Planning Audio:

Hey Cambridge! Today I wanted to compile all the audio parts I need for my opening. They have to either be created by me or a copy right free sound from online.

First, I want to summarize what I need...

- Indie music

- Sniffles *

- Phone notification *

- Jessica's voiceover *

- Punk/rock music

- Zipper being yanked open *

- Snapping noise of hanger *

- Sighing noises *

- Boyfriend's voicemail *

- Fast-paced violin song

- Zipping noise *

- Phone saying "starting route" *

I'm sure I missed some small sound detail, so if I did, I will include it in another blog post! Also, I put a star (*) next to the ones I'm going to create through foley. 

To begin, I asked my brother to create the boyfriend's voicemail. Here's the actual audio I'm going to edit in. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OuUGJEh4tqbJoK6ZNECRBWO-WjmA2byD/view?usp=sharing

For Jess's voiceover, sniffles, phone notification and sighing, I need my actor, Crosby, to voice it so it's more realistic and I need to have another phone to text so I can record the notification sound.

I created the maps voice by using google translate and typing in "Starting route to Pharmacy." This way I got an artificial/computer sounding voice. Here's a video of me getting the audio.

Google. (n.d.). Google Translate. https://translate.google.com

Now I created the sound of the hanger snapping. Here's a video of me actually snapping one along with a photo of the aftermath! There are so many little pieces everywhere!

For the last of my foley, I zipped and unzipped my backpack. I tried out many patterns of where each zipper should be to get the best noise, and I cracked the code by having them both in the middle. It let me pull it apart really easily and caused a very sharp noise. It also created a rustling noise with my bag which makes it a lot more realistic.

Now that I completed most of the foley sounds, I moved onto getting copyright free sounds from online. One of the resources my teacher recommended for sound is Pixabay. It's a free photo and video website where you can find things to use without copyright issues.

Pixabay. (n.d.). Pixabay. https://pixabay.com

After discovering all the different sounds, I realized there are so many different options for the music. I didn't realize what a variety there was in rock and punk. So rather than switching up the tone completely with instrumental I'm just going to use all punk and rock. Here are the audio files I will use for my project:

These sounds all give off a very 2000's mood which is exactly what I'm going for!

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BRuqL7g7zIII06mXPENANeMpd-_qeCyA/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16ubWHh1EMQRXE3mmnDuuo99srfbEDoBt/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1euS0npb8j0Iru_nZy767kqbMtVAR0FoT/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blxA46DHBmu08DfEHrKlksQeHQWmM66d/view?usp=sharing

I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned the behind the scenes of my production!

Finding an actor and location:

Hi Cambridge! Today I finalized my location and my actor for 'Jess' for my film opening. Since I already researched lighting techniques and created my storyboard (in previous blog posts), I imagined everything happening in my house/neighborhood. 

Here's an image of the doorway Jess will be standing in when she's first introduced. Also, here's an image of a messy bedroom but I will definitely make it look more cluttered when filming. The third image is the sidewalk 'Jess' will be biking on while the title appears.

Now, that I found my location, I had to start looking for an actor. Originally, I was going to use one of my friends in drama and theater to act in it but, she isn't free any of the days I allotted for filming. I could've switched the dates and waited for her, but I didn't want to fall behind schedule. So, next I started asking even my non-acting friends. A lot of them didn't want to do it since it was out of their comfort zone but finally my friend Crosby said yes! Here is a photo of her... She has previous experience acting in numerous middle school film projects.

I think she will be perfect for the role of 'Jess' because she has a very teenage looking aesthetic already and I can use some of her wardrobe to dress 'Jess.' She's also great at doing her makeup and often uses eyeliner which I wanted 'Jess' to have. 

Another actor (voice actor) I will be using is my brother, Alec, for the role of the Boyfriend in my opening. He's at college right now but it's a non-visual part/only the audio, so it will work really well by having him record himself saying the script and sending it to me so I can edit it in. His voice will help give the allusion of a teenage boy's voice! I'm going to give him script lines like "Please call me back! I know I messed up!" to read for the diegetic voicemails.

All in all, I'm very excited to film on Monday, and finally see all my research and preparations come together. I'll keep you updated!

Planning Props!

Hi Cambridge! Today I planned out what props I need for my opening and went to find any I didn't have.

