Big news!!
I have officially decided who I am going to cast for Melissa and Lucas!!
Drumroll, please.......
My mom and brother woooooo!!!
This might not be much of a surprise, but my mom and brother are the most readily available people to play each role. On the schedule of a student trying to create a quality film opening, I've realized simplicity is key and it's best to work with what you've got.
I can't wait for all you guys to meet my mom!!! (She's kinda the best)
I originally based Melissa's character on my mom, as she is the strongest woman I know. She is taking a few days off of work over Spring Break as well, which is when we could knock out the last of the filming if it's not done by that point.
My brother will be playing Lucas. I made this decision since it is easier to pull old home videos of my mom and brother as a library shot instead of finding more actors to play a younger version of my brother.
This decision was also made because I don't know any young children that could look like my brother, which would mean I would have to hire an actor; since my opening has a budget of $0, hiring someone is out of the question.
For the role of the caller, I am planning on using my dad's voice, as I have used his voice in other productions in the past.
I will develop the set and costume for the characters as soon as I get home, as I'm writing this from Washington DC!! I will update once I get home.
Until then,
Alexa :)
3/11/20
3/9/20
Meet Lucas!
Hey guys!!
Since I did a posting on the character development of Melissa, I thought it would also be cool to develop Lucas's character a little more. Since the script isn't final (I STILL HAVEN'T COME UP WITH A NAME FOR THE DAD), it can help develop more background that would be seen in a true film opening.
Background: Lucas and his mom were always close when he was younger. Melissa would do absolutely everything with him, from watching TV to playing at the park, or reading bedtime stories every night before he went to bed. Lucas's dad left the family because he "wasn't ready to be a dad". While this won't be portrayed in the opening, I'd like to think that Lucas feels guilty for "breaking up the family" and takes responsibility for it when he shouldn't. As Lucas got older, hormones started to kick in. At the time in the opening, he is in his mid-teen years. At this point in his life, he doesn't realize all that Melissa does for him. Instead, Lucas's priorities lie in his friends and having fun.
Representation: Lucas would follow the cliché role of teenagers in a movie: filled with angst and rebellion. Lucas's family, however, doesn't represent the stereotypical "nuclear family". Since it is just him and Melissa, they stand out from the way most families in media are portrayed.
Motivation: Like most teenage boys, Lucas is motivated by the party scene of adolescence. He will stay out late, not listen to authority, and get into some trouble in the name of fun. While he doesn't actually want to cause harm, he makes stupid decisions that can land him in some trouble. This toxic behavior reflects in his relationship with Melissa.
Since Lucas isn't a main character, he is not as developed as Melissa, but I felt that in order to fully develop Melissa I had to develop those around her. Soon, I will discuss casting and do some research on fonts. Hopefully, then, I can provide an update on the music situation.
Until then,
Alexa :)
Since I did a posting on the character development of Melissa, I thought it would also be cool to develop Lucas's character a little more. Since the script isn't final (I STILL HAVEN'T COME UP WITH A NAME FOR THE DAD), it can help develop more background that would be seen in a true film opening.
Background: Lucas and his mom were always close when he was younger. Melissa would do absolutely everything with him, from watching TV to playing at the park, or reading bedtime stories every night before he went to bed. Lucas's dad left the family because he "wasn't ready to be a dad". While this won't be portrayed in the opening, I'd like to think that Lucas feels guilty for "breaking up the family" and takes responsibility for it when he shouldn't. As Lucas got older, hormones started to kick in. At the time in the opening, he is in his mid-teen years. At this point in his life, he doesn't realize all that Melissa does for him. Instead, Lucas's priorities lie in his friends and having fun.
Representation: Lucas would follow the cliché role of teenagers in a movie: filled with angst and rebellion. Lucas's family, however, doesn't represent the stereotypical "nuclear family". Since it is just him and Melissa, they stand out from the way most families in media are portrayed.
Motivation: Like most teenage boys, Lucas is motivated by the party scene of adolescence. He will stay out late, not listen to authority, and get into some trouble in the name of fun. While he doesn't actually want to cause harm, he makes stupid decisions that can land him in some trouble. This toxic behavior reflects in his relationship with Melissa.
Since Lucas isn't a main character, he is not as developed as Melissa, but I felt that in order to fully develop Melissa I had to develop those around her. Soon, I will discuss casting and do some research on fonts. Hopefully, then, I can provide an update on the music situation.
