Idea Change: The Beginning of "Trust Fall"

 Introduction

Welcome Cambridge dream team! After a recent class period discussing our film's idea with our peers, it was apparent that during the weekend, a member of our production team, Marley B was sparked with immediate inspiration, and shared her epiphany with us by suggesting a new idea for our film. Due to our production team's deep consideration of possible issues and challenges we would face if pursued our original idea of a mind- controlled populated schools controlled by the school's teachers, security guards, and administrators, Marley figured that if we took a much simpler, yet powerful route to our film, we would be sure to resonate and effectively communicate to our audience. Ultimately, our group including our instructor concurred with her suggestion. Her idea proposed that we create a film about a lesbian stalker who faces a series of challenges such as rageful outbursts, intensive stalking, photographing and pasting numerous images of her love interest across her bedroom walls, recording videos her love interest, furiously mumbling to herself when she would not get her way, and having her love interest grow anxious in her presence, as a result.

REFLECTION  

It is notable to add, that upon presenting this new idea to our instructor prior to finalizing our decision, she constructively added her two cents to our pitch. She shared her favors for our idea, and encourage us to emphasize juxtaposition in theme music in our film to signify horror, to take reference from film openings similar to ours, and she offered a helpful example of the film opening of the 2014 film titled, "It Follows." Furthermore, we left our discussion with her feeling inspired and more prepared to strategically use semiotics, music, and representation of psychosis through an obsessive stalker to depict a captivation, anxiety inducing experience of being stalked. This would result is an interesting mixture of the drama and horror genre, which is what we intend for our film to portray, and we look forward to planning for our film while referring to the insights offered to us by our instructor and amongst our team members. 

Idea Part 3: Film Pitch and Feedback

 Introduction

In this final step in preparation of  officially planning for our film, our group knew that we needed to have expert opinions from our instructor and peers on our film's themes, plot, message, representation, and opinions on how we should produce our film. In addition once our group finished exchanging our ideas with our peers, we shared our feedback on their ideas as well. Our instructor scored our work generally with a 3/5 in clarity, our idea, the coherence in our ideas, etc., and our peers rated our pitch with a score of 95% interest, and we graded their work with the same grade, as their film introduced an interesting plot about an action movie where the protagonist fights supernatural beings in school.

Reflection

In conclusion, the collaboration of our teams and other teams efforts in improving each other's film ideas, we learned the true value of constructive criticism and team work. We left those exchanges with our classmates feeling prepared for our upcoming film and learned that we could use contrasting music to establish a juxtaposing, horror atmosphere in our film, to include our peers as background characters in certain scenes for diversity (as a situation at our school occurred which unfortunately limited our ability to film on campus), and our instructor pointed out that we should begin our film with a hook of our film's main character being bullied as a opposed to the idea that our group wanted to begin with, which was with a fake news report of a woman chanting a mind-controlling, catchy mantra before transitioning into the beginning sequence.

Idea Part 2: Film Plan and Pitch

 Unveiling the Shadows: A Battle for Minds on Campus

In the heart of our film concept that was eventually set aside, a captivating narrative was born, exploring the timeless battle of good versus evil, with a unique twist. Our Production team's story unfolds within the confines of our high school campus, seemingly ordinary yet caught in a sinister web of zombie-like mind control. A select group of students, immune due to their distinct, non-conforming personalities, find themselves at odds with the majority, manipulated by a cultish principal and a brainwashing television network. The protagonists, Willow, X, Jonah Pharc, and Maya, are determined to liberate their peers, embarking on a journey fraught with comedy, bold statements, and a fervent desire to awaken the minds of the entranced student body.

Drawing inspiration from the dystopian, tragicomedy anime "Danganronpa," the narrative delves into the manipulation of despair as a control mechanism. The film's hook promises to captivate audiences from the outset, with an attention-grabbing chant and the portrayal of the main cast's struggle against bullying for their unconventional beliefs. The characters Willow, Jonah Pharc, and Maya each bring their unique strengths to the table - from challenging stereotypes to uniting their peers through humor and optimism, highlighting the power of individuality in the face of conformity.

The antagonists, led by Marx, present formidable obstacles, employing tactics ranging from bullying to gaslighting in their quest to maintain control. The narrative hints at a broader societal issue beyond the school's gates, suggesting a widespread phenomenon of mind control. Despite the challenges, the protagonists' unwavering determination and innovative approaches to overcoming adversity highlight a compelling message: the importance of autonomy, free thought, and the courage to challenge the status quo. This film concept, set against the backdrop of a school campus, promises a story of resilience, unity, and the relentless pursuit of freedom.

