Blue, Dense Orange Day

Now that I planned out the shots and flow of my opening, I want to start brainstorming about how I'll be filming them.

My mom is picking up my brother and I on Tuesday, so I can shoot some car footage then. I'm also taking the SAT on Wednesday, which means even more footage and possibly some shots of kids at school being added in somewhere. I already know my shooting locations situation (mostly at my dad's new house, maybe some retakes at my mom's new one if I'm not done by the time she moves, plus neighborhood footage) so thankfully I don't need to think any more about that.

Something I'm really interested in moving forward is sound design. Obviously, I'm gonna have the song playing in the back (Christian just released an album, by the way!), but it'll be ambient and instrumental and I want to keep natural sounds in to further build atmosphere. I may purchase a microphone and rig something up to record sound better, as well as some foley for footsteps and whatnot maybe.

I'm glad my project seems to be moving in a good direction. With the bulk of planning done, I just need to work out time to shoot in my schedule, and once that's over with I can move onto editing. I have to say, I am excited.

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Caboose

Finally settled on the 'plot' of my opening! *celebrates*

I decided to go with more of a montage type thing instead of something fully narrative. Like I brainstormed in my last post, I cut out the phone call part and tried to make the other shots I had flow with some new ones. Generally wanted to focus on conveying the feeling of being in a new place, with some aspects of familiarity.

The shots I kept in from my first round of shot planning were the car window close-up (just had to), the kids in the street, and moving from one room to another with the dolly. After that, I moved fully into the new house and introduced my cat as a character to portray a sense of familiarity. Carrying that sense further, I wanted to add in some close-ups of the boxes and their contents, kind of carrying aspects of home into the new place. I also want to include some nature shots of my backyard, basically for the same reason as the kids-in-the-street shot, and also because it looks nice. Also want to include some small artifact like a necklace that the character is seen touching (perhaps throughout the film, which would be good if I introduce it in the opening) to play on the coming-of-age convention of having a prop represent the character. For the credits, I wanted to have them in the sky to reflect the haziness I want to evoke throughout.

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Meet Me in Montauk

Today in class we met in groups to bounce ideas off each other and direct ourselves in good directions concerning each of our projects. I was put in a room with Ella, Maria, David, Mel, and Tanish, all of whom had really different and unique ideas from each other. it was a really interesting and rewarding experience having this meeting: it gave me perspective into others' planning and working processes and gave me some inspiration with regard to shooting locations, usage of music, and dialogue.

Ella's struggles with shooting locations had me thinking about my own struggles and how I integrated them into my idea, but her issues with lighting brought up new concerns for me. I already had a vision of using natural lighting but I want to make sure I get that soft, warm, kind of hazy late summer lighting and atmosphere and I'll have to brainstorm ways to ensure that. I'm glad i chose to plan around my current living situation, and the other people in the meeting gave their insight and approval, saying it really worked well with the themes I wanted to explore.

Mel is going to have a song play throughout her opening, one that will reflect her atmosphere and style perfectly; this reflected how I want to use an ambient piece in mine (by the way, I asked Christian if I could use one of his songs and he said yes! Stream Ten Mile Point, support independent artists). But this also made me kind of conflicted. Do I want to go for a montage, building atmosphere, introducing the setting and situation, and leaving everything else up to be developed later on in the film? Or do I want to sacrifice style by having more substance, a storyline that you can follow along and build the relatability / coming-of-age aspects? This is something I'll have to figure out sooner than later.

Maria and David had issues with dialogue, and that made me ponder whether or not I wanted to include dialogue in my opening. I did want to include that shot of the character having a phone call, but if I'm going for the montage feel I might cut it out completely and not have any spoken dialogue. I'm leaning towards this, I feel like dialogue is something better to focus on when creating a fuller narrative and developing character relationships, not something I need to work on right now considering my other focuses for the project.

