Creative Critical Reflection

Final Project

Here it is! My Final Project! Click the link below for the opening to "The Divide".

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2f9b_s41R3hbTR1NWRTa2RqQ1E/view?usp=sharing

Adjustments to Music and Company Logo

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get permission to use the song "Mi Primer Millon" by Bacilos in my project. So instead I decided to use music from the royalty free website bensound.com. I am using the track called "Beyond the Line", click here for the link to my license to use it. With this license I do not need to include the song in the credits of my film so I will mention it only in the description of the video. This song is upbeat just like the one I originally intended to use and it compliments the tone of my piece.

On another note, I made an adjustment to my logo for the company "Belizean Productions Inc.". It will now be simply "Belizean Productions" and the new logo is below. I made this change because "Belizean Productions" is more straightforward and by adding the word "incorporated" the title became a bit redundant. I edited this logo on the website canva.com.

"Start Designing." Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.

"ROYALTY FREE MUSIC by BENSOUND." Royalty Free Music by Bensound. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.

"Bacilos - Mi Primer Millon (Official Music Video)." Youtube. Youtube, 26 Oct. 2009. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.

Logo

I have finalized the names of the "companies" that created my movie. One of them is "Chebat Media" like the URL of this blog and the other is "Belizean Productions Incorporated". I chose two companies so that my film would look more professional and realistic. Besides that, showing that many companies are interested in working on this movie shows that the story is an important one to cover. I created logo's that will show up at the beginning of my film as all companies do with their movies. For the "Chebat Media" logo I wanted to express creativity in cinematography. When I though of creativity I thought of abstract thinking so I chose an abstract painting as the background for my logo. For "Belizean Productions Incorporated" I chose to use a picture of the great blue hole that is found in Belize. It is a very famous landmark of that land and it shows patriotism within the company. Besides that I used to live there so I wanted to bring another piece of me into this film.

"Helene Messier, Symphonie (Symphony)." Http://www.saatchiart.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

Hoover, Pierce. "Into The Blue: Best Snorkel Sites in Belize." Tropixtraveler.com. N.p., 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

"Start Designing." Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Character Change

I have decided to change who the character Alejandra is in my story. In my original idea, she was a housewife who took care of chores along with the help that she hired. But within all the films that I took she ends up looking more like one of the help than she does a housewife. Therefore by separating her from the family that my characters are in I will present her as a housekeeper in my film. This will still aid me in expressing income inequality as a main character, Alejandra, will be a window into the world of poverty in Mexico. Besides that, the contrast that will be found in my film between these characters will help express awareness about income inequality. Her full name will be Alejandra Gongora meanwhile the teenage boy is Marco Villanueva and his grandfather Gustavo Villanueva. The other characters have not changed.

Movie Poster

I am extremely excited to post the first completed part of my project! Here is the poster for my film!

At the center near the top of the poster is the title of the film: "The Divide". Directly above it there is one of the film's tagline "based on true circumstances". At the very top of the poster in small letters are the names of the stars of the film Maria De La Luz, Sebastien Chebat and Abraham Farah. At the bottom it says directed, produced, written and edited by Julienne Chebat and then it has the movies website which is a link to my blog. Yay! 

Characters

For my story I have three main characters that will be introduced in the first two minutes. They are the grandfather, Gustavo, his daughter Alejandra and her son Marco. 

Gustavo:

Gustavo is Alejandra's father and he is the main supporter of the family. Through the several franchises that he owns of grocery stores he has managed to create an extremely comfortable living for himself and his family. In this picture he is sitting down working in his summer home in the pueblo Bacalar. This is where the story takes place and it is where his entire family spends time during the summer and other vacation times throughout the year.

                                                                                    Alejandra:  
                                                                                                                                                   

Alejandra is Gustavo's daughter and she is a house wife because she has no need to have a job. She spends her days concerned with the typical things that housewives take care of such as cooking and cleaning. Although these activities do not take up much time in her days because help is very cheap in Mexico, she still choses to engage in these activities in order to keep herself busy.


Marco:

Marco is Alejandra's son and Gustavo's grandson. He is a very carefree teenager as he has been given a very worry free and luxurious life at birth. For this character I want to show the level of satisfaction that he finds in life. I showed him playing soccer as this sport makes him extremely happy and he has plenty of time to indulge in hobbies such as this one.

