So I've been absolutely stalking movie media pages these past few days, and I've taken away ALOT on how they advertise and portray their productions.
To start... lets take a blast from the past really quick...
When I was 12/13, I used to LIVE on YouTube, and I would always be watching the cast behind the scenes, bloopers, or Q&A videos from some of my favorite movies, and there were always certain ones I would rewatch and come back to. Ironically, these ones were the ones where they made the actors seem so 'normal'. They would be funny, laugh at weird jokes, and sometimes even do things that I did. It made me feel connected to them and whenever I would rewatch the movie, my love for it would always deepen. For example, the Maze Runner cast was one of my ALL time favorite casts, (if we ignore my supernatural obsession because that is clearly the best cast) and this was because of those addicting videos they would always post.
Of course, having a funny and close cast helps to create the vibe they send out with these videos, but it's also the activities they had them do and the way they would create these videos that made everybody love them and smile when they watched. (it also helps that Dylan O'Brien exists in them ofc)
Said peak videos:
These videos are really great promotions as they get a lot of people intrigued within the cast and can convince people to watch the movie due to how well the chemistry of the cast is here. Of course, they aren't social media posts, but they were what I was thinking would be engaging and fun content wise. I really want to make the behind the scenes clips lighthearted and funny despite the content of the film being more dim and dreary.
I think the bloopers would be a great idea to incorporate... but I don't think we would have really humorous ones due to the setting and content we're making. There isn't enough action to publish funny fails, but there should be SOMETHING we can figure out to add humor into the film.
Finally, to film these Q&A's or challenges for our actors/directors, we need to have our subjects presented as they would be on a camera or an event. They should be dressed in nicer clothes and presented properly to convey the more professional look that most of these videos give. Of course we will only have 1-3 of these as it's difficult to film, and it's not a very big cast either.
I think doing something lighthearted and engaging with the audience will attract more people, as they are naturally drawn to things that will make them laugh on social media, as it brings them joy. I'll have to research next on actual posting's and captions to design the overall look of the social media page, but I was super excited to write about the content for the reels we're going to film as it's one of my favorite part's about movies!
For our main graphic and profile picture on our Instagram, we decided on a very different take to make the graphic/design...
I decided to draw it!
I am a massive art geek and I really got into digital art during COVID (but I prefer 2D), but I did miraculously get good at realism over digital art, and I figured it would be fun and we could really have full creative freedom this way. We decided on a POV shot of male hands, and in the drawing you'll see area's of skin falling off and revealing the mechanics underneath the hands. I used different robotic arm art references to inspire the design of the robot underneath, but to actually draw the hands, I used myself for reference! (It's SO easy to use your own hands as a guideline)
Here's what I've done so far!
I've only drawn the rough sketch and a rough tracing outline and shading of it, but in the end my goal is to have zero contour lines throughout the artwork and a full range of shading as well! I'm super excited to see how this comes out, and I really think it makes it personal to me, as I often draw things out rather than trying to design things online.
Overall I think mapping it out this way really lets us set a tone for how our social media page will be looking as I can personalize all the colors however I'd like to and see which schemes will work together aesthetically and which wont.
P.S.!!!
Check out this little animation I drew out for our CBTV class! Daniela edited it ofc :) (It's an i2i)
Animation is SO hard... and it's literally in like 6fps and VERY easy drawings, I really cannot imagine how long animation on movies like Luca take.. it deserves so much more attention and credit.
So I WAS planning on making a makeup research blog or a social media blog as we had a really good lesson and I was super excited about it... but I think our casting call needs to get done ASAP so we can start actually shooting on time.
So todays post will be pretty short but it's really just the text we're gonna send out and what we're looking for in our actors.
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 ATTENTION ALL ASPIRING ACTORS/ACTRESSES🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
CAST CALLING FOR A SCI-FI SHORT FILM
AUDITIONS HELD ON: 2/27/2024 @ 3:30
WHERE: DRAMA ROOM
CONTACT: 954-248-8099
CONTENT:
We are in need of actors for our current short film in production! This film is a sci-fi/dystopia film that takes place in the times of robots and scientists...
We are looking for an actor who can display a very robotic character that slowly becomes more human overtime..
More will be explained at auditions and if/when you contact!
For this audition you will be provided with a monologue to perform as well as a poem that you will have to read out loud and convey your voice acting skills throughout it.
