Character Designs

*:･ ☾ 🍞★ ᵕ̈♡︎ 🍓

OLD VERSIONS

NEW VERSIONS

Looking back at the old designs, I thought the themes encoded for the characters at different time periods weren't refined and mature enough for what I had in mind. For this reason, I updated my moodboards for my characters. 

The new board for "present - Anh Minh" delves deeper into her emotional state - stressed, overworked and unmotivated - as a result from what happened with her personal life. 

The "old" Anh Minh has been changed from an overly feminine tone to a more sophisticated personality. This is due to her being in a more political industry (can be seen from her university major mentioned in her character biography), which could be assumed to dress more professionally and modestly.   🍓🍒⋆ ˚ ꩜ ｡ ⋆୨୧

Regarding Quang Anh, I decided to really emphasize on his origin of wealth to further enhance the social difference of the male and female lead. I also picked out fashion items that would make more sense to someone in their late-twenties. ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡

 

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Shot List

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

🧸- OLD VERSION OF SHOT LIST -🍪

I noticed that the shot list could use some improvements in terms of details, especially regarding the area where the filming process would take place. I also wanted the information to be presented in a more organized method; below is an improved version of my shot list. I also included the props needed to make it easier for preparation prior to filming, ensuring that there would be no setback furing production. 

2ND VERSION―୨୧⋆ ˚

For the final version, please visit the MASTER DATABASE available in the Pre-Production section. 

✩°｡⋆⸜ 🎧──★ ˙ ̟

Screenplay

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

1st Draft ˖°🌊🎐𓇼⋆🦪₊

The first draft was to layout the overall idea of the sequence. I gave myself an opportunity to lay down the ideas I had in mind, with the intention of re-organizing the information later on. Originally, I added voice-over of the female main character, as if she is talking to the male lead. 

2nd Draft °:•.🐠*.•🪸.•:°

In the first draft, I noticed many flaws in terms of how the script was displayed as well as the lack of detail description of different settings. As a result, I updated it and created a newer version with a higher amount of information, regarding character's background and demographics, as well as the environment surrounding the female and male lead and their costumes. Ultimately, I removed the voice-over at the beginning because I wanted to keep it simpler, preventing distractions of viewers since there is already plently of details within the visual aspect of the sequence.  

3rd Draft ༄˖°.🪐.ೃ࿔*:･

I made some grammatical changes, as well as altered the dialogue between Anh Minh and Quang Anh to make it more realistic (more casual), to have the conversation appeal more to the Vietnamese community (my primary audience). 

4st Draft ๋⭑🛸๋⭑

After re-reading my screenplay, I noticed how it would be more plausible for Anh Minh's boss (Thu) to call her at the beginning of the sequence, instead of the alarm. 

(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ FINALIZED   ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Character Biographies

Name: Anh Minh

Nickname: My

Gender: Female

Age: 24

˚˖𓍢👒🪻⋆｡°

Anh Minh was born in a middle class, traditional Vietnamese household, with her father working as a modest and respected office worker and her mother a conventional housewife. From an early age, Anh Minh’s life has been shaped by conservative values, constantly told that a woman’s value lies in having the will to sacrifice all her hopes and dreams, settle down and prioritize the family’s needs over her own - like her mother. They’ve continuously discouraged her desire to pursue certain passions, such as: getting a master’s degree in political science, because they said that it was “unsuitable” for a woman. 

However, instead of being discouraged, Anh Minh is greatly motivated. She is intelligent, fierce and extremely proud of who she is and what she can achieve. While others may bend due to the heavy amount of criticism, Anh Minh does not back down and makes it her number one goal to succeed, proving her mother and father wrong, despite the lack of support. Anh Minh can be described as extremely dedicated, sometimes too stubborn, to whatever she sets her mind on. Her pride pushes her to extend her limits, updating herself non-stop. This also means that she would detach herself from potential distractions to focus on her goals only, even if it means removing a special part of her emotional life. Anh Minh’s strong personality contradicts strongly to societal expectations, which causes most of her struggles on her journey to success, but that only further sustenance Minh’s incentive to “make it” in her career. She is currently an office worker for a large media conglomerate - this acts as both a motivation and pressure for Anh Minh to produce good quality content at all times.

