Project idea and plot

     I've had the general idea for my plot for a while now but after my first group meeting (which I will post about soon) I have a solid plan for what I want to do in my film opening. I want to go for a upset and nostalgic tone. This can be represented by the framing of the main character, the audio and the objects focused on in close up shots, also known as the mise-en-scene. I want this opening to showcase the relationships that grow apart as children get older, specifically the relationship between sisters.

Idea:

    The opening will start out with the main character (played by me) starring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror as the audio in the background slowly becomes louder and clearer. During this scene the audio will be non-diegetic sound of two little kids laughing and playing around. Then there is a cut to a close up of makeup that's noticeably darker and mature looking. Then I want to a close up of little kid makeup stored in the same spot with color grading that makes it look like a happy memory (pink color grading). After that, I want to cut back to me standing in the bathroom but the audio slowly stops being so joyful and the main character gets visibly more upset. Then I want to do the close up of makeup once more with my sister's side of the bathroom. These close up scenes are where the majority of the credits are going to be shown. There's a cut back to the main character in the bathroom but its quickly followed by another flashback but this time there will be two little girls running through the bathroom from my room to my sister's. I got my best friend's little sisters to agree to act in this scene. Then I want to show another shot of the main character more grown up but this time standing in front of the door to her sister's room. In this scene the non-diegetic audio will hit its climax where the two voices are saying that they hate each other. There is another cut to a flashback but this time its of that same door slamming close, the color grading here will also seem more reminiscent of the real world but there will still be a slight lingering of pink signifying it happened in the past, but this memory not as ideal as the other ones that have been shown. We cut back to the main character still standing in the same spot staring at the door but this time the non-diegetic sound is no longer there and all the audience can hear is silence and slight breathing coming from the main character. The sister walks out of her room and they make eye contact but don't speak to each other, the sister brushes past the main character and walks past the camera. The title of the movie flashes on the screen and then there is around 5 seconds of the two girls sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner together but not speaking.

Plot:

    I want the conflict to be obviously character vs. character, but I also want there to be another conflict of character vs. self. This is shown by the division of the two sisters. The character vs. self is shown by the internal conflict of the character wondering if she should go talk to her sister or not.

    I want to touch on this idea that as sisters grow up their relationship can become strained and they can become almost like strangers living in the same house. Instead of having a concrete villain, the main conflict will be about how different the sisters have become even though they were raised in the same house and how this affected how they perceive each other and the world. I also think that the girls can have internal conflicts like stress, and annoyance that they take out on each other. I like the idea of one sister being burnt out and exhausted and the other one being jealous of how intelligent she is and not understanding why she is having trouble with school until they reconnect and they start to understand each other again.

Examples:

    For this opening I have taken a lot of inspiration from 2000's and 2010's movies and TV shows that I watched a lot when I was little. Shows like "Liv and Maddie" (2013-2017) inspired the idea of fighting but then becoming closer again quickly because many of the storylines in the show were about the two sisters having problems and then making up. When I first was brainstorming ideas, one movie I kept thinking about the plot of was "Invisible Sister" (2015) the entire movie the two sisters have a strained relationship, but they need to work together and by the end of the movie their relationship has been healed.

"Liv and Maddie" (2013-2017)

"Invisible sister" (2015)

    Even with these inspirations, I wanted to make something original and fitting for who I am. Because of this I came up with most of the individual shots myself based on what I thought would fit the story. Although I love these concepts they are focused on an audience of little kids so I want to make these ideas more mature and appropriate for my age and Cambridge standards.

Conclusions:

    I'm personally very excited about this idea and I feel like I can do a lot with the story in two minutes while also making it clear that there's supposed to be an entire movie afterwards. Because the audio is so important to this idea I can have fun coming up with a script and creating the diegetic sounds. Now I'm going to expand on this idea by finding out exactly what to say and how to get the shots I want to. Because I have a solid idea, my next step will be to flesh out the characters and depict this with the mise-en-scene.