That's a Rapp on this post, till next time.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Finished poster
Hey everyone, I finished the poster! I am really excited with how it looks. I don't wanna show it to you all yet but I'll give you some insight into how it looks. I decided that I wanted to just grab one of the photos of Dylan looking straight at the camera because not only it matched more with the overall image, but also because I decided to give a creative twist to it. So it took a lot more work but I decided to take one of the pictures of Dylan and draw it. I thought it would match with the idea of this film but also would match the genre with the typical teenage film movie theater posters.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Finished movie trailers
Hey everyone, I just finished editing the movie trailers! I gotta say I'm really happy with the final products. Although I know I could have gotten a little bit of cleaner shots with my angles and some continuity I think over all it turned out amazing. I'm not going to post them yet but I can't wait till you all get the chance to see them and tell me what your thoughts are on them! Now I can finally put my full focus towards finishing my poster and working on the website.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Photo shoot
Hey everyone, today I was able to do a photo shoot with Dylan for the poster! But first a little context behind the imaging. Currently Dylan and I (along with another 38 CBTV members) are at a national competition in Seattle for Student Television Network. This week we will be super busy running around competing, going to workshops, and sight seeing. With that being said Dylan and I knew we would be extremely busy the rest of the week and decided to take the photos first thing when we had free time after checking into the hotel. We went up to the top floor balcony (accompanied by our friend Ricky who wanted to watch) and started taking pictures. I wanted (as I have stated in previous posts) the focus to be on Dylan, so with that being said I took multiple pictures of Dylan from different angles of him just looking straight at the camera. Also I decided to get some pictures of Dylan also pretending to draw in some of the pictures because I like the idea of pulling focus on his character in his element and hinting to what will be one of the main focuses in this characters life. With that being said though I was looking over some of the photos and I'm trying to see if maybe I can make them more artistic. I will actually start editing a photo I choose from the bunch soon but not now because right now I wanna put my focus towards finishing editing the movie trailers.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
filming part 3
We have officially finished filming! Here is the final blooper reel
Today went incredible with filming and we were able to get all the final shots that we needed. Reflecting back on my last post, I really thought about anything else that I could add to these trailers that might have been missing that I didn't think about, and then it dawned on me. I came up with the idea of adding in a new Deaf character. recently in my ASL class we were discussing the different levels (and sometimes extremes) Deaf pride can get in playing a role in some deaf people's actual personality and character traits; I decided to not only show how this character may be trying to adapt to the hearing world in a main streamed school but also how that effects him personally and how that effects how other deaf people view him. I started to run with the idea that yes although I want this character to have hearing parents I would still want him somewhat connected with the deaf community having friends and having a sense of pride with the culture and meaning of being Deaf. With that being said I wanted to show that maybe along the way Christopher struggles to really fit anywhere because he is left ostracized by some of his Deaf friends who believe hearing people would and could never understand them, or something of the sort. Now with this being said I understand it is quite late in the game to try and find a whole new actor that would actually know how to sign, but I decided maybe it was best if I just acted. It seems like the most logical answer due to it being lat minute but also because I already know how to sign so it wouldn't add the extra struggle of teaching someone new a brand new language, so for two scenes I placed the camera on a tripod and acted. I also decided to name my character Marlee, mainly after the extremely talented (and quite frankly only) widely recognized female deaf actress. Also talking to the other actors, they decided that since Owen's character didn't have a name, they would call him Benjamin, which I think fit nicely so I have decided to keep it that way. Finally when delving more into when I was brain storming about the deaf society impact, I decided that I wanted to change the name to Pride. I think it is much more befitting and honestly less insulting/cheesy as the name Listen. I think it truly reflects what I would want this film to reflect, which is more depth to the story and seriousness to the representation. I decided to work on some more art for Dylan to "draw/paint" for the film and created a drawing that I think would work nicely for the title graphic/text for the movie trailer and poster, but I will show you all that on another post to be able to dive more into it.
That's a Rapp on this post till next time!
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
starting editing of movie trailer
I know you must be excited to see the last blooper reel but I was not able to get the last of filming done today, I have started editing!
I know I originally said I needed to finish filming today but some complications came up with some of the actors and myself. Dylan and Dean are both in CBTV with me, and today in TV a lot of work came up due to our upcoming field trip next week to Seattle. We go to a competition held by the Student Television Network (STN) organization, which holds a national convention for a week where high school and middle school students get the opportunity to compete against other students in the country in specific film/TV production contests along with multiple skill building workshops. Due to this Dylan, Dean, and I were caught up with preparation in the TV room, not being able to film. Not to worry though because I spoke to all of them and we are planning to film this Saturday before we leave for the trip to make sure I am all set for when we are out of Florida. With that being said I decided to start editing both trailers to continue work but also to see if maybe there is any scenes or ideas that may come to mind that I didn't realize. Luckily then I will be able to cover it for our final day of filming. So far everything is looking great, I'm extremely excited.
