Mr. Teacher

I've been thinking about the teacher character and I think I understand him a little better.

I've definitely decided on having him be a male.  I feel like for my male lead, having a male role model figure would make more sense because guys have a stronger relationship with other guys.  Additionally, because of how laid back conversations with guys are, their conversations would create comedic scenes for the audience to enjoy when they are not engrossed in the main boy's self-discovery. 

I know that I want him to be about middle-aged, so I'll make his age a generous 30-40.  I want him to be on the younger range of teacher ages so he can relate to the main boy, but still old enough to give him advice. 

I know I want him to have some elements of purple in his costume to be mysterious; I also think he should have some red coloration to show that he plays opposite of the main boy (red is opposite of green on the color wheel). 

When I envision a male teacher, I see a button-up shirt, slacks, and dress shoes.  Perhaps the teacher could wear a light purple shirt and a dark purple tie with a red pin on the tie. I definitely see black pants and shoes for him as well.  

I don't have a paper with me now to sketch an image of him, but I will upload one tomorrow. 

I'm about to perform my opening night of Mamma Mia! So hopefully all goes as planned!

                                  - Jake

TODAY'S HERO: SPIDERMAN (Peter Parker)

Backstory: 

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider, Peter Parker gained the abilities of this arachnid.

Powers:

Peter Parker can climb on walls, has a "spidey-sense" where he can predict an event before it happens.  In some renditions of the character, Peter can create web-fluid biologically in his wrist which he can shoot out and swing from.  In other versions of the character, he creates wristbands that house the fluid. 

Other:

- He has had a multitude of different suits 

- There are numerous other "Spidermen" (Ultimate Spiderman, Spiderman 2099, SpiderHam, etc.) that are characters others than Peter Parker

- Peter Parker is a writer for the Daily Bugle, a popular newspaper in his city.

First Appearance: 

- Spiderman first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)

Movie History:

There have been 3 live-action renditions of Spiderman

- Played by Toby Maguire, the first Spiderman Trilogy included:

        - Spider-Man (2002)

       - Spider-Man 2 (2004)

       - Spider-Man 3 (2007)

- A new Spiderman film series followed, with actor Andrew Garfield playing the webslinger

      - The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

      - The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

- The next film version of Spiderman is the one still currently bring played on the big screen: Tom Holland as Peter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

      - Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) was his first solo movie in the MCU, but he does additionally appear in the MCU's Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Endgame (2018)

Major Problem for this week...

As much as I love working on Superhuman, I have to remember that I have to do other school work as well.  And this week, that school work includes my school's production of Mamma Mia!

That's right, this Wednesday through Saturday I'm going to be singing, dancing, and acting as "Sky" at seven o'clock at my school.  I have rehearsals after school until six... This week will definitely be difficult for me to find time to work on my blog/project, let alone any school work at all.

However, I feel confident that I'll have time to flesh out more specifics of my characters and story so that I can scout actors for my piece.  I know this week I'm going to break down the teacher's character, dissect the scene in the car with the boy and his parents, dissect the scene with the teacher, and hopefully storyboard my scene by the end of this week.

                                  - Jake



TODAY'S HERO: THOR ODINSON



Back Story: 
Thor is the Norse god of thunder who is the son of the King of Asgard, Odin. He has a brother named Loki who is the god of mischief.

Powers:
He is extremely resilient, has super strength, can manipulate the weather, skilled in combat, skilled with a hammer, axe, and a mace. He also has a hammer named Mjolnir that Thor would use to fly and wield thunder.

Other: 
- The hammer Mjolnir can only be wielded by someone who is "worthy of its power". Numerous people have wielded the hammer such as Beta Ray Bill, Captain America, Magneto, the Hulk and Superman.

First Appearance:
- The first appearance was in Journey Into Mystery #83

Movie History:
- Thor first appeared in Thor(2011) portrayed as Christian Hemsworth
- Reappeared in The Avengers (2012)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Character Development

I just watched this video earlier about an artist creating a character for a friend's show. It stimulated my thoughts about my own characters and how I would develop them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhBqCe7N5sc

Kuro, the artist, described the character Gargamel that he was asked to design. Kuro's first step in designing his character is gathering information on them. He learns that Gargamel is ape-like, youthful, he wears a short sleeve hoodie, has shaggy hair, has a tail, and has boxer tape around his hands.  Using this description, Kuro was able to create a physical embodiment of his character.

