Prop Research: College Acceptance Letter💌 + Meds💊

 Hey blog!!!

So, obviously in the 2000s, technology wasn't as well developed as it is now, so physical college acceptance letters were sent through mail rather than email and website inboxes. Since our main prop in this opening is the acceptance letter, I thought I might as well research about it to ensure that it is done right and accurate to the time period. 

The late 2000s is when colleges began to shift from physical acceptance letters to online ones. What I've seen the most throughout this research, though, is the thick and thin envelopes serving as a way for students to know whether they got into the college or not. Typically the acceptance letters came in a white paper size envelope with the the school logo, stamps, and address information. If accepted, the letters were usually as thick as a magazine because it included various forms regarding financial aid, housing, contact information, and more. Inside, they also put flyers and brochures promoting statistics of the school and future events that could help convince students to actually attend the university. But if a student received a thin letter that feels like it only contains one paper, it was very likely that they were rejected from the college. All schools are different, though, some using fancy seals and others only using thin letters.

PICTURE SENT TO ME BY ARANTZA

Arantza and I plan to make these letters ourselves though, using the thick and thin envelopes to make this opening more time accurate. We plan on using a big paper envelope and either printing or simply drawing the information on its exterior. For the inside, we will very likely just stick in random papers and add an acceptance letter we wrote based off of Arantza's college acceptance letters. That letter will be taken out of the envelope by Lily's actress and is what she begins to read out loud at the beginning of our opening, right after our title sequence. 

PICTURE SENT TO ME BY ARANTZA

+ Meds

This is a very simple prop, but since one of our main characters, Lily, is... well she's dying... she needs to be taking pills to at least attempt to get better. Her swallowing some pills is also a scene in our opening, so for this, we chose to use an empty pill container and print out some writing that we can stick on it so it actually looks prescribed to Lily. Inside, we plan on putting Altoids mints so that the actress playing Lily doesn't have to actually swallow a random placebo pill or crumbled piece of paper, and can just take a mint. And to make it more realistic, I have many pill bottles that we can add to the background to make it look like there is a lot of medicine Lily must take.

Prescription pill bottles and pills. (n.d.) [Photograph]. https://i.sstatic.net/5ox7Tm.jpg

Sources:

Thick College Envelopes: A Thing of the Past | Ivy Coach. (2024, October 31). Ivy Coach; Ivy Coach®, Inc. https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-decisions/thick-college-envelopes/

‌Communications, D. J. (1997, December 12). Size Doesn’t Matter When It Comes to a Notice of Admission | Newswise. Newswise.com; Newswise. https://www.newswise.com/articles/size-doesnt-matter-when-it-comes-to-a-notice-of-admission

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Costuming👗

 Hey blog!!!

So, we are currently figuring out the costumes for our characters. Since our story takes place at some point in the 2000s, it is important we follow the unique fashion that was popular in that time. Arantza and I have a sort of vision we have for what each of our characters will wear, but we want to explore and research more from that time to, first, see if our vision matches with the time period, and, second, to see what other possibilities we may have. So, lo and behold, welcome to the era of tight low-rise jeans and just so much layering: the 2000s.

Graphic Tees

Graphic tees were a staple in 2000s fashion, being the normal everyday outfits for most teenagers. They were used to show people's interests film, music, and personality wise, often including movie characters; band merch; and sassy, inspiring, or humorous phrases. Baby tees were also common at this time which were a form of a graphic tees just tighter. Usually worn with jeans, these tops also incorporated bright colors, glitter, rhinestones, and metallics depending on the what is on the shirt. Since our two main characters are teens on a random day, I do believe this is the best way to go with them, especially Jackie, who totally fits this persona.

Bags/Shoulder Bags

Purses were extremely popular during this era, used by all ages. There were two different types of purses, though: the small handbags and the huge baggy purses. The big ones typically had a huge buckle on them to keep them locked and secure when closed and were commonly decorated with patterns or ruffles depending on the material. During this time, braids were also used to decorate bags either for the handle or simply glued onto the front. Big leather purses were mostly for every day use while small handbags were for special events, used only to carry makeup for touch ups, mints/gum, or even simply as an accessory. While we may not use these on Jackie and Lily's costumes, it can definitely be placed in the background as part of the set design.

Vests

As another top, vests were used by teens and young adults. They were worn in a variety of ways, though. Some wore them just by themselves with nothing under, buttoned up completely and used jewelry to decorate their outfit. Others used a crop top underneath and kept their vest unbuttoned, using it as an accessory itself. These usually had cool designs such as swirls, chains, and pockets to make them stand out. Lastly, and in my opinion, the outfit that fits the most with one of our characters, dark-colored vests were used on top of long white tops. I feel this fit matches with Jackie's personality, especially if its a jean vest.

