The One With 100 Takes

Film Day #2

    I filmed today but my problems actually started on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I recalled that I actually didn't have a costume for a military officer character. Big oops. Thankfully, my mom knew someone at her work that used to be a Marine in Colombia and he has his old military jacket. And he was more than happy to lend it to us. We also found a prop badge and baton. Then on Friday before I went home, we went to Walmart and got a pair of cargo pants and some black boots that gave off the military vibe. 

   Also on Friday, it turned out that Nylah's friend who was going to play Maxxine (the main character's sister) wasn't available, and her substitute wasn't available either. And on top of that, Nylah was only able to shoot on Saturday and had to be out by 4:00 PM. The cherry on top was that Nylah didn't know anyone to be the officer and neighbor like I had expected, so I had a lot of work to do. 

    First, I decided that since the character Maxxine didn't have any lines to begin with, I ended up scratching her character from the second scene and changed the script into having it be Beatrice's birthday instead of her sister's. 

    Then, the hardest part was finding two guys that were available to film the next day, since it was so short notice. I asked around and many were busy, but my friends Samuel and Julloyd, from my last school,  moved their schedules around to help me. And for that I'm so grateful.

 

    Lastly, I arranged for everyone to meet at my apartment by 11:30, so we could start and finish earlier so everyone was free to do their own things.

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    This morning I woke up really early, at around 7:00 AM, so I could shake the sleepiness early so I could start working on the set inside my house. As soon as I had breakfast in my system and a little time to wake up, my mom and I started to set up. 

    As mentioned in my set blog, my goal was to portray Beatrice's family as a family with very low income. This is where my addiction to thrifting for antique, oldish looking things came in handy because I had plenty to work with. After throwing a sheet over the window and the table, putting some dead flowers in the middle and some old decorations around, this is how it turned out. 

    After getting everything ready, my dad and I went to go pick Nylah up from her apartment. Once got back it was 11:30 and everyone was already arriving on time. (Phew.) Once everyone was there we sat around my living room and had a sort of table reading. I went over the story idea for those who didn't know and we went over the lines a bit. 

    At first, I wanted Sam to be the military officer since he's considerably taller than Julloyd, but Julloyd noted that since him and Nylah were both black, it made it seem like the brutality is only against minorities/people of color, which I didn't think about. The goal was to show that everyone outside of the powerful ring of government were the victims, no matter what race or ethnicity they are. So, after listening to constructive criticism, we switched the roles to balance it out. We also all agreed that it didn't matter if Julloyd was shorter, it made the message louder in a way. It doesn't matter whether you are tall or short, skinny or strong, when given so much power and the authority to abuse it, you will. And there's not much others can do about it. All in all, you don't need to be large to cause large amounts of harm. 

We practiced the lines and the movements I wanted them to make while making each scene, and everyone got in costume. (Except Sam since he was already wearing regular clothes.)

 

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    We filmed the shot outside first since it would be the fastest to get out of the way. To get the angles right, we put some tape on the floor so they knew where to bump into eachother and I set up the camera in a way that the cars in the background wouldn't show. We got it on the tenth take and moved on. 

    There's not much to say since we didn't encounter many issues filming. The microphones worked well with my phone. And though the lighting was a little tough to control I thought it went okay. 

    We had to take maaaany takes. A lot. Not because they kept messing up or anything, but sometimes I wanted to change how a line was delivered or a certain angle, and I wanted to get it just right. We kind of scared my neighbors with all the knocking and yelling, but luckily we got it over with relatively fast and wrapped up filming.

(Extra credit to Julloyd for being our voice)

    After three hours of filming and 119 takes, the three of us (since Sam went home early) had some pizza and watched a movie for a bit before everyone had to go home. And that was my day. Editing here I come.

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Extra!

Sam and Julloyd playing a videogame on my PC while we shot the second half^

(My dog welcoming everyone)

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The One Where She Calls the Shots

 

Script and Scene Creation #2

    Don't let the heading mislead you, I know what my second scene is about. But since I'm filming my second and final scene tomorrow, I wanted to get everything written down, scene by scene, line by line. I wanted to do this because when I filmed the first time, the issue wasn't so big since there was no dialogue, but I had trouble figuring out where to start certain shots since I didn't plan SPECIFICALLY enough to the point I was organized when it came to actually filming. And you're probably thinking "Shouldn't you have done this a while ago?" And the answer is yes! I should have! But unfortunately I didn't think it would stump me as much as it did, but the 4 hours of filming really hit me in the face on my first filming day. 

(Detail: I'm torn between my mom and my dad for playing the parent for now, so "August" will now be referred to as "parent" while I figure it out.)

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The shot transitions from her eating from the tin in the prior scene to her eating small pieces of day-old bread. 

Over the shoulder shot: The parent setting their plate down on the table and sitting down.

"Don't eat it all too fast." The parent says, lightly but sternly.

