Planning-Titles

 Hey readers! 

Its Inaya, and today I wanted to focus on a very important part of the film opening. This very important part is the the title! Titles of any film are so important. They are the words that represent your film, the meaning and is what helps audiences recall your film. Without titles, it would almost be impossible for films to get proper recognition. It is one of the first parts that creates the first impression of your film to your audience so I want to make sure I really think about this.

Since my plot is based on forbidden love I wanna create a title which sort of reflects this. In my mood board, a factor that I included was the sunset which I thought really captured the essence of the couple's relationship as it is beautiful in the moment, but doesn't last forever. Therefore, for my title I wanted to use that to my advantage and incorporate it in some type of way.

As sunsets are soft and sentimental, I wanted my title to capture the same feeling. I wanted to make my title a bit poetic as well. Since I wanted to include the concept of a sunset some words I took into account to use were the following:       

• Light
• Sun
• Skies
• Warmth
• Golden
• Sundown
• Dusk

After some brainstorming I came up with three potential titles:

1. A Warm Goodbye
2. Where the Sun Wasn't Meant to Set
3. Lost in His Light

From these three options I had to narrow it down to one. So I made a list of some pros and cons:

A Warm Goodbye- 

Pros: Sentimental, fits the theme, soft

Cons: Doesn't feel very deep and meaningful compared to others

Where the Sun Wasn't Meant to Set

Pros: Bittersweet, more deep

Cons: Very long, sounds a bit complicated

Lost in His Light

Pros: Gives more insight on the plot, sentimental bittersweet

Cons: Uses the word his so it may feel too specific

Production Company Name: Crimson Creek Films

  As for the sequence, I plan to first show the title card after the first scene over a black background. Then for the director and production company, I plan to show those early on in the second scene.

  Finally, after considering each aspect of the titles I landed on "Lost in His Light". I found the wording to flow very nicely on the tongue and thought it showed two sides. One happy and sentimental, and the other bittersweet and sad. It carries emotional depth and also reflects the main character's realization and reality of her situation later in the film. And all at the same time the idea of the sunset is still used with the word "light". Now that I have the title, I can make better decsions when it comes to the fonts and colors I use that effectively bring out the beauty and emotion of the title!

Planning- Mood Board

 Welcome back to yet another blog everyone!

  So, on today's blog we'll be making something really fun and exciting-a mood board! Basically to give you an basic idea of what a mood board is, a mood board is a digital or physical board in which you display inspiration, colors, shots, ideas, props through images that overall create a cohesive mood. This mood and vibe that you create should give insight on the colors, key scenes and emotions that you wanna capture with your media in your film.

  Before starting my mood board, I wanted to get an idea oh how people go about, it  how they look like and what tools, or media people refer to in order to best get across their idea. I did some searches and came across a really helpful youtube video that introduced me to this other website called FrameSet. This website gave a ton of shots and images that involved different color patterns and moods. And to get specific you can even input settings curated to things you want to see like the type of shot and colors and vibe which I thought was super helpful. To just layout my mood board, I went ahead and decided on using Canva because it easily allows me to drop in all my images and I am familiar with the software.

Link to youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoLOZuTu8FI

Final Mood Board

  Now that I made my mood board, I want to let you guys in on why I picked these as my inspiration. The mood I was trying to create with my board is a, melancholy, heartwarming mood as I wanted to capture the happiness of the couples relationship, but use choices in color to symbolize that internal sadness of the situation at hand as the relationship would end later in the film. To show this I used warm colors such as orange and golden tones to capture the youthfulness and happiness felt within the two characters and tones of purple and blues to showcase the unescapable sadness as it might come to an end due to the main characters fears. The shadows on the characters in the sunset moments can symbolize the state of their relationship as it is hidden and kept a secret and not brought out into the "light". This is further shown through the constant messages and use of phone that I also included.

  To bring out South Asian elements into my opening I also want to implement scenes of typical scenarios seen in south asian households like making "chai" or tea as well as cooking with spices, vegetables, meat and pairing it up with "naan" which is a special type of bread. These are some staple practices within the culture and key elements that contrast to the normalized western culture in America. To showcase the family and the main characters life I want to also try to include a family dinner which is more towards the end of my film that sets the scene of these "pressures" but also shows how family is a big dynamic that plays in the culture.

So now that you guys have a better understanding of the mood and atmosphere I wanna create for my film opening, I hope you guys will enjoy watching the process of how I make this mood board come to life. This board has helped me get a better understanding on what I want to see in my film and even proved how colors do in fact make a huge impact on the feeling audiences get. Through editing and other parts of mise-en scene I aim to achieve these colors and shots.