Overall, this group meeting really helped me with brainstorming once I was introduced to other people and groups' struggles and planning methods. I feel like during and after it I was able to mull over different conflicts regarding how I want my opening to play out, and now that I'm moving onto practical planning like storyboarding I can figure out the exact direction I want to go in.

post titled after this song, which in turn is titled after a line in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Glass Museum

One of my main struggles for this project is coming up with a cohesive storyline. I have ideas for the atmosphere, music, overall visuals, and some specific shots, but no real way to link them together. I decided to write down and plan out some of those specific shots, so that I have them all in one place, and maybe from there I can brainstorm how to connect them.

The first of these shots I'd like to include is one taken from a car / distance, zoomed in a bit. It shows a group of kids playing or otherwise walking around a neighborhood, familiar with their environment. This will establish setting and show detachment from the setting since it's a wide shot zoomed in from far away. The second is a shot of the main character walking through a mostly empty house, maybe moving between rooms with the camera 'passing through a wall' if I can rig up some kind of dolly so it moves smoothly. The third is the character sitting on the floor having a short phone conversation with her mom, but I don't think it'll make it to the full opening, depending on if I'm going for more of a 'montage' feel or a full storyline. Finally, I also want to include a close-up of the character in the car looking at the passing surroundings to further establish everything I talked about in the first shot. Also a direct nod to Brown Bunny (2003), which I know I should probably shut up about someday.

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River Like Spine

With all my coming-of-age research completed and more brainstorming done, I think I’ve landed on the basic idea for my opening.

Working around and within my current setting (coincidental considering the themes I want to explore), my film opening will follow a teenager moving during junior year - taking the autobiographical convention I researched to its fullest extent. 

The plot of the 2-minute opening itself won’t be very eventful: the plotline I have thought out so far consists of the main character walking around a bare new house, and having a short phone conversation, highlighting the distance between her previous setting. I’ll also use some drive-by footage from a car POV and long-distance shots of other teenagers and the surrounding nature to cement the idea of community and image attached to a certain location. 

Some of my main inspiration in terms of what kinds of cinematography
I'd like, highlighting the character's relationship to the setting.

I have lots of specific shots in mind but haven’t thought about exact ways to connect them. Over the next few days I’ll begin to build a skeleton or very basic storyboard, then think up ways to link up the scenes chronologically (or maybe more of a montage?). Two minutes seems like a lot of time so I think my main concern is trying to achieve the full length. I’ll also start thinking about credits and how much of my time will be taken up by those.

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Resources: 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330099/mediaviewer/rm1090813953 https://film-grab.com/2018/08/31/palo-alto/#bwg1271/78956 https://www.framerated.co.uk/kids-1995/ https://film-grab.com/2010/06/17/wendy-and-lucy/#bwg1790/111742

Infinite Potentiality

Coming-of-age films are usually marketed to audiences around the same age and demographic of the main characters. This can range from children to teenagers of both genders, The most common age range for coming-of-age audiences is 12 to 18 year olds, and this is also the most common age group represented in these films. Representation in coming-of-age has developed to be more accurate to the experiences of these audiences and less dramatized in recent years, focusing on the reality of mental health, school, home life, and other situations. Some films may receive R certifications if their content and nature, such as sexual scenarios and vulgar or offensive language and comedy, is deemed more appropriate for audiences ages 17 and up.

Ex) The 2007 film Juno deals with more serious and mature
themes such as teen pregnancy, but received a PG-13
certification since it teaches important lessons and tones down
its raunchy comedic nature.

With all the research that I’ve compiled, I’m able to now brainstorm about which conventions I want to include in my film opening. I’d definitely like to hone in on the aspects of realistic interactions and editing of those scenes, while having a more atmospheric style focused on visuals. While planning out my full film, I will plan the basis of a coming-of-age storyline with common themes including those mentioned in my previous post regarding the connection between setting and character identity.

My film opening will work to introduce the main character and setting, as well as some basic themes of the overall story. Like I mentioned before, I’d like to incorporate a song and might reach out to my friend Christian for that. I’d like to focus on building an atmosphere and tone that can be built further on in the film while still being consistent enough for the opening in and of itself.