I know I originally said I needed to finish filming today but some complications came up with some of the actors and myself. Dylan and Dean are both in CBTV with me, and today in TV a lot of work came up due to our upcoming field trip next week to Seattle. We go to a competition held by the Student Television Network (STN) organization, which holds a national convention for a week where high school and middle school students get the opportunity to compete against other students in the country in specific film/TV production contests along with multiple skill building workshops. Due to this Dylan, Dean, and I were caught up with preparation in the TV room, not being able to film. Not to worry though because I spoke to all of them and we are planning to film this Saturday before we leave for the trip to make sure I am all set for when we are out of Florida. With that being said I decided to start editing both trailers to continue work but also to see if maybe there is any scenes or ideas that may come to mind that I didn't realize. Luckily then I will be able to cover it for our final day of filming. So far everything is looking great, I'm extremely excited.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Monday, March 18, 2019
filming part 2
Hey everyone, today was our second day of filming! We were able to get a good majority of shots covered today at school without interruptions which was fantastic, and even better we got enough bloopers for a blooper reel part two.
The only problem that occurred was that Mariana couldn't join us for filming because she had to discuss her grade with her calculus teacher during her privilege. What we are now planing on doing is trying to film partly during our lunch break along with after school tomorrow (March 19) to get the final couple of scenes needed with Mariana in them. Luckily we should be all set with filming then.
The only problem that occurred was that Mariana couldn't join us for filming because she had to discuss her grade with her calculus teacher during her privilege. What we are now planing on doing is trying to film partly during our lunch break along with after school tomorrow (March 19) to get the final couple of scenes needed with Mariana in them. Luckily we should be all set with filming then.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Sunday, March 17, 2019
filming part 1
Hey everyone, first day of filming is done! I kinda have a mixed feeling on how it turned out; don't get me wrong though we had a blast together filming, in fact I even made a quick (rough edit) blooper reel from today's footage.
Today I had told Mariana and Dylan to come over first at 11 am and then told Dean and Owen to join in later at 12 pm. I ended up spending the good majority of the time today teaching everyone their lines and how to sign certain things. In all honesty the shots themselves were not extremely difficult or intricate so it helped the overall process of filming, but because I underestimated the difficulty of some of the signs we had to change what I had originally planned on the story board so that the lines could be more broken up so it would be easier for the actors to sign full sentences. Along with that to save time, I would from time to time act as a "sign prompter" for the actors. I would stand behind whoever the character was suppose to be looking at signing their lines so that they wouldn't have to fully memorize the lines and they could more than anything mimic what I was doing. We also chose to change some of the scenes since I had originally planned on filming in multiple locations, preferably at school, so we could do as many scenes as possible to utilize our time.
With that being said a lot of the actors had to leave at certain points, not being able to stay long for some of the shots, with us having to finish all filming by 3 pm. We were not able to get all the shots needed so I am a little anxious. Luckily Dylan, Mariana, Owen, and I have privilege for fourth period on A Days *. They have all agreed to stay at school and film the rest of the scenes during said period on Monday (March 18) but for Mariana I know that will essentially be her only free time available till April 14 (sadly ironic). I want to try to finish in that free period tomorrow. My only concern is that Dean, who plays a substantial role, does in deed have class that period. Talking to him about it he said that the class he has that period is not busy at this time so he would be able to ask his teacher to see if he could leave class to act; I told him I would rather him focus on working in his class and I would figure something else out but he insisted that he would ask his teacher because he feels as though there is no harm in asking. In all honesty if he is being truthful in his claims then hopefully Dean would be available to act during that period. I'm going to try and come up with some alternatives though in case worst come to worst.
* For those of you who are unfamiliar with the schedule at Cypress Bay, we work on what is called a A/B Day schedule. This means we have four courses one day and another four on the following day, rotating to have certain courses essentially every other day. In addition to that seniors and juniors with a certain grade point average can receive a free period called privilege (meaning they are technically allowed to leave school a class period early).
Today I had told Mariana and Dylan to come over first at 11 am and then told Dean and Owen to join in later at 12 pm. I ended up spending the good majority of the time today teaching everyone their lines and how to sign certain things. In all honesty the shots themselves were not extremely difficult or intricate so it helped the overall process of filming, but because I underestimated the difficulty of some of the signs we had to change what I had originally planned on the story board so that the lines could be more broken up so it would be easier for the actors to sign full sentences. Along with that to save time, I would from time to time act as a "sign prompter" for the actors. I would stand behind whoever the character was suppose to be looking at signing their lines so that they wouldn't have to fully memorize the lines and they could more than anything mimic what I was doing. We also chose to change some of the scenes since I had originally planned on filming in multiple locations, preferably at school, so we could do as many scenes as possible to utilize our time.
