Day 17: My Muse, Me

Hi there! I hope you are doing lovely today, and I don't think I have formally explained my opening idea, so I'll take this time to explain it.

My opening is based on my life. Originally, I wanted my opening to be about my journey with injuries in taekwondo, but my teacher and I came to an agreement that it would be way too complex to fit into an opening. As I've said in many previous blog posts, I started my own personal blog, which you can view here. My idea is to create an opening about a girl with a blog and explore why she decided to start it, as well as her adventures with the blog. 

The opening will begin with the production logo, and then the first shot is the back of me, typing at my computer in my room. This opening shot will be similar to that of "Killing Eve" (2018). Then, I'll be voicing it over, like how Charlie did in the opening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and saying something like "Hi there, and welcome to day one of Maia: Unfiltered!" When I say the title of the film, the title card will pop up on the screen, likely as an overlay on top of the current shot.

After that, I'll say something like, "Now, you must be wondering why I've decided to start a blog out of the blue. Well, I'm starting it for myself, of course, but also to prove a point to all of the people who've said..." There will be a whip-pan to a flashback at taekwondo. You'll see the back of my head and a bully (sort of an over-the-shoulder shot). The bully will continue my sentence and say, "You will..." Then it will be a tight closeup like this shot from Juno. The bully will continue his sentence and say, "...NEVER amount to anything. After that, it will whip-pan back to me in my room typing and I'll say something else. 

Tight closeup from Juno (2007)

I don't quite have the in-between part figured out yet, but I know that somewhere in there I'll have a clip of my younger brother(s) doing something annoying to show that I'm more than just the victim of a bully and someone starting a blog. I do know that the ending will be me, again, typing at my computer. Either it will be a shot similar to the first one, or it will be something like Emma suggested during the group meeting (I'm leaning more towards the second option). Then you'll hear my mom call me from downstairs, "Hurry up Maia! We have to go!" and then I'll say, "Coming!!" and then slam the computer shut. 

Now that I've told you the story, I want to explain the inspiration a little more in-depth. When I started my blog, I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about. After I continued to write each day, I started to develop an inspirational and motivational blog. Each post explores topics like motivation, kindness, and being more confident. I think that having a character who enjoys writing about these things too could be very interesting.

The name of the film is also one of the blog name ideas that I didn't use. I felt like this title, "Maia: Unfiltered", fit the film because I'll be blogging about every aspect of life. From my home life to school and travel. It will show my unfiltered opinions and experiences from a first-hand account.

Also, if you remember "Day 10: Portfolio Genre #2" I wrote in the conclusion about how I really wanted my opening to be something I would be happy to look back on. I want to stress the fact that I want this project to be something I am proud of, something that I would be proud to show off to others as well. By basing this project on my blog, which is something very big in my life right now, I truly believe that it has so much potential to turn into a fantastic opening.

With that, I hope that now, you understand what my inspiration is and wish me the best of luck!

Day 16: Group Meeting #1!!

Hey there! In class today, we had our first group meeting. Our teacher divided the class up into 4 different groups and we each shared our blogs and our general ideas for our film openings. The goal of the meeting was to get feedback about our ideas from other people and establish a pretty good understanding of what we want our final products to look like.

(Left to right) Isa, Mia, Maia (Me), Luke, Vanessa, Emma, Giovanna

We each took turns explaining our opening ideas and I went first. I explained that my idea was about a girl who started a blog and explained the plot as well as I could. When explaining to a group of people, I found it a little bit harder than just one-on-one. In my next blog post, you'll see exactly what I explained to them and some of the shots I want to incorporate. Later in the week I'll also be sharing my script/storyboard as well. Out of everyone in my group, I was definitely the one with the most solidified idea of my opening.

Emma also suggested to have a medium shot where the camera is behind my computer and I am looking down (the shot on top). I could use this in a scene where my brothers could kick a plush soccer ball at my head and basically snap me out of my thoughts. If I don't use it for that scene, I could also use it for the ending, where I shut my computer. I could also use it for both to remind the viewers that in both scenes my character is being snapped back to reality.

Mia suggested that my credits could be scattered and add a typing sound effect as it is going on screen to further enforce the blog as one of the main features of the film. 

Mia went next and she introduced her idea for a COA film. Her idea is similar to that of the "Boo, B..." (2022) sitcom. Basically, there will be two best friends who hang out at a park every day, and one day one of the girls gets run over by a car. The other friend mourns the loss of her bff by going to her funeral and then figures out that she can see the ghost of her ex-bff. Emma suggested that the title card could represent the car crash, with a black screen and then it cuts to a short bit of the funeral. I thought Mia also had a very clever title, "Best FriEND". Mia's blogs went really in-depth on the analysis and I think are helpful to understand the level of analysis I should be incorporating into future blogs.

