Hey, I'm Zachary London, an aspiring filmmaker, sports journalist, political journalist, or anything I can do myself. I love the rush creativity gives me, and anything I can do to further my creative process interest me. Follow me as I grow in my creative journey, strengthening my skills, and learning as I go.
During filming, another one of the problems we faced was the volume of people on a run that would interrupt our shot. As a stylistic western that does not include bystanders in the background, we waited a painstakingly long time for each runner to pass, filming in between the gaps in their runs.
Some of the runners we had to wait for
It took us a lot longer than we first planned to film for. We originally slotted 8-11 to film, but we finished around 1 because of how often we had to stop and wait for people to pass. I’m actually kind of glad we had to wait, because it forced us to think about some of the decisions we were making. It led to a better final product, and our film is better for it.
I’m in Tampa, but let’s talk about one issue we had trying to be historically accurate while filming.
Nowhere in our research did it say anything about old west cowboys having purple nails, so when Emi showed up to film with the brightest purple nails possible, we knew we have failed in that regard. We first tried scraping them off, but that got us nowhere.
We then had to resort to trying to get shots that worked around Emi’s nails. This included Renn acting as Emi’s hands for a shot.
With some clever camera tricks and a few workarounds, we were able to successfully hide her nails, and keep the illusion of an old west woman alive.
Since I’m already finished filming, and I have to pack for Tampa, I’ll quickly go over my plans for post production.
I’ve already started on my like edit, and over the next week I’ll find the right type of music to go over the video. When my team and I get back from Tampa, we’ll do some reshoots and do our voiceovers to fully finish the filming process.
My line edit flows well, and there’s only a few minor switches I have to make once I get new footage.
Video sped up so I can upload.
I’m gonna go because ai have to pack. Sorry this has been so short.
With my very cool Sony A74 (thank u mom and dad), we filmed today. I'm genuinely very happy with how our shots turned out. In our research, we found that a lot of Westerns began very slowly, often with extreme longshots that faded into one another. We aimed to mimic that. The lighting was nothing short of heavenly, which gave us the opportunity for some insane shots that I am very proud of.
Still from one of the long shots that
begin our opening
Renn and I switched off filming (he filmed for the most part). I'll share some of the shots that I love. A lot of them are low angle shots we implemented to show a power imbalance of Emi character (now named Charlotte) over the man she killed. Some of the other ones I loved are shots where we had dirt or flowers in the foreground in focus, and the subejct (Charlotte) out of focus doing some sort of action. Keep in mind these are not color graded or edited so some of it might be a bit off.
Charlotte looks out over the horizon,
ready for what's next
Charlotte plants a cross at the burial site
Charlotte ties the cross while standing over the dead body, projecting power
Charlotte buries the body.
We focus on a flower in the foreground, contrasting life and death
Charlotte grits her teeth while digging
Shots are insane and so am I. I leave on Thursday for STN in Tampa. I will win. I will win. I do not like Christopher Columbus
Western in desert so Western yellow. That about sums up the extent of the color theory I'll do for the openings' location. Costuming is a bit more interesting, however. Our main character is wearing a red vest because we felt it was the type of bold color an independent woman like herself would sport (and not because it was the only thing we could get that we didn't have to pay for).
Costume
For props, we went with a very dry brownish yellow color for rope and potato sacks (used to hold the body).
da rope
This Kendrick Lamar song is really good sorry I just needed to write that.
Since I know you're probably begging, I'll elaborate more on the location. We're filming at Vista View Park, the only place in Florida that hasn't been viciously absorbed by developers (thank u Henry Flagler). It's a dry place because we've gone a few weeks without rain. It looks dead, perfect for the vibes of the old West we want.
park but it looks more dead right now
I'm gonna saturate this and warm it to hell to make it look yellow, and we should end up with a pretty accurate Western vibe.
I got a haircut what do u think Cambridge do u like it
Works Cited
Flame (Leah), Working the. “Clothing & Fashion in the Old West (What Was Worn?).” Working the Flame, 13 Aug. 2023, workingtheflame.com/old-west-fashion/.