Reflection

Our group is planning to make the setting of the film on out school's campus, where a section of the controlled society these student live in are hinted- through the news- to be widespread even outside of school, which is quickly brushed over and briefly message to avoid citizens from discovering the truth. As a result of the widespread mind-control over the main cast's school they endlessly seek to find ways to unite, inform, and free their peers, friends, and family of their discoveries and the reality of their lives. As a result of their fervent passion to set their community free, there were a select few programmed to target those individuals and seek to conceal or deny the truth of their reality, which at times grows very violent and vengeful, and serves as a major obstacle for the main characters. To resolve this issue, our group brainstormed that the main cast could use their charm, personal skills, comedy, influence, and fearlessness as catalyst for change.

Ultimately, the information seen above in this image is what our team presented to a fellow unique, independent production team in our class which briefly explored our film's synopsis, theme, characters, and our inspiration for creating this film idea and pitch.

Idea Part 1: Film Development

 Introduction

As our group collaborated on this first step towards a long journey of creating our film, we began to come up with a production company name that we would all agree on. We began brainstorming names of Greek gods, Nubian gods, flowers, foreign languages, but ultimately decided on, “Milagros,” as a simple name for time's sake (as it took a full class period to produce a name that we would mutually settle on). “Milagros” is a word in Spanish that means miracle, and we agreed on that name as we felt it would fit the juxtaposing tone of out film. Furthermore, about juxtaposition, our production team believed that the drama genre would complement our established production team name and our film’s title. To add, in previous blog posts, our storyboard in preliminary exercises six and seven established our interest in the comedy genre, and we wanted to further demonstrate our interest in comedy by coming it with drama. Therefore, our group noted dramedy as a hybrid, or subgenre that our film would illustrate. It is worth mentioning, our group figured one of the elements of comedy in commonly seen films are mockumentaries, more specifically in cult-classics such as “The Office,” “Abbott Elementary,” and “Modern Family.” Those are a few of many examples our group took inspiration from while considering which route we intended for our film to take. 

Film Development
Teammates Names:   Marley B, Lexi M, Peyton P, Khloe R		Period (s):  5th Period
Production Company Name:  Milagros Studios		Date:  1/26/2024

 

Identifying Genre
Identify the genre of your movie: Drama
Hybrid/subgenre (s): Dramedy/Mockumentary
Identify the iconography of your film based on your genre:  Common elements of drama are exaggerated plots and situations, typically have happy/satisfactory endings, the main characters navigate the highs and lows of life, while having an ardent desire to do good and overcome adversity, incorporates relatable issues, elements of sensitive struggles/topics are explored, and are meant to share lesson about a universal theme that all can possibly identify with.
Identifying Audience
Identify the audience type and their demographics and psychographics.
Type of audience  (Mainstream or Niche Audience)
Mainstream teenagers to young adult audiences (from ages fourteen and up)
Market Segmentation Analysis
Demographics (In the US)	Psychographics
Age(s):   Gen Alpha: 2013-2025 (eleven years old and younger)  Gen Z: 1997-2012 (twenty-seven to twelve years old)  Millennials- 1981-1996 (twenty-eight years old to forty-three)    Race/Ethnicity(s): Majority White, Black, and Hispanic population  Gen Alpha: 71% White, 15% Black, 7% Multi-racial, 6% Asian  Gen Z: 51% White, 25% Hispanic, 15% Black, 6% Asian and Pacific Islander, 5% multiracial, 2% American Indian/Alaskan Native  Millennials- 20% White, 27% Asian, 24% Black, 27% Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, 24% American Indian/ Alaskan Native, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 22% multiracial    Class(es): (lower middle class to upper middle class/wealthy)  Gen Alpha- Middle Class  Gen Z- Lower Middle Class  Millennials- Upper Middle Class    Sexuality: (Heterosexuality and Bisexuality)  Gen Alpha- N/A  Gen Z- approximately 80% Straight or Heterosexual, 23% gay or lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual orientation (5% Bisexual, 3% Gay or Lesbian, 2% other)  Millennials- 11.2% identifies LGBTQ+, roughly 80% are heterosexual    Religion: (Agnostic and Christian)   Gen Alpha- N/A  Gen Z- 34% non-religious  Millennials- 29% non-religious	Goals:   Gen Alpha- to forge connections, build communities, and shape their identities  Gen Z- to have purpose and accountability  Millennials- time, money and energy all at once.    Fashion style:  Gen Alpha- bright colors, graphic tees  Gen Z- baggy jeans, crop tops, oversized  Millennials- skinny jeans, high waisted    Personality Traits:  Gen Alpha- socially aware, technology connected, growing up fast  Gen Z- competitive, financially focused, self-reliant  Millennials- ethical, creative, connected    Values:  Gen Alpha- honesty, egalitarianism, personal responsibility, and innovation  Gen Z- experiences and purposeful purchases  Millennials- authority, achievement, and influence      Favorite Genre (in film):   Gen Alpha- Singing and Dancing (i.e. musicals)  Gen Z- Comedy (an example is The Office)  Millennials- True Crime and Drama    Mental Issues:  Gen Alpha- Anxiety and Depression  Gen Z- Stress, Anxiety, and Loneliness (higher than other generations)  Millennials- Depression (higher of other living generations) and Anxiety     Habits:  Gen Alpha- Technologically-wired and savvy  Gen Z- Social media consumption and meditation  Millennials- Convenience, shopping, paying bills, taking trips, eating out, online shopping.

