Cultural Code Theory

Hello again, blog!

 Today I will be discussing the topic of theories and how I wish to include a specific theory in my film. The theory that I wish to incorporate into my story is called the Cultural Code theory. This theory provides cultural references that are supposed to develop an audience's understanding of a character.  It could be something that the character finds of great importance that helps us understand a character better. This includes what they're interested in, what they desire, their motives, and just a deeper dive into the character's mind. Some references may range from a movie like Barbie to a band like the Beatles. This idea may play an important role later on in the story. Some purposes of the cultural code are to build comfortability and intimacy to a character but also build a purpose to the story or the character it might show or foreshadow what the characters motives are or what their intentions or thoughts just build upon this character ‘s behavior and background. When shaping a character, this typically works better when the audience understands what cultural reference the character is signaling at. The example I'll provide is Stranger Things. On season four of this very popular series, girl named Max is one of the main characters and her story is a lot about how she struggles internally, but in a very peculiar way. In summary, in one of the episodes she is faced with a very intense challenge, which puts her into an unescapable trance. At the beginning of the season though, it is informed to audiences that Max is really interested in a specific song. By listening to the song, she is eventually able to fight her way out of it. 

The reason I am using this example is because a simple interest like that can save the story. A simple cultural reference can completely alter the plot. I am planning on including this theory into my film opening as it is pretty easy to in my position due to the fact that I decided to do coming of age and coming of age is all about developing a character and their background so I feel like it should be pretty easy to develop some interest maybe that may influence supply later on or simply just shape what kind of character my character will be. 

Group Meeting Reflection

Hi there, blog!

Today we had our first group meetings, which were groups within classmates that allow us to share our ideas and spread creativity. I really liked this activity because I felt more comfortable talking and at this age, so many people are bursting with imagination, and thankfully, my group had lots of it. 

The first person to share their idea was Nico. He described his original idea for a guy to be working out in a home gym and his morning routine to be shown all throughout the opening. As time went by, pieces of his room or around his house would hint or represent his hardships and his plans for the future and just for all of us to pain out within the span of two minutes. While I thought this idea was good, I suggested that instead of pieces of his life to be shown around a room, that he gets flashbacks as he’s working out in a way that will push him to work harder. in addition to this, he also suggested that the character had some sort of disease and that wanted to be a doctor or something in medical field and personally I thought that that was too broad for it to just be fit into two minutes and advised him to cut that from the story. Everyone else contributed and helped him shape his idea out, and it turned out to be really good. He felt really confident with the idea afterwards.

After him went Benjamin. His idea was sort of similar to Nico‘s, as they both had the same genre of sports. I wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to pan it out because he didn’t provide a very well thought out explanation, but he was sure that he wanted some sort of montage of two best friends pushing each other to work harder and be better. Although he didn't have everything figured out, he was very set that that's what he wanted to do, so nobody else really added any ideas rather than ask a couple questions and attempt to add depth to his storyline.

Juan illustrated his idea next. Like Benjamin, he was pretty sure he wanted to stick to what he had already came up with the idea he had come up with. He explained how his idea for his film opening was for a woman in her house getting ready for a date. She is nicely dressed and cooking up a dinner for her and her date. She drops a knife, and as she bends down to pick it up, she gets a flashback of her in that same room slaughtering a man, and as she gets back up, the flashback disappears, and everything goes back to normal. She then gets a text from her date saying that he’s outside, and as she puts down her phone to open the door, it is revealed that a lot of men have texted her, and their last texts are letting her know they are outside waiting for her. I actually had no suggestions to this opening as I really loved that idea, and everyone else thought the same. We all thought it was really interesting and unique, and I am really excited to see it come to life.

My turn came after, and although I have been trying to come up with some ideas for my film opening, I was just at a complete brain fart and couldn't come up with anything. I told everybody my genre and some stuff I'd be interested in doing. Benjamin suggested something about bullying, but rather than story being about the person that's being bullied, for the point of view or backstory of the person that's doing the bullying. I wasn’t exactly sure how to develop this idea, so I didn’t really choose to go down that path, but I thought it was a really cool interesting approach, as it's never really shown how or why the bully takes initiative. Juan proposed an idea of a girl that struggled financially and helping her family out in the best ways she could. I really like this suggestion but unfortunately, I don’t think I'd have the resources to expand this thought any further because I’m just trying to do something simple that I could do within my household since I don't have many resources, and I'm working alone. Although I liked those two ideas, after some consideration, I decided I would not be doing either, and even though I didn't have my story yet, I was able to get creative and came up with my own film opening, which I will be sharing later this week.

