Character Development

After examining the character and personality of the protagonist, I have finally come up with a name for my main character: Allie

I chose this name because I wanted to also emphasize that the character is not a tom boy just because she does taekwondo. The the name "Allie" means noble and a defender of mankind. This plays into her strong and persistent personality.

    Allie is a 15 year old sporty and sophisticated athlete. However, she can sometimes get self-conscious or nervous when it comes to getting out of her comfort zone. She has long black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin.

    During the film opening, I will emphasize her physical struggles when attempting the flash kick, as well as her mental struggles. The sport that she does really sets her apart from others. Taekwondo is a pretty niche sport and requires discipline, focus, and athleticism. I create a mood board to represent her character to help me better visualize her personality.

Mood Board

Resources:

Parents. (n.d.). Top 1000 baby girl names. https://www.parents.com/top-1000-baby-girl-names-2757832#toc-the-complete-list-of-top-1000-baby-girl-names

The Bump. (n.d.). Allie baby name. https://www.thebump.com/b/allie-baby-name

Storyboard and Script

     In order to shoot my film opening in an organized manner, it is important that I create a storyboard to plan out each and every individual shot so it is easier to know what I need to film. To make my life easier on shooting day, I should label what type of shots I need (Ex: Close-up of face) so I don't waste time trying to figure everything out on the spot. Storyboards can also help me visualize my production better so that I can make any last minute changes if necessary before I start filming.

    During the opening, the protagonist attempts to do a flash kick but ends up injuring her foot. Due to the fact that not everyone knows what a flash kick is, here are some examples of what it is supposed to look like:

https://youtube.com/shorts/55ZXsPOoKOc?si=Wl-Of60X1yIvkuMH

https://youtu.be/NVbG71ML6Wk?si=J-c241-8pis_Qmvf

Integrating Media Theory

After looking back at my media theory notes from class, I have two theories and one code in mind to integrate into my film opening.

Theory #1: Todorov's Narrative Theory

I want to incorporate Todorov's Narrative Theory into my production. This theory suggests that every story has distinctive sections for different parts of the film. The main parts can be divided into the equilibrium, disequilibrium, and the new equilibrium. This is how I will section out these parts throughout my film opening.

-Equilibrium: (Beginning of film opening) Introduces a calm environment (dojang) and a disciplined taekwondo player in control and confident in her training. Shows order and balance.

-Disequilibrium: (Middle of film opening) The taekwondo player has a slight hesitation before attempting a difficult skill. She fails to perform and injures her foot. Introduces doubt, disruption, and imbalance.

-New equilibrium: (End of film opening/After the film opening) A new setting in the teenage girl's bedroom. Her ankle is hurt and she is looking back at her past victories. The audience wants to know how the protagonist will resolve or deal with her injury. It hooks the viewers and leaves the rest of the film to fill in the new equilibrium.

Theory #2: Binary Opposition Theory

I also want to include the Binary Opposition Theory in my film. It suggests that the narratives are represented through elements of oppositions (Ex: Good vs. Evil).

My film opening will emphasize the oppositions of victory vs. defeat, confidence vs. doubt, and control vs. instability. 

Codes

The Hermeneutic (Enigma) Code is something I want to integrate to my project as well. This code is used when the film leaves out certain information to leave the audience with questions that will be answered from the rest of the production. For instance, some questions my viewers will want to know after watching are: 

-Why did she hesitate? -Will she recover from her injury? -Is she going to continue taekwondo?

Coming up with the Story (Ideas and Inspirations)

    Now that I have established the theme, representation, and genre, it is finally time to begin planning my storyline and main idea for my movie opening. So far I have two main plot lines, and I'm not sure which one is the right choice yet. Both ideas follow a teenager girl who is a dedicated taekwondo black belt. She attempts to do a difficult skill and ends up becoming injured. However, the way I convey the story through the setting and the time (past/present) is what's different about the two versions.

Plot line #1

    The girl is at a competition, she is competing on the mat and performing a complex routine. The crowd cheers. She is doing well so far, with no falls or imperfections. Then she gets to a difficult part of her routine. You can see a slight hesitation in her face as she attempts to perform a hard skill. She ends up landing wrong and injures her foot. Being ousted from the competition, the crowd gasps and she is helped off of the competition floor. The scene cuts to her on the sidelines with a second place medal around her neck and a wrapped up foot. She looks at her medal and sighs, as flashbacks of her winning gold rush into her mind. The opening ends with her coach tapping her on the shoulder, waking her up from her memories.

