location shooting

 So there are some issues with where we want to film. My partner went over to the beach and it was getting swept away by wind. Florida doesn't want to cooperate with us so we just have to deal with it. This weekend we are both going to the beach to try and get some shots done, hopefully the weather wants to cooperate and hopefully there isn't a large amount of people.

mise-en-scene

 Costume and props are being scouted out for filming. Starting with costumes:

Starting with an orange shirt, an eye catching color meaning the background doesn't have to be a lower depth of field on the two shots. we will still toy with depth of fields, the way most dramedies play with this have the characters more in focus. I don't want the characters to have super nice clothing, with some articles being worn down maybe, and also some accessories to go along with the outfits.

Shooting Schedule

 This will be shorter than other blog posts:

3/7 - filming background and locking in the shot choices

3/13-3/14 - shooting day, filming most of the shot, depending on the weather is which day we film on

3/20 - re-shoots if needed

3/21 - 3/28 - any extra shots should be finished, project should be in the editing stage

3/29 - 4/4 - editing should be finished or in the reviewing stage, project should be ready to submit

title reveal and screenplay progress

 The title for the film is now called Train in Vain (A temporary but good title for the film) we've decided to have a Clash song playing throughout the finality of the opening scene. Our main characters both love this band, with themes in their music related to the story we're trying to convey. 

In our dialogue, we've put more emphasis on more dry, witty humor, capturing the bond of our titular characters. Strong bickering and sarcasm are present within the dialogue. The actors will use their own knowledge and tendencies when speaking, putting unique tones on the dialogue we didn't think we could do.

Some Challenges

The setting we chose offers up a lot of issues. It is really great for filming and getting great shots, but the sound quality will not be great. Beaches are notorious for being more windy, and if it is too windy, the sound will most likely be all over the place. I have a potential fix, as I do want to get the dialogue and I am still really attached to the beach setting. I mean, this would make for a nice shot: I'm not saying that we would film in the evening (the wind would probably be too strong by that point), but the ethereal blue lights are exactly what I am looking for. It feels almost personal to what we are trying to convey. I need the setting to mean a lot to the characters, so I am still very much attached to my current setting. So, now for my fixes. I will need to scrounge up some microphones so that the dialogue of the characters will not be scrambled. I will also need to go on a less windy day. On my last visit, the wind was not strong and was more of a nice breeze. I will definitely hope to get the same conditions the day of my shoot. If the conditions aren't right, I'll be ok, as long as the sound isn't too distorted. I plan on doing the beach sounds in post production to really capture the sounds fully, so all I really need is good audio for the characters.

Another problem is capturing the running shots. I still want to include some. I will definitely try to limit it, using more of the still shots of the two characters and capture more of their conversation. I will add more inserts of the background around them to try to limit the two-shots so the opening isn't too static. And again, the dialogue will most be a challenge. I have some ideas as of right now, as the characters are based on some of the people I know in my life, so I do have that advantage. 

group meets, what'd I get from it

 After the group meeting I got new ideas for the project. After thinking about the setting and dialogue, we found out that the banter between me and my partner normally works well for the relationship we're establishing in our film. The setting is staying the same as the safe haven for our characters, the beach. Dania beach to be more specific. Honestly not a whole lot but mostly just some advice about dialogue and how it establishes tone.

Characters!

 This post is going into greater detail on the characters we're going to introduce. The relationship between the main duo (brother and sister) is extremely important to the story and opening. I want to show off these titular characters who are the main focus, Maya and Dallin Packer.

Maya is the main character with the story being told through her own eyes, with everything besides a two shot being shown through her point of view. The beach is a safe space for her, gazing onto the beautiful blue water through her eyes as the audience gets a sense of how important this magical place really is for her. Orange is another standout color, making her symbolize being eccentric and different.

On the other side of the spectrum is her brother, being more complex than his sister. Dallin loves his sister but has more of a "lone wolf" attitude, mostly with his internal issues. He has a need to prove himself and always be on top, but that leads him to be selfish. Later in the film this becomes a large problem not only for him, but for the relationship with his sister as Maya realizes her brother who she idolizes has faults and issues.

storyboard time!

 My partner and I have come up with many different ideas for this project before ultimately sticking with the dramedy genre with our brother-sister story. After discussing location, we talked about possible scenes that could be done, possible different shots we could take and where to take them. This culminated in the start of our storyboard as shown below:

These are all just ideas, nothing is set in stone as we are still in our planning stage of our project

Tone

 For a dramedy, tone and dialogue play parts for each other, they go hand in hand. Tone research is tedious because it can't be described, good writing makes a tone more defined, adding onto it with character interactions. Good writing is the key in creating the dual-tone trait common among all good dramedies. The dual-tone often gives a sense of realism to a film. And getting a sense of the double-tone through dialogue will most likely be the hardest part of the entire project. Dialogue on its own is very hard to write. Some dialogue is incredibly realistic and is usually paced slower (to imitate real life). Other dialogue is purposefully witty, or fast paced, or more eccentric. It mostly depends on the genre, but there aren't necessarily set restrictions on what I could do. Directors like Quentin Tarantino come to mind when I think of, not necessarily realistic, but unique dialogue. The dialogue in his movies is especially memorable because of the certain ways characters speak and their consistency throughout the movie. One example I can think of off the top of my head is Captain Hans Landa in Inglorious Bastards. Edgar Wright is another director that writes memorable dialogue.

Setting

     The setting for our film is vital, I want the audience to know the background of the characters without explanation. Other parts of this include costume design, playing a huge roll in the development of the characters. I want to go further beyond this to expand on this idea. After looking for locations to film, my partner and I found a good spot. (The picture isn't accurate to the beach I was searching for)(But a beach no less)

research and characters

 There are many films similar to what we are going for. Although Fighting With My Family is an example of something similar, whilst not being a really well-known film (it was released in 2019), it is more of the sports dramedy that I'll examine more. It tells the story of a working class family and the family bond is the center of the film. I could also argue that Saraya, the main character, is also one of the drivers of this film. She is very unique and could be considered eccentric, holding a very close bond with her brother, and in a lot of ways is the bond that the movie relies on the most. 

This opening scene is a lot more complex but it has the more humorous tone that we are looking for. We want to start off with a comedic scene, while also emphasizing the relationship between the main characters. This opening also should establish a connection with the family, with emphasis on her and her brothers reliance on each other. The opening should also do a good job introducing the main cast, the rest of the family.

2/18/21