Now with my screenplay handled, I decided to begin filming what I could for the second scene of my film opening. To be quite honest, the scheduling conflicts really threw me for a loop and I faced way more issues than I had anticipated. To begin, my main actress caught a sickness that has been going around school so her parents wouldn't let her out. This highly stressed me out as she is the character that leads both scenes and I've already had to come to terms with the fact I'll have to wait until next week to film the first scene in the auditorium as the amazing AMT production of 'Beetlejuice' would be doing rehearsals each day this week. But if there's one thing I've learned in my high school academic career, especially when working on projects where you're dependent on others, is that you have to improvise, persevere, and handle big business.
I couldn't afford to recast my friend as I know that she's the best for the job and it would be a major continuity error if I have one friend play her this week, and then my other friend play her the following week when her and the auditorium are finally available.
As much as it genuinely broke my heart because it would have been lightyears easier for me and my schedule to film now, I can't blame my friend for catching a sickness and not being allowed out because lord knows how hypocritical that would be coming from me, someone who legitimately gets sick 2 times a month.
To try to circumvent this issue, I decided to film some reaction shots of one of my characters, Sara Fischer during scene #2. I'll use this as b-roll and stitch it into my final product to try and break up the shots more so it doesn't feel so static and lifeless.
Here are some captures from what I was able to film today!
Hey guys! I have made my screenplay for my film opening. It's not exactly perfect but that's ok as I am mostly using it as an outline once I begin filming. I don't know why, but I found much more enjoyment than I thought I would when making this screenplay. I initially began writing it in class because I knew I needed at least an outline eventually and wanted something more solid and consistent compared to the vague idea I was rolling with in my head. Once I actually began the process, I couldn't stop rewriting scenes and envisioning different scenarios for how the main event would play out, and different shots I could use to convey what I wanted to the audience in the best way possible. Here is my current outline, some of my friends found it fun and entertaining to read so hopefully that means I'm doing something right!
(FYI, the yellow is shot/composition ideas and the blue are notes for me to look back on and review)
What's up guys! Going into this I had absolutely no idea how to create my logo. I wanted to make it personal but nothing had really been speaking to me. I was just trying to find inspiration from anything so I used my name I wanted to see if my initials could be used for a cool acronym, but "A.M.R." just wasn't sparking any ideas in my head. I eventually just searched for anything I could do with my last name initial, R. This search began because I realized that many famous film companies are just named after the creators last name (ex. Warner Bros. & Disney). I quite literally just looked up "cool words that start with an 'r'" because I was drawing such a blank. Absolutely nothing.
Now, I have no idea why but something possessed me to look up the same but in French. For the record, I do not speak French as much as I'd like to think duolingo and the random French songs I like have taught me any. I think subconsciously I associate artsy films with the French but who knows. As I'm scrolling down this list I come across the word "radieux" and I just knew it was perfect. In English, it means radiant and joyful. This felt perfect as my film opening is a coming-of-age comedy and I'd like to imagine my company creates films that are fun and joyful to help fill the gap caused by other companies that are fighting to create the most tragic movie humanly possible in hopes of winning an Oscar, but I digress. I also love that it is pronounced like "radio" because I am such a music-lover and want to celebrate it anywhere I can.
I used this kind of homophone, twin thing going on between "radieux" and "radio" in the design. I added a graphic to represent audio and made it yellow as the color is associated with joy and radiance. I also added my initials "A.M.R." to surround the audio graphic because I still want to be distinctly apart of the company logo, I don't know maybe that was bit vain of me but I like it so it's happening.
I'm overall very happy with the logo, it makes me feel professional.
The idea I've got so far for the story-line has elements that depend on audio to be able to truly flow naturally and not drag attention away from the plot. I want to include music and have already been perusing forums on reddit to find genuinely good royalty-free music that won't be distractingly bad and sound out of place.
The main catalyst for the events of the first scene requires there to be context that a rehearsal is taking place for the theatre program's spring musical. I want there to be music playing as I want to include it as a vital element of the scene and mentioned in the character's dialogue. I've been heavily considering just making my own background music if I can't find any that match the scene as I want to create a fake musical that the theatre program is producing, meaning I have a lot more freedom to play around with sound. I've still got some experience left over from my garage-band producer days in elementary/middle-school that I'm most certainly ready to put to use.
Another major piece of audio that is vital would be the foley sounds I need throughout the entire project. A lot I could do myself, like footsteps, doors slamming, soundboard keys, etc., but if I need a unique sound that may be difficult to replicate myself, I'll also use websites that provide public and free sound effects.
