Group Meeting! What's new?

 Good Afternoon Blog,

Today we had a class get together where we discussed everyone's projects, portfolios, and ideas. It was quite an interesting part of the day since we have mostly just been working on our blogs the entire time we were within class. I won't lie the refreshing nature of this is what originally drew me to the class. I was a bit disappointed that we so rarely got the chance to converse and talk with our peers like at the beginning of the year. However, this all changed today and I made sure to use it to the best of my abilities. This is what we discussed during the movie:

The first thing that came to mind was how vast and different each of the topics really were. Everyone picked different topics which was refreshing as everyone was on different creative wave lengths. Everyone was also at different parts of their project. There were people that were close to me in how they had a general idea of exactly what they wanted to do and others who were still playing with different ideas they had. I made sure to pitch into ideas whenever I could. I think my insight was pretty good as I made sure to give ideas for each and every project that was mentioned. I wanted to make sure all their visions were able to be visualized in my head.

I think a big part of making a compelling story is being able to tell one without the need for images. Books who can make me imagine a scene incredibly well sprinkled in with my own imagination are incredibly engaging for me. It makes me feel like I'm watching a movie. The opposite can be said about a movie. If a movie is produced well, it doesn't have to spout dialogue in order for me to get the gist of what's going on. The scene explains itself. Mrs.Stoklosa also made it apparent how important show instead of tell is important to making a good film opening. With all those things in mind, lets start.

The first post we went over was Brianna's. Her story was a coming of age story that featured 4 girls slowly drifting apart after they enter High school. The story would come right after summer while a mini Montague of their summer plays. The opening scene is supposed to establish their close friendship and the future of their relationship as they speak over the phone. This format was very similar to mean girls scene with the discussions on the phone. We suggested that the filming should all be taken in the same house so they don't waste time.

Meghan had a more thought out idea of her project. She had the idea of s psychological thriller where the main character had gone through a fight while playing the piano. I feel like this is such a good idea and could be incredibly well done if given the right amount of details. I think the mix with the fight scene as the notes are struck are such a cool detail for her project and will certainly turn out great.

Nicole wasn't very sure of exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to do something with two friends getting bullied and one of them committing suicide and the other friend dealing with it. Suicide in this context, especially in school is a very sensitive topic so I mentioned how much care she had to put into it in order not to get skeptical looks from an audience. Regardless, we figured the best way to portray something like that would be to show that scene discretely. To elaborate, showing the two together at the start of the opening scene and after the title card, it could be the one girl standing next to her grave. General ideas like that.

As for me, I have a general idea of what I wanted to do with my story. Romina and I had fleshed out that we wanted to have our character be very detailed in the way that he paid a lot of attention to his appearance due to his sociopathic nature. We wanted to do a show rather then tell way of portraying it. The group helped us in this respect in two ways. The first is when the Main character (mc) is exiting his house, and onto the street, when someone asks him for how his father is doing he says he's good. Despite his father being out of commission and never able to do anything himself again from the brutality put upon himself through the military. He does this to put up appearances. I think it gives the vibe we want so perfectly. As well as before he enters the military room where he speaks with people, he quickly pulls out a mirror he keeps in his pocket in order to check his smile and make sure it's perfect. I think those additions give him so much characterization that is needed in such a scene carried piece rather then the dialogue. 

Overall I think that the review was extremely helpful for what we are at and with the advice I am currently working on the script. I am very excited to see what comes next! Until next time!