#I was doing research on blue jays and found that they are incredibly intelligent and aggressive

[a-concert-just-for-me]

It’s literally almost 4 in the morning and I’m still thinking about the potential Waffle TheOwlHouse has as a plot device

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Hello there! I'm really really wanting to join the descendants rp community with a child of Elsa, but I'm seeing a lot of the same things being used and I came across your blog here and fell in love! I was just wondering what to possibly do or not to do when creating my character because your's is so diverse and different and I absolutely am hoping you can help me out!

this is LITERALLY the sweetest thing i’ve read, and i’ve noticed i’ve got a few of these sitting in my inbox so i figured i’d just answer all of them now. i was an rph for a reason. so consider this KYLA’S GUIDE TO CREATING CHARACTERS. and since descendants is my primary focus in this, please keep this in mind. but i will try to keep this as open to all character types and fandoms as possible.

this will explain step by step how i created my own muse and what i thought of in terms of how i chose his name, personality, appearance and faceclaim. please keep in mind to read ALL THE WAY TO THE END in case i misinformed anything or incorrectly stated anything as i have received hate before and hurtful messages for unknowingly reblogging things and upsetting people.

so let us begin !!

1. THINK ABOUT THE CHARACTER’S PARENTS. in a descendants sort of way, we have to always keep in mind that there are parents involved. whether it be two mothers, two fathers, or a mother and father. even MAL’S FATHER is mentioned in the books. in eldon’s case, i started with hans. but after adding elsa, it changed things. never solely base your character off one parent. if you CHOOSE to have one parent like evie, jay and carlos, or basically every other kid on the isle, please keep in mind that every character has their own personality. do NOT rely solely on the parent’s persona to create the character. it’s not very original and it’s like a copy and pasted version of the parent. 

2. APPEARANCE. i never make the character’s name first, i always start with the appearance. feel FREE to go out of order if you just need help with one thing! but this is where genes take a role. YEP! science is apart of this tutorial! in eldon’s case, a lot of people ask me why he has red hair instead of blonde. ( and it wasn’t just for the lack if blonde male face claims i wanted to choose from ) i kept in mind that elsa had blonde hair because of her powers, BUT blonde hair is a recessive gene, as in even if both parents have dark hair, if there was any sort of blonde hair in their family, the kid can get it. i also noted how a LOT of children of elsa had blonde hair, so i avoided that all together. this is where the other parent comes in handy. hans has RED hair. it’s also a recessive gene, but i found that it’d really make my character look different apposed to his mom’s appearance. 

( CONT. ) putting it all together, you can really just pick and choose what you want. hans has red hair and green eyes while elsa has blonde hair and blue eyes, so instead of solely basing eldon’s appearance on one parent, i mixed and matched. he has red hair and blue eyes. in the part of appearance as well, you want to keep in mind that it’s not just about the hair color and eye color. NOTICE their features. do they look more like their mom or dad? what aspects of their dad do they have? what aspects of their mom do they have? are there any features they have that aren’t their mom’s or dad’s? it help builds a better mental picture of what you want your character to look like! in my case, i presumed eldon looked more like hans with the broad exterior, charming features and the way hans carried himself. though given his facial appearance, he still has a lot of knicks of his dad’s but his facial features give more towards his mom’s side. the previous king of arendelle, elsa’s father, gave eldon his nose, bone structure and could have possibly been the source of his red hair. but eldon’s also been known to have his mom’s eyes. that’s the most notable feature, actually to me. he has elsa’s calculating, protruding eyes.

3. PERSONALITY. this one is what gets me every time. i’ve noticed that a lot of people base their character’s personality PRIMARILY on their parents. a lot of children of elsa ( to my observation ) have a very similar personality to hers. obviously there will be aspects of a parents personality, but REMEMBER, your character isn’t their parent. evie was brought up to want to be the prettiest and thought that she had to be beautiful to get a prince, but while she was discovering herself, she learned to be incredibly bright, intelligent and there was more to her than just her looks. so while some traits are genetic, a lot of a character’s personality is given due to their upbringing. EX. eldon was brought up a lot like elsa was, being shoved behind walls to learn everything in solitude and alone. parents tend to raise their kids as their parents had before them, and while elsa had thought it was the right thing, it turned out to be the wrong thing. not to forget that he’s sent to the Isle for misdemeanor and when he lives with his father, hans does the same thing his own father did by looking to eldon as weak and insolent. this causes eldon to become very reclusive and quiet, primarily callous and mistrustful. while yes, eldon does have some traits from elsa, like his nervousness that gets the best of him from time to time and fear of himself, he also has hans’ personality of being afraid of failure, wanting nothing but to prove his worth to people around him. BUT he also learns that he is independent, strong-willed and wants to help people who are in similar situations that he is in.

