Group Blog Reflection

   Today in class, we had group reflections on our projects' progress and ideas for improvements on different aspects of the opening. It was interesting to see how other people proceeded with their openings such as their chosen genre (and presentation of the genre), pre-production items like casting and props, and useful things for production. For example, one person was going to use constant references to the Bible, incorporated as a major theme, with excerpts (intended to be read) that would signify and represent themes in the main character's life. She had already filmed these inserts of the Bible's excerpts, using a lit match across the screen to light it, which contributed to the idea of a dystopian world, which was her genre. I was impressed with the product.

    Another project was similar in genre to mine, as he envisions a coming of age film of a black teen exploring his interests and where he fits amongst different communities. His form of creation specifically surprised me, but that is mostly because of a clash of interests. I am not much intrigued or enjoy specifically conventional, cliche teen flicks - coming of age films. But as he discussed his project it excited me to view the final product. Although my film is also a coming of age, I believe the reason I enjoy and have been well-vested into the project is because of the psychological, supernatural aspects of it. For example the main character experiences hallucinations, and the entire film opening is void of dialogue. The manner in which I create stories doesn't follow what Ms. Stoklosa advised: genre, research, outline. Instead, I generally proceed from an idea, (very rough draft) outline, research, and then decide on whatever genre fits the story the most.

    Some ideas proposed to me was to include shots that conveyed the opening wasn't a definitive ending. For example, Nyx and I decided to include a cut to drinking water at the end, but it isn't significant in portraying how the rest of the story plays out. So, the idea of grounding the character back into reality came to light, such as my dog pawing at her legs, and then, as Nyx proposed later, to have an appointment reminder on the fridge next to her, to have some allusion to the character's issues, and the film's remaining plot. 

    As for the obstructive piece, I discussed the issue of how to continue with its contents, to which we decided upon criticism, that the piece should generally be empty since logically it would intend for the artist to fill it up. From an artist's perspective, that would make the most sense other than a black hole.