The Film Opening!

Here is the link to the film opening!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p8azlLRHyqaShaOJC6SBJwzGx7s9Cjpk/view

A lot of thought and hard work went into this. I feel as if my vision for the film opening was realized and I am very happy with the result! Thank you for sharing this exciting journey with me. Till next time!

CCR

Here is the link of my CCR!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6xWGXSiEyqYVDRiOXo4OTJ6YUVmdURwclBRZndyeFoxWHdZ/view

Enjoy!

Update

So here are some big updates I want to write on here before I explain it on the CCR. SO, from the beginning, I anticipated having the quote that my grandfather wrote down which inspired me to make the movie in the film. However, after many tries of trying to record the audio of that, it became increasingly difficult to acquire. First off, my grandmother cannot actually deliver the lines because of her health. I tried with my mother, but there was an element of youth in her voice that just didn’t feel right. Ultimately, once I put Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor in with the visual footage I had edited, I felt like it was already complete. To me, there is an unbeknownst monologue happening within the song, due to Chopin’s brilliance. The somber tune translates the sense of loss, yet hope, grief, yet resolution, and most importantly, a sense of nostalgia. I truly think that it is right to keep the quote out, knowing that it was my own inspiration to make the opening sequence. I want this film to appeal and resonate to those who had a similar feeling of nostalgia for the past, and this decision to keep it a montage can fulfill that. Later today, I will post the CCR where i can go even more in detail, and the actual film opening!

Finally Done!

Today, I added the sound I wanted to. I was very fortunate that I picked a piece by Chopin that was very easy to edit to. When I put the sound file in, I almost had to do absolutely no modification to the timing of the editing, because the puzzle pieces fit so well together. I showed my project to my mom and she was very pleased with the outcome, noting that she liked the different vibrant colors and the color scheme I picked. 

It’s been quite a journey creating this film opening. Many weeks of hard work have paid off since I am quite pleased with the result. I am so happy to have shared this journey with you and for you to see all the different elements that culminate in making a film. It is not as simple as it seems, it takes a lot of thought, trial and error, creativity, and patience. Hopefully, I carried all of those virtues throughout the duration of the project and created and engaging film opening. I still have some last minute tweaks but overall, I feel as if I have finally crossed that big mountain and reached my destination: the achievement of creating my first film opening!

Next week, I will upload the final product. Here’s for all my future endeavors into filmmaking!

A Step Further to the Finish Line

Last night, I finished editing the film opening! I first looked through all the footage I had and then picked out my favorite takes. I almost forgot to add the production company I created in the beginning of the the 2 minutes. The end product is 2 minutes 3 seconds. I might play around to see if one shot goes on for a few seconds too long and see if I can bring it down to 2 minutes flat. I ended up using various shots of my grandmother while having the shots of the painting she owns and the natural environment around her house try to tell the story of this feeling of longing for a picturesque and idealistic place left behind. Although I was hesitant to include her, I did end up using a clip of my little sister as a younger version of my grandmother, hoping and trusting that the audience will connect the two characters are the same but in different times. I put that shot next to the shot of my grandmother, so that both seem parallel and congruent, almost as if both character do the same thing. So, the visual element of the film are pretty much done, but I have to add the sound elements tomorrow. This will include the price by Chopin that I chose and the voiceover monologue done by the character of Maria, my grandmother. 

I have been playing with the idea of renaming the title of my film. Originally, I intended for it to be called “Maria”, a simple, but effective title. But I have been wanting to maybe change the name to “Nostalgia” which is the topic of the monologue done by the character of Maria. I just feel as if it embodies what I want to express by making the film better. Changing the title is a really easy fix, so it will be no problem.  

Chopin Tunes!

Today in class I was on a mission to find the appropriate score for my film. I went on killertracks.com, where I can pick it various songs without the threat of infringing on a copyright. So, I logged on and entered in the search bar “classical music” thinking that was adequate enough. However, I got around 500 results and just the ones in the first page were so far off from what I wanted (Celtic music wasn’t particularly the vibe I was going for) that I kind of freaked out. How was I going to listen to 500 different clips of music in time?! I previously knew that I wanted a piece by Chopin, so I googled whether his music was copyrighted. The consensus on the Internet was that if the music. Was composed before the 1900’s, it’s not copyrighted, but the recording of the music can be. As impractical as I am, I thought, well perhaps I can record someone playing a Chopin piece in real time. The problem was that I do not know anybody with the least bit of talent in piano ability. The solution to my minor and temporary problem was very simple. It occurred to me that killer tracks probably had a version of a Chopin piece on their website, so I looked it up. The piece I decided to go with was Prelude in E Minor. Although one could consider that piece to be a bit somber, I found it appropriate for the tone I was trying to establish. I think the song will help me establish the same feeling my grandmother, the main character has, about her sadness and longing for her home country. Now, the task of actually figuring out how to attach the sound file to the film!

