Extreme Progression!

So as I am back in the world of the living, wifi and all, I can now share my progression! Yay!
I'm not sure how I forgot this vital component of my production at the beginning of my  process but I had a creative rush on the plane ride home back from Utah and did the story board's illustrations on my cell phone. Here they are...!!!

Along with my script already finished and all of my visuals determined, I will film more Saturday and Sunday, hopefully complete the collection of each aspect of my videos and begin to edit before the school week starts, finishing through out the week and weekend, reserving most of the weekend for the completion of my blog and its divisions. 

Notes: For the video sequence I want the shots to alternate between the photo booth videos and brief shots of her recording herself (shown as an old camcorder) from a different angle, to insinuate the situation is fanciful and hint it is not exactly real life.

Belle pointed out that if I were to add my title/credit screens the exact way I did in my story board, digitally written out, it adds with the homemade, quirky feel of the film. Thanks Belle! <3

Further Development

So far I have finished my script and completed Solara's narrative and just how the development of the plot will go. I feel so much stress lifted off my shoulders now that I have all the technicalities of my film have been figured out all I have left to do is film, divide my blog into the desired subtabs and then finally construct my film opening. I haven't had any wifi here at my lodge which has hindered my website construction (I am praying to whatever greater power that this blog post will publish successfully).
Today while skiing I got more great shots from the ski lift of the trees again but today was cloudless and sunny with a beautiful blue sky. I enjoy having options to choose from when selecting which footage to use. I am moments away from going into town and shooting at some defunked victorian houses (which are totally haunted by the way. eeeep!!!) which I am so extremely excited to get footage of because it goes along perfectly with my post-apocalyptic setting. I am going to try and sneak my way into a collapsed mine here as well (which is even more notoriously haunted. like scary, evil haunted. hehe.) and see if I can get some footage there as well... given I'm not murdered by the man in the yellow slicker or arrested for trespassing. Hope everything goes as planned!
I was apprehensive about being in Utah so close to my due date but I am very grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves to me. I don't wanna leave tomorrow :~(
ps this isn't posting! woo hoo!

Utah, I'm in Love!

I got some great footage today while skiing, which I'm really excited about! The conditions throughout most of the mountain was pretty terrible, the visibility was pretty bad, the rain (and eventual snow) was coming down sideways and it was freezing. But there were some sweet spots where the shots I envisioned were perfect. Taking my phone out and risking its death by height or water was so worth it. 

I plan on using this shot in the montage over S' monologue, in which she is discussing how alone she is. The cold atmosphere of the barren trees with the snow falling will be the perfect allusion to isolation, the coldness Solara feels to the actual frigidness of the environment I was in. Within the remainder of my trip I hope to get more footage in the snow with Solara included (who by now I am just going to assume will be played by myself) wearing blue in order to portray the color psychology I wish to be present. I want the snowy climate to institute her unavoidable sadness, as mentioned before, and blue will reiterate the isolation and remoteness, but also the serenity, calm and content of this part of her life. 

In other shots I will acquire in the forests on days it won't be too cold and snowing (like tomorrow!!!) The green of the pine and aspen trees will convey the natural prevalence in her life along with the immature underlying hints she can't escape, since she is barely 18 and has been alone her whole life. forced to grow up early but never truly experiencing all a child does. I also hope this portrays the healing and soothing element that nature provides her with.

Why Sci-FI?

Science Fiction Films are usually scientific, visionary, comic-strip-like, and imaginative, and usually visualized through fanciful, imaginative settings, expert film production design, advanced technology gadgets (i.e., robots and spaceships), scientific developments, or by fantastic special effects. Sci-fi films are complete with heroes, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology and gizmos, and unknown and inexplicable forces. Many other SF films feature time travels or fantastic journeys, and are set either on Earth, into outer space, or (most often) into the future time. (filmsite.org)
My film will be set in the far future, a year undisclosed and will follow a plot that is both fanciful but wildly realistic. My movie is set post-apocalypse Earth. Solara, my sole character will serve as the hero (both to herself and the human race) while the movie will include an impossible quest and improbably setting, rendering it Science Fiction. I have confidently chosen this genre, although a challenge, because of the utmost importance for our race to realize how we need to take care of this Earth. 
Sci-Fi films attract an audience aged 17-29, primarily men, but including both genders. I chose to create a sci-fi film in order to cater to this audience, most popularly known as Millennials, who hold the future of this planet in their hands. I feel if I present this film to those who have the opportunity to have the biggest impact for our future generations, they will take the initiative to make a change. 
Although my story is fictional, it is highly plausible, considering the current deterioration of our planets ecosystem. Within the past year, the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living thing on Earth, was pronounced near death. Half of the world's wet lands have been lost since the 1900s. During the past 40 years, 20% of the Amazon Rainforest, home to more than half of this planet's life and produces over 20% of this Earth's oxygen- Brazil has just sold the rest of the diverse rain forest to mining companies and big agriculture. If humans keep acting so selfishly reckless, this planet's death is imminent and approaching fast. My goal with this film is not to entertain, but to educate. 
I just hope somebody listens.



