Storyboarding

     My previous experience with storyboarding was for a comic in my creative writing class. Consequently, this was a teaching moment. Particularly because I would need to adjust the shot size and be able to manipulate the drawings in a way that would not be possible in Canva, so I could not utilize the same tool as I did previously. I didn't know how I was going to accomplish this. But as I was working on a powerpoint for another class, I remembered that you were able to draw in powerpoint. So I did exactly that. Fortunately, my teacher did not anticipate anything particularly detailed from me because I cannot draw but can create shapes.

It is not pretty and is still in progress but it is the best that I can do. 

Drama Genre Research

Since Drama is a massive genre with numerous subgenres such as biopics, romance, comedy, etc., the research was harder to narrow down to specific tropes in film. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines drama as "a play, movie, television show, or radio show that is about a serious subject and is not meant to make the audience laugh". Our film is meant to have a serious storyline about the tragedy of love and war, with little non-serious bits in between. I think the inclusion of non-serious scenes helps to classify the film as more of a romantic drama movie.

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Tragic Romance Genre Research

Our movie will be classified as tragic romance and drama. 

To make our movies tragic romance, we need specific elements. A love story without an unhappy ending is just a love story. We need an ending that pulls at the heartstrings of the viewers and that neither characters are happy/alive. According to my research, by the end of a tragic romance:

• At least one of the major characters should be deceased, incredibly unhappy, or unable to connect with their partner in the same way they used to 
• The main characters should be separated or together but in a painful situation. The Notebook, for example, has the couple together but Allie suffers from dementia
• There should be a sense of hope/closure or a bit of contemplation in which a character considers what they've lost

Foreshadowing is a big thing within tragic romance movies; unfortunately for our film, we won't have enough time to include any clever foreshadows.

External conflict will be used to help progress the tragic story of our lovers in our short film. The external struggle will be the opposing sides of the war. Which is considerably influenced by the narrative of Romeo and Juliet's feuding households.

Romeo and Juliet by Sergio Cupido

Over the Shoulder Drama

    While figuring out the different shots we want included into our film, we knew that we would some over-the-shoulder shots. Doing so was fine for over Melina's shoulder because there was concrete flooring and Melina is shorter, so it lined up better. But when testing the shot over Sarah's shoulder, there was an uncomfortable space next to Melina:

    Going further to the right and we would've had Sarah's head taking up half the shot and we would be breaking our 180 degree rule. So what did I do to fix the problem? I zoomed in so you could still see that we were over Sarah's shoulder but also take up some of the extra space on the left. I also had Melina scoot just a tiny bit to the left to further take up space but not look obvious that she moved. It ended up looking like this:

Testing Shots

    The same day we were scouting shooting locations, we were also testing different shots and how to produce them in our location. 

While this POV shot is in the wrong orientation, we were messing around with possible POV shots. The POV shots could as an audience's look in the character's perspective and goals within our film.

We were also playing around with Over-the-shoulder shots from Melina's side. The over-the-shoulder shots could make it seem as though Melina's character is pressuring Sarah's character or establish the distance between the two.

I even got a little adventurous and climbed on to the picnic table to see how a high angle shot would work. I believe that the high angle shot would be beneficial for showing the different moves both characters will make during the chess game. 

Overall, we were very successful in figuring out what shots we want for our film and how to create them in our location. 

Finding Location

     Before we even start to film, we needed to scout shooting locations. We already had an idea of what type of location we would want and we knew that we wouldn't be moving from there. We eventually found a picnic table that was away from everyone else. It was perfect for our film. 

    From a certain angle, the set added to our production. For example, the tree that was in the middle of the picnic table was just very nice to look at. It also COULD add to our film's meaning, but you would have to watch it to find out. 

     The only problem with this location are the bright blue trash cans that can be seen in multiple angles. To solve that problem, we would just have to move the cans out of our way.

 

Shots for Unamed Chess Movie

I don't quite know every shot for the film but I have visualized a specific scene and the shots that would make up it. There is going to be a scene where the Queens are watching each other from across the battlefield and I want to get a series of shots constantly cutting between the two. I think the constant cutting will add tension to the scene as the Queens look at each other.

Further Ideas for Chess Movie

I was going to say this is a film about star-crossed lovers (the two Queens). But while doing research on the trope I learned that, and I quote, "In modern times, the term "star-crossed" is often unknowingly misused to mean lovers who are meant to be together" (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StarCrossedLovers). This doesn't really work for our trope anymore because we want the Queens to be soulmates that are brutally ripped away from one another. 

Starting The Chess Project

My group mates and I began talking about the broad concept of our film. We wanted to develop a film that was a tad silly but still engaging. I suggested a buddy cop movie, and we instantly started down a rabbit hole of absurd ideas. However, inspiration strikes when you least expect it. I was racing for paper and a pencil in the middle of my teacher's lecture to scribble down an idea for a Romeo and Juliet tale for the two Queen chess pieces. My group loved the concept and we began workshopping it.

My Role in Production

I am the cinematographer in our class's production of our Chess Film. My role is to capture meaningful and pretty shots for our film. I get to also make storyboards and a shot list. Sounds like it'll be very fun!

Inglorious Basterds (2009)