PAY: A free meal wherever you like for every filming day we have :)
WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR AMAZING PERFORMANCES THANK YOU.
I cant lie I feel like that one meme begging this bad for actors... but it will be worth it!!!
Anyways...
I think we might specific on male/female roles, but I don't want to narrow our options down if there aren't enough male actors that show up to the audition. Additionally, we may need a female if we're going to follow through with adding our other character to the film, but we're still discussing that.
I'm actually REALLY excited to see how these turn out and who shows up to it, I also feel like we can work around our design and plot when we finally pick an actor, then we can base color choices and costume ideas around their own personal style and looks.
Finally I think that getting this done will force me to be more productive as we're going to have an actor on call waiting for whenever we can film or shoot promotional content for our social media. I want to start on that next week, so we need an actor by then to at least create BTS content or posters to promote our film. Also, once we find our actor, like I said above, we can make our coloring choices which will definitely play into how our social media page looks and I can start designing that too!
So we were planning on sending out an audition call soon...
But we had to think of what exactly we wanted them to perform when we held the auditions! We definitely needed something that showed the MC's emotion and how it builds throughout the film, but we also need someone who has an amazing skill for voice acting, making people feel things just by speaking in different ways. So we decided to pull these two pieces as we thought they would be best fitting for our auditioners to act out for when we held auditions...
"I am a machine" Battlestar Galactica monologue
We wanted our auditioners to learn this monologue and act it out so we could see how they could switch to acting almost mechanically to very emotionally. I believe another thing that will make the film so much better is if we spend less time worrying about makeup and CGI and more time finding a solid actor that has the time and skill to convey the same experience with just their body movement and voice.
Boots (1915) Rudyard Kipling Read by Taylor Holmes
I'm sure many people are familiar with this famous poem and this specific reading of the poem, I have been fascinated by the reading and how it was used to bring comfort to the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. I wanted for the auditioners to read out this poem in a similar pacing that builds so that we can get a feel for how they are with voice acting. Due to the audio of the MC narrating himself, his emotion builds and becomes more stressed throughout the film, and I think it is a key audio component that will build the tension and emotion of the film, so it is important that we get someone who can voice act for this.
ALSO!!! (edit) I played this audio for my parents and told them before to let me know how they feel about it... and a minute in my Dad said to pause it so I did. Then I asked if it made them uncomfortable and they said yes very much so! So I really do think this audio holds a lot of potential for auditions as it really creates emotion and feeling within the listeners (as proved in my mini experiment)
I really think holding these casting calls will move our process along so much more as it takes the weight off of the other elements we would have to create to get the robotic feeling across the audience. I also think it will give the film a much better look overall if we pull an actor rather than a random friend who is willing to help. This also gives me a very good idea of how it really is to create a film or a mini film. There are so many steps you have to take, that aren't even fully depicted within the result of a film, and those steps really make or break your production as well.
BONUS:
this has absolutely nothing to do with our short film... but on the topic of little speeches i have to profess my unfortunate and undying love for castiel's script in supernatural s6e20... especially the "freedom is a length of rope" quote bc he ATE DOWN in that.
i cant find the yt video but its on tik tok you should 100% look it up and bless your ears!!
(also im so sorry i know supernatural is SO bad...but i cant stop rewatching)
I have been sucked into the world of YouTube recently, diving into the filmmakers on there (There's ALOT...) and I've picked out some of my favorites as well as WHY they are my favorites. Watching a lot of these made me realize what makes them likeable and memorable, and for me personally, it's when they're either very emotional or they have a resonant theme or message that relates to our current lives or situations within the world.
But before I get to the amazing and jaw dropping films... I have some personal shoutouts that made my day when I was scrolling through YouTube...
Being honest here, these were the biggest inspirations for my short film... they're so cinematically perfect!!!! I won't link them just so you don't get hit with a wave of inspiration while reading this blog, you're welcome.
Now to get to the other films, here are four of my favorites!
Model Citizen
I thought this dystopian short film was done so well, not just the animation but the way they had the dialogue very unsettling and made the audience realize something was off right away. Additionally I liked the corporation of the masks and how they represented the current society within this fictional world. I thought the whole concept was very well though of an executed well.
(no name)
Did I cry? Yes. This film was absolutely adorable and I thought it really struck a chord with me the way the voiceover was done. Of course, to evoke any emotion just add a dog, but I really think that always works no matter what, dogs are just so perfect. I really enjoyed the storytelling and the use of camera angles to portray the dogs emotions well.
