Final Project Creative Critical Reflection: Misunderstood

Final Project Film Opening: Misunderstood

Foley Sounds

So, for most of my foley sounds, I am using a website called FreeSound. This website gives people access to free audio snippets, samples, recordings, and bleeps which are released under Creative Common licenses that allow their use. For instance, for my opening scene I am using a foley sound of a clock ticking as Sophie is in the psychiatrist’s office. But, I didn’t have the resources to create my own foley sound of a clock ticking. Therefore, I am using an audio snippet from FreeSound for my ticking clock.

(n.d.) Free Sound Effects. Creating Sound. Retrieved April 4, 2016 from

http://creatingsound.com/sound-effects/free-sound-effects/

As for my other foley sounds, I am planning on creating them myself. So, for instance, for footsteps, I will just record an audio of my own footsteps and then I will edit and record them all in a recording software that I have called Studio One, which is very useful and user friendly.

(11/04/2011) PreSonus: Studio One. DAWfreak.se. Retrieved April 4, 2016 from

https://dawfreak.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/presonus-studio-one-professional-2/

Company Logo and Design

For my company, I have decided to name it BTozzi Films, after my website. I have discovered a free logo design website on Google by the name of DesignMantic. How this website works is that you type in the name of your company and what kind of company it is (Advertisement and Media, Agriculture, etc.) in a search bar. After you have searched the site will give you multiple options to choose from. If you have a certain idea in mind, then you just type it in the keyword search bar.

For instance, for my logo I have decided to do a blue globe made up of puzzle pieces. This was because, since my film is about a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum, I thought it would fit. Considering that the symbol for autism is a blue puzzle piece.

Sound (Part Dos)

Okay, so the whole thing about recording my own soundtrack for this film opening? Yeah… I don’t think that’s happening. This is mostly because I don’t think I will have enough time to record and make the song seem as professional as it should… you know, considering that the deadline is so soon.

So! Instead I have decided to use a website called Purple Planet, which is a royalty free music site. I decided to use this website because I saw that another student in the past year used this website, and it seems as though this student did not have any problems with this website. Also, this website seems to be very user friendly! Let’s do this thing!

Setting

So for setting I have decided that I am going to film my opening in a doctor’s office. A psychiatrist’s office is what I had in mind because as I was doing research, I discovered that multiple people with Asperger’s Syndrome do go see either a psychiatrist, a social worker, or even a behavioral psychologist to help them deal with what they’re going through. So, for the opening I have decided to do most of the filming in a doctor’s office to show Sophie discussing what she has been going through with her psychiatrist.

But, after some thought, I felt as though only a doctor’s office setting would be very boring. So, I have also decided to do use another setting, which is a park, for the flashback scene in my film opening. This flashback scene will introduce where the two main characters, Sophie and Ethan first met.

Also! One more teensy weensy little thing. I have decided to make my characters the original age that they were intended to be (teenagers). Mainly because I was not able to find any good forty year old actors for the life of me. So, now I have gone back to my original plan and have made my two main characters in their late teens. Until next time!

Opening…?

Okay, so here’s the deal. Lately, I’ve been struggling a little bit to come up with a good film opening about a forty year old woman with Asperger’s falling in love. I’ve been going back and forth to whether there should be a voice over or not. But, I think I am starting to get a more certain idea.

So! What I have in mind is to have the main character, Sophie, being shown lying down on a couch talking to her psychiatrist about how her life has been lately, and how she’s been dealing with her… condition. I was thinking of making the entire film, and the opening, a narrative film of her reminiscing her life, especially when she met the main male protagonist of the story, Ethan Carter.

But, the thing is, I don’t know how I’m going to present a film opening about a woman with Asperger’s Syndrome without making it seem cheesy or cliché. So, that’s why I was thinking about making the film a narrative more than anything else. But, I am still pretty skeptical about this. Let’s just hope it all ends well…

Sound

So let’s talk about something fun. Sound! Well, for my film, I have decided to create my own soundtrack. The reason why I decided to use my own music for this film is because I have multiple songs that I have written in the past, and I have never done anything with them except for play them on my free time.

The song that I am planning on using doesn’t exactly have a title, but since it’s going to be an instrumental version of the song, I don’t think naming it would be necessary. I have a software that I downloaded for my music a while ago called Reason, and that is the software that I will use to create my music.