Long shot: we see the full picture, Beatrice sits at one end, Maxxine in the middle of them, and the parent at the other end. They're having a meal. 

Mid Shot: Beatrice begins to ask "...Mama/Papa... do you think you could get home a bit earlier today?" She rambles, "It's Maxxine's birthday and we were wonderin-"

Mid Shot: Parent interrupts saying "Tris, you know why I can't. You know why we don't talk about that."

Long shot: It cuts back to the table, but from a different perspective. There's a bit of silence. Maxinne is eating her food in very small pieces.

Mid shot: It cuts back to Beatrice and she begins to say "I'm sorry, it was just a thought."

Mid-shot to POV: Beatrice turns to the commotion outside, and we see it through her eyes.

We get a little closer to the scene. An officer is questioning her neighbor. It quickly turns violent. The officer pulls out a baton and raises his arm, and just when he's about to hit the neighbor, the blinds close. 

Long shot: Parent is going back to sit down after closing the blinds. 

Over the shoulder: As they sit back down, Beatrice exclaims "That was-" 

Mid-shot: The parent interrupts and says "That's enough, Beatrice." He takes a bite "Eat."

Mid-shot: Beatrice takes a breath and keeps eating when they hear a loud knock at the door. Beatrice turns to look at the door, "INSPECTION!" A man yells before knocking again. Beatrice turns back to the camera, concerned. 

That's when the screen goes black. 

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The One With Technical Issues

 

Microphone Troubles

02/25/26-

    As mentioned in my group meeting post two days ago, I was worried about the quality of the speaker on my GoPro. Though I think that the quality of the camera footage turned out well, the audio on GoPros is unfortunately a lot less than great. This wasn't much of a problem when filming the first scene of my opening, but that was because there was no dialogue, and my next scene does. I reaaallly don't want bad quality to be something that drags my project down the drain, so I borrowed a bluetooth microphone that my Media Studies teacher provided. 

    We didn't get to test it out in class because there wasn't time to charge it, but I'm taking it for tonight to test it out. 

    If the microphone doesn't work, I might have to either use another camera or my phone, which I don't like because I want the same camera quality so there's no obvious contrast, or I'll have to film the scene and then a voice over and sync it, which I want to avoid because I am not a good technology person at all. I'm already below average at editing, and having to make a voiceover and edit it in would be a huge set back. 

02/26/26-

    It turns out that the plug that goes into the GoPro, it doesn't fit all the way. I hoped that it wouldn't matter but it does, unfortunately. I tested the mic and it was getting no input. 

    Since I'm filming the second half on Saturday, I don't have many options. As in, I could try and order a microphone online but that might take too much time, and it might not even work. So, I want to try and go to a tech store like BestBuy or a Walmart to see if they have anything that could work. 

    If not, I'm going to just film with something else that does work or try and sync up the audio like mentioned before. 

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The One With the Group Meeting Part 2

 

Group Meeting #2

    I felt like this group meeting helped me develop ideas with any uncertainties about the end of my opening and especially my CCR ideas, since I didn't really have any to begin with.

 

    The first thing I noticed about my group is that we were all in somewhat different places. While some were done with filming and editing, others were in the process of filming and some haven't started to film due to technical or partner issues. 

    Another detail was that this time, we met up with different people to get some new perspectives. Although, I got two of the same group members and someone whos partner was in my group the last time. Even so, we all went over one by one talking about or general project ideas, what we've done, and what we need help on. And as we did, we discussed and gave eachother some tips or our own ideas that we could be inspired by. 

(Group members were Carolina, Juan, Sebastian, JP, Mia, and I)

    Starting with Carolina, I noted how her story was slightly different as it was last time to accomadate to small group-mate issues and setting problems. For example, she planned to film in a garage but the area just didn't work. Carolina told us how filming was tiring since it took so many takes to get it just right, and I couldn't agree more. My back and legs sort of ache from following with the camera for several takes, hunching over to get the shot just right, but we both agreed that it's worth it. Another thing I noticed was how her group has already finished filming, and I admire the time management! 

    Next up was Juan, who if any reader of my blog remember, is a part of Lydia's group with the Sci-fi Mystery movie about the glasses that see into the future. His group finished their filming yesterday. Besides a slight problem with the camera, Juan didn't have any issues with production nor story, moreso ideas with what to do for his CCR. Mia suggested that since the movie opening has to do with science, he could be conducting an experiment with different components as he answers the questions. Then I added that he could take the parts of his idea and act like each component is part of the steps of answering the question, like the steps he took to make his project are part of the formula to answer the question. 

