CCR

https://clyp.it/id1imebd#

Major and Minor Tasks!

Major Task:

google drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByC0j5gFMqUQV0dkVVpsNHpTYlU/view?usp=sharing

Minor Tasks:

postcard advertisement

website: https://cassandrasecada.wixsite.com/carouselofficialfilm

Final Thoughts

Wrapping things up, I have so many thoughts running through my mind. Mainly, why didn’t I organize myself better beforehand but I am still proud of what I have done with the obstacles I have ran into. There is a point where you have to let go. I have a very difficult time doing that and I find that with every project I make in AICE Media Studies I am taught the lesson more and more. This is not the last thing I will ever make and so it doesn’t have to represent everything I want to say with my life, it can just exist as itself. That being said, I am pretty unhappy with the audio in the film. At times it is just so distracting it ruins the scene for me, but audio is something that I understand I will get the hold of with practice! In addition, I need to improve my sense of pacing when writing for a film and I also wish I had allotted myself more time for editing but I can’t go back now.

These final postings are very bittersweet for me because I have adored this class so much and knowing that it’s coming to a close is saddening. Bright things are ahead though.

Thanks for tuning in!
Cassie.

Titles & Downloads

The title card. I've also decided to use cinematic bars for the film but
that's mainly because I got excited about Premiere's fancy options!

Besides filming I’ve spent a bunch of today updating my computer to the latest Mac operating system in order to download a free trial of Adobe Premiere Pro CC to edit with. I mentioned this in a previous post but to sum it up I had quite a couple of issues with iMovie and decided that it was time to try something new. As you can see, I've attached a little screenshot of the film’s title card which I'm very happy with. I’ve decided on calling the film ‘Carousel’ because I really want to touch on the cyclical nature of longing in this film and I believe that the word carousel, referring to children's merry-go-rounds, will clearly translate this idea as they center around a circular motion.

In other news, I am also on the hunt for a song to edit into the ending scene so that when Isabelle stumbles upon Kimi she hears her before she sees her. Not only would I like to incorporate the technique to build tension but I also think it would reinforce the way Kimi’s character carries a ray around her. All of the dreams are vibrant with color and otherworldly, so in turn I would like to mimic that atmosphere with music when Isabelle meets her.

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Coming up Roses!

Hello! So, I’ve been doing some planning (what’s new?) and I feel like despite the major stumbles I’ve had along the way something is finally clicking. First, in the midst of all the madness I forgot to tell you a few things. Michaela wasn’t available in the end so I actually got my friend Kimi to portray the “dream girl.” In addition, the pool scene wound up feeling out of place in context so I cut it from the film. Before shooting last week I altered a bit of the plot, making it so that Isabelle gets recurring dreams of a girl, investigates the dreams, and runs into the girl in real life but shuts her away. I thought this would more directly communicate what I’m trying to say about the cycle of loneliness in longing, wanting to reach out but never acting on those wants, even in dreamlike scenarios. Instead of ending it on a roundabout, I decided to end it with her having another dream but this time with a different subject to directly translate the idea of a cycle in a way that felt more fit.

I have made a shooting schedule for Wednesday through Friday, scene by scene, and finished touching up the storyboards on my phone. I've attached a few examples alongside the schedule! I've also have been working quite a bit on the film's website and postcard advertisement. I have decided that for marketing purposes I want to attach teasers alongside general information about the film on its homepage to entice audiences. In regards to the postcard ad, I have been constructing a visual of Kimi's face surrounded by hanging sheets that fall over Isabelle as she sleeps. I believe that this will justly translate the idea of Kimi's looming presence (or what she represents) in Isabelle's everyday. After filming I will use screen shots from the footage of both parties, overlay the images as so, and trace the final product in pen to create the illustration.


Talk soon,
Cassie.

