Dodging Obstacles

 Well, it happened... The worst thing that could ever happen to a choreographer and a setback in this process. My dancer and actress, Julia Poms, twisted her ankle this week and we were scheduled to start learning and filming the short film! 

Due to an intense dance competition that Julia had this past weekend, she twisted her ankle and had to rush to a doctor. The doctor suggested that she rest and didn't dance for at least a week. This was tough to hear because I was really depending on this week to get all my filming done, especially since were on break. 

But of course, my actor's safety is most important and I would not want to cause her injury to get worse. Luckily this happened earlier rather than later and I still have a few days. Her recovery is not too long, so I can reschedule a date with both of my dancers so I can finalize the combo with them and get to filming. 

Although this obviously sucks and I am now falling behind, I can work through this and not let it affect my process. 

I'll keep you guys posted!

Sound Mixing

 With a piece like mine, it is all heavily dependent on the music. My short film is a silent film that only progresses through dance and the music. 

I started downloading different tracks and mixing them together so I could get the perfect track and be able to choreograph the moves based on the music. I am not fully done with it since I want to keep looking for more music and see what I can come up with!

Print Component Research

 Alright, so as a part of our portfolio project, we have to create a print component. For short film, the print component we are required to make is a postcard that we would hand out at a film festival. 

I started doing some research to find some examples of inspiration:

This postcard consists of many colors, images, and of course, animation to attract the audience. With a postcard like this, it is hard to miss and is immediately eye-catching. The font and text all work cohesively and create a postcard that would enthuse viewers and intrigue them towards this film, which is excellent for the purpose of a film festival. By including the website of the film, it makes it so much easier to locate more information about the film. 

However, this postcard is missing some information that I must include in mine. I need to make sure to include the times and showings of the film, the film festival, my name, and more details of my social media. Therefore, I will definitely be adding those details as well as using some of the techniques I learned from this one. A big technique that I obtained from this postcard was the element of making it attractive and appealing to those who could be walking by the film festival to grab people's attention. 

This next example is more of what I shouldn't do... While the postcard is cohesive and ties nicely all together, making it appealing and interesting, It is a little bland. I need to make sure that for my postcard, I use an image that is intriguing and striking so that I captivate consumers instantly. 

Another issue with this postcard is that there is too much text. With a print component like this one, where it would be passed out in the middle of a large busy crowd, I need something that can tell a lot in a fast and easy way. If I add so much text to my postcard, no one will read it and it will get lost. Adding the credits on the postcard is not necessary and will just end up taking up too much space. 

Overall, I need to make sure that my postcard is fun, interesting, unique, and eye-catching so that it is easily engaging. While also including all my information without being too wordy and overwhelming. I need my postcard to be efficient, effective, and attractive so that it will meet its needs at the film festival. 

Stay tuned for the final product!

Social Media!

 Okay blog, I finally opened an Instagram account for my short film. Its a work in progress... but it will get there!

I need to come up with a bio and a better profile picture to fit the vibe that I am going for. The aesthetic I want for my Instagram is to be very nice and visually pleasing to fit the elegance of dance, so I am excited to come up with content that will fit my theme.

Speaking of, I have been thinking of what content I will be putting out on this page. I definitely want BTS footage, rehearsal videos, and even some fun "choreograph with me" reels. Additionally, I want to post stills of filming days and get some cool and interesting shots while dancing. I will also be using the story highlight feature to capture moments, interact with viewers, and stay active on the page. 

I definitely need to start posting soon, let's see how this goes!

Choreography Time!

 Alright blog, now that we've done our research, come up with our storyline, figured out the inspiration, finalized the genre, and decided on the name of our film based on the concept... it is time to start choreography!

With coming up with the actual dance itself, also comes storyboarding since they do work hand-in-hand. Obviously, since my film is only dance, the storyboarding and the way my shots will look all depend on the choreography and the movements. This week and this weekend, I will be working on my storyboard and the choreography so I can teach it to my actors and then start filming. I can't wait!

Stay tuned for the final storyboard outline, and some fun choreography rehearsal videos... 

Inspiration

 Let me tell you about how I came up with the concept of my short film. I am currently a choreographer for the junior kids at Inside Out Theatre Company and ever since being offered this opportunity, my life has changed. It has provided me such an amazing experience and helped me work and improve on my craft. Attached to this opportunity is an individual that has now become one of my biggest influences... Idy Vandepas.

Idy Vandepas is the head choreographer at Inside Out Theatre Company, she is the person who recommended me to my director, and the reason I am where I am today. She has believed in me, trusted me, and taught me so much as a dancer and as a performer overall. Idy and I have grown such a strong and powerful bond, that now she is like a mother to me. (I actually call her "mom" during rehearsals and people now start to ask me if she actually is my real mom lol)

Idy started her own company a couple years ago called the "Ame Project". This is a project she started in which she travels around the world and creates short films that are only told through the form of dance. She takes her company dancers to different locations and films, and directs, and choreographs all the films that all tackle a different story or challenge. This was always so cool to me and extremely fascinating. Therefore, when I found out we had the opportunity to make a short film for our portfolio project, I knew that I wanted to create a short film that was inspired by the films Mom makes. 

The Ame Project

Once I decided that I wanted the story of my short film to be only told through dance, I needed to actually figure out what my story was going to be about. Like the films on Ame, I wanted my film to be related to a challenge or obstacle that many can relate to. So I started to think of things that I struggle with and a story I wanted to share. After some time, I finally decided on the concept of attachment issues and not being able to let go of a certain someone or something.

