Group Meetingg!!

Hey Cambridgeee,

Today we had our first A-Level portfolio project group meeting. Our teacher split us into groups so we could share our project ideas, talk about concerns, and give each other suggestions. My group included Emi, Aneesa, Mariana, Fabiana, Daniela, and me. It was helpful hearing everyone’s ideas and seeing the different types of projects people are planning.

Emi Valdivia: Working with Joaquin and Andrew

This group is creating a dark comedy short film that critiques power struggles and makes a statement about people joining religions for power. The story follows a character who makes a deal with the devil in order to gain power and completes different tasks for him. By the end of the film, he realizes he has lost his humanity.

Notes

• Character makes a deal with the devil

• Completes tasks to gain power

• Script is already finished

Concerns

• Finding filming locations

Suggestions

• Reduce deaths from 3 to 1

• Film at Markham Park

• Create their own symbol instead of using a pentagram

Adriana Vega (AKA Me): Working with David

David and I are creating a comedy short film about a guy who realizes he can teleport every time he flips a penny. Every time he teleports somewhere new, he tries to do a kind act, but it always backfires in some way. The humor comes from the situations going wrong, even as the character tries to help.

Notes

• Teleports by flipping a penny

• Tries to do kind acts, but they backfire

• Interested in using fast cuts for teleport scenes

Concerns

• Scheduling

Suggestions

• He finally completes a kind act

• After that, the penny stops working

This suggestion was really helpful because I honestly didn’t know how I wanted to end the film before the meeting.

Aneesa Bajaj: Working with Quinn, Nico, and Zach

This group is making a meta dark comedy that focuses on breaking the fourth wall. Their idea is that the camera itself becomes part of the story and shifts attention between characters. One character then tries to win back the camera’s attention.

Notes

• The camera acts like part of the story

• Focus shifts between two characters

Concerns

• Making sure the storyline makes sense

Suggestions

• Spotlight is turning off on the main subject

• Microphone cutting out

• Setting it in a studio or casting call

Mariana Aldana: Working with Audrey

This group is creating a drama about grief and loss. The story starts with a boy in a therapy session talking about the death of his sister. The audience learns what happened through flashbacks.

Notes

• The film begins with a therapy session

• Flashbacks show what happened

Suggestions

• Sister dies suddenly (possibly a car crash)

• Therapy happens a year later

• Have an adult play the therapist

• Add a date on the screen

Fabiana Castillo: Working alone

Fabiana is creating a psychological thriller. Her story follows a character who killed a girl and is slowly going crazy because of guilt. He begins receiving strange messages that force him to face what he did.

Notes

• A character killed someone in the past

• Guilt is making him lose his sanity

Suggestions

• Show the crash at the beginning

• Include the year of the crash

• Represent the girl with an object

• Use limited dialogue

Daniela Gonzalez: Working with Gaby

This group is creating a music promo for the artist Annie Lemasters. The video has a dramatic pop vibe similar to artists like Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo. The story builds up to a final scene where the artist runs on the beach.

Notes

• Artist: Annie Lemasters

• Story-based
  
  
  music promo

• Dramatic tone

Suggestions

• Film the beach scene at sunrise

• Plan everything carefully because filming time will be limited

This meeting was really helpful. It was interesting to hear everyone’s ideas and see how different everyone’s projects are. It also helped me figure out my ending and think more about how my film will work once we start filming.