Formichella, Janice. “Pioneer Clothing: What Women Wore in the Western Frontier.” Recollections Blog, 4 Feb. 2020, recollections.biz/blog/pioneer-clothing-what-women-wore-in-the-western-frontier/.
Character development within a 2-minute excerpt of a film is hard to manifest in reality, so we have to hint at a change that would come later in the story. The main character of our story (name TBD-I will refer to them as Emi's character) is a woman in a man's world. Disguising herself as a man is the only way to survive and live. In our open, we hint at this by showing her in a fairly male outfit. The audience cannot tell she is a woman. In our sequence, she removes a hat, revealing her long, waving hair. This is a significant moment in our opening, the climax of a cinematic story.
The character kind of developed out of nowhere. We wanted her to be an independent woman from the start, and the more we talked about our unnamed character's attributes, the more we thought of Disney's "Mulan", a character that disguises herself as a man to fight in the military. It was her strong will and determination that drew us toward that character archetype, and I think we reflect it well within our own open.
Mulan (1998)
We do have another character, but he is not seen in this open, merely mentioned. It is the son of the man Emi murdered. The plot of the story revolves around her making amends to the son. He is not that developed simply because we didn't see a need to make his character that large of a focus in our already busy schedule.
Nico (the other character)
I leave for Tampa in 8 days to Direct a short film, and the next week is hell. Will Emi's character develop more than mine this week, we'll see.
"Audio makes the world go round" or something like that. Honestly, audio in productions has kind of become second nature for me ever since I won best short film at the Student Television Network National Convention doing audio for my team (slight but needed flex).
Me with my 2 (two) 2 first place trophies
Me on the set of a short film doing audio
But this production presents a new challenge...planning. Unlike past productions, I actually have time to think about the soundscape and auditory elements I want to incorporate within the film opening. Because it's a Western, I want to incorporate lots of nat sound. This includes sounds like the wind whistling, footsteps crunching along the hills, birds chirping, dirt flying, and shovels breaking ground.
I want to play into the Western motif, so I plan on incorporating strung, acoustic instruments as a backtrack to the scene. These elements would create a tranquil yet mysterious vibe around the first 2 minutes of the production. I'll use my nice Lavalier mics to capture the audio and sound effects databases like pixabay.com or bulletproofbear.com to fully enthrall the viewer within the world of my production.
Audio is vastly more important than video, and I plan on making it worthwhile.
I am quite the progressive. When developing the leading character for my film opening, I aimed to inject within the character some of the same qualities and beliefs I hold myself. I aimed for the lead not to be a projection of myself, but rather a mirror to some issues facing society today. I felt that, since my opening will take place a couple hundred years ago, I had the unique opportunity to place some of society's contemporary issues in antiquity. This not only helps us put our problems in perspective but allows us to deal with them in a much easier and comprehendible fashion.
The Media theory we chose to model our character on is the "Gender Performativity Theory". First developed by feminist philosopher Judith Butler, the concept posits that gender identity is not something inherent, but rather a "performance" one puts on through gestures, clothing, and language to fit societal norms and traditions. In other words, gender is only present in action, nothing more.
Applying this to our film, we will feature a character, born female, diverging from societal expectations of her. She takes up the identity of a man because of a bounty placed on her, but finds her life completely different because of a newfound societal perception of her. She is perceived as male and is treated with more dignity, honor, and repute than she ever was as a female. Through this, we can explore the modern-day issue of gender identity in a classical era, giving the issue new light and perspective.
The lead in our film
Works Cited
Allen, Paige. “What Is Judith Butler’s Theory of Gender Performativity? | Perlego.” Perlego Knowledge Base, 14 Feb. 2023, www.perlego.com/knowledge/study-guides/what-is-judith-butlers-theory-of-gender-performativity/.
Szorenyi, Anna. “Judith Butler: Their Philosophy of Gender Explained.” The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2022, theconversation.com/judith-butler-their-philosophy-of-gender-explained-192166.
Wamsley, Laurel. “A Guide to Gender Identity Terms.” NPR, NPR, 2 June 2021, www.npr.org/2021/06/02/996319297/gender-identity-pronouns-expression-guide-lgbtq.
It's been an arduous day, one where I made 2 separate short films, so here's my script because I have no effort to write something else. I hope you enjoy it.
