's past crimes will be shown and discussed by police officers looking for him while Raith listens." We really enjoyed the idea of having a police officer to drive some of the plot along, so Maria recruited her boyfriend and brother to help us out.

We then began shooting our teaser. Though Maria had a neat idea involving shooting by a water pipe, the sound of a gun cocking and a cut to black, and blood flowing though water, we found that with our locations and time constraints, we wouldn't be able to achieve this goal. So, we altered our idea to show a police guard stumbling across evidince of Crimsons evil actions and Crimson coming up behind him and killing him. We wanted to keep the idea of introducing Crimson as a major threat, not afraid to kill without mercy. Then, we storyboarded what it would look like, and after a night of filming, we had ourselves a teaser!

Around the same time, Maria and I took pictures of us in our vigilantie/villain outfits and power poses to use for our films key art!

We chose to make two different designs for two different purposes, the main one for posters (the blue one, featuring me as Raith) and one for postcards (the red one, with Maria as Crimson) because posters serve a very different purpose than postcards do, and we wanted to show off both of our main characters. This hopefully would intrigue new fans to see two advertizing designs and get them thinking about the two characters and their relationship with one another.

Then came the task of the trailer. We knew we wanted it to be fast paced, use of guns, and a lot of close ups. There was also a scene in the trailer of the new movie, The 355, where one of the characters breaks into anothers house abd both pull guns out on each other and rapidly count down while at gunpoint (for a visual, click here). This scene really stuck out to me because it managed to create tension and high stakes without any fight sequences, like action trailers normally have. For our trailer, we also wanted to include a scene like this. 

Another scene we planned to add was one where Raith looks up Crimson to confirm whether or not she actually came back. In her dark room, Raith would be illuminated by just her computer light, and it would switch to red when she saw Crimson really had returned. Our group took a variety of this shot because we didnt know which version we liked the best, and though I don't have the clip we used in the final trailer, I do have this outtake where Sofia's phone started to ring. Still gives a good idea of what one of the shots looked like! Sorry, just thought it was too funny not to include. Warning for cursing btw, you can watch it here.

Anyways, we continued filming, and once we felt conficent in the number and variety of shots/scenes we had gathered, we could begin editing the trailer. Though it was tough to get it up to the 2 minute mark due to bad video quality or shots that didn't flow, Sofi, our editor, managed to pull through. With that, take a look at our trailer here!

There are some things that I would change with our final project. For example, filming individual moments/lines rather than entire scenes pulled right from the film, making the trailer more focused on Raith, faster action in our shots, and different organization of the credits. However, I definetley am walking away from this project having learned something new, mainly that trailers are incredibly challenging, but also that you have to find ways to work around peoples different creative processes in order to ensure good communication and a quality product.

All this being said, its time to move on to my next big project! I have a lot of ideas floating around, I cant wait to blog about them and decide which idea to pursue. 

Thats enough typing for tonight, see you soon blog!

Song for 2/7

"Maybe I Was Boring" by Wilbur Soot

✩blog my beloved!

 

Hello blog <3 it has been too long <3 

Not sure if you noticed but I changed my background from rainbow to purple w/ green Mario stars on it :) I decided on the rebranding because earlier in the year, we did a project on creating a brand for yourself, aka the Brand Identity Project.

In the said project, I explored what makes me, me! Including colors, symbols, messages, and things of that nature. I really wanted to explore more about myself and my "persona" that I use to convey my ideas to my peers (essentially, my brand personality).

While planning what my brand would encompass, I noticed that purple and green are the, as my friends would call it, Kale Colors™. Though that is partially because two of my current favorite characters are associated with purple and green respectively, purple has always been my favorite color and green a close second. Also, when I started my blog, I decided--simply because I could--to use the little star emoticon (✩) all over my blog. As a result, stars have become a part of my brand as well! That's the main reason why my background changed to green Mario stars, and that I'm a gamer B).

I also noticed how being unique and "quirky" was a large portion of my personality (see above lmao). I don't do things to follow what everyone around me does, I do what makes me happy, whether that means I go against the grain or not. For example, watching cartoons and certain youtubers, making my own funky earrings, and wearing a cool suit to homecoming. I made sure that when making my brand presentation that these facts were emphasized.

↓see below for examples :P

My brand purpose:

"As a brand I try to be my own authentic self and encourage others to live life to the fullest and have a good time!" 

My brand physique (image) and personality:

"physique: stars and kiwis, purple and green, individualistic, mismatch, empathy, swag.

personality: bright, sweet, fun, welcoming, unique."

In these two examples from my project, I wanted to make it clear that being an individual and having fun are the main focuses of both me as a person, and what I want others to understand when interacting with me.

Not only does this emulate my decision to edit my background, but it helped me get a better understanding of myself and my motivations.

And that concludes my first blog post of my senior year! I'm looking forwards to getting back into blogging for my final project!

Song for 2/6:

"Don't Call My Name" by Rome Hero Foxes