Exciting news

FINALLY! WE HAVE A GREAT IDEA! 

Ethan and I realized that the horror genre was too common amongst students. Almost every other project we looked at had a horror aspect within it. We decided to switch it up. I want to do something different than the norm and reach out of our comfort zone, he agreed.

I honestly am starting to freak out a little bit since I want to start filming as soon as possible. The research has been nonstop, I have been browsing and browsing online through various films and through past projects. 

I got super lucky. In Google, I started to type in random filming techniques just to see what directors utilize in their successful movies. To be honest I stumbled upon a technique called “breaking the fourth wall” I discovered on one of my google searches on “cool first scene techniques.” I thought that I was not going to find anything and that it would just be pages of horrible movie links. Well I was completely wrong. 

My partner and I both agreed that our genre is going to be "teen flick." This means "a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers and young adults, such as coming of age, attempting to fit in, bullying, peer pressure, first love, teen rebellion, conflict with parents, teen angst or alienation."

I have fell in love with this. So apparently there is an imaginary "wall" between the actors in the movie and the audience watching. By "breaking" this, the actor physically talks to the camera (the audience) and either vents, narrates, anything.

I thought that this was a unique technique that I do not see very often, but I want to switch it up. Instead of having the character look at the camera, I think Ethan and I can create a more successful film opening with a voice over talking to the audience. 

For example, “Mean Girls” from 2004. I found this scene as I was scrolling on Google, looking if movies have utilized voice overs before. 

This is how I want my narrator to be talking, more like conversing with the target audience and even adding a touch of humor. This is a start to my research as I am going to look for more that really shows what we are trying to do. "Mean Girls" is more for the teen audience so the conversation aspect in the voice overs have to accommodate that. Our film opening will possibly use the teenager target audience as well so listening to multiple examples will aid us in what our script should be.

We just need to figure out the story line and what the main character is going to be talking about.

Looking back ...

Ok so Ethan and I completely changed our minds and did not want to pursue the horror genre. In class we were to preview AS level projects from last year. This was SUPER helpful. Many projects were horror which is one of the reasons why we wanted to do something different than the norm.

In viewing students' portfolios, I was able to read blog posts and tell what the blog website is supposed to, or not supposed to look like. The ones who have put in more effort is noticeable, which are positive examples I aspire to accomplish. For example, I now understand that pictures are an important aspect on the website for both the magazine and film openings. Vlogs are also an option for Ethan and I as students posted these videos to enhance their processes. One project really caught my eye. It was titled “The Meticulous Life of…” This film opening was breaking the fourth wall, meaning that there was a voice over talking to the audience instead of dialogue. I would like to research more movies that have utilized this technique because I think that Ethan and I could pull this off.

Without viewing past projects, I would not have known that these were alternatives. Also, students who uploaded their film openings assisted my understanding of the time and hard work some have went through to finalize these scenes. If we were not allowed to see projects from last year, I would still be left in confusion and not sure what my blog website should end up looking like. However, if teacher comments were included, I think that could enhance student understanding of the "perfect" or close to perfect portfolio.

Starting to brainstorm !!

I am super excited to tell you guys that I have finally started to have many visions on the film opening. The first idea that drew me in was the horror genre. All of the jump scares, the mystery, the suspense, all aspects that can inspire so much of my imagination. When trying to brainstorm ideas with my partner, I happened to think of a tv show I watched last year with my mom and sister titled "Pretty Little Liars." The entire tv show surrounds a hooded and anonymous individual in the show named "A.""A" tortures these five teenage girls and stalks their every move. His/her lair looked like this:

 

I love the suspense and the stalker-vibe the show gives off, which are aspects my partner and I could incorporate in our own scene. I think that the horror genre fits the film opening perfectly since the first scene is intended to not tell the whole story and leave the audience wanting more, which is exactly like suspense in this specific genre. I am hoping my partner and I will agree on this!!