It's been a journey

My eyes are dry
my back hurts
i am going crazy
and I feel like I've got a sunburn for sitting in the computer for five hours straight
but that's okay because I've finished and I feel great about it :)))

I'll be back for my next project, or maybe even before that because I've realized I like writing in here.

Here's my CCR

Till next time folks :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

"I'd like to thank The Acad—"

It's here and it's done and I couldn't be happier. Wow what a feeling.

I present to you, my film opening.
I present to you: Barely Legal.

A little update

So I haven't been posting. It's five days until the due date, you could say I'm on track. I officially finished editing the opening, and I'm currently editing the CCR, which is a long process. I'm just waiting until I finish it in order to publish the opening.

Meanwhile, here's the playlist I promised a long time ago. Behold, the soundtrack to Barely Legal.

I am really happy with the way this project is turning out, it's the proudest I've ever been of my work I think.

Here's a few stills, a lil sneak peek :)))

Issues with audio

So I have finished editing my project, but I have encountered a problem. The audio in the dialogue part is really bad. I have tried fixing it by reducing the hum and noise, but it still sounds mediocre. These are the options I have:

• Literally film the entire part once again, this time with a microphone
• Do a voiceover, with a microphone
• Add subtitles

The subtitle thing is a smart idea, but I just don't like the way it looks, and it would make the audience lose focus on what is going on in the screen.

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Update: I just ordered a microphone, and I'm shooting the whole dialogue part again tomorrow night.

Editing tings

As soon as I was done filming last night, I started editing.

Here's a few screen recordings on what I did while editing my project in Final Cut Pro.

This one is from when I added the honking sound effect. I had to use my phone to record a portion of a video called "10 Hours of Car Horns Honking". Then I edited it in.

The one below shows how I edited the colors a little bit, and added a bit more exposure in the clips where I am standing in front of the mirror talking to myself. I thought these originally looked a bit too dark and grainy so I changed this.

This one focuses on the whole sound editing part. In the part where there is dialogue, I lowered the volume of the song and played around with the effects so it sounds a bit more muted, and edited my actual voice so it sounds clearer.

In the end, I also decided I would add the title screen at the end. I feel like it would create a more compelling effect towards the audience. Here's what it looks like:

That's a wrap!!!

woop woop

I just finished filming and it's the BEST feeling ever. There is no better feeling than crossing out everything you have on a list. I dare you to change my mind. Also here's a picture of me post-shooting :)

Most of my shots are still shots, so I didn't need much help, except for when I had to do that tilt up shot of me putting on that new shirt. I called my mom, she didn't help. I called my sister, she complained, but she did it. Somehow. Here's a little sneak peek of me talking to myself in the mirror. It took me a while to get the camera and I in the right position, just to get that perfect over-the-shoulder shot while I was well framed in the mirror. And it turned out perfectly! I was actually really happy with the results.

I have already started editing. Here's a rough draft/sneak peek:

ksajhskjf I'm excited

DaFont = DaBomb

The title is so cheesy I know. I saw an opportunity and I took it.

I was browsing different fonts to use for the title screen. These are the ones I found.

I was going for that messy but not too messy handwritten look. I feel like it could represent the edginess of the main character well. The ones that convince me the most are number two and five. I like how the brush effect on number two resembles a marker with low ink. Number one looks a bit more graffitti-esque, so it doesn't really fit the themes of Barely Legal. The typewriter one I liked, but it has more of a quirky indie film aesthetic. And number four looks a bit too heavy metal.

I'll make this decision between two and five once I start editing.

This is the best day of my life (probably)

Guess who got the rights to Come Closer!! I was a the beach with some friends yesterday, and on our way back I received this:

I was jumping up and down and nobody understood why. After WEEKS of not receiving a response, I finally got one. I just had to specify the start date, and I am GLAD my "slow-witted" self thought a little bit more about it. I just now have to fill out a form and send it back to them. They let me know if I have any questions, so I'm bombarding them with questions. I feel sorry for them.

So I am no longer anxious about not obtaining the rights to the song, I just have to finish filming, then edit and I'm done. As I already did two of the CCR questions, I only have the other two left.

I will be done filming between today and tomorrow hopefully.

Filming Day 2

*This was on Thursday, March 21st. Around 10pm

So I wanted to get as much as I could done today. I failed miserably. I got two shots done in the span of two hours.

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Meet Santiago. An aspiring filmmaker and passionate memer. He offered to help me out with the project. I know, what an angel.