    After Juan, Sebastian spoke briefly about his mystery story, which was composed of cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers was that by the end of the opening, the main character opens a mailbox and the screen goes black. Juan had a few problems on his hands, one being that he hasn't started filming since his partner bailed on him, another being an issue with fake blood, what to do for the cop car, siren, and lights,  and the last being about his CCR. As for the fake blood that he plans to put all over the main character and the car seats  (in the car where the opening will start), he was afraid to use certain materials because he doesn't want to stain his car seats. Carolina mentioned that our Media Studies teacher had given them a recipe for fake blood that effectively doesn't stain anything. Then Mia and I mentioned how he could either cover the seats in plastic or buy cheap seat covers that he could stain in whatever way he wanted. After that, I talked about how there are plenty of local cops around our city and that if he were to just explain his project to a department or even a neighbor that happens to be a police officer, they could help him out by having the car in the back with the lights and the siren. Lastly, I suggested that for his CCR, he could open the mailbox that the main character opened in the video, but instead the video continues and he finds the questions he's going to answer in the mailbox. He liked some of our ideas and took note of them. 

    Then, JP shared how filming went for his thriller movie opening. For those who don't remember, JP's group was doing a thriller/crime movie opening where it shows a kid who was over being bullied and ultimately kills his bully in a fit of rage. He talked about how filming went for him as we viewed his blog where he had various pictures of his sets and filming process, and it looked pretty organized. He asked for some advice for his CCR and Mia mentioned how since his project has something to do with school, he could have poster boards, like for projects, and have the questions and some answers on the board while also further elaborating throughout the video. Like a presentation!

    Second to last, Mia talked about her coming of age movie opening that follows the life of two best friends that always meet at a specific place in a park. As the season of an opening school year is coming up, one of the best friends tragically dies. After that, the other reminisces about her time with her friend and later, the best friend comes back as a ghost. Plot twist! Mia tried to start filming yesterday but had to stop filming early because of weather issues. I related with her because she was somewhat nervous on how behind we both seemed with the project, having filmed half or none of what we had to do. But we both agreed that it was part of the process of making something good. I LOVED her CCR idea. For one, she planned on doing this Fleabag (2019 series) where the main character breaks the fourth wall that the other characters can't notice, type of thing. So while she's on a date, the guy is asking her a bunch of questions and she gets annoyed and breaks the fourth wall to answer them. Then as he goes to ask the next CCR question, she slams the door in his face. 

    As for me, who shared last, I explained how filming went for me yesterday and how relieved I was that I got the opportunity to film where I wanted, and how great the experience was. And of course, I explained my story as well. I also explained my two biggest conflicts, which are mostly technical. One being that I can't edit videos for the life of me, and another being that the GoPro I'm filming on doesn't have a great microphone, and that I'm afraid the dialogue won't sound good solely off of the GoPro. They suggested that I borrow a microphone our teacher provides for students, and after discussing with my teacher, I'm going to bring the camera in on Wednesday to test the class mic on it. 

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Mia:

    https://wh0isgossipgirl.blogspot.com/

JP:

    https://mediajean.blogspot.com/

Sebastian:

    https://10ktrophies.blogspot.com/2026/02/

Juan:

    https://thelearningblog12.blogspot.com/

Carolina:

    https://carolrabacrepa200928.blogspot.com/

The One Where They Filmed

 

My first filming day!

    Today was SO great. I went with Nylah to the Gold Coast Railroad museum and everything went so amazingly. To follow up on my last blog about setting, I have a few things to update you, the reader, on. 

    I ended up calling the museum on Saturday (and this is where my time management issues come in) thinking that it was a good idea to just call the day before. Which was a fault on my part, but luckily I struck gold with the kind helpers that work at this museum. 

    At first we were worried because on the website, it says that the first hours of a film shoot would cost about 250 dollars. So after calling, I ultimately decided to send a formal email where I explained how I'm a student and this is a project for my Media Studies class, how I'd use my own props, and only needed an area in the museum for an hour or two. Thankfully, this morning I got a call back from them telling me I'd only have to pay for the tour entrance fee for everyone that's going (which would be my parents, Nylah, and I) and that an employee would have to stay with us as a type of surveillance since we wanted to work around the tracks. We told them at what time we were going to go down there so they knew when to stop the trains for a bit (which is such a cool feature about this museum, working trains!) And with that, we were so relieved and excited to go. More than we were already, at least. 

 

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    Once we got to Miami and to the museum, my parents and I were both attended to as soon as we got in. We explain that we were the ones who they spoke to on the phone and they told us we'd get a small tour to see in which part we wanted to film in. Soon after we got there, Nylah did too. And as she did, we walked to a back part of the museum to where some of the old-ish looking trains and tracks were. 

 

    When we saw the area above, we knew it was perfect for my vision, so we started to set up. We opened the suitcases and laid everything out. The clothes, the trash, everything to make the set look as realistic and abandoned as possible, the terrain suited the scene as well because there were overgrown plants and cobwebs around. 

 

    After we were done setting up, we started on Nylah's makeup and some extra props. We added a flashlight, screwdriver, and mask to her belt. Then, we used the makeup palettes and resources we had to make the dirt and cuts on her face and arms. 

