Taking an L (as in Location)

Before I start today's blog post, I'd like to make a special shout out to the pun I made in yesterday's title. Holy crap, am I good. If I don't get rich off of this film, I'll definitely make it off comedy! What a stealer!!

On that note, hello all!! It's a new day today and progress is, well, progressing. I have finally set my location for my film! My cousin is allowing me to use her apartment whenever I care for to begin filming! I think it's the perfect setting because I modeled my story board off of what I remember her apartment looking like, so we are in the clear. So, now let's refer back to that list I made yesterday and check that one off!

-Get an approved location for filming CHECK! 
-Print out my script and give it to my lead actor (who also happens to be my best friend)
-Set up a schedule for filming
-FILM!
-Edit
-Sleep for 3 days

Ah, sleep for three days...I'm most excited for that part. But I am slightly more excited about my location and finally beginning this process. I think it's so exciting to have everything set in stone! Very very soon I will begin now that I have everything in place. According to our calender, we have exactly 13 days until April 10th, the due date of our little legacy here. That's a day over two weeks! The sweat on my brow is intensely building as I type this, but don't worry, it's out of pure...aha...excitement...not stress!! I swear!! 

So, now that we've got our location set, our script, our actor, all we have to do is apply the glue and begin pasting our pieces together. Woohoo! Finally, and I know I always say this, some visible progress. We are gonna make it out alive, kids!


Now I'm going to go and create my little filming schedule. Soon, our train will be directly on it's tracks. Cross your fingers!


With much prayer for this project and regard for the future,


Amalia Gonzalez

Ringtone Around the Rosie, Pockets Full of Progress

Hi friends! School has once again commenced and I am back in action!

Today's progress is minimal, but still very important. It's the little things that count, you guys!
As I was reading over my script that I wrote yesterday, I noticed there was an element missing from my piece: the ring tone. You see, when the scene first begins, you hear Jeff's phone go off as he sleeps, revealing a ridiculous ring tone. So, I began the hunt!

Many cat-meowing related ring tone searches later, I found ze one! A ludicrous album entitled: Metalikids—Heavy Metal Nursery Rhyme Ring tones. I know, right?? Who would've thought that the key to my success would come from a bunch of adults making heavy metal versions of children's nursery rhymes? Go figure!

Anyway, I remembered that I have to get permission from the artist in order to use it in my film, so I did some research and sent that production company—HaHaas Comedy—a quick little email. I'm hoping to hear back soon with a positive response so I know I can include this little ditty version of Ring Around the Rosie in my film.

What a hilarious idea! If that song wasn't already depressing at it's core, go ahead, make a heavy metal version of it! For the kids! I'm sure my already-screaming two year old kid will love it (this is just a joke, I don't actually have a kid. Thank heavy metal for that).

So, here we are again at crossroad between progress and a standstill. Here are some things I still have left to do:

-Get an approved location for filming
-Print out my script and give it to my lead actor (who also happens to be my best friend)
-Set up a schedule for filming
-FILM!
-Edit
-Sleep for 3 days

Oh yeah, that last one is just to kind of catch up on what I've missed trying to keep this barely-glued together puzzle standing. Don't worry, I assure you when this is done you'll be so proud of me you could almost cry!!

Time to get back to work, then. And by work, I mean eating my hot cheetos alone as I type away on my laptop. Ah, progress. You are such a faithful friend.


Here's to the days of upcoming success! I'm gonna be a star!


With much hope and high anticipation (and sodium levels...thanks, Hot Cheetos!),


Amalia Gonzalez

A Title (And soon, a star) is Born!!

Sorry for the lack of pun in my title today, but I am too excited to think of one!

Today I woke up with a purpose, and you bet your buns I achieved it!
I began writing my script last night, came up with some ideas and cleared my head, and here we have it! The final copy of my script!

Here's a screenshot of what I've written—you can see what cool abilities this format adds to writing a script, so it doesn't just look like a text document. I love that I'm able to do something official here and really have a true script! This writer is shaking with excitement!

Also, I don't know if you recall, but many moons ago when I first wrote this short story, I never came up with a title for it. It was just sort of called "My Short Story"...I know, a fifth grader's paradise. But today, after much contemplating and watching HGTV all afternoon, I finally came up with something: LAST STAND. It fits with what my story is about—the final strand of a relationship between a father and son—and it's quick and simple. I'm so glad I finally got this decision out of the way!! And a clever title, too. Look at me, smart and creative :D

A lot of my graphics fit in easily with my film, the audio works well in the script...ahhh!!! I'm pumped and cannot wait to begin filming.