I'll also utilize ADR to replace audio if something goes wrong after filming scenes to hopefully minimize any re-shoots to zero. I also need to do more research on audio in film in general as I can feel it's a weak spot for me and I also despise bad audio in film because of how quickly it can take the audience out of the scene and prevent them from feeling the emotional beats of the story. I need to specifically research how to manipulate and add effects to audio in a way that feels natural as I have a scene where I need muffled dialogue between characters that are having a conversation in a booth.
Perhaps I'll turn this into a research blog post...who knows.....muheheheheheh....
I want the characters to feel real and lived-in. A way to achieve this is through costuming to help depict each character's personalities. With this, however, I also don't want to reach unrealistic levels where they're uncharacteristically overly dressed just to go to class.
MAIN CHARACTER: TECHIE GIRL
I believe she'd have a very chill closet with a lot of cool-toned/ dark colors. Shed have consistently slightly messy hair and grungy/smudged mascara and eye-liner. She doesn't dress up often and doesn't wear a lot of jewelry. Her appearance is on the lower-effort side and she commonly wakes up to get ready for class at the last minute possible.
MAIN FRIEND: THEATRE LEAD
She's the type to heavily care about how people perceive her, and it's evident in the way she presents herself. It doesn't matter how early in the day, she'll always have a perfect blow-out and a full face of make-up. She's very social which means she goes out often and puts a lot of effort to look as approachable as possible. She dresses on the more basic side, while also following trends as they come. A lot of her confidence comes from how conventionally attractive she is.
MAIN FRIEND:ROOMIE (NOT IN PROGRAM)
She consistently wears lounge-wear/ athletic outfits. Her hair is almost always in some sort of up-do. Very minimal make-up and typically only wears earrings for jewelry. She dresses as comfortable as possible between classes, labs, and practice. She only dresses in basics and usually doesn't have much time to spend out with friends.
SIDE CHARACTER: TECHIE GUY
He dresses very basic, like your average boy in his late-teens. He dresses comfortably, yet stylish. His closet is as laid-back as his personality. He wears no accessories beyond the pair of wired headphones he's always got poking out of his sweater.
Naturally since I'm doing a coming-of-age project I'm taking a lot of inspiration from my own life experience. Since I'm a senior in high-school and I'm close to my characters age, it helps to add realism to what being in your late-teens in modern times is like, rather than some Gen X writer creating some offensive caricature of what they think teens are like. Since there's not much to do around here, me and my friends, for lack of a better term, like to bum around and loiter in parking lots and entertain ourselves but talking about incredibly unimportant things we'll probably forget by the next day. Especially during tech week, we like to debrief our separate interactions with the people in our class because there's genuinely nothing better to do. So, I want to shoot these scenes in locations that feel very familiar to me and my friends.
SETTING #1: AUDITORIUM
I want the initial scene to take place in their natural environment to give the audience a glimpse of how the characters interact with each other within the theatre program.
I took inspiration from my personal life and my perspective during tech week. Tech week is a two-week rehearsal period before show week which means it’s typically a very stressful, chaotic, yet fun experience since you get to spend 2 hours everyday with your closest friends. This is something I really aim to capture in my film opening.
SETTING #2: TOWN CENTER
For the second scene, I want to show the characters interacting in a quieter environment with their closer friends. This also comes from my personal experience as I live right next to town center and spend an absurd amount of time there debriefing with my friends after tech week. There’s genuinely an 100% guarantee someone will do something to irritate me or one of my friends during rehearsals, and it must be spoken about to de-stress from the situation.
Ok so boom, I'm genuinely THEE Pinterest demon and I practically use it to envision absolutely anything and everything to see if the overall aesthetic works the way I'm hoping. I loveeeee to create collages for different aesthetics. I want every character to have their own self-contained vibe, but at the same time still have it be realistic that they're friends. There's a shocking amount of diversity in theatre programs that I feel isn't really shown that much in media, and if it is, it's a major plot-point (eg. Troy Bolton in High School Musical) like it's genuinely not that interesting or shocking that a jock is in theatre, especially in college which is the point in time I want my characters to be at for my story.
MAIN CHARACTER: ELLIE MILLER
For my main character, I want her to be your typical coming-of-age protagonist. She should be relatable; she has friends, but she’s not popular. She doesn’t obsessively care about her appearance, but she’s still pretty put together. I want a balance between her being a character the audience can reflect themselves in, while also being her own person. She's slightly insecure which causes her to doubt herself a lot and let more slide than she should.