Man Spread
This was AMAZING. I really liked the message that this film got across to the audience and how they told the story. I thought that originally switching the roles was such a good idea as it made the audience question everything as we're never used to seeing women in that role. But at the end when it portrayed the truth, the audience understood the message and came to the realization of the meaning behind the film.
The Loop
I really enjoyed the technical aspects of this film and how they portrayed stress and repetition. I thought the story was good too, but what drew my eye was the pacing. I would like to further analyze this in the future to see what camera and editing techniques I could use from this to make my own productions better.
Despite the amount of time this always takes, I think it's always worth doing this research as I can really see what to focus on in my short film, as well as not trying to do too much. There were a few films that I watched that were simply to confusing to process and I didn't get the gist of them, and this made me realize how I made last year's mistake by trying to do WAY too much in the span of two minutes. I really want to simplify our idea this time and make it as minimal and understandable as possible.
First off, the dystopian genre consists of many characteristics that create a futuristic version of our current world, but not one for the better. Often in dystopian films, novels, or shows, the conditions of human life are usually suppressed due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. These are most of the time due to natural disasters the world has fallen to due to human ignorance, or sometimes corrupt political power.
Lots of dystopian films focus on social control of the public which is usually enforced by corporate, religious/philosophical power, technological, or bureaucratic powers. It is defined as totalitarianism which is a social control over a population through force and watching. This is very relevant in certain novels such as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, as they are classic novels that orchestrate the control of the public's knowledge and how they are restricted by the higher powers in charge.
Dystopian fiction is technically a work of science fiction as it takes place within the future, which may hold technological advances and partakes in 'speculative' fiction. This type of fiction speculates what happens within our world if we don't acknowledge the current threats and situation of our world now.
Some characteristics of dystopian societies are:
-Propaganda used to control citizens/populations.
-Information restricted as well as freedom and independent thinking.
-A certain motto, figure, or rule that is worshipped within the society.
-Dehumanization and surveillance.
-Illusion of a perfect utopia.
-Individuality is frowned upon as well as fear of outside world.
Dystopian genre is able to target a very broad audience. It includes all ages, genders, and views. It also supports moral arguments of the creator and gets across a message that society has been trying to explain for years. It also brings awareness and caution to the world around us, which appeals to many people as they believe in many different concepts of where our world will take us. In my opinion, I believe many people are attracted to it because of how the human brain infatuates itself with the future. We are always looking to the next day, month, or year, and we often forget about the present. It is easy to focus on what will come of something instead of how to change the matter at hand, as many are afraid of taking a step to make a change within society.
Finally, here are some of my personal favorite dystopian pieces of literature!
Animal Farm (1945) George Orwell
Such an amazing book speaking about how power can be corrupted while also touching on equality and how tyrannical leaders manipulate population. This movie was very impactful in it's time, and still is till this day if you really focus on the message it gives.
1984 (1949) George Orwell
Beautiful book speaking on surveillance of the people and mass thought control. It shows how full power manipulates truths and limits individualism. George Orwell strikes again!
Player Piano (1952) Kurt Vonnegut
This novel speaks about the total control of technologies and how it can dehumanize society, stripping people of their purposes with automation. A great piece which conveys dangers of our technological advances and how humans also have a part within our world.
There Will Come Soft Rains (1950) Ray Bradbury
This is one of my FAVORITE short stories ever and we read it in school, it honestly changed my life and made me super interested within how our world progresses, how government and wars impact us greatly, and how literature communicates this all beautifully. This short story focuses on how human technology will outlive humans, yet without humanity it ceases to hold purpose. Additionally it brings awareness to total destruction through war and decisions made through our governments.
The Last of Us (2023)
This dystopian show and game shows how the power of love mixed with survival can create a blurred line of what is right and wrong. It has great suspense built throughout it and it really shows human connections and how they matter through times of desperation.
Maze Runner series (2014-2018)
Originally a book series from 2009-2016 and eventually adapted into a movie trilogy series, this is my favorite dystopian franchise. Not only does it have a very captivating story line and great character development, it creates awareness towards total control within a crumbling society and it shows the power of questioning authority.