With that being said a lot of the actors had to leave at certain points, not being able to stay long for some of the shots, with us having to finish all filming by 3 pm. We were not able to get all the shots needed so I am a little anxious. Luckily Dylan, Mariana, Owen, and I have privilege for fourth period on A Days *. They have all agreed to stay at school and film the rest of the scenes during said period on Monday (March 18) but for Mariana I know that will essentially be her only free time available till April 14 (sadly ironic). I want to try to finish in that free period tomorrow. My only concern is that Dean, who plays a substantial role, does in deed have class that period. Talking to him about it he said that the class he has that period is not busy at this time so he would be able to ask his teacher to see if he could leave class to act; I told him I would rather him focus on working in his class and I would figure something else out but he insisted that he would ask his teacher because he feels as though there is no harm in asking. In all honesty if he is being truthful in his claims then hopefully Dean would be available to act during that period. I'm going to try and come up with some alternatives though in case worst come to worst.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
* For those of you who are unfamiliar with the schedule at Cypress Bay, we work on what is called a A/B Day schedule. This means we have four courses one day and another four on the following day, rotating to have certain courses essentially every other day. In addition to that seniors and juniors with a certain grade point average can receive a free period called privilege (meaning they are technically allowed to leave school a class period early).
Saturday, March 16, 2019
creation of props
Hey everyone, I have started working getting my props set for filming on set on Sunday. It's not a lot of props but one of the interesting things is I am trying create my own "DeVia" art work for the shoot. Sadly enough Dylan is not an artist therefore I am making all of his sketches and artwork to trace and color in for when we film. It's interesting to try and come up with art work that would in a way be symbolic for things experiences/felt by deaf people. I originally wanted to also include a scene of Dylan originally painting but upon further research, the cost of a large canvas seems too expensive for it to not turn out to be a good piece of art work, since I am no Picasso and neither is Dylan. I have now just shifted all/any art created to being in a sketch book for him to outline in the future. Along with that not many other props are needed. I have set out any other necessary materials we would need but we should be all set.
I have also started now adding and modifying the Social Media. I have created a Instagram and Facebook for this film, hopefully I will be able to post content starting tomorrow when we film. I have also changed all the names to say Listen because frankly I think the name is now going to stick. Other than that all I can say is I am excited to film tomorrow and see how it all plays out!
I have also started now adding and modifying the Social Media. I have created a Instagram and Facebook for this film, hopefully I will be able to post content starting tomorrow when we film. I have also changed all the names to say Listen because frankly I think the name is now going to stick. Other than that all I can say is I am excited to film tomorrow and see how it all plays out!
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Friday, March 15, 2019
finally found actors
Finally got some great news! I was able to rally together some friends of mine that are willing to act for the film. But that also comes with its own separate set of challenges.
First and foremost I wanna give a little bit of a background on each person.
To start off let me introduce you all to Dylan Bukstel, who will be playing Christopher. Dylan is a student in CBTV along with me who does not know sign language but personality wise is willing to learn knew things and adapts quickly. Along with that Dylan also in a sense already has quite the independent teenage boy personality so I think he ended up being a perfect match.
Now introducing our only female actress, Mariana Acosta, who will be playing Emma. Mariana is my best friend and I have actually been running my ideas back and forth with her throughout my entire planing process to get her honest feedback; I felt it was more than perfect to have her play a character in the film since she has been with me throughout this entire process. Mariana also does not know any sign language but due to her character being a hearing person anyway it seems to pose no problems, seeing that I will be having her sign little to nothing at all.
The last of our trio of main actors will be, Dean Milan, who is playing James. In all honesty Dean does not really match the character of goofy/comedic best friend but Dean is a valuable actor. Dean is the only one on the crew besides myself that knows ASL. This plays perfectly with him playing James because in a sense James is Christopher's connection to the hearing world, with that being said since Dean already knows ASL I will not have to teach him how to sign all of his signs but also he would be able to work on the more difficult task of signing while also speaking. I understand there may be some confusion as to why I chose Dean instead of Dylan to play James rather than Christopher because well shouldn't your best/only signer be playing the character that is deaf? The situation there is that actually it is quite difficult to sign and speak, being quite frank as a beginner it would be extremely difficult to try signing while speaking. The best way to describe it is imagine it like dancing and signing at the same time, not all artists can do so but for the ones that can, it has taken them years of practice; in this sense it is the same for sign language, because Dean has the previous years of practice in sign language he can adapt to adding speak much more quickly than Dylan would be able to.