Just Kidding

still from shooting

Reflecting, I cannot believe that I was able to film as much as I did in the day I had. I was originally going to film it on Saturday and Sunday but I was only able to get one shot of my brother on Saturday before he asked to film it all Sunday because of the work he had to do. Filming itself was very stressful and in the end I wasn't able to complete the shoot because of time. I have definitely learned a lot from this experience, however, so it wasn't a complete waste. I really have a difficult time shooting anything if I have not storyboarded/ shot listed it ahead of time and I had to be much more spontaneous on this shoot. In addition, many times I had planned to film in a certain place and then realized it was way too crowded and had to move a scene. I also wasn’t able to get that many takes of anything and when the last couple of scenes came around my brother had to go to bed because he has work tomorrow.

still from shooting

still from shooting

I think my primary takeaway from this experience has been that I need make decisions quicker and stick with them. When looking at my blog/ journey, it’s a lot of back and forth. Here I am jumping back once again and I apologize for my inconsistencies. The choice is final (and my only one now) that I will simply have to get everything (with the exclusion of two scenes I've already shot) all day Wednesday and Thursday morning and go back to my initial idea. Taking into account that it is spring break, I feel calmer because I will have more hours in the day to film as opposed to right after school until eight. A detailed shooting schedule is to come of the exact times I will be shooting exact scenes from the film. In addition, I am working on my CCR and card now that I have sealed the deal.

Talk soon,

Cassie.

A Solution

Quick note before reading: I wrote this last night but forgot to post it which is why I refer to Saturday as tomorrow and not today!

Mark with a beautiful hat.

After meeting with Ms. Stoklosa we both agreed that it would be best to move quickly with the time that I have left. Filming everything over again on Wednesday (when I’m back from my trip) would be too late, and so I am currently planning the details of shooting with my brother, Mark, in NYC tomorrow and Sunday. I’m going to continue with the general thematic issues of loneliness and connection but because I have less time to film, am less familiar with the area, and have fewer resources in New York, actor wise, I’m going to steer away from scenes involving two or more people and/or the outdoors. Instead, I’m going to follow a man who recently moved to New York. Upon moving he finds himself rather isolated and realizes that the city is not the romantic idea he had of it. By chance he stumbles upon an old phone in the trash and takes it home with him out of curiosity, eventually playing its voicemails left feeling connected to and haunted by the idea of the owner. At the end I want him to find an old text that contains the owner’s new number and for the two to have a long conversation where they open up to one another.

I still have to write the script, so I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight! Nonetheless, I am excited about this. Things are looking up.

Talk soon,
Cassie.

Big Issues

So I’ve ran into a lot of issues this past week and I need to record them before progressing into my following blog posts because they’re going to change a lot of things! First, there have been many scheduling problems with my main actress. As you know, I started shooting last Saturday but the footage was lost as it was shot in the wrong format and, thus, unusable. We filmed a big scene on Monday and I cleared Tuesday to get the majority of the remaining scenes that afternoon but an hour before shooting Isabelle asked to reschedule for Wednesday. I said okay however on Wednesday there was another issue where we were going to shoot a scene in the morning in addition to the afternoon but she cancelled because she realized that she had the SAT at 7:40. A miscommunication ensued where because we cancelled the morning shoot she thought that we had also cancelled shooting after school which I had no intention of doing. She said that she would be available Thursday instead and so yesterday I shot over half of the film combined with solo scenes of another character (the one from Isabelle’s imaginings) after she left.

I was stressed for time, of course, because the due date is steadily approaching but it also seemed doable to complete the rest of the film on Wednesday after I get back from NYC if I edit and work on my film, CCR, website, and postcard advertisement on my trip.

The message that appears when I try to play one of the files.

The folder made by the recovery program.
The blank files are the ones that I'm missing and won't open.
There are also many files just not showing up.

When I went to import the files, though, something strange happened. Although it was in the proper (.mp4) format it said that the files were unable to open on my computer and when I went to play them back on my camera a question mark appeared where the file should’ve been. I called the Sony customer service line which redirected me to San Disk’s number and after a very long phone call it was explained to me that I would have to download their recovery program and hope for the best. I did exactly that and in the morning checked on the files’ states to see that none had been recovered. I am heartbroken, stressed, and have no clue what to do! It is possible that I could reshape the idea around my brother and film Saturday and Sunday but if I don’t like some of the footage there would be no way to reshoot because he has work Monday through Wednesday. I would also feel terrible restarting because my other actors have already lent me so much of their time, it would be saddening for them to not see a final product. I’m going to ask my teacher for advice today in class, hopefully a solution presents itself!