MAIN FRIEND: LINDSEY "LYNZ" BRIAR
For the main friend, I want her to be a caricature of every annoying, self-centered, theatre kid I've ever had to interact with in my 4.5 years of experience of being in the theatre program. She is not used to things not going her way as she always got the lead in her high-school musical theatre program, which is where she met the main character. She's extremely put-together, so much so it makes others feel like they aren't doing enough. She's very talented but also so confident that she comes off as vain. She's bratty, but otherwise very amicable and social with her theatre peers. She's used to being the star of the show and will take advantage of the people around her to get what she wants if she has no other options.
MAIN FRIEND: SARA FISCHER
This friend is their roomate that brings them down to Earth and helps add a new perspective when they get too caught up in their heads. She's extremely capable, confident, but still humble. She's a collegiate athlete with a track scholarship and majors in biology. She's very smart, dedicated, and level-headed. She met the other two friends through random matching when finding dorm-mates, and is still learning more and getting closer to them since her relationship with them is still kind of fresh.
SIDE CHARACTER: SHAWN
Although not ingrained in the friend group, he has a growing relationship with the main character as he is new to the techie program. He's never been a techie for theatre shows and joined because he saw a flyer on campus begging people to join and has experience with a soundboard from his hobbie/side-hustle as a DJ. The main character shows him the ropes and mentors him, forming an unlikely relationship due to the forced proximity of being in the program together.
I'm not really sure what I should say besides please excuse my drawing, I promise I can draw a lot better than this. Also you should probably read my previous post about my main idea to actually have a chance of understanding what is going on here (again sorry for the horrific drawings). Hopefully you enjoy my very rough storyboard for my project!
Hello my scholarly sweeties! I wanted to share with you a little peak of what I'm currently thinking of doing for my project opening.
Just as all other amazing films, my idea is inspired by my personal experiences. Naturally when I was pondering on what to create for a coming-of-age comedy, I looked inward to see what I could maybe write about. I initially only thought of very basic, relatable teen struggles which weren't necessarily bad but also weren't unique enough to completely base my story off of.
Kind of going in the complete opposite direction, I also didn't want to write something in high-school just because I feel like a lot of coming-of-age stories are written during the end of senior year but never freshman year of college which is still a very weird, transitional part of life.
I have been part of the American Musical Theatre program at school since freshman year, and it's definitely the best decision I've made all of high-school. I've met really great people and I've also witnessed really funny situations due to being a theatre kid and being part of a program with such an interesting group of people. This is what inspired my idea to focus my film opening around musical theatre, and the theatre program in general.
All the comedies I enjoy have really dramatic characters which is perfect for my setting. I want to draw audiences in by beginning my project with a very stereotypical theatre kid tantrum. Absolutely and completely over the top screaming. I've already got some ideas for jokes, but it's very difficult to put into words in a way that would make sense so you'll just have to see the finished product. I just want the opening to be very chaotic and have this all be happening backstage while other cast members and crew watch. I've seen things like this happen, granted on a much smaller and calmer scale, and it always had me invested in a way I'd like my audience to be invested.
Eventually, I'd like the scene to cut to the same girl that was throwing a tantrum who's still complaining but in a much calmer way to her friends who are half listening. As some friends try an give her advice, the real protagonist of the film begins to receive text messages from one of the techies that was working backstage at the show. I'm undecided but I want to have this hint at the conflict for the film. I was thinking he could flirt with her and have him be a love interest. I was also thinking completely scrapping the techie and have a company (that has nothing to do with theatre) reach out to her for a job offer/internship and have the conflict be more so one with herself as she figures out what she wants for her future.
Being such a young person has made me grow very strong opinions towards social media. It's a relatively new thing, which is frightening as we don't completely know the lasting effects it can have on people, and we won't until it's too late. Being a teenager has ensured that it is practically cemented into my day-to-day life.
Coming-of-age comedies have also noticed this fact and have been writing it into plot lines with their characters to add to the relatability. They usually only use it as means to incite conflict, either with two characters or with some plot line about self-hatred, but I have yet to see one write about an epidemic I've noticed among my peers in the last couple of years.
The social learning media theory is one that aims to explain that people learn and alter their behavior, opinions, and reactions to align with the media that they consume. I've personally seen people change their opinion one day to another to assimilate with whatever people find to be socially acceptable on the internet. It's also genuinely baffling how many people I've see expect ridiculous things out of life and the people around them just because they've seen a skit or a highly edited video online and then become weirdly jealous.