Planning- Scenario

Hello guys!

  Its finally that time where we start getting to the fun stuff- planning! So to start before considering any other parts of planning I think its crucial to have a decision made on what your scenario for your film opening is gonna be like as everything else revolves and is incorporated into that.

  Since I wanted to represent some struggles or challenges that south asian women and women of other cultures may through I wanted my scenario to be based on relatable situations that women may face when they love a significant other. Some of these challenges are things like dealing with family pressure and community reputation, living two lives, and balancing expectations of western and traditional culture when it comes to dating.

  Out of these challenges, I thought that the struggle of balancing expectations of both cultures was a big one. In my own life, I struggle with these expectations and so do my peers at school and in my community. Living in countries that embrace western culture through the media, movies and economy are hard to not conform to when you're surrounded by it. Meanwhile at home, you have your family who disagrees with the "norm" which can feel limiting or empowering to individuals. The beauty in it is finding the perfect in between which is what I would want to show if I was doing a whole film. Based on this I chose the romantic trope, forbidden love.

Scenario Breakdown:

Plot based of: Forbidden Love

Characters: A 16 year old girl who's family is from Pakistan and a 17 year old boy of Hispanic background.

  Two teens from two different backgrounds, Zara and Noah , fall for one another but are forced to keep it a secret due to family and societal pressures. After keeping her relationship a secret for 5 months and falling deeply in love, Zara is faced with the challenge of telling her parents after Noah wants to take the next step in their relationship. Due to the fear of being disapproved and breaking her "honorable daughter" status, Zara makes the heartbreaking decision to break up with Noah. Through the process of moving on, she finds the beauty of her faith, culture and self growth.

Reflection

  After creating my scenario,  I am one step closer to creating my brief. The scenario I created will be used to dictate dialogue and actions within my script. It will also  help me in understanding what emotions and moods will be shown through my opening.

Planning- Project Proposal

  Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog! This week were finally transitioning to planning after researching in depth about my chosen genre and my brief- a film opening! Today I'll be covering my project proposal to give a good start and foundation to my project, so lets get straight into it!

A Little About Me

  Hi! My name is Inaya and I'm currently a junior at high school. Ever since I was young I've fell in love with the idea of creating whether it was a drawing, clothes for my dolls or making Youtube videos with my little sister for fun. My family comes from a background of immigrants from Pakistan who are gifted with many talents. My religion and culture stands to be a very important part of my life and I hope I can capture it with my film opening that I do for my brief!

Brief

  I chose to do a film while I myself love to watch movies in my downtime and enjoy the rollercoasters of emotions that I go through. Ever since I was young and even more now, I found happiness and fascination with capturing memories and using cameras, so I thought this was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge on its techniques and elements. I intially had considered a magazine as I enjoy writing but after some thinking, in recent years magazines have not been as popular as they use to be, so I wanted to do something that is still really prevalent in our day to day lives.

  Once I was set on my brief, I researched on three genres which some of I felt drawn to due to my personal taste being romance and drama and one I was intrigued by, being thriller. As I researched, I found that the style and approach that the romance genre offered was something I already find similarity with as I like writing romantic poems and listening to soft meaningful songs that have to do with romance. And as a regular fan of the romance genre it would be nice viewing something of this genre that I created.  

  Now that I had my genre, there were two sub genres I had to pick between: rom com and romantic drama. This was a hard choice as I love both sub- genres, but I had to pick one! When I got to the specific of each one, I found a main difference. Romantic dramas highlighted real issues that are deeper and have the potential to sadden the audience while rom coms may highlight some issues but on a much lighter scale and stay away from sad themes that take away from the comedy aspect of it. When making my film opening, I imagined myself making something deep and more meaningful which is why I ended up picking the romantic drama sub genre.

Target Audience

  After taking the themes, and content of most romantic dramas into consideration, I have decided that my film will be primarily for women of ages 14 to 29 who live in diverse countries that practice more western ideologies such as the US. Some similarities my audience may have with each other is that they are women who are of color and a minority and have strong cultural backgrounds and similar dynamics. Through my opening, other similarities of my targeted audience can also be observed like enjoying deep topics and seeking for meaningful relationships. Since I myself would also be my target audience, hobbies that I do and others that watch this genre are activities which explore emotions and self understanding like poetry, journaling and listening to love songs that spark connection.

