March 27

Journal 4: Finalizing the Vision for the 

"See something, say something." While this phrase is the heart of my case study come short film, I am having difficulty choosing a name for the SDA that isn't a cliché.

Name Ideas: 

• Tossing and Turning (not a fan of this one)

  • • Works two ways: things that keep me tossing and turning in my sleep AND tossing a coin turned O'Connors life aroud.

• See Something Say Something (cliché) 

• Voice against Violence (nice call to action)

• Voice Behind Violence (would be good, but I don't plan on leaning into O'Connors reasons for attempting a school shooting) 

• deTAILS 

  • • Highlights the theme of coins and the importance of paying attention to details/our environment 

      • • Might be a nice way to circle back to what implored me to write short stories this year...not taking a minute to observe the world around us 

• Heads Up 

  • • Highlights the theme of coins and that there are always signs if you take time to notice the world aroud you 

• Pay Attention or Pay the Price (no...feels like a threat...)

As far as the actual story goes, the most planned-out part I have of it right now is the initial scene with a coin toss as a method of building suspense. I also have a pretty good idea of how I want the story to end with O'Connor saying "she's a hero" when referring to his grandmother during a therapy session; the transition from the first scene to the final shows how the main character has changed. Growth doesn't just mean being completely healed or achieving success- it is also the journey and baby steps towards that goal. Being grown isn’t about being completely different from how you started- it is about trying to change. His journey feels ongoing as it won’t reveal a destination, but the viewer will see the path towards one…(hint: no one ever knows where or what that end is in their lives either). With so many ideas for different scenes and repeating elements such as news reports, journal entries, and guitar playing to show that transition, the weakest part of my SDA is refining the plot- I need to create a storyboard. Especially since I have limited time, I need to figure out how much of my ideas I can feasibly pull off and, based on that, how much of the story I might need to animate (don't worry, I have dabbled in animation before). Also, I have been watching a few videos on how to film better with an iPhone, so I think I got that part figured out, but I'm considering adding short clips from YouTube, such as the scenes where I plan to have a news anchor. The biggest step for me to take right now is finishing up that storyboard (which I plan on doing by the end of the week). I look forward to drawing sketches of scenes out on my iPad because it'll feel like the story is finally coming to life and also because, during the symposium speech, I can now show my process and display my learning from basic sketches to the final cut. Though challenging, this project is my most impactful one yet, and I'm excited to highlight it at the end of the year.