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Originally posted by lilhall017

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open up with a young black boy and a small white girl of the same age. open with them throwing sand at eachother as if to be fighting. Show african american community watching them through lowered blinds. reveal that they infact were not fighting but playing together. Show whites infuriated that this girl is playing with an african american. show the boy and girl walking away hand in hand.

im thinking maybe making the film black and white. tell me what you think. if you have any pointers that you can give me to incorporate then please let me know. remember however that this film must be only a minute long to be submitted to this contest.

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I like your idea, and it can be done in a minute (if that is the length of the films for the film festival). You show the main characters fast, it has conflict, has reversal (surprise) at the end, and a clear theme. Be sure to get legal releases from everybody in the film, including child releases from parents since you will be filming minors (geez these days filming children playing might get you in jail for child porn if you don't have a release from their parents to prove it is for purely artistic reasons).

Sounds hott. I like the idea. Maybe modrenize it a bit though, make it a bit more relavant, maybe cut to a black adult male and a white adult female walking off instead of the children, showing it as reconciliation or maybe still show people watching from behind their blinds, showing it is still occuring. Whichever you choose, it your opinon.

Also screw with the contrast on the black and white, make it vibrant and glaring maybe. Might help to add some grain to the picture and white fade outs between cuts, only fast like an old news reel.
You are aiming for more of a visual sensation then in depth story telling.

Get your point across, but get it across with style.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

i really like the idea of modernizing it and bringing it into present days. i think that creates more clearer of a message and maybe brings more conviction to those still in that mindset. i also think maybe there could be a reversal of roles in the present day with that idea. show african american "thugs" infuriated in the present day sight of the couple and white people viewing from behind their blinds.

idk if this will all fit into the one minute. maybe i should create the one minute film and if all goes well stretch the idea.

thank you both for the input. if you have any other suggestions/ideas i would love to hear them.

quote:

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Originally posted by lilhall017
thank you both for the input. if you have any other suggestions/ideas i would love to hear them.

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if your NLE software will allow it, consider montage, where on the screen we see separate viewpoints of the two or three different races watching the children, maybe even the children too, etc. Sort of like the recent movie Babel that just came out on DVD rental. That would also allow you to fit more screenplay into a smaller amount of movie time.

I agree with the role reversal. The fact that white people are racist is a very common theme... but it's less common to show that other African Americans, as well as other races, can be racist as well.

'In the life that man creates for himself, he too, creates his demise... and his legacy.'

I think it's a great idea. I feel that if you can juxtapose cynicism and bigotry with the innocence and compassion of your two main characters, you will have a powerful piece. Great idea!

A quick note: if setting your piece in the 1950's, I would just want to be careful not to be too Norman Rockwell ish with it. He had some paintings that dealt with racism and color, as you know. I would try to be more edgey.

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okay two other questions about this film. should i create the setting for the children to be somewhere more recent? i am just worried about creating a 1950's setting on practically no budget.

the other question is: how do i find actors for this? something that might complicate this more is that im only a tenth grade student. im worried about finding actors and them viewing me as more of filmmaker trying to create as professional of a film with the budget i have. i am just worried that it will be hard to find actors with my age, my experience, and my location (being that i live in a small town)

The greatest use for life is working for something that outlasts it. -Old Union Reminder

Do you happen to have any friends with younger siblings?
Is there a historic quarter in whatever town you live in?
You could modernize it, or simply throw it farther into the past.

Kids from school can usually be recruited as extras, or if you are an adult the workplace. If you jsut drop that its going to be in a festival, people will come popping up you didn't even know existed.

Or put out a classified ad asking for community actors willing to work for free.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

i would like for the video to look old or "vintage"

is black and white the way to go on this?
or should i make the video have more faded duller colors?
any other suggestions?

any ideas on how to make the video look "vintage?"

The greatest use for life is working for something that outlasts it. -Old Union Reminder

Try black and white, but also look at contrast and brightness to get a more distinct look.

Don't over do the 'vintage' look, with those overused filters you can get on most NLE systems.