Isa also wanted to do something COA/Comedy. Her idea was to do a horror fake-out by having someone knock on the door of the main character's house and they look around and trip on random things around the house, like Legos. The fake-out would end in the kitchen, where her best friend would be and there would be some comedic dialogue in-between. I suggested that the credits be scattered in things around the house, in a similar way to the credits of "Napoleon Dynamite". Her blogs were very short and about a paragraph long each, which the group recommended that she focused a bit more on making good blog posts.

Then, Luke went. He was really set on creating an opening for a film of the dramedey genre. He really wanted to have funny dialouge between two best friend characters, but wanted them to be complete opposites. One would be extremely extroverted and the other would be the definition of an introvert. Pretty much, opposites attract. I suggested that he use complementary colors (like orange and blue) when choosing costume designs to further reinforce the fact that these best friends are truly opposites.

Next was Giovanna, who wanted to do a suspense piece, but wasn't sure what she wanted to do at all. The group helped her decide on something science related. The opening could include many shots of the equipment, like beakers, depending on what she wants the rest of the movie to be. We also suggested that she talk to the Forensics teacher at our school to see if she would be able to borrow some finger-printing materials. We also made sure that whatever Giovanna decides her portfolio to be about, she should make sure that the opening research effectively shows that.

Emma explained that her opening will be for a mystery film. It will follow a psychotic girl who is in jail and she will have scratches on the walls with a name that will be important later in the film. Emma had already bought pieces for her set, such as the jail cell bars and a grey backdrop.

Finally, Vanessa explained her thriller idea where the victim of a bully fights back by murdering the bully. This does NOT seem like a film I would be interested in watching, but Vanessa's idea was very interesting. She wanted the film to explore how and why the victim decided to murder, but wanted the victim to truly seem crazy. I suggested that the actor that they choose could have spiked up hair and possibly a bit of makeup on to make him look like a crazy person.

Overall, this group meeting was very helpful because everybody was being honest to what they thought and not sugarcoating anything at all. I really enjoyed my group members and thought that we communicated our thoughts and feedback well. Our group really clicked and we shared many laughs. I really liked the supportive environment and the way that everyone was actively listening. This makes me very excited for the next group meeting and to see their progress.

See you on the next one!

Day 15: Don't we need a title??

Hi there! I hope you are doing well, because I know I am. As you know, the name of my film (opening) is going to be "Maia: Unfiltered". Recently, I started my own personal blog, and the name I chose for this project is one of the names that I scrapped. I think that this fits the film because the main character is going to be blogging about every aspect of her life, and the film will explore those things as well. 

Let me explain the process in choosing my fonts for the title card. I want my character to be a full of joy, cheerful, and unique, so the font that I choose has to reflect that. I also wanted to tie in the blog because that will be a big portion of the film. Without further ado, here were the different versions of the title card that I came up with, and the final one that I chose.

Version 1: I liked the idea of the keyboard, but I didn't like the actual font inside the keys.

Version 2: I really liked that there were 2 different fonts, but I didn't like the way that they looked together. The font of "unfiltered" was the one I ended up going with.

Version 3: I thought that the drawn font of "Maia" was nice because it shows a bit of personality, but the way that the two fonts looked together wasn't what I imagined.

Version 4 (final): I'm super happy with the final product, because I think that each font represents what I want it to. The font of "Maia" is unique and the hot pink makes it stand out a bit more, just like my own character. The font for "unfiltered" is supposed to represent the keys of the keyboard and tie in the blog theme. 

This is the font that I used for the keyboard portion. 

I found the other font, for "Maia" on Pinterest, but it is actually a set on Canva, which is the platform I used to design the title card.

For the title, I think I'm going to try to overlay the title onto the opening, so that there is still a clip playing in the background. When it's time for editing, I'll show you what I end up doing. Thank you for reading today's post and I hope you enjoyed the updated story!  I'll catch you on the next one!

Sources:

Top Clip. (2019, June 20). Killing Eve | Opening scene (1x01) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4utDk2QB_wc 

Ian Double M. (2019, April 9). Juno opening scene - Clip 1 of 19 - JUNO film (2007) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLREFnFNVUg

Day 14: Lets give some credit!

Hi again! Today I'll be researching credit sequences from the COA genre in order to confidently create one for Maia: Unfiltered. Right now, my idea is for the credits to be typed out on the computer as if it is part of the blog itself. For the actors, their names will be shown on the screen as they are also on screen. I'll be analyzing and discussing the following credit sequences:

1. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
2. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
3. Eighth Grade (2018)

The opening credits of Napoleon Dynamite introduce the production company, actors, casting director, music director, editor, production designer, director of photography, executive producer, producers, writers, and finally, the director. 

