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.