Set design: Living room

 Hey guys for my production post today I am focusing on the set design for my living room. This is where one of the most important scenes happens. When Ethan sees Lily for the first time walking down these stairs. We haven't started filming this part yet but we are focusing on all the furniture and color for our Rom Com. The living room is designed to give this 70s vintage feel. I am trying to make the living room feel cozy and homey. So I plan on using these yellow crotchet pillows. The bright yellow color stands out against all the other neutral colors and the darker tones of the wood. 

My crotchet pillows and blankets.

 

The pillows and blanket are soft, comforting and handmade which is how the 70s culture is its tied with to family and home. When Ethan first enters he is very nervous and feels out of place but this setting make him feel a little more comfortable. When I was looking on pinterest for some 70s themed living rooms I noticed a bunch of the pictures had plants and the color scheme was mostly yellow, brown and orange.

Heres some plants I have that I plan on using. My partner also has a few options so we will see what looks better. All these little details will help our movie come together and create that vintage feel. As the film goes on these things will play a part in creating that comfortable atmosphere inviting Ethan to this new world.

Auditions and Casting

For my movie “A New Beginning" I wanted to find the right person to play it to bring the character of Ethan and Lily to life. We asked a few people to come over to my house and audition but they couldn't make it in person so they sent us videos of them auditioning.

I think auditioning by sending videos was a good idea because I could rewatch it multiple times and the actor also feels less nervous when they are filming at home by themselves. I asked everyone to read a line the character would say later on in the film. This way I can see how they bring the characters'

emotions to life.

Here's the script I gave to everyone auditioning.

For Ethan: I didn't expect all this. It's just a job, right But this place feels like stepping into a different world. And you... something about you is drawing me in, even though I'm not sure what to make of it.

For Lily: You think you're ready for all of this? This place, this job... It's not as simple as you think. No one is ever really ready. But we all figure it out somehow.

Heres a video of some auditions.

Production #1

 Filming day 1!!

One of the first scenes in my movie A New Beginning  is when Ethan walks down this quiet suburban street. This is when he sees a Help wanted sign pinned to this pole. This part seems small but is still very important because this is where Ethan's new journey starts. This scene helps set the tone for the film.

When me and my partner were looking for the right spot we knew we wanted a quiet street that seemed peaceful and calming. We wanted a simple street to show Ethan's life right now how he's a little stuck and lost but hoping for a fresh start. After looking at a few places in Southwest ranches we found the right one that had no one around and it had this farm in the back to give that country vibe. ​​The trees and quiet sidewalk also add to this feeling of loneliness, Ethan is alone with his thoughts thinking what to do next.

When we were filming we made sure the street was quiet with no one around without noises of the cars. This way, we were able to record the nice sounds of the environment, like the wind through the trees and Ethan's footsteps on the pavement. These sounds helped to create the atmosphere, in a way that the moment was peaceful but also filled with expectation . We also filmed during the golden hour. The lighting was warm and soft. This gave the scene a sense of hope, like something is about to happen for Ethan. The “Help wanted" sign leads Ethan to move forward giving him an opportunity for change, a new start.

Choosing this street was important because it helps introduce who Ethan is and the mood of the film. The peacefulness of the street shows how relaxed but unsure Ethan's life is, and the "Help Wanted" sign gives us an idea of something new coming. This setting is important in building the story, showing the calm before the change that is coming.

This is the street in southwest ranches where we are filming.

Summarizing project idea

Hey Blog Since I decided I am doing a Rom com for my genre here's what I had in mind for the film opener. Here's a summary of my idea 

My story will be called "A New beginning"

The Main character Ethan is a young man who's a little lost in life and wants something new, a fresh start. So he starts looking for a job. He’s walking in this neighborhood trying to find something. One day he notices a "Help Wanted" sign on a tree. He decides to show up to the address and it's this huge mansion. The old couple who live there are very kind to him and welcome him but the job isn't the only thing that grabs Ethan's attention, it's Lily. She is the old couple's granddaughter. Who's very gorgeous and mysterious.Ethan just can't take his eyes off her as he starts working there.

 

Ethan goes inside and they make small talk about all the job responsibilities.  That's when he meets Lily. She starts walking down the stairs and locks eyes with Ethan and smiles. The couple keeps walking, talking more about the job and showing him the room. Ethan keeps staring at her. The couple show Ethan his room. We see him looking out the window through the glass and we see Lily standing outside. They both smile at each other. You can feel their tension.This is when their love story starts A new beginning.

Storyboarding

  Hey guys today we are storyboarding.

In this class I have used storyboards a few times for my projects and they are so helpful.They help you stay organized and give you a visual picture. When your filming storyboards can help you stay on task reminding you whats left to film. With storyboards there's no confusion when filming. You already have it figured out what angles and cuts to use. Here's my storyboard for my film opener.

Medio Theory

 One theory I want to use in my film is Todorov's Theory of Narrative. ​Todorov's theory explains how narratives are arranged in three important stages: Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and New Equilibrium. I think that this theory is good for my film and will help guide how my story will go on. 

Equilibrium 

Equilibrium is where the story starts and everything is fine and quiet . The audience gets to know the main character and his world before anything serious . In my film this is set up when Ethan is walking down a quiet road. He's looking for a job or a new start. When he sees the "Help Wanted" sign on the tree, it begins to change his life. This part  introduces Ethan's present life and shows that he wants something else, but everything is still peaceful, and nothing dramatic has happened yet.