Rhinestones

Rhinestones were the main choice of design in 2000s fashion. They were used on EVERYTHING including jeans, hats, belts, jewelry and shirts. Yes, they were kind of cheap looking, but the sparkles were used by all ages and styles. They were used as a form of expression, bedazzling the room and taking part in all different kinds of designs and patterns. Although they were used on quite literally everything, they were most commonly used on denim, like the back pockets of jeans, vests, and the side seams of pants. I can definitely also see Jackie wearing this.

(2026). Gstatic.com. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imagesq=tbn:ANd9GcQh0pIMeKG0NQ0G2f3TGF8t3sb3Yp0CIvBK1g&s

Dress Over Pants

Layering was HUGE in the 2000s with teens wearing multiple crop tops on top of their shirts. Another form of layering was wearing dresses over jeans and shorts. I feel like Lily would so wear a pink/girly dress over a pair of shorts during the summertime. If not, both characters would definitely layer in some sort of way as it was very common for their age group at this time.

Belts

Belts were a crucial accessory during this era, usually combined with layered clothing. While there were different types of belts, the most commonly worn were big, thick ones with a big buckle, however, thick ones with rhinestones, spikes, or even chain belts were also used often. To be honest, I don't see any of our characters wearing these thick belts and it will also be difficult to get a hold of one, but if Arantza and I feel like something is missing to any of our character's costumes, I have a small black belt and a brown braid belt (a design used often in the 2000s due to the boho trend that occurred) that we could use.

17 Belts Every Cool Girl Owned In The 2000s — PHOTOS. (n.d.). Bustle. https://www.bustle.com/articles/157510-17-belts-every-cool-girl-owned-in-the-2000s-photos

Sandals

Whether it was worn with heels or not, open foot sandals were used with every outfit. They were usually white, black, or other neutral colors like tan, but bright colors weren't rare to find to fit with the maximalist style that was also going around during the 2000s. Sometimes these sandals also had designs with patterns and rhinestones but that wasn't always used, plain sandals were also worn. I feel like this would definitely fit Lily's style as it is very girly. Jackie, on the other hand, would definitely wear closed foot converse or other sneakers.

Jewelry

One of the aspects in 2000s culture that stands out the most, though, is the jewelry. Layered necklaces including long, big, "making a statement" necklaces would be worn with smaller necklaces that follow the same color scheme or overall aesthetic. Bracelets were also always layered with yarn, , beaded, charm, and dangly bracelets. Rings weren't as common but still used often. And big acrylic or hoop earrings were also common, often having many ear pierces. Chains were also worn depending on the outfit to give a more edgy look. The boho look was also seen all the time in this era which also contributed to the jewelry worn. For our characters, I see Jackie wearing a lot of all kinds of jewelry to show her creative and expressive side, while Lily would go a little less flashy with it, wearing simple accessories.

Our main plan for each character, however, is for Jackie to have overalls with a crop top or graphic tee underneath, sneakers, and some jewelry that is undecided still. For Lily, we want her to wear shorts with a flowy top or dress, sandals and a lot of layered jewelry. Hair wise, we haven't really talked about yet, but I do see Lily having small braids on the top of her head with colorful clips, while Jackie simply has it down or in a French braid or ponytail. But since we are using other actors that aren't us for this film, we are unsure what they have in their closet, if our clothes will fit them, and if we need to buy anything. We made this post for other alternative options if our plan doesn't work out but we do hope it all goes to plan. You'll see eventually what we end up doing in our final product, but that is our current plan:)

Sources (for not-cited pictures as well):

Manning, C. (2016, June 22). 15 Trends From the Early 2000s You Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in Today. Cosmopolitan; Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/news/g5852/early-2000s-celeb-trends/

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Character Development!!!

 Hey blog!!!

So, we are starting the last portion of the pre-production process for our opening, and one of my personal favorite parts, developing the details and visual aspects of our opening. One of the most important parts before starting on the visuals for Arantza and I's opening, is developing our characters to help us with their costumes, their props, and the set design. This will show us what kind of person each character is, what they might be interested in, and how that changes their environment. So, here are our characters:)

Jackie

Our main character is Jackie. She is a very creative 18-year-old girl who plans to study art in college. She is constantly listening to music and always has a mark of paint on her face, clothes, or arms. In her free time she does anything art related, skateboards, or hangs out with her best friend, Lily. Although she loves skateboarding, her main form of transportation is biking as neither Lily or her have a car, both use bikes, and it is simply quicker than skateboarding. She is seen as the black cat in Lily and her's friendship, being more introverted, curious, and overall laid back to the public eye; but with the people closest to her, she is a very excited person. She loves talking about her favorite bands, reading about art pieces and their backstories, and is a huge fangirl. 