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Resources:
https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2019-07-07/pop-culture/what-the-evolution-of-coming-of-age-movies-means-for-representation/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/502416/13-phenomenal-facts-about-juno

Traumas of the past, take it backwards / Mean girls, bad gals, or: setting and character in coming-of-age

Many coming-of-age films take place in familiar settings such as suburban neighborhoods and schools. This adds to the sense of relatability and helps make the films and stories seem more rooted in reality and able to present real-world, easy to process themes. Audiences can see characters in similar communities, classes, and environments as them, and this relatability can make them more interested in the story and enjoy it more. These settings can also add to character development by providing a sense of identity: the characters can be tied to their environment or grow distanced from it, both important in developing the characters as they grow up or reach adulthood. 

One coming-of-age film that uses setting as an important story element as well as in character development is Lady Bird (2017). The film follows the titular character through her senior year of high school as her friendships and personality change, and a large aspect of her identity revolves around her relationship to her home town of Sacramento. Throughout the film, Lady Bird is bitter towards her surroundings, her low-class household, and the sameness of the life and people around her, excited to go to New York for college. However, by the end of the film, she takes a ride around her town and comes to admire the surroundings she grew tired of. This development and the role that Sacramento plays in shaping Lady Bird’s character and identity is something present in many coming-of-age stories and the lives of teenagers themselves, and I would like to explore the relationship between selfhood and setting in my film opening.

The editing in coming-of-age films is ‘natural,’ flowing in a realistic manner or focusing on dialogue and acting in order to further realize the scene. Some coming-of-age films that cross into adventure or science fiction, such as Stand By Me (1987) and Donnie Darko (2001), employ editing conventions from those genres and highlight more action-oriented aspects of their stories. Most films are the standard feature-length, being 90 minutes to two hours, with shorter lengths being more popular for more carefree-feeling films and those with more serious films being longer. 

Reflecting the familiarity of the setting, most costume and set design in coming-of-age films aims to realistically portray life in adolescence and childhood. Costume design is usually simple, with defining items sometimes standing out and remaining distinct to certain characters. Set design is often detailed, portraying schools or homes with accuracy and realism. Certain props also stand out and can be attributed to certain characters, giving them more distinct personalities within an ensemble or representing how they stand out in their community.

Ex) The Florida Project (2017) employs on-location shooting and detailed set design to reflect the reality of childhood in a low-class environment. The character Eleven in Stranger Things is often associated with the image of Eggo waffles, a brand that has been tied to her image.

Another relatable, nostalgic element often meticulously used and designed in the production of coming-of-age films is the soundtrack. Films such as the Breakfast Club (1985) and the Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), both mentioned in my previous post regarding this genre, use ‘(Don’t You) Forget About Me’ and ‘Heroes,’ songs that have become culturally attached to the respective films. Soundtracks can consist of familiar pop songs that one can associate with a certain era or the timeless feeling that music provides, uniting generations over time. A well-crafted soundtrack can include songs like this, original songs composed specifically for the film that reflect its themes or characters, or other songs from outside sources that accomplish the same goal.

One of my favorite coming-of-age soundtracks is that of Palo Alto (2013), and is composed of songs from big artists in the ‘indie’ scene, such as Blood Orange and Mac DeMarco, as well as original songs written for the film, including an intimate one written by starring actor Jack Kilmer. Side note, this soundtrack was released under Domino Records, which I just researched for my Music Marketing Project. Small world. Anyways, this soundtrack and its song choices are evocative of the overall tone of the film, one of hazy half-adult late adolescence and the irresponsible choices the characters make to form an identity that they haven’t yet found this far into their lives. The atmosphere it creates both within the film and separate from it is incredible, and is widely regarded by fans of the film (as sourced by my friends Ian, Chloe, and Sailor - hi guys) as an amazing album in and of itself, not to mention what it does for the film.