 

    Then, finally, we started filming. The idea was to make it feel like the camera's perspective was there walking with her at the start. So instead of having still shots of her walking around, which I felt might be choppy with how short the clip had to be, I made a tracking shot of her walking through the suitcases. Along with that, we also made a few close up shots of her picking up the necklace to look at it, the can, and finally her eating. 

 

    We didn't have any fancy filming gear, we had a go-pro, which didn't have the best quality, but I honestly really like how it looks. It looks a little old and vintage which is exactly the kind of vibe I want the start of this movie to give off. Something in the middle of an A24 film and the Blair Witch Project. 

    The biggest problem we ran into was the sounds around the place and some people walking by, but we got a decent amount of shots with no one in the background and no sound. And I'm thinking with the music it won't be too big of a deal. 

    The experience was tiring because we had to take SO many shots, back and forth until we got it right, But at the same time I think it was fun! Along with that, it was amazing to work with Nylah, she was so great throughout the entire process. 

 

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    Lastly I'd like credit two wonderful people I had the pleasure to meet today!

    Kimberly is the event coordinator at the Gold Coast museum and also the one who helped us on the phone and greeted us as we got in. She explain everything to us perfectly and was so welcoming and patient.

    Mr. Cully is the train master of the museum. He was the one who supervised as we used the area. Cully was so patient as we got everything set up and we appreciate him so much for that since it took quite a while. But his job which I'd like to include is driving the trains around the museum, which I think is a cool job! 

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The One With the Company Logo

 

Making a Company Logo

    Every movie has a production company that represents them, and that production company is credited at the very beginning of the movie. If you're not completely sure on what I'm talking about, think of examples like Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures, Disney, and so on.  

    Unfortunately, I'm not the biggest tech person. Editing or animating are things that are totally unknown to me. Though, I consider myself a creative person and I think I can cook a good logo up on a simple resource like Canva. 

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    As anyone could probably tell from just the theme of my blog, I love bright color themes, especially light/pastel colors, but I don't know if I want to use that theme for my logo. On one hand, it reflects me as a producer and what I like personally. On the other hand, it contrasts the genre of my movie opening way too much. When it comes to production companies like Pixar, Disney, or even smaller companies like Blumhouse Studios, their logos mostly match the theme of the movies that they're producing. To be specific, Pixar's iconic opening is silly and lighthearted, like the movies they produce. The same thing with Blumhouse, their logo/sequence at the start is horror theme because their biggest genre is horror. 

    So for this, I want to make something that just looks classic and maybe with my own little touch. 

    Lastly, I need a name for my production company. I was thinking on doing "AVLS Studios," just my initials, something classic.

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My Logo

The One With the Casting Obstacles

 

Casting

    Due to moving schools, one of my biggest obstacles with casting is the availability and organization among my peers.

     The moment I thought of the opening scene of my project, I thought of one of my good old friends who is an actress and loves to perform, Nylah. Because though I love media and everything involved with it, I can't act for the life of me.  This thought process led to thinking about other friends that could help. I love my friends, but a lot of them would unfortunately not taking acting seriously, especially when it came to the scene where they'd have to work together. Due to this, I also remembered how Nylah's school has a prominent theatre program, so I asked if there were any other friends who would be interested in volunteering. Fortunately, she has a friend who volunteered to be her little sister, who in my opinion fits the part very much, but we so far fall short on who's to be the father, officer, and civilian. So basically, my cast lacks three people. Though, I don't think I was clear on the part where I needed people for the other roles, and I communicated with Nylah today. There is still hope!

    If this plan doesn't work out, I plan to begin asking my friends or anyone they know who might be interested, along with my family who said they'd s tep in if it were necessary. 

    I wouldn't be able to pay anyone for this, since money doesn't grow on trees, but I assured that any actor who agrees to join this project will be fully credited on this blog and in the actual credits during the movie opening, and they can use that for their own Portfolio's however they like. Along with that I promised free pizza! 

    Lastly, filming would have two locations, the museum (which would only require the filming crew, me and my mom, and the actress, Nylah), and the second scene, which would be the full crew and cast. Which would definitely be the most hectic filming day. 

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  Meet the actress! 

    Nylah: For the part of Beatrice, the main.

    Nylah is a junior in highschool, but me and her go way back to 7th grade english class. I've always known her to be incredibly creative with real skill to back that creativity up, so it's no wonder why I thought of her to be my lead the moment I started brewing my ideas. She dances, acts, sings, paints, and more! 

 

(Bonus pic of me and her in middle school)

The One With the Railroad Museum

Where I'm filming

    As described in one of my previous posts, on February 15, I explained how I'm going to be filming at a museum that has what I need for my first scene. AKA, the railroads and old trains. This museum is the Gold Coast Railroad Museum.  