Selecting this name was very difficult because we already knew that we wanted Lily to be the name of this character's best friend (the reason is explained later) and we wanted to continue following the flower theme for some reason. So, after going through a bunch of baby names popular in the 90s and 2000s, we were in between Jackie, Sam, and Victoria for this character. While we loved all of these, the flowers that were (very distantly) represented by Sam and Victoria didn't quite fit the meaning we wanted. Jackie, however, is also (again, very distantly) another name for the flower plumeria, also known as frangipani. The frangipani flower represents new beginnings, which is a theme explored in our film. After Lily dies, Jackie must learn how to live her life without one of the most important people in her life there, she must begin a new life. It also symbolizes immortality, which Arantza and I found very ironic due to its contrast with her best friend's name and (sorry) life. She is keeping both of their stories alive, never forgetting Lily's. We also just liked how it sounded compared to the other names. We want Jackie to be a sort of tomboy, and this name just fit that persona perfectly, in our opinion.

We also gave Jackie a cool tones color palette (that we will try to go with to the most of our ability). Purples represent creativity and imagination, which fits perfectly with this character. We wanted that mindful color that also symbolizes mystery as there is so much more to her, happening to her, mentally affecting her, and overall who she is than her outside appearance. We also added blue, which represents sadness, an emotion that would be well developed in this film, especially on Jackie's point of view. But blue also symbolizes peace and calmness, which not only describes her outside appearance, but also shows that everything will work out in the end, that audiences will not be left without feeling at peace with the ending of Jackie's story.

Lily

Our second main character and Jackie's best friend is Lily. Unfortunately this beloved character won't be physically present throughout the whole film, but she is very much present in our film opening and will continue to be a big part of this story and our hearts. Lily is the embodiment of sunshine. She is a very sweet, energetic, and bright 18-year-old girl who is as optimistic as someone can be. She is an extrovert, constantly making friends, very talkative, always ensuring everyone feels included, and is honestly always having a fun time enjoying life. She plans on studying elementary education in college (spoiler alert that doesn't happen) and loves playing with younger kids and animals. Lily loves everything relating to flowers and butterflies and just loves anything girly. She loves reading romance books, baking, and enjoys making jewelry in her free time. She also loves roller skating, but, for the same reason Jackie doesn't use her skateboard as often, Lily uses her cute bike instead. In Jackie and her's friendship, Lily is the golden retriever, a very kind soul who is very affectionate, playful, easygoing, and just so happy. 

Lily's name was very easy to find and agree on. While it isn't as popular of a name in the 90s and 2000s, Arantza and I immediately knew that it was the perfect name for this character and that we could use her family being just as special as her as an excuse to use this. As mentioned before, we chose to go with a flower theme after selecting this name. So, flower wise, lilies represent purity, hope, and joy. We thought of Lily being represented by the color yellow, as well (explained in the next paragraph), so, we decided to research yellow lilies specifically. Yellow lilies represent happiness, friendship, and gratitude. All of these qualities perfectly illustrate who this character is and how her situation changes her and the emotions it evokes. 

And then, we made her color palette yellows and greens because she is always optimistic, radiates joy, and brings warmth to every interaction she has, which is represented by the color yellow. The green, on the other hand, illustrates her nature loving part, the harmony she brings to people's lives, and the overall feeling of safety her and her actions leave those close to her and the audience.

Sources:

Forcella, L. (2022, June 9). Powerful symbolism of plumeria. Lauren Forcella Fine Art. https://laurenforcella.com/powerful-symbolism-of-plumeria/

Color-Meanings.com. (n.d.). Color meanings – Discover the power and symbolism behind every hue. https://www.color-meanings.com/

Clacy, S. (2022, November 15). The lily flower: Meanings, images & insights. Floraly. https://www.floraly.com.au/blogs/news/lily-flower-meanings?srsltid=AfmBOop_h1gY-SnpnMprbnOV_wyk1a-FlgeJ_5198nUDdF6hdv2062-u

Storyboard

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So, we have been working on our storyboard!!! It's not amazingly drawn but it's something. And well, at least now we have our ideas organized, our actual opening planned and are a huge step closer to filming!!! So, here is our storyboard:)

ACTUAL Project Idea!!!! +inspo

 Hey blog!!!!

SO! We FINALLY have our opening idea established and pretty much finalized!!! So, I will now explain it to you guys!! 