Lastly, Amanda also had no idea what to do, but she did know what kind of things she wanted to base it upon. She had told us that she watched the movie Beautiful Boy and kind of wanted to pay homage to it. She also spoke about color scheme, and Nico shared his thoughts and told her about the different lightings she should use in her opening. Juan suggested a bunch of ideas that allowed her to develop the foundation to her story and ended up pretty satisfied. 

Here is a picture of our group!!

Student Film Breakdown

Hello blog!

Since today we have been given the freedom to choose what we base our research on, I have decided to research another student's film opening. The film opening I researched was "Barely Legal." The reason I researched this specific opening was due to the genre being the same as mine, which is coming of age, and the fact that the student worked all by herself, which I am intending on doing so as well. 

The film begins by introducing the production in bright bold yellow letters, and magazine cutouts and posters are pasted all over the wall. I think this idea is so cool, especially using the time that she used. A guitar and a poster can be seen along the first few seconds, suggesting these are the character's interests. Some other items like heels, cigarettes, and a disk player are shown, until the first view of the character is presented. She is seen taking off her shirt and throwing it into a pile of clothes. Anyway, the girl begins to talk to herself in the mirror, and as she's speaking it becomes very apparent that she is underage yet trying to distance from that impression. The facial expressions and movements she makes, makes this opening look so much more humane and realistic. I loved the way she incorporated enough different shots to make it clear she knows what she's doing, but not too many to the point that this piece doesn't feel real. As the girl hears a loud honk and checks outside her window, she runs to grab her poster, money, and shoes, and turns off her disk player. The girl shuts the door, but the room is still visible. This implies that something else will occur in this very room, and just as that realization is made, the girl quickly runs back and grabs a pack of cigarettes. The screen turns blank and the title "Barely Legal" is seen on the screen. I was really interested in the choices of the mise-en scene in this piece, as every little detail was taken into consideration: The Guns N Roses poster, the Nirvana Poster, the checkered blanket, the checkered carpet, the clothing, etc. 

My schedulee

 Hello!!

In this blog, I will be discussing the schedule I have planned for the upcoming weeks. Instead of typing it here though, I decided to write it down and show you some pictures of my notebook: 

I will be attempting my best to follow this schedule and everything should go smoothly and according to plan. I find that I am able to stay more focused and on task when I write things down, as I can clear my mind and manage and arrange my thoughts. Writing down my schedule also makes it more accessible for me to look back at it whenever I want. This should be a simple strategy I shouldn't have difficulty following!! 

Credits Research

 Hello blog! 

Today I am researching credit sequences for films of my chosen genre. Typically, these sequences are introduced through text in complementary to images or graphics in the background.

Giant Little Ones-

The credits first appear on the bottom right corner. The words, “Mongrel Media Presents” appear in thin yellow capital letters. The credits then hit all four corners of the screen and don’t reappear for another five seconds. After that, the credits begin to only pop up on the bottom left corner of the screen. Throughout all of this, images of a kid are seen waking up and biking around his neighborhood. At 2:24, the title of the film is presented in the same font the other credits were shown in. Only difference is each word is placed on the screen a second after the other. After that, the opening credits are not seen again. 

13 Going On 30- 

The credits are first shown once the words “Revolution Studios Presents” appear on the screen. This is  shown in the very middle of the screen in soft pink letters. This font sets the tone for the film as fun and enjoyable, not to mention the background to these credits is a mix of colors and glitter. The credits stay in the same place until the background fades into clouds symbolizing that we are back in reality. After the main character is introduced, the original sparkly background and fun pink letters appear once again to present the title. Once the scene cuts back to the character and her environment, more credits appear on the middle left of the screen, with sparked showing up at the corner after every credit. The credits then rotate to the bottom left, bottom right, bottom middle, and middle left of the screen. After that a series of credits appear at the top middle of the screen and one last time on the bottom right of the screen. 

Sixteen Candles-

The credits in this film first introduce the production company which is “Channel Productions, INC.” and another credit after that which reads “A John Hughes Film” in capital white letters. The credits are nowhere to be seen for the following minutes, until the title “Sixteen Candles” appears on the middle of the screen, in white capital letters. Another credit is presented in the middle, and after that, the credits begin to appear on the bottom middle of the screen, as images are being shown throughout the whole process. Then, the credits are repeatedly shown in the middle of the screen, but after a few seconds, they go back and forth in between the right or the left on the screen. 

Film Openings Breakdown

 Hi again! 

I have decided that my genre will be coming of age, so I did some research about 3 great contenders of the genre. 