 

Film Idea Theme
List at least 3 themes for your film and why. Be specific. Think about your audience.
Coming of age story about Love vs. social control (empathy) and self-discovery and character development in early life, because our group not only intends to communicate these universal themes to our audience, but we also want to make it relatable to teens and young adults (drama element).
In drama, it is common to incorporate themes such as discovering self-knowledge, which will most likely trigger emotional responses in our audience (relatability), and may even represent different types of people, and if possible, we hope that our audience can resonate with our characters on-screen (to a degree) and learn traits about their selves. A good example of this is in the movie Clueless by Amy Heckerling, where a privileged, wealthy, and entitled protagonist learns the value of personal growth, how to better treat others, while appreciating what she already has, because of her previous superficial worldview and ignorance.
Social themes/sensitive societal topics such as sexism, racism, classism, abuse of power, and materialism to name a few are what our group intends to incorporate in our film, due to our passion on educating and highlighting these topics that heavily reflect our society/ current social climate, which can be eye opening to our audience and can evoke them to ponder and take a stand against the agendas (even subtle ones) that are pushing those narratives. In a way, we intend to counteract possible preconceived notions/or beliefs planted in our audience’s minds, which may apprise our audience to have a change of heart towards themselves and the world around them.
What does the audience should expect from your film’s opening?
Key Media Studies Concepts	Representation invites audiences to understand your media text and agree with the message in preferred ways. Depending on the audience, different interpretations are to some extent possible. As a group identify the following:
Ideology  What ideas/ issues do you find important to your audience, to illustrate in your film? Provide 3 specific examples.	-Our film is meant to reflect societal issues that are very real and are important to discuss for any hope/effort of change in the future. Three specific examples that are prevalent, and commonly seen issues that we will explore in our film are:    -Racism  -Sexism  -Abuse of Power (while authority, law, and order are responsible for the function of our society, at times those in high position of power may have their own agendas, ideologies, and misuse their position to control others)
Who are the individuals/characters that you would like to highlight in your film?  Think of positive or negative stereotypes ……….	Positive  The main characters in the film are the ones who are warning everyone else of this controlled and horrible society. They are rebellious and are often hated and discriminated against for being different.  Types of character types are: The Dreamer, The Rebel, The Peacemaker.	Negative  The rest of society are the discriminators. They are the ones that are hating on the main characters for being “different”. They are prejudiced, and are racist, sexist but in a subtle way. They believe that being mind-controlled is the “norm”.
What social groups will you be focusing on? Think of the demographics and psychographics of your characters.	Demographics: gender, age, ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability/ability, etc.  Diverse ethnicity, teenagers, feminism, ranging from lower middle class-upper middle class.
	Psychographics: Attitude, interests, lifestyles, beliefs/values, and personality.  Mind control, everybody is the same,
Identifying Mise-en-scene in your film
Where is the setting of your story? Think of a courtyard, classroom, grocery store, cafeteria, home, etc.	The setting is in a school; school hallway, school classroom.
When is the story told?  Think of the period, past/ present/ future. Day/afternoon/evening/night	The story is told in the Present, most likely in the morning and the afternoon (during school hours; 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).
Props	-Weapons such as scissors, rulers, staplers, pins, or books, which all signify the horror genre.  -Phones  -Backpacks  -Computers/ Laptops  -Television or large screen (for mind-control programming)  -Food (for extra mind control)  -Intercom (for administration to chant mantras)
Set Design	-Classroom settings, with desks arranged in rows to signify mind-control and order    -Vast outside settings, to emphasize the vastness of the mind-controlled population in the school, versus the small percentage (the protagonists) who are not mind controlled, and to establish how small the protagonists are versus most of the school. To add, our school is one of the biggest campuses in our area, and we could use vast stairways, our large buildings where the protagonists could run from antagonists, or where possible scenarios where the protagonists could become lost or cornered by the antagonists, because of running away from them.
Colors (Add the meanings associated with the colors.)	Instead of following character conventions, the colors listed below are used for character archetypes that are seldom shown the following color, to further shock the audience in later scenes:    -Light blue signifies calmness and humility/ neutrality, which we would cast the antagonists of the film to wear. It is notable to mention blue in horror could also signifies coldness, death, uneasiness, or depth such as the ocean (so our production team could regularly broadcast a range of different shades of blues to complement the scenes that they are captured in).    -White would also be worn by the antagonists to not only contrast their negative, extreme personalities, but to reveal that their characters believe they are good and pure. It is worthy to note, that white is also a color of innocence, and numerous MK Ultra themed movies included white being associated with mind-control programming.    -Dark and neutral colors would be worn by the protagonists to signify balanced, and a relatable/ conventional personality type, as neutral colors are worn by modern everyday people, and these colors are not too overwhelming, nor stand out.
Composition	-We plan to mainly use shallow focus, as our location is crowded with many students, and it would be challenging to capture shots without students from our school in the background (to add, we want to respect the privacy of those who may be uncomfortable being recorded on camera).    -Deep focus would be used for intense scenes, so that the audience could pay attention to details in the surroundings of the characters, and to see the characters more clearly (for instance, their costumes, hair, and other physical attributes).    -Symmetrical balance for shots that have the characters doing casual everyday activities (going to class, going to the park, or in a classroom setting doing their work).    -Unsymmetrical balance for dominating, or intimidating scenes, that are meant to highlighting shocking or devious actions from the film’s antagonist, which would establish the film’s horror genre.
Tone of Film (Describe in full sentences and why would you use them.)	The tone of the film would be eerie. This is meant to subconsciously unsettle viewers to take the issues discussed in the film (such as a mind control, sexism, and racism) more seriously, while adding a suspenseful tone to keep the audience engaged/ interested.    -Upbeat tone in the beginning of the film to juxtapose the message of the film, to further contrast how disturbing the true meaning behind the film is.    -Comedic/ Humorous tone to establish our films partial comedy genre, and we could make characters from the main cast comedians or make the antagonist do embarrassing or extreme actions (for example, chanting to themselves awkwardly in silence, while staring into the mirror) that would shock the audience to laughter.
Camerawork (Shot size, angles, framing and camera movement.	Shot sizes: Establishing shot, master shot, wide shot, full shot, medium shot, medium close up  Angles: Low angle, high angle, Dutch angle, eye level, shoulder level, knee level  Framing: point, lines, shapes, space, balance, deep focus, shallow focus  Camera movement: Static, Dolly in, dolly push out, zoom out, zoom out, tracking,