Alright, now that we've got a script, it's time to find our location, our actors, and get started!! Finally, some traction. I told you I wouldn't let you down!!


Finally looking forward to some real progress and positivity,


Amalia Gonzalez

  

Writing Away My Worries, One App at a Time

Okay, okay, I know I told you yesterday I'd get back to you tomorrow, and I hope you didn't give up on me!! I've still got 45-ish minutes left of today!!


Speaking of that, I've got to talk fast. I spoke to my dad today like I told you, and he showed me a neat format for writing scripts called Celtx. This format allows for one to write a proper script in an easy to use text format. Unfortunately they've changed their layout and now the app is no longer free. My struggling teenage wallet is forced to open up again...sorry, wallet, I understand your cries; I wish we had money, too. Hopefully my little short film opening can help us out there one day!

$20 on an application later, (I KNOW RIGHT?!) and I've begun writing. The process is slow yet simple, but I'm glad I've finally started to make some progress!! Despite my hindering abilities and frequently short blog posts, I am very invested and excited for this film. Curse my existing social life that I've worked so hard to maintain!! You are keeping me from my real dreams!! *Sigh* It truly is the things we love most that kill us.

So, now it's time for me to update you on the world of my main character, Jeffery Robinson. In my film opening, as I believe I've told you earlier, I've decided to introduce my three main characters—Jeff and his two parents—through a phone call Jeff has the morning after a big party. In my script I'm going to include the dialogue from this phone call, in which Jeff's mom tells him that he needs to start getting his life together, spending more time with his father, etc. The scene ends with him coming up with the idea to throw his father a surprise party because, deep down in Jeff's little adolescent heart, he does love his dear old dad. Now, I'm wondering if keeping out the action of meeting his father and getting into the whole ordeal of the party is bad for my viewers, but since it's just supposed to be the first two minutes of the film, I'm sure it'll be alright. Besides, maybe one day the rest of the movie will exist. That's all on you, my friend. Like my movie?? Let me know!!

Now as you read this in the comfort of your home at a decent time of day, I'm sitting in my little apartment, exhausted, and ready to start making progress bright and early tomorrow morning (okay, afternoon. A kid's gotta get her rest!!).

Here's to more late night script writing in the near future!!


Your working woman with many worries and wondrous words (and mad alliteration skills),


Amalia Gonzalez

"Celtx - Free Scriptwriting & All-In-One Production Studios." Celtx - Free Scriptwriting & All-In-One Production Studios. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Director of the Dead

*groans* Helloooo everyone...Excuse me while I cough my lungs out!


This sickness I've told you about has been very clingy and decided to stick around through all of my spring break. Our relationship is, you could say, quite unhealthy *wink*. No? No one? I tried.

These past two days I've been feeling a bit better though, so I've begun to try and make some progress on the project that has since been on hold. Today, I tried to format my storyboard onto one of the formats I told you about before, but it's come to be too complicated. The format requires one to make an account and sign up and pay for things, and I frankly don't have much time for that. Besides, my storyboard is really for me and I can read it just fine.

So, there's another moment of progress hindered by the reigns of technology. Damn you, Storyboard That!! Your complicated forum is my mortal enemy.

There is another spot that I've actually begun to get some progress on! My father write scripts for commercials for a living, and he has begun to show me the correct format for writing a script. This way I can get the dialogue down for my scene and FINALLY begin shooting!! It's a miracle!! All these bumps in the road have made for quite a hinder on my final project, and I'm not too happy about it. Tonight I will begin working on this script and get back to you tomorrow!!

Again, I apologize for my lack of effort after getting you all excited. Don't blame me, blame my immune system.


Hoping to cough up ideas instead of phlegm (ew),


Amalia Gonzalez

Another One Bites the Dust Allergy

So, you remember that cough I told you about? Yeaahhh, not just a cough, it turns out. A cough turned headache, dizziness, body aches, and later 100 degree fever. It's been a tight spring break for me!!

Due to this impending sickness and my inability to move three feet off my bed, I have been hindered in my progress. I hope to get back on track soon, as our due date is nearing and I would like to create as little amount of stress as possible. Today is one of my better days since I got sick, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be able to get to work on using one of my two storyboard formats. My script is coming together as well!! It's just this illness...*sigh*...my sincerest apologies.


Saddened by these setbacks and coughing up all my sorrows,


Amalia Gonzalez

The Pen is Not Much Mightier Than The Sword (In My Case)

Hello everyone!!