Plot line #2

    The girl is at her dojang (training gym), practicing a complex routine. She gets to a moment in the sequence where she begins to hesitate. To try to get back into focus, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She visualizes what she needs to do in order to accomplish a difficult skill that comes next in this routine. After she pictures a perfect landing, she starts to attempt the trick. However, she overthinks it and ends up injuring her foot in the process. It cuts to her in her bedroom lying on her bed with an injured foot. She looks at her medals and trophies on her wall and flashbacks of her with happy memories of taekwondo appear in her mind. This creates nostalgia and motivation for her to not let that injury define her. The opening ends with someone knocking at her bedroom door so she snaps out of her flashback.

   After comparing these two versions, I have decided to choose Plot line #1. Although the first story is a great idea, it would be very difficult to film that because I would need to be at a competition and use the mats. This wouldn't work because there would be no time to film on the mats and I would need permission from the organizers of the competition. I picked the second story because I feel like I can easily film at the dojang that I train at and I can use my house as another setting. It is more convenient and I believe I can execute this film opening storyline better.

    My main inspiration for this film opening is The Karate Kid (1984). I have mentioned this film before in my previous blogs and I just think that it is a great film that truly represents what martial arts is all about. I wish that there were more movies that gravitated more around sports, especially martial arts. It deserves appreciation, and although sometimes the topic can be a little cheesy, it has great life lessons that come with it overall. The Karate Kid gives themes of resilience, determination, and finding inner balance. Furthermore, I want to emphasize these lessons into my own martial art production, Especial the theme of "never giving up".

Images from The Karate Kid (1984)

Resources:

Synergy Martial Arts. (2024, August 16). Five life lessons you can learn from The Karate Kid. Synergy Martial Arts. https://synergymartialarts.ca/2024/08/16/five-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from-the-karate-kid/

Group Meeting #1

    Last class, we did our first group meeting. I was grouped with Carolina, Arantza, Andrea, Lidia, JP, Mateo, and Eli. During the meeting, each person shared which genre they had chosen, and discussed a little bit about their ideas for their film opening. After we heard their ideas, we gave feedback and helped each other brainstorm to help each person expand and gain more opinions on their choices. Overall, it was a great way to get more ideas for the film opening and share more knowledge to help others with theirs.

   When I proposed my idea to my group members, they recommended that I could use filters and different coloration settings to make my flashback scenes look more timely and realistic. It was nice to have a several opinions for this project because if the story isn't good, it cannot be produced properly or as well. They liked the idea of my film opening and suggested that for the flashbacks I should utilize more videos rather than pictures because it is more visually entertaining. Although they said if I were to use pictures, they would have to be quick flashes of them in between other flashback videos.

    Carolina said she wanted to do the mystery genre. She explained that her and her group were going to film their opening in a dark garage. She explains a story of a crazy woman in a prison cell, getting flashbacks to a murder that she is implied to have committed. Carolina will play this character and she wants to wear a dirty robe and will try her best to use make up to make her look older and crazy. She asked us for some ideas on how to incorporate a flashback scene into her opening. We then suggested she could use a transition of her writing on the prison wall, to panning into a flashback, where her arm would transition across the screen.

Here is her blog: https://carolrabacrepa200928.blogspot.com/

     Andrea wanted to do a Dystopian themed opening. She discussed that the beginning would start off with a woman scrummaging across a destroyed street after a war, looking for food. She then wanted the next scene to be of the woman when she was little, eating at the dinner table with her family before the war. We suggested that she could transition the future woman about to take a bite out of food she had found from the street and then it cuts to the younger version of herself eating a food of the same shape or dimension. To get actors, she has a friend who is an actor who will play the role and her mom with most likely play the future woman. 