Throughout the opening, the credits are shown on many different lunch plates and school supplies. For example, the production company was written in ketchup on a plate of tater tots (pictured above).  

This credit sequence shows many different school supplies such as, a school ID, pencils, books and more to let the viewers know that it will most likely take place at a school. It also used various fonts to present each title to highlight the quirkiness of this film.

  

In Scott Pilgrim vs The World, the opening lists all of the same titles as Napoleon Dynamite. Before the opening even starts, the Universal logo is a bit different; it's pixilated and the theme song is a bit more video-game sounding. After the title card, the names of the main actors are placed in the middle of the screen while the background is animated in a chaotic, rocky style. In the animation, I think that each background is supposed to tie into the character that each actor plays. For example, Ellen Wong plays Knives Chau, who we are introduced to in the opening and during her credits, the animation has knives in it. I think that the concept of having the credit have to do with the character is very cool and I might be able to incorporate it into my own opening.

Eighth Grade's credit sequence took a much different approach compared to the ones I've previously researched. Throughout the opening, the credits are in a very simple, white font and placed in the bottom left corner of the screen. I think that the reason for this is so that viewers focus mainly on the content of the actual opening. This shows that the character and setting development is the most important thing to pay attention to in these 3 minutes. 

My takeaways:

From this research, I realized that there are different approaches I could take for the credits. 

1. I could incorporate the credits through items in the setting, or having to do with each character. This might be a little distracting if the credits are items in the setting, but I'm not entirely sure yet.
2. Or, I could make the font very simplistic and have the main focus be on the content of the opening. 

I don't think I'm going to type out the credits onto the blog, but I'll figure something else out. In the next post, I'll be exploring different font options for both the credits and the title card. Thank you for reading and hope to see you there!

Day 13: We have to do some research right?

Hey there and welcome back to my journey of my film opening! In order to create a proper opening that establishes the character and the conflict, I need to research a few COA film openings to serve as inspiration on how to effectively accomplish this. The three openings I've decided to research and analyze are:

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
2. Juno (2007)
3. The First Time (2012)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) tells the story of Charlie, an awkward freshman in high school, navigating through relationships and mental health. 

Because this video shows the first 10 minutes, I watched until the 2:38 timestamp.

The opening of this film starts with about 1:35 of the credit sequence on top of closeups of a tunnel with "Could It Be Another Change" by The Samples playing in the background. The lyrics in the picture to the left, are the ones in the opening. This sets the tone of the film to be melancholic but still a little bit hopeful. The opening introduces the main character, Charlie, with him writing a letter to an unnamed friend. Charlie voices-over the opening as if he was reading us the letter and we learn the conflict: he hasn't talked to anyone besides his family all summer. He says/writes that he wants to change that, because his first day of high school is the next day. The opening introduces Charlie as an introvert because in the letter, he says that he wants to stay anonymous. Another hint is that he hasn't talked to anyone all summer. Lastly, instead of thinking about the adventures of high school, Charlie is thinking about how long it will be until his last day of high school. This opening introduces the main character as well as alludes to a conflict, being that Charlie might not have friends, or has a hard time making them.

 

Juno (2007) is about a high school girl named Juno, who has an unplanned pregnancy and follows her through a year of her life, highlighting the struggles of teen pregnancy.

The opening begins of Juno begins with a wide shot, of a Juno, who is holding a jug of Sunny D and staring at a living room chair. She then says that everything started with this chair. We then learn from a flashback that Juno and a guy seemingly had sex on this chair and is what she is referring to. Then we hear a dog barking, which snaps the opening back to reality. As Juno starts to walk somewhere, "All I Want Is You" by Barry Louis Polisar begins to play. The song choice is important because it sets a little bit of a playful tone. Paired with Juno's slightly sarcastic character and the animated credits, the film entices the viewer to continue watching to answer questions such as, is Juno actually pregnant like in the posters? What does she decide to do with the baby if she is? This opening seems to take the approach of introducing the main character and possible conflict, just like the Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Finally, The First Time (2012) is about a high school senior named Dave, who meets Aubrey at a party and fall in love over a weekend. The film portrays all of the stages of a first relationship including both the awkward and enjoyable ones.

This video is the full film, currently available on YouTube to watch for free with ads. I watched up until the 2:31 mark for the purpose of this research.

The opening of The First Time, begins with a series of medium shots and closeups of what seems to be a high school party. Along with the upbeat song, "Silly Boy" by The Blue Van playing in the background, the opening suggests that this film will be a roller coaster of emotions. There are couples that are all over each other, people throwing up, and also having fun. We also see Dave focused and frustrated about something that seems to be a speech of some sort. Around the 2 minute mark, Dave and Aubrey meet in an alleyway with Aubrey asking why he's talking to himself. This shows Dave's character as someone who doesn't necessarily follow the crowd because he isn't inside partying with everyone else, he is practicing something that could be important in the following scenes. 

