Film Opening

Little Sombrero Studios is proud to present The Shopping Cart Diaries:

We hoped you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!

Creative Critical Reflection

My creative critical reflection is on a website called emaze.com and is linked below!
So prepare to be emazed!

http://app.emaze.com/@ALRZCRFL/the-shopping-cart-diaries

Film Poster

Every film needs a poster and every quirky indie film needs a simplistic, heartfelt movie poster with warm hues. We felt that this simplistic captured the playful nature and the heart of the film. It was inspired by other indie films such as Sideways and the Indie game. 

Storyboard!

A storyboard is essential before you even start filming. It organizes the group's idea and saves time. I finally got the chance to upload it (dont laugh at our childish drawings) Its a rough sketch but it was good enough for what we needed.

Done filming!

     Filming is officially over!! Yay :D It took longer than I expected but thankfully we are done with this step. My favorite part of the process is definitely filming because you are able to see your ideas come to life. It was slightly difficult since in some shots we didn't achieve the exact look we had in mind but hopefully that can be fixed in editing. All of the footage has been uploaded to iMovie on Sarah's laptop and tomorrow we are going to add start editing. At this rate we will be finished in no time. Hopefully next week I'll upload the script, drafts, storyboard and extra notes so that Cambridge can see the chaos that it took to get here.

Filming!!

  Lights, camera, actions! Filming has begun. We are not doing it in order since it doesn't matter once the editing stage begins. We are are taking an excessive amount of shots from different angles and just in case. Better safe than sorry.
    I think filming is actually the easiest part of making a film. Nearly everything is figured out; the only difficult part is that it takes several locations and planning in order to fit everyones schedule.
     Since we only just begun filming and with everyone's schedule I think it's going to takrna couple days to completely finish filming. Hopefully by the end of this week everything is done and we can start editing this weekend.
   

Details

     Unfortunately we haven't been able to get much done since my last post. One of our team members is on a ten day trip to Europe. Therefore its difficult to make large decisions since we need her input.
      We have however been able to figure out smaller details. Such transitions, the script, wardrobe, and locations for filming.
     This is only a two minute opening and yet there is so much to do and figure out before you even start. I can't even imagine how much more hectic it would be with hundreds of people involved in a large scale movie. Every detail no matter how small is vital to a movie.

Story Board

     We are currently working on our storyboard, and its a mess. I will upload a picture for the final draft. Right now its scribbles and short phrases; so difficult to understand of you weren't there while we wrote it.
     As of right now it begins with him in the grocery store. Credits of us are put on the grocery items. Then suddenly when the credits are done, the love interest appears. Shot counter shot exchange occurs as we discover she is moving to the next town and will work there. He is noticeably upset. Unclear of the transition he goes outside and is cleaning up the parking lot of shopping carts. He is made fun of by a little kid and another kid shows up to defend him. The second kid is a close friend and a large reason as to why the main character is slightly childish too. They have a small exchange about his live interest and how he is going to go after her in a shopping cart. Unclear of this other transition, he is then home. Here we learn from some dialogue and mis-en-scene that his father is gone and his mother is over protective. The two minute opening ends with the beginning of his journey.
     We are worried that we don't have enough time to establish his character and reasoning. But hopefully we quick edits and witty dialogue we can fullfil the 2 minutes effectively.

Inspiration!

     I found this absolutely adorable short film called Four Eyes. Its about "A 10-year-old boy thrust into the tumultuous world of puberty when he gets a new pair of eyeglasses." It quirky, choppy, cute, and above all different. Besides movies like Rubber and Frank, we found this short film to be exactly what we are aiming for in our two minute film opening. We want our character to be a lovable dork who is different than the rest and we want to achieve similar stylistic elements as that from Four Eyes. 

You can watch it here.