Until then,
Alexa :)
3/7/20
Change of plans....
So..... this is awkward
Mrs. Stoklosa just made it apparent to us that after spring break, our project is due the week after; so, there has been a change of plans.
You might not notice the change in schedule originally, but a LOT has been added to the week of "finish by 3/22". If I follow my schedule and start filming by the 22nd, I can start editing earlier. This change was also made in part because I have a lot going on over the next couple of weeks. As you can see, I have a big national competition from the 10-15th, which will come with a lot of makeup work the following week. If I want to gain the right to use a copyrighted song and make time for the other parts of my plan, I will have to stay as ahead of schedule as possible. Finding music means that I would like to have decided whether I'm using copyrighted music or royalty-free (this would also be the point where I have already sent out the request email).
The first half of the 2nd semester is ending soon (also known as the dreaded 3rd quarter). I had just finished taking my SATs and hopefully, after competition season is over I will have the time I need to finish this project, and (maybe) finally be able to relax a bit.
Fingers crossed :)
Alexa
Mrs. Stoklosa just made it apparent to us that after spring break, our project is due the week after; so, there has been a change of plans.
The first half of the 2nd semester is ending soon (also known as the dreaded 3rd quarter). I had just finished taking my SATs and hopefully, after competition season is over I will have the time I need to finish this project, and (maybe) finally be able to relax a bit.
Fingers crossed :)
Alexa
3/6/20
Location Scouting!!
Hey guys!!
For the past week, I've been working on finding some locations I can film at for the film opening. In order to make the film opening as easy to film as possible, I focused it on one location: Melissa and Lucas's house.
Since Melissa never moves locations in the film, it creates the inference that she doesn't do much else in her free time besides staying home. This detail further implements the idea that she is isolated.
I was thinking about filming at my house for the film, as it is the easiest location to get access to. Some locations I'll pick is a bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room.
Bedroom:
For the opening scene, I was thinking of filming it in a bedroom. The opening shot would be a tracking shot moving away from a picture of Melissa and Lucas and moving towards Melissa on the phone with her ex-husband, creating a contrast. The layout of this room would allow for the camera movements I was picturing.
Kitchen:
My kitchen is a good location for my film opening because it's an open area without many walls. Using wider shots, I can further implement the idea that Melissa is alone as I can show the emptiness of the room in my film.
Living Room:
The living room is also a wider area with many couches. I could also use wider shots in this area, I can show the empty couches as well.
Planning this film opening has been such an enlightening process and I'm so excited to see where it goes! Until then...
Alexa is outie
Adios!
For the past week, I've been working on finding some locations I can film at for the film opening. In order to make the film opening as easy to film as possible, I focused it on one location: Melissa and Lucas's house.
Since Melissa never moves locations in the film, it creates the inference that she doesn't do much else in her free time besides staying home. This detail further implements the idea that she is isolated.
I was thinking about filming at my house for the film, as it is the easiest location to get access to. Some locations I'll pick is a bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room.
Bedroom:
For the opening scene, I was thinking of filming it in a bedroom. The opening shot would be a tracking shot moving away from a picture of Melissa and Lucas and moving towards Melissa on the phone with her ex-husband, creating a contrast. The layout of this room would allow for the camera movements I was picturing.
Kitchen:
The living room is also a wider area with many couches. I could also use wider shots in this area, I can show the empty couches as well.
Planning this film opening has been such an enlightening process and I'm so excited to see where it goes! Until then...
Alexa is outie
Adios!
3/4/20
My classmates are kiiiiinda helpful though...
I sat with 4 of my classmates and we each gave each other feedback on how we can improve our openings along with any problems we've run into. I heard their ideas and how they were planning on conveying them, which was super fun!! There's just something about hearing what people have planned for their films that is just so entertaining!
Recently, I've been thinking that the way I ended my screenplay was a little bland, and asked for any feedback on what I could do to improve it (whether it be a little action or a certain line). My classmate had the idea of zooming into Melissa's face at the end, have non-diegetic music in the background that would crescendo, revealing the title screen. This worked really well in conveying the suspense I wanted to create, along with the fear Melissa had at that moment.
