PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Themes
Conflicts
Structure
Character journey
STORY/CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Creative matrix
Self hatred, self acceptance, self love
Insecurities VS confidence
Changing yourself VS embracing yourself
Societal views of beauty
Human VS Themselves
Human VS Society (standards)
There is no 3 act structure to our story, because the protagonist (mirror) simply is. The voiceover will be following the structure of a free verse poem (lines and stanzas, but still involving a simple rhyme scheme). The editing will be intercutting various shots of different actors looking at themselves in the mirror to create juxtaposition and contrast between recurring themes or subjects.
The mirror goes through the journey of observing and supporting the people looking at themselves. It offers a contrast of insecurities and confidence through the poem's content. It also changes in shapes and sizes as different people have different mirrors, but they all have the same role of reflecting the subject.
People look at themselves in the mirror from different angles and perspectives. They look at their flaws and feel insecure, or admire their looks and feel confident. The images below show the camera angles and mirror angles as well as the target environment of the described action.
VISUALIZATION
Screenplay
DEVELOPMENT
Importance /difficulty matrix
STORY DESIGN
Screenplay explanation
Our narrative does not conform to the traditional conventions of a story line/plot, largely due to the fact that our Short Film is an Experimental piece and also more of an artistic approach to the storytelling through digital media. Thus, we've opted to go with a different kind of narration/story telling - this done through poetry and from the point of view of the Mirror (our main character).
The Mirror in this case represents neutrality and has an unbiased opinion, yet is very compassionate and aims to spread the tender message of self-love. In juxtaposition, we have the other characters (Humans) interact with the mirrors - reflecting on their own insecurities, doubts, vulnerability on their appearances, happiness, self-confidence and more; all interpreted from the perspective of the Mirror in front of them.
Since the characters will be interacting with what the poem is saying (not necessarily in a literal sense, but more so in terms of enhancing the narrative), the goal is really to transport the viewer from looking at the individuals interacting with the Mirror and focus on the change from self-doubt and hatred, to self-acceptance and love.
Look & Feel
PRODUCTION DESIGN
After taking some test pictures, we decided to discard idea #2 from the idea bank (see Importance/Difficulty matrix). While using black and white effects will help to create a whole different mood and remove lighting temperature inconsistencies, we noticed that our pictures ended up being too dark and lacked the richness of various different grey tones. Since idea #2 was not very high in importance, we chose to remove it and focus on creating a different feeling through colours.
The colour palette is composed of neutral tones mainly for the decor and background, and warm tones of yellow to red for the certain subjects. We chose these colours because the neutrality reflects the mirror's unbiased neutral perspective (they are also common wall colours in houses, so we can have backgrounds of similar colours). Warm colours are inviting, happy and cozy, which reflect the feelings conveyed by the mirror. Furthermore, red is the colour of love; subjects wearing red when they feel confident is a symbolism of love, whereas others wearing yellow or orange show a potential hope in growing towards self love.
The mise-en-scene and visual composition consist of subjects doing actions in front of a mirror in various angles that are artistic, different from the day-to-day view in a mirror, and sometimes almost abstract. This is used in order to match the poetic mood and to tell the story from an experimental genre. The angles always show the subject's reflection in the mirror, sometimes hiding their real figure. Even though mirror selfies are popular nowadays, the mirrors in our visual composition will never show the reflection of the camera, because we want the viewer to see the film through the eyes of the subject or the protagonist (mirror). The mise-en-scene will be as minimalistic as possible, offering less distractions and more focus on the subject's actions.
We aim to shoot in well-lit places using artificial or natural light to keep the visuals bright. We want the film to have a positive mood even when dealing with insecurities and self hatred, because the mirror is the bright side which, unfortunately, actors cannot hear.
Since most shots are in different locations and filmed by different people, there will certainly be a difference in light temperature and style; instead of trying to correct that, we will embrace it. The whole piece will be a juxtaposition of different types of shots and colours, because that's exactly what it is: different people, in different places, doing different things, feeling different emotions. From full body shots to extreme close-up shots, we are experimenting with the numerous angles and compositions that we can achieve with a mirror.
