Script: rough draft!

Before working on my storyboard and official script i created this very very rough draft of my script/planning. Its not the final product but i am getting close! I just sat down and wrote my idea of my story without really thinking too much into it and just jotted down my ideas. This process made me so excited for this to be filmed even though this is not even the final draft! Disclaimer again: This is not the final draft nor an official one, its not even formatted right lol. I just needed to write all my thoughts down! Also, i just wrote down the title "Pinky Promise" (yes i misspelled it on the draft...DISREGARD!) as a hold for the untitled project but it is starting to grow on me since it matches the main theme so well.

BIG CHANGES!!

 Ok soooooo, i am changing my storyline slightly and adding more detail into it before i begin to plan out my scenes and storyboard. It will keep the same concept but with a twist. 

Instead of one main character there will now be two best friends. It will still revolve around one of them moving to a small town in Washington. Abigail and Maia have spent every day together ever since they met. They are inseparable. School is let out for summer 1992. They make a summer bucket-list ready to start checking off the boxes. The girls have discussed their plans for the future all of high-school, but when Maia finds out she will be moving, after planning out her whole future with Abigail she doesn't know how to drop the bomb. This story is based off of my best friend Geo, who moved at the end of freshman year, in 2022. She will be starring in it along as Maia with my original actress, Emi: Abigail (abi).

This will be set in a small town in Florida in 1992. Heres a list of things i have to research for this setting and plot: 

-Research setting for scenes

-Props for the opening

-Create storyboard/scripts

-Research outfits/makeup for teen girls in the 90's

Film Planning!!

Since i have finally figured out what i want my opening to look like i will be working on my storyboarding this week! So exciting for all my ideas to finally come together and be planned on paper! I will also be working on dialogue which i know will be minimal for my opening but i do want to toy around with my main character and show her personality through lots of different things. Research us fun but i am just so ready to finally start seeing my vision come to life. So stay tuned for my storyboard coming next week!!

Now that i have many traits for my Main character I have decided to ask my best friend, Emi, to be my actress! She is very excited. I will be planning out the dates for the filming once i have my full pan out on paper but i'm sure it'll start this weekend!

Texts between Emi and I:

Filming tech:

I will be using my Iphone 13 pro to film this opening, but i have decided to toy around with my digital camera to film at least some scenes to film the aesthetic i aim for:

Apple Iphone 13 pro 

Kodak Easyshare M341

    More to come so soon!!! YAY

Visuals!

 I have so many different inspirations for my film opening. I want my opening to feel as real as it can be but i also want to focus on aestheics and formalism. I want my opening to look very pleasing to the eye and i want for the characters, the props and the set to match the aesthetic i thrive for.

some of my inspirations for the aesthetic feel of my opening is work from directors like Sofia Coppola, Greta Gerwig and Wes Anderson. Sofia gas said before that she focuses alot on what she is going to put on the screen like what props and how she is going to place them to make it look pleasing. Greta Gerwig is my inspiration due to her film Ladybird. Ladybird is one of the best and well made coming of age movies, it is very relatable and such a good watch. Wes Andersons films are just so unique and beautifully made. I want my film to look impactful. I want my main character, Maya, to look real. OI want this film opening to set the ton for the rest of the film.

Some example scenes from these directors (and other films)

The Virgin Suicides (1999) Directed by Sofia Coppola

The Bling Ring (2013) Directed By Sofia Coppola

Ladybird (2017) Directed by Greta Gerwig

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Directed By Wes Anderson

Since my opening is going to be focusing on the visual appeal i want the aesthetic to show through. I wan to show a story and tell it. I love single close up scenes like the ones in The Virgin suicides. I love how plain but beautiful it is. How human it is. I want my characters background to show her personality, like how Ladybirds room shows us what type of person she is. Messy but fun. Same thing with the bling ring examples. The room seems plain but it seems real and personal. 

Untitled storyline

 A 17 year old named Maya Roan, a junior in high school.

She has lived in a town called Pughs Peak, her hometown. It was not very populated. She is loved by her friends and has yet to figure out what she wants to do in life. She enjoys writing but does not find her self doing so often. She’s mostly just trying to live through her high school experience. Once she finds out she is moving across the country Maya is incredibly lost. Having to rebuild her life as a high schooler already struggling with finding herself, she feels like she is losing time and that she needs to rush to grow up and find herself. 

My untitled storyline fits in perfectly with a coming of age story!: A teenage girl trying to find herself in the ,midst of big change. I am basing this character on real experiences i've dealt with and some created by me. 

This is the storyline i will be basing my Portfolio project on. This has yet to have a title but now that i finally have the story i want to create this film opening about i have to start sketching and storyboarding my opening!! I am very excited to begin the process and start to dive into the filming process of this story

Diving Deeper Into My Storyline

 Since i have been collecting my genre ad my inspirations, i have yet to really work on my storyline, to dig deeper. After gaining feedback from my group during my first group meeting and after being shown the ted talk, i realized my story needs multiple factors but it all leads to the end question is what did the story leave the audience? What was the impact of the story. I realized that my story needs a conflict, something that haooens to the main teenager girl. I think i will center it over a girl in high school that is being forced to move. She is forced to leave her whole life behind that she built. I still need to think about the details but my story is finally becoming something!!

Storytelling tips

 The other day my teacher played a Ted Talk for us about storytelling. Andrew Stanton was the speaker. He talked about a few different key tips to making a good story, Ive decided to write them down and explain them so i can use them for my storyline creation process. These have opened some new ideas for me and my project so i wanted to share and elaborate on them!

He started off by establishing that making a good story is about making the audience care. I have to hav a story and start it off in an eye catching manner so they grow curiosity and continue watching to figure out whats going to happen next in my story line. Making the audience care about what you created is key. Then he talked about the "Unifying theory of 2+2". This theory basically consist of giving the viewers/audience a formula but not a product (give them 2+2 not =4). You can't just hand someone the storyline straight out, you have to develop it through story telling in a dialogue manner or in a cinematic manner. You don't want to spoon feed the audience, you have to keep things up in the air, leave topics up to interpretation, etc. The third tip he presented was giving your characters spine. A spine for your character is basically an underlying goal that pushes the character to make the decisions they do. Sometimes the character might not even notice that their actions are being motivated by that goal but it will always be there. This tip helps in stories for character development. 

"Use what you know, Draw from it"- Andrew Stanton. To create a good story, it is incredibly useful to take from your real life. This tip is so important for when i finish developing my story due to my genre being coming of age, I've explained before how this genre revolves around relatability. People love coming of age because they see themselves in real, raw, unique characters. I have to take from my real life and put it on paper because its what i know best. I know what its like to live and thats why using what i know and drawing from it is so useful especially when it comes to my project. Andrew also mentioned how there are only guidelines in story telling, theres no rules. This genuinely has opened a new eye for me because starting this project i low-key felt like i need to be following a specific rule book for this project. I feel like i have been a little restricted mentally when it come sot creating a story but this ted talk has helped me start to develop my storyline in a more efficient and more creative form.