Media Studies Portfolio

I may have just discovered a new filming location! While starring in a friends opening film, his filming location did catch my eye. It’s an empty school parking lot, but behind it there is lots of greenery in which could also act as my character’s “hiding place.” My storyboard is far from being finalized and I have a great feeling that it will be created as soon as I step foot onto both my finalized location as well as any extra locations that are needed to create my finalized film opening. I want to make sure that I capture the fact that these girls are on a “journey” for their safety. In order to do so I felt as though it was necessary to not only follow them through the forest, but also in empty lots or empty buildings/stairwells. I want their journey to be captured on screen by showing just how far these girls have to travel in order to find safety from their enemy. I took inspiration from The Walking Dead as in this series the characters consistently move from one location to the ...

Updates! I got my projector! I have yet to figure out exactly how it will be implemented into my film, but I do know that it will most definitely be used in some capacity. I have conjured up some ideas of brainwashing. In my dystopia the mass ideology is that people of color are sub par and must be eliminated in order to create a “pure and master race.” Yes, this does sound exactly like World War II, however, this future society has fully executed this plan and only few are on the run, running for their lives in hiding. I feel as though the brainwashing idea stemmed from the same concepts that occurred during the Nazi regime. Often times in order for Hitler to spread his ideology he began teaching his propaganda from an extremely young age where children were trained to believe in the “Aryan race” and the racist/anti-Semitic mentality. This is where the projector comes in. At first I wanted to use a small television, but had realized that I had limited resources at hand and could not a...

     Hello! I have come back for a few more updates on my film opening production process. It seems never ending, but each step and each consideration will hopefully result in a desired end product that I can be proud of. I am consistently messing with my storyboard and I have yet to come to a desired end product as to what I want to film, which is very very STRESSFUL! I am filming on Wednesday and Thursday of next week and it seems as if the date keeps growing closer and all the more daunting. I wanted to change the way my film is introduced on my storyboard, but I have yet to commit to any set idea. This has been the most stressful part of the process. I know I have to include a news reporting within my opening to bring context to the scenario occurring on screen, but I am still uncertain as to whether or not have it be a voice over, or an extra scene with a zoom in on the situation occurring as discussed in previous blog posts.       If I am going ...

     Mise-en-scene, mise-en-scene, mis-en-scene, isn't that a mouthful? It almost sounds like a tongue twister, and it certainly can make my head fall into quite a frenzy. I have an idea on the type of color scheme I want my film to consist of, but I am uncertain as to how I can pull this off without weather interruptions or lighting issues. There is nothing bright and sunny about a race war, so the ideal outdoor environment I could possibly ask for is gloomy and overall cloudy. This being said, rain would ruin my production and would not be the ideal situation that I could be put in. I touched on this in an earlier blog posting, but ultimately I am hoping for a dull outdoor scene in order to pull together the dull colors of the rest of the film. I want my characters to be wearing dull colors as well, but I want their antagonists to be wearing brighter and noticeably cleaner apparel. This contrast should be noticeably different on screen and is meant to draw the audiences...

     Hi, me again, I have new updates about my production design and future plans to creating a consistent background design and keeping elements appearing in the film consistent with the content I am aiming at producing. The background is extremely important in establishing consistency of the dystopia as there can be no items that indicate that the film is occurring at any time in the past or rather our present. For example, I am making sure that no cellular devices are seen in my film, as well as pop culture references that would not make sense for a fictional future society. Having a Beyonce album playing or a One Direction poster on a wall would not properly align with the dystopia I am attempting in creating on screen! So this being said I want to make sure that everything is consistent in my film, but as I conducted research on how best to do this, I came across many stereotypes of the genre and I wanted to challenge these conventions. Often it is said that the fut...

     Hello hello :) just wanted to tune in to give updates on my film opening process. I am currently super overwhelmed with the amount of work I have cut out for me! I did not realize how much work actually goes into production and pre production planning. I felt like I had everything figured out one moment and the next, things weren't so easy. From believing that a location would be all I would need and raggedy clothing, to then realizing every small thing must be accounted for in my film opening. Since I am attempting to portray a dystopian society, all external factors must be accounted from, from what appears in the background of the film, to costume design, and even to makeup and hair of the characters. I wanted to focus in on the makeup and hair design of my characters and how I would go about this minute detail that could influence the quality and believability of the future society I am trying to capture on screen.      I realized I was in luck in...

     Hello again! As of now I believe that my filming location is going to be Markham Park near camping grounds. I am hoping to ask for filming rights and to borrow a small shed/camping ground area to serve as the "shelter" for my 4 protagonists.  However, I have also created alternative plans if this scenario does not play out as expected. Today I spent the day scouting for other potential filming locations. I visited another park fairly close to Markham Park, called Peace Mounds Park. This location is busier than Markham and does not seem necessarily convenient, but I discovered a small location of barren forest ground. The isolation of this hidden gem can act as a perfect setting for my future film opening. I have currently scheduled to film on the 27th and 28th of this month as I and my peers will be off for the break. This seemed like the most practical time to film my opening as it would ensure that there would be minimal to no conflicts. So far my entire cast ...