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Vlogging??

Here's a little video of the preparation I got done on Saturday before shooting. I filmed the clip on my laptop's camera as to not waste the Sony's battery, which explains the quality. Regardless, the day went really well, I definitely feel more than ready to embark on future scenes now that I've dipped my toes in the water.

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Obstacles Ahead

As I’ve mentioned in my scheduling post, I was supposed to initiate filming on Wednesday, the 29th to start things moving. Because I was still working on my idea, however, I decided that it was best to just meet and organize things like costuming as well as specific times we can shoot. Saturday marked the first official day of filming and it actually went really well. We focussed on the solo scenes and afterwards I went to Markham Park to help Isabelle with her opening for the AS media level. All was beautiful and dandy until that night when I uploaded the files to my computer and my heart literally broke to see that they were all shot in the wrong format. It turns out that my mom had been using my camera earlier that week and changed the format so that she could do fancy stuff with her photos. There's nothing I can do but to look forward and take this as a lesson learned to always check the file format before filming!

Coming home from helping Isabelle, though, I felt overwhelmingly inspired by the way we shot and decided to use my fumble as an opportunity to rework and maybe simplify some things in my story before shooting on Monday. Because of Saturday I'll be adding Wednesday to the list of shooting days so I can compensate with time!

Talk soon,
Cassie.

List making!

Things I Need

A list of things I need to shoot!

1. 

   Blue Valentine, deleted scene (2010, dir. Derek Cianfrance)

   Location: As I’ve mentioned before the film will initially take place at a pool. For this I’ll be using the pool in my community out of convenience. In my imagination the pool would be one that’s smaller and more square shaped, but it’s ok because the size of the pool I’m using now might be able to better express the space between the characters that I want to convey. I’ll also be using my room as the setting for the protagonist’s scenes at home. The final scene will take place at a park in a nearby community (The Ridges) after she’s met the person from her imaginings. I really like the spread out look of the park combined with the fact that it has a roundabout. I’d like to show her sat on it spinning in one of the last frames to imply a sort of cycle, similarly shot to the image above from a deleted scene of Blue Valentine.

2. Actresses: A couple of posts ago I mentioned that my beautiful friend, Isabelle, volunteered to act as the protagonist in my project. Since then I’ve also found two other actresses, a lovely young lady named Jessica and my wonderful pal, Michaela, to play the friend character [Jessica] and the stranger [Michaela]. Jessica and Isabelle are already friends in real life which will help when shooting, even if I want there to be a disconnect between the actual characters, because the actors will be comfortable around each other. Moreover, although I originally envisioned a male to play the person from the protagonist’s dreams I was unable to find a male actor which is honestly fine because Michaela is also really into film and has expressed an interest in acting before so I’m excited to work with her, nonetheless!

3. Equipment: For filming I will be using my Sony a6000. Editing wise, I typically utilize iMovie. Lately, however, I’ve been having some real issues with it regarding lagging and general performance. Sometimes in the middle of editing all of the audio will fail or images will severely decrease in quality and even after exporting never return to their original quality. In addition, several times I’ve exported and it’s changed the coloring of images without my doing so. I would really like to use an editing program such as Adobe Premiere Pro but I would need to update my computer first so that they’d have compatability.

4. Wardrobe: In the opening scene I imagined Isabelle to already be wearing her cover-up to show that she hasn’t been swimming with Jessica. For this I would like to use something like a pale yellow top or a long T-shirt over her bathing suit. In general I would like to have her typically clothed with more layers than the people around her to indicate her guarded nature. This excludes the dream sequences, though, as she would be revealing more of who she is there. On Wednesday Isabelle showed me some of her clothes that she believed fit the character but I still have to specifically plan what to use for the ending scene and dream sequence!

5. General Set Design: I’ve already started toying around a bit with my room to make it more along the lines of the living space I imagine for the character. Especially because this character is more reserved, her room is where she spends the majority of her time. Thus, it is necessary that I take the proper time to plan and build her world. I’ve already talked about using mainly primary colors which I would like to follow through with but I would also like to decorate her room with cues towards her longing for connection, like paper dolls holding hands and paintings she’s done.

