Mia's Journal + Changes

Unfortunately, I won't be able to film this week due to my own schedule as well as Summer and Alex's, but that doesn't mean I won't be doing anything at all! I've been working on Mia's journal for the opening scene. I was hoping to take new Polaroid pictures for it, which I did, but I might just need to use a few old ones. So that's definitely something to do and think about this week.

How I have my Polaroids organized.

For Mia's journal, since I'm modeling it after my own, I took a few items I collected out of my journal and am currently planning to use them within Mia's, as well as making and collecting a few more things to add.

Just a few things I've collected.

Right now I'm deciding between two journals I have, on which to use for Mia's. One is a white with golden polka-dots and "Write Your Story" written in cursive on the front, while the other is a plain black journal.  I feel like the white journal add a little personality, but I feel like the black journal would look better on screen since Summer's bed is all white. I feel as if the contrast of the two colors would be very nice.

I think I'm going to stick with the black journal. However, I did want some indication that this was her journal, or even a journal at all. Maybe I'll write "Mia's Journal" on it or something, but right now I'm just brainstorming. Maybe I'll use the other journal as a prop, to infer that she has more than this one journal and has a lot of thoughts that she does not share.

The 2 Journal Choices.

Also, after sleeping on my storyboard, both in the literal sense and not, I decided to change some things about it. Instead of her just flipping through the pages and looking at the photographs, I feel as if it would be more intimate for Mia to untape the Polaroids and remove them out of the frame. They would be seen again when from either a Medium or Long shot of when she's falling back on her bed or laying on her bed. They would be surrounding her body, scattered about her bed. Possibly, when she falls back on the bed, I would show them lifting and falling back down with the photos in focus and Mia's body not. I feel like that would look very artistic and I like that idea.

I also changed the idea that the background music would stop and there would be a shot of a record player with some pills, an ashtray, and a bottle, to show Mia is under the influence. I feel as if the scene would feel empty without background music, especially since it would be inferred that it's diegetic. I still want to show the record player spinning to show that the music playing is diegetic, as well as the influence items (pills, ashtray, bottle, etc.). I want the record player and the influence items to be in shallow focus with Mia's body not in focus, just like the Polaroid shot I mentioned before. I want to give the audience the 2+2 equation, but not the 4 when it comes to the influence items. I want to show smoke coming from ashtray as well as possibly a prescription pill bottle, with possibly one or two pills on the record itself.