GROUP MEETING 2!

GROUP! GROUP! GROUP!  

HEY 😊 I am back and better than ever! Me and my partner Adrianna have found our scarlet and Ricky, they will be played funnily enough by our friend Ricardo, often referred to as Ricky, and our other friend Cami will play scarlet. We have organized to film today after school and I am so excited, and I hope you are too!  

Today in class we were placed in groups again for another group reflection meeting. I was placed in group 1 with Fabi, Leila, Noah and Nathaniel. We all were told to go to the left side of the room and join up together with the other members of our assigned group. It started off pretty awkward, but as time went on we developed a thoughtful discussion that gave me insight into my own and hot to improve.  

 We all talked about the progress we have made in our individual projects; Nathaniel hasn't started filming yet, he is planning on starting soon he just kept procrastinating starting, Fabi has half of her filming done, and she has begun editing, Leila has started filming, and is  reshooting scene because her forehead was cut off and she wanted it to be a close up, and lastly Noah told us he finished filming and is now in the editing process. I explained to them that we had started filming but hadn't finished the majority and we were planning on completing it all that same day. 

I got advice on how to become more organized and compartmentalize each component and get each thing done one at a time to reduce stress and it really improved the way i approached each part and made it all less overwhelming. This group meeting was really great, and I was really happy with what I gained from it. 

Research and/or script for #1 question of CCR post

In our movie opening, our main characters, Ricky and Scarlett, are involved in a toxic relationship. The opening challenges and appeases normal conventions in its portrayal of love and conflict because while it covers a commonly explored trope of a toxic relationships in the drama and thriller genre, which often they focus on unhealthy dynamics like manipulation or jealousy  which we will be doing, we are also going above and beyond in our approach by centering the story over the toxic nature of their bond and illustrating how such relationships create internal and external conflict, which drives the rest of the story.

Our film also criticizes the normalcy of romanticizing the idea of love, many films portray love as this transformative and amazing force of happiness but because our film centers around abuse ad hate it critiques the idealization. Instead of presenting the perfect couple we present the darker side of relationships that appear to be perfect, showing how power imbalances, emotional abuse, or manipulation can manifest, offering a more critical perspective on love that is not really often seen.

Also, because we are focusing on Ricky and Scarlett relationship, we are also going to present broader social issues like gender dynamics, mental health, and the normalization of toxic behaviors in society. The power imbalance between the two and the need for Scarlett to slowly gain the strength needed to leave highlights societal expectations influence unhealthy relationship patterns and the portrayal of the psychological problems that come with being part of this type of relationship can take on both individuals can open a conversation about mental health struggles like anxiety or self-esteem issues. Ultimately, the film challenges societal norms by portraying the complexities and dangers of toxic relationships, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own perceptions of love and emotional well-being.

Costumes!

Hey Cambridge! A fun fact about me is that I work at a high-end jewelry store in Weston. We sell, we do repairs and we even design. It was important to me that in our project we included well thought out details that capture the audience's attention, and I thought there was no better way than to use jewelry to create symbol for our characters given that there are so many different stones with so many meanings, and my boss, Mr. Terremagara, was kind enough to let use his products in our scenes.

I have finally curated the perfect jewelry set for Scarlett, it is comprised of a stunning multi-colored tourmaline gold cocktail ring, a yellow gold pear-shaped diamond bangle bracelet, a yellow gold rubies-by-the-yard bracelet, and a pre-owned rose gold diamond and pink gemstone Chopard Happy Hearts bracelet. These colors emphasize femininity, kindness, and love. these will highlight scarlets innocence as we want her sense of style to underscore her story.

Each piece represents different parts of the girl's experience in a toxic relationship. The diamond bangle shows her hope and strength, but also the emotional pain she feels. The rubies represent the strong and confusing emotions she goes through, like love and hurt. The rose gold bracelet with pink stones reflects her desire for love and care, but also the past emotional wounds she carries. Together, these bracelets show her struggles, confusion, and emotional journey.

FOLEY

Do you remember reading about foley sound creation? Cmon you must remember that I did a whole blog post on our project where we had to create a 2 minute long audio that sounded like a scene of your choice, we chose driving from home to a very popular bar, and we created the sounds of the ice clinking in a glass, drinks being poured, opening the garage, and spilling a drink. Well even if you don’t (but honestly how could you really forget?) I remember the project and it taught me a very special set of skills that have helped me prepare for my final project.  

As a quick recap... Foley sound creation is the process of recording sounds that you will edit to be in sync with your scene, you use everyday objects to mimic real-world sounds. Adrianna and I decided that before we start filming, we would create some of the foley sounds that we want to be emphasized in the film. We decided we wanted to the sound of the bottle smashing very poignant, so we didn't want to just use the sound gained from the shooting the film but add a created foley sound of glass smashing so I recorded smashing a glass into the wall. I'll be layering the audio over the scene.

I also recorded my car horn a few times, each of the recordings i will layer to make the toxic flashback abuse scene of them int he car where they almost crash even more anxiety inducing as it will sound very serious like they genuinely almost crashed into someone.

I also recorded the sounds of the waves; I'm planning on layering this sound while she is walking through the party to transition into the first flashback 

 

Costume creation (color schemes)

In every production, it is very important for costume designers to be able to confidently pick colors that will flatter the actor's skin, fit the mood and tone of the play, and develop a secret meaning into the color choices to give the audience a visual clue about the nature of the characters. 

We want the color schemes of the clothes to represent each of their characters growth as stated in the character development blog post, in the beginning Scarlett will wear a white skirt and top, the white is to symbolize her innocence and purity, while Ricky will wear red to symbolize violence and abuse, in the party scene ricky will be wearing white, but this is different to when scarlet did, Ricky is wearing white to try and exert an image that he is good and innocent and sorry, undeserving of any reaction to his awful behavior, while Scarlett will wear jeans and a darker color like black to symbolize this is her moment of strength that the rest of the movie will follow. During the scenes of them being happy, they will wear bright colors like yellow and pink, Scarlett will be wearing girls clothes; skirts and dresses, and in the abusive scenes Ricky will be wearing darker colors while Scarlett remains in the bright colors, it is so the audience sees a shift from the fastbacks and the original scene to the party scene and we see this is her first step towards strength.  

Scarletts makeup will be quite girly and glowy until the party scene where she will wear more defined and striking makeup with darker tones and colors, during the bottle scene, after the bottle is smashed, scarlett will have a cut on her cheek, this will be done using makeup and fake blood, some blood will get on her white dress.