Income Inequality Research

The topic of economic inequality has interested me for a couple months now as I've become more exposed to it. I first began to understand this topic by watching different vlogbrothers videos on youtube such as "Is the American Dream Real?". These aided me in better understanding this topic and led me to start seeing the effects of this around me. It also taught me that income inequality is very complicated and that it is affected by several factors, one including healthcare which John Green talks about in the video "Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care Reform".

But, when I went to Mexico for spring break I realized that the effects of income inequality were much more evident than they are in the United States. Bacalar is the "pueblo" in which I spent my vacation. The word "pueblo" means town or village and I will be referring to Bacalar as that for the rest of my blog posts because it is more authentic to the setting than the english word is. In this pueblo the buildings were small, grungy, in need of being painted and had metal roofing. These homes made up the majority of the inland of the pueblo as the land there is cheap and can be afforded by the locals. On the coast of Bacalar, where the lagoon begins, the wealthy have their homes. I took footage of many of these homes and several of them were extravagant. There were several homes with more than two stories and that took up large spaces of land. Additionally, these houses had docks in which boats and jet skis were parked. These are luxuries that only the rich can afford. 

The purpose of my project is not to try and make the wealthy look bad. There is nothing wrong with having money and using it to buy things that you will enjoy. The purpose of my piece is to bring attention to the lifestyles of people on both sides of the economic scale and express that there needs to be something done to allow more people to be able to live on the coast and less in the pueblo. Unfortunately Mexico has been a country of income inequality for nearly all of its history. In 1811 Alexander Von Humbold wrote "Mexico is the country of inequality. Nowhere does there exist such a fearful difference in the distribution of fortune, civilization, cultivation of the soil, and population. …The architecture of the public and private edifices, the elegance of the furniture, the equipages, the luxury and dress of the women, the tone of society, all announce a refinement to which the nakedness, ignorance, and vulgarity of the lower people form the most striking contrast.". This quote can still be applied to the current state of Mexico as income inequality is a major problem. 

Humboldt, Alexander von (1811) Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, Vol.1, translation by John Black, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown.

"John Green - Author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines." John Green RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

Krozer, Alice, and Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid. "Newsletters." World Economics Association. World Economics Association, 05 Nov. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

Vlogbrothers. "Bigger Pizzas: A Capitalist Case for Health Care Reform." YouTube. YouTube, 03 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

Vlogbrothers. "Is the American Dream Real?" YouTube. YouTube, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

Story Board

Because I've finished filming my project, I thought I would share my storyboard with you all. This page shows the succession of scenes for the beginning of my film. The first scene that is on the top left is a shot of leaves on a tree from a low angle. My idea was to have the camera out of focus, start filming, and then focus on the trees to create a focus pull like effect as the first shot of my film. Then the camera tilts downwards as indicated by the arrows and it shows the lagoon that is under the tree in the second frame of the storyboard. Luckily, I was able to pull off this scene and it looks very visually interesting.  After that I want to show one of the affluent homes on the lagoon side to best introduce the setting of my film. During this scene the boat that I was on was moving so the scene will be moving as well which is indicated by the arrows. Then in the fourth box there is a boat passing which I chose because it best represents the luxurious lives of the people in this village as they can go out on their boats whenever they want to. Then another shot of affluent homes to aid the audience in understanding the large sum of finances that belong to these people. Then a shot of people riding on a jet ski through the water. So far I like this for the first thirty seconds of my film. I will begin to show character after the first minute of the piece.

Song

For my film I want the song “Mi Primer Millon” by Bacilos to play. This song is about wanting to be rich and to have enough money to live life without worries. The artist says in the song that he wants to create a catchy song that will play on the radio so that he can make his first million dollars. This song is very suiting to my film as it is about how wealth and lack thereof affects people. Besides that, it is a song sung in Spanish and my film takes place in Mexico. Therefore this song is the perfect match for my piece both culturally and thematically. 

