Oscar Winner Predictions

So my boyfriend and I decided to predict the Oscars… More or less all of our answers were the same, so eventually we had to compromise on some so we had a clear winner by the end of it (whoever gets the most right wins chocolate).
We’re both massive Gravity fans, so neither of us were willing to change our answers for Best Picture or Best Director.
We also took a sweepstake at school, but looking again at the nominations, I’ve decided I’m not happy with the answers I gave for that, swapping Judi Dench for Cate Blanchett.

I’m actually really looking forward to the Oscars tonight, particularly because they’re being hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, who is just brilliant.

Best Picture:
Lauren: Gravity
Sam: Gravity
Winner: 12 Years a Slave

Best Director:
Lauren: Alfonso Cuarón
Sam: Alfonso Cuarón
Winner: Alfonso Cuarón

Best Lead Actor:
Lauren: Leonardo DiCaprio (he deserves one by now!)
Sam: Leonardo DiCaprio
Winner: Matthew McConaughey

Best Lead Actress:
Lauren: Cate Blanchett
Sam: Sandra Bullock
Winner: Cate Blanchett

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Lauren: Jared Leto
Sam: Barkhad Abdi
Winner: Jared Leto

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Lauren: Jennifer Lawrence
Sam: Julia Roberts
Winner: Lupita Nyong’o

Best Animated Feature Film:
Lauren: Frozen
Sam: Despicable Me 2
Winner: Frozen

Achievement in Cinematography:
Lauren: Emmanuel Lubezki
Sam: Emmanuel Lubezki
Winner: Emmanuel Lubezki

Achievement in Costume Design:
Lauren: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Sam: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Winner: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)

Achievement for Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score):
Lauren: Saving Mr. Banks (Thomas Newman)
Sam: Gravity (Steven Price)
Winner: Gravity (Steven Price)

Achievement for Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song):
Lauren: Frozen (Let It Go)
Sam: Despicable Me 2 (Happy)
Winner: Frozen (Let It Go)

Achievement in Visual Effects:
Lauren: Gravity
Sam: Star Trek Into Darkness
Winner: Gravity

(This Oscars selfie made history by becoming the most retweeted photograph ever;
by the end of the ceremony the figure stood at 2,070,132)

Planning: Main Outfit

We want our costume to be plain and simple, with a retro feel to it. To begin with, we were thinking of a white dress and plain black shoes and schoolgirl white socks, but when Jess mentioned a vintage looking black dress, we decided that also seemed to fit.

Nevertheless, we kept researching and ransacking wardrobes – however, the only white dresses we could find were either too short and therefore not suitable, or just nothing like we were picturing.

In the end, we decided that the black dress was by far the best, which we’ll team with tights and a cardigan due to the cold weather. We asked our actress to try it on today, and she looks great in it! We also did a practise run of how we want her make up to be, and the black of the dress contrasts nicely with how pale her face is, making her eyes stand out, which gives her a much more gaunt, slightly vacant look.

Some of the other ones we looked at looked more like the ones below (made of either lace or linen), and more white and plain. However, we don’t think these are right for our character.

 

Planning: Thoughts on Mise-en-scene

Props:
So far, our prop list includes:

• Pill bottle (plus pills)
• A simple bed, including plain sheets and a pillowcase
• A suitcase, including contents (ie, clothes, shoes, etc)
• A piece of paper (list of victims)
• Medical ID tag (and scissors)

Costume:
We want our costume to be plain and simple, which is the general rule with all of our mise-en-scene; the plainer the better. We were thinking of a white dress and plain black shoes and schoolgirl white socks, but because we’ll be filming in late January/early February, we’ll allow skin coloured tights and a black cardigan – we’ll also have a massive coat ready to ensure our actress doesn’t freeze!

Make-up:
Again, we want it to be plain, as though she’s wearing none; however, we do want her to be almost unnaturally pale, so we’ll do a make-up test on our actress using our new professional make-up set from eBay, bought specifically for this task! We’ll lighten her skin and add in bags under her eyes, to make her seem unnerving.

Acting/Casting:
For patient 439, we have someone specific in mind; she’s sixteen, which isn’t quite the age we imagined her to be, but this doesn’t affect our film opening particularly. We can also use make up to make her look older if we need to. The girl we’re hoping to act for us has taken AS level drama, and is a lovely, reliable person, so hopefully we won’t have too many problems when it comes to casting! I also decided to write her an official invitation, outlining what she’d have to do and when we’d need her, to avoid any unpleasant surprises later on. Jess and I will have one last discussion about whether or not she’s right for the part, then hopefully get it delivered to her sometime soon! Our film opening also features a doctor, who we both picture as being male – however, the shots we have planned don’t actually show his face in focus, it is mainly focused on his hands and his feet, so we can use someone of a similar age to us again without it being a problem. Again, we have an idea of a reliable actor; he will, of course, receive an invitation too.

Colour Palette:
We want our film opening to be mostly in varying shades of grey, black and white, and have quite a pale look to it. Although it will not actually be shot in black-and-white, it won’t be as bright as modern cameras allow… With it being supposedly in the 1970s (which is really just us making it hard for ourselves), it should look relatively old, hence why the colour palette is dull and dim.

Planning: Initial Ideas (Location, Costume, Props)

The key to succeeding in filmmaking is to plan meticulously, and to stick to it. Jess and I have had several discussions about the kind of ‘look’ we want our film opening to have, and we’ve got a rough idea of aspects such as costume, location and props, and we have an idea of who we want our actress to be too.

In my study period today, I wrote up our initial ideas in a mind map, because I find them a useful way of getting my thoughts down, and it will give us something comprehensive to refer to, rather than the hastily scribbled notes in our books.