Thursday, April 14, 2022

CR

 

       Couleur du Jouris a short film inspired by the idea of having “perfection” in society. It questions whether having a “perfect” life

with only happiness really is what we want. The piece achieves this theme by showcasing Margot, a

character that can control the emotions of her day through the colors she uses to mark her calendar.

She has strived for perfection and happiness her whole life, which seemed very superficial. As the

yellow marker ends, she is forced to face the truth about life not being all that happy, seeing it through

different colored lenses. Although having tough moments has a negative connotation, the audience

slowly makes a connection with the piece by relating to their own sad or angry moments.      

The ending is also another indicator that the story could be happening in real life because

Margot wakes up from her dream. Everything that was just watched, was just a bad dream.

It makes the audience realize that like Margot at the end, everyone has all different colors

at their sight and have the liberty to feel what they feel in the moment. 

     The whole look of this piece has to do with colors and their meaning. In the social media page,

posts are organized by color and go in the order of the film’s scenes ( starts with yellow, ends with

normal colors ). This was a clever option because I could transform feelings onto something visual

( other than face expressions). The fonts used in the poster were very creative looking and had a

harmonious combination. The frequent use of yellow would also develop a sense of brand onto the

project.

    Couleur du Jour possesses many different aspects of an experimental film. To begin, experimental

films are usually breaking the “right” way to make productions. My narrative relied heavily on colors and

feelings, and less on interactions with others and surrounding aspects. Another thing is that it has a very

vast number of interpretations. Because the story isn’t so dependent on surroundings but rather inner

feelings, the theme of the movie is very susceptible on perspective. Because of its elasticity, the social

media page for Couleur du Jour has posts that ask the audience very thought-provoking questions that will lead them to keep thinking

while watching the short film. Besides, one thing in common among target audiences for experimental

films is that they are able to understand meanings with greater depth, trying to find the symbolism

behind stories and are open-minded to hear different interpretations. 

        My choice for a social media platform was Instagram, mainly because it is the most popular one,

and appeals to the widest age ranges. Experimental films need a certain maturity level to be enjoyable,

and therefore I think Instagram would be a great fit. It doesn’t have mostly a young audience or just an

old one, it rather combines both. Another thing was that the visual aspect and misé-en-scene elements

were very important to me. I wanted to market my brand with this aesthetically pleasing look. I sold

that idea when making the instagram posts because they are all very coherent and look in place.

The colors are organized and the pictures have good quality. I like to think that when someone is

watching an experimental piece, they have great odds of being more artistic, which would lead

them to care about the film’s aesthetic. A good point I thought of was that experimental films can

be very abstract and therefore its looks can be the one thing that drags the audience’s attention. 

       On my blog, I did a lot of research on color theory. This helped me because it made me learn

which colors create certain effects, how color combinations can change the meaning of a color and

how different tones can also be an important factor. I also did research on shot types, which allowed

me to create fluency in my short film, as well as create visual interest. I used a lot of different

inspirations from different directors like Wes Anderson and Luca Guadagnino to try and come up

with a very interesting and eye-catching look. I also would write about my current life situations,

which, although might not be traditionally considered research,  put me to thinking about how I

was able to really explore the concept of happiness and learn things about myself I did not

even know. The process of research for experimental films should not be the same cookie cutter

as other genres. I had to research myself, and my own emotions to try to get an insight of how other

people might have also been affected. Not only that, but I also went up to friends and asked them

questions about what their definition of “perfect” is, and if they are content with their lives while

looking at influencers that are doing fun and expensive activities.

          I wanted to brand the film to be a very artistic and slightly abstract concept. I wanted it to be

called an experimental film because it is the most liberating label out of all other genres. 

       Although I do recognize all of my hard work put onto this film, I have a lot of things to point out.

Firstly, I felt like the story was a little too long for an “approximately 5 minute” video. I felt like I had

to cut down a lot. On the other hand, the middle of the production felt somewhat boring. It might be

because I had to watch it over 50 times, but I wish my piece was more engaging. I did appreciate the

shot variety and how much I got to experiment and learn from this film. What puzzled me in this was

that I had a conflict, a climax and a resolution, but it needed something more. Maybe it was because

I wanted to portray the beauty in having different emotions but had little screen time to bring all I

wanted to life. I could have stuck with something a little simpler, or just thought about it in a less

detailed way. What I know is that I still managed to show society’s issues in creating the common

goal of having a “perfect life”. 


