Target Audience

     I think that before I begin writing my script, I'm going to establish what exactly my target audience is.  My Own Private Idaho is the film that is acting as my main source of inspiration for my project.  Seeing as how the film has similar subject matter to my opening, I would expect it to have a very similar target audience as well.  

    This film was released in 1991 and was considered a "landmark film" in queer cinema, especially for its time.  Touching on "taboo" subject matter like it was a completely normal thing caused this film to connect with many LGBTQ audience members.  The film is considered a cult classic due to its initial criticisms and then eventual appreciation by both critics and audiences.  This means that the audience members who truly liked this film to begin with had to be open-minded and really took a chance on its almost experimental and avant-garde style.  

This film (at the time of its release) was made for a more niche audience, which I'm sure the director was aware of beforehand.  Therefore, this is also something I should be aware of.

    My target audience, in terms of age, would definitely be young adults (17-25) due to the more heavy subject matter and relatability to characters their age.

Acting

  I mentioned in my "Characters" post that I wanted my good friends Joey and Virginia to act in my film opening.  And now that they've confirmed that they can in fact help me out, I need to see exactly what days they would be able to film in order to get a more detailed vision of what days I would be able to film.  

    Joey has confirmed that he is free during the entirety of the time frame I have allotted for filming, which is great.  Virginia has also confirmed this, but she might be a bit more difficult to work around due to the fact that she also has her Media Studies A Level portfolio project to work on.  

    I'm glad that Joey especially is available to film because I was completely envisioning Vincente with him in mind.  In terms of both looks and the writing of his character.  I'm aware of Joey's acting skills, so I was also aware to keep that in mind.  Although I want my piece to be more dialogue driven and that requires more acting skills, I know that I can write the script so that Joey is able to execute it to the best of his ability.  

    I plan to work around this acting issue by having Virginia have the bulk of the lines and acting.  This will work out because she will be representing more of his subconscious which is more outspoken with thoughts, and contrasts his more reserved demeanor.  

    In order to sell my film opening to the audience, I need the acting to fit with the writing.

Location ?

    I've began to think about location scouting.  I know that I would like to have an environment that reflects that kind of disheveled living condition that people with mental health issues live with.  I want to make sure that the audience really understands the type of person this is, even just from looking at the environment they surround themselves in.  

   

Recently I re-watched the film Nowhere (1997) and it gave me inspiration for the type of setting I would want, at least for the room.  The film was directed by Gregg Araki, and my favorite thing about his films has to be his outrageous mise-en-scene elements.  I feel like something as formalistic as this is really what I'm envisioning, as I want my visuals to kind of contrast the melancholic and slower paced plot-line and writing.  

    I think that since I have given myself so much time to film, I will also have a lot of time to pay a lot of attention to detail.  I can think of and get all of the props I will need, create the perfect setting that matches my vision.  I love how just from the screengrab, one can tell just how "edgy" and distraught this character is.  usually I am not given this much time to work on films, or in this case a film opening) so I'm very excited to make the most of the time I have and make something very intricate that I'm proud of.

   

    Another location I've been thinking of working towards filming in is some sort of abandoned garage/shed.  I am imaging this as being a sort of hangout spot for my main character, and potentially the setting in which he first interacts with Amon.  

 

  I feel like having this as another primary location would be very consistent with the "vibe" of the rest of the opening.  With Vincente's (yes, I chose the name Vincente) room reflecting his edgy, almost hedonistic personality, and the garage/shed reflecting a dirty and run-down place he likes to spend some of his free time in, I think it gets the message across that this is a grimy and dark film.  But with the formalistic elements, it also lets the viewer know that this is going to be a whimsical and entertaining story, no matter how dark it is.

Sources: Nowhere (1997) Room

Abandoned Garage/Shed

bandoned Garage/Shed 2

Lets Get Organized

     Hi blog, I recently realized that before I could progress with this project any further, I needed to create a schedule to keep myself on track.  I've just been kind of Doing Things recently without any sort of structure as to when I should have things completed by.  So I figured that having a very detailed schedule would help me not get overwhelmed with work in a few weeks when I realize how poorly I planned for this.  So without any further ado: my schedule !!!!

2/23-2/26: pre-production things besides writing (scheduling with actors)

2/26: start writing script

3/4: finish writing script

3/5-3/14: filming

3/27-3/29: editing

3/30-4/3: complete CCR

    Now I finally have a solid schedule that I can refer back to to keep me on track.  I gave myself the most time for filming since that's definitely going to be the most time-consuming part.  And with Spring Break being in the middle of March, I lose some valuable time that I'm going to have to account for.  I'm a pretty fast editor and usually edit entire projects in 1 day, so I was generous and gave myself 3 days for the editing process.  I'm not exactly sure what the CCR entails yet, so I gave myself a good 5 days for that.  I also gave myself quite a bit of time to write the script because I expect this to be one of the more difficult parts for me.  I need the writing to be good due to my project being quite dialogue-driven, and it might take me a while.  

    Although it's quite broad, I know for a fact that this schedule will create the smoothest possible experience for me.  See you in the next post.

Characters...

