Fonts

    There are way too many fonts to choose from. I feel like I've looked at 20 different fonts that are the exact same, just with different names. 

     I want to do something that shows the girly, light-hearted side to the film so that it sets the tone right away. I've been browsing through the Adobe font library which actually has such a great variety of fonts. It breaks them into different categories like friendly, clean, rough, etc. I looked under the fun category for the light-hearted aesthetic. I finally brought it down to two fonts:

    They both match the theme I'm going for so it just came down to which one was more feminine and simple enough for the opening credits and title. I also looked at both fonts in just a plain black text and the same size so I could do a better comparison. 

    I decided Chill Script would be the best fit for the film opening due to the subtle cursive writing for the more feminine touch, but still bubbly big letters to match the vibe. I was also able to confirm that it looked good in pink since that's the color I am planning to do the title and credits in. 

    This week has been a very productive week and I feel so much more progress now that I have the outline of my plot, the title, font, and other stylistic choices all figured out. 

First Group Meeting

    Today we had our first group meeting. I don't usually work on projects on my own, so it was refreshing to talk to others and learn about their different creative processes. We started by sharing our blogs one by one and explaining the concept of our film. We then gave each other feedback and tried to help each other with things we were stuck on.

     Personally, I needed help with my title and credits so everyone started bouncing off ideas. I knew that I wanted it to be related to the gym, so we started thinking about puns. I jotted down some ideas and finally decided on Worth the Weight. It portrays her journey of becoming a successful fitness influencer after overcoming the obstacles of stereotypes. 

    I also decided on the credits being pink, but I have yet to decide what font will fit the theme best. I plan to do some research on that some time this week so I can have most of the stylistic choices set.

 

Storyboarding

     Today I started to think deeper into the plot and how to incorporate the main character's (Stella) love interest. I began to create a story board to jot down my ideas for the opening and how he will be introduced. 

Start of Storyboard

    I'm definitely not an artist (clearly), but it at least provides an outline for the different shots and what the characters will be doing. 

    I thought about lots of variations of how Stella's love interest can be introduced, but it was hard to create much of a story without it taking up the entire opening. With this being said, I decided on just having a small character interaction when she gets home from the gym. This will also urge the audience to wonder about their relationship and continue watching to find out. Him waving from across the street is meant to give him that friendly and romantic "boy next door" vibe.  Her love interest will also be into fitness which is how they met. 

    Here is where I will also introduce that she is a fitness influencer. She will be looking at her work out videos on Instagram or TikTok and scrolling through her comments. This is also where the women empowerment message will come into play. Stella will see discouraging comments from people, especially men, saying that she doesn't know what she's doing since she's a girl. I want to show her not letting them get to her and instead working on something that betters herself and her career, but I haven't decided how I'm going to show this yet.

On a Schedule

     Since last week I felt like I was cramming with no direction, I thought it would be best for me to create a schedule. It's very simple but I already feel much more under control of the project now that I have that sense of direction I was lacking.

(My Schedule)

    So based on this, I wanted to start by developing the main character deeper. Now that I've settled on her being a fitness influencer, I want to change her vibe a little bit to match this better, while still incorporating the color scheme of the mood board I created. You can reference back to this post for mood board. She will obviously be wearing gym clothes as I'm imagining her to be getting home from the gym in the opening of the film. I made a sort of collage to portray my final ideas for her:

    I want to use the messy ponytail and gym clothes to show she just got done working out. I was thinking the pink bottoms could represent her femininity, along with red accents in her jewelry to show her sense of confidence. Her character is also very approachable and kind, which I plan to represent more through her room decor, since that's where I think I want to shoot most of the opening. 

Plot Idea

     Taking several factors into consideration, I decided that the main character is going to be an aspiring fitness blogger. Since going to the gym is generally perceived as a more masculine concept, I think it would be a perfect thing for a woman to represent. 

    Fitness is also a trend that is starting to really take off recently, which will give this film more of an appeal to women with similar aspirations.

    Like in Legally Blonde, people think less of her due to her cute femininity. I was hoping to go for the same vibe by having men comment discouraging comments on the main characters posts. Instead of letting this deter her, she will use this as motivation to keep pushing and working towards her goals.

    I'm still having trouble deciding where her love interest will fit into this puzzle, but I still have time to think on it.

    Week one was a great learning experience, especially about time management. I plan to focus more on the research in week two and make the most out of the time I have.

Starting the Plot

     Now that I had all the elements of the film somewhat thought out, I had to start thinking of how I'm going to piece it all together to get my idea across. I began by looking up the basic plot outline of a rom-com with a very helpful and easy to follow source. 

    This was a helpful start, but I want my film to have more than just the romance aspect. I want to represent the message that women can do anything a man can do, while still maintaining their flirty/feminine side. 

    I think I will include a very minimal love interest introduction in the film opening, and devote the rest of the time to what the character is trying to accomplish. I have a few ideas in circulation for what I want her to accomplish, but I haven't completely decided. 

Character Research

     Making a character requires a lot more effort than I expected. It's not just deciding how they will look, but thinking why they will look this way, and how will this reflect their inner personality. 

    The main character is definitely going to be a female. However, I had to decide what makes her stick out from the rest of the women in order to get this empowering message across and show that you don't need to fit into the classic "standards" to succeed. 

    I tried to find common physical characteristics of empowering women, but what I ended up finding was so much better. Instead I found a website that explained the qualities that these powerful women share. So I decided to build on this and made a mood board with colors that represented confidence, intelligence, and approachableness. 

(This is just a rough draft, but includes most of the colors I want to represent on the main character.)

    Considering the film is going to be a rom-com, there has to be a love interest. Although the romance most likely won't be able to be caught in the opening of the film, everyone knows a rom-com when they see one so I figured the love interest must be discussed. I'm still deciding how he can add to the theme, but I think that will become easier once I've settled on a plot.