Working on the Website!

Hi, blog!

So, as I said in one of my previous postings, I'm focusing a lot on working on the website and postcard this week.

For my website, I've decided to use Wix.com as it's my favorite website builder to use and is very user-friendly. Wix gives you the option to put in all the information you want on your site and builds a website template for you, which is extremely convenient compared to other website builders such as Godaddy.com. Also, Wix has its own app, which once again means I can edit from my phone!

I'm mostly just playing around with it today and seeing what kind of template I like as I still need to get pictures and other things for content for the site. This whole Coronavirus is stressing me out as they're starting to shut down more and more places and stores in order to keep the virus under control. This means I will more than likely have limited options for filming locations if I do decide to film in any public place. However, in my planning, I had a lot of the shots taking place in the main character's bedroom and house, so hopefully, this virus situation won't impact me too greatly.

When trying to view the website on my phone, it was formatted a little weird so I took a video from my laptop and have included it below:

I will continue playing around with Wix and see what works and what doesn't for this website and hopefully, Corona won't get in the way of my project!

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Working on Postcard!!

Hi, blog!

With Coronavirus messing up everyone's schedule, I decided now would be a perfect time to work on and complete both my postcard and website.

In this blog post, I'll be focusing more on the postcard.

I've decided to use the website Canva to make my postcard as I find it very easy to use and I've used it in the past for previous projects. I also like that I can edit from my phone.

I looked at some of the previous projects on Mrs. Stoklosa's website and liked the postcards more in the 2017-2018 projects so I took inspiration from some of those.

I've been playing around with Canva and I kind of like this format for my postcard:

Obviously I will replace those pictures once I can get them. I plan on putting the main character's face along with the celebrity's as the picture but split up as seen in the postcard if that makes any sense? I'm also not sure if this is what I want to call my short film but I will probably stick with that name or call it something very similar.

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Coronavirus!!

Hi, blog!

Well, this has certainly been a hectic week.

Due to the COVID-19 virus, aka Coronavirus, we are not in school for the next two weeks. While this does give me a lot of time to work on my project, it also presents new setbacks. A lot of people I know don't even want to leave their house, which may cause me problems when trying to gather my actors for filming. I know a lot of people in the class ar freaking out because they have nothing to film now or none of their actors can leave the house.

If worst comes to worst, I can always star in my own movie.

Yeah, no.

I apologize for the short blog post but I just wanted to give an update on what's going on right now.

Stay safe everyone!

- Rachel

Reading Other Screenplays

Hi, blog!

So I've been doing more research in between drawing and writing out my scenes and I read a few screenplays but there's one that I liked in particular.

Behind every great movie is a great screenplay, and that can definitely be said for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). In Black Swan, Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina whose passion for the dance rules every facet of her life. When the company's artistic director decides to replace his prima ballerina for their opening production of "Swan Lake," Nina is his first choice. She has competition in newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) however. While Nina is perfect for the role of the White Swan, Lily personifies the Black Swan. As the rivalry between the two dancers transforms into a twisted friendship, Nina's dark side begins to emerge.

While this film doesn't deal with an obsessed fan, I love the way it captures Nina's obsession with her craft, which is ballet. Nina's obsession with being the best overcomes her life and in the process, she experiences many bizarre things.

I read a bit of the script for Black Swan and just loved it. It is very well written and I think captures the essence of what I want for my film very well.

Here are a few pages of the screenplay from the opening scene that I liked in particular:

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Mini Storyboard

Hi blog!

So I’ve started thinking of some of the shots that I want to incorporate into my short film. It seems like
I've come up with a lot of close up shots. 

I made a mini storyboard with some of the shots that I want to be included in the opening scene. I really want the opening scene to give off a suspenseful vibe and kind of have the audience guessing what the main girl is doing or why she seems uptight, or so drawn into what she is doing. Therefore, as you can see in the storyboard, I included various close-ups to try to achieve that feel.

Here’s the mini storyboard:

I’m going to come up with a larger storyboard for some of the other scenes but this is just my idea for the
opening scene. I don't like using any kind of software for the storyboard because I feel like drawing it out
myself gives me more freedom to make it look exactly how I want it to.

Hopefully, I’ll have an updated storyboard for some of the other scenes in some of my future blogs.

Well, that’s all for now!

-Rachel

Screenplay

Hi blog!

As of now, I’ve been playing around with the Celtx screenwriting software. It’s pretty practical and easy to
use so I think this is the software I am going to stick with. It’s also the software Mrs. Stoklosa
recommended for us to use. I also like that I can edit from my phone. 

While I’m still coming up with shots and lines, I kind of have an idea of what I want to do in regards to
these aspects. I think I am going to do a monologue with the main character’s voice as a voiceover in
order to let the audience know what she is thinking. Or, I could do no monologue at all and have the
audience see what she is thinking solely through her actions, but I think the voiceover idea might be
more effective in reaching the goal I am trying to achieve. 

I am going to watch some movies that have to do with obsession ants look at their screenplays. I plan on
looking at films such as Black Swan, The Fanatic, and The Fan.

Well, that’s all for now!

-Rachel

Casting

Hi blog!

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I am doing my short film on the idea of an obsessive fangirl that
wants to be just like the person she is admiring,

As of now, I must get an idea and come up with who I want as my cast.

I have juggled with the idea of whether I want my main character to be a boy or a girl. After thinking about
it more, I think it might be easier for me to use a girl as the obsessive character as I can do more with
that I think. I also feel like girls tend to be more fanatic-like when it comes to their favorite celebrities. 

With that being said, here is an idea of what my cast will look like:

Main character- girl in her late teens-early 20s who is obsessed with female celebrity

Main character’s mother- becomes concerned about her daughter’s behavior/or is completely oblivious
to this behavior and thinks nothing of it

Main character’s friend/or boyfriend- notices their behavior is excessive and attempts to try to stop
their behavior/encourage the main character to stop their behavior as they are getting out of hand

Celebrity that main character is obsessed with- singer/actor that main character is obsessed with (still
deciding if I want them to have a legitimate role in the film)

So, I’m still struggling with what I want to happen at the end of the film. One of my ideas is that the girl, in
the end, ends up trying to look just like the celebrity. My other idea is that the girl ends up kidnapping the
celebrity or something and it ends on a thrilling kind of note. I’m still kind of deciding.

Well, that’s all for now!

- Rachel