4. NAMES. i always find myself falling into this category last. to a lot of people NAMES HAVE MEANING. in the descendants, you notice a lot of the kids have names starting with the same letter as their parents or even the same name as their parents ( ie. gaston jr. ) don’t let this limit you to naming your character. eldon did get his name from his mom’s initials, elsa, but the meaning of his name gives reference to the trolls in frozen that help save anna’s life. eldon is english for ‘from the elves’ valley’, which obviously they’re not elves, but it’s close to mentioning the grove where the trolls were residing and i picked this on purpose because it reminded me of that very situation. i also had mentioned before how his middle name gives reference to elsa as well, as arvid means ‘forest of eagles’ and in american culture, eagles are seen as symbols of freedom. elsa’s want for freedom for her powers i included in eldon’s name.

ALSO. don’t forget that if your character is from a certain ethnic background, it’s a good idea to stay in their country’s language as in eldon’s norwegian heritage plays a part in his name.

5. THINK OF THE LITTLE THINGS. what makes your character like they are? what’s their favorite food? favorite color? what are their hobbies? fears? likes or dislikes? habits? what are they good at? what are they bad at? what would they like to work on? little things like this could make a HUGE difference in how your character interacts or even sees themselves.

6. BIOGRAPHICAL & CHOOSING A FACE CLAIM. i still do make mistakes when it comes to this here. DO NOT STRETCH YOUR FACE CLAIM’S ETHNICITY OR GENDER. i am pulling some strings with using kj apa, as he’s partially samoan but also majority Caucasian, so i’m walking on thin ice here. also, if your character is transgender or non-binary, use a trans!face claim or even a faceclaim who identifies themselves as non-binary. using cis!faceclaims to play trans or non-binary muses can result in insulting muns that are trans or non-binary themselves. IE. my muse moriana is non-binary and her faceclaim is amandla stenberg, who has openly identified as being non-binary.

 if your character’s parent(s) or one of them is african-american and the other is white, that would more than likely make them mixed-raced. i’d recommend keeping your faceclaims the race that their parent is specified, though i did find some place where it’s OKAY to choose their parents’ ethnicity or biographical information ONLY IF they’re ethnicity isn’t stated otherwise. like audrey, aurora’s daughter appears to be mix raced, and her grandmother being african-american also perceives or gives reference to the fact it’s HIGHLY possible aurora is african-american herself. in situations like these, IT’S HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT OFFEND ANYONE’S RACE AND TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE PORTRAYING THEIR CULTURE CORRECTLY. ( me, the mun, am of israeli descent and i sure as hell am not cool of someone portraying my culture the way they want to ) i would highly recommend NOT doing this unless you’ve really dug deep into the biographical studies. i have done it ONCE myself with my daughter of snow white and all i did was created a latinx version of snow white. PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO THIS. ( i will make the disclaimer that i am in no way encouraging anyone to bend the ethnicity of ANY POC FACE CLAIMS. THIS IS STRICTLY FOR WHITE FACE CLAIMS AND WITH A LOT OF STUDYING AND MAKING SURE IT IS OKAY WITH OTHERS BEFORE YOU DO SO ) 

7. HAVING FUN. after getting all of your character’s information and are happy with what you’ve done, GO OUT AND INTRODUCE THEM TO THE WORLD. roleplaying is one of the BEST ways to understand and work with your character, whether it be an OC or CANON DIVERGENT, you make your character work how you want them to! it’s all about research, learning and finding out how you want your muse or character to be while also being aware of how they can effect those around you!

BONUS. for descendants, children of elsa seem to ALWAYS have the ice magic she possesses, and it’s SUPER ALRIGHT to give your character those powers, but keep in mind it’s also possible they don’t have them. how would they cope with being normal? would they see themselves as ‘different’ opposed to their mom? 

i gave eldon the powers to help me further develop his personality. unlike his mom, he uses his power as a WEAPON but also sees it as a curse. he both fears and abuses his ability and often pays the price for it. depending on how you create your character, you can bend it in all sorts of ways! the sky is the limit though be sure to keep them original and diverse! you want to avoid all sources of mary-sues and gary-stus.

i really hope this has been helpful and i know i am still learning character development myself, IF THERE IS ANY INFORMATION IN HERE THAT IS INCORRECT OR NEEDS TO BE ALTERED, please message me and DO NOT INBOX ME ON ANON OR IN GENERAL. it’s much more civil to let me know 1x1 so i can personally apologize if i may have misinformed or worded something incorrectly.