It's genuinely such a strange phenomenon that I don't see get talked about online as much. I've also never seen it written in a realistic way in a coming-of-age comedy so hey, maybe I'll be the first. I feel like there is so much material to work with and so many ways to satirize the subject and let me poke fun at an otherwise, serious issue within my own generation. Sounds like the beginning of a really good comedy to me.
A screenplay is absolutely necessary for any good film, especially a comedy. They help outline everything about a film, not only dialogue, but important markers like setting changes, physical interactions between characters, facial expressions, or any visual/auditory information that is key to understanding the scene. Without a screenplay a movie simply cannot be made. Not a very good one at least. Heavy attention to detail is key to a comedy's success. I'm researching more on this topic as I believe it is extremely necessary for my film opening to work and I don't really have experience as I've never casually decided to write a screenplay but hey there's a first time for everything!
Once a general plot has been decided with character arcs and some world-building, a screenplay can be created! There are many steps to go about creating a detailed, plot rich screenplay, but I'll try to keep a focus on the opening of a screenplay.
As I've previously stated many many many times, setting the tone and throwing the audience into the story is vital for the opening to work. Comedy films, especially buddy cop comedies, begin by introducing the leads and their dynamic with each other. The comedy either comes from characters that are put into humorous situations, or the characters themselves. The important and necessary goal of the opening of a screenplay however, is to establish the world, characters, humor, and conflict if possible.
My current working schedule, fingers crossed I get to follow it stress-free! :D
1. Initial Planning
Researching articles about my selected genre.
Watch and collect a catalogue of films and TV shows for inspiration.
Educate myself on other genres I can draw inspiration from.
2. Planning
Solidify an actual plot
Write script
Storyboarding
Find music/score for scene
Plan credits montage
Get actors
Find location(s)
Select a date that works for everyone's schedule (preferably really early to allow time to do re-shoots).
3. Production
Film scenes
Record voice-over (potentially narration)
Get props/costuming/parts of set that help realize characters
4. Editing
Put all the scenes together in order
Ensure comedic timing is good; no awkward cuts/long shots
Add graphics for style and tone
Add title card
Add cast/crew names in a creative way
Ensure all audio sounds natural
Add foley
5. Revisions
Review and tweak video until perfect
Re-record/re-shoot scenes or dialogue if needed
Re-record foley if needed
6. Critical Creative Reflection
Research more information regarding reflection
Create a proper script for reflection with thought out evidence and also personal style
Add graphics in the video and any other creative visual effects
Edit and review CCR video
Ok, with it all laid out like that it seems kind of jarring but I will be handling big business to not only get this all done, but be confident with the outcome.
Technically we're already on week 2 so we'll just start there.
Week 2 (1/26-2/1)
Research more about my chosen genre
Analyze film openings and opening credits
Watch films within the genre for plot inspiration
Create a schedule for the rest of the project.
Week 3 (2/2-2/8)
Research possible media theories, tropes, and (noncontroversial) stereotypes to integrate into project
Get plot
Make script
Make storyboard
Week 4 (2/9-2/15)
Create characters for film
Cast actors to characters
Confirm filming location(s) and dates
Find proper costuming/props that fit characters' aesthetics
Figure out how to light the scenes
Implement creative usage of audio beyond dialogue
Week 5 (2/16-2/22)
Create production company logo
Record foley
Film scenes from storyboard
Film B-roll to help during the editing process
Week 6 (2/23-3/2)
Put clips together
Fix any editing mistakes
Re-record/re-shoot failed shots/audio
Add title card/credits/other graphics
Ensure timing of scenes is good/not rushed
Week 7(3/2-3/8)
Research CCR production
Create CCR script
Brainstorm creative elements for CCR
Film + Edit CCR
Review CCR
Week 8 (3/9-3/17)
Ensure everything is done and ready to go
Review film opening + CCR
Post film opening and CCR
BOOM! I genuinely can't wait to start I love brainstorming all the different avenues I can take. If you couldn't tell I really do enjoy watching films and I can't wait to create a plot of my very own. Very excited. Very nervous. Please stick around to see the process!
Opening/ending credits of films is such a cool opportunity for filmmakers to establish tone and show off their creativity. I absolutely adore how many different approaches there are to take whether animated or any other cool visual effects that achieve the goal of making the film more stylistic.