Before I forget I also was able to have my friend Owen Anderson tag along to play as a side character. As you may have seen I decided when story boarding that it would be important/interesting to add the challenge of bullying into the movie trailer to show some more depth to discrimination of deaf and to highlight that in the film. Owen agreed to act as a nameless bully for a few scenes.
So far that is all the characters/actors I have, because I was only able to get them to all agree quite later on, we will be currently only filming on March 17, Sunday rather than the entire weekend.
 |
| Owen Anderson (17 y/o) = Bully |
 |
| Mariana Acosta (18 y/o) = Emma |
 |
| Dean Milan (16 y/o) = James |
 |
| Dylan Bukstel (17 y/o) = Christopher |
First and foremost I wanna give a little bit of a background on each person.
To start off let me introduce you all to Dylan Bukstel, who will be playing Christopher. Dylan is a student in CBTV along with me who does not know sign language but personality wise is willing to learn knew things and adapts quickly. Along with that Dylan also in a sense already has quite the independent teenage boy personality so I think he ended up being a perfect match.
Now introducing our only female actress, Mariana Acosta, who will be playing Emma. Mariana is my best friend and I have actually been running my ideas back and forth with her throughout my entire planing process to get her honest feedback; I felt it was more than perfect to have her play a character in the film since she has been with me throughout this entire process. Mariana also does not know any sign language but due to her character being a hearing person anyway it seems to pose no problems, seeing that I will be having her sign little to nothing at all.
The last of our trio of main actors will be, Dean Milan, who is playing James. In all honesty Dean does not really match the character of goofy/comedic best friend but Dean is a valuable actor. Dean is the only one on the crew besides myself that knows ASL. This plays perfectly with him playing James because in a sense James is Christopher's connection to the hearing world, with that being said since Dean already knows ASL I will not have to teach him how to sign all of his signs but also he would be able to work on the more difficult task of signing while also speaking. I understand there may be some confusion as to why I chose Dean instead of Dylan to play James rather than Christopher because well shouldn't your best/only signer be playing the character that is deaf? The situation there is that actually it is quite difficult to sign and speak, being quite frank as a beginner it would be extremely difficult to try signing while speaking. The best way to describe it is imagine it like dancing and signing at the same time, not all artists can do so but for the ones that can, it has taken them years of practice; in this sense it is the same for sign language, because Dean has the previous years of practice in sign language he can adapt to adding speak much more quickly than Dylan would be able to.
Before I forget I also was able to have my friend Owen Anderson tag along to play as a side character. As you may have seen I decided when story boarding that it would be important/interesting to add the challenge of bullying into the movie trailer to show some more depth to discrimination of deaf and to highlight that in the film. Owen agreed to act as a nameless bully for a few scenes.
So far that is all the characters/actors I have, because I was only able to get them to all agree quite later on, we will be currently only filming on March 17, Sunday rather than the entire weekend.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Sunday, March 10, 2019
continuation of advertising and scouting for actors
Hey everyone, so I have started to really hit some blimps in the road.
As you know I have started advertising and trying to recruit actors for my film. I have asked my ASL teacher to as around with the people she knows in the deaf community, while we also advertised the three main character parts to all of her ASL classes. So far no one (hearing or deaf) has reached out to me about acting in the movie trailers. In all honesty I'm a little worried because I am not going to be in Florida for spring break (which for us is March 22 to April 1) therefore I really need to start filming this upcoming weekend (March 15,16,17). Currently I have one hearing friend of mine that knows how to sign who says if I can not find anyone else to act he is willing to act for my trailer.
Along with continuing to reach out to people in person at my school and through word of mouth, I also decided to advertise in other means. I felt as though I needed to try to reach people that I may not have any relation to because they may also be interested and I am quite honestly open to working with anyone who would like to collaborate and further develop this "movie". I took to social media with a graphic I made to try and reach more people. I don't own a Twitter account but I decided to make one to advertise my need for a actor, and I also looked into creating a Facebook account but to be completely honest I don't quite understand Facebook so it seemed wisest to me to avoid it. Along with that I also created a Instagram highlight on my own personal Instagram account to continue advertising (making a separate account seemed a little excessive at this stage of production so I am holding off for now). I still haven't gotten any responses so I may have to start completely rethinking some of my initial ideas on showing the development of this film if this continues because I need to be able to start production as soon as possible. Hopefully things start getting better soon.
As you know I have started advertising and trying to recruit actors for my film. I have asked my ASL teacher to as around with the people she knows in the deaf community, while we also advertised the three main character parts to all of her ASL classes. So far no one (hearing or deaf) has reached out to me about acting in the movie trailers. In all honesty I'm a little worried because I am not going to be in Florida for spring break (which for us is March 22 to April 1) therefore I really need to start filming this upcoming weekend (March 15,16,17). Currently I have one hearing friend of mine that knows how to sign who says if I can not find anyone else to act he is willing to act for my trailer.
