Filming Day 1 (Take 2)

Today is Friday, and it was our last chance to film together this week since Elias has a tournament in Tampa, and I have two games this weekend. Well, Elias forgot that it was his brothers birthday and we weren't able to film after school today. We were able to get some of our individual shots filmed though, but that's all we could do. Here are a few of the shots that I filmed today: 

The reason I am fidgeting with something in my right hand is because I was testing out to see if its a good idea to add to the movie. This will add to the sort of person that Thomas is on the inside, smarter than people think. I am also considering adding some more shots in between some of these, focusing on the characters clothing and accessories. I also bought a fake tattoo that should arrive on Sunday so I can put it on when we film together. 

Title and Font

We have decided that the font for our title will be a bold sort of tire mark font. The reason for this is because we want to give off the vibe that the movie will be based on Thomas' driving. I asked Googles AI, Gemini, to create a picture that said The Motive written in drift marks. It made me these two pictures:

For the credit sequence, we decided to make some of the names appear on the paper on Lukias' desk and some on the radio of the car. the font of these will vary, depending on where they are placed. For example, the names on the paper will have a hand written type of font, while the names on the car screen will have a font matching the letters surrounding it, to make them fit into the scene. 

Resources:

Movie Logo Fonts: Exploring the Typography of 30 Classic Films

How to Choose the Right Font for Your Film's Title Sequence

Understanding the psychology of font and using text in design

Filming Day 1 (Gone Wrong)

Today was supposed to be our first day filming, since my practice was cancelled, and Elias didn't have practice today. However, I woke up really sick, and didn't even go to school. I then spent some time thinking about when we could film together and what graphic t-shirt to use for Thomas. I found this one T-shirt in my brothers closet that has a bunch of marvel characters on the front. 

Here is what it looks like: 

Then, I researched some more royalty free songs to use, because I felt like the other song was too "trailer-ish". I figured that rock music was where its at because it has a nice and clear beat that will allow us to match it to the shots well.

Audio

In this blog I will be talking about the auditory part of our project. We will use a song that will overlay most of the 2 minutes, with very limited dialogue in the beginning. This song will "be played" from Thomas' car radio and Lukias' actual radio in his room. Towards the end, the music will stop, probably when the title shows, and we will start to use more dialogue. We haven't yet decided on a song yet, but it will be something like this song. 

Throughout the scene, there will be some sounds such as the car starting or typing on the computer that will be heard on top of the music. We will try to record the dialogue along with the original shot, but if there is too much background sound, we will just record it separately and overlay some natural sounds over that. At one point during the film, I will raise the volume in the car which will raise the volume of the song for the rest of the scene until the end when it fades away.

Costume Design

In this blog I will be going into more detail about the costume design of Thomas. 

This is the mood board I created for him and I will explain each clothing part and why they are important to develop his character.

Aviators 

These glasses will make Thomas look more confident and rebellious. They also kind of hide his emotions, because even though he is supposed to be mischievous and goofy, he will always have that guilt of his fathers death.

Jeans 

The jeans are just to add to how he's laid back, and is just trying to fit in with other teenagers his age. They also shows that he isn't flashy, but doesn't want to look completely careless either.

Graphic T-Shirt 

The graphic t-shirt will be kind of a sign that shows that he is young. We don't know what will be on the shirt, but it might have to do with super heroes or something related to tell the audience the audience that he is immature and child-like.

Luxury Watch 

This watch is stolen, and will be a sign that represents his desire for financial freedom and how he's willing to do whatever it takes to become rich.

Set and Props

In this blog I will be describing the different types of props that we will use and where our film will take place.

These are the props we will use and what they'll be used for:

Pocket Knife

This knife will be placed inside the car, showing how Thomas is a criminal and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.

Spray Paint Cans

The cans will also be found inside his car, showing how he's rebellious and a troublemaker.

Car (BMW)

This car will be the one that Thomas will be driving and, since its an older BMW, it shows that Thomas wants a luxurious lifestyle, but he just isn't there yet.

Prop Money

This will be the money that Lukias will hand Thomas. I bought a 400 piece pack from amazon for almost $10 which I found pretty cheap.

Setting

Our filming will take place in 3 locations, those being Elias' house, outside my house, and this long stretch of road.

Elias's room will show him researching different pharmaceutical companies and will also show his sick relative in a bed.

Outside my house will probably be the opening scene of me saying high to the ladies and getting into my car.