     Planning is going smoothly so far, and I'm basically at the point where I can start writing my script!!  But before I get into that,  I've began to think about my characters, who they are, and who I want to play them.  After completing the outline for my film opening, I've finally got a better grasp on what I think the personalities of these characters are, which is great.  

    I just realized that I've been referring to my main character as the "Protagonist" this whole time and haven't even done the basics of giving him a name yet.  Usually I don't really put much thought behind the names of my characters and don't think they need to have any special meaning, but I think it would be fun to have my characters name hold some sort of meaning, almost like a little easter egg.  I think the name Felix could fit the vibe of my protagonist well, as it comes from the Latin word for "lucky" or "unfortunate."  This could fit my character pretty well considering his destructive life style, implying that he's lucky to be alive.  Similarly, the name Vincente could fit pretty well I think.  The name means "to prevail," "victorious," or "successful" which could also allude to the protagonists success at prevailing in life.  I think for the last name I'm not going to put that much meaning behind it, simply because I already have the last name "Slater" chosen that I like and think fits the sort of "natural edginess" of the character.

    I already know that I want my friend Joey to play the role of Felix/Vincente (name to be decided).  He's acted in some of my projects before and we work really well together, and I love him as an actor.  It's hard to find people who can act that are also just willing to do whatever sort of weird thing is in my creative vision, so I truly have to capitalize on him, sorry Joey. <3 

    As for the character that is sort of a materialization of Felix/Vincente's conscience, I have no clue what to name them.  I do know, though, that it will be played by my good friend Virginia.  We always work together on projects so I already know that we won't have any issues getting work done or getting her to bring my vision to life.  I just got an idea for this character's name.  I was thinking that the name could reflect negativity, or just the dynamic between her and Felix/Vincente.  I found the name Amon that means "the hidden one."  "Though seemingly shrouded in mystery, Amon rather captures the revered god's ability to be whatever his devotees require."  I feel like this fits the character pretty well because the character is supposed to represent everything that the protagonist is.  It also reflects a sort of masculine energy that would be unusual for the character, which is something I want to play into.  It could allude to Felix/Vincente's struggle with sexuality and gender.  I actually really like how 's the name Amon fits the character and I think it's definitely a contender for a final name.

    

Plot Time 2: The Sequel: The Outline

    Now that I have more of a solid vision of what I want to do, it's time to start truly figuring out an outline for my film opening.  My goal for this blog post is to complete this outline so I have an official idea for the structure of my plot, so I can get started with scriptwriting in the next post.

- Starts out with protagonist engaging in destructive behavior, drug use

- establish loneliness in his life through shots

- introduce character that represents his "conscience" early on without disclosing that they aren't necessarily real

- show scene of protagonist dealing with issues of self acceptance and identity, such as struggling with sexuality

- establish the rest of the film that would entail the character having to go about their week with this hallucination following them

- themes of uncertainty and hedonism drive the film

This doesn't seem like very much in comparison to what the script is actually going to end up being, but this really gives me a clear vision in my head of what I want to do and where I want the story to go.  My biggest worry going in was that I wouldn't be able to fully decide on one idea or wouldn't be able to fully imagine it, so this is progress.

Plot Time

 So now that I've kind of decided what I want to do in terms of genre, I can start deciding exactly what it is I want to do for the plot.  I think I'm going to go for a more melancholic plot line that's represented by more experimental visuals, as I said in my last posting.  This is definitely more out of my comfort zone due to this probably being a more dialogue heavy, slice-of-life sort of piece which is usually something that I shy away from.

    I do think, though, that for the actual plot I will kind of go with the sort of character vs. self conflict that I usually gravitate toward.  I know I said I wanted to include that LGBTQ representation but I don't think that a romantic conflict with another person at the forefront of the plot is necessary in order to give that representation.  Perhaps this person's journey to self-acceptance could be a part of that character vs. self conflict, without the absolute need for a love interest.

    I think I would've liked to do something that centers around the main characters issues with a bunch of different self-destructive behaviors, but I fear it would be too similar to My Own Private Idaho and I want to make something that I truly think is unique.  But at the same time, I could always just take my favorite elements from the film and make it my own without necessarily just copy-and-pasting these ideas.  I kind of want to put more of a surrealist twist on this story of self-destruction.  Like maybe the way this person copes with their self-destructive behaviors kind of materializes in the form of another human, really taking that character vs. self conflict literally.  Kind of like someone being led by a dirty conscience, that in reality is just themselves, and they have to deal with said reality. 

    I think that this could be kind of a cool concept to build off of.  I think it gives me a lot of great opportunities to have a quite a bit of dialogue and really set up the rest of the story in just 2 minutes.  Since I have a sort of platform to build off of now, I can really get into the specific outline of the plot next and figure out exactly what I want to do, and also exactly who my characters are.

Genre ???

    So far my main issue that I seem to be facing is simply not knowing what I am going to do for my project.  In regards to both genre and plot.  So I thought that doing some more in-depth research on some possible genres I may want to explore would be beneficial, and may inspire me.  I usually like to play around with horror, specifically the sub-genre of psychologically horror.  I'm just not sure if I would like to also do something within that sub-genre or do something that's more out of my comfort zone.  