That's a rapp on this post, till next time!
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Naming
Howdy everyone, I have decided that its about time I start naming my character's, settings and most importantly the film itself!
I have been contemplating what to name my characters and establishing setting mainly based off of popularity of names, general settings that are more accessible to me but also make sense with the story, and also general connections to names that I make when thinking of said places and names.
Here are the names I was thinking of in correlation to the characters:
Deaf Main Character = Christopher (Chris as a nick name?)
Best Friend to MC = James (JJ as a nick name?)
Female Friend/Love Interest = Emma
I picked these names because not only are they popular names of teenagers born in 2000s but also they are names that are simple to sign.
Along with that I want this story to take place in a suburban area to show the sheltered lives of some of these teenagers and the impact of the introduction to someone unique/different from the normal like Chris to a sort of cookie cutter society. With this in mind I think the city I live in (Weston) is perfect for this, so I hope to use my school and my house as the primary filming locations.
In terms of the title for the film, I was trying to think of something witty and unique but my mind is coming to a blank. In all honesty my best idea at the moment is to call it "Listen".
I know that sounds corny and cheesy but my idea behind it is that I wanna show this character for more than just his deafness. When I saw Listen I mean to use it as both a slight pun because the main character is deaf but also because Chris' main objective throughout the story is for him to find himself, growing as a person, but also to get the rest of the hearing world to acknowledge him. This whole film more than anything else is suppose to show him expressing himself, ultimately (sorry for how corny this is going to sound) trying to get people to listen to him. I want to continue thinking of a name to see if I come up with anything less clique, so I will let you all know if I find anything.
Sources:
I have been contemplating what to name my characters and establishing setting mainly based off of popularity of names, general settings that are more accessible to me but also make sense with the story, and also general connections to names that I make when thinking of said places and names.
Here are the names I was thinking of in correlation to the characters:
Deaf Main Character = Christopher (Chris as a nick name?)
Best Friend to MC = James (JJ as a nick name?)
Female Friend/Love Interest = Emma
I picked these names because not only are they popular names of teenagers born in 2000s but also they are names that are simple to sign.
Along with that I want this story to take place in a suburban area to show the sheltered lives of some of these teenagers and the impact of the introduction to someone unique/different from the normal like Chris to a sort of cookie cutter society. With this in mind I think the city I live in (Weston) is perfect for this, so I hope to use my school and my house as the primary filming locations.
In terms of the title for the film, I was trying to think of something witty and unique but my mind is coming to a blank. In all honesty my best idea at the moment is to call it "Listen".
I know that sounds corny and cheesy but my idea behind it is that I wanna show this character for more than just his deafness. When I saw Listen I mean to use it as both a slight pun because the main character is deaf but also because Chris' main objective throughout the story is for him to find himself, growing as a person, but also to get the rest of the hearing world to acknowledge him. This whole film more than anything else is suppose to show him expressing himself, ultimately (sorry for how corny this is going to sound) trying to get people to listen to him. I want to continue thinking of a name to see if I come up with anything less clique, so I will let you all know if I find anything.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Sources:
“Social Security.” Reports, Facts and Figures | Press Office | Social Security Administration, Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names2000s.html.
Friday, March 8, 2019
start of scouting
I am now hitting what I believe will be the biggest struggle of this project, finding actors.
Currently I have started trying to find the supporting characters which would be the love interest and best friend. When thinking of the best friend I want the character to feel like the ying to the main deaf character's yang. I want the best friend to be comedic and extroverted, slightly taunting to his best friend but in the end is always there for him. When thinking of the love interest I want this girl to be shown as a sort of combination between the best friend and the deaf main character in interests and characteristics. I want this girl to be shown as kept to herself but not stand off-ish, being artistic and essentially a fun person to be around, yet is modest/humble. I was also thinking about having this girl be in the (MC) main character's art class which is where they first meet. I think that would be a great way to introduce the characters to each other but also as a original drive for the MC to want to go to art class and learn more, later on developing a love for art itself.
Essentially I plan to film in the afternoon on March 15 (Friday) and 16 (Saturday), while filming all day on March 17 (Sunday). I would hope to film any shots at a school in the story that Friday. Then filming all the art studio painting and house scenes on that Saturday. Finally any dialogue or crucial scenes to be covered that Sunday. I am also open to moving filming times and dates just so I can make sure my actors are available and able to work then, which means I can't really finalize any film dates till I have gotten confirmations from my 3 main character actors (MC, best friend, & love interest).