Superbad (2007):
The opening credits to Superbad are very unique. Colorful graphics show the two main characters, Seth and Evan, dancing and goofing off as a song plays in the background. This establishes the very light-hearted and silly tone consistently held throughout the rest of the movie. In between them dancing, you can see their silhouettes as they interact with each other very awkwardly which also plays into their characterization as nerdy losers in high school.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999):
The opening credits to 10 Things I Hate About You is much more simplistic but still adds character to the film. The camera pans around, showing the city the film is set in as a song plays in the background. the font and bright colors chosen for the names adds to the very punk vibe of the main character, Kat Stratford. As the camera finally reaches a group of girls singing and dancing in a car, the audience is led to believe the protagonist is one of the 4 preppy girls shown. The camera then captures Kat Stratford, by herself, blasting punk music with a grumpy expression in the car next to the girls. After she looks over the 4 girls appear scared and avoid eye contact with her until she drives off. This small scene in the opening credits helps establish that Kat likely doesn't have many friends at school and not much of a social person.
Juno (2007):
The opening credits of Juno show main character, Juno MacGuff, as she walks around the town drinking juice straight from the jug. As she begins her walk and the song begins, her walk is then stylized with graphics of her walking around. While not much occurs on this walk, prior to it we can see a group of people run past her in the opposition direction which may characterize her as different and not like others. The fact she's on a solitary walk could also allude that she does not have many friends. The graphics of her walking around like a cartoonified version of herself could symbolize how she views herself and suggest that she daydreams often.
I absolutely love that I get the excuse to re-watch some of my favorite coming-of-age comedy movies' opening scenes and talk about them. Film openings are crucial in general to establish the tone, characters, and the plot. Openings for comedy movies, however, have the added pressure of introducing the comedic voice of the entire project. This means that if the humor introduced in the beginning of the film isn't immediately funny, the audience is very likely to drop the movie as the rest of the project will continuously not land with them. This makes me nervous about creating a script as I'll have to be specific enough with the humor that it's interesting and unique while simultaneously trying to reach a larger audience. As an 18 year old girl who has made people laugh once or twice, I'm confident enough to tackle this challenge.
Booksmart (2019):
The opening of this film follows a very traditional set of tropes found in your average coming-of-age comedy film. It begins with the main character Molly meditating before school as she listens to affirmations that she is better than everyone else because she works harder. As this audio is playing, the camera cuts to different parts of her room, flashing her cap and gown which has an academic stole that reads, 'valedictorian'. We also see photos of Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, along with various awards and medals which tell the audience Molly is a very dedicated and conscientious person when it comes to political issues and likely wants to pursue that in the future. The affirmations continue playing, ironically contrasting her room decor which portray her to be much more caring than she seems to be while the audio reminds her to look down at the losers beneath her. These two things combined have already let the audience know that this character is stuck-up, arrogant, intelligent, hard-working, and conceited all within the first 30 seconds.
Mean Girls (2004):
Mean Girls is a film that heavily satirizes stereotypes and pokes fun at the clique-iness of high school. The movie follows protagonist Cady Heron who is not a stereotypical teenager by any means considering she grew up in Africa and not America. This slight subversion adds an interesting element to the plot and keeps the audience interested. The opening begins with a low angle shot, facing upwards towards Cady's parents as they ask her various questions to see if she's prepared for her first day of school. The manner in which they speak to her plus the angle gives the impression they are speaking to a small child, but after the camera rises it cuts to Cady as she narrates and tells the audience she is 16 years old. The dialogue in addition to the shot composition help to show the audience Cady's family dynamic. The rest of the opening scene is standard American high schools tropes, showing jocks bullying nerds in the hall, Cady getting pushed around, and people othering her in the cafeteria. This opening introduces Cady's conflict and adds context to why she eventually becomes involved with 'The Plastics'.
Easy A (2010):
Easy A opens with Olive Pendergast, the main character, introducing herself and the plot through narration which we come to find out is from a webcam video which she posted on the internet. The camera captures all the students walking in the halls of this high school as Olive narrates and even acknowledges and speaks down on the coming-of-age genre saying that this is not that kind of typical teenage story. The entire conflict of this film begins with Olive coming up with a lie so that she didn't have to go camping with her best friends' family. As this lie begins to spiral out of control, so does her reputation. This unique and silly conflict not only adds to the comedy because of its ridiculous nature, but it also separates this movie from others in the genre and helps it stand out.
Right behind coming-of-age comedies, romantic dramedies would have to be my favorite and most-watched genre of film. Both commonly leave a lot of leeway for the plot and don't have many constraints for how the story may go.
