Portfolio Project

SWATCH

Monday, March 27, 2017

So I just finished up making/buying all of the props that I'll be working with throughout my production. Here they are:

These are the tangible credits for my film! As you can see, the 'music by' paint swatch is still pending (since I'm not sure what music I'll be using yet). Also, the 'directed by' swatch is repeated , because I'm not sure which color I'll end up using. I don't think I'll include all of these, only three or four.

I also decided to make the title a tangible object, which I printed onto a paint can. The worker will pull down the paint onto the counter, and there will be a close up shot of the can displaying the name. I also used the same Futura font that I used in the credits, and I will probably use it again in the poster I plan to make for the film.

Today I also put together what Daniel will wear in the film. As I said before, I wanted my main character clothing all of the same color. I recently decided I want him to wear all yellow, since it matches the bicycle he rides and I like what the color represents (imagination, knowledge, dishonesty, etc.). Turns out it's nearly impossible to find yellow pants... I did however find a mustard-y yellow shirt which I think will be worn with black jeans and black shoes, along with yellow socks. Also, I bought the ski mask he will be wearing in one of the scenes.

It was also really hard to find high yellow socks at a store (since I don't have time to order online), so i decided to improvise:

Yea so basically I had to tie-dye some old white socks in order to complete Daniel's outfit. I'll post pictures of the full outfit when the socks are rinsed and ready!

xx Maria

Filming Details

Sunday, March 26, 2017

In my media class the other day I was freaking out because I didn't know how to mount my camera for my film production. + my teacher had already lent out her tripods to other students.... However, I had to stay in school to meet with my art club officer board, and a gift was sent to me from the heavens. As I went into the closet to grab some wire we needed for a project, I spotted 5/6 tripods on the top shelf. My eyes lit up and I asked my sponsor if I could borrow it for the weekend! Thankfully, she agreed and even taught me about all the features it includes.

The tripod is perfect for all the my shots that only require panning and tilting rather than moving the camera itself. However, when I do plan to move the camera around, I'm going to attach the tripod to a rolling chair.

Also, GREAT NEWS! I was finally granted permission to film at Lowes, which is a nice setting for my production. I went ahead and did a sort of sample film, a kind of rough-draft for it. However, there are still some MAJOR details I need to work out.

I went ahead and grabbed some color samples to print the titles onto... Need the titles in order to film. I'm thinking about making the font Futura, as it is one Wes Anderson includes in the credits of almost all of his films. This article further explains his choice amongst many others.
I need a Tangible object for my movie title to be shown... By the way, I don't think I fully mentioned what I want the title to be, but I think I want it to be "SWATCH" (for paint swatch, of course). Anyway, I want the name to appear on a paint can and it to be emphasized when the paint can is placed down onto the counter.
Clothing! As I said before, I want my main character to be dressed from head-to-toe in the same color. On the previous 'Lowes!' post I analyzed some color psychology to help me with my choice. I think I want either yellow or orange, as they can emphasize youthfulness, humor, vibrancy, knowledge, imagination, etc. (click here for the Lowes blog post)
Besides my homemade rolling chair camera mount, I also need to bring another large item with me: the trademark yellow bike. My main character will arrive to the paint store in this bike, and since it is yellow it also represents similar elements to the clothing.

The paint swatches I took from Lowes to print the titles onto.

The beautiful tripod!

xx Maria

Lowes!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

I went to Lowes today (again) to check if the manager would let me film in their store. I actually like the setting so much more than Home Depot, especially since there's less people, it has a cooler color scheme, and the decoration is more simplistic. I was told to come back tomorrow since the store manager wasn't there, so HOPEFULLY by then I will receive good news. I also took some sample pictures and edited them:

Here I have some of the warm colors shown in the paint section. I want the color of my main actor's clothing to all be the same, but have a deeper meaning behind it. Here are what some warm colors represent:

