Today I'll be documenting the process of creating, printing, and framing the photo of JD and his brother. JD's actor, Gebble, explained our portfolio project to a tall basketball player from our school's team and he agreed to take a picture with Gebble and have it featured in our project. I think the picture came out very well, he even happened to be wearing a Harvard hoodie which we could allude to in the script itself.
I did some research online and found out that the closest photo printing service to me was at our local CVS Pharmacy. I placed an online order and within ~45 minutes it was ready for pickup.
I found a photo frame in my house that fit the photo, this is how the final product will look in the film.
Today I'll be sharing the official casting for our film project. Three of our group members will be in the cast, and we'll also have 2 people from outside our group/class in the film.
Here's the list:
JD played by Gebble
Coach Marcus played by Noah
Player 1 played by Wyatt
Player 2 played by Robert
JD's mom played by Kamila
Kamila is a good friend of ours and a talented actress in musical theatre and she agreed to play the part of JD's mom in our film.
She plans to wear this (more of a "cool mom" vibe but it still works)
To design our set, we need to all gather basketball memorabilia. There are 4 different "sets". The basketball gym, the coach's office, JD's room and the weightlifting room / gym.
The basketball gym is straightforward, we can use the one at the YMCA or the one at school after school if we get authorization. The coach's office can be any of our teacher's rooms as long as it's empty, teachers all have big desks, the coach would be on the teacher's side and JD on the student's. The weightlifting room would be straightforward too, the YMCA or the school weightlifting room.
The part that requires our development is JD's room. We'll need to have basketball memorabilia, including posters, a ball, and the photo with his brother. We've split this task up and we decided I'm in charge of the posters. We'll be filming next week so I need to get something quick, so I took to Amazon.
There's a set of 9 or 12 posters for $12.
This set has a bunch of different players
This set has a bunch of different kinds of posters all around Lebron
I think the second kind of set is better because it shows he idolizes a specific player.
However, an alternative is using our friend's room, since he has a lot of sports memorabilia as well as some jerseys we could hang up. We also have a signed basketball we could use. This is what his room looks like right now, before we develop it at all.
Our friend's room
Signed basketball
I'll have to see if more posters would be necessary or helpful, 12 is a lot either way and we'd only be able to use some of them, but I'm pretty happy with how we've planned to develop this set design so far. See you next time.
Throughout our script, there are many mentions of sound effects, as well as a no copyright rap song that initially seems non-diegetic but is revealed to be diegetic, coming from JD's headphones.
My group will look into or develop other sound effects that were mentioned in the script, like the shoes screeching or the heart beating.
I will look for a no copyright rap song for the weightlifting scene.
I took to YouTube and searched for "No Copyright Music Rap" and found a playlist.
I checked out a few songs, but I liked this one the most.
The description confirms this is copyright free, but we'll have to credit the artist (in the opening)
That settles the song, for the sound effects like the heartbeat or the shoes squeaking, I'll explore the possibility of foley sounds in future production posts and of post-production sound effects in future editing posts.
For the next aspect of mise-en-scene, costuming, we need to think about all our characters.
Here's the list:
JD
Coach Marcus
JD's mom
Player 1
Player 2
For JD, we'll have him wearing sportswear and basketball-type attire, and maybe some streetwear. During the game, both JD and Players 1 and 2 will wear jerseys and basketball shorts and athletic / basketball shoes.
JD's mom can wear anything a mother would normally wear, context and dialogue make it obvious that she's his mom.
Coach Marcus will be one of our group members, the oldest looking one, so he should wear a polo to look older and resemble a coach in the NBA.
Today I'll be exploring how we can develop JD's character, as well as a few other characters, in our film opening.
JD as a character is a determined yet insecure underdog, driven by his dream of basketball greatness which was given to him by his brother's success. Throughout the film, JD would struggle with self doubt, seeking validation through external achievements and refusing to look within. Eventually, despite setbacks, JD’s character arc evolves from someone chasing his brother’s legacy to forging his own path. He reminds me of Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Zuko is banished by his father and is tasked with capturing the Avatar, and obsesses over this task. Eventually, Zuko forges his own path and joins forces with the Avatar. This dialogue between Zuko and his Uncle Iroh (a Sage figure) exemplifies this.
In the opening itself, the first way we'll develop JD is through contrast between expectation and reality. The opening scene sets up JD's internal expectations (a heroic shot, with a slow motion intense focus) vs. his harsh reality (airball, with sarcastic comments from his team and his coach.) It shows JD is a dreamer but lacks execution, and the comedy's humor highlights a contrast between his self perception and how others see him.
The second way is through mise-en-scene. As I've mentioned before, his bedroom will be decorated with basketball memorabilia, including posters, jerseys, a signed ball, and a framed photo with his older brother. The props emphasize his obsession with basketball and living up to his brother. I'll explore this deeper in a later post about mise-en-scene, but there's so much we can do, there's a lot of basketball memorabilia out there.
One example of a "basketball themed" room
The third way is through dialogue, which builds not only his character but others. His conversation with Coach Marcus creates a mentor-student dynamic, and JD's forced laughter suggests vulnerability. JD's talk with his mother creates contrast again, between her reminder that he doesn't need to be like Jason and JD's internal pressure. JD's response "Yeah, I know", juxtaposed by him looking at the ceiling shows denial and unresolved feelings.
Last but not least, JD's actions develop his character. JD trains alone at the gym, demonstrating his tough character. Visual cues of his struggle emphasize how his efforts don't immediately translate to success. Him watching his brother's highlight reels signifies both admiration and envy.
Archetypally, other characters start to be developed. JD is obviously the Hero on his journey. His older brother Jason represents a Shadow figure. Coach Marcus is a Mentor or Dispatcher. JD's mother is a Nurturer/Mother (duh). The main theme being developed here is of course the pressure of living up to expectations vs forging your own identity. It makes JD not just a funny underdog, but a multi-dimensional character.
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