Here is her blog: https://andreasmstudiesblog.blogspot.com/

    Arantza wants to do a coming-of-age film genre. She explained that the movie will start off in the summer with two best friends who are excited to go to college together. After certain events, one friend passes away. The rest of the film would be about how the other friend griefs and overcomes their best friend's death. She said she was inspired by the "Barely Legal" film opening we had watched in class and wants to incorporate that type of aesthetic into her production. That means she is going for a vintage, 90s look. Our group suggested her to use the seasons to evoke the emotions of the main character. For example, in summer there are warm colors and sunshine, creating happiness, spring is rainy but colorful, bringing hope, autumn feels nostalgic, and winter gives off sad emotions through cool toned color schemes and dull weather.

Here is her blog: https://mediastudiesblog2526.blogspot.com/

     Lidia is looking to do something Sci-Fi related. She wants her film opening to be of a scientist who creates these futuristic glasses that can see into and predict the future. When the scientist puts on the glasses, he sees himself being murdered and sees that he is going to be killed in five days. She wants the story to be about how he tries to change his fate. She was having a difficult time in coming up with what happens after he sees his fate through the glasses. One of our group members suggested that after there could be an extreme close-up of his reaction, and then I suggested that after that there could be a knock at the door. The knock implies that the video is just the film opening and that there is more to the production.

Here is her blog: https://blogging4scool.blogspot.com/

   Eli wanted to do something with psychological horror. Her idea was that there are many mentally crazy people going to a therapist in the same town. They all recall a story of a traumatizing, such as a shooting, but all of their stories are different. As she said her idea, we suggested that the therapist should be the main character and she can become a detective in solving what really happened at the tragic event that took place. So she ended up thinking about if she wanted to take a more mystery genre type route or a more horror type route. Maybe she could incorporate both if she chooses to.

Here is her blog: https://eliwritess.blogspot.com/

    JP decided to do a horror/thriller type film. His story is that there is a boy who was killed by his bullies. The thing is JP didn't know how he was going to execute this. Carolina suggested that one of the bullies could throw a rock at the boy's head. Then I had suggested that a shadow of the boy being killed is a better option because it is easier to produce. We had also advised him to include a voice over of mean words or phrases the bullies would call him, so every time he would be hit by the rock, a cruel word could be heard at the same time.

Here is his blog: https://mediajean.blogspot.com/

     Last but not least, Mateo chose to do a crime film opening. His production is inspired by mafia movies. The opening will take place at a big event, like a wedding, and it will introduce a family who all have committed foul crimes. This will be done through a narration of going through each and every family member. I suggested that he could use freeze frames to create emphasis on each individual criminal. He is also planning to film his opening at a place in Weston Town Center so the event looks more realistic.

Here is his blog: https://mateosuperawesome.blogspot.com/

Here's a resource that one of the group member's had suggested when finding music for our project:

https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/how-to-get-permission-to-use-a-song/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

(Proof of Life)

Our group:

Representation of Taekwondo

      As I have stated previously, taekwondo will be the featured sport throughout my film opening. I have chosen this specific martial art because I am confident I can represent it accurately. I am a taekwondo player myself and I have trained as one for more than a decade of my life. As a result, it's safe to say that I do know a thing or two about the community and the culture of taekwondo.

      One of my main goals is to share, teach, and praise the trainings of this martial art in my production. You see, not only do taekwondo students train physically, they also train mentally. Furthermore, this educational style impacts the moral character of these athletes.

 Taekwondo teaches these major principles for the mind: 

-Focus                                              -discipline 

-Self-Control                                   -resilience

-Courtesy                                        -dedication

-Integrity                                      -perseverance 

 World Taekwondo. (n.d.). Poomsae World Championships [Photograph]. World Taekwondo.

     To apply these principles to my film opening, the main character will be a disciplined, focused, and dedicated taekwondo student who is about to attempt a difficult skill. They will try to calm themselves down, showing self-control, and will have the dedication to try dangerous movements. This shows the significance of how practicing this martial art not only comes with physical struggles, but can also be mentally challenging as well.

     I will also represent the friendly and supportive community taekwondo has built for me in my project. In a flashback scene, I will include past pictures of me and my taekwondo friends at competitions and at training. It will clearly emphasize the connections and relationships taekwondo students have made on their journey to become better athletes. By doing this, the audience members who may also participate in a sport can relate to and emotionally connect with the main characters memories, thoughts, and struggles.

     There are three main sections of taekwondo: Kyorugi (Sparring/Fighting), Poomsae (Techniques/Forms), and Demonstration (Board Breaking/Tricking flips & kicks). However in my film opening, the protagonist will be more focused and interested in performing the poomsae and demonstration skills of the martial art.

