Plot/Idea for Project

After figuring out my genre, I started to think about the story of what I was actually going to film and fully pursue for my project. I had originally came up with the idea of a police chase with cars, and a lot of action, however, that was not going to work out for me because I don't have enough people to help film that. So I finally decided that I am still going with the comedic approach with just less action.

My opening will revolve around a teenager who works as a delivery driver and is in need of money. He gets a notification of a big money reward that can be earned by completing a delivery in the same hour. He then goes to an old, grumpy neighbor's house, who confuses him for the wrong person, and they get in a big fight. The end of the film will reveal a comedic twist where the old man was wrong the whole time and the kid was doing nothing wrong.

Script for film opening

 After the group meetings, I had gotten an idea of what I could do, but after looking deeper, I realized that it would be very difficult to film a car chase, because I cannot drive and film. So, I have came up with the idea to make a comedic/action movie that I can film in my house and with 2-3 characters. This is also the script I will go off of as well.

Title: “The Wrong Package”

Setting: A house/apartment

Characters:

• Alex (Protagonist)

• Mr. Brown (Antagonist)

SCENE 1 –ALEX'S ROOM

(Alex lounges on his bed, scrolling through his phone. A half-eaten pizza box sits nearby.)

ALEX: (sighing) Man, I need money… fast.

(His phone gets a notification: “URGENT DELIVERY – $500 REWARD!” He sits up immediately.)

ALEX (grinning): Easy money!

(He grabs a small, weirdly wrapped package, shrugs, and runs out.)

SCENE 2 –  MR. BROWN'S HOUSE 

(Alex stands at a front door and knocks. The door creaks open to reveal MR.BROWN, who looks to be in his 70s, and seems suspicious.)

MR. BROWN: (gruffly) You the guy?

ALEX: (nodding, extending the package) Yup! Delivery for you.

(Without warning, Mr. Brown grabs Alex’s arm and yanks him inside. The door slams shut.)

SCENE 3 –  MR. BROWN’S LIVING ROOM

(Alex stumbles into a cramped living room, confused.)

ALEX: (defensive) Okay, what the—

(Mr. Brown quickly locks the door behind them and, grabs a sturdy frying pan.)

MR. BROWN : (grimly) You work for them, don’t you?

ALEX: (terrified) What?! I just deliver stuff???!!

(Mr. Brown swings the frying pan at Alex. Alex tries to save himself, and a lamp falls over with a big collision)

ALEX: (shouting) WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

(Mr. Browns swings the frying pan again. Alex gets a pillow from the couch and holds it up as a shield. The pan knocks the pillow out of Alex's hands.)

MR. BROWN: (angry) You tell your boss, I ain’t paying a dime!

(Frustrated, Alex tosses the pillow at Brown's face and sprints for the door, but he sees it chained shut.)

ALEX: (muttering) Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…

(Determined, Alex dives behind the couch for cover. Mr. Brown jumps over after him. They engage in a clumsy slap-fight, each missing wildly.)

(Suddenly, the package tumbles off a table and opens, with several cans of cat food spill out on the floor.)

(Both freeze. Alex stares in disbelief at the scattered cans.)

ALEX: (blank face): Seriously? This is what it was all about?!

(Mr. Brown, panting, looks at the mess.)

MR. BROWN: (confused) …Wait. This isn’t my package.

(After a long, awkward silence, Alex shrugs.)

ALEX: (sarcastic) Oh, great. So I got whacked for nothing.

(He slowly pulls out his phone and begins dialing.)

MR. BROWN: (suspicious) And who exactly are you calling now?

ALEX: (flatly) A lawyer.

(CUT TO BLACK. TITLE CARD/CREDITS: THE  WRONG PACKAGE”)

Group Meetings

 Today in class, we were put into groups to discuss our ideas with other students to work together and help improve each others work. For this assignment, we were told to be as honest as possible because it doesn't help anyone make their work better when you don't give them your real opinion.

The people I worked with were very helpful because I didn't have that much of an idea of what I was going to do until today. 

I also took many notes of everyone else's plans to maybe get some more ideas of what I could incorporate into my own film.

Here are the notes I took,

My Project 

-Opens during a chase after a robbery 

-Credits shown during chase on different objects

Elisa’s Project 

-Horror/thriller film 

-supernatural type of movie 

Robbie’s Project 

-teen comedy 

-unpopular teen that became very popular out of nowhere tries to hide the secret that he had a party at his parents 

-Inspired by Roderick from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid 

-Filming at a friend's house 

-Title is “After Party” 

Sophia’s Project 

-teenage girls playing April fools 

-they do pranks on each other 

-thriller/horror 

-Inspired by Dexter show 

-Title will be “April Fools” 

Isabelle’s Project 

-horror/mystery 

-inspired by the opening from S7VEN 

Schedule for portfolio project

Making a Timeline/Schedule

One thing I've learned with  this class, is to make a timeline first and staying committed to it is very important thing when you have to do a project. Here is my schedule for this project.