Well-known iconography seen in the dramedy genre include dramatic scenarios, colorful, exaggerated wardrobe palettes, incongruence/juxtaposition, and bizarre, yet realistic events. These conventions establish the drama genre in film clearly to audiences, and our team considered that while deciding what our film's main themes would convey. To briefly explain, our team picked ideologies that both us and our generation (our peers) find important and after deep consideration, we chose to highlight societal issues of controlling individuals, malicious motivations and intentions, wanting to be wanted, authority, mental health issues, teens who experience anxiety, jealousy, which are issues many teens can resonate with. These factors can be summed up to our film’s main themes which focuses on a coming-of-age, socially aware story on sexism, assault, mental illness, imbalance of power, and control, which are themes that are sure to evoke strong emotions in our audience. As our school campus is known for its cultural and racial diversity, our group seized the opportunity to include unique backgrounds of people to be represented in our main cast and supporting characters. More specifically, the main character, Mercedes, and her friend Lizzy who is cautious around Christine due to their previous friendship with her, and awareness of her obsession with Mercedes and jealousy/ anger issues. Both Mercedes and Lizzy place a spotlight on anxiety, safety, and strong friendship, while being cast to represent their distinct nationalities on-screen. On, the other hand, “Through Her Eyes,” included a gut-wrenching, extreme, obsessive stalker trope through the lens of a lesbian woman of color, Christine. Christine is a blatant antagonist as her selfish-driven, obsessive nature which we intend to highlight in our upcoming film. 

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