Kyorugi

International Olympic Committee. (2024). Paris Olympics 2024 combat sports [Photograph]. International Olympic Committee.

Poomsae

World Taekwondo. (2024). Hong Kong world taekwondo championships [Photograph]. World Taekwondo.

Demonstration

Kukkiwon. (n.d.). Kukkiwon demo team USA taekwondo [Photograph]. Kukkiwon.

World Taekwondo. (2024). Hong Kong world taekwondo championships international [Photograph]. World Taekwondo.

Resources

The Oxford Review. (n.d.). Media representation – Definition and explanation. The Oxford Review DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Dictionary. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://oxford-review.com/the-oxford-review-dei-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dictionary/media-representation-definition-and-explanation/

Taecole Tae Kwon Do & Fitness. (n.d.). The history of world taekwondo: From tradition to global recognition. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://taecoletkd.com/blog/152053/The-History-of-World-Taekwondo-From-Tradition-to-Global-Recognition

Researching - Film Credit Sequences

      A film opening isn't a film opening without its credit sequence. Credit sequences and the title displays are not only beneficial for crediting the people who worked on the film, but also crucial for setting the tone of the movie right from the beginning. The pace, the color, the font, and the size of the credits all matter when establishing the aura/vibe of the production. Therefore, I have observed a few credit sequences that I believe will help me choose how I want to include it in my own film opening.

Example 1: "Happy Gilmore"

Credit Sequence: https://youtu.be/3RlQttqJXVM?si=Bo28uDVjx1Rwprff

      Due to the fact that this movie was released in 1996, it has a rather simple credit sequence. The opening starts off with a black screen while slowly fading in and out credits. The font is a very basic white and in all caps. After the title of the movie is presented in the same style, the film begins to show clips from a tiny frame shaped like a old time television and the main character of the story starts to narrate his life story(developing the character). The clips keep playing on the tiny frame to the right of the screen, while credits still fade in and out on the left of the screen. To end the credit sequence, the tiny frame disappears and an abrupt close-up of the protagonist's face is shown getting smooshed into a glass wall of a hockey stadium, representing a snap back to reality/the present. This credit opening takes a more straight forward approach because it wants the audience to focus more on the film visuals and the narration of the main character.

Example 2: "Bend It Like Beckham"

Credit Sequence: https://youtu.be/NysSdbN02co?si=TcqAMbvqvXW3UDBa

     This credit sequence is somewhat similar to the "Happy Gilmore" credit sequence. In the beginning, a black background is displayed and credits fade in and out. However, these credits have a more stylistic appearance to them because of their orange font. Diegetic sound of a sports commentator and cheering can be heard, letting the audience interpret the setting with their own imagination. Additionally, because this movie is about soccer, the transition from the credit scene to the visuals connected to the audio, is created by a soccer ball panning from right to left across the screen. After a scene with the main character's mother, another soccer ball is used to transition the film to the title display. The title sets a sporty tone for the movie as the letters are bold and a soccer cleat is seen hanging off the letter "C" in "Beckham". This opening creates a more personalized approach, as the credits are more themed to the story.

Example 3: "Miracle"

Credit Sequence: https://youtu.be/TTO8M9Bx6_s?si=MYHpA3ep2S3zOOQi

     The opening credit scene for "Miracle" utilizes a creative style choice, as the film is sectioned in various colors, filtering the visuals as well as the text credits. The opening includes montages of what was happening in the world at the time, setting the intense and emotional tone for the movie. The credits fade in and out on top of the visuals being displayed. There is a cool editing effect that the editors incorporated when a color filter was covering the text. The part of the text inside the color filter would become a different color. This created a unique style choice that enhanced the production. A bold, capital blue title is then formed at the end, with an ice background to represent ice hockey. This perfectly symbolizes the theme and personality of the film.

Overview

    After conducting my research, I want to produce a credit sequence that is more similar to the film "Bend it Like Beckham". This is because I do not want a distracting credit scene, that will overstimulate my audience. Although I like the credits for "Miracle", I think that style will be too much on the eyes for the viewers because I want all the attention to be on mostly close-ups and establishing shots. In general, that tone just doesn't fit with the style I am going for. Sometimes the simpler the better.