A Blank Canvas

As I have begun to think of and play with different ideas for my film, I have sparked a source of inspiration. At first I was using other movies as the basis for ideas for my plot but soon realized that nothing that I thought of using this method was creative or original. None of my ideas varied much from the original stories and nothing was working. I realized that for this to be good, I would have to start from scratch, start with a blank canvas. And then it hit me.

A blank canvas.

Immediately an image of a scene from The Princess Diaries came to mind. It is the scene where Mia and her mother are standing in their loft, wearing plastic bags, and standing in front of a once white, now multi color drape. They were shooting darts at paint filled balloons and letting the paint splatter ooze and drip down this previously blank canvas in order to created a beautifully messy, unique, and abstract work of art.

I'm not exactly positive why this scene is the first thing I assimilated with the idea of a blank canvas but I know that I liked the idea and where it would take me. The Princess Diaries is in my opinion a cult classic, and with it running on ABC Family and Disney channel practically every other day, I grew up watching this movie, and looking back on it I had always loved the balloon dart scene just because it was so fun and different. I too dreamed of of one day popping paint filled balloons in my kitchen.

Anyway, with this scene in mind, now I had to figure out what to do with it and how to make it matter. I continued working with the concept of a blank canvas and began delving into the deeper meaning of it.

Unfortunately for us, in life we only get one blank canvas- although for those who believe in the idea of original sin we are pretty much tainted from the start- and when drawing with paint, each and every stroke, every single one of our actions can seem threateningly permanent and irreversible. To some this idea is daunting, however, the best artists know that a blank canvas is not a possibility for mistake, it is an opportunity for remarkable creation. Each one of us has the ability and potential  to create his own exceptional oeuvre.

Not only do I love this concept, but it is one that I firmly believe in and with which I lead my life.

So where did all of this get me? Well, now that I have found a set message I want to portray and stay true to, and a visual picture of how to represent it, I now know the basis of my film opening. There is still much to do, however. Setting, characters, dialogue, and stylistic elements and more are all still to be considered.

But hey, it's progress! 


Digital image. Www.pinterest.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.

Decisions, Decisions

The time to start making decisions is now.

Hello and welcome to my blog where I will be documenting my journey and process in creating my final project for my Aice Media Studies class, a two minute film opening.

My name is Ale Duque and I am currently a junior at Cypress Bay high school. With only one year left until college and mounting pressures from an extremely competitive educational environment and the daunting thought of the future, it has begun to seem more and more like my time is running out and like I need to establish and finalize my decisions now. Even at this moment, not even a full week into the span of my project, yet I am already worried about not knowing 100% of what I want my film opening to be and how I will achieve this said vision. I believe that this is partly because as I have begun to think about what I want to do with my life after high school (again, I'm trying to make decisions here) communications and studies in media arts seem increasingly appealing. This being said I still have a lot to learn about these topics and a long way to go and I am hoping that this project will aid me in getting there. I am not expecting to be an Oscar winning writer, director, producer, and editor right off the bat, of course not. But I am excited to begin and learn from this process of creating a short film opening and a unique piece of media all on my own.

As I embark on this journey I know a few things for sure:

1. For the best product, write what you know. With this idea in mind, I am gearing towards making my target audience young adults. I want to make my film real, relevant, and relatable.
2. For my film to seem real and genuine, it needs to be down to earth, and it seems to me that the best genre for this is an independent/ indie, coming of age film. 
3. As I go through the process I must remember to consider all the elements of film, not only the ones that most stand out. 

It may not be much, but I think these principles are a good foundation for what I hope will be a great work that I am proud of. 

Here we go.