Group Meeting

So today in class, we all got in small groups of about 5-6 people and began discussing our projects and ideas and asking for help for any trouble we ran into. Listening to other people's openings and thought processes was interesting to compare to my own as I can see some of the similarities and differences that we all have. I just think that's pretty cool.

Sharanya Rao  Content Marketing Strategist at Talent500. Innately curious about things in general. A strategic planner who loves to make lives easier. An optimist holding on dearly to a glass half-full.        , et al. “Top Group Discussion Tips for Interview Success.” The Talent500 Blog, 24 Sept. 2023, talent500.co/blog/top-group-discussion-tips-for-interview-success/.

This is pretty much what it looked like...just a lot less professional...and a lot more disorganized.

Anyway, everyone really enjoyed my idea which made me SUUUPER happy. I was afraid they wouldn't like it or think it was too ambitious but they all seemed to be really into it which made me pretty content. But they did bring up some things that got me thinking about different choices. 

They liked the first shot with the long shot of the house and then contrasting that with the quick and fast pace that it takes on inside the home. But a classmate brought up a good point, should I do quick cuts or a long shot with whip pans whenever a character is speaking. It's something I had thought about but sort of put aside. I think the long shot would add a sense of underlying dread, as it may feel like the moment is going on forever, and with the whip pans, they could add some extra movement and make the viewer feel some extra...I don't even know how to explain it. Like an extra "AHHH". Maybe like an additional energy and make the action feel more exciting. HOWEVER, straight cutting gives me a lot more control over the edit later on and lets me play around with the pacing a bit more. If I limit myself to only doing whip pans when I film, I'm going to prohibit myself A LOT later on when I begin editing and then find out I didn't like how the conversation flowed. With just having straight takes of the characters arguing, one or two shots for each one, I can make their audio overlap, control the speed it's going, and all that good stuff. I think (if I have the time and still like the idea) I may do both just to have the whip pans there in case I may want to use that, but I think I'll stick with quick cutting.

Another point brought up that I didn't really think of was the body. How are they going to carry the body? I just kinda assumed I would have them carry the real body, but that sounds like...not a great idea, especially since they have to drop her. So they just said I should put her in a trash bag made to look like a body. It would make sense in the context since the robbers wouldn't want anyone outside to see them carrying a dead body, and it makes it a lot easier on my actors too, since they don't have to carry an actual body. But now I just have to add the body bag to my list of mise-en-scene elements I have to create. 

Another solid point brought up was the competence of the robbers. I explained how they were pretty amateur and didn't fully know what they were doing, one bringing a gun without the other knowing, brainstorming stupid ideas to hide the body, etc. A classmate asked whether the characters were going to be stupid and more comedic or have them be dumb and more serious. Not sure if that fully makes sense, so I'll elaborate. If the characters were stupid and had no clue as to how to do robberies and deal with a body, I could definitely lead towards a more comedic route. However, if they are more just dumb and ignorant with a more serious tone, then it would just be them stressing out about this new situation they are unfamiliar with. If had more time with it, or maybe just another scene, I feel like I could go into the comedic direction, but since I'm limited to 2 minutes, I really want to focus on my goal of stressing out the viewer, so I will be sticking with my more serious tone. But it was definitely interesting food for thought. There are a couple of different approaches that can be taken with the same plot. 

When I explained the back-and-forth arguing and how my main dilemma is really just being worried about the dialogue coming off weird, unnatural, or forced, they suggested having my actors adlib and improv their arguments. This was an idea that I reallllly liked, as it would make the dialogue a lot more realistic and could end up with some really good moments. The main thing here is just that I need two actors who can really play off each other and work well together (I have something in mind I will talk about later). I would have to make sure the actors hit certain beats to move the story along and try not to get them too off-track, but I think it would be a solid idea that I definitely want to try out. 

The group session was pretty useful overall, I got some useful tips and approval for some of my ideas and was able to help out my other classmates which was cool too.