Source:
"Science Fiction Film." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

"Science Fiction Films." An Award-winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Wallace, Written By Scott. "Amazon Rain Forest, Deforestation, Forest Conservation - National Geographic Magazine." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Eat ya Greens (and ya reds and oranges and yellows and blues)

I want my film to have a stunning color scheme, full of natural colors, mainly green, my favorite color, due to the significant natural focus. One of my inspirations for my color palette's coherency will be (of course) Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom (2012), since he tops any other aesthetic in film, and because of the movie's outdoorsy revolution.
                                  

I've discovered the article "How to Use Color in Film: 50+ Examples of Movie Color Palettes" which includes a video called "Colour in Storytelling" to help me get off the ground with which colors I will use in Solara's costumes and surroundings based on her personality, mood of the day, desires, motivations, etc. Since her name is Solara, meaning "the sun" in Latin, I want my character to wear alot of yellow and orange and little hints of red, resembling the sun, but also because of the meanings behind each color, explained below:
   
Solara is an extremely content character, despite her experience of social isolation throughout her whole life, and loves nothing more than being outside amongst the elements and all it includes, which is why yellow, signifying idyllic environments, is going to be her color. She is also a very nurturing individual to animals, her only friends, she encounters and seems to have an unmatchable bond with them, which is why orange, constructing friendliness, warmth, happiness and sociability will be the next prevalent color with Solara. Unavoidably, our character has bad days in which she is angry at the world for leaving her alone or she feels threatened by some unannounced danger; red will be the next color used, displaying her anger and the danger she feels she is in. Of course blue will be extremely relevant, the color of sadness, isolation, reflection, because of her lifelong isolation from human interaction and her sadness, an unavoidably human emotion, no matter how strong one may appear or believe themselves to be. I am excited to construct the meaning I wish to convey through clothing and setting as I feel that is something not many people thing about while making everyone feel the same things.

Main concern: This Earth's part in my film

I have started my rough draft of my script/shots/angles/etc., and have started to think about location, costume, actions, etc. Since I will be in Utah on Wednesday (if I survive long enough) I was thinking I could film shots there since my character is always moving and, considering I have never been, Utah seems like the ideal landscape for a post-apocalyptic world devastated by humans and only started to recover. I have decided to have my movie revolve around this concept because at this point in time, with the natural world being threatened now more than ever, humans need to realize they need to take initiative to start thinking of the future of the planet and its health, because if they don't, they won't be included. Nature and all types of life that inhibit it are the most important things to me, as I will be dedicating my education, career and lifestyle to them in order to make a change and try to reverse the damage we, as a species have inflicted upon our home. I believe this film is one more way I can help my peers, and any one else who views this two minute creation, to understand just how much this planet needs and why. One of my most important inspirations for my project is the movie After Earth (2013), with Will and Jaden Smith; the movie revolves around two characters, a father and son, who have crash landed on Earth 1000 years after human's evacuation of the planet, and follows the boy's mission of attempting to signal for help while his father is injured and disabled... oh yeah and everything on Earth has evolved to kill humans. The concept of this movie is so unique and helped me to decide I wanted my character (I have named her Solara!) to not be from a foreign planet, for then the films would be too similar. The shots of this movie are absolutely beautiful and remarkably breathtaking and, again, in a perfect world in which my opening had no budget or timeline, are ideally what I would want my setting to include.  .     

The setting of my film is going to be one of my most important factors because I want that element to be the one to pull at my audience's emotions; my biggest priority is to get people to think  "wow this planet really doesn't need us, but we sure as hell need it". Location scouting will be my largest challenge, considering I need something completely abandoned, with no proof of life present, but equally gorgeous and lush and overgrown and completely awe-inspiring. For the parts I will be filming in South Florida, I will be using the website abandonedfl.com to (hopefully) find the perfect locations to film at, but if all else fails, I will use the locations I have discovered on my own.