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Resources:
https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2016/04/18/living-in-the-sprawl-coming-of-age-in-the-suburban-void/
https://museemagazine.com/culture/2017/11/10/film-review-lady-bird-2017
https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/12106/teenage-girls-bedrooms-film-euphoria-pretty-pink-eighth-grade-girlhood-studies
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/behind-the-scenes-photos-the-florida-project/
https://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-eleven-doesnt-love-waffles-2016-10
https://film-grab.com/2018/08/31/palo-alto/#bwg1271/78952
http://filmmusicreporter.com/2014/04/28/palo-alto-soundtrack-released/

Time Today

Since I’ve decided on using the coming-of-age genre in my film, I needed to research it and its conventions.

Coming-of-age films can provide both a relatable comfort and an escape to a better life for those who view and enjoy them. They follow kids and teenagers as they go through the struggles of life, with realistic conflicts that appeal to most audiences in the same age group as the main characters. However, they can often sensationalize or dramatize these events for the sake of entertainment. 

Many coming-of-age films are products of their time in terms of pop culture references that make them relatable in the first place, and these can grow to develop cult followings decades later for their sense of nostalgia or an interesting look into the past. Some can be autobiographical and take place in the past to reflect the writer or director’s childhood. These films are timeless, and still portray themes and stories that reach and impact generations of audiences. 

Ex) Mid90s (2018) is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film that partially reflects
director Jonah Hill’s childhood in its titular era

Narratives of coming-of-age films can range from single-day adventures with friends to longer storylines that deal with the harsher realities of adolescence and growing up. The latter often take place during high school, specifically junior and senior year, where the characters will be transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. They may also tackle more serious topics and themes such as mental health, family life, and struggles with fitting into social groups.

Ex) The Breakfast Club (1985), one of the most famous ‘timeless’ coming-of-age films, follows different archetypes as they discuss shared struggles over one day in high school.

The structure of coming-of-age films often follows one year of high school or a similar set timespan as the characters develop and learn from their experiences and the world around them. Though the characters do not fully change, they learn lessons about life and work through struggles, maturing to an extent. 

Ex) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) portrays the characters’ relationships and personalities developing as well as
tackling more serious topics such as mental illness and sexuality.

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Resources:
https://industrialscripts.com/coming-of-age-movie/
https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/10/25/mid90s-actor-jonah-hills-directorial-debut-delivers-a-compelling-coming-of-age-story
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/07/19/judd-nelson-says-the-breakfast-club-shouldnt-remade/1781750001/
https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/toughest-scene-perks-of-being-a-wallflower.html

Xd Out

A lot of my favorite films have very minimal openings. When I think about what my main influences are for this project, my mind seems to keep circling back on the examples that take an approach that shows the character in relation to their environment. One of my favorite openings ever is the one to Donnie Darko (2001), where Richard Kelly immediately introduces us to Donnie as an isolated, dreamy character who fares better with the natural world than the people in it. The opening to Brown Bunny (2003) does the same, with framing and shot lengths focusing on the isolation of Bud Clay from his surroundings. The Swedish film Something Must Break (2014) opens with shots of nature, before the main character remarks that “I’m not from here” with a switch to a club scene over narration. This establishes the character, Lily, as being removed from her natural surroundings - reflecting her removal from her biological identity - and feeling more accepted in social scenes where she can blend in. 

All these examples place characters in natural settings with some form of commentary on their relationship to their environment and other people. I’ve chosen to adapt this type of opening to the coming-of-age genre. Like I said in my previous post, I think my film opening is going to center around a moving-houses situation. I’ve moved houses many, many times in my life and it still doesn’t get easier. Something I’d like to capture in my film is how the different places people live in contribute to who they are as a whole, and that kind of attachment and bond people form to where they live. I feel like those themes would work very well in the coming-of-age genre, and that if I were to adapt it to a feature-length film it would bode well with audiences. 

