Brendan's AICE Media Studies Blog

    As shown in my previous blog post - researching about how La Llorona looks and has been depicted - La Llorona is most often shown as a ghostly woman in encounter stories. Though her depiction in La Llorona (2019) shows her as a standard woman wearing a long white dress, nearly all other cinematic depictions of her show her as a ghost.     For our film, we're going to show her in "standard" ghostly form. We are creating the first two minutes of the film, and as such time is not on our side. Unfortunately, this time constraint forces us to introduce the characters such as La Llorona quicker than we'd otherwise need to. La Llorona (2019) did not need to present Alma's powers or identity as La Llorona immediately like we do because they had the luxury of time - a full-length film. If we don't introduce her definitively as a ghost within this introduction we will leave viewers lost and confused.     After our first group meeting, I met with Abby to discuss...

     As there are varying stories of La Llorona, she has varying appearances as well. Her appearance varies for a bevy of reasons, but one of the most significant factors is the type of story - origin or encounter.       In origin stories, La Llorona is typically described as a beautiful young woman. In Thomas Allibone Janvier's 1910 book,  Legends of the City of Mexico , he writes that " She was the most beautiful woman in all of Mexico, muy hermosa, and she herself knew it too." Frances Door echoed this description of beauty in their 1947 book  A Treasury of Mexican Folkways , "She was a pretty but humble maiden named Luisa." As a maid though, she likely wore clothes very standard for her class/time. An Oaxaca dress was likely her clothing of choice - knee to ankle length, with bright and vibrant colors/patterns all over. Five Mexican women wearing traditional Oaxaca dresses. Photo via photographer Marilyn Angel Wynn.     Converse...

    Our group met up at my house over the weekend for us to have our first out-of-class meeting. We considered rescheduling as Luise couldn't join us since she was working, but there were no other days that our group would all be available before we needed to finish our project proposal. In an ideal world, she would've been present, however, she is the sound designer so the group agreed we could still do planning without Luise and just fill her in.     Though I am the cinematographer and not the director, I was the one who mediated for most of our meeting - asking questions, writing down ideas/information, etc. As I mentioned in my post about the origins of the La Llorona story, there are two "types" of the La Llorona story; origin and encounter. The first topic we addressed in our meeting was which type we'd be selecting - unanimously deciding to do an encounter story rather than an origin. Even when we had first decided to do a film about La Llorona, all of our ...

    New Line Cinema and Atomic Monster would produce the 2019 film, The Curse of La Llorona . The film's cinematographer was Michael Burgess, who has been part of 23 major films - 9 of which he was the cinematographer.     The introduction of the film is 1 minute and 42 seconds long. Below is how the opening scene is shot: Close-up of a young boy handing his mother a necklace. (Picture 1) Medium shot tracking left that shows the woman receiving the necklace and the boy standing next to his brother.  Breaking the 180 rule, a medium close-up of the mother now holding the necklace. Tracking right. Close-up of mother wearing the necklace (shows from the bottom of the chest to bottom of neck), and showing it to the boys saying "I will keep it forever in Spanish." (Picture 2) Medium shot tracking left while faceless parents and their two sons spin to the right in a circle while holding hands. Medium close-up shot tracking left while faceless parents and their two sons...

     La Llorona is a folktale most commonly spoken throughout Mexico, Latin America, and parts of the United States. For the many parts of the Americas in which this tale is told, there are many versions of it as well. Though the story varies widely on her appearance, actions, and why she became this vengeful spirit, all versions share one common trait - the woman crying. La Llorona is Spanish for "the weeping woman," easily explaining this common trait among all versions of the tale.     She is typically described as being a woman with fair - or even ghostly - skin, long dark hair, and wearing a white dress. However, as previously mentioned, the ways in which - and reasons why - she presents herself vary. In 2004 Judith Beatty published her book The Weeping Woman: Encounters with La Llorona in which she compiles multiple versions of the story. In some versions she stalks you from afar, in others she rides a horse, and in other versions, she may come by horse-d...

    The definition of a folktale is "a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people." The secondary definition is "any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one considered to be false or based on superstition." Though some of these stories have a moral to teach, not all do. According to the Kennedy Center, folktales contain... 1.     The following elements: Usually about ordinary people/everyday life The stories include setting, characters, and a problem Characters are often flat, representing a specific trait (EX: selfishness) 2.     The following formula: Plot begins quickly Characters are one-sided The plot moves along well-trod paths All questions are answered before the end      The process by which a folktale is turned into a film is a complex process. Due to the fact that nearly all folktales are passed along orally across many ge...

  The horror genre aims to create fear and shock - simply, horrify their audience. This fear often originates from supernatural sources; ghosts, zombies, monsters, aliens, haunted items/locations, etc. Common shot types: Close-ups/Extreme close-ups: Creates a sense of intimacy with character(s) by emphasizing their reactions, actions, and emotions. Increases intensity and tension as well. Low-Angle/High-Angle: Though two completely different angles both are used to demonstrate a feeling of vulnerability and powerlessness. By using this shot type the power difference between the two subjects is emphasized. Typically a low-angle will focus on how powerful the antagonist is, while a high-angle will focus more on how powerless the protagonist is. Can also be used to show a looming danger. Wide shot/Long Shot: By showing a character or characters in a full scene/landscape it can create a greater sense of isolation or powerlessness. Point-of-view shot: This is not as common but when done...

 After assembling our group the first order of business would be to establish the roles within our group. The roles are as follows: Director (Gabby)- Gabby was in a different group for the first group film, but was the director of that group. Unfortunately, one of her original groupmates took over their entire film, leaving very little room to execute her role as director. However, I know she has strong leadership skills and will be able to do her job of preserving the group's creative vision well - partially due to her extensive prior knowledge. Cinematographer (Me)- Though I have a strong creative vision for this film, I did a generally subpar job as a director in the last film. My desire to remain non-confrontational and not nag my groupmates led to a bevy of issues relating to competing visions for the finished film and miscommunication. Due to the issues that came from me being the director of the first film I just believed it best to have a new role for this film. The other r...

    Initially, I had wanted to work with the editor from my first film, Sophie for the foundation portfolio, and create a horror film. She was reluctant as she wanted to create a rom-com for hers, but after some convincing, she agreed to work with me. Unfortunately, she quickly backed out of the project. During that brief period we were partners though, she helped me recognize the importance of making representation a priority within my film - something that was not exactly front of mind previously. I was unsure of how to approach representation within my film though as I did not want to unintentionally do something incorrectly.     After Sophie and I working together fell through I was weary of working with others, but I soon started working in a group with Bella (the cinematographer from my previous film), Gabby, and Luise. Not only does this unburden me from taking on all roles in the film's production, but it also gives me the perfect way - in an informed and aut...