Group Meeting #1 Reflection

    Today in class we got into random groups to discuss our projects. The goal was to get feedback from our peers and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each group member's project. While everybody discussed their projects, I wrote down the synopsis for each story like I was a court reporter so we all could refresh our memories when it was time to do this posting. One of the group members was absent today, so that is why I am only summarizing 5 projects. Below is my summary of each discussion.

Group Member #1

    This project is about a hardcore drug user who is at rock bottom. He will get up and a note on his bedside table will reveal that he has just broken up with his girlfriend. There will be some ambient barking from a dog nearby, and he will be visited by a friend offering his condolences. The protagonist will offer to do some drugs with the friend, and the friend will say that he needs a life. After the friend leaves, he starts to focus on the dog's barking before there is another knock at the door. Thinking it is his friend with a change of heart, he eagerly goes back to open the door. This time, it is a stranger who kidnaps him, putting a bag over his head. The genre will be drama/horror and the consensus of the group was that there should be more of a developed story. Using that advice he said that stranger could be a thug from a drug lord he owes money to or something to develop an overall story. We also discussed ideas on set design with some powder left behind on his desk to show his addiction in a less obvious way.

Group Member #2

    This project’s opening will show a girl leaving a grocery store and seeing a planet up in the sky that is seemingly about to crash into Earth. People are panicking all around, but our protagonist feels unfazed by it. She then enters her car and drives away, which will then reveal the title: Rogue. This title name has a double meaning: one being the rogue planet about to hit Earth, and the other being her rogue personality. The group gave some advice to have her enter the car and a radio broadcast talking about what's happening come on in the middle of it. The genre will be Sci-fi/Coming of Age.

Group Member #3

    Starts with a group of friends hanging out at a house, looking back at their past memories on their computer. We will then get a flashback scene about some fond times that they had, and then it will flash back to the present where they have the idea to have one last wild hangout. The title is then revealed: One Last Time. This will hint at the film being them finally hanging out together before they all graduate. The group’s advice was to incorporate environmental hints as to why they are hanging out for the last time, like maybe an item that shows they are graduating instead of the audience having to guess why they are doing this. The genre will be Coming of age.

Group Member #4

    In this project, a man walks out of a theatre after watching a movie and says he parked in the back to his friend. It cuts to a scene where he is in an alley, and there are multiple POV shots of someone watching him that occur throughout to build suspense. The friend waiting for him to get his car gets a phone call from him, but the voice who is talking isn't him. That voice says he has a nice watch, before hanging up, hinting he is about to get robbed. He didn't just get robbed, however. He got killed. Turns out there is a couple on the loose that are killing and robbing people, and he was a victim to them. A concern was maintaining quality in the dark. We also helped brainstorm how he could reveal the title of the film. He was thinking of the blood transitioning into a newspaper with the title Wanted Killers. This could be a clever way of introducing the film title. The genre will be Horror.

Me!

    I thought that my idea went over well with the group. I explained that it was about a girl stuck in a time loop, but it is her therapy session. I mentioned the way we could establish the loop and how we could develop her character. I also talked about what could cause the time loop reset, which is a mysterious phone call. They liked the idea of a time loop and the mystery behind an unknown caller that triggers it. The suggestion that I got from the group was to make it so the audience finds out about the loop alongside the protagonist. We were originally thinking about the opening scene being her already aware of the loop, but this is a good suggestion that we will consider when actually writing out the script and storyboard. It was very interesting to hear about other people's projects and to give feedback on them. These ideas have real potential, and I am excited to see them when they're a finished product!

    We also took a selfie at the end of the meeting! (I am on the top right)