Saturday, March 19, 2016

Initial Idea?

I've been sitting on an idea since this project began, however I don't believe it is plausible at all unless major elements are changed.
Being heavily influenced by soul/funk music and it's strong presence in film, more specifically the genre of  Blaxploitation that was popular in the 70s mentioned in my last post, I developed an idea surrounding a community of people in a neighborhood:

-  MS of girl, wearing flared jeans and a bright colored crop top with her big curly hair down, moving along to funkalicious song through her headphones as she sits on the hood of a retro car, her face is not exposed yet focusing more on her body movements and the mise en scene of her outfit
-  I would focus on the warm colors of the scene though costume design and filming preferably during Golden Hour, or the time right after sunrise and right before sunset where the sky is a warm orange (something similar to the image below)
Pictured; John Singleton director of Boyz N The Hood
photographed by Aaron Rapoport (1991) 
           
- There is a sound perspective on the music, it's low at first focusing more an the sounds of the neighborhood ambiance, but it gradually increases as the camera gets closer and closer to her body (probably focusing on a small detail like her hands moving or her smile) until the music ultimately rises and she hops off of the hood along with a point in the song
-  The girl acts as a catalyst when introducing the rest of the characters, she jumps off the car and the camera whip pans to the rest of the people on the street
-  In my mind it would be a master-shot of all the characters interacting with one another in a communal environment similar to  Anderson's opening in Boogie Nights or Russel's in The Fighter
-In order to hook the audience I pictured a slight commotion occurring in the background of the shot, the upbeat music will slightly fade as the sounds of the arguing become more and more apparent in the scene
-  The camera would then make a dramatic 180 whip pan towards the argument that is going on from behind between a law enforcer and someone from the community
-  All the characters that were just introduced would move back towards the argument at the end of he street, dialogue would be exchanged like "What's going on?" "Leave him alone!" etc etc as the people walk into frame towards them
-  I then pictured the song becoming crazier and crazier with instruments that are heavily noted in funk music such as trumpets and hard drum beats as the arguing turns into yelling and the police officer becomes more aggressive with the man
-  As the music becomes more upbeat and frantic the camera will move through the crowd that has formed around the officer and man as the music and the arguing reaches a climax and then all the sounds would ultimately stop with a piercing gunshot and the screen will fade to black
-  At this point I pictured either the title instantly following or cutting back to the incident this time from a "bird's-eye-view" shot or aerial angle of the boy on the ground in the street, this time utilizing cool hues such as blue juxtaposing the cheerful, warm color scheme from before. The camera would slowly move higher and higher away from the incident as concerned people rush and kneel to his side
-  The blood slowly rushing from his head would be the only fraction of warmth in the shot which is very symbolic and juicy
-  The overall style of it would be similar to a Spike Lee film, very campy and dramatic yet still holding a powerful message 
But I'm not sure if its even possible. I shared the idea with my classmates and peers and they all agreed that it could be a good opening and they believed that it could be achieved. However, I know for a fact that if I were to try to attempt making this opening there would be NUMEROUS problems; finding a suitable location of an inner city while I live in a quaint suburb, gathering about 10-20 actors and ensuring they are all committed and all have rides, having control over my setting, blocking such a large amount of people in a strict time frame, ensuring that everyone has proper costume design, achieving a master shot of that caliber, finding a cop/cop car etc etc    
  The project would be way too ambitious and even if I did try to pursue the scene it would be extremely challenging and would never come out the way I had dreamed.
  I don't think I will do this exact opening, but I know for sure I want some of the main elements to be within it. I will have to go back to the drawing board and I'm freaking out because we have about three weeks left until the final due date. Ahh!

stay cool, kmp


1 comment:

  1. Kiara! Your blog is so wonderful, it truly is an expression of yourself. Your language is a good balance of formal and personable (a personal favorite of mine is "Freeze, you turkeys!"). Also, your sign off in each posting is original and fun!
    You've gathered so much information about the 60s and 70s, as well as techniques that will help you to create the film opening. The addition of YouTube videos in a couple posts was nice so that I could catch the drift of what kind of vibe you want. I particularly enjoyed this post, "Initial Idea?", because you did an amazing job of voicing your vision and it's clear you're passionate about it. Also, props for getting an actress that has experience and the look you were going for. It's important that your actors are as dedicated as you are, so hope you finds some good pals that will help you out.
    There aren't many bad things I can say. I'm sure that your project will turn out great because anyone who reads your blog can see your passion. I wish you luck as you start filming and putting things together!!

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