    I can't exactly just waltz in there with a number of suitcases and bags in hand and be like "Let me film in here!" At least I don't think I should. Thankfully, they have a complete website where they provide their phone number and email. Usually, I'd send an email first, but in this case I will be calling and asking for permission directly instead. 

    Since this museum provides services such as events and photoshoots, I'm thinking it won't be too big of a deal to ask for permission for something like that. And after a small conversation with my Media Studies teacher, I know I have to explain that this project is for school and is non-profit, along with the little details they'd have to know for this to go smoothly. 

    I'm planning to film at least the railroad scene this weekend on Saturday, on which they're open from 10:00AM-4:00PM, which I think gives me plenty of the time I need to get this scene done. 

    I don't see many obstacles besides the entrance fee. And as for that, I already had a conversation with my mom (the main adult helping me with SOME parts of the project), and we both agreed that considering how great the location is, it'd be no issue. 

    I will update this segment of my blog when I've called the Gold Coast Museum and have more information!

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The One With Setting and Props

 

Sets & Props

    In this blog post, I want to organize my ideas for the setting and props for the two different scenes in my  movie opening! I'm pretty sure I have mostly everything figured out, but I hope that this can also help me think of anything I might've forgotten. 

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    Settings and Props Scene 1:

    For the first scene, we will be filming at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami. This location is great because it gives us the setting we want for the beginning scene without the difficulties of working around an operating train track. . . and they do photoshoots so we think that it'd be possible to film there. 

    The track will be surrounded by open suitcases and bags with a few left-behind pieces of clothing and other belongings. I also want to throw some trash around to make the area look more neglected. Along with that, the main character will carry a gas-mask, backpack/bag, and some kind of means to defend herself like an old baseball bat or pocket knife. And lastly, the gold chain and can of food she'll be finding in one of the suitcases. 

    Setting and Props Scene 2:

    The setting for the second scene, AKA the flashback, will simply be filmed in my dining room. It's perfect because it has the big window in the background that will show the scene in between the officer and civilian so, yay! 

    But what'll really make these scene is the additional props that show the audience the living conditions the main character's family lives in. The table is either going to be stacked up boxes or a small table covered in a bed sheet. I want to have plates and utensils that don't match each other, a long with a lack of a real meal on the table. The curtain the dad will close won't be a real curtain but an old blanket or sheet as well. Lastly, since the family is notably missing a member, I might have some old family photos propped up on a shelf in the back. 

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The One Where She Plans the Costumes

 

Costume Planning

    As for costumes, I have each character's wardrobe planned out. To help me figure it all out, I viewed different examples from many movies of the same genre to inspire me. I think this part is one of the most important because it's one of the details that sells the authenticity of the story. It wouldn't make sense if a person who lives in a post-apocalyptic world would wear brand new sneakers and a fresh outfit. 

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Inspiration:

•     A Quiet Place: Day One (2024):

    In this movie, the characters aren't wearing clothes especially for the disaster that happened, because they clearly weren't expecting it. What I mean to point out by saying that is the characters are seen wearing regular everyday clothes, subtly signaling to the audience that the invasion was out of the blue. Something like that would contrast the wardrobe characters have in The Hunger Games because the people in district 12 dress according to their economic situation, in preparation for the reaping, or in Katniss' case, in preparation to hunt. 

    A detail I really like about the costume is Samira's yellow cardigan, which continues to have emotional significance towards the end of the movie. 

 

•     The Last of Us (Series and Game): 

    Like the previous example, the main characters in The Last of Us wear regular clothes that they've either had since the start of the incident, or clothes they've found along the way while they traveled. One difference is that they carry a bag with supplies like weapons, food, and other necessities because they move from place to place regularly as their journey goes on. One thing they both have in common is how worn-out and dirty the clothes are. These signs of distress reflect the leading issues in both pieces. 

 

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My Costumes

    Beatrice (Present):

    To reflect the destroyed future that she is being shown in, she will be wearing worn, dirty, and torn up clothing along with a bag that is just as disheveled. She might even wear an old utility belt, knee pads, some bandages, and so on.  To achieve this, I'm planning to thrift some clothes and distress them until I get the look I want. As for the accessories, I already found the bag I want to use. 

Visual Example: The Last of Us

    August (The father, in the flashback):

        He works at a blue-collar job, possibly a mine or a factory, so he will be wearing an old, dark uniform. 

Visual Example: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

    Officer (Flashback):

    I don't have anything special in mind for the officer, just that instead of him being dressed like a regular cop with a blue uniform, I want him to have a more military-like looking outfit with badges and a hat. 

Visual Example: Random

 

    Beatrice, Maxxine, and Civilian (Flashback):

    These three characters share screentime but also similar economic situations. So, they'll be wearing simple clothes, possibly hand-me-downs or over-worn clothing. 

Visual Example: The Hunger Games & The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

  

The One With the Character Development

 

Character Development

    Though this movie opening doesn't necessarily focus on the characters presented to us, rather more their surroundings, it's still important to subtly build their personalities and how the world around them has affected them as people. 