Here's my list of props:

- Phone

- Makeup

- Makeup wipes

- Garbage

- Pregnancy test

- Posters

- School things

- Backpack

- Swimming medals

- Speaker

- Clothes/laundry

- Hanger

- Piggy bank/cash

- chochkes (trinkets)

- Bike

- Silver jewelry

Here's a picture of one of the two piggy banks I'm debating on using. They are a bit childish but if feel like it fits the tone and conventions of Coming-of-Age. Originally, in my storyboard I planned to use the emoji one, but my sister also lent me this actual pig one.

So, the only thing I needed to buy was a pregnancy test since the rest I could either print out or already had. During school I was researching fake positive pregnancy tests, but those ones were more expensive than the regular ones, so my mom recommended I DIY it with a real one. Here's the fake one I was originally looking at on amazon:

Amazon. (n.d.). Uenvision fake pregnancy test positive. https://www.amazon.com/Uenvision-Fake-Pregnancy-Test-Positive/dp/B07N2HF33N

After school, we headed to Walmart and found a lot of different options. I just went with the cheapest one since we don't need any accurate results.

We bought the Equate one and here's a picture of my make-shift positive pregnancy test:

I added the lines with a sharpie and cleaned up the edges with some nail polish remover.

Walmart. (n.d.). Equate pregnancy test. https://www.walmart.com/

I also found out my mom recently donated our bikes, so I'm planning on borrowing one of my neighbor's bikes on filming day. She already said yes so it should work out. But if not, as a backup plan I can have 'Jess' drive away in a car or literally run away. 

Meet Jess!

Hi Cambridge! As you've seen, I'm not that great at making decisions but surprisingly, choosing a name was a really easy decision for me. 

I started by thinking of stereotypical rebellious names like Jess, Tess, and Zara. These were my top three because they were exactly what I was imagining when coming up with the plot. I ended up going with "Jess" or Jessica because I wanted a name that could be elegant but also changed to a more teenage nickname. It kind of shows how she's gone down a bad path in the past few years and her identity has changed. As I learned in AP Psych this year, she's in her Moratorium stage and still discovering herself. For example, the name Ava is very bubbly sounding and it's too short to have a "baddie" nickname, so I didn't want anything like that. All of these developmental psychology terms are helping me a lot when it comes to brainstorming.

The Mummy Bubble. (2023). Nicknames for Jessica [Image]. The Mummy Bubble. https://themummybubble.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nicknames-jessica.jpg

Another thing I did to figure out her character was creating a mini-mood board for her aesthetic. I included lots of different methods to listen to music since that's one of her main hobbies. As well as her clothing style and a shirt alluding to her boyfriend. All of these little things make up her determined and rebellious personality.

Fernandes, A. (2026). *Jess's mood board* [Digital collage].

Who is Jess?

Jess is a typical teen in 2002 who's trying to find out who she is. She loves Avril Lavigne and other punk artists. Her parents are divorced so she switches houses every weekend and it makes her life very difficult and has led to attachment issues. She has a boyfriend she's been dating for 10 months and has grown very close to him, very fast. Her friends have all drifted from her because of her reckless decisions and clinginess to her boyfriend. She has her permit but can't drive as a Junior in high school. She used to be a straight A student, but her grades have been dropping ever since the divorce. Recently, she found out she was pregnant and told her boyfriend. He got very angry, started playing the blame game, and told her to abort it. This is when my opening takes place and shows how that was her last straw her rage/disappointment. 

YourLastName, A. (2026). *PicCollage creation* [Digital collage]. PicCollage.

YourLastName, A. (2026). *PicCollage creation* [Digital collage]. PicCollage.

Screenplay!

Hi Cambridge! In my last post, I discussed my plot and now I'm going to share my script and storyboard with you! So, to get more information, I used one of my most helpful websites throughout this project, Studio Binder.

Lannom, S. C. (2025, March 5). How to write a movie script like professional screenwriters. StudioBinder. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-write-a-screenplay/

Provost, R. (2025, April 25). How to make a storyboard: Step‑by‑step guide. StudioBinder. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-make-storyboard/

Basically, a screenplay is the fully written script and plan for a film. It includes things like dialogue, actions, camera work, and more. They are super important because it keeps everything organized and helps people know what's going to happen in the story. Whereas a storyboard is the visual plan for a film. It helps filmmakers imagine and know exactly what they need to shoot. Throughout this year, I've had experience making and using a storyboard, so I know exactly how helpful it is!

Since this will be my first time making an actual script, I decided to use Lady Bird's as an example since it's my inspiration for this project. This script helped me make sure I was writing it correctly and learn new abbreviations in script writing. For example, INT. (place written) means the scene takes place in that location. 