Additionally, after I came up with my story, I watched all of the films on Ame and came across their most recent film called "Pulled". This film surrounds the concept of being pulled away from reaching your goals and always having obstacles that get in your way. This film influenced me even more and is now the biggest inspiration for my short film, "Ligatum".

First Group Meeting!

 During our AICE Media class, we had our first group meeting! While at these meetings, we get split into groups and all get a chance to share some information about our projects. I really enjoy these meetings because I get to talk to my peers about my piece and get some feedback and advice on things I might be stuck on. Additionally, I get to learn more about what my classmates are working on and all the different things they all come up with... which I think is pretty neat.

With this meeting specifically, I focused on getting some advice on what to do about the location of my film. I was really stuck on where to film and how to film. After explaining what my vision for the setting was, one of my group members, Tai, suggested I talk to Jim from Becon TV and ask him if I could film at his studio. This was really helpful because Tai recently did an internship for him over the summer, so she was able to give me some guidance on how to approach this. As a backup, more of my teammates suggested I film at the beach or gave me their opinion on my idea of filming at an "abandoned" ballroom. Their feedback and opinions really helped me come up with three different locations to film at and the pros and cons of all of them. 

My main option is to film at Jim's studio, but if all fails... The "abandoned" ballroom idea would work nicely for my concept. 

Another thing I brought up during our meeting was my issues relating to scheduling. Next week I am going on a big trip and once we come back, spring break starts. With this crunch time, I was really struggling to find time to film, edit, and get everything done. Yoav, another group member, is also going on this trip. So after talking about this obstacle during our meetings, he suggested that I talk with my actors and really break down the dates and scheduling issues that could be present to narrow down to a final schedule. He explained to me how he is also dealing with this issue since we both have the competition trip, but he helped me resolve it by giving me advice on how to figure out scheduling issues. 

Overall, I truly do enjoy these meetings. Listening to what my peers have to say about my work is really helpful and will assist me with improving my final outcome. Can't wait for the next one!

Title and Fonts

 Alright, time to come up with a title for my short film...

After doing some research on productions that are similar to my piece, I came across the film Suspiria. Ms. Stoklosa recommended I check out this film because they use interpretive dance and strong movements to represent meaning and build onto the story. This is very similar to what I wanted to do with my piece, so when I did some research on the film, the title and fonts used also stood out to me.

This film falls under the genre of horror. While my piece isn't a horror film, I want my short film to be abstract and avant-garde. So when I saw the title and the font used for the poster of this film, I was inspired and wanted do to something similar. 

The unique font, and the letters "falling" and being broken up is the approach I decided to go for the style of the graphic for my short film.

For the title itself, I wanted it to be a representation of my piece and the meaning behind it. As a quick summary, my film dives into the challenging issue of being attached to something or someone. Not being able to let go of a certain thing and not being allowed to move on due to barriers and obstacles that keep us trapped. 

With this concept, I want my viewers to interpret my short film however they see fit. I want my audiences to be able to relate in any way. This is why I decided I wanted my story to be told through interpretive dance, allowing full liberty to let the viewer's imagination explore and interpret my piece however they feel. 

To take the idea of "free interpretation" a step further, I wanted this to be represented through my title as well. Therefore I took the concept of my story and translated it to Latin so that it is in a language that not so many people understand. 

I took the word "tied", since my film is based on the idea of being "tied" to something, and translated it to Latin. Giving me the final result for the title of my short film, "Ligatum"

Font Name: DoubleBass

After coming up with the title of my short film, I began to play around with some fonts, colors, and styles. This is my final result! I decided to stick with primary colors, a unique font that staggers and collides the letters with each other, and a curve to the text to give it more dimension. 

I can't wait to work with this graphic more and start to add it to posters, images, and promotional projects for my short film!

Social Media Research

 Hey blog! so, as a part of our portfolio projects, one of the components is to create a social media presence for our form of media. In my case, my short film. However, before I delve into this extensive part of the project, I need to research different productions that have a similar vibe to my film to reach the right audience, present my piece correctly, and get an idea of how to style and publicize my film.

3 productions that fit the style of my piece are:

- Suspiria 

- Chicago 

- La La Land

All three of these productions are very theatrical and use dance as a way to progress the plot and build an interpretive piece. The social media for these productions are all different and would work well with inspiration for my piece. 

All three productions use Instagram as their main form of publicity. The one I think I will focus on the most is the Suspiria one. The Suspiria Instagram uses photos of their dance pieces which would fit perfectly with my piece since my film is silent and relies heavily on the choreography to tell the story.

For Chicago, their production does not have an Instagram page, but their Musical version of the movie does. Therefore, I will use their profile as inspiration since it relates to the theatrical vibe I am going for. Chicago uses dance as a metaphor for what is going on in the scenes, this style of story-telling is what I am striving for with my short film.

 

Chicago's Instagram page also uses their dancers as a form of publicity, advertising their show as theatrical and very dance influenced. I would like to have still shots of the choreographu from my short-film in order to captivate my audinece and have them visualize my main form of portraying my story.

 

At the end of La La Land, there is a whole 7-minute silent scene, in which we are told the remainder of the protagonist's story through motion, movement, dance, and theatrical performance. 

I strive to accomplish this with my short film. Therefore, using this production as inspiration works great!

La La Land's Instagram page uses heavy editing to fit the vibe of the film. Their posts consist of animations, and representative elements that tie in to the whimsical world of La La Land, intriguing the audience and keeping them within the narrative world.

After scrolling through the productions Instagram page, I realized I want to use text and animations that will cohesively work together to fit the aesthetics of my piece. I want my social media page to feel like a piece/attachment of my short film. 

These films truly helped me understand how I should style my social media and the measures I must take to publicize and promote my film. I know see how I can attract my audience and represent my short film through social media.