I have started scouting for actors/actresses for my film and let me tell you it is turning out as I had predicted. Talking to my ASL who agreed to help me find a deaf actor, she said she would simply put up an ad (which I made) on the Broward College deaf club facebook. I was under the impression tha when I talked to her that she would ask some deaf people she knew personally whether they would be interested in acting. With that being said I have decided I am going to branch out more on my own hoping to advertise and contact people through the social media I created for this film. With the advertising my teacher and I have now done we stated that if anyone is interested to contact me before March 13. I know I really want to get a deaf actor but because of the immense pressure and time constraints I am put under I can't risk not having an actor; I have decided that if I cannot find a deaf actor by March 13 I will look for a hearing actor that simply knows how to sign. With that being said all that is left is to also cast the other two crucial characters. Originally I specifically asked my peer Charlie Seldin if he would be interested in acting as the best friend mainly because he perfectly matches the idea I had of the best friend character. Not only is he fluent in ASL but he is also very comedic and outgoing. Yet when I asked him he seemed very interested but said he will most likely be busy so he can't fully commit, he would let me know if anything changed later on. In the end I asked in my ASL class if anyone would be interested in taking on either the best friend or love interest role. I told them if anyone was interested to talk to me after class or text me by Sunday, March 10th. I must now play a waiting game to see how many/if I get any responses by said dates.
Currently I have started trying to find the supporting characters which would be the love interest and best friend. When thinking of the best friend I want the character to feel like the ying to the main deaf character's yang. I want the best friend to be comedic and extroverted, slightly taunting to his best friend but in the end is always there for him. When thinking of the love interest I want this girl to be shown as a sort of combination between the best friend and the deaf main character in interests and characteristics. I want this girl to be shown as kept to herself but not stand off-ish, being artistic and essentially a fun person to be around, yet is modest/humble. I was also thinking about having this girl be in the (MC) main character's art class which is where they first meet. I think that would be a great way to introduce the characters to each other but also as a original drive for the MC to want to go to art class and learn more, later on developing a love for art itself.
Essentially I plan to film in the afternoon on March 15 (Friday) and 16 (Saturday), while filming all day on March 17 (Sunday). I would hope to film any shots at a school in the story that Friday. Then filming all the art studio painting and house scenes on that Saturday. Finally any dialogue or crucial scenes to be covered that Sunday. I am also open to moving filming times and dates just so I can make sure my actors are available and able to work then, which means I can't really finalize any film dates till I have gotten confirmations from my 3 main character actors (MC, best friend, & love interest).
I have started scouting for actors/actresses for my film and let me tell you it is turning out as I had predicted. Talking to my ASL who agreed to help me find a deaf actor, she said she would simply put up an ad (which I made) on the Broward College deaf club facebook. I was under the impression tha when I talked to her that she would ask some deaf people she knew personally whether they would be interested in acting. With that being said I have decided I am going to branch out more on my own hoping to advertise and contact people through the social media I created for this film. With the advertising my teacher and I have now done we stated that if anyone is interested to contact me before March 13. I know I really want to get a deaf actor but because of the immense pressure and time constraints I am put under I can't risk not having an actor; I have decided that if I cannot find a deaf actor by March 13 I will look for a hearing actor that simply knows how to sign. With that being said all that is left is to also cast the other two crucial characters. Originally I specifically asked my peer Charlie Seldin if he would be interested in acting as the best friend mainly because he perfectly matches the idea I had of the best friend character. Not only is he fluent in ASL but he is also very comedic and outgoing. Yet when I asked him he seemed very interested but said he will most likely be busy so he can't fully commit, he would let me know if anything changed later on. In the end I asked in my ASL class if anyone would be interested in taking on either the best friend or love interest role. I told them if anyone was interested to talk to me after class or text me by Sunday, March 10th. I must now play a waiting game to see how many/if I get any responses by said dates.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
start of design
Hey everyone, I have decided to start looking into designs and themes so I can start looking into making the website and poster. When looking at posters from some of the movies I discussed in my previous posting, I realized the majority of the posters focus was on the main character(s) whether it be a close up of the characters faces in their environment or a long shot with a plain back ground. Along with that I was also able to find a format for how I can put text on my poster.
I also started looking at different examples of movie websites, whether they be previous student projects or films that I mentioned as examples in my previous blog posts. A couple things that noticed are that majority follow a color theme that matches the tone of their genre/film itself, and that the websites main focus is pushing the content from the film itself. Majority of the websites start off with the movie's trailer, then later on showing a description of the movie, photos from the film, and links to where the film can be purchased. I have decided to start looking into what I could do as a color theme at least to get started.
