As said in my Marking Period 2 reflection blogpost, I decided a bit over a month ago that I wanted to switch my focus in this class to writing screenplays rather than creating films. After viewing the blogposts of my fellow classmates and contemplating the various creative elements my peers again implemented into their works of art this marking period, I’ve been able to gather both fascinating and intuitive information this time around, as well as a better understanding of my classmates’ thought processes as they continued with this year’s work.
Person #1: Sean - Looking Inward From All Angles
For Sean’s film he decided to continue with his theme of “Looking Inward” and focus on how such internal predicaments can affect the world around us. Sean chose to fixate his most current film on the feeling of loneliness and how said loneliness influences the mood and the physical world his main character, CJ, experiences. Going into his planning, I thought Sean did a great job when it came to both his script and his storyboard. He writes in his blogpost how he’d decided to write the full voicemail into a script, then draw what was to happen on screen as the voicemail is playing into a storyboard. Sean also noted how he wanted this particular film to be based around the audio, which I think was very fascinating to learn and to see on screen.
As stated before, Sean’s films for this year were based on the scrutiny of loneliness and loss. Sean writes that he enjoys creating stories that an audience can relate to, which is something I entirely understand. From the moment we started writing and producing films, I knew that I wanted mine to focus on the relatability to reality, and I think Sean’s films perfectly exemplify the same theme of relating back to the audience. Lastly, since I am currently studying the art of screenwriting and how to properly go about it, I thoroughly believe that Sean did an amazing job when it came to the presentation of the two brothers’ relationship and the overall structuring of a well-developed and compelling story. I believe the main thing I can take away from Sean’s work is that you should never be afraid to dive deep into what makes humans human.
Person #2: Enzo - Urban Legends and Life Lessons
I found Enzo’s film to be intriguing right off the bat, as it adhered to the events of an urban legend I’d only briefly heard about before: Clara the Candy Lady. The film goes into the history of the urban legend, following the tragic life of Clara, and both her daughter and husband’s deaths, while also displaying several film techniques to emphasize how the story came to be. What interested me the most about Enzo’s film was his use of linework and the coloring he chose for certain scenes. For one, the use of red lighting during the storytelling scenes provided a sense of danger and suspense, which I think Enzo did perfectly. Another technique to add is the various types of diagonal, vertical, and leading linework implemented into the film, which I believe led the audience to focus on the action at hand. I also thought Enzo did an amazing job on his script, as it was cool to see someone else who has the same writing style as I do.
Similar to how I had a hard time deciding the singular theme I wanted to do, Enzo also came up with the two themes he may have wanted his work to focus on. But, unlike my choosing to do a mix of two themes, Enzo decided to just go with the theme of “history” and how it can and will affect the society we live in. Enzo also details the significance he wants his artwork to hold on its audience and to spread influential messages through the writing of his films. Another thing that inspired me about Enzo’s work is his feral dedication to the media of film-making and how he understands how difficult the industry as a whole truly is. I think this is a very effective way of thinking and is something I, and the others in this class, must compute if we ever want to be as successful as famous filmmakers, animators, and screenwriters.
Person #3: Winnie - Visual Effects and Certain Skills to Use in the Future
Winnie’s project, like Enzo’s, interested me as soon as I saw what she was working on. I know absolutely nothing about After Effects - how to use it or how it functions from an artistic standpoint - but none of that mattered when it came to the actual result of Winnie’s artwork. The main thing that interested me was her concept and the idea that came along with it. Winnie writes how she was heavily inspired by the infamous horror game Five Nights At Freddy’s and how she wanted to come up with her own version of the 80’s aesthetically-styled video game. She then goes into the design of her overlays, detailing that she wanted them to resemble the security cameras players go through during gameplay. Winnie also notes an effect she used in order for the shots she took to visually parallel the camera quality seen in the game, giving them more of a grainy-looking presence. Going over Winnie’s blogpost again really showed me how much detail goes into creating similar types of visual effects, not to mention I learned a bit about what kind of effects are available in After Effects and, possibly, what I could use if I were to ever use the program sometime in the future.
Like Winnie, I also have trouble when it comes to the expectations of when my artwork will be done. And luckily enough, we’ve both realized that it’ll probably be better for us to use our time more wisely. Winnie also writes how after spending so much time on this project in particular, she plans to work on smaller projects in the future as she’d lost motivation over time. I can very much relate to this as there were times where when I was writing my scripts, I lost the motivation to continue and instead wanted to work on something different instead of finishing my current project. Another thing Winnie notes in her ‘Integrating’ section of her blogpost is that she can use the skills and 3D layering effects she learned from her research in future projects, similarly to how I learned how to properly format my scripts in a professional-looking manner and will continue to do so from now on.
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