That’s really all I can think of right now!

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Everything Else

Chinatown (1974 dir. Roman Polanksi)

Even though filming has yet to begin, in the awaiting days I figure that I should also put some time into thinking about my CCR, website, and postcard advertisement. Last year I focussed heavily on my film opening and left the CCR to becoming more of an afterthought in the process. This year, however, I will change that! I would like to create a director’s commentary as opposed to a podcast because I believe that the mix of audio and visuals will serve as a more engaging and effective way of illustrating my points as I will be able to specifically reference certain frames and influences on my film throughout.

Furthermore, I have a vague idea of what I'd like to achieve with the advertisement. As both pictures surrounding the text demonstrate, a large component of any postcard is an alluring image. Because drawn movie posters are less and less utilized today, I believe that the drawing will provide a separation of my film from other films and leave a more lasting impression upon potential consumers. Additionally, I would like to somehow incorporate a mirage- like image as was used in the Chinatown movie poster to reinforce themes of distorted perception in the film and also create a visual barrier to reinforce its themes of connection.

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Birds Without Feathers (release date unknown, dir. Wendy Mccolm)

Storyboarding

Storyboard #2

Storyboard #1

In writing dialogue for these scenes I’ve found that because a large portion of my film has to do with a lack of connection I’m leaning more towards something less dialogue concentrated and more visually telling. In this process, I’ve begun storyboarding alongside to ensure that I remember exactly how I picture these scenes. I’ve also changed it so that the opening scene is set at a community pool instead of the beach because I was getting too stressed about transportation, sound, and many other factors that can be (mostly) eliminated in a more controlled environment that isn’t too far away.

Storyboard #3

Furthermore, I’ve been using the notes application on my phone to storyboard instead of a pen and paper. It allows me to more clearly translate what I envision using color and shades which I appreciate. As I mentioned in the schedule I should be done with all of my storyboards by the end of the day on Tuesday.

Talk soon,
Cassie.

Getting Organized

I walked into class on Thursday greeted by the beautiful news that we have since been allotted an extra seven days to work on our projects. I have created a series of deadlines for myself, as accounted for in the photo below, to form my official schedule.

Isabelle (by yours truly)

Isabelle (by Isabelle)

Although I had expressed earlier that I wanted to be done with my script by the 22nd, several doubts came up about my idea that ate away at my time and I realize now that I need to make decisions or else I will get lost in a sea of possibilities. My goal is to start shooting (or at least rehearsals) by Wednesday. My lovely friend, Isabelle Miller, is set to act as the lead character in the film and, although she has never acted in a film before, she is very eager and I trust that she will be able to perform with the subtlety and naturalism I imagine. In addition, she is no stranger to the world of film so I believe that having that perspective will help to guide her understanding during rehearsal as I will be able to reference specific films when going over lines with her, etc.

Moreover, I would like to complete filming by the 6th because I am staying with my brother in NYC for the first four days of spring break. I plan to start editing on the plan ride over and to continue while he's away at work. I gave myself until my return date to finish and from there on out I have to complete my CCR, website, and postcard advertisement. I am not going to lie, I'm a little nervous about getting all of this done but it is definitely more than possible if I stick to the schedule!

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Writing the Script

I am currently working on drafting the film's screenplay. It is very important to me that every moment onscreen is necessary and meaningful to the story, thus I have been dedicating lots of time to the planning process as I believe it is most valuable to creating a successful piece. Typically I don’t write in screenplay format but I think it’s important, not only for my own organization but also for the actors I cast, to have something more concrete. I have been watching these wonderful video essays linked here and presented below by Lessons From the Screenplay on Youtube which have proved to be very helpful in this regard.

Furthermore, I have started set design on my room as I have previously mentioned I wish to create something more visually light this year as opposed to saturated with color and space. My room’s walls are cluttered and so I have been taking down many of the posters and things crowding them to change that. I would like to also work with primary colors so I will be on the lookout for some room decorations that are more delicate and align with red, blue, or yellow in the following week.