I have fallen victim to the venomous fangs of American consumerism :(
While watching Super Bowl 59, one of the commercials that often pass me by caught my attention. The ad featured Harrison Ford advertising Jeep with a rustic old vibe encouraging viewers to live their lives (a luxury only afforded to those with jeeps, of course) to the fullest and freeest. The first line Ford speaks specifically caught my attention. He delivers quite a profound statement "The longest thing we'll ever do is live our lives". The line stuck with me after the game, and despite my best efforts, I could not get this stupid commercial out of my head. The ad goes on to highlight great American feats. The liberation of France from Nazi rule, chasing Nazis through the forests of Western Europe and down the Rhine. It highlights the triumph of returning from service, hugging your loved ones close as you finally reach safe hands. Ford gives advice to the viewer, pleading not to be boastful or prideful, as pride is a bad driver. And while, yes, Ford reasons that freedom can only be attained behind the wheel of a Jeep, on a much broader basis he encourages the audience to write their own stories.
Watch at your own risk of
being propagandized
Now you may ask "Why are you discussing this commercial ad nauseam"? Well, dear reader, I, unfortunately, developed my story because I was inspired by this Super Bowl Ad.
The day after the Super Bowl, I was still pondering this commercial. I was really bored in my AP US History class and may have been developing a fever, so I felt there was no better time than right then to start writing my open.
The first words I put on paper were “I’ve started to realize lately that.. the longest thing I’ll do in life… is live. And the shortest thing I’ll do...Is die”
I'd imagine you can see the influence.
I developed my story from there. Along with my group, we set the character as sort of a trailblazing figure in the Old West. She hides the fact that she's a woman from the world to be taken more seriously as a cowboy.
The story follows as the once fierce outlaw faces her most dire crisis yet: her own morality.
The cowboy we follow is notorious for her efficient work, but one job changes her. She kills a father, only to come in direct contact with his son. With her deadly work staring her right in the face, she must choose to end his life, and her problems, but continue her bloody trail. Or she can make amends, and face punishment, but be secure in her morals.
A stylistic Western is never easy, and one where there's this much contemplation about the nature of human morality won't make it any easier
God I love ethical consequences
It's an ambitious plot, but surely one that is doable by the right people, and I feel like I have just that around me.
So thank you, Harrison Ford, Jeep, The Super Bowl, Capitalism, The American Military Industrial Complex, and my incredibly fried brain for taking this commercial as inspiration. The world is worse for it. Good night.
I've just had a group meeting with some of my classmates to check their progress, and I'm here to report back on where they're at. I've linked each of their blogs for you to look at.
Lucia- Lucia is making a horror film opening with a partner. She was confident of her choices and had most of her story about a missing person named Amber solidified. She was definitely one of the more active members of our group and asked meaningful questions to the rest of us that helped us develop our productions. I helped her develop auditory motiff with a specific horror sound. She wanted to have a foggy, mysterious vibe and plans to film early in the morning.
The type of vibe she hopes for
Elke- Elke is making a coming-of-age open. She is debating on a 2000's 2000s-era vibe or a more modern take. She wants to have shots during school, so I advised her that if she were to shoot in school, she would see people on their phones and would therefore be better off making her production modern. Elke was also struggling with how to make dialogue not sound so cringy like teen movies often are. She reasoned that having a group of her friends with her when she was writing would inspire her dialogue, and the table loved that idea.
Sarah- Sarah is doing an ambitious apocalypse opening. She wants to begin her film with a news broadcast telling of a zombie outbreak, followed by a character running away from zombies. I advised her to have most of the broadcast be the news broadcast, creating more suspense for the audience. A big issue for her was trying to find space for credits, and the table advised her in a few different ways. We suggested maybe during the news broadcast on screen, in empty spaces while a character watches the news, or maybe while a character is running from zombies. She noted our ideas and will try some out to see what works best.
Gigi- Gigi is creating a horror/mystery open with a doctor as the star. She has the most thought out open of all of us with a developed character and a good central idea. She wants the doctor to keep sickly patients alive for monetary gain. She got the idea from Gypsy Rose. Gigi is going to feature a jar of marbles as a representation of the doctor's insanity, an idea we all loved. Her biggest issue is finind a willing actor as she as an older man in mind. She is currently asking her friends if their dads can act.