Now that I have a solid idea of the genre I wish to work in and a concept to apply to it within my opening, I'll continue to research coming-of-age conventions so I can plan accordingly. I'm looking forward to delving into another genre, since I really enjoyed the case studies I did on the crime genre earlier this year. I also looked a little bit into coming-of-age during my midterm case studies on A24, and I think it's an interesting and malleable genre from what I've seen.

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Now It's Coming Back

I knew about the film opening project when I signed up for this class, and even after having a year of time to mull over ideas and possible concepts I still barely have a clue as to what I'm making.

I'll have to work alone, which I'm fine with (and would rather do so I can build on this film further once I'm in college), since both my parents are moving houses. My dad already lives 40 minutes away from my mom, so my shooting situation will be tricky. This confinement actually gave me some inspiration, though! I'm going to adapt my script and storyboards to these issues, and I'll use the moving situation as a main concept in the opening and film itself.

I actually chose not to decide on my genre before all else. Instead I'm gonna think about some of my favorite openings and how they contribute to the tone and route of the entire film. I feel like a lot of my favorite directors definitely take a lot of inspiration from earlier movements and styles, and since I'm comfortable with analysis I think that would be a good way to see what I'll apply to my own work. I've been inspired by music a lot lately, especially sound collage, ambient, and slowcore. The song 'The Phantom Facing Me' by Duster comes to mind, I feel some of those lyrics match well thematically with what I'd like to convey. If I can contact some ambient composers to use their music as a score that would be really cool. In fact, my friend Christian makes some; I might use his, depending on how the opening takes shape and if it seems fitting enough.

I think this project will be a very dynamic undertaking that'll change a lot as it progresses and as I have to tackle different aspects of it. I have to say, I am excited though ... this is the first time I've really been challenged to make something fully my own, and I'll try to do so.

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Music Marketing Blog #2

During the research process, my group focused on finding which aspects of our case studies’ marketing and distribution processes allowed them to find new audiences and market towards specific groups. We took this information and began working on a step-by-step marketing plan that addressed several aspects, including how to find new audiences, build them once found, distribute music via multiple services or platforms, and overall develop as a band. A lot of our research also went towards developing a consistent image and look for our band, coordinating this across social media posts, a website, and merchandise.
Some examples of marketing plans that we used as inspiration were the ‘darker’ look and image synergy that Arctic Monkeys, one of our case studies, developed to promote their album AM. Music videos, single and album covers, and merchandise all had the same dark, monochrome look with the same art style and images. This inspired the type of look we kept across the band’s Instagram posts, website, and prototype merchandise, as well as inspiring the dark gritty look of the music video.

Kailey and Brett, who live near each other, took charge of the music video as I said in my previous blog post. They filmed parts showing the main character committing various crimes, as well as scenes of him singing towards the camera in an increasingly ‘crazy’ manner, cutting between them to illustrate the song’s narrative. This video coordinated with the dark image that we had planned for the band and applied to all other marketing aspects.  As we were finishing things up after the video was completed, Isa took charge of making the mock-up merchandise as well as half of the step-by-step marketing plan. I did the other half and made the website homepage. Kailey made the Instagram account and posts. We all made sure to match each other’s visuals and present the same information to maintain synergy and coordination between marketing aspects. 
Brett and Kailey worked on making our presentation look nice, and we all edited each other’s text to ensure it flowed well and that we had enough information to elaborate upon while presenting. Before our time to present, we agreed to go first and get it over with, then split up who would do which slides. Our presentation went pretty well, and skimming through some of the peer critic comments it seems the class enjoyed it as well. 
During this project I learned a lot about specific aspects of music marketing, such as synergy and consistency in image, making music accessible and distributing it widely across audiences, digital and physical marketing techniques and how they coordinate, and promotion. This project allowed me to work with a group and, instead of delivering one complete product, develop an image and intricate collection of products that worked to promote and forward a bigger item. The aspects of group work and using multiple marketing and production aspects will aid in my Cambridge portfolio as I can apply them to both music and other forms of media.