Not So Great Day of Filming

So I finally filmed the scenes with my little sister who would be playing the younger version of my grandmother. We went to my backyard and I filmed some scenes that mirrored the ones that I already filmed. In my backyard, I have a coconut tree that is finally giving a few coconuts, although they are not ripe. I decided that including the coconuts partially in some of the shots would make interesting and engaging shots. However, while filming the scenes and rapidly became disillusioned with the idea of having a younger version of my grandmother be presented, or at least as the majority of the opening film. I think the venture was too grand and didn’t make a realistic jump. The fact is, my 90 year old grandmother is visually very different from my 13 year old sister. It didn’t seem like they were the same person, maybe because of the fact that I personally know them, but it just didn’t feel right. So, in order to ease the feeling that the day was wasted, I settled a battle within myself by leaving the possibility that perhaps I can put one or two shots of what I filmed with my sister, but having the majority be my grandmother and the paintings she owns. I often feel as if there have been many changes to my plan for my film but in reality, this is how films are made. There will often be changes that have to be made and no matter how difficult it can be dealt with, it must be done for the sake of the vision of the filmmaker. Hopefully, whatever it is that I envision can be transcribed into this short 2 minute film opening. 

Thoughts of Concern

Although, I haven’t recorded the voiceover yet, since I am waiting to see my grandmother tomorrow, I am going to try and start editing some of the footage I have gathered together to see the sort of direction I want to take. I wish I could use some fancy software that I hear others talking about, but in all honesty, i don’t really know how to use them and I frankly quite terrible at figuring out things on the computer. So, I am going with what I am familiar with, iMovie. If you remember, I already edited a small clip which I intend to use as my intro. I am actually quite nervous to do this, as with everything, because in your mind, you imagine that the outcome will be perfect, but most likely, the outcome will not come out exactly as you envisioned because of course, nothing can be perfect. But I can only try my best!

Additionally, I have been recently thinking that perhaps, I might include some music in the background, ideally some classical music. But, I don’t know if it would interfere with the dramatic monologue I have playing through voiceover and if it would just be too much. I have the intention of trying to make that monologue be powerful and therefore having it  be the only thing you can hear would allow it to stand by itself and really be heard. While editing I’ll play with the sound and decide what to do then. Those have just been a few updates!

Docu-style Filming

So, big news! I finally went to my grandmas house and I started to film with her. I approached the project with causation because like I was afraid was going to happen, I didn’t think I would be able to get good shots with her since she is in a delicate state. But I went on and just asked her to stand in front of the flower bush in her house and just smile and do things I told her to do. Since I couldn’t expect some Oscar worthy acting from any of the people I could potentially use as actors, I modified my way of thinking and altered my vision for the opening a bit. I think, once I edit all the clips I have filmed, I am going to create a sort of montage kind of opening. Where a series of shots will evoke the tone and mood I want to create with my film opening. There for, the actors will not necessarily be looking into the camera “acting”, but it will have more of a documentary style of filming. Below I will attach a screenshot of my current camera roll so you can see all the different takes I have shot. 

Hopefully I can edit all of these together, along with the previously shot scenes of my grandmother’s unique painting and my future plans to shot various close up images of the nature surrounding my grandma’s house in order to create a beautiful opening that flows. My fear is that is will seem too “all over the place” and random in shot order but that will hopefully be avoided in the editing process.

First Issue to Deal With

As I anticipated, problems have arisen. For the past few weeks I have been babbling about how I am going to have two versions of my grandmother in the opening of the film, showing her current self, and her past self she is remembering. My grandmother was gonna play herself, and my mother was gonna okay her young since it was around her age that she left her home country. I mentioned this to my mom, and she seemed to be okay with it. At second mention, since I am planing to film her parts this week, she seemed to get a little shy about it. Granted, she is not the acting type, but I thought it would be a nice sentiment. But, I don’t think she really wants to do it, and in no ways am I going to force her. I want to have people who are just as enthusiastic about the project (not that my mother isn’t excited for me, but I think she is a bit camera shy) so, I asked the person who wanted to be a part of the project since the beginning: my little sister. I would have the stark difference of my grandmother being represented in her old age as compared to the young age of my sister. The age difference is big, but I think through my costume decisions, it will be evident that they are playing the same person at different ages. She has braces, which put me off at first since it takes it out of the time period, but I won’t have her opening her mouth (no big deal). Hopefully everything work out!

A Stroll Through the Paintings...

As I mentioned before, I wanted to incorporate the many beautiful landscape paintings that my grandmother owns. Now in order to make them interesting and engaging visually, I had to really think out of the box for this one. Due to the fact that I am not full fledged filmmaker, and therefore don’t have the extent of resources and people to allow me to make a “Hollywood”-esqe movie opening. I can however, try to be as clever as I can muster in order to try to make an opening that can be beautiful and well made. I have accepted the fact that I can’t create long shots of the environment since I don’t own a crane in order to make a crane shot or a drone to capture a shot of above or from afar. But I can recreate the feeling of a long shot of a setting or place by using the paintings she has an moving through them with the camera. So, I took the painting down from the wall and set them in the front yard, so the bright light of midday can exaggerate the beautiful colors incorporated in the painting, allowing the color palette of the film to be bright and versatile, as I had envisioned. Perhaps I can’t explain my vision as elegantly as I hoped to, but I can show you what I have in mind through the practice shots I have done. 

For example:

I understand that this might be a risk to do, since I am virtually treating a painting as a realistic place but it is not as if I can go on a plane and visit these places myself in order to shoot them, so I make do. Hopefully I can incorporate these shots into the opening and create the vision I have for my opening to reality.