He was in charge of pressing the record button, telling me when to do my thing, and making sure everything was well framed. The clip below shows how we were trying to film the part with the flier. He would press record, tell me to wait a few seconds and then grab the flier in a hurried manner. I decided that these shots which are parallel in the beginning and the end would be just one shot, but then I would edit it and split it in two, so the composition is the same in both parts.

This was the view from behind the camera:
We set the flier next to a small dragon figurine (also seen on the shirt I am wearing), seven dollars, and an old cassette.

Once we got this shot done, we moved over to try and shoot the dialogue scene. I present to you the most awkward picture I have on my camera roll. I asked my sister to "snap some evidence" for the whole documenting process. Neither of us knew what to do. 

But yeah, I basically stood there in front of the mirror while I set the tripod so we could shoot an over-the-shoulder shot. It was really hard to frame well, because my mirror is one of those slim vertical ones. We tuned out to not get any shots of this scene because I hadn't planned it well. I never put the mirror into consideration. I perfectly visualized the shot working out well, but I never tried it out. And of course, what you visualize is not always the reality of things. It was already around midnight, we were both tired, so we called it a day.

I will definitely get everything done throughout this week. I will rehearse the mirror shots before actually shooting them to make sure everything is well framed. 

What would a groupie say?

As seen on the storyboard, I plan to have only one small section of dialogue (or monologue), where the character would talk to herself trying to rehearse a conversation with a band member or build up confidence.

Here's what I was thinking she could say:

• So you play bass right?
• Oh my god I love your music!!!
• So where are you staying?
• Wanna go for a smoke?
• Am I legal? Yeah of course I'm legal. In fact, I've been legal for three hours now.

So obviously, these are all going to be said in a sarcastic, kind of foolish tone. I figured that no actual "professional" groupie would say these things to an actual bass player, so I aim to show that naive side of her through her speech. For this part of the opening, I plan to use a lot of jump cuts to show the indecisiveness and hesitation from her, and how she thinks of saying something and immediately takes it back because she believes she sounds ridiculous.

This is the finalized script:


It’s about 8:00 PM in the year in 1992. It’s Maia’s 18th birthday and she strongly aspires to become a groupie that same night, which is why she’s getting ready to go to a small venue where a band will perform. After getting dressed, she turns to look at herself in the mirror, and rehearses the conversations she would have with a band member.

*Jump cut between each sentence

MAIA
Your music is truly truly amazing, big fan.

No. Too desperate.

So you play bass right?

(Pushes up her breasts with her hands, trying to look older and mature)

You sure know how to play, can I see your fingers? 

(Realizes what she said is really bad, immediately makes a facial expression showing disgust and regret)

Wanna go for a smoke?

Am I legal? Of course I’m legal. In fact, it’s been exactly three hours and 28 minutes since-

(Gets interrupted by very obnoxious horn honking from outside)

(Curses under her breath, and rushed around her room grabbing everything she needs before leaving)

CCR: Question 2

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

As the theme of my film revolves around the 90s, I would have some kind of synergy, collaborating with bands from that time, or the people whose music I would include in my soundtrack. Through these specific music artists I could promote my film, as well as engage with their own audiences. A very basic example of this would be Mamma Mia, or Bohemian Rhapsody. The fact that these films had iconic songs really increased the way the audience reacted to them. Songs by Queen were seen in the charts after 30 years, which was shocking as the prevalent genre is Hip-Hop/Rap. Bohemian Rhapsody earned a lot of recognition, as seen on the Oscars this year where they won four out of five nominations.

Barely Legal would have a very powerful nostalgic feel, so audiences who were alive in the 90s would be ale to relate to it, and keep the film close to their heart. This is the kind of film I would aim to produce.

As I learned in this class this year, social media has become a necessary tool to promote any time of media: music, print, or film. To promote my film I would firstly post teaser trailers on my personal account, and maybe have my friends share it in their accounts too. Vimeo is a platform where a lot of aspiring filmmakers post their work for recognition, so it would also be the main platform where I would display my film, so it's available to large audiences for free. Another great way to promote films from upcoming producers is film festivals. Of course, I would have to stick to the ones that are in my price range, nothing too flashy. Some local film festivals are Outshine Film Festival, located in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale. My school also hosts an annual film festival, so I would definitely display and promote my work so other students would look at it and give their thoughts. Independent films always have to put in that extra effort to gain recognition. They aren't seen on DVD or streamed on streaming platforms right away. This is why I wouldn't yet aim for that, but concentrate more on promoting it on social platforms and festivals.

Quick update on the license

So I absolutely hate to insist, specially to big music companies. But I was getting a bit worried about not getting a response from Spirit Music Group. So I sent the request form again, but this time I did something different:

This time I actually added the start date, and was more specific with the terms and territory. Hopefully this changes something.