Andrew- Andrew had the least thought out project at our table. He's doing a dystopian future where the government does weird experiments on people. He mentioned the idea came to him the day prior, but that's about it. He wasn't really in tune with the rest of our group, and didn't answer the questions we posoed. There's only so much we could do to help, but I hope his project turns out well because the idea seems cool.
The group loved my Western idea and it definitely helped me develop some story ideas that I tool back to my group. They mentioned some coloring, costuming, and interesting genres of music I could include. This was an overall helpful experience and I look forward to meeting with others again.
Here are some famous credit sequences that I might take after for my film opening.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
This credit sequence is loud and energetic. The screen flashes with bright colors and big, dramatic text while music plays. It's freeze-frames and animated silhouettes, give it a unique feel. The fast-paced visuals match the rough and unpredictable world of the film. It's a a great example of a stylized sequence.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
This opening is all about silence and slow-building tension. Instead of music, we hear only natural sounds—a creaky windmill, footsteps, the buzzing of a fly. It feels slow, but that’s what makes it so gripping. The long pauses and quiet moments make the audience feel the suspense, showing how dangerous and unpredictable the West can be.
True Grit (2010)
This credit sequence is simple, yet beautiful. It starts with wide shots of the Western landscape while peaceful music plays. The text is clean and classic, matching the serious, emotional tone of the film. Unlike more action-packed openings, this one takes its time, setting up a story that feels old-fashioned and powerful. It is unique amongst other Westerns in that it is slower and has more emotional beats as opposed to a more action-packed sequence.
As I started to write my open, I wanted to look at a few examples of famous Western movie scripts to inspire my choices in writing. Luckily, this great website let me access scripts from history's greatest Westerns. Here are a few examples that I loved, and how they opened their films.
What I find most intriguing about this opening is the use of diegetic sound before anything is seen on screen. I'm a big fan of this style of storytelling, as it keeps the audience engaged from the get-go, and enthralls them in the scene before anything is seen. The dialogue is informal, highlighting the unprofessional and wild nature of those out west. The opening introduces the characters amid a crisis, allowing the viewer to immediately be launched into the movie's action.
In this opening, the use of narration gives context behind what is shown on screen. Through a series of old photographs, showing the film setting, the opening establishes the story's theme of self-described "opulence". It is a simplistic opening and can be a good model for a low-budget (0 bucks) film like I am creating.
These 2 examples highlight the type of stylistic, creative scriptwriting I intend to have for my opening. They're great examples for me to follow, and a scene like the 2 I described are easily replicable for a student filmmaker like myself
Hello Again! As part of my ongoing production, I'm here to lay out my research on 3 different film openings from a genre. My group is at a sort of crossroads, choosing between Western, Sci-fi, or a Western/Sci-fi combo. My research will reflect that as I do my best to combine both genres.
Nope
Jordan Peele's widely acclaimed 2022 film "Nope" is a sci-fi thriller with Western elements. Peele begins his film with a bible quote.
"I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle. —Nahum 3:6"
The quote reflects the movie's overall message of an alien creature being used as a spectacle, lashing out and retaliating. Peele then shows viewers a scene from a 90's sitcom, one that stars the movie's 'human' antagonist. The opening serves to give us background knowledge of the trauma the character feels, as well as creating the unsettling vibe felt constantly throughout the film. The scene shows Gordy the chimp going manic after hitting a breaking point in his torturous entertainment 'career'. This mirrors the actions of the alien later on in the story, lashing out after the antagonists attempt to control it.
Perhaps the titular "sci-fi" film, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film features one of, if not the most iconic opening scene in cinema history. Although no dialogue is spoken for more than 10 minutes, a clear message is received. Featuring a group of early human-like apes, the scene finds them at the precipice of a great discovery. A monolith, a representation of the future, appears in front of the apes, causing distress and in-fighting. As the monkeys growl about, one picks up a bone, realizing he can use it as a weapon. The moment is celebrated as the first step in human evolution, the ability to control technology, as an important step in the creation of tech that the movie posits could one day control us. The primitive weapon is tossed in the air at the end of the scene, transitioning into a spaceship, a reminder of how far our species has come.
