Introduction
The Narrative unit was our biggest unit of the year. taking everything we had learned previously and turning it into actual projects. This unit was also the point where I began to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of projects we had to complete. Still, it was definitely the most fun for me because we were finally starting to turn the random smaller assignments into actual stories through film, writing, and even music.
Story
Our first project was writing a short story for English. We started by writing a character questionnaire so we could get an idea of who our character was, and we also created a plot map to understand our story. I decided to write a sort of abstract story that has many different interpretations, but I feel lets everyone relate to it in some way using a past experience. While no one has the same story, I think the idea I attempted to convey is a universal one. While there is no ‘official’ meaning to the story, my personal interpretation was the feeling of getting so overwhelmed with life that your brain simply shuts down and refuses to take in new stimuli.
We were then tasked with creating an audio production of our story using Pro Tools. This part was unnecessarily difficult, because I spent months trying to get Pro Tools to cooperate and let me record. Eventually, I was able to record, and I then added a backing track of wind to further immerse the listener. I also added some reverb to the voice to sound like it is in an echoey chamber.
AWAITING UPLOAD TO SOUNDCLOUD
Illustrations
Illustrations Unit
Music
Next up, we we had to create an experimental song of our choice. Heavily inspired by the music of Interstellar and Portal 2, I decided to create a futuristic space themed piece. It mostly involved me playing around with synthesizers until I found a mix that could create the distant lonely feeling I was going for.
Film
The narrative film unit was where we got to take all the skills we learned thus far and finally begin using them to tell stories.
Griffith’s Pattern
As we began learning about film language, we were told to create a “Griffith’s Pattern” scene, a sequence of shot types used by film pioneer Andy Griffith to establish scenes and characters. Our practice film shows two characters inside of a car. To push Griffith’s Pattern to its limit, we decided not to film inside the car, but rather first show the exterior, then fade into a completely different location, but thanks to Griffith’s Pattern, the audience knows that it is inside the car. The car we used is actually our teacher, Mr. Taylor’s car, as a fun easter egg.
Suspense Scene
Our suspense scene was another lesson in using film language to create suspense using camera work, timing, and audio.
Chase Scene
Our chase scene was very interesting, because we were told that our films would be judged with the same standards as Hollywood blockbusters. Mr. T made it very clear that our films would be ripped to shreds. I had a great idea to make a film about a high speed police chase where the cop and robber are both toddlers. Unfortunately, I was out of town for the entire time we were given to film, so I had to throw together a different film in a single class period. Suffice to say, I did not do well.
Narrative
Our final narrative of the unit was the biggest project of the year, where we got to take everything we had learned and put it into a 5-15 minute movie. I had a lot of ups and downs in this project, but I’m ultimately very happy with the result.
First we had to pitch our idea. My first pitch was a film in which everything takes place inside an elevator. There would be a murder in the building, and the audience would receive clues as to who the culprit is through people and things coming into the elevator. Expectedly, this idea would have been insanely hard to pull off, so through a “tiny” but of tweaking, we changed the idea into a creepy guy who watched people on security cameras for fun. Eventually he would witness a murder, and have to use the cameras to stop it.
Synopsis
With our idea ready, we began writing a synopsis.