    There are 5 characters in total. Beatrice (the main), Maxxine (her younger sister), August (the father), the officer, and the civilian. (Both being background characters. Though, I'd say there's 6 characters, since there is a character difference between current Beatrice and her in the past. 

Let's Go One by One    

    1. Beatrice (Then): 

In the flashback, Beatrice is very quiet. She carries herself in an organized manner, back straight, eating with manners, things like that. While she tries and gets her dad to consider coming home early from work to celebrate Maxxine's birthday over dinner, she immediately gets shut down and she accepts it.  Though, you can tell from her attitude that she questions the society she lives in and obviously isn't happy about it.  

    Beatrice (Now):

Beatrice's manner of carrying herself is completely different in the current day we're shown at the start. She slouches, drags her feet, kicks around the suitcases around her feet. And this isn't only because she's tired, but it's also because a part of her has given up. After all, for all we can see, she ended up alone. Acting "right" won't help her with anything, and beyond that, she's starving. Survival is the only thing that matters now. Lastly, it's also supposed to represent how she's free. In an isolated world, with few survivors left, there are no rules or rulers left to oppress her freedom now. 

    2. Maxxine:

Maxxine won't talk much, if she even says anything at all, but her body language will speak for her. She'll slightly slouch over her seat, moving the few pieces of food around on her plate, eating in very small bites. I want this to not only represent the family's poverty, but the way it has affected her. She's grown to learn how to savor small amounts of foods to feel less hungry when she's done, or at least feel like she's eating more than she really has.  

    3. August:

The father is tired and overworked. He ignores the atrocities of the outside world because there's nothing he feels he can do about it, just like most people in his situation. It's clear he cares for his daughters and wants to have enough time to spend with them, but it's hard to when you're living in a world that doesn't give you many liberties, and your only options are to pick which necessity (like food, water, electricity) you want to pay for this month with the little money you earn. 

    4. The Officer:

There's not much to the officer. He represents a small part of the brutality of the world they live in. The way his immediate response to an inconvenience is violence, the way others react to his behavior, it's meant to build the world around them.

    5. The Civilian: 

He doesn't have specific character traits, his main purpose is also to represent a part of this world, the oppressed. Who have nothing to do but give into the violence. 

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The One With the StoryBoard

 Story Board 

    To picture each scene/shot thoroughly to have an easier time filming when the day comes, I decided to sketch out some story boards to be prepared!

    I honestly didn't put too much effort into the story board, I just wanted it to envision the line of events and the shots I'm going to be taking all throughout the filming process.

    Story Board Below:

(My artistic abilities aren't displayed the best in these)

The One With the Project Idea

 

My Project Idea

        After a lot of consideration, research, and planning, I finally have the final draft of what I will do with my film opening project. 

    I'm going for a sci-fi, post-dystopian to dystopian movie. I want my project to start with the end. In that it starts with a world after war and disaster at the hands of a corrupt government/regime. Then, it flashes back to the cause of it, as in how the world in the movie got there. 

    It'll start with a young woman, dressed in old clothes worn from time and distress. She has bruises and cuts over her skin. And she walks along an isolated train station, polluted with already rummaged through suitcases as she holds an old tote bag in search for something. As she kicks around the suitcases, she approaches one and zips open a compartment that hasn't been looked through yet. In the compartment, she finds a golden locket on a necklace. After looking at the gleam of the yellow gold, she tosses it inside of the suitcase and looks further to find a can of tuna.

    She sits down and rolls the lid of the can open to take a bite. . . and the scene transitions into the second part, some years before. 

    We see the main character in the dining room with her younger sibling and parent having a meal before the day begins. As they eat over boxes covered with an old bed sheet, the main pleads that her dad get home early to celebrate her sister's birthday, and the father dismisses it as there's nothing he can do. While they talk the camera pans in on the background outside the window, on a situation between an officer and a civilian. It quickly escalates to get violent but the father gets up and closes the blinds, ignoring it. They get back to their conversation.

    As I discussed in my last blog post, I want to use different symbols to represent the state of the world in a way the audience can recognize.

My Project Inspirations

    Though the story I'm telling isn't particularly inspired by another, some of the aspects I used to identify it and my genre are. Pieces of media that inspired me were The Last of Us (game & series), The Hunger Games, A Quiet Place: Day One, and Mickey 17. 

  

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The One With Media Theories

 

Incorporating Media Theories

    A media theory that I'd like to integrate into my project is Roland Barthes' Narrative Codes, specifically the Enigma, Semantic, and Cultural code. I found these to resonate most with the idea I'm trying to get across. 

     Roland Barthes was a French philospher and social critic who believed in/ created various different narriative codes that he thought defined majority of media. 

