Planning

According to the poll on my blog, people prefer that my character falls in love at the end of the movie (shocking, right?). So I have a few ideas to show this event on the film opening. Oh, and thank you to the little fellow that decided to vote 'neither' and didn't put any comment so I cracked my brain trying to figure out which other endings it could have, like just kill my protagonist.

Answering some questions from a previous post, I started to develop my character's personality:

Name

Marcella. Italian given name, the feminine form of Marcello, ultimately derived from Marcellus. Marcellus originates in the Latin language. As a Roman family name, it is originally diminutive of Marcus, derived from Mars, the Roman god of war [1].

Career

Major in Sociology  because she always has been observant and patient. She has also been curious about people’s behavior and the reasons for their actions. She’s planning to work in the public policy field [2].

Typical emotional characteristics associated with personality

Marcella is loyal to her friends and listens to them in all of their problems. She is a  volunteer in many organizations. At the same time, she is very cynical, she confront situations by being sassy and sarcastic. Since she was little, she has been strong and independent.

Characteristics associated with socioeconomic status

Medium class, enough to pay a good college and a nice car.

Where was your character born?  What was his/her childhood like? What environmental factors contribute to your character’s personality?

Marcella was born in Venezuela with Italian grandparents (that’s where her name comes from). When she was 9 years old, she had to move to the United States due to her dad’s job. Marcella’s father died when she was 14 years old from cancer and her mother never married again. Since her mom was devastated after Marcella’s dad death, Marcella began to develop restrictions against love; she understood that no matter what, one of the involved is going to be hurt. Apart from that, she always had a lot of friends and she easily adapted to her new life in the USA.

What does your character enjoy doing?

Marcella reads a lot of books, either physically or digitally, although she prefers to read hardcover books. She also enjoys being outside, in contact with nature. Marcella likes hanging out with her friends. Her favorite places are theaters, movie theaters, concerts, and cafés. Every time she’s in public spaces, she enjoys analyzing and observing other people’s conducts and attitude.

What defining events have occurred in his/her life?

The death of Marcella’s father didn’t affect that much because she understands that death is a natural thing that happens and everyone is going to die at some moment in life, so everything happens for a reason. Nevertheless, the consequence of his death affected her perspective towards love and marriage since her mother didn’t want to be with someone else after that.

How would your character spend a free day?

A free day for Marcella means a new opportunity to go to a park or a forest where she can read and be in contact with the Earth. Although she enjoys being with her friends, she also likes to be alone and connect with herself.

What values or morals does your character possess?

Marcella has always been a Human Rights Activist, she’s against dictatorships, censorship, and violation of any right; she believes that every human is born as equal. Her dream has always been to go to the poorest places in Africa and America to provide those communities with supplies and show them that someone cares about them.

Marcella doesn’t believe in love or in couples. Once she read a book (The Mortal Instruments) that ‘To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be destroyed’ and after that she became conscious of her environment and she observed that many of her friends’ parents are divorced or one of them has died. She doesn’t want to be involved in all of that because she doesn’t consider that one can truly love someone and be faithful to that person for all his life.

After doing this, developing the story was easier for me. Basically, the production is going to be about this girl that doesn't believe in love and she's happy with not having a partner in her life. The climax of the movie will be when a new guy enrolls in one of her classes and through many events she starts to like him. But at the end of the movie, he breaks her heart and her negative perspective about love is being reinforced.

When Harry Met Sally Interview

When we did the group feedback thing in class, we had to show to our peers two pictures related to our work. I decided to show one picture from When Harry Met Sally because I really like the idea of the interviews. Rob Reiner (director of the movie) introduced this documentary-like scenes because he noticed how a man lit up and came alive as he told the story of when he met his wife [3].

So I want to do something similar for my story, but instead of doing when elderly people met their couples, as in When Harry Met Sally,  my idea is to show interviews with couples in different stages of love. So, for example, the first one would be a couple in their first year together, then an engaged couple, a just married, one with a kid, and an elderly one. They would be introduced as a project made by one of Marcella's peers as a project for one of his classes. The question to each of them would be to relate an obstacle that they've had in their relationship and how they had overcome it, so it'll foreshadow Marcella's view towards love.

Sam playing the piano in Casablanca

My second picture was one from Casablanca because I want the music to be diegetic to make more realistic the scene and add something artistic as well, as in most of the scenes from the famous classic. But now that the opening is clearer in my head, I'm not sure if I'm going to need music. Any case, I'd need to find a musician friend and decide if he can compose a little piece of music or if I have to ask the companies if I can use their song. Since my artist is going to be foreign, I'm not sure if the song should be in Spanish or French, I'll have to research some romantic songs on those languages and see if one of them matches.

The location for the interview can be any place since it's just an interview for a couple. I really want it to be on a sofa, but if I can't film it there, it doesn't matter. Now, for the part with the girl. I was thinking of doing it in a place with nature since she feels comfortable in there. So it could be the Markham Park, Regional Park or any other park in Weston.  There, she can be watching the interview through an Ipad or a phone since her friend is showing it to her to get feedback on it.

I need:

• Marcella
• Marcella's friend that is making the project
• A couple for the interview
• Musician (optional)
• 2 different locations
• 1 for the interview
• 1 for the girl when she is watching the video

Hopefully, I'll be able to film it next week.

Chao, Chao!

To get more knowledge about what has been exposed here, visit:

[1] "Marcella- Young Warrior, Rendered to Mars, Mahr-SEH-lə/mahr-CHEH-lə, Latin on BellyBallot." Marcella- Young Warrior, Rendered to Mars, Mahr-SEH-lə/mahr-CHEH-lə, Latin on BellyBallot. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://babynames.net/names/marcella>.

[2] "Become a Sociologist - Careers - The College Board." Become a Sociologist - Careers - The College Board. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/careers/social-science-sociologists>.

[3] "When Harry Met Sally." Turner Classic Movies. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/21366%7C0/When-Harry-Met-Sally.html>.

Images:

• "25 Things You Never Knew About 'When Harry Met Sally...'" Zimbio. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016 <http://www.zimbio.com/Beyond+the+Box+Office/articles/bjI3wpN7dhf/25+Things+Never+Knew+Harry+Met+Sally>.
• Barron, James. "‘Casablanca’ Piano Sells for $3.4 Million at Bonhams." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/nyregion/casablanca-piano-to-be-auctioned-at-bonhams.html?_r=0>.