Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Melody David

Date: Feb 20th, 2021
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is Project
Proposed title for my project: “If My Life Was A Movie”

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

What can I create that will prepare me for the film industry?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

My biggest passions in life are acting, singing, writing, and of course filmmaking. I’ve chosen
to instigate this topic because after I graduate, I will be attending film school. After I get my
degree in film school, I will be looking for jobs in the film industry. This has been my dream
career ever since I was a kid so I want my capstone to be something that will further aid me in
my knowledge about film.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

My prior knowledge to the aspects of film is everything I’ve learned while taking video
production class at school. I’ve taken the video production course since I was in grade 9. It’s
taught me how to operate canon DLSR camera’s, how to edit with final cut pro, basic camera
movements, and how to make a story come to life.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

My intended career choice is to become a film producer, or really any job in the film industry.
I’d love to edit big blockbuster films one day. My inquiry question is “What can I create that will

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 prepare me for the film industry?” because I would like to make a project that will further my
knowledge for the future. Especially since I will be attending film school in September. Not
only does my capstone connect to my future career though, but it also connects to my
academics as of now. I take the video production course at our school and making something
related to film will help improve my performance in that class. The techniques I’ll learn while
making this capstone can be applied to all my future films.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Social responsibility, critical thinking, and creative thinking are all connected to my project.

Social Responsibility: “I have positive peer and intergenerational relationships.”

- I’ve made amazing connections with my peers through drama and video
production. When making a film you need to be able to work in a team and
communicate well, especially since everyone has an important job. For
example, cinematographers must communicate their ideas to the boom mic
people so the mic isn’t in the shot.

Critical Thinking: “I can explore and create new ways to represent my learning around a
variety of problems, events, issues, and needs.”
- Since I don’t always perfectly get my point across in words, I usually try to
represent my learning in visual forms, such as making videos.

Creative Thinking: “I can take my ideas evaluate, develop, and refine them and make
something productive out of them.”
- Developing ideas and refining them to make something productive is the whole
process I go through every time when making a film in video production. It
starts off as just point form ideas, then we add to those ideas to develop a
whole script. Once the script is made the filming process begins.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

I plan to present my project using a PowerPoint and a video made on Final Cut Pro, which is
just another video editing software. Most of the presentation will be on the power point but I
may use behind the scenes videos to document my process throughout. I’m considering
adding in little videos of the editing process to showcase how much work really goes into the
editing of a film.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced

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at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

The product composed from my capstone project will be a movie trailer titled “If My Life Was A
Movie.” This movie trailer will be approximately 2-3 minutes in length, and will be posted to
YouTube. I’ve chosen to make a movie trailer because people underestimate how important
trailers are. Movie trailers are the biggest part of marketing and create hype for the film itself.
I’ve created films before and edited them, but I’ve never made a trailer. Making a trailer will be
a new challenge for me to learn because I must showcase the plot, without giving too much
away, while also engaging an audience. Knowing how to make a movie trailer is essential for
my future when I go to work in the film industry.

I will be researching the essentials to make a successful and marketable movie trailer. I’ll
need to take my idea for a plot and learn how to structure it, choosing the most memorable
scenes for the trailer. I’ll be looking into how to properly storyboard, so I have a light sketch of
how every camera angle should look. One of the most essential things will be the
cinematography, in order to hook my audience I will research new camera movements that
will be intriguing to watch.

When it comes down to the production of it all I will start off with the script writing process. I
will use the program Celtx to write everything out and create a plot with a three-act structure.
This script will consist of all the necessary scenes for the trailer, as well as voice over
monologues. So far my idea for the genre of this movie trailer will be a teen drama mixed with
horror. I will be taking out various different equipment from the school to create this project. I
will use what I learned from researching camera movements to create eye catching shots. I
plan on experimenting with new camera equipment I’ve never used before as well. I will be
acting in this movie trailer as well as producing it. My peers from Theatre Company class are
going to play additional characters. I have a budget for props, especially since I’m doing
horror. I will be required to buy fake blood and other special effects makeup.

Once everything is filmed, I will be editing this movie trailer together in Final Cut Pro. I already
have knowledge on how to edit with this program, but I want to extend it. I plan on watching
YouTube tutorials on how to color grade. Editing is the most important part when it comes to a
movie trailer because it’s all about the pacing. I will be using various songs and sound effects
to edit the trailer to. Since I’m going to have voice overs, I will record them in the school's
sound booth in the video room. I will also be conducting research on the most effective music
for a trailer based on the plot of teen drama/horror. Teen dramas require pop songs, but the
horror will have an abrupt switch. With ominous music, and intense spine-tingling sound
effects. One website I will be gathering music from is Musicbed, since they have copyright free
songs.

At the end of all this I will upload the trailer to my YouTube channel and document viewers'
reactions to it through the comment section. If the comment section is full of people saying
they want to watch the whole film, I will know I have created a successful movie trailer.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

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 In order to create this project, I will need: (2) Canon Rebel T7i cameras, (3) camera lenses
with different focal lengths, a tripod, a stabilizer, a track and dolly, portable LED lights, gels, a
boom mic, boom pole, crane, drone, and a laptop with Final Cut Pro.

I can access all this equipment from the video production classroom.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

My mentor for this project will be Mr. Cawdell, the video production teacher. He can help teach
me how to use new camera equipment that I haven’t used before. I can access him through
teams and in person as well, since I am taking his film class during this quarter.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

A small limitation will be the weather, it is often very rainy in the lower mainland. It makes it
hard to film outside when you are trying to avoid damaging the equipment with rain. However,
I can overcome this by giving myself lots of time to film and choosing days that the weather is
clear.

A bigger obstacle is going to be the covid-19 restrictions, because filming usually takes a
whole crew of people. And we should not be gathering in large groups during this time. But I
will be able to overcome this by creating a plot line with a minimal number of characters.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

- I will create photo galleries and small video diaries to showcase behind the
scenes of filming and editing
- This project will require a lot of time outside of school to create. The plan is to
film the majority of it over spring break.
- The project is titled “If My Life Was A Movie” because I’m creating a movie
trailer about the ideal movie I would love to be cast in. The plot will not actually
be all about my life, it will be fictional, and I will play the main character. The
two genres I am showcasing are teen drama and horror because those are my
favorite movies to watch.

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References:

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
An example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

References

Hellerman, J. (2019, November 14). 5 Things You Need to Make a Great Movie Trailer.
No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/five-types-of-movie-trailers

MasterClass. (2020, November 8). How to Make a Movie Trailer: 6 Tips for Cutting
Your Own Trailer - 2021. MasterClass.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-a-movie-trailer#quiz-0

Story and Heart Posted on June 29. (2019, April 15). The essentials of making a
masterful trailer. Vimeo Blog. https://vimeo.com/blog/post/the-essentials-of-
making-a-masterful-trailer/

StudioBinder, says:, M.-M., & says:, S. M. R. (2020, January 13). Proven Techniques to
Excite Audiences with Trailers. StudioBinder.
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-make-a-movie-trailer/

The 16 Types of Camera Shots & Angles (2020 Video Guide). Boords. (2021, January
27). https://boords.com/blog/16-types-of-camera-shots-and-angles-with-gifs

Ward, C. (2015, June 12). How to Pick the Right Tone, Image and Music for Trailers.
The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-
pick-the-right-tone-shots-and-music-for-trailers/

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