     

Project!

 Here is the poster!




And last but not least,  the short film itself!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L5d7uvT9zm7_eBIhoJl9Z7jc8xdalnSx/view?usp=sharing 


For some reason, after exporting in Adobe Premiere, the colors and tints on the film looked very odd. I tried to fix it many times but it just wouldn't look the same. What a shame :(




Reflections

 Hey guys! This project was a rollercoaster! I put my sweat and tears into it, but being honest, I expected it to turn out a little better. But hey, guess what? Every time I grow from a project or experience overall, I feel like I could have done it better because now I know I can improve. So you know what? I am happy I put so much energy into this, great or not, it still made me a very persistent and hardworking person. I feel like the universe was testing my energies for this project, but I won! Anyways, I do feel exhausted from the whole process. It will take me some time to regain the same energy again. 

      Going back to the topic of the short film, I just wished it would have been more interesting. Maybe I am just exaggerating a little, or maybe I am just sick of looking at the same clips for hours and hours. But maybe it really wasn't that engaging plot-wise. Visually, I think the shots looked great and the mise-en-scene was good. 

Maybe what was missing were just some good old writing skills. I remember my creative writing days in Freshman year of highschool. It was a little rough. The problems I would get were that I would have ideas too fast and not know how to go from one to another smoothly. I should practice it more! 

I also think that I could learn how to do nicer voice-overs. Maybe it was just the microphone I was using, but it just felt a little off. Also, I was very surprised by the camera I was using. The shots looked great and I just used my phone!!!!

I feel like the middle of the piece fell very flat and the audience was just there, waiting for something interesting to happen. I have a short attention span so this matters a lot to me. 

Overall, I just need to work on the plot and making things smoother ( with editing too)!!

Anyways, I am very, very tired. I'm very thankful for the life lessons I got from this project!

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Updates

    Hey guys! It was my birthday last week, I had a great time! I went out with my family to eat at an Aegean bistro and the food was delicious! It made me feel nostalgic because the inside of the restaurant transports you to another atmosphere, one that really reminded me of Brazil and finding beauty in its simplicity. Afterwards, I went to the Lightning Oscars with my friends and I got goosebumps from this guy singing... it was also kind of funny. Anyways, after me and my friends went out to eat at a japanese restaurant and I tried a new food. I also got free dessert ;P

     I am also having a life crisis because I don't want to be 18, I don't know why and I can't really explain it but it makes me think about how time flies so fast that I feel like I have absolutely no control over it ( which I really don't heh...heh). It's like grabbing sand. This fear is real people, I swear it's been haunting me recently.

   But besides from that, I guess I'm doing good? It's a lot :D



                                             this is how I feel now.


I wanted to film on Friday right? Heh, guess what? I HAD NO VOICE ON FRIDAY. Great. All I needed. And I'm the main actress so like aaaaah help omg I was so frustrated. 

I told myself " no Mel, It's okay, you can just film on Saturday, it'll all be fine. RIGHT???" No. It wasn't all fine. Basically everything went wrong :D!  HAHAHAHA!!!!!! I talked to my cameraman to see if he was ready to film and he said that he was going out with his family (sad sad angry face). We had scheduled together, I wanted to cry. When I thought it was bad, it got worse. I was going to go outside and try to film some scenes by myself, but I looked up and THE SKY WAS SO CLOUDY AND UGLY. But, the thing is, if it was a storm, a thunderstorm even, it would have been okay, you know? But NO. It was just a very shitty rain that wasn't rainy enough for my sad scene nor sunny enough for my happy days. So here I am, dying. 



I talked to my cameraman and explained my situation and we're going to film on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am nervous and I feel anxious and I can't sleep :D!

My plan is, after I film, this is my top priority above all, above sleeping, above breathing. Edit, Edit, Edit.



CR

          Couleur du Jour is a short film inspired by the idea of having “perfection” in society. It questions whether having a “perfect” li...