In addition, I have created a little schedule to help keep me on track for the deadline. I aim to be finished with the screenplay by this Wednesday and to have it casted as well. This weekend I wish to rehearse and film the opening scenes and by next Saturday I should have all of the shooting done so I can edit. After mapping out my time I do feel a bit more collected but also overwhelmed with how much there is to do! It’s truly time to get grooving.

Talk soon,

Cassie.

An Idea!! (finally)

As I mentioned in my last post I have been having trouble formulating an idea that feels special and also feasible with my resources and the time allotted. However, I think I found something now. 

I am not exactly sure how to go about presenting this but I want the film to essentially be about a girl who longs for connection and finds none in her everyday life. When she starts hearing noises and dialogue coming from the apartment next door she imagines an entire storyline about the man and searches for him in real life. Although this sounds complicated I can envision it falling under a five minute time frame and I think by writing a script I’ll be able to shave down the film to its most important scenes.

I imagine it beginning at the beach with the girl and her friend, but the protagonist is obviously still feeling isolated in her friend’s company. I plan to use the divide between the water and sand to illustrate the two's separation literally. At home she continues to keep occupied but in the middle of an action she begins hearing talking coming from the other side of the wall. She presses her ear against it to get a clearer listen and feels an overwhelming sense of connection. I am unsure of where exactly I want the film to go after that but I know I want her to see a person at a store, or someplace, and convince herself that that’s the person from the apartment over, out of longing. This is in the very early stages but I thought I should give a little update on where I am currently at. I hope I made some sense!

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Brain-rain, Brain-storm

Amores Perros (2000, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)

For weeks now I have been trying to imagine ideas for this project but none have felt special or important enough. They have either lacked substance or been far too convoluted and could never be done correctly within a five minute time constraint. Incidentally, as I mentioned in earlier blog posts, two main things that have been recurring in my concepts have been the beach (or more specifically water) and dreams. In addition to that, I have found that central to my schemes are themes of longing and a search for connection.

Initially I wanted to create something that took place within a dream state, following a girl as she searched for someone she thought she recognized. It would begin with her in the middle of a busy sidewalk, spotting a man farther up the way who seemed familiar. She would push past walker-byers trying to get his attention but he would never hear her. Instead, as soon as she got close enough to tap him on the shoulder she would be transported into another dream, an entirely different setting and context, and be plunged into a cycle of chasing as the man would appear again in different forms and she would feel compelled to find him. At the end I imagined looping back to the opening scene but as she looks up he is already on the other side of the street, the two never speaking. In formulating the structure I was largely influenced by the winding and woven nature of Iñárritu's Amores Perros (2000). The film chronicles three different stories but brings them together in a way that resembles the broken down nature of dreams.

Even though I can clearly see this idea in my head, many issues present themselves when actually conceptualizing how to go about creating it. First, I have no clue how I would show audiences that the protagonist is sleeping without at some point presenting her awake or going to bed. Peers suggested that I could include audio from the real world, such as the tap running or her parents talking, but I think that without the context that she is in a dream this could further confuse the viewer. Moreover, because it would take place over a wide variety of environments I would not only need to assemble a larger cast to play small characters but also a variety of locations. I am worried that the process would require more planning and shooting time than I have left. However, this is not all bad news. I have recognized that at the core of this are themes that are important to me that I can work with on a separate idea, and I am definitely feeling inspired!

Talk soon,

Cassie.

Aesthetics

Pierrot le Fou (1965)

Aesthetically and contextually I have spoken about wanting to create something more light and airy than my past creations this year. I continue to think back to the idea of shooting at a windy beach and I would like to play around with primary colors as was done in Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot le Fou (1965). The film is very visually pleasing to me and the desaturation of color in certain scenes that occur throughout their adventure is something I'd definitely like to attempt to recreate.

Pierrot le Fou (1965)

On a different note, due to the film's time constraints of five minutes I am struggling to come up with an idea with strong pacing while maintaing a beginning, middle, and end. To help out I have been watching many, many short films on Vimeo but I find that the majority that fall around 5-7 minutes rely heavily on music and montages to progress their plots. I would like to steer away from the use of montage to develop time in my film, making something that unravels under a short period of time, instead. In trying to draft a beginning, middle, and end I have also been researching the three act play and have found helpful videos such as this linked here. Although in the video it is applied to a full length film, I believe I can draw guidance from some of the points mentioned.