Most of the filming will take place on this road, which used to have an outlet to the highway, but has closed since 2021. People rarely go here and that is why it is perfect to film there. The forest around will also be the forest that Thomas' father died in so he will be going there to clear his mind. 

Character Development: Meet Thomas Miller

 Our film will have two main characters. I will be playing Thomas (The Driver), and Elias will be playing Lukias (The Rich Man). In this blog, I will focus on developing the character that I will play. 

Thomas Miller

I came up with this name using a random name generator to give me some ideas. Thomas will be a 19 year old high-school drop out that lives with his foster family, and titled as a troublemaker by his friends. 

This is a mood board that I created for him, showing his personality and kind of the way he lives. 

Background

Thomas will come from a nice family, but after his father died, everything went down hill. His mother blamed Thomas for his fathers death since he died trying to save Thomas from a fire in the forest. His mother abandoned Thomas after and he's been alone since he was 15. He entered the foster care system and was passed from home to home until he found people that actually loved for him, and he  is still living with them. They love him a lot and don't know about his criminal endeavors. Over the years, he's worked a couple jobs but has resorted to stealing as his main source of income. All he wants in life is to retire his foster parents and be financially free.

Summary of Our Project Idea

So basically, we will create the opening scene for a movie called "The Motive" which will be about two guys that have different motives for doing their big heist. Our two characters will be Lukias (The Rich Man) and Thomas Miller (The Driver). These two characters will be complete opposites. Lukias will be very mature and serious, while Thomas will be very clumsy and immature. The mission they will be completing during the movie is stealing the cure to cancer. 

Lukias' motive is his dying mother, because even though he is very wealthy, the cure for cancer is being kept from the public by a bio-tech company called "KineCure Labs" to keep making them money from chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. We will start the movie introducing Lukias' messy room, showing how he's been researching different companies and how he found out KineCure had the cure. 

Thomas, on the other hand, has other life goals. As a troubled kid, all he ever wanted is a ton of money, cars, and ladies. These motives will be showed in a shot during the first two minutes. After they meet, Lukias asks Thomas how much money he would need to quit his job right now and work for him, to which he replies "10k." Blank pulls out the $10,000 and Thomas is shocked. They then go on to talk about the plan and then the 2 minutes will be up. 

For the title, we were thinking of making something like this:

We will film this with a drone, and after Thomas is done drifting, the title will be displayed as tire marks on the ground. We will edit this into the film, or we might just by some paint and some stencils and draw it on the ground. 

Our Production Company

We haven't decided the name yet, but our production company will show up in our two minutes like this: 

We are probably going to change the typing sound into a typewriter sound, but this is just a rough draft.

Storyboard

 Here is the storyboard for our project. We decided to make this before our script to order our scenes better. This storyboard will help guide us when filming and writing the script. We decided to make the storyboard on paper so we can always have it handy when we are recording. This is just a rough draft of the 2 minutes, and will definetly be refined when we get new ideas.

Here it is:

Media Theory I Would Like to Use

 A media theory I would like to integrate into my 2 minute film opening is the Marxist film theory. This theory came to be because of a German philosopher, Karl Marx. It originated in around the 1920s, by Soviet movie-makers, such as Sergei Eisenstein. This film theory is "used to study class relations and social conflicts within a film" (Jourdan Aldredge 2022). By using this film theory in my project, I will begin to highlight the social inequalities of the world through class struggle.

Our movie will show the struggle in the middle and lower class of society by demonstrating how the cure to a disease is too expensive for a man to buy, meaning that he has to steal it. The two characters will have different motives for stealing the cure, but in the end, they are both stealing it because of the capitalism in the government. This theory analyzes who has power and money, and who doesn't.

The Marxist film theory "often critiques Hollywood films for promoting consumerism and reinforcing social hierarchies while neglecting alternative narratives from marginalized groups" (Fiveable, n.d). This means that while typical Hollywood films usually support the values of capitalism, and people accept these, no questions asked. This theory states that there should be different narratives included in films, to show the audience that there are more ideologies that are not capitalism. By doing this, the Marxist film theory could be used as a tool to raise social awareness and resistance. 

Resources:

• Marxist Theory on Films
• Intro to Film Theory: Marxist Film Theory
  
• What is Film Theory? And How Can You Use It for Your Projects?
  
