Sofia’s Media Blog

These are screenshots of the mood board I made for our protagonist, Sasha, on Pinterest so as to determine the aesthetic of our film opening in the capacity of the cinematographer. It contains visual elements common to both psychological thrillers and coming of age films. 

The title that Sarah and I have mutually decided on for the film is Seventeen because I feel like it is more accessible than (in)congruous would be, as the latter might be intimidating or daunting to audiences as some people might not know what the word means, which could diminish their interest in the film. Moreover, 'seventeen' is directly relevant to the plot of the film as well, as that is the age at which the rest of the protagonist, Sasha's, life is set into motion by certain acts committed by her at that age.

I made the animatic storyboard by taking pictures of each shot and putting them together, using the editing app Filmmaker Pro on my iPhone 8.

I printed out a storyboard template from boords.com and made the storyboard for Seventeen, including credits, shots and sound details in every shot. However, we will leave room for improvisation for other shots during filming and not adhere too strictly to this storyboard in that aspect.

                                                             SEVENTEEN                                    Written by Sofia Sarfraz "In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be."      - Mary Oliver. 1. EXT. SUNSET. Sasha, 17, w...

The equipment we will use to shoot our film opening is as follows: 1. Sarah’s DSLR camera (the Nikon D5500 with AFS DX NIKKOR) 2. 18-55 mm lens 3. BOYA BY M1 Omni directional lavelier mic 4. Tripod 5. Laptop, Dell Precision 5500, for editing 6. Props 7. Makeup products 8. Costumes

Pictures I took while location scouting for the first scene of the film, of which the Margalla Hills are an important symbol and feature. These were taken in PAF complex where the Margalla Hills can be seen in all their glory. One potential issue that could arise with filming in this location is whether we’d be permitted to film but that can easily be overcome as I have a friend who lives here and we can get permission through her father.

We identified teenagers above the age of 15, due to some graphic content in one of the scenes, and adults between the ages of 20 and 30 as the target audience for our film, teenagers as Sarah and I believe they will resonate with the overarching theme of our film which is the choice we have to make as teenagers and the choices made for us about the trajectory of our life and adults as we believe that they will connect with the theme of regret in adulthood about past choices.

This is the first draft of the screenplay of the film opening as being the writer, I want to come back to it and see if any minor changes are needed to further refine it. Pictures of the screenplay in Celtx format are also attached below.   SEVENTEEN Written by Sofia Sarfraz "In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be."      - Mary Oliver. 1. EXT. SUNSET. Sasha, 17, laughing, surrounded by friends at a cafe. Sasha, cycling down a road with the Margalla Hills looming over her. Sasha, running through a forest.                  ...

A woman begins to come apart at the seams as threads from her past unravel to entwine around her present.

The film which inspired me in terms of the genre was Black Swan (2010), directed by Darren Aronofosky, a psychological thriller centered around a ballet dancer as her fixation on getting the lead role in a production leads to her teetering on the brink of insanity. An inspiration of mine for the title reveal is that of Midsommar (2019), directed by Ari Aster. https://youtu.be/Rn3ucq_h9xY The title is revealed in the middle of snow falling after a slow zoom of the camera into the window, and is understated, in terms of its size and font, especially in comparison to the two impactful scenes that precede it. The contrast of the snow falling in relation to the title of ‘midsommar’, Swedish for midsummer, is also made apparent, which adds to the ominous foreshadowing that what is to come in the film will be at odds with any assumptions made by the audience. An inspiration to use a quote at the start of the film in the screenplay is Lady Bird (2017), directed and written by Greta Gerwi...

This is the research we did into the technical conventions followed in thriller films in aspects of camera work, mise en scène, sound, and editing. https://youtu.be/h-V5CbgRkkw The opening of Gone Girl (2014), directed by David Fincher, introduces the conventional suburban settings the film is situated in.

The roles I've assumed in making my film opening are those of the writer, assistant director, cinematographer and set designer. As the writer, I'm aware that my responsibility is to write the screenplay for the film while as the assistant director, I need to work in conjunction with the director, while filming, to give direction to the actors. In the capacity of the cinematographer, I'm responsible for the composition of each shot taken during filming and ensuring that every visual element in the frame is harmonious and adds a layer of depth to the shot, whereas working as the set designer tasks me with the responsibility of set and production design and demands that I carefully construct a set for each scene that will convey to the audience a sense of verisimilitude, of the character really inhabiting those spaces even when not on screen or in frame.

‘Seventeen’ begins with the protagonist, Sasha, reflecting pensively on her past, from her perspective as an adult, as a montage of her as a 17 year old plays in which she first appears to be waiting for and then running away from something or someone, in a clear progression of things worsening. She’s then shown in her bedroom, as an adult in her late twenties. There are boxes strewn about the room, giving the impression that she’s in the process of moving which causes her to stumble upon an old journal with a single cryptic entry that makes Sasha relive past memories that rush to the surface, including her imagining blood on her hands, begging the question: has she spent the past few years running from a murder that she committed or was involved in at seventeen? In the last scene, she’s in a bathroom with a fogged up mirror, implying that she showered, wanting to cleanse herself of the memories of her past. She then proceeds to pull miserably at her face, trying to hurt herself, a rev...

Thriller and coming of age were two genres that piqued our interest during idea development and because we were unable to choose between the two, Sarah and I decided to combine them for our film opening which will be a coming of age psychological thriller. It is ambitious but we believe the risk will pay off if we execute it well.

I am the writer, assistant director, cinematographer and set designer whereas my team partner Sarah is the director, producer, editor and sound designer of the film and will be doing the camerawork.

Sarah and I had a meeting where we discussed what roles we would like to assume for the film opening we've been tasked with making, and our ideas about possible characters and narratives.