    The enigma code is applied when a creator withholds information to leave an audience curious on why it happened or what it is. Which is followed by the action code, which is elements in media that lead the audience to wonder what comes next.

    Differently, the semantic code describes when an element in a piece of media represents more than what it literally is.

    And lastly, the cultural code refers to references outside of the piece of media that could pertain literary, social, historical, and pop culture nature. Though, cultural codes only work if the audience recognizes the references being made. 

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    I think these different codes defined by Roland Barthes link most with the project I'm doing because. . .

    The main plot point that I'm trying to get across to the audience is that the universe I want to build is one of which corrupt leaders/government and their actions towards society led to war and catastrophy.   

    To show this, I plan to show a snippet of the world of the main character, and others, after the war and then flash back to the past to show how it happened. 

    ^ I think the enigma code applies to this because while the audience might understand the surface of the situation, they won't know of the details of the why's and how's until they watch the whole movie. (Obviously.) Details like the main character wearing a mask at the start of the movie, being alone, having injuries, that will not yet be explained.

      In the beginning of my movie opening, the main character will be walking along an isolated train station, surrounded by left behind suit cases that people have left behind when they were trying to evacuate from the area. While rummaging through open suitcases, she will find a gold necklace, look at it for a bit, and toss it to the side. After rummaging further, she finds canned tuna and takes it. 

    ^I think the semantic code applies here because the denotation of this would be her tossing a necklace away and taking food. The connotation is that in this point in time, finding food is more important than anything. Things like jewelry that were valuable in the past are no longer the number one priority, which are the basic needs to survive.

    Whilst the family is conversing while they have a meal, the camera will focus on a situation brewing outside between an officer/military enforcer and a civilian. The officer will question the civilian and it will quickly grow violent. Instead of being surprised or shocked, the main character's dad will simply shut the blinds and ignore it. 

    ^I think the cultural code applies to this scenario because although it doesn't take a history major to understand the meaning behind turning a blind eye to violence by a government, I immediately thought of incorporating this because there are so many instances in the past, and even now, where violence is cast upon a society, specifically a group in a society, and people ignore it because it's not happening to them. But eventually, as Martin Niemoller stated, "Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me." 

    It's supposed to hint at the fact that the amount of ignorance, even by innocent people, is what concluded in society's faliure. Not just at the end when everything went up in smoke, but at the very beginning when it was "simply" just ignoring police brutality. 

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Media-Studies article on Barthes’ narrative codes
Media-Studies. (n.d.). Roland Barthes’ 5 narrative codes. Media-Studies.com. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://media-studies.com/barthes-codes/

Fiveable article on cultural codes
Fiveable Content Team. (2025, September). Cultural codes. Fiveable. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://fiveable.me/key-terms/media-literacy/cultural-codes

Britannica biography of Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roland-Gerard-Barthes

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum article on Martin Niemöller
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the socialists…”. Retrieved February 8, 2026, from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists

The One With the Group Meeting

 

My First Group Meeting:

        On Monday, I met up with various peers in my class to discuss our (or our group's) project ideas with the purpose of having an opportunity to give or get advice and overall thoughts of each other's plans. Everyone was a bit hesitant to share at first, but we got around to it. 

    My group consisted of seven people (including me) and their names were Arantza, Lydia, JP, Carolina, Amanda, Mateo, and Eli.

What did we accomplish/learn?

    Throughout the meeting, we exchanged our blogs, discussed our movie opening plots, asked each other for advice on the plots, and gave each other ideas and tips on how to get certain points across to enhance our openings, as well as sharing websites we researched that helped with our projects. 

    For example, since I researched how to successfully get music licenses to use freely in our openings, I shared the websites I found that helps search for available music or how to get the license for that music. 

Getting Specific:

    Arantza: Coming of Age genre. 

She wanted her story to be about a girl who's about to go to college (during summer) but had just lost her best friend. So while she's getting ready to go to college when the time comes, she's also trying to deal with the overwhelming grief of losing her best friend. Arantza wasn't completely sure how it was going to play out, but two of her main problems were that the current weather doesn't align with the summery beach vibe she and her group wanted to go for and that she wanted to incorporate a specific prop into her opening. For the weather part, we suggested that she could use the opportunity of the weather we have now (the gloomy, rainy, cold) to film scenes of the main character currently (after her best friend passed away) and film the flashbacks with the main's best friend while she was living. That way, she could start earlier and save time but also use the ambience to represent the main's mental state going from having her best friend, to suddenly not. 

    Lydia: Sci-Fi/Crime

Lydia wanted her story to center around a character who comes into possession of glasses that allow him to see into the future. In his first vision, he witnesses a series of events that end up in him dying. And once he wakes up, he realizes he looked into the future. Only, Lydia didn't know how to express that he found out he was in the future and that it wasn't just a random vision or dream. So, after establishing that the death was due to foul play, we thought that there could be police officers or medics around that state "Time of death, 00:00 pm/am of MM/DD/YY." She seemed to like this idea and might use it for her opening! Some others gave her ideas like a knock at the door at the end to build tension and indicate theres more to come. 

