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.

post titled after this song

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.

post titled after this song

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.

post titled after this song

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.

post titled after this song

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.

post titled after this song

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.

post titled after this song

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/