Story Idea:

Two best friends have been excitedly planning to go to college together practically since they met. From planning to room together to choosing the same major and taking the same classes, these friends knew they were going to stay together, the same way they had stayed together years prior upon meeting. However, this plan would be disrupted when one of the girls catches an illness, which would eventually lead to her death. The problem? She has been keeping it a secret from her best friend. Her best friend does not know and still believes they will be doing everything they had been planning since they were young. She will be left grieving her best friend and plans for the next chapter of her life and will need to learn how to overcome this obstacle in her life, shaping her into the person she is meant to become.

Opening Idea:

The 2 best friends excitedly bike (YAY WE INCLUDED THE BIKES) to the ill girl's house to check if she was also accepted to the same college as the other. Upon seeing the thick letter in her mailbox, they run into her house to let her mom know before planning on running to tell their other friends. As they are leaving, however, the ill girl's mother reminds her that it is around the time she must take her pills (the audience doesn't know specifically what because the girl interrupts her mother before she can finish the sentence). The girl tells her friend to wait for her outside as she runs to where her medicine is and takes a few pills, leaving the camera focused on the pills.

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Inspiration

So, Arantza and I knew we definitely wanted to do a summer film and since we were both at a point in life where we are about to graduate high school and go to college, we thought it was fitting to make the story about that chapter in life, hoping others could relate to it, as well (to a certain extent, of course, not including... the death). Arantza really wanted to have a bright summer aesthetic while I wanted to make it take place in the 90s or 2000s, so we combined our ideas and made one we both loved. We also grew up watching films with those same types of vibes, so it felt fitting to use it to symbolize the ending of the characters'/our childhoods. And as you know, we were very set on adding a bike scene, so that also helped develop the first part of our opening and choose the specific time period this took place in. 

Also serving as inspiration for this opening were other TV shows/series and movies. One example is the 2007 film "Bridge to Terabithia." While we aren't using the overall aesthetic of this film, the whole best friend death plot fit a lot with our story and we thought the emotional aspect of our film would be very similar to the one in this one. Also the deep connection the two main protagonists have is very special and one we really want our main protagonists to have, as well. So, I think emotion wise, both the characters' and the audiences,' is what we want to take from this film. That irreplaceable childhood friendship that audiences so deeply love being ruined by a death that will forever change the life of the one that was left alone is such a deep concept that evokes a lot of emotions. And well, we liked that, so we're making it.

"Summer of 85," "Stranger Things," and "ET" all served as inspiration in many aspects. "Summer of 85" and the third season of "Stranger Things" really helped us come up with the look of our opening. Overall, visually we want our opening to look like "Summer of 85," with the nostalgic, textured quality and warm tones throughout the whole film, but we also love the brightness (color-wise) in the third season of "Stranger Things" and the exciting, innocent summer vibe. And for our infamous bike scene, both the first season of "Stranger Things" and "ET" helped us figure out how we wanted to develop that idea and even helped us come up with specific shot ideas. And lastly, all these films take place a little bit earlier in the 1900s than we want our opening to be, but it still shows the different fashion choices used in different decades and locations that we might be interested in researching more about. It also, overall, just helped us figure out what time period we actually wanted to have our film take place in. 

Media Theories

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So, Arantza and I are getting a much better idea about what we want our story idea to be, which means we can start thinking of the actual content in our opening. In order to start thinking of content, we can start thinking of media theories we want to include in our project and can help us create some framework for the narrative portion of the opening. So, here I'll research and talk a bit about some media theories we are interested in integrating into our project.

Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium

The theory of equilibrium states that all films must follow a specific 3-part structure. The narrative must start with equilibrium, where a norm/routine is established showing the normal life of the protagonists in the story. However, there must be a disruption, disequilibrium, where this balance is destroyed and the characters struggle and must learn how to deal with this and move on from it. The final part of this theory is new equilibrium, where the process of actually moving on from this major event and going back to a new routine, a new balance, just with new things being accounted for is shown. 

In between these 3 parts there are minor sections which make some believe this theory is a 5-part structure. Between equilibrium and disequilibrium there's a disruption, which is the actual problem being established, while disequilibrium is seen as more of the realization and recognition of this issue, leading to the protagonists to need to change something in their life to better this aspect of it. And then in between disequilibrium and new equilibrium, is repair which is where the character begins to fix the problem and put all the pieces broken in their life back together, which means the new equilibrium is the process of moving on from this repairment to establish a new normal life.

