Finding a location was difficult

      Location scouting has been one of the most difficult things I have been dealing with so far this entire project. I have been very set on wanting to make this story take place in a urban looking area and show how that effects the characters. Originally when coming up with the film opening script and storyboard I wanted to tell the story at a high school. I thought that would be a way to show the students ages through their surrounding, but also try to get a more run down looking school (based off of statistics I found about low income areas and the effects it has on schools). After calling several private and public schools in low income areas to ask for permission to film on their campus, they would tell me they were not able to allow me on campus; mainly because of the tragedy that has happened lately in Florida, which is understandable. This had lead me back to the drawing board, to think of a new way of give a similar representation of my original idea.

       It hit me, why not just go to Miami! I decided to just show them in their "environment", and show their characters through different activities they do. Their are different sections to Miami so I decided to pick a place I felt more familiar with, Wynwood. I originally went to get a permit to film in Wynwood (assuming that's what I would be legally obligated to do) but after discussing a money insurance issue that came up while applying for the license, I was informed that if I did not require any help from any sort of officials (such as police to stop traffic or something) then I wouldn't need a permit. I decided to then stop trying to get a permit and just finalize my storyboard/script to match these new found rules (which wasn't hard cause I didn't plan on doing anything majorly complicated needing that assistance anyway). Since Amelia has a hard working personality, I thought it would be cool to show her physically going to work. This still gave me the perfect opportunity to have the characters bump into each other that way.
      Going off of that, I knew of a restaurant next to a dance studio where I go for jobs and training (I work as a freelance dancer and videographer) called Jacky's Cafe (they are a small, kinda rugid, Cuban restaurant). I called them about three times to ask about permission to film in their location. Why did I call three times to confirm this you may ask? Well funny story. The first time I called was the previous Saturday; a women picked up and I told her who I was and asked if I could film at her location and before I could tell her details she says ok then hangs up. Yesterday I called earlier in the day to again confirm since she had hung up so abruptly. I again told her who I was and asked if I could film this Saturday after 3:30 pm (because it works best for my actors schedules). This woman said wait, passes me to (who I assume is her boss). I start speaking and this new women seem to be having trouble understanding me, so I ask her (in spanish) if she would like me to speak in spanish (becaused I assumed since it was a Cuban restaurant she may be more fluent in spanish) and I heard a sign on the phone and she hang up. I really was hoping I didn't offend her, and I called one more time because I was honestly quite confused. Now for the third time I say who I am and give them specifics about when I would like to film and ask if its ok, a different fourth women says yes, and hangs up immediately. At this point I'm still a little confused but I am going to go film there anyway because I believe it is fine. I am nervous and excited for Saturday so wish me good luck!

That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!

Source:

- (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2018, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cce.asp

 -  Income Miami [PDF]. (n.d.).

https://www.miamidade.gov/business/library/reports/2013-income-poverty.pdf

     Gif 

     -  G. (2018, February 06). Disney Facepalm GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY. Retrieved March 8, 2018, from https://giphy.com/gifs/queue-facepalm-embarassed-pW4avUcSxtA08

Storyboard and Script are complete

      I finally chose a movie title! And the movie will be called ...... Lost and Found! 

      Now I know it may seem odd but let me tell y'all why I decided this title. As you know from my second posting, Chris is suppose to be relaxed but still shy. He has an average life but I want him to feel a little troubled because he doesn't feel complete, at least until Amelia and him start dating. Visa versa with Amelia realizes she is loosing out on life until she gets close to Chris. The title is suppose to show how they both seem lost until they find each other (I know its cheesy but I still like it).

 

      It took me a while but I drew out a storyboard and wrote out my script! I personally prefer storyboards over scripts just because I like seeing what I'm suppose to do, but I made a script for the actors so it would be easier for them to understand. If you wanna check it out, here ya go! I am ecstatic to see the final product of this film opening, and so is my team!

That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!

Sources 

Gif  - G. (2015, April 15). Thank You Gif GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from https://giphy.com/gifs/disney-gif-thank-you-yay-1GoIA7mq5joha

Script and Storyboard - https://drive.google.com/file//1slZDFqNHG99GRpfvF6SwHqPBQyeolcY1/view

Meet the actors

     After my character development post, I went on a search for the perfect actors (while along the way also getting some pretty awesome crew members). For Chris I wanted to make sure that the person acting matched the physical characteristics that I was looking for (details on my second post) and could pull off the shy, artistic vibe. I chose my friend Nicolas Alvarado, and in all honesty when I first thought of this character I imagined him playing it because he is artistic and goofy.
      Similar in importance, I went through a thought process picking out a Amelia (that's the final name for the main female). It was a tough decision because I was in between two friends of mine who are actually professional actors and both would have been great matches for the character's personality. I proceeded to ask both of them some questions on Monday about the role, their interest in the project and their availability. I realized shortly after that Noelle Ramsay is the perfect fit.