    I would like to begin by researching some of my favorite director's work (Darren Aronofsky, Jim Jarmusch, Gregg Araki, etc.)  and find out the origins of their style to maybe find a pure source for inspiration.  I think that this could give me a new perspective on unique techniques to implement in my film opening.  

    When researching my first director, Darren Aronofsky, I'm reminded that many of his films play with themes of perfectionism and self-destruction.  These are also themes that I have touched on before in my own work, but I'm not sure if I would like to continue that pattern or not.  What I do think I would like to do is go the more melo-dramatic route.  I would like to lean into having more characteristics of an arthouse film, so definitely on the formalistic side.  I'm thinking kind of reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho (although it's argued whether or not this is actually an arthouse film).  

  I like the fun and experimental visuals that are paired with more melancholic plot lines and themes.  This film especially speaks to me because of the LGBTQ representation in an otherwise nonconventional situation.  I like how the film kind of shines a light on the possibility of raw human connection, even in some of the darkest spots in one's life, and the pain that comes with losing that connection.  I like stories that are able to take something that might otherwise seem unnoteworthy, and representing in such an interesting way with writing and visuals, that the audience is just forced to be interested.  In my research I've found that the film is "notable for its then-taboo subject matter and avant-garde style."  What a coincidence, I love taboo subject matter and my blog's name is literally Garde Avant !!!  I think I'm starting to get some clarity on what I want to do.

    I don't necessarily want to go the romance route, even if it's portrayed in a negative light.  I just don't feel like doing that.  But on the other hand, I think I would like to play around with LGBTQ representation and themes of self destruction/ a journey to self acceptance.  Someone with just a lot of uncertainty and unsatisfaction in their life.  The character's sexuality may not be at the forefront of the film opening, but it would certainly be an important part of their character and relate to different themes within the film.  I think I'm keeping on the psychological route but instead of going more horror, per se, I would like to go more of the drama route.

    Thankfully I now feel more confident in the fact that I'm starting to have more of a vision for my final idea.  Although I still have quite a ways to go, it's a start.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Own_Private_Idaho

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Aronofsky#Early_work

Portfolio Project ...

  The dreaded ages have fallen upon myself and my AICE Media AS class.  I feel a mutual sense of impending doom with each pair of eyes I accidentally lock with.

The Portfolio Project

    I'm just kidding of course.  This is the project that I have been most looking forward to this entire year.  I feel like this will really give me the opportunity to not only show off my skills and everything I've learned this year, but also give me way more creative freedom in what I'm able to do.  

    I'm not exactly sure where my ideas are going yet, but trust you me, it'll be worthwhile.  

Music Marketing Campaign Project Update #2

 Garde avant, 

Our music marketing project has finally concluded itself.  Since my last blog post, my group has wrapped up the music video along with the rest of the powerpoint, and we have presented our project to the class.  It was kind of a stressful weekend for me personally, so we divided up all the work that was left according to when everyone was available.  I ended up completing my part of the project throughout the week before the project was due, which was the majority of the editing.  Since I had a busy weekend ahead of me, I switched off editing to my partner Morgan so that she could do the finishing touches over the weekend.  Connor and Elliette completed the bulk of the powerpoint.  If I recall correctly the project was due last Wednesday night, so that night we all got onto a call a few hours before it was due.  

During this call we all contributed to editing the presentation and adding new information to make sure we were checking off all of the “boxes” on the rubric.  We also took this time to get acquainted with which slides each person would be presenting.  I ended up getting tasked with the slides relating to our music video and the slides about our case study research and where we took inspiration from.  I think this worked out because these were definitely some of the slides that I knew the most about.  I filmed the music video, so I was able to explain the actual techniques behind the music video and why they worked together to convey the essence of our artist’s brand.  As for the case study research, it was all familiar to me already due to having done the music media contexts essay the week prior, using the same information.  I think everyone was comfortable with the slides they ended up presenting because we all chose the information that had to do with what we worked on and what we know most about.  

Once we finally wrapped this up, we submitted it and I put the final powerpoint on a flashdrive to use for the presentation.  We ended up going last on the last day of presentations, which is funny because originally we thought we wanted to present first.  Although, I don’t think our placement necessarily affected us in a negative way.  I thought we, as a group, did a good job of presenting.  We established who was presenting what slide beforehand so there was no awkward moment of anyone talking over someone else.  We were familiar with the information we were presenting so we felt more confident and were able to focus more on making the presentation engaging, rather than focusing on trying to remember what we have to say.  I was relieved to see that the majority of our peer critiques were almost overwhelmingly positive.  

I really feel like I’ve got a grasp of all the marketing and distribution techniques we have been taught so far because of this project.  All the opportunities for the content application forced me to creatively use the techniques I was taught and really understand how to use them.  Since I will now be moving on and begin working on the portfolio project, I am definitely going to use everything I learned from the music marketing project on it.  Since the application of the techniques stay relevantly similar when switching between music and film as a medium, I think all the techniques will be very useful in regards to the marketing and distribution aspect of my portfolio project.