For our opening we wanted to establish the first section of this theory, equilibrium. We would show the protagonist with her best friend excitedly riding their bikes, their main mode of transportation, and barging into one of their houses. This immediately shows how close friends they are and always have been. The reaction of the mom will help show that both girls are pretty much considered their daughters and that everything is very "normal" in their lives right now, at least in the eyes of the main protagonist. What the main character doesn't know, is that her best friend is hiding an illness that would eventually, later on in the story kill her, serving as a disruption and starting the process of disequilibrium. 

Roland Barthes' Narrative Codes- Hermeneutic/Enigma Code

Claudia as media. (n.d.). Theory of Barthes. https://claudiamccarterasmedia.weebly.com/theory-of-barthes.html

Roland Barthes argued that there are 5 narrative codes in a story that are essential for creating meaning of parts in a film/book to watchers/readers leading to audience engagement. One of these codes, and the one Arantza and I would like to incorporate into our opening, is the hermeneutic/enigma code.

The hermeneutic code is used when a narrative keeps information to itself, developing mystery and evoking curiosity among audiences. This leaves a plot point unexplained until later in the story. Watchers are left to create their own guesses and ideas of what is occurring as it is not explicitly stated already, but enough information is given for people to know that something is off.

We plan to use this as one of our protagonists is sick and hasn't told her best friend. So to let the audience know that there is something wrong in one of the protagonist's life, that the other doesn't know, we will be using symbols, object, and conversations to sort of hint that there is an illness occurring that will likely change the course of the story. In the opening specifically, we will end it with pill bottles being very clearly shown, proving that one of the main characters is in fact ill.

Sources:

Media Studies. (n.d.). Todorov’s narrative theory of equilibrium and disruption. Media-Studies.com. https://media-studies.com/todorov/

Media Studies. (n.d.). Roland Barthes’ 5 narrative codes. Media-Studies.com. https://media-studies.com/barthes-codes/

Group Meeting Reflection 💻

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So, for the past few weeks, we've just been working on our film opening in class, but last class we did something different. We got together with around 8 classmates and had a group meeting. In this meeting we all took turns each explaining our ideas for our project and received advice and feedback about it from the others. It was interesting to hear about the different openings everyone was doing, however what I took most from this meeting was the advice given about mine. Arantza and I still aren't completely sure what we want to do for our video so hearing everyone's plot ideas for my story, their own plot ideas, and their advice on how my group could film/produce our opening truly helped solidify our plan. This also helped serve as a sort of checkpoint to see where in the project Arantza and I should be. Some people were already ready to start filming while others only knew what genre they were going to work with, so my process being in the middle of the two parts of the process made me realize that we weren't ahead or behind schedule, simply on time. 

I'm going to briefly explain the specifics of what we each talked about...

Brianna

-Coming-of-age film

-No plot or climax idea yet

-Wants to include a teenage girl who has no family/friends and something causes her to want to transform and change herself into someone new and better

-Wants to include a specific happy, upbeat song on the piano in the background of her opening

Brennan

-Suspense film "The Pushover"

-The opening will start with a psychotic kid walking back from school but is interrupted by bully making fun of him. Eventually the psychotic kid will murder the bully (not actually shown, implied with other shots) and the opening will possibly end with him dragging a bad (with the body inside?)

-Really wants to use a dolly zoom on psychotic kid

-For title, the letters on the screen (which will be big, plain, and white) will zoom/largen in the screen

Advice for me: Use the opening idea of the student who has to choose to go to college of stay with and take care of her chronically ill mom.

Sebastian

-Thriller genre

-No plot, climax, character, vibes ideas

Amelia

-Coming-of-age film

-Really wants to film on the beach

-The film will be about a "beach" girl who wishes to go to college abroad but is expected and is being pressured to stay at home and work at her family business. 

-Whole story (not the opening) ends with her on the plane on the way to her college abroad

-Will take place during the summer before college

-Not completely sure about opening idea but would like to do something involving the girl on the beach

Advice for me: Loved both plot ideas but recommended checking out Cobra Kai as inspiration if we chose the one with the chronically ill mom. Also, if using magazine to become flashbacks, recommended using the pictures as a transition from past to present.

Abrielle

-Coming-of-age film

-Film will be about an upcoming DJ who wishes to go professional but isn't allowed because he is currently still 16. He decides to enter a DJ contest and wins it, meaning he is allowed to play in a club, problem is, he is pretending to be 18, the minimum age to enter.

-The opening will show the kid working as a dj, making his own music, and him showing his friends his new song (they react very well and hype him up).

-Will make the flyer explaining the contest rules and information by hand 

Jade

-Mystery/horror film "Static"

-Unsure of plot/climax idea

-Will include a woman that is mentally unstable

-Wants the opening to take place in hospital, so her and her group already bought huge backdrops that they will be using to film in. Also already bought hospital gown that the woman will be wearing.