Social Issues and Representation

  In my film, I want to be able to represent young South Asian women. Despite the diversity that has reached movies and film making, I still feel that in western media there is little representation overall. South Asian women are usually not considered as main leads and I want to change that. Along with this, I want to highlight social issues within traditional south asian family dynamics like sticking to people within the same culture to please family and keeping up a respected reputation within the community. This is why I want to use the trope of forbidden love to capture this reality. Some media that has done this are "Never Have I Ever" and "Ms. Marvel".                                                                                                            

Software and Hardware 

  For my brief, I want to be able to capture the best quality I can and so I will be using different types of cameras like my digital Kodack camera, maybe my Nikon camera and my iPhone. Extra lighting tools would maybe be helpful in some circumstances, but as I'm trying to keep things as realistic as possible, I will probably use natural lighting more. When it comes to hardware, I'm going to have to learn how to work with focus, and learn how to play with the elements that go into the color like exposure, ISO and more, although I can also manipulate some of these factors later with editing. As for software I plan to use Adobe Express or iMovie as both offer many features. I just need to see what software I'm more comfortable with. For stability I will be also investing in a stabilizer to make shots come out still as possible when needed.

The Game Plan:

1. Brainstorm and to Create a Scenario and Overall Story
2. Create Script
3. Mood Board
4. Storyboard
5. Location Photos and Recce Report
6. Actor List
7. Prop List          

  Some things I think I definitely want to practice are how to get familiar with the camera and the settings. Therefore I will practice taking videos and different types of shots so that when it comes to filming I am prepared. In these shots I will have different lighting so that I can learn how to adapt effectively.

  If I manage to stick to this proposal, my process of creating my brief should be straightforward. I am excited to plan this out and use my research to make informed decisions throughout this stage! This stage is where I feel like I can get creative and hopefully make something meaningful.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Research-Publishing

 When making film, publishing is a crucial part as it lets any creative work like art, films and magazines get seen by an audience. It finishes and fulfills a films purpose as it allows it to have impact on society whether its on a small or big scale. Its messages are recognized and are able to be discussed among audiences. Feedback, popularity, judgements and recognition are all present due to this step. It allows a film to be marketed and further monetized off of.

How Does My Genre Publish?

  The romance genre is published a bit differently from other genres as many are adapted from pre existing romance novels that are already popular among readers. Through this original fanbase, the movie already has an audience, so producers and directors work their best to go strictly off the book and make choices that convey settings, tension and themes seen in the novel. Other approaches to this genre are also seen like original scripts and the classic tropes discussed in our previous blog also are made for this genre as well.

  As romantic dramas are realistic they don't feature massive CGI, AI or other advanced technology that you see being used in movies like" Avatar" or "Jaws". Therefore this genre leans way more towards mid-budget to low-budget indie choices. Romantic drama is focused on characters, emotions and the developing of the plot which can be done without high, expensive equipment.

• Blockbuster- 50 million USD and up, money comes from major film studios, for example Universal Studios
• Mid-Budget- 5- 50 million USD, financed by a studio and most time has extra help from grants, government subsides and other awards
• Low-Budget Indie - 5 million USD and down, usually self funded or financed by a small private funder.

Where Does My Genre Publish?

 As technology has been advancing, trends where films are distributed have also been adapting. In recent years, streaming services have been highly utilized and are crucial for reaching audiences especially those of the romantic drama. Streaming services are mainly used for romantic dramas as in more recent years, approaches like the theaters have been booked for bigger more expensive blockbuster movies. These more expensive movies had made bigger hits at theaters and shadows over rom-coms and romantic dramas. Although they are still used, its less common especially since 2020, when fans had to look to streaming services as theaters were not available . Another way this genre is distributed is through television broadcasts that fans can view from as well, although it's not as popular as streaming platforms. Some major streaming services used are Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max. Many of these streaming services advertise their films and media through social media, television and within their app. 

How Frequently Does my Genre Publish?

  Comparing to past years, the rate at which romance has been published has declined compared to early 2000's as romance movies are only being produced a couple times a year compared to other genres. Its sales are overall more lower in box offices as people shift from theaters to streaming platforms for romances. Although this is seen, streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu
has focused on this genre since audiences depend on it for this genre. Here you can see how romance takes almost a quarter of the amount of viewing hours by users.

Here you can see many of the romances that Netflix streams: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/1255

Reflection

  After understanding this genres publishing methods and more, I will apply this knowledge to my film opening in that I better understand the goals of romantic dramas and where they come from. From here on out I can try to get inspiration from some romance novels I've read for myself when it comes to making my own story board. It also was nice to learn that to fulfill this genre you don't need such high expensive equipment to get the meaning and point across of a film.