Feelings through sound
SOUND DESIGN
The space and the atmosphere we wanted to create within this piece is one that feels nostalgic, inviting, soothing and welcoming. When trying to find a non-diegetic soundtrack, we really wanted to convey the intentions of the poem and have it enhance, or work coherently within, the universe and the intentions of our film. The repeating melody and the 4/4 beat, creates this sensation of repetition and familiarity, one that complements the repetition of the poem beautifully. The juxtaposition within the narrative and the soundtrack still allows for a harmonious exchange between the musicality and the spoken word.
The decision to use an instrumental loop for the musical soundtrack was entirely to keep a balanced pace within the piece itself. We wanted to have control of how the music would sound, how it could and would enhance the spoken poem, and this effectively helped us create the pace within the narrative of our film.
PLANNING
Nov 10
Developing our final idea, mapping out specific shots/concept map, distributing tasks, equipment, locations and actors, establishing time frames and deadlines, setting expectations
BRAINSTORM
Oct 27 - Nov 10
Find ideas, discuss skills and strenghts, develop concepts, test concepts
- Equipment: cellphone cameras and microphones, Canon 6Ti camera, 2 artificial lighting
- Locations: indoors (bathroom, bedroom, etc.) and outdoors (street, field, railroad, etc.)
TEST SHOTS
Nov 10 - Nov 11
Take pictures and short videos to test angles, lighting, composition, and overall harmony of all shots
WRITTEN PREPARATION
Nov 11 - Nov 24
Project description, concept development, storyboard, important/difficulty matrix, story, production, and sound design
Development and preparation
PROJECT ROADMAP
POEM
Nov 11 - Dec 1
Writing, reviewing and editing the poem depending on the shots taken beforehand.
Recording the voiceover of the poem.
LIVE ACTION SHOTS
Nov 11 - Nov 24
Everyone shoots their designated actors and scenes in the designated locations. Some should be filmed in slow motion or with a frame rate above 60 fps.
MUSIC
Nov 11 - Nov 24
Composing guitar soundtrack
Recording guitar soundtrack
W.I.P. (WIX)
Nov 11 - Dec 7
Documenting our work in progress with notes, pictures, screenshots, etc.
Production
AUDIO MIXING
Dec 2 - Dec 5
Editing the guitar recording, poem voice recording, ambient noise and other music onto the edited video.
EDITING
Nov 24 - Dec 1
Separating A-roll and B-roll, cutting and splitting shots, creating a montage, adding special effects, adjusting colours and lighting
Post-production
IMAGES AND VIDEO
Dec 5 - Dec 6
Inspiration pieces, work in progress, tutorial pieces, final product
INTRODUCTION
Dec 1
Home page, project description, team members
MAIN ELEMENTS
Dec 3 - Dec 5
Concept development, themes and universe, creative matrix, storyboard, important/difficulty matrix, story design, production design, and sound design
ORGANIZING PAGES
Dec 7
Structuring the website, making sure links work, and making sure it's easy to navigate
Wix site
Poem rough draft
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you what I truly see,
Not just the things you hate about yourself
But the things you have yet to realize - that make you quite unique
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you to ignore your flaws
For you see, you're so much grander
Than you actually think you are
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you to ignore
Everything you hate about yourself
For you see - you’re amazing; just as you are.
You have endless possibilities, just resting within your grasp
All you need to do, is love yourself at last.
If only you could hear me, you be amazed to know
That everything you are and more
Is waiting to be shown
For you have to understand -
We are forever learning how to grow.
Poem final version
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you what I truly see,
Not just the things you hate about yourself
But the things you have yet to realize - that make you quite unique
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you to ignore their gaze
For the only one that should matter,
Should be your own; always.
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you not to bother
For their comments and opinions
Should never define your honour
You have endless possibilities, just resting within your grasp
All you need to do, is give yourself a chance
If only you could hear me, and hear my battle cry
I’d tell you all you need, is within you Just hidden deep inside
If only you could hear me, I’d tell you to hold on
To that youthful innocence
And make you realize that you’re amazing; just as you are.
You have endless possibilities, just resting within your grasp
All you need to do, is love yourself at last.
If only you could hear me, maybe you’d see things like me
For beauty is subjective
And you my dear, have always been complete.
You have endless possibilities, just resting within your grasp
All you need to do, is give yourself a chance
If only you could hear me, and hear my battle cry
I’d tell you all you need, is within you
Just hidden deep inside