CCR: Question 1

So I'll start answering some questions on the CCR, just so I have my ideas clear for when it's my time to do it. Here's question numero uno:

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

So my film is classified as a coming of age. I did a blog post on the conventions way back. These are the conventions I included:

• Story relating to growth of a person
• Ordinary setting that can be adaptable to tone of the film
• Everyday situations
• Could be sentimental at some point
• Life lesson is taught
• Filmed with simple techniques; no flashy cinematography
• Personal approach
• Involve the past
• Simple plot, not difficult to understand
• usually promoted in a non-flashy way

*I divided this question into four sections to make sure I would answer each aspect

Use conventions:
My film would basically fit every one of these aspects. It consists of a girl who just turned 18, and she aspires to be a groupie. The main character in the film, would learn a life lesson involving themes of sexuality, the music industry, and the way women are perceived in the world of groupies. No special or flashy ways of filming and editing would be used. As it is a film that takes place in the 90s, the shots would resemble old photographs, or still images, with very little camera movement and structured composition. The plot would obviously be simple: she wants to be a groupie and "complications" occur. It isn't anything too twisted or difficult to understand, like a sci-fi or thriller film. Just like any film that involves any kind of rock music, my film would have the constant theme of music, and visuals that go with it, like characters singing along and scenes of live concerts.

Challenge conventions:
The way that my film would challenge conventions would be the fact that there is no glamorized portrayal of what being a groupie is like. Throughout the film, Maia would come to understand that the idea she has of what being a groupie is like, is completely different to the reality of a groupie's life. Coming of age films often have to do with family issues. In my film I would mostly focus on her relationship with the music industry. It would be her against the world of rock music and bands, rather than family issues and such.

Representation of social groups:
Now let's talk representation. So as my film takes place in the past, I had to do research on what life was like. And of course, the whole groupie thing. The only social group I will be representing in the intro, would be an angsty teen in the 90s. A good example? Kat from 10 Things I Hate About You, or Debra from Empire Records. Maia, the main character would represent girls in the 90s who only listened to bands and did nothing else besides worshiping them. Up to the point where they wanted to get involved with them sexually. When it comes to the entire film, the dominating social group would be people from the music industry in the 90s, when grunge rock was the most prevalent genre, but R&B was on the rise as well. Both sides of these people would be represented: the glorified version where they are inspired 24/7, make excellent music and have good relationships and live shows, while also showing their messed up side. We all know what I mean by this.

Representation of issues:
The main issue that the main character would encounter in the film, would have to do with facing the reality of a groupie, as stated before. She only sees the wow factors of what groupies do: sleep with the band and tour with them. For free. What she doesn't know, is that the music industry is rampantly sexist, and these artists of course, experience tough difficulties throughout their careers. I've personally seen a few of my favorite bands live, and seeing them onstage is a breathtaking feeling; they all look extremely talented and motivated to perform, putting on a phenomenal show, everyone singing along to every single verse of a song, screaming, shouting, and praising their idols. The truth is, while off-stage, these people are real human beings, and the pressure of their careers can really get to them. We've seen all of the legends die in tragic situations. We've seen many of them turn into drugs, them turning their life around for the worst. We've seen them breaking up forever, while claiming they're "only taking a break". As I read on one of the articles while researching, groupies' experiences of getting involved with band members, can be great, and you have a stronger attachment to someone you truly admire. But at the same time, these women could be seen as nothing more than coping mechanisms, or sex toys, which was a big issue back then and is still an issue nowadays, despite the global growth of feminism in the media. If the film was set now, I feel like normally the women in the film would have much more power. As feminism wasn't prevalent in the 90s as it is now, I would like to challenge the role of women. Maia would at first be naive when it comes to this unknown world, but participating in it would open her mind and make her a stronger woman, learning how to deal with a sexist industry and toxic masculinity.