• The Concept of Ideology in Marxist Literary Criticism
  

Group Meeting

 Today in class, our teacher put us into groups and made us discuss about our projects and give feedback to the other students. My group consisted of Miguel, Parker, Isa, Sara, and Emilio. 

I went first and described my plan for the project to the group. The group said I had a good idea, but I didn't really plan how I was going to develop the plot. They suggested that I do that and they also said to add each persons motive for wanting the money. After I talked this through with Elias, we remade the plan for the movie and decided that instead of robbing money, they are going to steal the cure for a disease and the serious man(really rich) will pay the driver to help him. The drivers motive will be to have a lavish lifestyle and the rich mans motive is to cure his sick relative/friend(haven't decided yet). That was all the feedback I got, but it really helped me advance in my project. 

Next was Parker and he explained how his movie was going to be kind of like a coming of age, centered around these 4-5 guys in a group. He said that it will have a voice over, and the boys will take turns telling the story. I found this pretty interesting, considering that he wanted to fit all of this in two minutes. Then I suggested that he make sure it doesn't turn out like a trailer, because it looked like it could happen.

After Parker, Isa also talked about her coming of age film. Her film was supposed to be about the transition from high school to college, and a bucket list that a group plans to complete before and during college. I really liked the idea of the movie, but I didn't really see how she could show the plan for the movie in just the first 2 minutes. She didn't really know where the story was going yet and had only planned the basics. She also explained how she would want to break the fourth wall throughout the film with one of her characters, which I found quite interesting.

Then, Sara talked about her film. I liked how she is basing the movie on her life story, and I also liked how she's going to add some flashbacks with Spanish monologue in some scenes. I asked her if the narration was going to be fully in Spanish, but she said that she hadn't fully planned it out, but she will most likely do most of the scenes in English, and the flashbacks in Spanish with subtitles. After the meeting I became curious on how she was going to make the flashbacks, as in who is going to play her younger self, and I will make sure to ask her someday in class.

Emilio thought of doing a horror movie opening. He planned to make an opening that did not show the main character, but instead some aspects of his work. Other than this, he didn't have much else developed. I suggested that he make the opening about a victim, but our teacher said we shouldn't do kidnapping, since it is pretty bland and common. As a group, we told him that he had to plan it better so his project would be well executed, because horror movies are a hard genre to master.

And finally, Miguel walked us through his idea. I really enjoyed hearing Miguel's story, since it sounds like a movie I would actually watch. He described his movie as a slasher, being about a crazy band member that gets kicked out and decides to kill the rest of them. He explained how the 2 minutes were all going to happen in a garage, and this made me wonder where he was going to put the title. I suggested he put the title on one of the drums or some instrument, and he responded by saying that although it was a good idea, it would look like that is the bands name. I agreed and he said that the title will most likely be on the ground after the band member gets kicked out. 

Here is a link to their blogs (miguel wasn't able to send his link):

Isa: https://isaworldaway.blogspot.com/  

Sara: https://scpgmmedia.blogspot.com/ 

Parker: https://parkerspotentblog.blogspot.com/ 

Emilio: https://charlieownspaceword.blogspot.com/  

Schedule for Cambridge Final Project

OUR SCHEDULE

We will be making a schedule for our project to better spread out our research, filming, and editing, to have as much time as we need on each part of the project. Planning is definitely the most important part of any project, especially one this big, so that is why I have decided to make this timeline now.

TIMELINE:

Week 1: Research & Brainstorming

• Watch and analyze film openings to understand how titles are integrated into commercial cinema.
• Research different genres and decide on the style, tone, and themes of the film.
• Brainstorm story ideas and write a short pitch for the opening scene.
• Decide whether to work individually or in a group
• Transition my blog to document the entire process.

Week 2: Scriptwriting & Storyboarding

• Write the first draft of the script, making sure it fits within two minutes.
• Plan out shots with a storyboard and a detailed shot list.
• Start looking for locations and checking for any permissions needed to record.
• Make a list of props and costumes needed for the film
• Post updates on the blog about story development and pre-production planning.

Week 3: Pre-Production & Test Filming

• Finalize the script and shot list.
• Choose the song to use in the film.
• Establish filming locations and get necessary props, costumes, and equipment.
• Shoot test shots and practice key scenes to make sure the framing, lighting, and camera movements are correct.
• Adjust the storyboard and shot list based on the test footage.
• Continue documenting progress on the blog, including any changes or challenges.