Change is Inevitable

     This creative process has been messy. Everyone is trying to incorporate their ideas and compromise what they want. We are only 3 people, I can imagine how frustrating, confusing, or stressful it must be for directors who want to show their creative vision to the world but have to abide with other people, distributors, or producers.
      Two previous posts I made are now not happening. We decided as a team to change the focus, style, and characters. It is still called the Shopping Cart Diaries but now there are several actors and there will no longer me a montage at the beginning.
     I won't use any statements with certainty. We are planning to start with a wide shot. Silence. A cart rushes by and quickly after the main character chases after it. Still uncertain about the transition but he is not in the grocery store and putting items on the shelves. We take this opportunity to put the movie credits on the grocery items. Then its interrupted by his love interest. She also works at the same store and we find out she is transferring to another store in the next town. So without knowing all the smaller details yet, he decides to follow her into the next town by traveling in a shopping cart.

Movie Montage

     In our film opening we want to start off with a quirky movie montage. In the Shopping Cart Diaries, the main character works at a grocery store and is constantly surrounded by shopping carts. That inspires him to use one of the shopping carts to travel across the country. But first he has to pick the perfect shopping cart: sturdy smooth wheels, clean basket, and plenty of room. We are planning to have the montage to be him choosing the perfect cart. Measuring the wheels, riding in them, and several other extreme close up of checking the carts. We want to use a song similar to Mr. Blue Sky to be over this montage.


http://hellogiggles.com/8-magical-movie-montages

Main character

The character is clearly vital to the plot. We want a lovable slightly awkward dork to play the main character. We decided to cast a friend called Jake. He is over 6 feet, has bright blue eyes, dorky, white, and soft brown hair.
     An important part of this film opening that we want to incorporate is that this one character will play all of the characters. Their is no central antagonist therefore if all the characters are him, his greatest obstacle is himself. This is a great challenge for all us of because now the costume and makeup is much more important than it normally is.
     I came across an article that talks about the difference between quirky and cheesball films.
"Arguable, what makes indie films so much better at getting to the heart of an issue is that they have a tendency to feature characters we don’t see elsewhere." That's our goal with this character. See a refreshing new character that one sympathizes and comes to love.

http://pop-verse.com/2014/08/29/quirky-vs-cheeseball-independent-romantic-comedy-films/

Quirky Indie Film

Since we are making a quirky indie film, we researched other similar films. We found a blog that summarized what was found most in common with indie films. The list included:
-American suburbs
-Witty vernacular
-Lovable dorks
-Vague time periods
-Lengthy road trips in dated vehicles
-Indulgent use of wide shots
-Catchy alt rock soundtrack
-Green tones
-Fonts (title and credits) drawn by children
-Blank stares
-Artsy time lapses
- Jena Malone, Allison Janney, Chris Messina, and Ari Graynor
- The greatest parents ever
- Jumping into a pool fully clothed
- Unexpected celebrity cameos

We do want to make a unique story but this list helps guides us in the correct path and tone we are aiming for within our film.

http://thegingebinge.com/2013/05/27/how-to-make-an-indie-movie/

Day 2

 We are currently leaning towards the quirky indie film. Emily Gitten recommended an idea called the Shopping Cart Diaries about a man who travels across America in a shopping cart. We are not sure what the conflict is going to be, but the genre has been decided. This process has been slightly difficult because we have unlimited number of options but limited time.

This article has a great section on what a film opening should contain. Strong beginning, avoid credits, keep the audience intrigued with the immediate shot. We may not know exactly how to begin but this article certainly helps.

This short film is inspiring for the quirky indie feel we are aiming for within our beginning. Other movie ideas that will inspire us are Trainspotting, Moonrise Kingdom, and Little Miss Sunshine.

Day 1

   I honestly don't know where to start but I guess I'll start off with something simple. My name is Mariana Rodriguez and I am in a triad along with my friends Emily Gitten and Sarah Dickerman. We decided to get together several months ago for this final project. Through the months we contemplated on several themes, genres, and ideas that we could choose for the opening of the film. And although we came up with several possible ideas but nothing was ever good enough for this film.
   We officially started the project in class this week. The hardest part was choosing a genre that would be interesting and possible to have a satisfying opening in just two minutes. On one hand we could do a film noir about a mystery or the mafia. On the other hand we can do a quirky indie film about a coming of age film. Or we could do a horror or psychological triller. As much as we debate, we can't agree on one.