Red: anger, passion, rage, desire, excitement, energy, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence
Pink: love, innocence, healthy, happy, content, romantic, charming, playfulness, soft, delicate, feminine
Orange: humor, energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant
Yellow: wisdom, knowledge, relaxation, joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard

On the other side, here are some of the cool colors they have. Here are what some of them represent:

Blue: faith, spirituality, contentment, loyalty, fulfillment peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, sky, water, cold, technology, depression
Green: healing, soothing, perseverance, tenacity, self-awareness, proud, unchanging nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, vigour, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy
Purple: erotic, royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning, power, sensitive, intimacy

Above is the wall I would want to use in one of the main scenes of my film. This wall is perfect for what I want: continuous and very colorful (including both warm/cool colors).

This is a sample picture of the specific color palette I would like to maintain throughout each scene. Since the wall includes a variety of colors, it will be hard to narrow down similar hues, but I think I will filter my shots to make them warmer/cooler depending on my preference.

I'm going to revisit the store tomorrow, and hopefully they will allow me to film my favorite wall!!!

xx Maria

Citations:

Fusco, J. (2016, June 24). Watch: The Psychology of Color in Film. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://nofilmschool.com/2016/06/watch-psychology-color-film

Quick Updates

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

So today I decided to be productive and revisit Sherwin Williams, Home Depot, and Lowes for my filming location. I also sorted thorough my email to see if any of the bands responded to me about using their music.

Two good things happened today:

Heard back from Spirit Ghost! They're allowing me to use their song Youth in a Garden as long as I credit them in the beginning titles and share their Facebook page. Not sure if I'll end up using the song but it's a good start!
Home Depot is allowing me to film in the store!

However, I still have a couple of things to worry about:

Sherwin Williams isn't letting me film at their store, but I still have Home Depot just in case.
I haven't heard back from the rest of the bands!!!

I'll keep updating my blog to make sure everything will continue to run semi-smoothly, but for now, that's what's happening! Also, I'm filming this weekend so I'll post more about that soon.

xx Maria

SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Throughout the rest of this week, I need to hear back from each person I contacted previously (music and filming locations) before I have to contact them again. I also am planning on doing a sample film before this Thursday, which I will post. I also need to order each character's outfit and have all my props together for my filming weekend.

CLOTHING

Daniel's clothing: matching color shirt and pants + skii mask
Jay's clothing: matching color shirt and pants + white apron

I'm planning on filming sometime during the evening, around 5/6. I don't want it to be THAT bright outside, and I'm also thinking about incorporating a scene during a sunset. I'll elaborate further when I continue my storyboard!

xx Maria

Storytime ~

Sunday, March 19, 2017

OK! here is the post you have all been waiting for: my film's story. I want to make my story weird and artistic, including some elements of drama and comedy. I also want the main focus of my film to be about robberies, putting it under the crime genre (even though I don't want the crimes to be looked at as seriously, rather humorously).

I want my film to reflect my own interest in the art world while still making it an engaging story for the audience. So far, this is the main story:

Daniel, a boy from a small town in California, always grew up doing bad things. Ever since he discovered a lighter and had an everlasting obsession with lighting things on fire, it has gone downhill from there. After multiple expulsions from school and trouble with the police, his parents give him an opportunity to straighten out in High School before kicking him out of the house. Unfortunately, the offer didn't last too long. After trying to stay out of trouble for about 3 years, he meets Jay, a girl who would completely change his perspective on things. Jay is a reflection of everything Daniel wants to be. She's just as rebellious as he once was; maybe even more. Daniel and Jay become inseperable, and begin to do all sorts of crazy things together. However, they aren't involved romantically, strictly being friends (almost like a brother-sister relationship).