Talk soon,
Cassie.

Fellini and Crafting a World

Charlotte and Bob watching La Dolce Vita: 
Lost in Translation (2003, dir. Sofia Coppola)

Federico Fellini was a master of filmmaking; his pieces left impressions on such influential directors of today as Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. Beyond his use of Magical Realism there are quite a few techniques that bind his films together in approach.

A common action of his is to create long winding and chaotic scenes. This is exemplified most clearly in the wonderful, Nights of Cabiria (1957), which follows a prostitute who has been stomped on in life, searching for love but always in vain. Cabiria is a puzzle to the audience until one scene where light is shed. She stumbles upon a magic show at night and is summoned to the stage. There, the magician hypnotizes her and in a moving long take she is guided in revealing her longing for connection while the magician leads her to believe she is speaking to a new love. The scene shows the character in a manner that she never has been seen in before, soft, and because of that it is very impactful. When she snaps out of her trance the audience laughs at her as the world often has and she stomps out, furious. A man from the audience follows her out and later tells her that his name is also Oscar and he feels that fate has brought them together. Fellini's weaving of elements of reality and illusion combined with his large ensembles and grand settings not only add to the backdrop of Magical Realism in his movies but also help to create a world that is full of dimension and filled with chaos in the same way that ours is. This is littered throughout his career and can also be recognized in an earlier scene where Cabiria wonders if she is in the 'grace of God'.

Although I am limited to five minutes for this project and won't be able to assemble an ensemble, I believe that only using one setting or even showing a character's or plot's progression through a short period of time can help to emulate this feeling that Fellini crafts.

As a side note, I mentioned in my last post the important roles that dreams played on director, Ingmar Bergman's, work. Incidentally, I found that in my research on Fellini dreams also had an enormous influence on his creative process, coming as no surprise when evaluating the many dream sequences of 8 1/2 (1963) or the general dreamy quality of his films.

Talk soon,
Cassie.

Bergman

Upon research I found this wonderful video essay by the Criterion Collection on Ingmar Bergman's philosophy of dreams in relation to cinema.

Bergman is said to have equated film to a dream state as both are bottomless worlds existing without walls or limits. The essay commences with his quote "sometimes when I'm dreaming I'll think... I'll make a film of it." His films wash in and out of reality, most clearly demonstrated in Wild Strawberries (1957) where clocks lacking hands mock the protagonist, raising questions about mortality and age. Many of the film's images derive from Bergman's own dreams which has inspired me to start drawing inspiration from mine. I have very vivid dreams and I think in my quest to create truth from a bended mystical perspective it would be resourceful. Moreover, I like the idea of incorporating a dream sequence in my short film or dreamlike imagery.

Talk soon,
Cassie.

We're Back

Hello again! This past year has truly flashed by. Although in retrospect I am very proud of the way my project turned out last year when I rewatch it the first thing that comes to mind is that it feels very heavy- its oversaturation, style of music, and tight shots all attribute to this. This year I would like to create something that's a bit airier, playing around more with thematic issues as well, as opposed to character.

Y tu Mama Tambien (dir. Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)

Mood Indigo (dir. Michel Gondry, 2013)

As of late I have been surrounded by the concept of Magical Realism. This first came about upon my enrollment in Italian Cinema and has extended into the curriculum of my other classes, studying novels such as Beloved (Toni Morrison) and 100 Years of Solitude (Garcia Marquez) in AP Literature. The idea of reality being most clearly displayed through the blurring of it is something that definitely inspires me and I hope to apply in my creation of this year’s piece. Thus, I believe films such as Y tu Mama Tambien (dir. Alfonso Cuaron), Le Notti di Cabiria (dir. Federico Fellini), and Mood Indigo (dir. Michel Gondry) will be key influences in my process.

Although I am not sure I want to fully commit to the style of Magical Realism I would very much like to experiment with camera movement, an ominous narrator, and long takes which are techniques the genre often employs. 

Talk soon,
Cassie.