Gerwig, G. (2017). Lady Bird: Final shooting script [PDF]. Daily Script. https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/LADY_BIRD_shooting_script.pdf

Pinterest. (n.d.). Lady Bird final shooting script [Image].

The links below will show you my plans. I hope you find them interesting!

Here's the link to my script/screenplay:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWAZe39WdbuDi89l5uhiNkk3xVBcKBo_Hcin_UH9ibE/edit?usp=sharing

Here's the link to my storyboard:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sC_ajFPfP9NHY7B-lbhUZd5-ULZd8Cm8/view?usp=sharing

Plot Planned Out

Hey Cambridge! Now that I've decided all of the aspects for my genre, Coming-of-Age, I can start finalizing the plot of my opening. So, as you know I'm making my story about a rebellious girl who runs away but I still had to figure out a lot of things. I also got some constructive criticism from my teacher, and she told me I needed to figure out where and why is she running away? So, without further ado, here's my final draft of the plot...

My title is going to be "Over It."

The story is going to focus on a 16–17-year-old teenage girl who reaches her emotional 'breaking point' after finding out she's pregnant and decides she’s so "over it.” The plot is going to focus on a character‑vs‑self conflict. I'm going to use the setting around her to help show the audience she's struggling. I'll use mise-en-scene like her messy room, open & dirty makeup, clothes everywhere, and the frantic packing to be visual cues of how overwhelmed she feels.

Her bedroom, the posters, and desk will be something like this:

 

Pinterest. (n.d.). Unorganized desk [Photograph]. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0b/07/8c/0b078c3a70b94673c8b5fee92e802c56.jpg

Freepik. (n.d.). Punk halftone collage in edgy modern style [Photograph]. https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/punk-halftone-collage-edgy-modern-style-merging-rebellious-punk-aesthetics-with-dynamic-halftone-patterns-fusion-grit-sophistication-contemporary-visual-artistry_771426-52509.jpg

Dreamstime. (n.d.). Messy teenager bedroom during the day [Photograph]. https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/messy-teenager-bedroom-day-301319176.jpg

I'm also going to include small details like her phone dinging with stressful notifications from her boyfriend (I haven't chosen any names yet, but I'll definitely include heart emojis around his name) and even a voicemail of him saying "We need to talk. I'm so sorry just please call me back and let me explain! I overreacted just please talk to me." This is going to portray the "why is she running away" aspect and let the audience infer the boyfriend did something that's making her act out.

Another thing I will include is to have her on screen setting up a map's location on her phone, put it in her pocket, and then start biking away. It will show her on the phone on maps and focus in on the location. I will also have a diegetic sound of the phone saying, "Starting route to pharmacy." With all these little details, the audience can infer that she's pregnant and her boyfriend didn't take it well. It shows that she's already troubled with the conflict between her and her boyfriend and it alludes to something more that's going to happen.

Pinterest. (n.d.). Apple Maps navigation screenshot [Image].

My biggest inspiration for this project is Lady Bird. It has a lot of realistic emotional scenes, and it also uses everyday spaces to create the character's personality. I also like how chaotic they portrayed her typical teenage frustration. This movie is an amazing guide for me and creating my opening.

Pinterest. (n.d.). Lady Bird movie poster [Image].

Stay tuned for my script!

Media Theory I want to use:

    Hi Cambridge! So today, I did more in-depth research on media theories and found one that I definitely want to use in my opening... It's the representation theory by Stuart Hall. 

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage Publications.

In class, we had already discussed this theory and it's part of the list my teacher gave us, so I'm already familiar with it. It's also a commonly used theory in the Coming-of-Age genre so it's perfect for me! Here's a video I watched for more info. It explains how media doesn't just reflect reality, but it also creates it with signs and symbols. This theory stuck with me because Coming-of-Age relies a lot on visual cues to portray the character's personality/identity.

Mrs. Fisher. (2019). Media Studies – Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory – Simple Guide for Students & Teachers [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/HxK5CXfKSCI

The representation theory works perfectly for my idea for the opening. It's going to be called "So Over It," and it follows a rebellious teenage girl who's been pushed past her breaking point and decides to run away. So, instead of being dialogue heavy, I want the audience to understand her emotions through mise-en-scene. I'd show her messy room, posters on the wall, her makeup, her music, and how frantic she is when she's packing. All of these elements are 'signs' that represent her emotions of being overwhelmed. 

Here's a picture of the handout of theories my teacher gave my class.