Sources:

https://www.looper.com/745424/the-real-reason-dramas-arent-drawing-crowds-at-movie-theaters-anymore/

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/eternity-director-david-freyne-reveals-why-hollywood-doesnt-make-romcoms-anymore/#:~:text=Can%20The%20Theatrical%20Rom%2DCom,a%20must%2Dsee%20theatrical%20event.

https://www.the-numbers.com/market/2020/genres#:~:text=Table_title:%20Top%20Grossing%20of%202020%20Table_content:%20header:,Genre:%20Romantic%20Comedy%20%7C%20Share:%200.34%25%20%7C

https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-romance-comedy-kids-content-data-analysis-2025-9#:~:text=Romance%20represented%2014%25%20of%20viewing,werewolf%20husbands%20and%20billionaire%20suitors.

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/production-budget/

https://dataintelo.com/report/global-romance-film-and-tv-show-market#:~:text=The%20distribution%20channels%20for%20romance,romance%20genres%20at%20their%20convenience.

Research- Titles

 Hey everyone!

        In today's post we'll be getting a closer look at a important and overlooked factor of film openings which matter much more then you think- titles! When discussing titles, this doesn't just include the title card that has the film's name but its creators, and the typography, colors and transitions that make these titles up. Titles are able to add meaning, set a mood and highlight important individuals that took a big part of the film. This can include directors, actors and other impactful crew members. Titles can set the tone, communicate the genre and create expectations. In recent years though, title sequences and credits are not as common anymore like we saw in Five Feet Apart.

Timings, Movements and Transitions

  After analyzing the opening sequences from previous blog posts, I observed that titles in romantic dramas don't begin until the beginning monologue is complete. The title card of the films started either right before or at the start of the beginning scene which starts off the main plot. This was seen in "My Oxford Year" and "Five Feet Apart". Something I did notice though, was that "Five Feet apart did not include any actor, director or other significant crew that helped create the movie. This choice was most likely done to make the opening feel real as possible.

  As for movies like "My Oxford Year" which did include, co-producers, starring actors, designers and other important people, these titles went on for about 50 seconds to a minute since transitions faded in and out and were about 3-4 seconds long for each every time they were on screen. In between each fade out to fade in there was about 2-3 seconds between each title creating a steady, comprehendible pace for the audience. It also just sets a calm, gentle tone to the scene and story, adhearing to that romantic drama genre. Both title cards of both films were approached in a soft manner with fade in and out, while at the same time being in the center at a reasonably medium to large font size. Similarily, in Five Feet Apart, the title faded in slowly word by word and for about 10-12 seconds. It also makes the overall opening introspective and adds a effect making the film more deep and meaningful.

Sound and Music 

  As titles have their own purpose in a film opening, sounds can add effect, depth and emotion to add to themes and moods conveyed through other elements of the opening. Sounds and texts work hand in hand with titles and contribute to the pacing of the opening. Little things like pacing an rhythm are so important and can be the difference between captivating an audience or making misunderstandings. It has the ability to leave a memorable impression on the audience.

  Some opening titles may have sound effects while some don't. The purpose of using sound effects is that it goes hand in hand with creating that pace and mood previously talked about. It also just creates an immersive experience for the audience as it not only gets their eyes to pay attention but their ears as well. If sound effects are considered into my film, I will make ensure that they are incorporated using soft piano sounds or other melancholic songs and effects to create a emotional and reflective feeling.

Typography

  Another important element of titles is how they look! Presentation of titles are so important as they can give the audience an idea of what genre they're watching. Bolder colors, fonts can reveal feelings and  themes that will be later introduced the audience. For example, the title of the movie "Scarface" is made in such a way that it looks, serious, daunting and unpredictable. 

  In romantic dramas, the mood and emotions felt by the audience can help guide how typography should look for a film opening. Since romantic dramas can express intense, raw emotions of desire, yearning and love as well as other feelings that individuals may deal with due to challenges or struggles in their life. Therefore the typography must of these fonts should capture the gentleness and intimacy that will be later present in the film. To do this romantic dramas will have typography that is more minimalist, sophisticated and realistic fonts that give the idea of someone's handwriting. 

Sans- Serif, minimalist more clean 

• Helvetica Condensed
• Futura

High contrast literary Serifs, more thicker

• Playfair Dispaly
• Cinzel
• Garamond

Raw Handwritten looking Fonts.

• Satisfy
• Great Vibes
• Narrow Tall Slim 
  

Something also to take note of is how all these title cards have a dark background to contrast to the color of the typography. The color is almost always white and made visible no matter how tiny or small. The use of a black background can show the importance and represent the seriousness of a film. This would work as it is a romantic drama with more serious topics and conversations. This contrast provides a foundation for the rest of the film. 