Kubrick relies on the spectacle of the scene, the audience mesmerized by our ancestors first figuring out what we know so well. I hope to portray the same kind of spectacle if my group were to choose sci-fi, as the grandeur of an opening is what truly makes it special.
An ape discovers weaponry in Stanley Kubrick's
1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey"
For more info on the ingenuity of the opening, click here!
Interstellar
A modern classic, touted for its heartfelt core message and awe-inspiring space scenes, Christopher Nolan's 2014 masterpiece 'Interstellar" has perhaps some of its best moments first. Featuring interviews from who we later find out to be Cooper's daughter, Murph, the scene portrays Cooper waking from a nightmare of a past crash. Murph comes to check on him, all while her older self explains the plight of their lives at the moment. The scene gives a bit of context as to the state of the world at the time, as well as building a character around Cooper.
I love Nolan's attention to realism, postering the interviews as real accounts of a past tragedy akin to the Dust Bowl in the 1920's. He modeled the interviews after a real Ken Burns documentary on the Dust Bowl. It's Nolan's commitment to realism that sells the opening and makes it so enticing as an audience.
A frame from the opening of Christopher Nolan's film "Interstellar" (2014) t
hat foreshadows the climax of the film
For a closer look at how Interstellar's open mirrors its end, read this!
Hello again! As a I "Layed Out" in my last post, some of the genres my group hope to emulate is the teen comedy genre or the horror genre. Here's a deeper look at some if the common themes within the genres.
Teen Comedy
Plot
A simple plot structure is almost always found in the teen comedy genre. Due to the nature of the audience's age (that being teenagers), the structure is slimmed down to its basics as to not confuse the audience.
A teen comedy movie usually starts by introducing a character(s) as one of the following stereotypes: The Loner, The Popular kid, The quirky kid, The nerd, or The hopeless romantic. Directors can play around with these tropes, but they serve as guidelines that most films follow in the genre. These archetypes of characters provide the groundwork for common themes and arcs found in teen movies. Some common arcs are the quest of popularity, searching for love, making new friends, or seeking new experiences.
The Vibe
Teen Comedies are commonly lit naturally so the audience can resonate with it more. They are also lit with bright, warm colors to reflect the whimsical wonder and joy that comes with experiencing new things. By using these warmer tones, it creates a sense of nostalgia that draws audiences to the production across generations.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) is the epitome of teenage comedy.
Through it's absurd premise that somehow feels relatable, and it's
unique editing style, we would love to emulate this special film
Horror
Plot
Usually started by a scary inciting incident, horror follows a cascading series of events that lead to the protagonist solving a problem.
Tropes include a dumb character, a killer, a group of teens, and a smart character who figures it out. These tropes serve as guidelines for a potential horror production of ours.
The Vibe
Scenes are lit dark and blue to give off a mysterious vibe, masking what's truly going on. It serves a purpose to unsettle the audience, making it easier to scare.
Fear Street (2021) exemplifies the aspects of the
horror genre we would want to
emulate if we chose to follow the genre for our open
Hello! I am about to embark on an exciting journey by starting my Portfolio for the Aice Media Exam. From now on, I will be updating you all on my progress!
I want to really engulf myself in this project. I'm working with a group of 3 others, and we love the genres of teen comedy, mystery, or horror. We love the reliability teen comedy brings, and the surprise that horror and mystery can bring us all. Films like "Scott Pilgrim" and "It" are some of our "go-to's" that we'd love to emulate in our opening. We're currently working on a calendar as we're busy, having other obligations we must commit to. We are devising how to best split our time so we can do right by this project.
"It" (2017) exemplifies the attention
to detail we hope to follow
The film opening is a culmination of what we've learned this year, and we strive to implement as much if what we learned into it. From proper lighting to setting a vibe, we'll take everything into account. I hope to meticulously plan the film opening, ensuring that we hit everything we need to. Paying close attention to every aspect of the opening is the only way we can get full marks, and guarantee a great final product.