Recently, I've been thinking that the way I ended my screenplay was a little bland, and asked for any feedback on what I could do to improve it (whether it be a little action or a certain line). My classmate had the idea of zooming into Melissa's face at the end, have non-diegetic music in the background that would crescendo, revealing the title screen. This worked really well in conveying the suspense I wanted to create, along with the fear Melissa had at that moment.
Hans Zimmer:
 Hans Zimmer is a composer who has composed music for almost all of Christopher Nolan's films (which is part of the reason why I love his work so much).  He worked on films like Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight. Each of these movies has a dark tone, that aids in the suspense. The music I'm looking for in Seeking Lucas would follow a more suspenseful tone to go in hand with the mystery of what happened to Lucas. Justin Hurwitz: Justin Hurwitz is another composer who has worked on award-winning movies. While La La Land doesn't fit the mood I'm trying to convey in my opening, he worked on an extremely suspenseful film called First Man. First Man also falls a little bit in the Sci-Fi genre as it tells the story of Neil Armstrong and how he stepped onto the moon.  I want the feel of the song to be this tone, but I can't use these exact pieces so I'll have to work on finding a song with a big climax that I could use at the end. And if I decide to use a copyrighted song, I'll have to make the decision soon cause I know the process takes a while. I shall keep you guys updated. Alexa :) |
3/2/20
The official name is....
SEEKING LUCAS
After taking a quick poll (aka asking people what title they found to be the least cliche and picked my favorite title from the most popular choices) the last two options were "Motherly Love" and "Finding Lucas". So, then I took it to Google... and I found out both titles were already titles of books/productions. With a bit more thought and adjustment of my favorite title, I made it a bit more unique: "Seeking Lucas".
When I was doing research, the "best" detective fiction films all had some sort of allusion to the main conflict or crime in the title. Some examples are Seven and Murder on the Orient Express.
Seven plays on the seven deadly sins from the Bible, and links it to a serial killer. The movie follows a detective who is trying to apprehend a serial killer who targets people he feels represents each sin. This makes Seven the best title for the film because it relates to one of the main points of the plot.
Murder on the Orient Express takes place on a train called the "Orient Express" where one of the passengers is killed. Luckily, a detective is on board. It is up to him to solve the crime. This title plays on the main conflict of the film.
While Motherly Love is a great title, I felt it would fit a film in the drama genre more than it would fit a film in the detective fiction genre. Seeking Lucas plays on the main conflict of my film, figuring out what happened to Lucas.
Soon, I will begin to storyboard the opening and begin location scouting as well as casting. More on that coming later :)
Alexa
After taking a quick poll (aka asking people what title they found to be the least cliche and picked my favorite title from the most popular choices) the last two options were "Motherly Love" and "Finding Lucas". So, then I took it to Google... and I found out both titles were already titles of books/productions. With a bit more thought and adjustment of my favorite title, I made it a bit more unique: "Seeking Lucas".
When I was doing research, the "best" detective fiction films all had some sort of allusion to the main conflict or crime in the title. Some examples are Seven and Murder on the Orient Express.
Seven plays on the seven deadly sins from the Bible, and links it to a serial killer. The movie follows a detective who is trying to apprehend a serial killer who targets people he feels represents each sin. This makes Seven the best title for the film because it relates to one of the main points of the plot.
Murder on the Orient Express takes place on a train called the "Orient Express" where one of the passengers is killed. Luckily, a detective is on board. It is up to him to solve the crime. This title plays on the main conflict of the film.
While Motherly Love is a great title, I felt it would fit a film in the drama genre more than it would fit a film in the detective fiction genre. Seeking Lucas plays on the main conflict of my film, figuring out what happened to Lucas.
Soon, I will begin to storyboard the opening and begin location scouting as well as casting. More on that coming later :)
Alexa
2/29/20
The long awaited screenplay update!!!!
Hey guys!!
As you all have been waiting for.... the screenplay for my film opening is finalized!!
This is a screenshot of the first page, but if you guys would like to read the rest you can click here!!!
Next up are some frames from the storyboard, so be on the lookout for that within the next week.
Alexa
(ps. this screenplay took a lot out of me, so I hope it's well-received)
As you all have been waiting for.... the screenplay for my film opening is finalized!!
Next up are some frames from the storyboard, so be on the lookout for that within the next week.
Alexa
(ps. this screenplay took a lot out of me, so I hope it's well-received)
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