Dredd (2012)
While being very graphic, this film actually holds a great moral value in which Judge Dredd struggles between order and corruption as well as the consequences of total power. It depicts a great dystopian sci fi film that appeals to a more specific audience of older men with its action conventions.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
This was a more recent film that really struck a chord with me. There was a lot of opinion about the ending of the film, but I found it tied it all together. While the film touches on an apocalyptic world and how fear can lead to aggression and panic, it also focuses on how the media teaches us to bury our head in the sand and disregard the rest of the world. It shows how many are raised to ignore the problems around them as long as they are secure and entertained.
Matrix (1999-2003)
The Matrix is a very popular franchise focusing on the ease of being manipulated and the importance of questioning power as well as acting out against it.
The Hunger Games Franchise
Within this franchise, the Hunger Games books (2008-2025) and the film series (2012-2023) is one of the most popular creations and is loved by many. It explores oppressive systems that will utilize people for power and entertainment. It shows the importance of resistance and teamwork in the fight for freedom.
All of these media works are great examples of dystopian genre displayed and the different moral lessons they depict in order to communicate a view within society. This research really helped me grasp an understanding of the different characteristics it includes and the categories that it falls under.
Below are the videos and websites I watched/read up to further educate me on this genre!
Of course, we have to write out my least favorite part, the planning schedule. For some reason this always stresses me out as I see how much work I REALLY have to do in order to get this all complete, and I'm really excited for this years project as well, so I want to put in my maximum effort. Also, since my little injury, I'm gonna have LOADS more time to focus on my school work instead of my afterschool sports! But so far, here is what I was thinking...
Week 2
LOADS of research on the genre
-Different conventions we need to include
-Shooting research
-Makeup research
-Editing research
Go to the drama room to search for an actor
Plan our main storyline and finalize it
Week 3
Start preparing pre-production
-Shot list
-Script
-Makeup if needed
Planning out equipment
Brain storming social media page
Week 4
Begin the social media page
Get a filming date (with lenience)
Research if needed (always needed)
Start brainstorming postcard
Week 5
Start filming
Social media post now in action and should have a set up page
Also brainstorming releases
Start work on postcard
Week 6
Finish filming
Begin editing
Continue social media page
Week 7
Edit!!
Social media
Begin reflection planning and writing
Finish up postcard
Any emergency filming LATEST DONE HERE
Week 8
Finalize the film
Reflection
Post Card
Social media
Week 9
Final edits to reflection/film
Social media wrap up
DONE!!
I think our biggest lookout should be making sure we start our social media pages as soon as possible to get many posts in... we also are aiming to get some attention on it as well. I really want to get the project FINISHED by week 7/8 so I can focus on reflection and the minor tasks more.... but we never know with this project!!
As for conflicts with my own schedule, I don't really think I'm gonna have any apart from spring break... I WOULD have had a competition every other weekend and the start of my soccer season, but the only thing I have planned is pt sessions and doctor checkups :') But at least I can focus on becoming an academic weapon!!
We've started to brainstorm our portfolio project finally! We had a lesson yesterday on each of the different options, and me and my partner, Daniella, decided to do the short film package! We thought this would fit our ideas the best as it could give us the freedom to create our own story line and plot. It was a debate between the short film and the movie trailers, but we thought the short film could be best executed.
Our FIRST idea was a sci-fi dystopian type of film, and although we're still figuring out our major plot points, we have a main idea! Here it is:
In the year (some random future year), the human population is falling with the downfall of society, scientists were trying to come up with robotic ai life forms that could replicate human beings. The story follows one particular test subject, and it is a male being. The subjects are kept in a confined room and are slowly exposed to the human world. They are allowed to explore certain media forms such as movies and allowed to do humane research on the laptop within their room. Each different subject focuses on a different human emotion, but the subject this story follows is specific on the emotion of love. He is exposed to different films about love and slowly starts becoming more human, which grows his conscious. Additionally, this comes with the strife of knowing he will never be able to experience this emotion to its fullest extent, and he eventually 'fails'
Although we haven't really thought out the details, that is the synopsis of our project so far! We're super excited to execute this and we're thinking of advertising to the drama club at our school for our actor. We still need to come up with all the other package characteristics, but we have thought out an overall look of it.
This might not even work out to what we hope to be, as its only the first week of planning out what we want to do. but so far its what were aiming for in the long run, of course I'll update if we plan to switch the plot altogether, but in the meantime, that's our plan!!