    JP: Thriller (and I would say slightly drama)

JP's opening idea too a slightly dark turn, to say the least. The main character is a young man who had experience bullying, and with pent-up emotional distress, he ends up killing the one that bullied him. JP seemed like he was clear on how he wanted the story to play out, but wasn't very clear on how to portray the scene where the main murders his bully. Someone said the main could throw something at the bully's head, but we pointed out that that might be difficult to film and could make it seem like the act was an accident, though it's meant to be very intentional and angsty. Then, we suggested that he should be attacking him... off screen, if that makes sense. Let's say he's swinging or pushing the weapon towards the bully, but we only see the main's face or arm. While he does this, I suggested he should add a VO (voiceover) of the bully's words echoing through the main's head while he's committing his crime. That way, it's a little more clear to the audience the motive without using so many flashbacks, that could turn out to be repetitive. 

    Carolina: A mix of Crime/Mystery

Carolina was also pretty clear on the main idea of her plot. She wants her story to revolve around a woman who's seriously mentally ill and being kept in an asylum, except not as a regular patient, one being accused of murder and being kept under the asylum in a basement, in a cage. She's experiencing flashbacks but remains confused, and due to drawings on the wall and tally marks (which was a group suggestion) we know she's been there for a long time. Carolina was just very unclear on how to follow up the scene of her having flashbacks to make the story continue, and seem like it'll keep going. We talked about how asylums have different activities like lunch and outside time. She liked the outside time idea and considered to include it! Carolina does have her setting, costume, and makeup that she will use down, though. 

    Amanda: Coming of Age/Drama

Amanda incorporated a part of her real life/resources into her story. She wants the scene to open with her main character taking a deep breath before a Taekwondo match. As she's taking a second and closing her eyes, she sees flashbacks of her as a kid winning matches and having fun, but unfortunately ends up failing and getting hurt. The great thing about this idea is that not only does Amanda have experience in the sport and a setting to film in, but also has old photos/ videos of herself as a kid that she could use as flashbacks. She wanted some tips on how to incorporate the flashbacks, so Mateo and Arantza suggested she could use a filter or a frame that looks like a recording camera to add a sense of nostalgia into the clips. 

    

    Mateo: Crime/Drama

Mateo was heavily inspired by Italian mafia universes like The Godfather or The Sopranos. He wanted the opening to be the family discussing events that hint at exactly what crimes they have committed, off the bat letting the audience understand what kind of family we're going to be looking into. As for the advice, we talked about how in these types of movies, they usually meet up in a private room at a club or maybe at a bar. I mentioned how I don't know how he would get in a bar in the first place, as we are all underage. . . but Carolina mentioned how when the class did their music video project, someone mentioned how there's a bar in our city that let them film there, which was good to know! 

    Eli: Was between Comedy, Thriller, and Mystery

Though she wasn't too decided on what kind of genre she wanted to portray, Eli knew she wanted her movie to revolve around a psychiatrist/therapist who visits or gets visited by various patients that are dealing with different mental states like BPD or schizophrenia. But beyond this, Eli wasn't too sure on how to put her idea together. So, we all tuned in with some ideas. Carolina suggested that if the patients are seriously affected by their mental state, the main character should be the one visiting them at an asylum instead of them going to her. Then, some others suggested that if the patients were also main characters, they could have a mutual link, like a crime they witnessed which explains why the main character is talking or... questioning them all. I suggested that if she wanted to add mystery, each patient should have witnessed the same story, but from different perspectives that don't exactly add up. Like puzzle pieces that are supposed to make the same picture but don't have sides that lock in with each other. All in all, we all had different ideas to help her develop her own unique plot further. 

    Andrea: (Me!) Sci-fi - Dystopian Apocalyptic

My main idea is to open with a "fast-forward" of a world after an accident/bomb (not clear to audience) and show a woman in a lonely area that's polluted with old left behind suitcases left by people fleeing, trash, and she's walking in search of food. Then, it flashes back to the past to where it was all mostly starting, to a dystopian world, with civilians under abusive authoritarian rule. This is where it will show a family having a meal with certain details to show what kind of world they live in. (I don't want to give away too many details just yet) but I have almost everything planned out. . And they seemed to like the idea! Though, they thought that the fact that the woman at the start not being incorporated in the second half was too random, and suggested that the character in the fast-forward be the older version of a member of the family in the flash-back, to tie both scenes together. They also gave me a few ideas on different camera transitions from current to past.

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    I loved the opportunity to discuss with my peers because I got a chance to hear advice from outside perspectives to better my project and also offer advice to others to help them better theirs. I also appreciated this a little further since I just recently moved schools, which I haven't mentioned until now, because it gave me a chance to socialize and get to know the minds of the people I'm working next to every other day.