This week has been very eventful for me. Unfortunately, I came down with a cough this morning so I am feeling a bit under ze weather, but no worries! Nothing can stop this moving train!!

Now, in regards to my project, I have made a slight amount of progress. Since I received that wonderful idea from my teacher, I've had to make some changes to the original storyboard I began to sketch last week. Since I'm also starting from a sort of scratch point, my ideas are a bit jumbled and my sketches are not...at par with Picasso, I must say. I'm still quite proud of how far I've come, though! Things are looking up.

Sorry about the required head tilt here, but this is my official first draft of my story board!! Ta da!! So far so good; I've been able to incorporate a lot of camera techniques into my new idea for the opening than I was before, which makes me very happy. I'm glad I'm going to be able to show off my learned techniques and really have more fun making this film.

Now, when it comes to storyboarding, I'm not an expert, so I did some research on different online formats where I could create a "cleaner" outline. The first website I encountered was a very simple layout for storyboarding, Storyboard That. On here I can pick cartoon objects to represent my drawings and type in a text box below the image, just like I've been doing on paper!! This website is also free, so I'm going to look a bit more into it before I officially decide.
The next website was ACMI Generator, a more complex but still easy-to-use website to create story boards. I feel as though this one is a bit more professional, so there's a larger chance I'll use this one as long as it works well.

The steps that follow will include more physical activities and late night computer staring, which obviously I am looking forward to.  As soon as I decide which format to use, I'll get back to you with a new draft and much more enthusiasm.


Hoping to feel better before I start filming & that you're looking forward to this(!!!),


Amalia Gonzalez

 "Storyboard Generator." ACMI Generator. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. 

 "Storyboard That: The World's Best FREE Online Storyboard Creator." Storyboard That. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. 

Planting a Seed

Long time no talk, readers!!


I missed my media studies class on Friday due to a previously-planned Orlando trip, and because of that I missed out on something pretty cool. My apologizes, Ms. Stoklosa. I promise I really do care about this project ;)

As a result of this, I'm still on the same stone I left off on Thursday. However, just a second ago, as I was slaving away on my pencil-drawn story board, I spoke to my teacher about some ways to expand my ideas, and she has inspired me!! Shocking, right? A teacher who cares?? I am baffled.

She provided me with an excellent idea that can help expand my main character of Jeffery, as well as still incorporate my original elements that I am oh-so proud of.
Instead of having a voice over audio of the phone conversation between Jeffery and his mother, she suggested to "incorporate more modern elements" (her words verbatim) and have her on speaker phone, as Jeffery cleans around this apartment. Not only does this help display Jeffery's lack of effort towards his family, but it keeps some of my original ideas from my short story alive!! Hallelujah!!

Another problem my mystically magical teacher solved is my alcohol issue. As long as I don't include labels and have the bottles laying around, I'm all clear on that issue. For the first time in this process, I'm feeling some clarity.

Now, we start the process of storyboarding and filming. Since I've received these new ideas, I'm going to need to change some things around. I just thought I'd update you on how things are going.


Hoping you are just as giddy and kid-excited as I am,


Amalia Gonzalez

A (Speed) Bump in the Road

It has been a bit of a sail for me since yesterday, everybody.

I have begun sketching my ideas and writing out scenes for the finished product, and after reading over my story, I've hit a sort of bump. You see, when my class was assigned to write the short story I am basing my film off of, we were given one rule: no boundaries, just make it work. Of course there's the standard "school appropriate"—no pornography, nothing graphic or gruesome. So essentially, I wrote to satisfy my free creative will. My main character, Jeffery Robinson, was written as a current bartending semi-alcoholic, college dropout in his late to mid 20s. His father is an 82 year old, grumpy southern man with strong opinions, his mother a fragile woman about two years younger than her spouse, and his brother a spoiled young man in his early 20s who still lives at home. You can see where I've run into some conflicts here.

Here are some of my notes, excuse my fair pencil handwriting but you can tell they are a bit...scattered. I began yesterday to draw out some plans on how to solve this problem and came up with a practically doable situation.