[lorrainecparker]

This Art Of The Shot: “13 Reasons Why” Director of Photography Andrij Parekh

Andrij Parekh is an NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (MFA in 2001) trained cinematographer. It was there that he was nominated for the 1998 Eastman Excellence in Cinematography Award, apprenticed on “The Yards” (2000) with Harris Savides, and received the 2001 & 2003 ASC Heritage Awards. 

When I researched the over twenty features Andrij shot I come across some of my personal favorites: “Blue Valentine” (Derek Cianfrance), “Half Nelson” (Director Ryan Fleck), and “The Zookeeper’s Wife” (Niki Caro). He’s had films play at Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, and Sundance. 

Recently Andrij answered my question about his experience shooting “Tape 1 Side A”, and “Tape 1 Side B” of one of the year’s most talked about Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” If you have yet to see the beautiful transitions and naturalistic lighting found in the visuals then it might be time to get your binge on.

“13 Reasons Why” is based on the best-selling books by Jay Asher. The story follows teenager Clay Jensen as he returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. He discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker inside the mysterious box who tragically committed suicide two weeks earlier. On the tapes, Hannah explains she has thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Will Clay be one of them? If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list. The series follows both Hannah and Clay through inventive dual narratives; one in the past and the other in the present. The transitions in time are executed wonderfully. Another interesting, though technical, aspect is the series was shot on Panasonic’s Varicam.

How did shooting 13 Reasons Why come to be for you? How does someone position themselves to shoot a Netflix show

Andrij: Thirteen Reasons Why came to me from my agent (Hillary Cook at the Murtha Skouras Agency)- through Tom McCarthy.  Tom and I have been in filmmaking “concentric circles” for some time, and it was a wonderful opportunity to shoot a pilot (setting the look and tone of the show) and work with a great director.  And after a number of years, we finally were able to work together.   I’ve been shooting since I finished NYU grad school in 2001— and I guess having a resumé with depth doesn’t hurt in getting approval from a company like Netflix.

Which scene are you most proud of and why?

Andrij: That’s always a tricky question.  Rather than a specific scene, I’m proud of the way the whole show looks- and particularly the acute but subtle differences between the “past”- Pre-Suicide and the “present” – Post Suicide.  Tom and I wanted to engage the audience and keep them constantly looking for clues— allowing the show to sometimes be “ahead” of the audience.  Making the difference between the present and past a lens/format choice – Anamorphic for the past, Spherical lenses for the present- gave the two time periods a different feel rather than a telegraphed “look”.  It was that emotional difference that we were after.

Let’s talk shooting details: How many days? How long were the days? What size crew did you use?

Andrij: I think we had a total of 26 days- roughly 13 days for each episode. The crew was a full crew- probably 100+ people.  It was ostensibly a schedule for a slightly lavish independent film!  The days weren’t too heavy- and in fact, I think we had 7 AM starts for every day the first week- which meant that we were shooting less than 11 hours each day.   I’m a strong believer in being prepared, working very intensely and diligently on set, and wrapping around 11 hours per day.  It’s the only way to keep ourselves sane in this industry and to have a life outside of the set.  It also keeps you fresh and rested.

What cameras and lenses did you use for 13 Reasons Why?

Andrij: We shot with the Panasonic Varicam, mainly because of Netflix’s 4K requirement, and it was a great find for me.  Understanding that we had to shoot 4K, I tested the Alexa 65, the Sony F55 and the Varicam.  The Alexa 65 was glorious- but the camera was just too big for the style of the show ( a lot of hand held and moving fast).  I preferred the skin tones of the Varicam to the F55, and then I discovered the dual ISO feature of the Varicam- 800 and 5000 ISO.  I tested both ISOs- and the 5000 was incredibly “clean,” with very little video artifacts or digital noise.

We used 800 ISO for most of the production, except for the night work, where we used 5000 ISO.  I didn’t reduce the number of lighting units tremendously, but the added sensitivity (roughly 2.5 times that of ISO 800) made all the practicals bloom in a very beautiful way. It’s tough to achieve that halation at ISO 800.  We were shooting with Anamorphic lenses at night (F2.8 max aperture) with an ND 6 or 1.2!

In terms of lenses, as mentioned before, we used a mixture of Spherical and Anamorphic lenses to separate the “past” from the “present”. Even though we shot two different formats (native 16:9 for the Spherical and 2:39 for the Anamorphic), the show’s aspect ratio was 16:9. We used Leica Summilux-C prime Spherical lenses, which are very “soft & creamy,” but quite sharp on the focal plane, mainly shooting the lenses wide open at F1.4.  We lit a bit more contrasty in the present and allowed for a more romantic look for the past- where we used Hawk V-Lite 2:1s, which rendered the images rather softly and have enhanced anamorphic lens aberration.

