Storyboard Part 1

Today we worked hard on planning and drawing the first part of the storyboard for our film opening. We decided to split it up into two parts, one being in the present, and the other flashing back to events prior. The reason for this is to leave the audience with suspense, wondering how the events got from point a to point b.

The storyboard starts with the opening shot of the woods. We want the opening shot to convey the mystery of the plot. By opening with the dark woods, we establish that the setting is going to be scary and the events that transpire may not be good. We are planning for some shots to be of the trees and some of the road. The next shot is of a girl dragging a body. We don't want the viewers to see who it is but we want it to be clear its a male and the person dragging is female. The shot shot be leveled on the ground so it is more suspenseful up close. The following shots will be very choppy of someone running and breathing heavily. We are thinking of having sounds of a heartbeat and heavy, fast breathing to emphasize the intensity of the situation. The fast cutting of the shots should also emphasize this. We'll see the girl digging and burying something, with a lot of close ups of her face. Her face will be covered in makeup and dirt so viewers can see what a rough condition she's in. It'll close with her looking at the missing poster of the boy which hopefully viewers will understand as the body she just buried.

We worked very productively to get this first few seconds of our opening done and are excited to work on part 2!

Shooting Schedule

Since we all have such busy lives, we have made a draft for a shooting schedule that will be best for us to use during this project. While we are going to be flexible and make adjustments as needed, this is going to be our basis.

Potential Storylines

Since deciding to do a drama genre, we have been researching what story lines are typically associated with them. Many include intense story lines such as kidnappings or murder on one side of the spectrum as more serious while the other side includes cheating, pregnancies, and more. We are thinking of doing one of the more serious story lines to shake things up from what you'd usually expect from teenagers. We are finalizing our story board next week so we can start prepping for what we need and what we need to do. 

Location

For our movie, we are thinking of filming most scenes outside since the location is important to assess the feelings of your character, especially in a drama. If the character is feeling lonely, just looking up to the sky may be able to help symbolize this.Since I believe our characters will be teenagers, in order to have more people relate to them, our location must be evident in showing our characters emotions. Location also sets the tone for what it to come.

Many locations in a drama movie or locations that may be frightening or emotional. For instance, the outdoors at night is typically used for intense scenes so it can instill a sense of fear in the audience. Some scenes of kidnappings and other high level tend to happen in the woods as it adds a sense of mystery since a lot of people naturally get uneasy walking alone at night. We are thinking of showing a girl in the woods during our scene in order to add intensity.

Music Research

The music in the dramatic genre is often very mirroring to the scene itself. The lyrics tend to describe what is happening or the sounds are low or high depending on where the plot is. For dramas, music is often played during moments of reflection or when characters are alone. It emphasizes the sad nature of what might be happening. These can be seen in movies such as The Longest Ride and Me Before You, where the soundtrack features very slow songs. As the drama unfolds the music changes from happy and upbeat to very depressing.

It is typically easy to convey what is happening in a drama, despite many altering story lines and plots, but what is not always easy to convey is how our characters are reacting to what is happening. That's where music comes in. It can truly emphasize how the character is reacting and how his/her feelings may be changing.

For our soundtrack, I think we are going to have to find a balance once our plot is determined to make sure people understand the true feelings of our character throughout the intense opening.

Research Part 2 of the Drama Genre

After doing some research earlier on what the plot and characters of the Drama film genre are like, we furthered our research into the more technical and production aspects of it. For instance, since dramas tend to delve into more serious topics, the color scheme is often not very bright and cheery. Darker colors or settings may mirror the emotions and hardships of the characters. The reason for this is that many people associate sadness with colors such as blues and greys. However, romantic genres may show more cheery colors at the happier parts and darker colors when it's sad.


https://entertainism.com/elements-of-drama

Research Part 1 of the Drama Genre

Now that the project is coming up closer, we have started more research into the genre of our choice. We have decided on doing a drama because there is a lot of freedom and expression related to this genre. As our research has shown, drama films have a main purpose to move the audience in some way, usually by portraying real issues and struggles. Usually the characters in dramas are normal people and the setting is usually normal reality, rather than alternate universes and other abnormal places. Some of the issues presented are about mental illness, a very prevalent topic affecting millions of people. Drama films such as Still Alice and It's Kind of a Funny Story, capture this perfectly in very different ways. Still Alice has a more serious dramatic undertone while It's Kind of a Funny Story has a more humorous approach. These two films show how very serious issues can be portrayed in different lights. The main characters of dramas are usually likeable so that when something bad happens you feel upset for them and want things to get better. If you can't connect or empathize with the characters than the film isn't as effective and powerful. The plots of the genre can be internal or external but almost always have some hardships. Whether the character is facing inside issues or there are many things happening outside, the plot of a drama film is very, well, dramatic. Without some key issues affecting the characters, it is hard to be moved by anything happening.

 

https://www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html