Further Research Mis-en-scene Elements

 Okay so... there has been an alteration of the schedule because unfortunately this week has been more busy than I'd imagined so I'm going to push for the filming of the opening to occur next week, March 9-11

As far as actors, so far I believe I am acting in the film... but I still haven't found actors available next week... I will come back on here as soon as I have an update on that!

Character Analysis

Natalie: High schooler; a creative who is observant and feels like she needs to be socially accepted--doesn't really understand herself and sometimes feels ashamed. Often times finds herself living two lives to fit in

Aunt Lucy: In her 50s; very religious and holds true to her traditional values. Doesn't quite understand Natalie's gifts

Andy: Childhood friend of Natalie's who is also in high school, similar to her except he's not afraid to be himself. He is successful and a hustler 

Nico(kid): 7-8 years old; Natalie's cousin  

Teacher: In her 20s-30s, viewed as the "cool" teacher

Another suggestion I got from the group meetings was to add some tension between the two characters (Natalie and Andy), as that can be used as another incentive to keep people watching. However, I don't want the focus of this story to be a romance, it's more based as a coming of age but I definitely could see how that may help and I'm still considering it...

Mis-En-Scene

I found this video of a guy that makes Adventure short films... and he really explains how to get that cinematic look through lighting and props. He explains how he was able to quickly transform an office room and make it cinematic. He took a lot of practicals and found various solutions to the problems he encountered such as a TV he was unable to remove. The video also makes a huge emphasis on contrast in lighting, and how important it is to create mood and visual interest in a shot.

This video gives some good tips on lighting, talks about working with the light and using the simplest tools like white fabric, silver or aluminum foil. I would probably want to use some of this knowledge to incorporate into the shot list, and apply lighting. I'm going to do a quick search for lighting tools that I can use and do some DIY's.

I definitely want to come up with some pictures like this one to map out the lighting and make it a priority, to achieve a more cinematic and potent look. I also really want to focus on using more controllable lighting, and restrain myself from using a grid so that the lighting is more flexible and hits more areas of the face. I would probably use this technique at a point in the beginning where Natalie is enthralled in her creative discipline. 

Next time I come on here, I would like to address some changes in the script so that I can then add my storyboard!