#1: The Breakfast Club 

The first 2 minutes of this film consist of credits. After, a crack appears on the screen and the setting of the story is introduced, Shermer High School. Music can be heard throughout the whole opening and the voice of a male can be heard once the credits are over. The school stays on screen for over 10 seconds and then empty parts of the school are shown, suggesting it's a weekend. 7 A.M. is on the clock, an empty hallway, a beverage & candy stand, a decorated wall, lockers, "I'm eating my head" written on wood. Following, images can be seen of lockers, newspaper of the high school football team, "I don't like Mondays" written on the wall, a trophy room, a bunch of doodles, trash on the stairs, a stage with the banner  "senior spirit soars," a notebook with the words written "Help" all over it, "Man of the Year" portraits with kids in different grades, a computer lab with the sign "Hackers will be expelled," a gym locker with dirty socks and shoes, the guidance counselor's office, a banner that says "Vote for your Prom Queen," and a locker saying "OPEN THIS LOCKER AND YOU DIE ***!!!"`  Finally,  a tilt of a BMW is presented, with a girl and an older man next to her. They exchange some conversation and as she steps foot inside the school, the scene begins. This is a classic opening in my opinion as so many films begin with the setting and environment of where the film will be taking place. This opening provides a comfortable feel right off the bat. 

 

#2: Perks of Being a Wallflower

The film begins with a black screen featuring some credits and after the first minute a shot of a bridge leading into a tunnel. Credits are still seen throughout until another black screen appears and a pan from the screen into a window is shown. On the window, there is the reflection of a kid, and as this shows, a voice begins to talk. There is some slow zooming out of the kid's reflection and he is shown writing, suggesting that what he is saying, he is writing. A part of his room is shown, and some of his interests and items become visible. He continues to write until a few seconds later, which he leaves his room and walks into another. In this room, his parents can be seen watching the TV, and as he is looking at his parents, they cannot seem to bother to even look at him. There is a quick cut back to the kid's room, and then another to a school where other kids are throwing papers at him. It is clear that as he is writing, he is listing down his thoughts and goals for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, he is brought back to reality when the bell rings and the chaos begins. After that, the scene shifts to lunch, where the kid struggles to find somebody that will sit with him. He introduces his sister and her boyfriend, and two other kids. Throughout this time, his sister rejects his offer to eat lunch while at the lunch line, and he smiles at the other two kids who he thought may want to eat lunch with him but instead just get back to what they were doing. This is just the beginning to the poor kid's struggle. Overall, I think this approach to the opening is pretty cool because it gives a more intimate understanding to the character and his struggles. From the beginning, it's quite obvious that he struggles with introvercy and fitting in, and I think that it represents what a lot of kids go through at that age. 

#3: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

The film begins with a girl in a red dress in a field of tall grass. The tall grass hits her gracefully as she begins to speak and suddenly, a guy is shown turning towards her. He quickly walks to her, and she begins to do the same, until she is hit with a pillow, and the camera shifts to a pan leading to a younger girl. Then focus shifts back to the girl and she picks up her book and says, "I just wanna finish this chapter," suggesting she was imagining everything the whole time. Another girl walks into the room and after exchanging some conversation, the girl goes back to reading her book. Everyone heads downstairs to an older guy cooking, and the same guy that appeared in the beginning just opened the door. Some drama begins to unfold as they are all gathering to eat, and the girl explains her feelings and background with the guy. She then introduces her writing, and explains how she has written a letter to every guy she's ever had a crush on. I love the way this film opens because I feel like it captures what it feels like to be a teen girl. This opening introduces the perfect mix of coming of age with rom-com, and it's something every girl will appreciate. I also think it's very well done, and the concept is made clear from the start. 

Film Opening Research

 Hello blog! 

Nice to see you again. Today I am discussing 2 possible genres I would like to use in my film opening. These 2 genres are horror and thriller. Here is the basic research I’ve done on both of them.

Horror- 

In the horror genre, films typically open in a very normal environment. This is a foreshadowing that things are too calm and something bad is about to happen. In other words, the calm before the storm. It may just occur for a couple minutes, but it’s so that viewers are caught off guard and intrigued when the horror begins. Subtle hints of disturbance appear throughout the scene, eventually revealing a horrifying event. The antagonist is introduced and sometimes the opening can be shown from a POV of the antagonist.

Thriller- 

The second genre I researched was thrillers. Thriller films normally open by using eye-catching objects or visuals that catch a viewer’s attention from the get-go. These visuals are normally unsettling or disturbing to watch. Lighting plays a key factor, as it sets the mood and provides a hint of where the storyline will be heading. A character will typically be isolated to hint danger, and eerie music is present to present a dark occurrence.