So as I gather everything up to film and edit this weekend, I've been going through everything in my head and making sure it is exactly as I want it so when I go to film everything goes smoothly and my film opening results in a piece that I am genuinely proud of. At the beginning of this process once I first shared the commencement of my idea, my teacher recommended a few films for me to watch to give me inspiration, one which she most strongly suggested was an independent coming of age film called Thirteen.
Thirteen is a 2003 film directed by Catherine Hardwicke which originally made it's debut at the prestigious Sunfest film festival. The film is a "semi-autobiographical drama" that follows 13 year old Tracy and her crumbling relationship with her mother as she befriends popular, but troubled, Evie and begins to experiment with a life of sex, drugs, and crime.
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| Tracey (Evan Rachel Wood) at the beginning of Thirteen versus at toward the end |
When I first looked up the film a few weeks ago I didn't really think it would help me plot wise because this film covers a different chapter of adolescence than the one I wanted to portray, but I figured any resources would be worth while and there must have been something I could get out of it. After actually watching the film I did get some idea's for my film visually as far as the degree of rawness I want my shots to be and the aesthetic part of my film. For example, since my film will only feature the opening I don't think I would incorporate this, but I found it interesting that as the film progressed and Tracey and her mother's life became more and more flooded by the evil and danger of teenage depravity, a dark, dim, greenish-blue filter gradually took over the screen.
However my initial concerns were confirmed and I did ultimately decide that I didn't want to take any ideas for my film from the content of this one. Both young protagonist in the story are way younger and in a different part of life than my protagonist, as well as being extremely reckless, rash, and haughty; which is great for the story the film wanted to chronicle but a direct antithesis of the mature, serious, and thoughtful individual that I wanted my main character to be (although my protagonists name was in part inspired by Evie, if you hadn't already picked up on the one) but as I was looking over my script I thought that it did seem too preachy and monologue-y which was exactly one of the obstacles that I wanted to avoid in writing my voice over. It wasn't even that it didn't seem like Eevie's thoughts but it was just it seemed TOO much like her thoughts and nothing more. I knew who I wanted Eevie to be and the situation she was in but that situation did not come across clearly. Eevie's character was there but the plot and story wasn't, so again, I made some revisions and did, to my surprise, draw from all the angst, rebelliousness, and confusion from Thirteen.
I kept all of my voiceover the same, but rather than just ending my opening with the narration the way it started, I added some dialogue that eludes to Eevie not only contemplating her current life and possible future, but because of these thoughts, letting go in school and becoming a bit careless and negligent in her studies which had been very important to her her entire life. In adding this dialogue however, I didn't want to directly introduce a new character. One, because I didn't want to draw away from Evie and two, because I just dont think it would make sense in the context. SO, i drew from ANOTHER film from my research (Buried) and decided to make the dialogue a conversation over the phone where the second party is only heard, but not seen. I hope that this makes sense to you for now and that I've done a good job of explaining myself and my thought process... but if not I am excited for you all to see the final product soon!
Digital image. StyleCaster. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Mitchell, Elvis. "Thirteen (2002) Film Review." New York Times. N.p., 20 Aug. 2003. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Thirteen promotional poster. Digital image. Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Hi Ale! So basically you have gone out and beyond on this blog. It is obvious that you are very inspired and excited for this film to be accomplished. The photos are great eye catching elements. And adding the chart! What a great idea! Literally feel like i'm going through the same schedule as you haha. But honestly, i love the detail and effort that you have put into it, with a sprinkle of inspiration. Plus no spelling errors, making everything look very professional. Can't wait for you start filming!
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ReplyDeleteYou are putting in so much more effort and description than the majority of the posts which is fantastic. I have yet to see anyone else describe a film they watched, and how it didn’t connect to their project. Even though the movie you watched didn’t relate to your project as much as you wanted, you managed to write about how it affected your production which was excellent. My only issue is that the writing was a little hard to follow, it seemed like you were writing your thoughts directly (which adds your voice and is very good), but still makes it somewhat difficult to understand what you wanted to say.