Advertising

 To begin marketing the movie to the media, I had to get social. The first things I had to do was create a logo, color scheme, and an email. I am going to be filming it in my room and usually have my LED colored lights in a purple-blue rotation. Therefore, when creating the logo and color scheme that is what I went for. My colors are purple, blue, black and pink. These colors are important because this is what I will keep consistent throughout all platforms. The next step I had to do was make an email. This is great because since I had to make multiple social media accounts, I can keep everything together. I first started with Youtube, putting my logo as the profile picture. I then set up Twitter and Facebook. The one I was most excited for was Instagram. Instagram is my favorite social media and I think it is popular amongst the age group I am marketing to. I have already started posting pictures teasing future updates. I want the Instagram to be the main source for set photos and clips, since it is a photo-sharing site. On twitter I want to share "testimonials" and dates, since the app is more for text and less pictures. On the Facebook, I want a mix of both. On the Youtube, I will post clips and behind the scenes footage. The big thing is to promote on all platforms consistently.  I am very excited for the promotional aspect of this project. I pay close attention to what gets marketed towards my age group and I want to take that into my own process. 

Planning: Storyboard

 Storyboard

Storyboarding is a very crucial step to planning. I like to consider it the script for actions. This gives the directors a chance to organize the scenes in order, take by take. My storyboard consist of 11 pages.  In boxes, each frame is mapped out. These boxes draw out each take by the angle, movement, setting, and other elements. In total there are 62 clip descriptions and 6 scenes. The storyboard has a setting and angle description. The storyboard can be helpful for shooting so I don't forget to shoot anything. It was also helpful for planning because it helped me further visualize my film. It helps the film make sense in my mind as well and see how the storyline plays out. 

 

Planning

                Now that I have a premise for my film, its time to start planning. I want to shoot the house scenes first. I can do that myself with a tripod and my camera. I can film these any time, during the week or on weekends. This part of the film is a flexible shooting period, which is great. There is another half of my film though. This half needs go be filmed with people. It is important to note that the COVID pandemic is still going on. Therefore, I need to have the least people as possible. My parents do not want me going out to keep me safe so this will cause another issue. I only have one day to film. I now have to coordinate a day in November to film. This day will consist of 3 or 4 friends. I want to film as safe as possible but it needs to be done. Once I finish storyboarding, I will start the filming process. The first scene I will film is the montage. It is supposed to be like a morning routine. It also includes clips of online school. Therefore these scenes can be filmed on weekdays. The planning of filming is crucial to maximizing your day. 

Short Film vs Feature Length Film

 The short film 9 was originally directed by Shane Acker. In 2009, Tim Burton and Universal Studios produced it to be a full length film. To begin with, the main difference between them is the plot. In the feature film, the storyline was more drawn out. In the short, it was a very fast storyline meaning only scenes crucial to the storyline were included. This also means there were more details. The long film had space to add unnecessary details or jokes to keep it entertaining. Short films are fast so they grab your attention and keep it for the length of the film. The short only had a couple scenes but each scene was important. Full films have to make it entertaining throughout. This means that full length films have a more build up character development compared to shorter films. Another difference is there is dialogue. In the short there was no dialogue and mostly just sounds like running and panting. In the feature film there was dialogue to keep it entertaining. This is actually something I really liked about the short but I understand why it was necessary for the long film. I liked how in the short, he got an idea across with no words and just off visuals. The graphics in the full film were also a lot better.My other note is that the feature film had a positive ending and a less dark theme to it. I enjoyed it more because it felt like an interesting journey while the short left me unsettled. Overall, I liked feature film because of the story and graphics but so believe the short was better executed.

Research 9: The Feature Film

I have just watched the full film based on the short film 9. The basic storyline was the same but the approach differs. Shane Acker, the director, partnered with producer Tim Burton. Before I watched the full film, I resonated the short with Tim Burton’s style. I found the collaboration interesting. The full film had a different approach maybe due to its production company and making it more marketable. The film came out in 2009 and was produced by Universal Studios. The film was longer so more detailed. It still followed the basic plot of the short. It’s a story about a dystopian world where rag dolls live. It is running and hiding from machines until it finally faces them. These machines are trying to wipe them out, similar to the short. This film had dialogue to make it more appealing. One last thing is that the film had a more optimistic view. It had a happier ending. This could be again a marketing tactic. If a full movie doesn’t have a happy optimistic ending it might not do well. The graphics were honestly a lot better. The detail in the characters and the setting further amplified the plot. The character development was further detailed due to the more time it has as a full length film.

Research 9: The short

I have just finished the short film called 9 by Shane Acker. This movie was very unsettling. It followed a robotic ragdoll and A dystopian world. The film was dark and I could tell it had a deeper meaning but overall I didn’t understand it. I did not like it because the scenery and lighting choices made it some thing out of a nightmare. There was a part where a mechanical beast-like creature removed the souls out of the friends of the main rag doll. The main character was called 9. He then ran away from the beast with its container of souls. It’s following the dolls  journey as it runs away and gets a chance to unleash all of its friends souls. Although he did not have a face, his gestures showed his emotions. One thing I noted was the fact there was no dialogue. I think it made it so much more dramatic overall. I think the details spoke for the plot more than words could. So many ideas were presented without one word spoken. The only sounds were natural sounds such as walking and gears turning. The movie gave me like junkyard vibes. It was very dark much like the film Coraline. The director was very creative but in like a scary, Tim Burton way. He showed a whole story in 10 minutes without any words so I must say it is a well executed film. I wouldn’t watch it again personally because it was very creepy. 

Genre Decisions

       So, now that I have researched all the possible genres, I need to make a decision. The possible films are a comedy, a romance or a drama. I originally only explored the idea of a drama. I wanted to make this emotional drama about mental health and feeling free. Although I still think that idea would be beautiful, I had to look inward. I would not enjoy making a film that serious. I would have such an amazing time filming a comedy, and that's the moral. As a person, I'm trying to go out of quarantine and have a fun time, like my character. I think if I actually was getting one night away with my friends, it would be fun and lighthearted, not emotional. I think experience is the best way to learn, so that is what I will do. I decided I want to make a lighthearted, comedic film about a group of teens having one night of freedom. This could make the film more genuine. The film I will be basing it off is Project X and The F*** It List. These two films are about teens going wild when they stop following their parents and societies rules and just making memories. Although I like the drama and romance ideas, the comedy film is more me, if that makes sense. The decision is one that I did not expect but I think the result is going to make a better film. My next step would be to start brainstorming details such as characters and scene ideas. Because I am choosing a comedy, I have to follow the comedy norms and genre structures. The one thing I need to keep in mind is that I cant make any of the comedy inappropriate or insensitive. Im not an insensitive person but comedy can be controversial so that is what I am trying to avoid.