I have decided I want to follow the stylistic choices of De'Via when creating promotional content, wanting to focus on the culture of the deaf society and the main characters expression of self. With that being said I am going to continue looking into some posters and photos I can make/take for the website and poster, possibly other promotional content.
Sources:
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Sources:
Berke, Jamie. “What Is Meant by Deaf Culture?” Verywell Health, Verywellhealth, www.verywellhealth.com/deaf-culture-basics-1046268.
“De'VIA Colors.” De'VIA Curriculum, 7 June 2018, deviacurr.wordpress.com/devia-colors/.
New York Film Academy. “How To Make Movie Posters To Promote Your Film.” Student Resources, Alumni | New York Film Academy, 27 Aug. 2018, www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/make-movie-posters-promote-film/.
“The Edge Of Seventeen | Trailer & Movie Site | Now Playing in Theaters.” STX Entertainment, stxmovies.com/theedgeofseventeen/.
20thcenturyfox. “Love, Simon | Fox Movies.” 20th Century Fox, Bryan Singer, 16 Mar. 2018, www.foxmovies.com/movies/love-simon.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
story board/script
Hey everyone, so even though I haven't found my actors yet I am still creating my story board based off of the generalized plot I posted earlier on. Again I'm drawing this in how I imagine it and hopefully we can do it like so. I really need to find actors by Thursday though because we will have to film some shots on Friday since we will have access to school then.
Along with the storyboard I also decided to write out some pieces of dialogue. With that being said i have also started glossing them all out so that I can ask my ASL teacher in advance for her opinion on it and if any major corrections are needed.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Sunday, March 3, 2019
General Plot with some character ideas
Hey I wanted to share with you guys my general idea for the theoretical plot of the movie!
Begining: I want to start of the movie with my deaf boy (I still have to think of a name for him) starting off at a new school in his sophomore year of high school. I want this character as I said before to be a stand off-ish character so I want this character to be shown struggling a little bit in the begining, but not showing it. At the begining I think it would be best portrayed that this character get slight stares and taunting for being deaf but he just blows it off and acts cool. I also want to establish that he originally had hearing when he was born but lost it when he was very little, like 2 - 3 years old. I also want his parents to be hearing parents, yet know little to no sign language, because of the research I did sincee that seemed the most common. I want the begining to just kind of establish the "bonus" struggles this boy deals with to then be able to elaborate on some of them or not even give some of them much thought later on because they become irrelevant in his daily life after time. When thinking it over I also want him to have some kind of best friend. I think having a best friend will reveal more of the true character in the beginning without messing with the characters habit of staying closed to strangers. I am thinking this best friend could have known him since he was in 6th grade so they have some ways back and can already have an established deep personal connection. Along with that I want the best friend to be hearing just so the character isn't confused for just having a hate for all hearing people. I want to show at the beginning this boy is stand off-ish when dealing with others unless they are already close to him and I also want to introduce more than anything general themes and concepts that will be used and elaborated throughout
Middle: I want to show the character trying to get adapted to the new school with more challenges being thrown his way (maybe general moving to a new location problems, and bullying gets out of hand). I want at this point for the character to discover a love for painting. I think that the film can then grow from his love of painitng and showing that expand and become the main focus of his life. I am also thinking about adding a love interest with a hearing girl. In almost any teen film I have researched, when the main character is a boy there is usually a female love interest to show further teenage struggles and give the character motivation in a sense when making decisions throughout the film. I want him to fall for a hearing girl of course and demonstrate that as more of his normal teenage boy life that in all entirety isn't a struggle that comes from his deafness to show he is a average teenage boy. To elaborate more on the art, I want the boy to try and enter an art contest.
End: I want the boy to try and become a defined artist as the movie progresses and he finds a love through the art. I want the movie to kinda end with him not having won the art contest but having grown stronger from the experience and finding out what that's what he wants to pursue for the rest of his life so he continues to work hard towards it.
Characters I'm currently thinking we will need is: Love Interest, Best Friend, Bully and Group, Parent(s?), Art Teacher?, and Deaf Boy
This is just a rough outline right now but right now am really excited and hope to start looking for a deaf actor this week to really solidify this whole project.