There are many genre conventions of a romantic dramedy that helps to cement films into the genre. While there are obvious ones like having two lovable leads, a break-up conflict, and a happy ending, there is one thing that can make or break the effectiveness and success of the movie. If the two-leads move forward through a typical romance plot but lack the chemistry to go along with it, the movie falls flat and usually loses the audience. This chemistry is a product of two very important factors: good writing and good acting. These two are necessary for the audience to truly feel the connection between the characters and want to root for them to stay together.
Film inspiration:
Eternity is a romantic dramedy with fictional elements that follows Joan in the afterlife as she decides who to spend eternity with, her first husband that died tragically young or her second husband who started a family with her. This film, although including heavily fictional elements, provides an insanely raw and authentic look at love and loss. I usually hate romance films with love triangles as it always seems pointless and just a cheap way to create conflict, but the afterlife element this film adds real stress and tension to a completely fictional complication. The romantic scenes between Joan and her husbands, Larry and Luke made it so I truly had no idea who she would end up with. Joan's scenes with Luke and Larry felt like two completely separate dynamics and helped the audience to understand Joan's difficulty with the decision.
(500) Days of Summer is also a romantic dramedy. It follows main character Tom Hansen, a helpless romantic, before, during, and after his relationship with Summer Finn, a girl he believes to be his soulmate. This film is a very unique one in the genre as it subverts the crucial convention of having a happy ending. While the plot is centered around Tom's relationship with Summer, it feels one-sided. The entire film is from Tom's perspective as he narrates the emotional rollercoaster he'd gone through in the past 500 days with Summer. Although having fun, comedic moments the conflict in this film is extremely complex and nuanced. It is also very stylized and creatively snaps between Tom's fantasies and reality in a visually interesting way that adds more to his character while also getting the audience to relate and sympathize with him as the events in the plot unfold.
The time has finally come to pick a genre for our film openings. I was immediately drawn towards coming-of-age comedies. I've seen my fair share and have a large catalogue of inspiration as it is my favorite film genre. A personal thing I want to stray away from is a boring, basic story. Part of the success of the genre is the relatability that it brings for audiences, but part of the reason it occasionally fails it by being too generic and falling flat. I want to create something relatable but ultimately unique. I'm also currently exploring the idea of coming-of-age comedy with a college-aged ensemble cast as I feel there's a slight over-saturation of high school stories. This is something I want to have a focus on when researching.
TV and films have their own set of characteristics that help categorize them through genre conventions. Comedies often rely on timing, delivery, and arguably most importantly, good writing to get a laugh out of the audience. Comedy scripts usually include some sort of social commentary by creating exaggerated characters that are a satirical reflections of popular stereotypes.
Coming of Age films contain dramatic themes that would be typically found in an awkward, transitional phase during the protagonists' adolescence. Things like romance, conflicts with friends, and struggling with school are common plot points as they are widely relatable and are often inspired by the writer or director's own life experience.
TV/Film Inspiration:
New Girl (2011-2018)
New Girl is a sitcom that follows main character, Jessica Day, as she navigates life after a break-up which forces her to move in with 3 men she met on the internet. It has a very specific comedic voice that is made for a particular audience as it doesn't necessarily follow typical "sitcom" humor. It commonly subverts the audience's expectation when it comes to the characters. They initially seem to be standard comedic stereotypes, but as the show progresses and evolves they become much more complex and realistic even though the show puts them in unrealistic situations.
Edge of Seventeen (2016)
The Edge of Seventeen is a coming-of-age dramedy that follows Nadine as her friendship is strained by the fact her best friend, Kristi begins to date her older brother. It includes various cringey, yet relatable moments that are typical for teenagers to go through. Between the awkward moments and witty dialogue, there's also drama that adds relatability to the main characters as it help to humanize the story by adding realistic conflict.
Moving forward my blogs will be focused on the sole mission of documenting my thought process while developing my Cambridge Final Project. My initial thoughts are truthfully a little fearful as I've been looking forward to this project since I signed up for the course last year and really want to produce the best film opening I can possibly accomplish. I absolutely adore films and I'm specifically very interested in how differently they aim to set the tone and grab the audience's attention within the first couple of minutes. To prepare for this, we've taken notes in class to help guide us when crafting our film openings.
I aim to focus on world building by creating characters that feel organic and real to the audience even though they’re meeting them for the first time. I’m also planning to at least slightly introduce the main conflict of my film, or give some form of foreshadowing.
Extremely excited to document my process on this very long journey towards building my Cambridge Final Project. I hope you stick around to see the final product!