What codec did you shoot and why?

Andrij: We used the V-Intra, as the RAW format required too much data storage and for the viewing format (Televisions, Personal Computers, and iPads) V-Intra was sufficient.

How did you approach this project?

Andrij: Tom and I did a lot of visual research, and we looked at the high-school films that we watched as adolescents and young adults— The Breakfast Club (John Hughes), Elephant (Gus Van Sant) “My So-Called Life” (TV)… The film that probably had the greatest influence on the film was a Norwegian Film called “Reprise” (Director Joachim Trier).  We talked a lot about the process.  For me, the most important thing to understand from a director is his/her taste.  Taste is the one thing that affects my approach the greatest- and to try to align my personal aesthetic taste with that of the director’s is the thing I spend the most time on in prep.

What visuals hooked you into the final look?

Andrij: Again, it was “Reprise” that affected us the most- mainly, the shooting and editorial style, and the freedom in which it moves from flashback to present, often off of a character’s look or a sound cue.

How did you achieve the two different looks for the past and the present? Was it difficult mixing the two into a single sequence?

Andrij: I would say that it was as simple as changing the lens format, from Spherical to Anamorphic.  Lighting was rather consistent throughout the two periods, but we may be lit with a bit less film for the present.

What did you learn from shooting 13 Reasons Why?

Andrij: That not always being able to shoot on Alexa or film is not necessarily the end of the world.

Since we now have so many different camera options how do you decide on a single brand or camera for a project?

Andrij: Again, part of this was dictated by not being able to use the Alexa because of Netflix’s 4K requirement- but it allowed us to test a number of formats, which then informed my choice.  I think testing is key.  I test before every project as much as I can, and approach shooting digital like shooting film- with the adage that you can improve it, but you can’t fix it later.

What are your go-to rigs to capture smooth shots?

Andrij: I love the Movi, mainly because I can operate.

How do you prep for scenes on 13 Reasons Why?

Andrij: Tom and I shot listed the film separately- then compared notes and made one master shot list.  I like shot listing separately from the director, as it allows me to fully enter into the world of the film and imagine how it will look and edit.  By then comparing notes, it’s truly a collaborative process.

The lighting and camera work felt very natural? Any tips you can share to shed light on achieving a similar look?

Andrij: I try and use single source lighting as much as possible, and like to light rooms, not faces.  This simple approach makes my working style very fast- of course one needs to add a bit of bounced fill light once in awhile, but it also ensures that the director is not waiting for me and that we have made a huge amount of space and time for the actor and director on set.  We used a lot of large HMI’s, with Bleached and unbleached Muslin as the diffusion.  It cuts the amount of light, so the sources end up being rather large- 18Ks, M90s & M60s- and the organic nature of the muslin breaks the electronic feel of HMI a bit.

Who succeeds at filmmaking?

Andrij: The tireless, and those with a lot of patience.  Emotional intelligence also helps, as well as a strong sense of story.  Every decision has to come from the script, or at least be informed by it.

If you were not doing this work, what would you be doing for a living?

Andrij: Architecture.  It also deals with space and light, and moving bodies through space and time,

Do you have a favorite type of work: Feature films, docs, commercials or music videos? Why?

Andrij: I like feature work the best because one can really dig one’s hands into story and character.

How can a shooter, who is usually on smaller shoots, apply the lessons they’ve learned to a larger production?

Andrij: Work simply.  For me, the smaller the production the better- in the end, every movie is about a camera, a story, and actors.  Everything else is peripheral.  It’s easy to get caught up in gear or technical elements- but one can lose the essence of what we are trying to do, which is to tell a story that is gripping on an emotional level.  And camera placement is key.  So much comes from proper camera placement in terms of light and emotion.

How do you balance work and life?

Andrij: That’s tough.  It’s all about choices and making sure that the cinematographer in me does not edge out the husband and father in me.

If there were one single piece of wisdom to impart on aspiring cameramen/women what would it be?

Andrij: Keep your overhead low.  By making cinema, you are inevitably joining a circus- one that can take you all over the world.  You need to be unencumbered and not bogged down by financial restraints, as the most important luxury is the ability to say “no” to the projects you don’t want to make because they don’t strike an emotional cord in you.  If you are not engaged by the material, it’s hard to find the inspiration to shoot well.

What’s next for you?

Andrij: A summer in France with the family.

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