Week 4: Principal Filming

• Film all planned scenes, focusing on getting a lot of takes to have options when editing.
• Record original dialogue and atmospheric sound.
• Review footage after each shoot to catch any technical issues early.
• Blog about the filming experience, challenges faced, and any unexpected changes.

Week 5: Re-Filming & Additional Shots

• Watch all the footage and take notes on what needs improvement.
• Re-film any scenes that have any issues.
• Get new footage for better editing transitions and fluidity.
• Start logging and organizing clips for the editing process.
• Update the blog with reflections on re-filming and any new ideas.

Week 6: Editing & Sound Design

• Begin editing a rough cut of the film, focusing on pacing and storytelling.
• Add titles, making sure they follow commercial film conventions.
• Work on sound design, syncing dialogue/music, and adding sound effects.
• Show the rough cut to a few people for feedback and take notes on possible improvements.
• Document the editing process on the blog with screenshots and reflections.

Week 7: Refinements & Creative Critical Reflection

• Make final edits based on feedback, adjusting pacing, color grading, and sound mixing.
• Re-watch the film multiple times to catch any more issues.
• Answer the four required reflection questions using a creative format.
• Post the final reflection on the blog, making sure to include personal insights and lessons learned.

Week 8: Final Touches & Submission

• Do a last review of the film to make sure everything is polished and meets requirements.
• Make sure the blog is complete with all necessary documentation, including storyboards, test shots, reflections, and final film.
• Submit the film before the deadline.

This plan will make sure that there is enough time for research, filming, re-filming, and editing without rushing at the last minute.

Color Scheme of Our 2 Minute Film

We know that the color scheme throughout a film is crucial to the tone and mood of the movie. Making a movie with two characters that are complete opposites makes it a bit tricky balancing both color schemes. 

https://issuu.com/tyleroviedo/docs/final_project_oviedo_for_isuuu/s/23553612

https://www.purposestudios.in/post/wong-kar-why-a-world-of-colour-motion-music

For our film, we will start by introducing two characters. One will be humorous and clueless, and the other will be serious and nonchalant. We will start the scene with one of the characters, introducing their persona and matching their color with it. Then we will switch back and forth between these characters to show their differences, but also their similarity. This similarity between them will that they both like the song that will be playing throughout the 2 minutes. Doing this shows how the characters enjoy the same song while doing completely different tasks. 

By doing this, we show how two completely opposing characters can still have a similarity through the use of the song of our choice. This will also show how people enjoy doing different things that others might strongly dislike. We will also show the character’s personality by keeping the camera stable for the nonchalant character, and shaky and energetic camera movements for the funny character.

Analyzing Three Credit Sequences

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT (2018)

My favorite, and definitely one of their best credit sequences was from their movie Mission: Impossible Fallout. Growing up, I've always loved the Mission Impossible franchise. Before I started this class, I didn't really think much of their credit sequences, other than how cool they were. Now, I know that it tells kind of like a story before the movie begins. This is something that we will definitely look into more when starting to film and edit our movie opening. This credit sequence also foreshadows and show clips of the movie to engage the audience and make them think.

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

This was a weird film, but nevertheless, the credit sequence was great. This credit sequence took place during a fight scene with some slow-motion shots to show the names of the crew members. I thought this scene was great because of how smooth the slow-motion was and how the music matched the dance moves Deadpool was doing. This is one thing that we will add to our two minute film and we might also add it to our credit sequence. 

TOP GUN: MAVERICK

This is a more traditional credit scene, but it does a really good job of introducing the setting of the movie. We might try to add some of these types of “montages” to show the setting of where our film will be based. I also would like to include these quick cuts and lots of shots to further develop the setting and let the audience know what will happen in the film.

Links to the Videos:

Mission: Impossible Fallout Credit Sequence

Deadpool and Wolverine Credit Sequence

Top Gun: Maverick Credit Sequence

Analyzing Three Movie Openings

 My partner and I have decided that we will try to make a movie inspired by Baby Driver. That's why I decided to research the openings of three movies that have a similar opening, while using different techniques.

BABY DRIVER

This opening scene is great because it really gives you a good idea of what type of person the main character is, as well as the other supporting characters are. I love how they use the song at the beginning, implying that the driver is listening to it on his headphones, when it is also heard throughout the whole scene. We will try to implement some sort of diegetic sound like this to connect two character in different settings. This opening really calls out to me because of the comedic addition to make the driver a bit weird. This is something we would like to add to our project as well because we will be making an action/comedy movie.