Physical: She is portrayed as a young-adult Vietnamese woman with long black hair and a slim figure. 

Name: Quang Anh

Nickname: none

Gender: Male

Age: 27

✩°𓏲⋆🌿. ⋆⸜ 🍵✮˚

Quang Anh comes from a wealthy family and was raised by university educators which resulted in him having captivating charm and a strong educational background. Ever since he was a child, Quang Anh was given the opportunity to explore all his curiosity and creativity freely, which shaped his characteristics to be incredibly open-minded and adaptable to every situation and people. He has always had a strong passion for sports: he participated in various forms of physical activities - basketball, football, volleyball. Unlike other male characters who constantly feel the need to express dominance as it is usually associated with the idea of “masculinity”, Quang Anh is comfortable in showing his vulnerable side: soft and caring. He is also mature and understanding. 

In contrast to Anh Minh’s personality, Quang Anh is a lot more calm and composed. He is self-assured, but humble at the same time. Quang Anh likes the idea of progression and improvement, and so seeks to learn new things everyday, reflecting his curious nature. Quang Anh is a popular figure among his social circle: his captivating charm and ease in connecting with other people have made him both well-known and well-liked. With his great knowledge and skills, Quang Anh quickly advanced in his career of Sports Management. His ability to maintain control in high-pressure scenarios with composure makes him a highly valued person in his line of work. As he is older compared to Anh Minh, Quang Anh has already established himself a balanced lifestyle with stable income and a job that he enjoys. 

Physcial: Conventionally attractive to Vietnamese social standards, taller than Anh Minh.

˚˖𓍢ִִ໋🌼🧺˚˖𓍢ִ🌿˚.

Prologue: 

Anh Minh and Quang Anh met through mutual friends as they went to the same university. Quang Anh was a senior and Anh Minh was a freshman. Despite their age gap, the two quickly caught feelings for each other. Their personality perfectly compensated for each other, a dynamic of a girl with strong sense of independence and confidence with a guy who balances her competitiveness with his civil, playful and affectionate manner. It was obvious from the beginning of the relationship their commitment and devotion towards one another, and the love only grew more and more. Their love story quickly took a turn, however,  when Anh Minh graduated three years after Quang Anh from college. Despite the fact that it was causing detrimental effects upon her health, Anh Minh instantly threw herself to  finding jobs and pushing through her limits. At one point, Anh Minh started to neglect the connection with her lover, which inevitably lead to their seperation. Although Quang Anh was devastated, he did not try to hold her back because he recognized that she should be concentrating on her future at that moment instead of the relationship. He knows how ambitious and smart she is, and even after they broke up, he still looks up to her every day, watching and "caring" for her from afar. 

Treatment & Proposal

˚˖꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹`🌿:✧˚.📷⋆𖧧

[Pitch]

༄˖°.🪐.ೃ࿔*:･

Final Opening Sequence - Eternal Sunshince of the Spotless Mind

 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Film opening analysis

After their breakup, the two lovers - Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey) - each undergo a procedure to erase the memories they made with each other in an attempt to reduce the pain of not being together. The movie implies that our memories are the "spots" that decorate our lives - A spotless mind is one without memory or experience. 

I chose the opening to this movie specifically as the final analysis because of the way the film was organized - non-linear storytelling. Instead of following the constriction of time, the way the scenes are ordered reflects fragments of memories which enhances the idea of the beauty of memories and happiness in the past. This detail inspired greatly and I hope to somewhat adapt it into my media text. 