"Bacilos - Mi Primer Millon (Official Music Video)." Youtube. Youtube, 26 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Toys of the Rich

I began filming a couple of days ago and I took a shot of two boats and a jet skit parked by a dock. I really love this shot and I enjoyed filming it because it will be a very useful addition to my film as it will help express the wealth of the family in my piece. Besides this shot, I still need to film affluent homes around the lagoon and also poor homes around the inland. My film opening is going to be filled with the contrast made by the two which will help me create one of the conflicts of the film which is the way that the unequal distribution of wealth affects people and their society. I have already shot one of my introductions for a character in this piece, a teenage boy. In the scene he is playing soccer and I made this decision because I wanted to show this characters happiness and one of the hobbies that he engages in. I still have left to film two other characters which I believe will be the mother and father of the little boy. For the mother I want to depict her relaxing and unencumbered by any worries. This will show that because of the great amount of wealth that she has she needs not to worry about anything, she doesn't even need to have a job. A picture of the scene with the toys of the rich is below. 

Plans: Updated

I have finalized my plans for this film. It is going to be called “The Divide”. I chose this name because my piece is going to focus on the unequal distribution of wealth among people and how it affects them. I am currently in a village located around a lagoon called Bacalar. It is in Mexico and this is where my piece will be taking place. I was inspired by this setting because the income inequality is very evident here as the village is made up of both wealthy Mexicans who can build summer homes by the water and poor locals who can only afford real estate on the inland. The characters in my film will be part of one of the wealthy households. I will introduce the story through setting as I plan to show different wealthy homes around the lagoon in contrast to the houses that are less affluent. I will also be introducing characters as they engage in certain aspects of their lives. For example, one of the sons of the family will be introduced playing football. Through this I will be able to create a strong introduction to my piece, its focus and all of the characters. Below is a sample picture of the setting for my film that I took. 

Plans

For my film I've decided that it is going to be about a family and where they live. Because this project is only an introduction to a film, I will be introducing each character individually with clues in the scene to let audiences know what they are like. I think that the family in this movie is going to consist of a mother, father and son. I may chose to add more characters to the piece as I go along but for now I am happy with only three. I don't want to focus only on characterization for my piece as I want setting to be a large part of my film as well. The setting will largely impact my characters and I want the that to be the focus of my piece. That is why it would be best for the opening to be a smooth succession of character scenes vs. setting. I want to allow my scenes to seamlessly combine although they are different in nature. This upcoming week I will start filming the setting scenes. For the setting I am trying to capture a struggling neighborhood. I plan to film buildings that are still in construction, older broken houses that would typically be a part of a poorer neighborhood. This will allow me to introduce the idea that the place in which my characters live has an effect on them.  Below is a picture that gives an idea of the kind of building that I want to have in my piece. This one is not old or broken but it does tell about the kind of neighborhood that it is in. The grass is not trimmed and there are leaves that have not been raked in front of the concrete. These unpolished details are typically present in poor neighborhoods. Therefore, by filming in a setting like this one I will be able to show the world in which my characters live. 

"MS, Lower Class House, Los Angeles, California, USA." Gettyimages. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.

Brightness

Today I re-watched the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. It was a very entertaining movie as it was filled with action, quality sound and beautiful scenery. The gorgeous setting of the film aided this movie in being very visually appealing. Some of the most attractive feature of the visuals in this film were the bright, stinging colors. Throughout the piece there was a kaleidoscope of attractive colors such as the orange of the desert, the deep blue of the night and the rusty red from the flames and explosions. This piece has inspired me in terms of what I want my production to look like. Although I cannot replicate the intense color and contrast in Mad Max: Fury Road, I can seek out settings and shots that contain contrast and brightness. Luckily for me, I will be spending my spring break at a lagoon house in Mexico. This will allow me to create beautiful shots for my piece as I will be shooting in a gorgeous place. I will have lots of opportunities to do more with my film in terms of visuals because of my staying by a lagoon. This is a good thing to happen to me, as my piece is going to be very setting based. I am excited to begin filming. Also, I recently bought a tripod so I can make steady shots, tilts and pans for my film! 

"Mad Max Movie." Mad Max Movie. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. 

