Production Design

As I have mentioned before, mise-en-scene is CRITICAL in a film opening. Mise-en-scene is everything that is in front of the camera. Includes production design, composition, staging, lighting, and makeup. It is the way you project and tell a story to the viewers. It is key to develop a character, create context and symbolism. In this blog post I will focus mainly on the costume design and makeup aspects of my film. 

Costume Design

First of all, I need to provide some of the main character's background. My character, Ellie, is full-time college student, with no money, no family, and no job. She rents a room in a house where multiple families live. So she basically lives in that room. She doesn't have money to pay her rent, so she obviously doesn't have money to buy any luxuries or in-style items. She has been using the same clothes and shoes over the years. Besides living in poverty, she is also a really simple teenager. She doesn't own or wear any jewelry and is satisfied with whatever she has. Her main focus is on school and surviving. 

So for Ellie, I decided to create very simple and basic outfits to represent her personality as well as her lifestyle. I also want to incorporate some 2008 fashion vibes. I got some of my inspiration from one of my favorite series, Shameless, and Pinterest. 

 

 

                   

                          

Makeup

Since Ellie is a very simple girl, she barely wears makeup. So I decided to give her a very natural looking makeup. Little makeup will be used to cover imperfections, enhance her face structure, and to avoid light reflection (Concealer, powder, little bronzer, mascara).

 

Another Prop: The Calendar!

I finished the calendar!! This is a very important prop to my film opening. Even though simple, it is CRITICAL. This is because it's the way the audience will be able to have track of time. Every day that passes, a line will be crossed. Additionally, every important date will also be visible, for instance, competition day, the day her eviction notice was given, as well as the day her property will be taken away (that is if she is not able to pay... but she will. OOPS spoiler). This way, the viewers will be able to see how much time is left until the competition, and will be able to feel the pressure and stress that the main character is going through.

I tried making it pretty, but I'm not very creative... so it turned out pretty basic. I took a long time making it because I was trying to get the measurements right. And it is very straight if I do say so myself. I attached a picture of the calendar before and other after it was done. Here you go. :)

I measured the border and traced it, then I measured 

from corner to corner, and the number I got, I divided it 

bythe amount of squares I needed to do... 

EVERYTHING is precisely measured, so please 

appreciate the effort put into it.   :)

In the top left corner you are able to see some of
 the drafts I did in order to make "March" fit exactly
 in the middle.

Oops! 

I might have forgotten something...  I forgot to add a little detail to the baking competition poster. During the competition, Ellie will have only 2 hours to finish her cake. And this is critical to the film opening!!! I did my best to fit it where it was visible. I will post another picture with the updated version. Enjoy :)

Poster Done!

I finished the baking competition poster! I had a lot of fun doing it, even though it took a long time. I made ir very eye-catching and colorful. It turned out pretty good, I think? I dont really know, but I tried my best. I made a yellow vanilla cake with blueberry and raspberry jam filling. Topped with those on top.  I made sure to mention the most important details: 

- The title

- The price (money)

- The date of the competition

- A phone number

- And of course, a cake. 

Process of Making the Competition Flyer

I started making the competition flyer!!! I am still not finished, but I have a feeling that it will turn out good. I got out my markers and started drawing. I am trying to make it as eye-catching as possible, since the character in my movie is supposed to see it from far away. My idea is to make the "baking" part in cursive, and the "competition" part all caps. I will make sure to incorporate a cake (obviously), as well as the most important details.  I will make another posting including the final result, so stick around! But here I will post some pictures of part of the process! 

Eviction Notice Flyer

I finally finished the Eviction flyer!! This will be on Ellie's door when she gets back to school. This is the way she finds out that she hasn't payed her rent. She was 30 days to get the money, otherwise, her room will be taken away, and she might have to live on the streets. This is the main problem the character will be facing. She is a college student and is drowned in debt, so she hasn't been able to pay her rent. The story will develop based on this. 

STORYBOARD!

I have finally finished the storyboard!!! It took toooo long. And I must admit... it is not my best work. I tried to do it fast, since I do not have that much time. I am officially scared. We are very closed to the due date and I am about to start filming!! This is not what I had planned. Additionally, how I mentioned in my last blog, I have way too much content, and I will need to cut off some scenes. The problem is that I did a very developed story where every scene is relevant. And I don't know where to cuff of shots. Another thing is that I had 86 SHOTS total!!! That is a lot... I will have to redo some scenes and change the story line.. We'll see how this goes. But here I will attach my story board! hope it is not to overwhelming, since there are maanyy pictures. Sorry.