What can I take away from today's research?

Today's research was honestly extremely helpful. I realized that in the COA genre, the openings usually consist of a song that completely establishes the tone for the rest of the film. Throughout my research, that was the common theme. Some songs chosen for openings set the tone to be a bit more depressing, while others are more cheerful and exciting. 

Story Update:

With this, comes the fact that I have changed the story for my opening. The story that I previously wanted to tell was too complex and a 2 minute opening would not have been sufficient time to tell it. Over this past weekend, I created my own personal blog, and decided to base my opening on a girl who started a blog. When creating my blog, I came up with several possible names and one of the ones I did not use was "maia: unfiltered". I will voice-over the opening as if I'm reading the first post, similar to that of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

During the opening I will establish the character, me, who has just started a blog. The reason she started the blog might be because she wants to make sure people know the importance of global warming, and its effects on the world. That's what I have for now, and hopefully by the end of the week I will have written the script.

Thank you for reading today's research and I'll see you in the next one where I'll be researching COA credit sequences.

Sources:

Genius. (n.d.). The Samples – Could It Be Another Change lyrics. https://genius.com/The-samples-could-it-be-another-change-lyrics

IMDb. (n.d.). The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Retrieved January 27, 2026, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659337/

IMDb. (n.d.). Juno: Plot summary. Retrieved January 27, 2026, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/plotsummary/

Day 12: My 7-week Schedule

Hi there! I hope you are doing well and today I'm sharing my schedule for the next 7 weeks of my portfolio project! Though this project is definitely overwhelming, there has to be a way to break it down so that I am able to execute it properly and letting it bloom as to its full potential. I am not including last week because it is in the past, but technically speaking, was the official start of the project. With that being said, here is my full schedule:

Week Two (1/26-2/1)

• Research COA film openings
• Research COA credit sequences
• Decide on storyline

Week Three (2/2-2/8)

• Create storyboard
• Write script
• find music (get permission, if needed)
• View/find possible filming locations
• Set filming days
• Create costume design per each character
• Find actors

Week Four (2/9-2/15)

• Research any other mise-en-scene elements that I want to add
• Create/plan the actual element
• Create any voice-overs (if needed)
• Start any foley (if needed)
• Film

Week Five (2/16-2/22)

• Create production company logo
• Start and finish editing opening v. 1
• Re-record any voice-overs or foley

Week Six (2/23-3/1)

• Revise opening
• Possibly make v. 2 if v. 1 is unsatisfactory
• Compare v. 1 and v. 2 (if needed)
• Choose final opening
• Research CCR question #1 and #2

Week Seven (3/2-3/8)

• Research CCR question #3 and #4
• Create CCR
• Edit
• Film/Voice-over
• Review
• Revise (if needed)

Week Eight (3/9-3/17)

• Buffer week in case of any delay

Now, I just need to follow the schedule as closely as possible and I believe that I will be able to create an opening that I am truly proud of. This project, without a doubt, is the longest amount of time I have ever been given to execute something. With that, I hope this process will be enjoyable as well as help me learn about the production world! Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the next one!

Day 11: How am I going to approach the portfolio project?

Helloooo and welcome back to my journey of the portfolio project!! Today essentially marks day 1 of this humongous project which is honestly very exciting but also insanely nerve-racking and intimidating. At this exact moment in time, I'm not entirely sure what story I want to tell with my project. However, I do know that I want it to be a coming-of-age piece. My reason for this is because I want my project to reflect some aspect of my life and how I am trying to figure out so many things all at once because adulthood is getting closer every minute. 

There are so so many ways that I could approach this piece in many ways. I could go for a more comedic opening or a more dramatic one. Because I'm not sure about the exact story of my project, I'll get back to you on that one...

A few classes ago we learned about the different types of openings, which you can see in my notes below.

Based on this, I know that I want to focus on developing character. I know that I want the conflict of the piece to be character vs. self no matter the story I decide to tell. I'm not entirely sure that my story is going to be interesting enough to make it into an opening, but here is my current idea: 

I'll be the main character and as I said previously, I want it to be based on some part of my life. Right now I hope to pursue my sport, taekwondo, professionally, but I don't know if it is possible because the past year has been full of injuries for me and set me back who knows how far. I also want the main character of this opening to be struggling with a similar situation.

If I decide not to stick with my current story, I think it might be more interesting to possibly take a more comedic approach. 

Anyhow, thank you for reading today's blog and I will catch you on the next one where I will hopefully have a completed 7-week schedule with all of the things!! Have a fantastic rest of your day!!