(01/09/2012) Appeal to Reason. Crossfadr. Retrieved March 16, 2016 from

http://crossfadr.com/2012/01/09/appeal-to-reason-a-first-look-at-propellerheads-reason-6-software/

Reason offers multiple instruments for musicians, different loops, beats, and more. It is very user friendly, and the sound quality is very good!

(n.d.) Reason. PropellerHead. Retrieved March 16, 2016 from

https://www.propellerheads.se/reason

So here’s the deal…

So I have decided to do a tweak my characters a little bit. But only to the extent that they are going to be much older than I intended for them to be, around their mid-forties/early fifties are the ages that I am mostly looking into.

The reason why I decided to make my main characters much older than originally, is because I would like for my film to appeal to a larger demographic. This film would still contain the typical romantic aspect that teenage girls love, but would also have that more mature content to attract an older audience.

I’m still not too sure about this whole idea and if I should continue with a story about an older woman with Asperger’s. But, as of right now, this is the idea for the film opening that I am having. Let’s hope all goes well!

Misunderstood

This film, which I have decided to name Misunderstood, is about a young girl named Sophie Sanchez who learns what it’s like to fall in love with brooding and mysterious Ethan Carter, while struggling with Asperger’s Syndrome all at once.

When they first meet in the summer of 2012, Ethan, not knowing of Sophie’s condition, finds Sophie very strange and irritating. Therefore, he wants nothing to do with her. But, with them being neighbors and going to the same school, it becomes a little difficult.

Not much is known about Ethan Carter, except for the fact that he’s moved around multiple times, and has issues when it comes to trusting others. So, when a quirky girl named Sophie Sanchez comes into his life, he’ll come to learn that not all people in this world are so bad.

Follow these two on their journey as they experience love, heartbreak, and as they discover the true meaning of life and happiness.

He was a Boy, She was a Girl…

Can I make it any more obvious? Well, in this case, he wasn’t a punk, and she did not do ballet. What more can I say? Oh, right! Characters! Well, what is a good story without characters?

For my romantic drama film, I have decided to make it about a young girl in her mid-teens, named Sophie Sanchez, who learns what it means to fall in love with a young boy/man in his late teens, named Ethan Carter. But, the thing is that Sophie isn’t exactly… normal.

(n.d.) What is Aspergers? Thrive With Aspergers. Retrieved March 10, 2016 from

http://www.myaspergers.net/what-is-aspergers

When Sophie was in the third grade, she was diagnosed with a condition on the autism spectrum known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s Syndrome is considered to be on the smaller end of the autism spectrum. People with Asperger’s usually have difficulty in three primary areas: social interaction, engaging in repetitive behavior, and are usually stubborn when it comes to thinking. People with Asperger’s are usually very focused on rules and routines.

The reason why I chose to do a romantic drama film about a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome is because I thought it would be interesting to brush up on a topic that is not usually mentioned in media. Also, Asperger’s Syndrome is a topic that has interested me for quite some time now. My mother is a pediatric physical therapist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for children with special needs, and in the past, she has dealt with patients with Asperger’s Syndrome. She told me that Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition that more likely to develop in men than in women, which is why I thought it would be interesting to do a story on a woman with Asperger’s learning what it’s like to fall in love, rather than a story on a man with Asperger’s learning what it’s like to fall in love.

(n.d.) What is Asperger Syndrome? Healthline. Retrieved March 10, 2016 from

http://www.healthline.com/health/asperger-syndrome#Causes2

Romantic Drama…?

After extensive research, the genre I have decided to do for my film opening is a romantic drama. Now, you may be thinking, “Wait… isn’t a romantic drama just a typical romance film?”

Well, originally, I thought so, too! But, the truth is, romance is a genre that is then split into multiple subgenres such as romantic thrillers, chick flicks, romantic comedies, and of course, romantic dramas.

A romantic drama is a type of romance that is more complicated than your typical love story. This subgenre usually revolves around a conflict that is keeping a relationship from being successful. Some examples of successful romantic drama films are Titanic, Ghost, Pearl Harbor, and more. Fun fact! Titanic has become such a successful romantic drama film, that its lifetime gross is now up to $658 million.

As of right now, there is not an exact plot for this specific film opening, but I do know that it’s going to be emotional, romantic, and, well… dramatic. Hopefully.

(n.d.) Romance. The Script Lab. Retrieved March 9, 2016 from http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/romance#

(n.d.) Romantic Drama: 1980 – Present. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 9, 2016 from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=romanticdrama.htm