Group Meeting

On Tuesday I had a group meeting with 4 other people in our class. We told each other how our project is going and gave each other advice on what they could improve/do next/ ideas. I told my group about magical realism and my concept of a ghost helping a lonely girl feel less lonely in this world. 

Target Audience:

The group all seemed to agree that this sounded similar to the concept and vibes of a Pixar movie (not any movie specifically but the general vibe of one). It made me wish I was an animator because I do believe that the heart of this story would thrive in that sort of medium but, alas, I am not skilled at animation or drawing so I'll have to stick with live-action. This did help me establish that I might want my audience to be kids, which does align with the target audience of my original inspiration, Casper.

My Favorite Pixar Movies:

• Wall-e (2008)
  
• Toy Story (1995)
  
• Soul (2020)
  

Costuming:

The group recommended I could use white/light blue costuming and blue makeup and my actor, which I agree with and I'm leaning on the white so it glows blue under the blue light. Talking about costuming/makeup, one of the people had the idea of having the costuming of the character hint at the way the ghost died. I am worried about how to pull that off while still appealing to a younger audience without coming off as gruesome, but it's something to explore.

Essential Question:

During this meeting we all agreed that one of the most important things to ask ourselves as we write our scripts for the intro is "What is the one thing I want to leave my audience with?" I believe I would want to leave them with a sense of wonder and mystery to what that creature (the ghost is). This is mostly because I do want to play with the lighting and costuming, and focusing on the ghost can give me more creative freedom. The sense of wonder and mystery is also what the intros for both "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Hellboy" focus on creating.

Finding the Heart:

The group also pointed out that my story seemed to have a heart to it (a main reason for why it reminded them to Pixar stories, as they tend to be sentimental). Upon further reflection, I realized that this story is somewhat accidentally inspired by the loneliness I felt during quarantine in 2020-21. It was finding one friend in the middle of the madness and isolation that helped bring me out of my shell and feel like the world is not such a lonely place. That is ultimately what my story is about, we need friends in our life, we need people to remind us that the meaning of life is sometimes just to share it with others. 

So what came of this meeting?

I have a target audience, a better direction for the costuming, and I found the heart of my story. All of this will help me as I finish the outline summary of what would be the entire film and start writing my script for the intro. I have fallen a bit behind schedule due to external sources, but I should be caught up by March 11th.