Reflection

For my film opening, I will use a similar approach to my film opening titles and credits as it will add more meaning to my film and allow me to follow my sub genre. While choosing typography and choices when it comes to my film opening, I will stick to researching within the fonts I had listed and choose the font that best applies to my story board. I will also implement soft transitions and queue my credits in a slow but timely based manner, to keep the opening realistic and relatable as possible to blur the lines of reality and film for the viewer so that the full experience is felt.

Sources:

https://thefilmpie.com/index.php/category-table/198-who-are-those-people-in-the-opening-credits

https://www.derek-lieu.com/blog/2019/1/21/remember-the-titles

https://lwks.com/blog/rhythm-and-pace-crafting-the-tempo-of-film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1VPfeDh6GE

Research- Audience

For my opening, a highly important factor to consider when making my opening is who is watching it and who its being catered to. In order to get a proper and thorough understanding I went ahead and researched to look into the specifics! While researching I'll be looking for what demographic favors my genre the most and what decisions filmmakers use to fit this audience.

Age Range

In films, knowing what your age range is, is crucial since it can fully change the presentation, themes and overall out coming of your film. For instance, movies suited to younger audiences may have conventions which use more childish sounds, colors that catch their eye, while movies for older audiences may showcase deeper, more adult themes that need age appropriate guidelines for parents to consider before watching. This is part of the "Motion Picture Association".

 When it comes to romance movies, mental aspects of having feelings, desire and loving someone are  considered, but what effects the MPA rating is usually physical aspects of romance that aren't targeted at children as these films explore themes which are more mature and suggestive. As my film opening is also a drama, other deep internal, external and societal issues can be covered that are also for teens, adolescents and up. Popular and recent romantic dramas all have similar MPA ratings, here are some:

• Regretting You (2025)- PG-13
• It Ends with US (2024)- PG-13
• Five Feet Apart (2019) -PG -13
• The Map That Leads to You (2024)- PG-13
• Past Lives (2023)- PG-13

Looking at these recent romantic drama ratings, you can tell that these themes are evident and are not fully appropriate for pre- teens/ children under the age of 13. That being said my target audience would post likely be ages that typically fall in the teen to middle adolescent, but older, adult audiences would also be considered.

Gender

When looking at the numbers, the romance genre is mainly targeted at women. More than 80 percent of the audience is women as themes in romance movies draw women more than men. These themes include deep emotional, and relatable topics and offer a sense of escapism to female audiences as from a young age many girls watch films like princess movies where the princess would find her prince. The romantic genre provides the same type of effect just more realistic and for mature audiences. It captures real life struggles, feelings of rejection, pursuit, passion and confusion. Despite the numbers, nowadays, people are changing their preferences up, overall shifting typical dynamics. Genres like romance and drama have been gaining attention from men recently.

As women are primarily are drawn to this genre, I will aim to include elements of these deep, relatable themes. I found that the female crowd resonates with stories and films that really capture the emotions and depth of characters. It allows there to be more empathy in the viewer and creates a strong connection. So in my film, I will aim to do such by capturing clips highlighting emotions through different shots and angles and dialogue. I will also do this by using some of my own experiences and even asking peers of both genres so that way I can broaden my audience. 

Race and Ethnicity

  When it comes to race there isn't a particular one which gravitates to romantic drama, but there are things filmmakers do when they want to represent, attract and bring in a certain race. In recent years, cultures of many backgrounds have been brought up to align, relate and bring cultures into light. Romantic dramas specifically can highlight societal expectations, ideologies and common dynamics and problems that individuals deal with when it comes to finding a partner. Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asians all are drawn to films which bring diverse perspectives to the table.

When it comes to my film opening, as I myself am South Asian, I think representing culture and unique experiences is very important as it makes cultures feel seen and may break former societal expectations. Media like films can build views around groups and people which can be positive but also unfortunately negative, so its best to learn about cultures and really get to know the history and people who are apart of it! In my film opening, I want to incorporate my culture and create characters which I can relate to. That being said, I want to direct my film opening to south asian woman who can relate.

Closing in

After considering factors which play into demographics, my target audience for my film opening would be for south asian women of ages 14 to 29, being the Generation Z generation as I believe they would find the most compatibility within my opening. To do this, I would include parts of my culture through props, clothing, dialogue and music as those components are the backbone to helping me show representation. 

Sources

https://filmgrail.com/blog/cinema-audience-demographics-analysis-insights-and-data/

https://gruvi.tv/post/movie-audience-demographics/

https://archive.thetab.com/uk/2016/08/19/theres-scientific-reason-women-like-rom-coms-men-15460