Begining: I want to start of the movie with my deaf boy (I still have to think of a name for him) starting off at a new school in his sophomore year of high school. I want this character as I said before to be a stand off-ish character so I want this character to be shown struggling a little bit in the begining, but not showing it. At the begining I think it would be best portrayed that this character get slight stares and taunting for being deaf but he just blows it off and acts cool. I also want to establish that he originally had hearing when he was born but lost it when he was very little, like 2 - 3 years old. I also want his parents to be hearing parents, yet know little to no sign language, because of the research I did sincee that seemed the most common. I want the begining to just kind of establish the "bonus" struggles this boy deals with to then be able to elaborate on some of them or not even give some of them much thought later on because they become irrelevant in his daily life after time. When thinking it over I also want him to have some kind of best friend. I think having a best friend will reveal more of the true character in the beginning without messing with the characters habit of staying closed to strangers. I am thinking this best friend could have known him since he was in 6th grade so they have some ways back and can already have an established deep personal connection. Along with that I want the best friend to be hearing just so the character isn't confused for just having a hate for all hearing people. I want to show at the beginning this boy is stand off-ish when dealing with others unless they are already close to him and I also want to introduce more than anything general themes and concepts that will be used and elaborated throughout
Middle: I want to show the character trying to get adapted to the new school with more challenges being thrown his way (maybe general moving to a new location problems, and bullying gets out of hand). I want at this point for the character to discover a love for painting. I think that the film can then grow from his love of painitng and showing that expand and become the main focus of his life. I am also thinking about adding a love interest with a hearing girl. In almost any teen film I have researched, when the main character is a boy there is usually a female love interest to show further teenage struggles and give the character motivation in a sense when making decisions throughout the film. I want him to fall for a hearing girl of course and demonstrate that as more of his normal teenage boy life that in all entirety isn't a struggle that comes from his deafness to show he is a average teenage boy. To elaborate more on the art, I want the boy to try and enter an art contest.
End: I want the boy to try and become a defined artist as the movie progresses and he finds a love through the art. I want the movie to kinda end with him not having won the art contest but having grown stronger from the experience and finding out what that's what he wants to pursue for the rest of his life so he continues to work hard towards it.
Characters I'm currently thinking we will need is: Love Interest, Best Friend, Bully and Group, Parent(s?), Art Teacher?, and Deaf Boy
This is just a rough outline right now but right now am really excited and hope to start looking for a deaf actor this week to really solidify this whole project.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Saturday, March 2, 2019
First Discussion
Howdy everyone, I have been developing my plot further now that I have established my main character. I have also been talking more to my ASL teacher, Mrs.Russo, to work with her more on making the story realistic with her knowledge on the deaf community but also on how to strategize the advertising and actual casting for the main character.
Along with that in my AICE Media class yesterday, we were all broken up into groups to discuss our projects and how far we have gotten. It was a great experience to help others but also it helped me in trying to in a sense pitch my idea to my target audience of teenagers. When discussing my idea with the group they at first were confused feeling as though I wanted to make more of a documentary on a deaf kid but then I tried reexplaining what my idea is as more of the comedy-drama it is. Once I had done that they recommended I watched the movie Wonder because they said it reminded them a lot of the movie but just with a deaf character.
I ended up not being able to watch the movie Wonder till two hours ago quite frankly, which is what made me realize I might need to start making a huge shift in my way of explaining this film. Although I absolutely loved the film and now can't wait to find the a copy of the book to read myself, it showed me that I was completely sending the wrong message to people about my movie. Yes of course I know I have been stressing the importance of representation of the deaf community and wanting to own his deafness, I don't want that to be the main or only focus of this film. When they compared my film to Wonder I realized that they were seeing it as more of a feel good movie of in a sense overcoming differences but that's not necessarily the case I want to make with my film. I want my character to own his deafness but I want it to be so much more than that, more than anything I just want it to feel like a typical high school movie but from the point of view of a deaf boy. In a sense I want the story to be similar more than anything to the movie The Edge Of Seventeen, where it is a normal teenage story of self discovery just with the additional representation and challenges of being a deaf teenager. I'm going to start trying to approach my pitching methods slightly differently now just to make sure I get the proper message across, hopefully I can now finish a solid plot line and story board for my movie trailers and film.
Along with that in my AICE Media class yesterday, we were all broken up into groups to discuss our projects and how far we have gotten. It was a great experience to help others but also it helped me in trying to in a sense pitch my idea to my target audience of teenagers. When discussing my idea with the group they at first were confused feeling as though I wanted to make more of a documentary on a deaf kid but then I tried reexplaining what my idea is as more of the comedy-drama it is. Once I had done that they recommended I watched the movie Wonder because they said it reminded them a lot of the movie but just with a deaf character.
That's a Rapp on this post, till next time!
Source:
“Wonder.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 16 Nov. 2017, www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/.
“Comedy-Drama.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy-drama.
Picture:
“Wonder Movie Poster (#1 of 16).” IMP Awards - All the Latest Movie Posters, www.impawards.com/2017/wonder.html.
“The Edge of Seventeen Movie Poster Limited Print Photo Hailee Steinfeld Woody Harrelson Size 11x17 #1.” Amazon, Amazon, www.amazon.com/Seventeen-Poster-Limited-Steinfeld-Harrelson/dp/B01N2HXM02.
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