Example- In Moana when the movie starts they show the island when it's in the state of equilibrium, in the song where you are. Everything is calm and happy.

 

Disequilibrium 

Disequilibrium happens when something bad happens and there's  conflict or problems with the main character. This happens in my film to Ethan when he gets hired and goes inside the massive mansion. The mansion is so big and fancy. This makes Ethan feel a little uncomfortable. This new environment changes his typical life. There's also some love tension between Ethan and Lily, the girl in the house. This causes some conflict since Ethan already likes her so much. His life is changing, but we don't know what happens next.

New Equilibrium

The new equilibrium is when the disturbance or conflict starts to get better and calm down. In my film opener When Ethan looks out of the window and sees Lily, making eye contact with her, it shows the beginning of a connection between them .At this point, Ethan's life is changing  and he's entering a new stage of his life and theres so many different things that could happen with Lily . The new equilibrium is just starting, but it sets the stage for the rest of the story.

Group Meeting #1

 Heyy Blog!!

Today in class I had my first group meeting. I was put in a group with 4 other people. We all shared our ideas for the project and showed each other our blogs. Afterwards we gave each other some feedback and pointers on how to improve and learn from each other.

My group had Nina, Fernanda, Nico and Justin. Nina was the first one to go. Her genre is a Psychological Drama. Her film opener is about this druggie who just broke up with his gf. He wakes up in a hotel room all sweaty. He has his friend outside  banging really loudly on the door trying to wake him up. I liked the idea of her story. She still had some small details to decide like the outfits or where they might film, She wants it to look like a trap house. For the editing she plans on using some type of green filter. The group was trying to help her decide on those little details. She was still thinking about how she should start it, and they told her  she could start with a black screen and then she could show the things around the room like the drugs then show him laying on bed.

Next It was Justin's turn. His movie is inspired by Scream. It starts with an establishing shot of the movie theater and it shows him walking out with his girlfriend. Then he gets a call from this stalker played by his friend Julio . He will show cuts between the calls and a pov shot of Julio in the car. He goes to this alley and ends up getting killed and the girlfriend leaves him for Julio. In the end he wants to show a newspaper that says he got killed. He was unsure on how he would do the newspaper. I suggested looking on Canva for a newspaper template. When he gets killed he plans on using police cars. He wants to ask an actual police officer to be in it. His idea does sound very similar to Scream but I think it could turn out great with little details like the newspaper on the floor and a kid on his bike riding past it. The sounds of the police sirens and making his shots good, Like the pov shot of Julio in the car.

Ideas for Justins Newspaper.

Next was Fernanda, She didn't have any details planned out and she didn't know what genre she was doing. One of her ideas is about this dancer who's at her dance studio alone. She wants to show the dancer dancing and stops but a reflection of her in the mirror keeps going. She wasn't sure how she would show that so the group suggested filming the two parts . First she dances and she stops then the camera switches to the mirror where she's still dancing and the mirror starts cracking. Her second idea was to show the ballet dancer dancing very fast and she slowly shows her heart rate getting fast making it intense and making the audience more curious. Everyone liked her second idea better because it would grab the audience's attention. We told her to film at night to make it more interesting. She also said this part where she wanted to use some type of cane and hit it while she’s dancing  but that part confused me a bit. 

Then it was my turn to tell the group my two ideas. One was a thriller and the other one was a romcom. They really liked the thriller and didn't have any feedback on it. For the rom com Nina suggested to show different parallels between the girl and the guy. She said I could show the girl having flashbacks about the guy she likes, being delusional about him and then show the guy and show what actually happened. She suggested I show the girl writing in her diary talking about how the guy was staring at her and he winked at her but in reality he just walked by her. I liked this idea but I wasn't too sure on what the plot could be, because I wouldn't watch a movie about a girl just being delusional about her crush.

Nico went last, His idea was inspired by Smile. It starts with a kid eating at a restaurant and out of nowhere everyone disappears. Then a man comes in and then it cuts to him at therapy in a dimly lit room, sweating. The group suggested while he's at the restaurant to show the noise getting louder and louder then it gets quiet and everyone is gone. I really liked this idea. The only problem he had was where he should film because it would be hard to get the restaurant fully empty.

Overall I really liked this group meeting. I think everyone in my group benefitted from this and it will help them make their project even better.

Color Schemes

 Color schemes play a huge role in setting up the mood for a film in romantic comedies and can say a lot without words.  The right colors can show the themes like love, conflict, and humor. Here’s how different colors are used in rom-coms

Warm, Soft Colors

Soft colors like pink, red, and light yellow can show love and happiness.  Sometimes pink is used during the romantic scenes of a movie to show the love growing between two characters. The color red would be common in most love and passion scenes. Usually in those intense scenes.

Opposite Colors 

Sometimes, rom coms will use opposing colors like blue and orange to show  a little bit of tension in the scene between the characters. Blue can show distance or coolness and orange is warm and inviting.

Bright Colors

Colors like green, yellow, and turquoise are used in very light feeling romance comedies. These colors work well in scenes where the characters are playing around or being quirky since they can show the fun side of the story.

Pastels 

Light purple, mint green, and light blue tones from soft pastel colors give off a dreamy, harmless feeling. These colors can be used for scenes where the main characters have their first contact or start creating a bond, the birth of a romantic relationship.

Neutral Colors 

Sometimes, the background is neutral beige or grey to keep the characters in focus. This color works to keep the attention on the people and their emotions not on the setting of the scene.