Progress 2

    The planning part of my film opening is almost finished. The mise-en-scene for the film has been collected. The two main characters are Maahi and Ziya which will be played by my friend and I. Their two outfits and aesthetics are described below, Maahi being the flowy, pure older sister while Ziya is the stricter and spiteful younger sister. I have asked to borrow a professional camera as the main prop and pictures taken on it will be edited into scenes as real time snapshots. This will create a unique POV shot in my film opening. 

As for production, since we are filming the scenes outside, maintaining the audio quality is very important just as the video quality. So we have ordered materials to aid in this process. For example, we have a wireless microphone will be crucial in recording close-up shots where dialogue is essential to understanding the scene. Also, we have acquired a tripod to make filming more stable and to film from higher angles. Lastly, to mask the sound of walking on grass, we will lay out a thin carpet over the grass or wear fabric under our shoes to make sure the only sound being heard is the characters speaking. 

For video, I will still be utilizing my iPhone 14 Pro Max as it has the highest camera quality available. To elevate it however, I will film some scenes in cinematic mode and give them a glowing effect by placing a piece of glass in front of the lens and rubbing Vaseline on it. With these measures taken in the planning process, I expect to start filming in no time. 

Progress 1

My film opening project has been moving slowly honestly. I created the script and idea in as short as a week. All the camera directions have been stated and the script is emoting feeling, which was easy to accomplish since my imagination took over. Yet the realistic details are more difficult to plan.

I have contacted my cast and people involved in the production since I am working solely on the project. Also, we have discussed the best time to film for all of us which will be in the middle of March, primarily spring break. I have learned more about editing software such as Davinci Resolve and how to maneuver the key aspects. However, the main challenge I am facing is with the location.

One of the regrets I have is not filming in India when I had gone for vacation during winter break. The picture-perfect location and yet I did not take advantage of it. The aesthetic of the entire scene could have been elevated by how green the fields are there and where the sun sets. But I cannot continue being regretful. So I will try and imitate the traditional mise-en-scene as close as possible. A possible location being considered is Tradewinds Parks and Stables in Coconut Creek. 

Sweding

The art of sweding, or remaking a part of a film. Before starting the project, I asked myself what I wanted to achieve or what was my purpose so I could better understand what film to choose. I wanted simplicity and something that could be executed easily. Not because it was less work but because it was inside my reach. Yet it could not be too simple to the point one watching it is bored. They may sill get bored, something I cannot control. But control was what I ought for this project. Therefore, I chose a film that I was knowledgeable about and a scene that had hidden complexity. Midsommar: Tripping in the Field.

Actual Scene

First, I analyzed the scene and broke down each moment where the camera cut to another angle, taking snapshots of how the scene looks before and after. Then I identified the materials and characters in the scene and wrote descriptions of them. Lastly, I created the script and shared it with my actors so they could memorize lines and change them to be more instinctual. All of these steps contributed towards the actual filming process being smooth and the recreation of the scene close to exact. 

excerpt from script

Challenges faced during the course of this project were entirely environmental. We filmed near noon when the sun was at it's highest point to create a consistent lighting source. We filmed at a park with hills to imitate the fields in Midsommar. However, outsides sounds hindered the ability to hear actors so the audio of my project was not extremely clear. These factors just had to be dealt with because we do not have access to the equipment say A24 has. 

But that is what makes a sweding project individual to itself and it has been a great learning experience for future film productions, especially in the drama/thriller genre. 

behind the scene

Media Companies

My assigned major media company was NBC universal and the minor, DreamWorks Animation, which is owned by NBC universal too. That is a common concept. When a large film studio owns many other smaller film studios. So there are only 5-6 companies that own about 90% of the media market shares. These were usually established many years ago and have a complex history. For example, Universal Films was created in 1912 and NBC in 1926, which actually is the first permanent radio network in the U.S. And then NBC Universal was born on May 12, 2004, when NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment merged. At this point both companies had acquired many smaller companies and would only grow larger.

In addition, even though the major media companies are similar in many ways, they are different in that they have specific genres, not drifted away from. For example, Disney specializes in creating characters while Universal focuses on action and blockbuster films. This way, the audience has expectations for a film when it gets released because of the company producing it.

Opening Script

Honestly the hardest part of writing my opening scene was submitting it. I have so many ideas in my head of which pivotal moment to choose from in my imagined movie that every time I would finish a line of dialogue, I would sit there and let it melt in. "Is this truly the best representation of what I have to offer". Writing was no problem, the words came running to me and my fingers were struggling to follow behind. But it was the content that even now, I don't feel fully confident in. How much do I want to give away or will my viewers even know what I'm talking about. Until, I realized that it isn't that deep. 