Living Dead

Laying here in bed, close to death due to whatever mystery illness I have contracted during Thespian's Competition, I can confidently say I have more of an idea for my film opening than ever. Since it only has to be two minutes, I have decided to focus mainly on my character's motivation, to get to this special place she has dreamt about, but never dared to find. To incorporate my character's desires into my story line, I will do so through her dreams, along with

 shots of human interaction, which although she confidently conveys she doesn't miss, subconsciously she longs for, thus exhibited through dreams. My film will open with her finding the laptop and opening up photobooth to record with a sort of "oh my god it really works!" astonishment, then to explain herself, her surroundings and use the videos as a physical diary. After these recordings we will see her 

putting the laptop down, doing what she must and then going to bed, then we will be able to see what she dreams about, like in 

movies such as 

A Christmas Story, 

American Beauty and 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 

all in which showcase the character's underlying wishes. Our character will wake up frazzled, and suddenly realize she needs to go to this place depicted in her dream, for there she will find whatever she has been longing for. In each example, the dream sequences are fanciful and unusually perfect situations, all with more heaven-like visuals. My character's dreams will be more realistic and quick in order to portray that they are real and not just figments of her imagination. I will work on figuring out which shots to use for these and what colors to use to construct meaning through the short and seemingly insignificant shots.

until next post....

xoxo Living Dead

Location, Location, Location

As of now, I have decided on my opening flipping between two settings; the first, where Nameless will record her entries, which I have decided will be a dark room (I haven't decided if I want this one particular setting to stay changing, I imagine my character will be constantly relocating, bringing the laptop with her) and the second, lush, beautiful nature settings. My character will have a deep appreciation for the natural world although she has never experienced anything natural considering the planet has been exhausted of trees, water, etc. EDIT: I have just decided to alter my storyline's concept: I want my story to be so far ahead in the future so that the planet has been destroyed due to humans, but as a result, nearly all humans have died off as well, eventually leading to the natural restoration of the planet. Therefore, my character will have a deep appreciation for the natural world and will be able to admire it in her life. If this film were to have bottomless funding, my ideal setting would be similar to that of I Am Legend, regarding the overgrown Time Square. I'll use this week to consolidate my setting and record the results.

The Beginnings of Nameless

I thought I would write down my mess of a mind at this point (my ideal image, my inspo, my ideas for costume, set, etc.) so here goes nothing.
Character-wise, I want my main character to be a female, living on her own (cuz ya know... end of the world), crushing the whole survival thing, like I mentioned in my last post, and again, completely badass. I also want her to be fairly quirky and an entertaining persona along with the serious tone of the story line. When I first thought up this character, the closest I could relate her to was Milla Jovovich's character in the Fifth Element, Leeloo, "the perfect being", with bright orange hair and a lovable personality, but still a lady that knows exactly how to use a gun.
I am infatuated with strong women in media -movies, tv shows, comics, all alike- as I feel now more than every this positive representation is not only so extremely important, but actually necessary to remind the current sphere that women rock, have rocked and will continue to rock, despite the disrespect, inequality, abuse and mistreatment we women experience; a very vital component of my story will be the presence of a badass female.
I want my character, Nameless as of now, to be equally expressive as Leeloo in her dress, jewelry, makeup and hair. Mise-en-scene will be a huge component of my movie, mainly due to the aesthetically pleasing image I am trying to capture.

And here we are. First blog post. Sitting in class, practically no idea of what my film opening is going to be, I am thrilled to begin this project and create something completely original and unique from scratch. With this blog and posts like these, I hope to document my entire journey, from beginning to end, and truly voice my internalized thoughts of brainstorming, thought process, reasoning and underlying meaning. I am quite excited to use all I have learned this year in AICE Media and create not only an incredible, compelling piece of work, but one in which each shot, angle and even color presented, has significant and vital meaning to the story's development. I think that creating a fictional world, along with complex characters and their in-depth relationships immersed in an intricate but equally entertaining plot and setting, is one of the most difficult things I have yet to conquer; despite this, I am completely ecstatic to begin.  From before I had even started school this year, I have had a fixation on an idea for this project; a post-apocalyptic world in which two girls- most likely the last on the planet- have to survive and keep themselves entertained. In my mind these two girls were extremely fashionable, despite the complete halt of production on any kind (clothing included), witty, completely equipped to, and crushing, surviving amongst the elements, and ultimately, total badasses. During the summer I had gotten my first car, opening my world of independence and allowing me to stumble upon the coolest place to just get lost in. Each time I found myself in these abandoned, entirely quiet, lonely establishments, it was hard to feel as though I wasn't the last person alive. Being on my own (something I enjoy more than the next person) in these places only a few people, I imagined, have seen, scaling forgotten about nature settings with precision and knowledge, exploring deserted shopping malls, discovering as much as I could, I felt empowered and, for lack of a better word, badass. However, with this project's imminence, I deemed this project wildly difficult, as I had no one to film with as my second character that isn't already tackling a film opening of their own. Idea #2 will most definitely be sci-fi (post Apocalyptic, still eligible), but for simplicity, single-person casted. My main fear for this project is the little time I have to film- my musical starts tonight (woo hoo!) and runs through the weekend, next weekend I will be in Tampa for thespian's competition and the weekend after that I will be in Utah. Considering this project is due April 9th, this is absolutely terrifying, but like I have been for most of the year, I will find the time amongst my tightly crammed schedule. Now, for conjuring concrete ideas for this fictional world of mine.

Talk to ya soon!

Annie Perkins