A man who works at an office building regularly sneaks into the
security office to spy on his coworkers using the cameras. He enjoys
spying on their relationships, gossiping, etc. One day, as he sneaks
in, he looks at one of the cameras and sees his coworker being
strangled to death by another. Horrified, he rushes to tell the
authorities but realizes if he does, he will have to admit to spying
on everyone with the cameras. Instead, he decides to catch the
murderer himself. Rushing towards the office block where the murder
took place, he arrives at the desk only to discover both the murderer
and the body are gone. Frustrated, he returns to the security room
and watches the cameras intently, searching for where the murderer
went. He quickly grows distracted as he returns to his old habits,
watching his coworkers gossiping near the water fountain. After a few
seconds, he stops himself and turns his head. On another monitor, he
sees the murderer approaching the desk of another coworker. He
sprints out of the room and runs down the hallway toward the
elevator. He pushes the call button and waits for the elevator to
arrive. Once it does, he runs inside and presses the button for the
floor above him. Calm elevator jazz plays as he slowly ascends the
elevator. He bounces impatiently and tries pressing the button
several more times. The elevator eventually arrives and the doors
swing open to reveal the murderer on the other side of them. He
inhales sharply and holds his breath. The murderer steps inside and
pushes the button to go down. The man tries not to stare, but the
awkward tension in the elevator causes the murderer to grow
suspicious. They look at the man, sizing him up. The murderer gives
the man a dirty look and then pulls out a switchblade. In a moment of
self-defense and heroism, he tackles the murderer and pushes them
against the wall, pinning down their hand. The murderer fights back
by headbutting him, knocking him back. The murderer swings the blade
and stabs him in the leg and chest. The doors open and the murderer
runs off. He tries to chase them, but he cannot keep up. Instead of
saving himself and finding paramedics, he limps over to the security
room and pushes open the door. He collapses on the chair and pushes
himself over to the keyboard. He types in a command and triggers an
office-wide lockdown. Alarms begin to blare and the doors lock
themselves, preventing the murderer from escaping. Trapped inside,
the murderer panics. Cops arrive to arrest them. Inside the security
room, the man is slowly bleeding out. He closes his eyes, accepting
his fate. He wakes up several days later in the hospital, alive.
After a few days of recovery, he can return to work. When he does, he
passes by the security room, which was left open a crack. He stares
at it longingly, before shrugging it off and heading towards his
desk.
Storyboards
Next, we had to draw out every single shot on an index card to get the pacing right. This took an uncomfortably long time.
Location
We tried really hard to find an office building as our location, but turns out businesses aren’t interested in shutting down their workplace so a couple high schoolers can make a movie. Eventually, we secured a deal with the Mountain View Teen Center, but they also ghosted us shortly after our first meeting. At that point, we had to make some big changes. Now several weeks behind schedule, we were forced to completely change our story.
Synopsis II
Fred is a cop on a stakeout at a parking lot. He is sitting in his car, waiting for something interesting to happen. The radio is talking gibberish. He suddenly hears a loud noise behind him. He runs out of his car to discover an old lady has dropped her groceries. He helps her pick them up, and returns to his car. A dark figure zooms past behind his car. He jumps out and chases it, only to discover a teenager riding skateboards around the lot, attempting to graffiti a wall. He chases after them, but they hop a fence, and he refuses to do the same. Fed up, he returns to his car once more. He starts the car, ready to leave, when he hears a loud car alarm from down the garage. Rolling his eyes, he walks over to discover someone attempting to break into a car. The thief turns around and looks at him, and he stares back. The thief takes off running, and he gives chase. Fred runs directly at him and tackles him, pushing him against the wall, pushing the elevator button. They struggle in this position. The thief headbutts him, knocking him back onto the floor. The elevator doors swing open, and the thief runs inside. He tries to press the door close button, but Fred sticks his foot in and the doors reopen. He jumps inside, and the two battle it out as the elevator slowly descends. They reach the bottom and the thief disappears around the corner. He looks around and sees the stair door slowly closing. He pushes it open and spots him running back up the stairs. He chases after him and chases him up to the roof. He scans it, but cannot see the thief. Suddenly, a car drives up to the roof from below. It drives straight toward him, but he narrowly jumps out of the way. He falls backward, and the thief jumps out of the car and creeps up towards him, knife in hand. In a last ditch effort, Fred sweeps his legs, knocking him over and causing him to drop the knife. He grabs it and gets up. He cuffs the thief and throws him into the back of his car, where he can now celebrate the catching of the criminal.
Shooting
Shooting took twice as long as finding the location. While we now had unlimited access to our location as it was just a public parking lot, we were still constrained by our actor’s shooting schedules. On top of that, we couldn’t find an actor for our thief, forcing us to cast my partner as the thief. Slowly we managed to churn our way through each shot until we finally wrapped.
Post
Post production was undoubtedly the easiest part. Editing was short, but still took a long time because I was balancing so many other projects. Regardless, I managed to finish it up after nearly 5 weeks past the due date.