The movie begins with a slow-paced, short melody building up in the background matching the blurry transition of the name of the production company which appears in the center of the screen: Focus Features. From a black screen, a character slowly comes into vision laying his head on a pillow. As he sits up from the bed, it can be decoded that he isn’t well-rested, encoded through the tired expression along the movement of massaging his forehead with his hand. This may hint that he didn’t get enough sleep the night before, which may raise enigma codes as to why. The frustration encoded through the action of kicking the blanket as well as the hesitation of standing up from the bed shows that he does not want to leave just yet. However, some hints of rush and excitement is also encoded by the quick-pacing in his movement, raising enigma codes: maybe something is supposed to happen today?

As the character tries his best to get up, the audience gets to have a better view of the room in which he is in through a long shot. In contrast to the man’s current emotions, the room connotes a sense of peace and discipline. This can be decoded by how everything is placed neatly in their position, including: the props placed upon the shelves; closely packed books in a cupboard. From this information, it can be decoded that the character is clean and likes things in a certain order. This scene is put under a coat of blue hue, which overall gives it a sense of loneliness and abandonment. This feeling is further substantiated by the deepened tone of the same color of the sleepwear that the character is wearing. Throughout the scene, a slow, non-diegetic jazz-like melody plays in the background creating atmosphere. It provided a sense of softness and melancholy which may suggest sadness to the storyline or narrative. 

A straight cut leads the viewer to a more open area of a car park. The man is seen walking towards his car before stopping abruptly in his tracks - reacting to a surprising event of his car being damaged. By observing the clothes worn by the character, it can be assumed that the weather is chilly, since he has a long coat.

He looks to the car beside his, encoding that he is suspicious of the owner of the other vehicle for causing the breakage; subsequently, he looks up and then down, expressing some sort of realization and anger which raises enigma codes as to why and what was the information that he received from looking above. After this, a jump shot shows the man putting a note behind the windshield wiper of the other car before another jump shot depicts him entering his and backing away.

The camera then zooms into the piece of paper saying: "ThankYou!". This raises enigma codes once again as it evokes curiosity of the audience, wanting to know what led to the main character feeling the need to leave a note.

A long shot introduces the audience to a new setting of a train station with people looking to their left, encoding that their train is supposed to come from this side. Simultaneously, we see another train arriving on the other path of the station. From a high angle shot, the character starts running, almost frantically, towards the other side as if he is acting impulsive. From this part, a non-diegetic voice-over (supposedly of the man) starts speaking saying: “I ditched work today”. As the monologue continues aligning to the man’s actions as if they are his current thought, it can be decoded that his words are phrased as if being shared with someone - similar to a conversation.

The way the man tried his hardest to fit himself through the closing door of the train encodes dedication and devotion to his choice of not going to work; along with that, the voice-over says: “I’m not an impulsive person” - this shows that the action is completely out-of-character for the man and makes us wonder why he is acting such way. 

Another change of place with the man, which we now know is Joel, standing next to a phone booth calling who can be assumed is his co-worker Cindy lying about his health status, all from a wide angle. The area is made to look significantly colder than the previous shots with snow and wind blowing strongly. As Joel sits at the beach, he brings out a notebook that contains the leftover of a page that was ripped off, which Joel “Don’t remember doing that”. This detail raises enigma codes, possibly about some kind of problems with Joel’s memories. A straight cut depicts Joel hanging by the shoreline where he notices the presence of a stranger. Unlike most extras, the stranger was shown more closely for the audience in an insert shot, encoding that the viewers may want to pay attention to her and she may have some effects upon the narrative. “Seeing that I’m incapable of making eye contact with a woman I don’t know” (voice-over of Joel) encodes that he is shy and scared of interaction, specifically towards women. Joel's voice over states: "Maybe I should get back together with Naomi" while peeking through a window into a house. This encodes that Naomi and Joel are past-lovers, and that Joels is considering to be with her once again, raises curiosity of the viewers as to why (enigmatic code), as well as the fact that he knows this house or the people who lived here, and subtly suggests he has been here before. The sequence ends with Joel saying "She loved me", which appears to be odd, as though Naomi was the only that was in love in their relationship.