A new and improved storyboard

Here's the new shot list:

1. (insert production company name here) Presents
2. A film by Sophie Diebold
3. BARELY LEGAL
4. Several close-up shots of posters (no specific number)
5. close up shot of electric guitar
6. Shot of record playing
7. Shot of boots she'll be wearing
8. shot of flier next to $7 and bottle caps
9. shot of cigarette box sitting on nightstand
10. shot of back of subject undressing from the shoulders up
11. shot of pile of clothing where t-shirt lands
12. pan up mid shot of subject putting on a new shirt (this is where her face is introduced)
13. Several shots of dialogue (her looking at herself in the mirror while rehearsing what she would say)
14. mid-shot of her looking at the mirror while honking of horn is heard in the background
15. shot of her peeking through the curtains to see outside, and then rushing off
16. shot of her hand turning off the record player (music stops)
17.  shot of her hand grabbing the boots
18. shot of her hand grabbing the band flier
19. shot of her opening the door, leaving the room, and shutting it
20. shot of her coming back into her room
21. closeup shot of her grabbing the cigarettes off her nightstand
22. shot of her leaving the room and shutting the door

Notes:

• When she turns off the record player, the music will stop in the background, as it will be diegetic sound. However, I am not sure if I should include that shot before she grabs everything, or after, so the music still plays until the very last moment when she leaves
• Once the honking starts, it will still be heard continuously in the background, to indicate that the person picking her up is in a hurry
• shots 19, 20, and 22 will be one continuous shot, and I will edit in shot 21.

Nevermind (Filming day 1)

It's not Sunday. I got too excited.

It's Thursday, March 14th at 9:56. My room has a subtle light coming from this light bulb lamp. I've decided to start filming the first establishing shots. Everything is messy and I'm moving things around just to get the right lighting and composition. I am attempting to control lighting with a desk lamp, the light from my closet, and the small light bulb thing from my nightstand, that I've placed on a chair.

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So my aim today was to get as many shots as I could for the very beginning: the "establishing" shots of the room, which are the posters, photographs, and guitars. The lamp below is the weird light bulb thing I used, and I love the kind of warm low-key light that it gives to my room, so I thought it would look great in the scene to illuminate the posters in a very subtle way, indicating that it's night time.

 This is my view from behind the camera^





In the middle of filming a couple of shots, I often noticed that the wall composition was a bit off at times. So I changed things up:

I also wanted to shoot the band flier sitting on the desk. But then I realized something. I had a moment of epiphany. I'll try to explain it:

So I was thinking that the establishing shot of the flier, would then appear again later on in the opening exactly the same way, but this time it would be a shot of the character grabbing the piece of paper off the desk when she has to leave, so the audience can make the connection. I also mentioned in the storyboard, that I would include a shot of her turning off the record player right before she leaves, and I decided that I should also include an establishing shot of the record player, so the audience could also make the connection with that. 

Hopefully this made sense. I will make another new and improved storyboard over the weekend, and post about it. 

Also, this is the flier for the band I made. I think it turned out to look really authentic:

(This is also a little bit like what the actual shot will look like. To not show the flier by itself and show some clutter, I added the money that she would take for the ticket, and a couple of bottle caps I found laying around.)

A very really extreme room makeover

So I gathered all of these:

To do this:

(Everyone loves a good old montage. So here's one of me attempting to fill my room with posters, and ending up with a mediocre result. Also, as you may tell, the masking tape gave me a hard time.)

Here's a more detailed look of what my walls ended up looking like:

I searched for old stickers, patches, odd pieces of art and posters I had laying around my room and stuffed in the deep depths of drawers. I even printed out some. And it still. Isn't. Enough.
Either way, the shots of the posters I'll be including, will be close-up shots. So the empty spaces around really don't matter. Hopefully.

I also ~edited~ the two shelves on the wall and placed some VHS tapes, a pair of headphones, and old film camera and a bunch of trinkets and decorations. It ended up looking like this:

I plan to include close up shots of all these things with a structured composition, but at the same time showing some kind of messiness through the posters. So the room is ready to go! I plan to start filming some of these shots this Sunday. 

It's all about ~the look~

There is no specific ways of dressing up as a groupie from the 90s. Groupies would wear somewhat revealing clothing, because the whole thing about sexuality was important to them; they aimed to get involved with band members . I would like to incorporate the whole punk and grunge movement in my film, and there is no better way to do this than getting inspiration from the legend himself: Kurt Cobain (and Courtney).

This couple always portrayed their angst through a slovenly appearance, showing up to prestigious events in ripped jeans and messy hair. 90s grunge fashion was all about being messy, and using neutral dark colors with heavy makeup.

Also, the iconic mini plaid skirt was seen all over the place. It was present in films such as Empire Records or Clueless.

For my character's outfit, I was thinking something along the lines of a mini plaid skirt, a simple tank top, a colored bra with straps that show, and a pair of chunky boots. I want to portray the idea that she's naive towards what being a groupie is like, so I don't want her outfit to be too groupie-like or too revealing, but at the same time be a little edgy and a little revealing, indicating that she aspires to be one.

This is what I came up with (excuse how awkward my arms look)

So luckily, I had this simple plaid skirt and tank top laying around in my closet, which could perfectly fit and represent the character.