OVERDRIVE

The reason I chose this opening scene was because I loved how the speed up shots inside the car looked. This is something we will try to add to our film as well, making quick cuts between different types of shots in the car. I also like how there is parts of the scene outside driving the car, and others are just shots of the car in what looks like a garage. The cuts also match the shots at one point which I found pretty cool and might try to implement in my own video. I like how at the end of the two minutes, it just ends with a slap and leaves you wondering why she did that and what it has to do with the plot.

DRIVE

I liked the dark mysterious setting of this opening. The background music really plays a big part on the mood because it already started to give me the feeling that something was going to happen even though I was only a minute in. I also really like the shot of the car where the character's face is seen through the rear view mirror, not showing the camera. What adds to the characters mysteriousness is the fact that he didn't talk at all when he was in the garage with the other man. 

The best things I took out of these movie openings was how to combine comedy and action in a film and that lighting = mood. With this being said, we will develop an opening that introduces two characters, a mysterious one, and a goofy, dumb one. The colors for the mysterious character will be dark and with little light, while the goofy character will be in a light environment and where bright clothes.

Links to the Videos:

Baby Driver Opening

Overdrive Opening

Drive Opening 

AICE Media Portfolio Project: The Motive

 Writing the Story and Picking the Genre.

GENRE

Elias and I have decided to make our projects genre comedy/action. We chose this genre because we felt like it would be really fun to work on, and it matches the story we came up with pretty well. We were inspired by some movies that Kevin Hart starred in like Central Intelligence and The Man From Toronto where the main goal is to make an action film, with some funny moments to not make the movie too serious. We will try to have a combination of films like those and the movie Baby Driver.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ACTION FILM

An action film is composed of exciting stunts, danger, and usually have a protagonist that overcomes an evil. Action movies require at least some realism to make the viewer think that it is actually possible, unless the theme is supposed to be unrealistic.

 

WHAT MAKES A GOOD ACTION MOVIE?

The most important part of an action film is the actors and the pace of the movie. If the movie is low paced, it lowers the intensity of the movie, making the movie uninteresting and overall poor. The choice of actors is also very important because if there is an actor that doesn’t look intimidating or isn't very good, the overall look of the film will be bad. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMEDY FILM

Characteristics of a comedy movie include unlikely situations, lucky(or unlucky) characters, and more often than not, wordplay. Often times, a comedy movie includes two or more characters that are pretty much opposites and require them to be/work together for the film.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD COMEDY MOVIE?

The most important part of a comedy movie is the script. If the script is not funny and it is supposed to be a comedic movie, it will fail. The coincidences that apply to most comedy movies should also be at least a bit believable, to make the audience laugh and think that it could theoretically happen in real life. The sound effects also really impact the quality of a comedy movie, with some requiring some exaggerated sound effects and others not so much.

Transitioning To Cambridge Portfolio Project!

 Good afternoon Cambridge. From now on, all my posts will be dedicated to the research and production of my Cambridge Final Project. The blogs I made up until now have helped me understand the different topics that are used to make a quality film. I think I am ready for this project, but the one thing I need to improve on significantly is editing. Using the notes we took in class, I will try to make the best 2 minute intro to a movie possible with my partner Elias. We are thinking about something that has to do with cars, since Elias and I are both avid car fans, but we will decide later once we have done more research.

We started by planning out our opening. We decided to make our own production company logo to add to the start of the film, to make it feel like an actual movie is starting. We will try to match this logo with the genre of our movie which we haven't been able to choose yet due to insufficient research done on each genre. We will also try to establish the setting and tone quickly into the two minutes to hook the viewer. One thing we were worried about when we were brainstorming was that our two minutes would look like the trailer of a movie instead. To prevent this from happening, we will try to make our film look like its taking place throughout the span of one to two minutes, and not make it look like a montage.

Next, we started planning out our characters. We decided to have both of us will act in our film. Usually, we will have individual scenes so one can record the other, but when we are both on camera, we will use a tripod or a friend to help us film. During the two minutes, we will attempt to introduce the characters quickly, along with the setting and tone. For our video, we will try to develop our characters a little, and give them a role in the movie. We won't develop them too much, because then the movie would be too short. We will also start giving clues or hints as to what the movie will turn into later on.

Now, we have to continue on our research for a genre, and plan how we will use the two minutes efficiently, showcasing the perfect amount of techniques to make our film as good as possible.