**This part of the film would be very brief, more like a flashback**

Daniel and Jay are now in their early 20s, and it's been a while since they dropped out of school. They own an art studio together in a random warehouse in Miami, where they have been living ever since. For the last couple years or so, they've continued to execute their biggest scheme of all. Daniel steals paint from different stores around the area, and Jay paints a canvas with only a line of one color he steals. They then go to different art museums around the country, and plant them on fake display. The whole idea is a statement on how sometimes the "abstract" elements of contemporary art may be more analyzed than they should.

As they continue to do this, the whole story is a roller coaster of trying not to get caught and the media trying to find the anonymous artist(s). Daniel makes sure never to repeat a single color, and they both always go to different stores and museums throughout the entire film.

As you can probably tell, my story is still very new and still developing. I'm going to post about each character and describe them a bit further, that way the story gains more depth. I'll also continue to add on to the plot, adding more details associated with the humor, other people involved, and maybe even some romance.

The first two minutes of my film are meant to establish the setting and introduce the main characters. I want to include a paint store and their studio, as well as Daniel and Jay introducing their main roles portrayed throughout the story. I've made a digital storyboard to visually put together what I have in mind:

(From top left to bottom right) The bike pulls up close to the camera and stops. The camera is then shifted a front angle, and the rider gets off and locks his bike in place. Notice how his head isn't shown throughout these scenes, cropping the composition. He then walks to the left as the camera pans until he reaches the door, and then it stays still as he walks in and the doors shut.

He goes into the store. the Camera follows him from the back, placing the subject in the middle making the shot symmetrical. He walks down aisles in the store. The camera then tilts to his feet, and you see paint cans on aisles surrounding him. It then switches back to a front angle of him approaching the paint swatch wall, and he observes (the camera is still cropping out his head).

He then begins to pick out paint swatches, which have the titles on them (directed by.. written by...). These shots will be extreme close ups of only the hand grabbing the paint samples.

The subject then walks off to the right (or towards the camera, haven't decided), and it the camera switches to an over the shoulder shot of a person standing behind a counter. The man approaches the counter, and the camera tilts up. The man is then revealed with a ski mask on, and he says "Give me the paint" to the worker.

For now, that is all I have planned for the story. I'm going to add more, including Daniel leaving the store and an introduction to Jay and the studio. Also, I'll work on my sketches a little more!!

xx Maria

Oh no

Saturday, March 18, 2017

So I decided to go to Home Depot, Lowes, and Sherwin Williams today (a local paint store) to ask the managers if I could film in their stores. I want the setting of my film to be in a hardware store, since the whole plot is based on that (I'll explain my entire story in detail in the next post... don't worry). Anyway, I gave the managers my contact information and I'm waiting on them to get back to me with permission to film. However, I also wanted to go to these locations to get a "feel" of what it would be like. I'm not sure if it matches exactly what I have in mind, since I want it to be a more clean and artistic; hardware stores don't exactly fit that description. But in order to fully see if my chosen location is appropriate, I'm going to film some samples this weekend and see what I can do with camera techniques and editing (I'll post the samples too).

Here are some pictures I took at Home Depot:

I feel like there is an EXCESSIVE

amount of orange, but obviously, its Home

Depot. There are also signs/ads

everywhere, which I'm not sure will take

away from the central idea of my film.

This is just one section of the paint aisle in Home Depot. I don't like how there's not really a longer wall of paint selection of continuous paint swatches. It'll be difficult to make it symmetrical.

This is a close-up of the paint swatches. I

actually like the name "SWATCH" for the

film... but for now it's just a developing

idea. This is the background I want for a

certain part of my film. Hopefully I can

find a location with a more continuous

wall. I also gathered some samples to

test out the kind of font I want to display

the titles.

Overall, I'm not sure if I want this to be my filming location, but I'll explore each option a bit further to narrow it down. Check out my next post for a sneak peek of the story, that way it will be easier to visualize. I'll also be sure to post an update once the managers get back to me!

xx Maria

Portfolio Project

SWATCH

Filming Details

Lowes!

Quick Updates

SCHEDULE

Storytime ~

Oh no

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