After he acquires this information, Kuro goes on to draw multiple sketches of faces for the character before he starts designing the body. Obviously, this can't correlate to my project because I'm not going to be sketching my characters, but I think that Kuro has the right idea of approaching how a character looks.



Definitely for my male character I want him to have these main traits:

1. Male
2. Aged 14-17
3. Green colors
4. Nice hair (but kind of unkempt)
5. Around 5 9' - 5 11'
6. Average build and features

                    Let me break these down. I definitely want my main character to be a guy (which I have established in a previous post). I also have decided I want my character to be in high school, so around the ages of 14-17.  I mentioned the color green because I want my character to be very grounded and honest and full of life.  He is not gifted in intelligence (blue) or emotionally driven and passionate (red) but he is full of life and has a positive energy that radiates with him wherever he goes.  I also think the hair of the character is important because if it is long and unkempt it makes him seem very relaxed but also not especially motivated; I want him to desire fitting into societal norms (which is shorter hair), but I think that not gelling his hair and letting it sit however it wants will show that he takes into account what others view of him but he also is confrontational and friendly.  I also think that having the boy be the average male height of around 5 10' so that he fits more of that more societal norm of not "standing out". This is similar to his physical build and features, which should indicate his "normalcy" in comparison to the other guys he knows.


                    Okay, I'm gonna take back what I said about not sketching my characters.
I simply couldn't resist just sketching them out and seeing which costume I favored more.

I sketched an image of the blue jeans colored in and one not colored in.  Also, the asterisked points under the images show that I don't know what color undershirt I want the character to have, but I know I want the green outer layer with the cuffed jean look. I also like the converse because they will make the character seem younger and provide emphasis on the film being set in high school.  When I search for actors I think that asking people if they wear converse will help me distinguish which actor will play the role; it'll save me money!

I'm going to ponder about whether I want the short-sleeve button or the unzipped hoodie for the next week and I'll come back to my blog with my decision!

                                         - Jake

TODAY'S HERO: GREEN ARROW (Oliver Queen)

Back Story:

Oliver Queen was abandoned on a deserted island and was forced to learn archery in order to survive on the island. (This is only one of the origin stories that "Ollie" receives, but this is his most popular). 

Powers:

Obviously, The Emerald Archer, Green Arrow,  is a skilled bowman.  In addition to this, Queen is skilled in martial arts and does use some technology in his arrows to make them applicable to multiple situations.

Other:

- Oliver Queen is the owner of Queen Industries and is a celebrity of Star City (where he is located).

- The character has lost his wealth in some renditions and became a street crusader

- His son takes over the mantel of Green Arrow in future comics, but Oliver Queen takes the title back

Comic Book Origin:

- First appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (1941) alongside his sidekick, Speedy

Movie History:

- Oliver Queen has not appeared in any live-action films, but he does have a television show on The CW where he is played by Stephen Amell (series is called Arrow (2012-Present)) 

Group Meeting Results

Yesterday, I participated in a group meeting in my media class to discuss our projects.

I thought that this experience was really fun because we were able to bounce ideas off of each other. When it was my turn to speak, I shared that I knew what I wanted for my opening, that I loved my blog, I knew what I desired for my opening and how I wanted the film to end, but I did not know what I wanted my character's superpower to be.

Mind reading was suggested but we distinguished that it was not as impressive. Super speed would be very cool and impressive but difficult to portray.  However, I mentioned the abilities of Matilda and that she has telekinesis, or the ability to manipulate objects without moving them.  This is also similar to "the force" from the Star Wars saga, where the characters can move objects using only their mind. 

This could be done on film through the use of string and holding objects in the air.  With proper framing and lighting, these "floating" objects could look visually appealing and go unnoticed by the viewer.   I think this is the power that I would like to go with for my film, and I'm glad my group helped me decide on this power.

                                       - Jake

TODAY'S HERO: JEAN GREY

Back Story: 

She was born with telepathic and telekinetic powers (in the Marvel Universe, she is dubbed a "mutant"). She also contains the "Pheonix Force" which is a cosmic entity that possesses her body.

Powers:

Jean is telepathic (can read people's minds) and telekinetic (can move objects without touching them).

Other: 

- Member of the X-Men

- Possesses the Phionex Force

Comic Book Origin: 

- First appeared in The X-Men #1(1963)

Movie History:

- First appeared in X-Men (2000)

- X2: X-Men United (2003)

- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

- The Wolverine (2013)

- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

- Appearing in Dark Phoenix (2019)