     I have been working on a script and story board on the film opening, that I will release soon! When working on it though I realized that even though I wanted to start with a narrative VO (voice over), I still wanted some sort of dialogue to appear. I decided to show at the end of the film opening, Amelia will be shown as hard working by going to her job. I wanted the narrative VO to end with either a boss or a co-worker. This seemed like the best opportunity to add in a funny best friend to an another interesting character to basically use to reveal more about Amelia. I was thinking to make the character more realistic to the Miami population, it would be good to make this character (I'm calling her Maria) hispanic, a sophomore in high school and a female (to show the different bond they have in comparison to Chris and Amelia, but how they are still close). My friend Alyssa Wheelock, who is an actor for the schools drama program, was more than happy to participate.
     For extra help I also recruited my freshman friend Dean Milen to bring his camera to get different angles so we would not have to do many retakes for technical purposes. I have now gotten in contact with my entire team and explained the plan so that I could release the finalized schedule to you guys!

 That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!

Sources:

- Merry, S. (2016, October 06). The many types of romantic-comedy best friends. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-many-types-of-romantic-comedy-best-friends/2016/10/06/8f6a49fc-85b6-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html

(I understand the article supports rom-coms rather than drama but I believe it still makes valid points I can use in the development of best friend characters) 

 Gif
     - (n.d.). doi:https://giphy.com/gifs/disney-pixar-toy-story-140ObFj9MRjRIc

Romance Drama "Needs"

     Schedule

     -  https://docs.google.com/document/d/139giCiqdTDzP5bw8x-K0cY8ZVXuslHF80DpE0-g7FfY/edit?usp=sharing

Movie idea finalized

     I have finalized what the general plot of the full movie would be! I spent all day watching trailers, film opening and full movies trying to finalize some details.
     The movie starts off in the streets of Miami, Florida, introducing the main characters, revealing each's personalities separately.  We learn that Chris (our main male character) is an aspiring artist who wants to get more out of life. He feels somewhat dissatisfied with his life because it just feels like its missing something (or to later find out someone). After meeting Chris we bump into (literally) Angelica/Analis (I don't know which name I want yet). We find out she has always faced challenges in her life trying to throw her off her path of becoming an architect. She is so hung up with getting out of Miami and growing up, she realizes after meeting Chris, she is missing out on some of the best years of her life. They meet as sophomore and junior in high school, and become the closest friends. Going on fun adventures and being with each other through some life changing moments for each other they grow closer. Through this all they end up falling in love with each other and being exactly what they have been missing in their lives for each other.

     Before I came to this conclusion, I watched When Harry met Sally,  and The End of the F****** World ; studying how they went about with story telling styles. I think the use of multiperspectivity in the first episode of The End of the F****** World gave the audience the opportunity to see the main characters as individuals to show a contrast to when they became a couple. I also believe that with a similar use of time cutting like in When Harry met Sally, you can fall in love with the characters separately, and understand later on problems they face when being a couple.
    I didn't just research movies that dealt with story plot though; I watched different bits and pieces of the movies Mulan and Stranger than Fiction to study editing and animation techniques that I could potentially use. Since I was a little girl I have always loved Mulan, especially the films score and painting introduction into the movie. Stranger then Fiction in my opinion is not a good movie, but I do have to say the precision of detail, especially in editing, is definitely something worth ripping out of their books. Using similar techniques, I would like to use an animated drawing technique for the main male character (but probably something more along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies rather than Mulan so that they look more like sketches than paintings) to show his artistic ability, and use a similar pop up statistics graphic for my main female character.
     You may have noticed but I still have one dilemma, I'm terrible at names! Much like Nora Ephron, I am finding it immensely challenging to think of a title for my movie! Hopefully I can figure it out by my next posting.

That's a Rapp on this posting, till next time!

Sources:

- George, K. (2018, February 22). High School Personality Stereotypes From The 90s. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/182205-11-high-school-personality-stereotypes-from-the-90s
- When Harry Met Sally... (1989). (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098635/
- The End of the F***ing World (TV Series 2017– ). (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6257970/
- Mulan (1998). (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/
- Stranger Than Fiction (2006). (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010). (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196141/
   Gif
   - Meyers, L. M. (2014, July 13). Why When Harry Met Sally . . . Is the Perfect Romantic Comedy. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/When-Harry-Met-Sally-GIFs-35218481