My first issue came from Jeff's drinking problem. As a 17 year old female in high school, it would probably be considered uncouth for me to put that in my film; I shouldn't be showing actors of my same age consuming alcohol, whether it be a prop or not. The decisions I've had to make have got me feeling like a real producer! I began to research some of the best book-to-movie interpretations and from what I can see, there isn't one that didn't change a little something to make the movie more appealing to their target audience. In fact, the number two book-to-movie translation was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, number one the Fellowship of the Ring. In the Sorcerer's Stone film, they added many iconic scenes like Hermione fixing Harry's glasses and Prof. McGonagall changing into a cat during class, to the film that were not in the book.  These add-ons lead to this movie making over $90,000,000 in it's opening week because of the fantastic production and making of the film. Now, I know this two minute intro isn't going to get me 90 million dollars, but the fact that some change can lead to that kind of success are enough to motivate me!
So I've decided to cut the alcohol addiction of Jeffery and make it more obvious that he is a "party guy" through varying methods of misc-en-scene.  This way I can still build my character without breaking any boundaries.

The next issue I was presented with, I solved fairly quickly. The character of Jeffery's father, Frank Robinson, is a very important part of the development of my plot. To be frank, I don't know a lot of 82 year-old actors living in South Florida who would be willing to act in a student film. The only 80-something adult I know is my grandma, and she doesn't speak a lick of english, so that's out of the question. His mother is also fairly important and only 2 years younger than he is. The
best solution I came up with was to do a simple voice-over of the actors speaking, using a dialogue I wrote into the scene of a conversation between Jeff and his mother. Through this method, I am able to introduce my main characters without actually displaying them. As for adult voices, I have a lot of young adults in my family who I know would be happy to do this. As for introducing the father, his character can be described through misc-en-scene and dialogue between Jeff and his mother, so an audio of him won't be necessary, I think.

This is where I am now: facing a bridge that I've got to cross. In the coming days I will begin to actually piece together a feasible story board and script, get my actors and set together, etc. You will hear back from me soon enough.


Your friendly neighborhood stressed out teen,


Amalia Gonzalez


"Best Book to Movie Interpretation." (329 Books). Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. 

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Novel vs Movie." Verba Mea Vita. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Getting the Juices Flowing

Day two has begun!! I am thrilled and bubbling with ideas by the second.

Last night, as I was struggling to fall asleep, my mind began to wonder. Thank God I began to think about this project and not something else that can mess with my mind, but nevertheless...an idea was formed!!

In my junior year of high school, I participated in a creative writing class. We were assigned to write a short story, about 6 or 7 pages in length, that we came up with, characters and all. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty dang proud of the story I had written; the plot was enticing, the comedy prime, the suspense almost killer (okay, I might be bragging a little). I never gave it a title, since that wasn't required, but it was one of my favorite things that I've ever written. You'll also never guess what the "tone" element of my short story was...dramatic comedy!

The struggle of creating a brand new story off the top of my already-spinning head has been lifted! With this story in hand, I can finally begin the official process. You can read my short story here if you like, just to get a hint and what this upcoming film opening will be about.  Now I have to pull elements from the beginning of my story to compose an "introduction" type scenario. This is where I am assuming I will find most of my struggle.

At first I had a feeling that adapting my short story into a film would be a struggle, but my research shows that many great films have come from short stories! Total Recall was actually based off of the short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Phillip K. Dick in 1966. The fact that such a famous film came from a written short story really motivates me to stick with my idea. As I progress in this process I'm sure I'll find more short story-film adaptations that I'll be happy to share with you.

In the meantime, I've got to get started!!


With growing appreciation and gratitude for Phillip K. Dick and Arnold Schwarzenegger,


Amalia Gonzalez


"Total Recal." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

"We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." RSS. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

"Top 20 Short Story to Film Adaptations." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

The Slow Beginnings

Hello all!!

So as I write to you, I have finally begun the ongoing process of creating my short film 2 minute introduction piece. I've been thinking of ideas for this from the beginning of the year, but now it's time to piece all these together and really crack the whip.

As an actress myself, I want to create a piece that I would enjoy being a part of/viewing. I enjoy a good comedy, something that engages the viewer. According to statista.com, comedies are the most popular movie genre of 2016 so far based on box office revenue (41.49%). However, I also do enjoy thrilling dramas, and creating a well-written, performed drama is always enticing. Dramas fall in a little below comedies on the same scale, at a less significant 31.46% popularity. It is with these facts that I have been drawn towards creating a sort of "dramatic comedy", something that will make you smile as well as make you think. Forrest Gump, American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, and The Kids Are Alright are some of the best dramatic comedies I can think of. If I could create something similar to the scheme presented in this films it would be so great!!

I hope to start finding my actors, writing down my story board and screenplay, and getting to work as soon as possible. No doubt updates will be coming soon!


Your local inspired actress-become-filmmaker,


Amalia Gonzalez