Voice over inspirations

It is official! I am the main character of the theme opening!

I am super nervous because I hate hearing my voice on voice recordings but my partner ensured me that I was perfect to use as the main actress. As the focus of the film, I need to start researching how to incorporate teenagers' lives into 1 - 2 minutes. I am starting to brainstorm ideas on how I want my "character" to interact with the audience.  Since our target audience is mainly focused on teenagers, the lines in the script have to be funny and relatable. 

I stumbled upon this scene in the movie "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" (2018): 

Even though the actual scene is not what we are filming, I focused my attention on the voice over. The main character was saying exactly what she was thinking like she was conversing with the audience. Her lines were humorous and made me laugh during my first viewing. They connected with the younger audience which is exactly what our goal is in our project. However, this "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" scene had more dialogue than voice over. We want to have slim to no dialogue in our opening. 

OK I FOUND THE PERFECT EXAMPLE!

This is a scene from the 2018 movie "Love, Simon." His dialogue, the editing, the different scenes within the opening, all is what I envisioned for my partner and I's project. He is directing his monologue to the individuals watching, mostly teenagers. TEENAGERS! This is what I have been talking about people!!!! He shows his life in various aspects and there is slim to NO dialogue what-so-ever. The main character is narrating simultaneous to what is being shown on screen. 10/10. 

Planning for filming

We finally get to plan!!

After all of the research and changing our minds, I am so relieved that my partner and I have finally figured out what we want to do for our film opening!!

Now here comes the strenuous part - planning.

I know Ethan always has a busy schedule so we need to decide on dates to actually film the scene. I want to get all of the filming done weeks in advance so we have plenty of time to get all of the editing done and time to perfect it. Spring break is coming up but I still want all of our shots to be done before the week-off begins. I began to think of dates and wrote them down so I would not forget. Here is what I did:

I know what you are thinking, "she's so unorganized." I promise I am going to get a calendar and rewrite the dates!! I just knew that if I did not write them on a sheet of paper I would forget. I am thinking that eight days to complete this is more than enough time. Two days to film all of the shots and then six days for editing. These eight days would be before spring break so if we did need the extra time there would be even another week to do this.

Lets all hope that I am right about how long this will take...

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!!

Representation

     For our project, the focus of our opening scene will most likely be related to kidnapping and what psychotic individuals could do to young, innocent human beings. Our representation is focusing in on hostages and what they go through or how they feel being in these horrific situations. By portraying these action-packed scenes, our attempt is to create a clear nature of the terror that innocent people encounter or witness. Not only is it going to include hostages, but also the individuals who conduct these kidnappings. This film will challenge both sides of the victim and the conductors characteristics and their main aims.

    A prominent example of this specific type of representation is the movie titled "Split." This film follows a man that has 23 different personalities, this disorder is called the Dissociative Identity  Disorder. One of his darkest personalities kidnaps three teenage girls and holds them in an isolated underground facility. His personalities switch on and off unexpectedly, some of which may include superhero-like abilities or cannibalism. These innocent young girls are trapped and attempt to escape from this man with an extreme mental disability. Our representation is included by revolving the movie around the conductor who has a mental disorder, as well as the victims who are young girls making efforts to find their way out.

    "The Call," directed by Brad Anderson, is another example of our representation. In this movie, a young teenage girl is kidnapped in a parking garage while heading to her car after shopping at the mall. She is trapped in the truck of a man's car throughout the majority of the film. On the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, they are attempting to find the vehicle she is trapped in on the highway without a GPS. This action-thriller shows our representation because the a teenager is held hostage in a frightening situation. The operator and the hostage go back to back through the phone in order for them to save the teenager's life. Towards the end, the man takes the girl to his private barn where he performs inhuman-like acts. The 9-1-1 operator risks her own life and shows up at the barn to save the girl. "The Call" revolves around the operator, the hostage, and the murderer and shows each of their characteristics throughout the action-packed movie.

Genre Database 2

1. Action
2. Action films usually have some challenges being thrown at the protagonist(s). Within these obstacles, this genre includes violence, fighting, or frantic chases towards the main character(s). The audience should feel as though they are included in the chase or feel the adrenaline happening on the movie screen. Action films usually have a "hero" going through life-threatening situations, sometimes against a villan.
3. Main production techniques: 
In order to create a movie within the action genre, intense and edgy scenes need to be incorporated. By creating visual contrast, the movie then becomes extreme and action-packed. Visual contrast would include making highlights brighter and filming shots from dynamic ranges for most scenes. Also, tighter shots create more intense visuals which are a necessity for the action genre. As characters fill up more of the frame, for example all different kinds of closeups, their actions and movements then become more powerful and larger. The more obvious technique is to use sound effects. These sounds will create purposeful illusions for the audience as the screen and noises are simultaneous. 
4. "Spider-Man: Homecoming," directed by Jon Watts, is a prominent example of an action movie. As the normal high school student has a superhero alter-ego, he finds himself fighting evil in the middle of New York City. Almost all superhero movies could be placed under the action category because of their intense scenes and quick editing cuts. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" embodies what an action movie is because of the fast chases throughout the city and the main character's superhero powers fighting the monster. 
5. "Guardians of the Galaxy," directed by James Gunn, is another example of a movie within the action genre. The mix between human and animal actors adds to the movie's characteristics. In "Guardians of the Galaxy," the main character, Quill, experiences challenges and quarrels in space. Him and his animal-filled crew attempt to take on "The Destroyer." The action pact film will have audiences hanging off their seats to see if Quill and his team succeed in taking down the enemy and saving the universe. 
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