Scheduling & Research

    Now that I have a clearer idea of my film's plot and what I'm trying to aim for with my opening scene, I created a schedule to better complete this project. I want to ensure that I'll have enough time for everything, and I've found it's easier to organize my ideas and keep myself on schedule through the use of a checklist. As you can see from the photo below (if it's not too blurry), the checklist is organized by the three blog posts I have to write each week. I thought it was best to have it laid out this way to be able to know not only what I have to blog about, but to also know what step I should be at at that time of the week. The highlighted lines are to remind me to create a separate checklist for items like props, costumes, and locations, which I'll create closer to that time of my process.

So, if I want to make it a good habit to stick to my schedule, I better start now...

    A coming-of-age drama is a mix between two essentially popular genres. The coming-of-age part is one that I know well, especially as I'm approaching the time to move away to college. A coming-of-age film focuses on personal struggles of the characters and how the movie's plot helps them grow. One of the most important aspects of showing this growth and complex emotions is through the use of dialogue. At first, I hadn't thought to include any dialogue in my opening scene, and just use a compilation of moments of stillness, another aspect of coming-of-age films, but now I'm getting an idea to incorporate a voicemail from the main character's late parent (if I choose to go that route). 

    After the popularity that director John Hughes brought to the genre, many coming-of-age films primarily followed characters in high school and featured a fast-paced, youthful opening (see example of Hughes' Sixteen Candles). I'd like for my character to also be in high school, but I'm more interested in the dramatic aspect which would have to feature a slower opening with more melancholic tones. A film opening that comes to mind that I'd, currently, like to embody the feel of is that of Call Me by Your Name. These opening credits give off more of a sense of being frozen-in-time. The color tone as well as the overall mise-en-scene elements of the photographs also contribute to a sad and a "detached from youth tone," which is more pertaining to the genre of drama. Coming-of-age films can go many routes from comedy to romance, but I want to specifically focus on drama in order to incorporate elements like softer lighting and to be able to focus on the inner struggles of the main character's agony. As dark as it seems to sound, I'm actually extremely excited to get started on the film opening. I'm going to have to find a few more examples of exactly how I can embody tone in my opening, but I'm starting to get a clearer image of the story I want to portray.

Coming-of-age movies: What is the coming-of-age genre? - 2024. MasterClass. (n.d.). https://www.masterclass.com/articles/coming-of-age-movies 

What is drama?. The Drama Genre. (n.d.-b). https://dramagenre.weebly.com/what-is-drama.html