Film Opening Project: Ordinary events with a touch of the extraordinary

To me, this is the most important thing when concocting a project of mine. I can take a personal account, as ordinary as it can be, and injected with fantastical elements from my imagination that let the message get across in many different levels. It is a way of escapism. escaping one's reality. Letting the viewer understand that if they look closely, the might find that beauty too. They might find that "element," as hidden as it may be, in their daily routines or problems with work, school, love, etc.. In order for this magical touch to function on the narrative, the setting must also be manipulated. I found a great example of this in the film La La Land by Damien Chazelle.

The plot deals with a love story between Mia and Sebastian, two struggling artists in the city of Los Angeles. The movie goes through the disappointments and hardships every artist goes through while "trying to make it." So there's something very real about this story. Something that people identify with. Universal themes like love and dreams. Or in other words, by Mr. Chazelle, “There something to be said for having even unrealistic dreams. Even if the dreams don’t come true – that to me is what’s beautiful about Los Angeles. It’s full of these people who have moved there to chase these dreams. A lot of those people are told by people around them that they’re crazy, or that they’re living in la la land. I wanted to make a movie that saluted them a little bit, and that kind of unrealistic state of mind.”

Now, where the element of fantasy is added is primarily in the setting. The movie is filmed on location in Los Angeles. The director wanted everything to be real, but with a hyperbolic touch that makes what would be ordinary, extraordinary.

Real vs Fantastic