Mise-En-Scène and Character Details
Costumes:
For my characters, the overall feel I want to convey is of relatable teenage characters, nothing too extravagant.
Summer:
For Summer, I will need three outfits:
- One that she would wear to sleep
- One that she wears for the trip
- One that she will wear when on a "date" with Lucas
For the first outfit, I will have something casual and comfortable that she can wear for the car trip.
Leggings and a hoodie are the most comfortable choice, but as in the second picture, I am planning on maybe having a denim jacket because my actress, María, usually styles her outfits with one and it would really preserve her essence. I want her to wear something she feels comfortable in.
I will tell her to bring a couple of outfits with the denim jacket and some hoodies. For the hoodies, I am thinking of colours that are quite comfy and not too flashy, to convey the image of a girl who lacks some confidence but is sweet and relatable. Maybe some paster blue, white, beige, pastel pink... Depending on her wardrobe we will decide.
For the second outfit, I am thinking to keep the same style (cosy, natural) but to make it a little bit more sophisticated within the teenage style, nothing too grown-up. That is why I am thinking about having brighter colours or some print images instead of plain pastel. The three images on the left are the ones that I envision would be best, but I have to work with the options that we have...
I have a black hoodie with the logo of Friends which could work quite well, and a bright blue hoodie too; I will have to check with María to see what kind of hoodies she has, and in case of there being too little with which to work we could buy something in H&M or simply complement the outfit with a nice silver necklace.
This is the type of jewellery that I had in mind, nothing too ostentatious but adding some teenage style that looks stylish. I had always thought my character would wear silver, but I will see if María looks better in gold; if she does, I will adapt the same style to gold jewellery.
For the third costume, I wanted the pyjamas to be cosy and not too exaggerated. I don't have a clear idea on long/short sleeves and trousers. However, because the day of the filming is probably going to be cloudy, I will probably have long pyjama wear for her to use. The print with squares is very common and I think it looks quite nice and gives that teenage vibe without looking unrealistic, but again, these are just ideas about the style which I will try to recreate with what we have. I do have some pyjamas that would fit this style but María is taller than me and they might not fit her.
Lucas:
For Lucas, I will need one outfit only, for the final scene of the opening in the flash-forward
I was thinking about something casual that boys can relate to, nothing too eccentric either. My vision is to have a sports hoodie and maybe some jeans to make it look slightly more formal, as they are supposed to be on an "informal date".
Summer's Mum:
Again, for Summer's mum, I will only need one outfit, for the first scene when they are packing and leaving the house.
For Summer's mum, I liked the style of Tessa's mum in After; she is an independent woman who looks full of life and youth despite her age. I will probably take inspiration from the shirt and jeans look and see how it fits on my actress.
Props:
I have already talked about some of my props before, but these are the main ones that I will use for effect:
Picture of the married couple:
- It will be subtly shown when she is putting it away in a box
- Portrays the narrative theme of Summer's mum getting married again (which is why they are moving)
A plane ticket to Australia:
- A small hint to another narrative strand (like the "Easter Eggs" in films)
- Summer's dad lives in Australia and she will struggle to be so far away from him
A bag to take some of her things:
- Key to the theme of moving house and to establish that atmosphere
Maybe a suitcase:
- A suitcase could be useful to convey the fact that she is moving house, although it might not be as important as the audience can picture that the car is already loaded.
Some boxes:
- Boxes are a very useful prop to convey the theme of packing and leaving, which I knew from an early stage that I would like to use.
An empty pizza box?
- It could be used to lighten the atmosphere and convey the more "chilled" teenage environment in the scene of the flash-forward
Location:
For my locations, I already know where I am probably going to film:
My bedroom: I will have to tidy it up so it looks like the girl is really moving out (of course, I will not be able to achieve the full effect, but at least do the most I possibly can)
The Livingroom: I will leave it as empty as possible, try to put plastic on the furniture and place the boxes there so as to furnish it ready for a move
My friend's living-room: That can be much cosier with warm lighting and the sofa as the main feature of the decor that will be visible.
Actors List:
Summer:
Some of my friends offered to play the role of Summer; I chose my friend María because I think she fits perfectly with the role. She is very kind and a bit shy herself so immediately I saw that she had a little bit of Summer in her already. Physically, I did not have a fixed idea of how I wanted my character to be, other than preferably brunette because that is just how I envisioned her; and María also fits in that category.
Lucas:
Finding a boy who wanted to act for a film opening was much trickier, even though he would be a secondary character. Nevertheless, my friend Álex is very outgoing and did want to help me; he is the best choice I could have found because, due to his outgoing nature, he fits in very well with the character of Lucas. He plays basketball instead of soccer, which is what I had envisioned, but that is a minor detail as he is a sporty person which matches Lucas's character as well. Physically, apart from being sporty, I had not pictured anything specific so Álex matches with the profile as well.
Summer's Mum:
My mum very kindly agreed to help me and play Summer's mum. She is Spanish which will give dimension to Summer's character, the fact that she is bilingual. My reference to imagine a maternal figure is my mum, so she fits perfectly into the profile already.
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