Luke+IB+Journal+1

Coming up with a decent idea and taking that first step is always one of the hardest parts of the creative process, but every once in a while you get lucky and an idea just seem to suddenly present itself. I first got the a germ of an idea for our story from the series and photos posted on Pinterest as part of a brainstorming photo posted on the Shanghai American School IB film website. I came across a black and white photo captioned “New Year’s Eve, Grand Central Station, 1969 NYC ”. The photo depicted two couples sitting on the steps of an immobile escalator, asleep. To me, that photo evoked a desolate, depressing tone, but also felt warm and reconciling at the same time.
 * Journal Entry #1**
 * Journal Entry #1**
 * Journal Entry #1**

The image of the washed up couple sitting on the steps of a broken escalator somehow inspired me to imagine the scenes as a post-apocalyptic scene. The initial idea I developed was a very conversation driven piece exploring existentialism and human nature, involving four people in a fallout shelter. Although the other members of the group liked the idea, we soon realized that the scale and scope of the idea was too large to fit into a seven-minute film, and furthermore, we were unable to develop a detailed three-act structured story-arc based on this idea. Tadashi (the screenwriter) and I couldn’t figure out a conflict and complications, couldn’t really figure out what the characters wanted and needed, and worst of all, we couldn’t seem to figure out a climax that wasn’t a shouting match (which I wanted to avoid at all cost). Although Tadashi tried desperately to brainstorm plots, I thought it was best for the entire group to lay this idea to rest and develop a new one altogether. And so from the ashes of the story I named “Apocalypse Later” (the original idea) came “How It Ends”. Like my initial idea, “How It Ends” is also set with the apocalypse, or the post-apocalypse, as its background, but instead of focusing on four different characters, the new story focuses on just one character, named Joe, and his hero’s journey and transformation, as per Mr.Gran’s discussion. And I also decided to make the story a comedy about Joe’s ridiculous quest to finish a TV episode in a post-apocalyptic world. This idea new idea came to me after viewings of two recent apocalyptic comedies, Edgar Wright’s //This Is The End// and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s //This Is The End//. Both films are about people trying to achieve ridiculous achievements in the face of the apocalypse.

However, as opposed to the dynamic, more zestful tones in the above films, I want to give my apocalypse a more bleak and desolate tone, with less bright colors and loud actions. For inspiration for a bleak, desolate, and kind of depressing tone and mood, I looked to Akira Kurosawa’s//.// In //Yojimbo,// Sanjuro, the protagonist, is often framed alone in a very wide frame, with only dust, wind, and the empty town to accompany him on screen. This successfully creates a bleak tone and evokes a feeling of loneliness, which I hope to reproduce in my film to in order to portray Joe before he realizes that he needs friendship instead of finishing a TV show. Although to effectively create the tone and mood I want, we need to find a location that is able to communicate a feeling of loneliness and decay, somewhere abandoned and falling apart. And so we looked for locations within Shanghai that would match what I am looking for; somewhere half-built, abandoned, or half-demolished. We found a few plausible locations on the Internet, such as the half-built and abandoned “American Dream Park”, forty-minute car-ride away from where I live, ss well as an abandoned school, suggested to us by Mr.Gran. I also enlisted the help of a close friend who lived in an area with half-torn down buildings to help us take photos of areas where we could film in. However, little did I know that one of the best locations available was right under our noses, in the form of a mostly abandoned factory/warehouse, right beside BISS, five-minute bike ride away from where I live. Founded by Tadashi.

So far, this seems like our most likely location to shoot in; its close to where the majority of my group members live, its relatively easy to access, and there is a lot of room and a lot of debris everywhere for us to create the effective mood and tone. The only problem right now is that we have to find out whether or not we are allowed to film on site, or we can just perform guerilla filmmaking. I am morally torn.


 * Journal Entry #2**

According to Ken Dancyger's thick book on the craft of film directing, the director of a film is responsible for translating the words of a script into moving images and visuals that the editor can compile together into a coherent film. From pre-production all the way to post-production, the director is the most powerful creative mind behind a film and is usually involved in most aspects of film making, ranging from sound design to color filter to frames. In the pre-production and planning period, directors can either choose a secondary role in the process of script-writing, or choose to partner with the screenwriter. For "How It Ends", I have chosen to sit back and take a more secondary role in the process of writing the script and instead let the screenwriter provide the words for the characters and story I created. However, even though I have put my trust in the screenwriter to transcribe my vision onto word documents, I still maintain control over the script and its contents. For example, when the screenwriter first gave me the first draft of his script, I asked him to rewrite the story with a different approach because I was unsatisfied with the character interactions and the lack of a proper hero's journey. We have been through three copies of the draft so far, and each time, I still find myself pointing out things I want changed in the script. As the director and leader of my team, I have decided on our shooting dates and the props required for each character. Although my dates do not work with the screenwriter, as he is absent for the days I planned to shoot, I have decided that we are still able to shoot on the dates I want, and I can still consult my screenwriter through technology and social media, if I have to. We have a few viable locations figured out so far (see last journal entry), but we have yet to visit most of them. I am really looking for a barren, desolate, and lonely vibe that will better evoke the lonely mood and tone in my story. I have planned a second location scout next weekend with my editor and screenwriter.


 * Journal Entry #3**

Sometimes, you could have the most creative idea for a film and have the plan fail due to bad scheduling and planning. Scheduling a film is as important as coming up with a script and story itself. Even if you have a substantial budget and a great story, scheduling a film is still one of the trickiest yet most important steps in film making. Although traditionally the role of a director's assistant, scheduling a film, in this case, falls under my responsibility as leader and director for my group. Usually, scheduling starts begins with the script. Once the script is finished, then we are able to decide on an appropriate location and appropriate times to film. The times usually revolve around the actor's availability as they are central to the completion of the film (without the actors, there's nothing to shoot). While there is a tendency for many people to shoot in chronological order, that might not always be the most efficient idea when you take the locations and time schedules into account. So its often best to make best use of once location, be completely finished with it regardless of the order of the scenes. The strict attention and emphasis to detail is also a very important trait for a director to have. Although you might be on a strict schedule, never sacrifice the creation of meaning and artistic elements in you film for time and efficiency. That being said however, when it comes down to last minute shoots and extremely limited amount of time available, a director has to learn to sacrifice some scenes and shots, even though they might go great scenes and shots, so sometimes you just have to kill some babies. Just be sure to get the shots that are absolutely integral to your film.


 * Journal Entry #4**

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