Tone

Throughout my time working on this project I've had an idea of what tone I want to capture in my film. I decided that I want the tone to be similar to the opening of the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower which was directed by Stephen Chbosky. The beginning of this movie creates tone through mise en scene and sound. The song that plays during the opening is called "Could it be Another Change?" by The Samples. This song is very mellow and it helps establish the gloomy tone of the beginning of the film. For the mise en scene elements, the scene is filmed from the back of a moving car that shows the tunnel that it is traveling through. This tunnel later becomes very important in the film as it where the main character, Charlie, begins to feel a sense of importance and happiness. I want to use this idea because I want whatever I show in the first two minutes of my movie to be important and significant to the rest of my story. Besides that, it adds to the gloomy tone of the beginning because of all the plain neutral colors and dark lighting of the tunnel. The only thing that I do not want to use from this opening is the little amount of technique in cinematography that is utilized. It is very simple as the camera sits in one place on the car as it moves through the tunnel. Therefore I can use some of the elements of the beginning of The Perks of Being a Wallflower as inspiration while leaving the negative aspects of it behind. 

"Perks of Being a Wallflower." The Perks of Being a Wallflower. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http%3A%2F%2Fperks-of-being-a-wallflower.com>.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Movie Posters From Movie Poster Shop. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.moviepostershop.com/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-movie-poster-2012>.

"The Samples - Could It Be Another Change." Youtube. YouTube, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

The Spielberg Oner

I recently saw a video about long takes created by Tony Zhou for his youtube channel Every Frame a Painting. It's called "The Spielberg oner" and here Tony talks about all of the things that make a long take successful. Some of these things are creating panning or tilting shots to keep the eye interested, having the camera move with the actors through different settings, and having the actors move around and do things. This allows there to always be some kind of change in the scene which keeps it visually interesting. If long takes were to be long scenes with no movement whatsoever they would be extremely boring to watch. The eye naturally gets tired of looking at something for a while, therefore it makes sense that successful long takes are busy in nature. For my piece I want to emulate this idea through having enough character movement as to where the scene is still interesting to look at. Characters are going to be a focal part of my film, and therefore having them move around will be very appropriate in relation to my piece. By doing this I will be able to use something in the content of my film to make it interesting to watch.

"The Spielberg Oner." YouTube. Ed. Tony Zhou. YouTube, 06 May 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

2+2

Up until today I haven't been certain about the storyline for my movie. Ive been contemplating different things that I could do with my piece and I want to focus on setting and character. I want to develop the small amount of character traits in my film through visual clues instead of dialogue. This will create mystery within my piece and keep audiences wanting to watch more. I learned about this idea from watching a Ted Talk by the director, screen writer and producer Andrew Stanton. In this video he argued that the key to making a successful story and drawing people in is not by giving them "4" but by giving them "2+2". This will keep people interested in the piece and wanting to know how it ends. This will be a very useful tool in my project as through using visual clues to create characterization the audience will have to make inferences based on what I've shown. This will effectively keep them wanting to know more while watching my film. 

Stanton, Andrew. "Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

Avoiding Mistakes

Hi, I'm Julienne. This is my blog in which I will be documenting my process of creating a film opening for AICE Media Studies. So far I've known one thing for certain, I want my piece to be very visually appealing. The opening of any movie needs to capture the attention of audiences and  I intend to do that by creating an attractive scene through visuals. Besides the appeal of the opening, I also want to make sure that the first shot in my movie has significance in relation to the message of my film. The first shot in any film is extremely important as it the first glimpse that the audience has into a piece. Therefore, I want to find a creative and meaningful way to introduce my movie. 

So far, as I've been preparing to create this film I've been looking at several resources concerning filmmaking. One video that I've watched is called "Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make" by the channel D4Darious on youtube. The person who made this video gives several examples of mistakes that an amateur filmmaker should try and avoid as they are very common in this industry. One of the most impactful things that he said was to try not to film in front of white walls. White walls are very typically used by new filmmakers who do not understand how to take advantage of background in film. Besides that it is not visually appealing and it shows that you might be filming in your house. Of course theres nothing wrong with filming at home, but choosing a more decorated set will help your piece look more professional and less homemade. Thanks to this I will be avoiding plain backgrounds in my piece so that I can create a more interesting film. 

"Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make." YouTube. Ed. Darious Britt. YouTube, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.