1. Week 1 Blogs(1/29-2/2)

-Ideate genre and plan for project

-Write about how I am handling the start and transition of starting this project

-Start thinking of the plot of the film opening

2. Week 2 Blogs (2/3-2/9)

-Research well done film openings + credit scenes from my desired genre(action/comedy)

-Do this assignment/schedule

-Talk about one of my previous posts on a new blog post

3. Week 3 Blogs (2/10-2/16)

-Reflection post about group meeting #1

-Research post about one media theory 

-Post summarizing your project idea/script/storyboard

4. Week 4 Blogs (2/17-2/23)

-Planning post focusing on character development

-Planning post focusing on costume, set, element, props, etc.

-Post speaking about audio incorporation for film opening.

5. Week 5 Blogs (2/24-3/2)

-Any planning post from blog list

-3 production posts of my choice that show the process of the work

6. Week 6 Blogs (3/3-3/9)

-Production post

2 post-production process posts

-Start researching for first question of CCR post

2. Week Seven (3/10-3/16)

-Research for #2 question of CCR post

-Research for #3 question of CCR post

-Research for #4 question of CCR post

-Post regarding the CCR production ideas

Week Eight (3/17-3/25)

-Post about production of CCRs

-Post about post-production of CCRs

-Post with final reflection on project

-Post with links to CCR’s and film opening

Credit Scenes

Introduction/Purpose of Credits

After researching the genre I believe I am going to make my film opening, I needed to research the openings from some popular action/comedic type of films. First off, credits are mostly used during the beginning or end of a film to shoutout or give credit to all of those who worked on the project.  However, in some films, mostly action and comedic films, the opening credits can serve many different purposes, like setting the tone, introducing the main character/protagonist, and engaging with the audience right away with fast visuals. When I say "mostly action and comedic films," I say this because in these movies, there are many cocky and funny moments that display the main character/s.

Deadpool (2016)

-In this opening, there is a very humorous approach to the credits, with funny replacements of what actual credits are supposed to say such as,  "As written by Deadpool," "Some douchebag's film," "Starring a moody teen," "A CGI character," and, "A gratuitous cameo." Right off the bat, these credits show audiences that this is going to be a very funny film with many jokes.

The Nice Guys (2016)

-https://youtu.be/fkUg2E8Tfvg

(I couldn't get the video from blogger, however I put the link of it above)

-The opening of The Nice Guys is a mix of dark humor and mystery. It starts with a car crashing through a house, revealing a dying adult film star, Misty Mountains, in a scene that’s super shocking and ironic. Her final words are the same as a magazine ad, which sets up the film’s mix of comedy, crime, and 1970s style. This intro immediately tells the audience they’re watching a wild, unpredictable film.

21 Jump Street (2012)

-https://youtu.be/OtkcdGr90Qw?si=fRlPrYNOkzgVOJBc

The opening of 21 Jump Street is a funny high school flashback to 2005, featuring Jonah Hill as an Eminem wannabe nerd and Channing Tatum as the jock. Schmidt's character gets embarrassed trying to ask a girl to prom while Jenko's too busy goofing off to graduate. The scene sets them up as polar opposites before the action shifts to many years later when they come together in the police academy. It instantly set the film's self-aware, goofy tone and buddy-cop dynamic.

Writing Story/Picking Genre

 As we start working on our Cambridge Portfolio project, one of the first things we need to decide is our genre. The genre will shape our story, characters, and style, so it’s important to pick one that fits our plan. Right now, we’re deciding between action and comedy.

Action

Action movies are full of excitement, with fast scenes, fights, and thrilling moments. They keep the audience on the edge of their seats with intense chases, explosions, and brave heroes. Popular action films like John Wick and Mission: Impossible use quick editing and strong sound effects to create energy. If we choose action, we’d need to focus on movement, creative camera angles, and making every scene feel exciting.

Comedy

Comedy is all about making people laugh. Whether through funny dialogue, silly situations, or exaggerated characters, comedy keeps things light and entertaining. Movies like Superbad and 21 Jump Street use jokes, and fun interactions to get the audience laughing. If we go with comedy, we’ll need to focus on good timing, entertaining characters, and a script that keeps the humor alive.

Both genres have their strengths. Action would let us create exciting, fast-moving scenes, while comedy would allow us to play around with humor and creative storytelling. We’re still deciding, but either way, we’re excited to get started with out project.

Transition to Portfolio

 From now on, my blog will focus entirely on my Cambridge Portfolio project. Everything I’ve learned and written about before has led up to this moment, helping me gain a better understanding of media creation. This class has introduced me to so many new concepts, and I feel much more confident about how to put a project like this together.

The first thing we did was thinking of ideas for our story. I enjoy coming up with plots and choosing a genre. We wanted to pick a story that really interests us and could grab the audience’s attention right away. Since the opening moments of a film set the stage for everything that follows, we need to make sure our beginning is strong and engaging. Establishing the right setting, mood, and direction early on will help us create something both entertaining and memorable.

Another big focus is developing our characters. I’ve always been interested in character creation because it brings a story to life in such a unique way. Figuring out their personalities, relationships, and even their clothing styles makes the project feel more real. It’s exciting to imagine how our characters will interact and evolve throughout the story. Even though we still have a long way to go, I can already tell this will be one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.

Overall, starting with these foundational elements is a great way to kick off our portfolio project. Setting our ideas early on makes everything feel more structured and achievable. This process is already a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see how our final product.