My opening scene actually takes place a day before the big climax in the movie so it's like a peek into the future. Tensions are definitely established in the scene but the scene will not be repeated again in the actual movie. So here's how I think of it to play out as:

Ziya is the younger sister and Maahi is the older. Maahi has secretly fallen in love with their tour guide while viewing South India on vacation. The guide is of way lower class than the sisters and this will be very important because an incident occurred with their dad's side of the family where the mom was significantly hurt from a similar situation. Surprise, history repeats itself but Ziya indirectly causes the tragedy at the end of the movie so the out lash we see in the start is a huge hint. I wish for it to kind of click in the viewer's head at that point and make them realize that they always knew a little of what was going to happen. There is is a flashforward then to the big climax where Ziya wakes up in the rain with no answers and just an empty feeling. The rain, they day, the feelings on her face all are going to be showcased because the resolution of my film is the loss of both Maahi and her love to the dehumanizing caste system of India. 

Of course, I'm not a professional scriptwriter, I feel more fitted towards keeping ideas in my brain but I will try my hardest to shoot the scene in a very aesthetic way. As the film revolves around Indian characters, I will act alongside someone of similar ethnicity. The location is a flower field which should be relatively easy to find when there is an abundance of nature and land in Florida. I think the coloring and costuming will be prominent in adding meaning to the opening scene. The sharp contrast between characters and switch in sunlight will reflect mood too. 

Caste Takes All

Film Companies

A24

A24 is a good fit for my film because it is an indie company that approaches films in a variety of ways and experiments with the horror genre. A24 is known for bringing us some of the most critically acclaimed horror films of recent years. I would like to create a terror different from thrasher or supernatural scares and implement traditional values. Sometimes the truth of the world can cause more fear than ghosts and serial killers.  

For example Midsommar is a haunting folk horror film that stunned audiences in 2019. The movie follows a group of college students who travel to a pagan festival in Sweden and get caught up in a terrifying ordeal. It had a very complex storyline and was successful in theaters and on streaming services. The film grossed $48 million and received positive reviews from critics. 

NEON

Founded in 2017 by Tom Quinn and Tim League, who started the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain, Neon quickly established its indie credibility in Hollywood by identifying compelling scripts and discerning filmmakers in an era when franchise blockbusters starring comic book superheroes are the norm. Movies acquired by Neon have won the Palme d’Or — the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival — the last three years. This company would be a good fit for my film because it will take advantage of my authentic theme and turn it into something unexpected. 

An example is Parasite. It is a film that does an exceptional job in showing the ways that those who are impoverished are treated poorly in subtle ways, and the effect that it has on them is greater than many would assume. Parasite grossed $71.4 million in South Korea, $53.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $133.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $258.7 million

Points of Interest

My favorite genre as well as one that I would like to work in is the Indie genre. An indie movie i.e. independent movie is a short movie that is made outside the big film studio system. But Indie movies are different by their style and content, and also by the way in which the personal artistic vision of the filmmaker is realized. I plan to work in the genre because it is easy to create a dramatic storyline while simultaneously creating a tranquil mood.

They are my favorites because when I finish watching them, I always ask myself "what?". Like when a film lingers in your mind for the next week, that's the process I go through when I finish some Indie films. They are so far off the line of normal but how is normal defined. Normal is an action film with the heroes defeating the villains and saving the day in the end. Blockbusters have made this storyline normal to people when in reality the hero should have died like 15 times already. Also, films produced by major companies end up being similar in some way to each other but with Indie films there is no control. The maker is free to put real, raw thoughts into their film. And that's why I like them- they show the other side of things. 

One example of a film in the Indie genre is Moonlight.

Moonlight follows Chiron, an African American living in a rough neighborhood of Miami. Bullied at an early age and seemingly outcast, Chiron knows he doesn’t fit in because of his sexuality. He hardly speaks to anyone, has no group of friends, and has a deteriorating home life when his mother descends into drug use. Chiron finds refuge in a drug dealer named Juan, who has profound and lasting effects on the trajectory of this young boy’s life.

The cinematography in the scene above places the audience at water level and the camera follows the movement of the waves, drifting under the water at times. The camera work makes us feel the tension of staying afloat just as Chiron is feeling. A major detail in this scene is the mise-en-scene and use of the setting. Chiron is learning how to swim to save him from drowning, literally and symbolically. He is learning how to keep his head above the water. Another element that conveys the meaning of the film is sound. There is powerful non-diagetic music playing in the background as Chiron takes his first steps into the water. The music enhances this moment of security and intimacy that Chiron has with Juan which he never had with a father. Lastly, editing choices expand the notion of the African-American image in film. Colors are vibrantly hot and bright, and facial and skin details are extraordinary.