Editing: Credits and Title

    At the beginning of many films, both old and modern, there will usually be credits displayed on the screen to give recognition to the cast and crew who worked to create them, which are often in the form of small text in the margins of the screen, rather than being front and center. This is a must for the opening in our Cambridge Portfolio Projects, and my primary goal is to make the names and words fit the aesthetic and style of the film opening so that they do not distract from the actual visuals of the film. 

    When looking for fonts, I searched for one that could capture the mood of a sad, serious fantasy epic, I needed a typography that felt heavy, ancient, and weathered. I wanted to balance the epic scale of the world with the weight of the tragedy. 

    I explored multiple Gothic Blackletter fonts, defined by high contrast and fractured lines. Unlike modern fonts that use smooth curves, Blackletter uses sharp, diagonal strokes. The tall, narrow letters are reminiscent of medieval gothic architecture. This creates a sense of fanciness and formality that fits the serious tone of the film opening. Because the strokes are so thick, a word in Blackletter looks dark in design, and feels more somber and intense. The broken lines suggest something that was once whole but has been shattered, which is a perfect visual metaphor for a tragic scene. 

Almendra

A "Blackletter-inspired" serif. It’s much more readable for long bodies of text but keeps the sharp, thorny edges of Gothic script. It's perfect for a tragic protagonist's internal monologue.

UnifrakturMaguntia

A very traditional, sharp Fraktur that looks official and oppressive.

Cloister Black

I would have to play around with these different fonts in editing to really see how they look and fit against the visuals of the scene, but all of them are perfect choices and likely contenders for the style of the title and credits.

Editing: Techniques

    Although I haven’t reached the point of editing yet because I am still finishing up my animation, I know that it’s going to involve putting together each of the animations to just as with the storyboard. 

    Editing in animated films is a unique task, because unlike with live-action, cutting actually happens before a single frame is finished. Through the storyboarding process and the creation of animatics, editors work with directors to secure the timing and pacing of a scene using rough sketches and basic audio. This is essential for efficiency. Since every second of quality animation is incredibly expensive and difficult to produce, animators cannot just animate footage that will be left unused.

    Once the primary animation is complete, the editor's job changes into a more traditional phase. They have to fine tuning it by adjusting pauses, emphasizing physical comedy, and ensuring seamless transitions between shots. They decide on the story’s rhythm, blending together the visual effects, lighting, and sound design to turn a bunch of individual drawings or frames into a cohesive moving film.

Copyright ©️ Magix

Important Techniques in My Opening Scene: 

    The film opens on a fade-in from black to an establishing shot of the village burning. Because black represents a total absence of visuals, fading in from it creates a significant shift in the atmosphere. It resembles the experience opening your eyes. It’s often used to ease the audience into a new world or to represent the beginning of a new story. Starting from black feels heavy, dramatic, serious, grounded, or mysterious. It’s often used in dramas or epic adventures to communicate that what you are about to see is important.

    The moment when the character points his sword towards the dragon is very prominent because it indicates his emotion and motivation. The scene cuts from a point-of-view shot from his perspective, looking at the dragon in the distance and his sword pointed towards it to a close-up of his eyes, hooded with exhaustion and full of rage. Match-cuts convey key information to the audience, forcing them to share the character’s perspective. If the character looks with anger, the cut makes the next object look threatening. In Animation, match-cuts are often used to show a character's inner desire. For example, a hungry character looks off-frame, and the match-cut shows a shimmering piece of food. The cut tells us how they are feeling or what they want before they even move or say anything. In my opening scene, this technique is used to show the protagonist’s anger and want for revenge.

Scene Development

 Character Objective
    What does the protagonist want to gain or achieve? At the very start of the scene, his objective is just to survive. He crawls out of the wreckage, and his goal is basic and instinctive. But once he realizes his family is gone and sees the sword in the ground, his objective shifts. By the end of the scene, his new objective becomes to hunt and kill the dragon. This is powerful because we see the transformation happen in real time. The protagonist goes from wanting survival, to grief, to revenge. That transformation gives the scene emotional movement.

The Conflict
    There are two layers of conflict happening. The external conflict, with the man vs. the dragon. The beast has destroyed his home and his life. It is physically powerful, godlike, and seemingly unstoppable. The scale difference makes the conflict interesting. One grieving man against one massive creature. That imbalance creates tension for the rest of the film. The there’s the internal conflict happening between the man and his grief. He could initially collapse, give up, and desire to stay in the ashes. But instead, he chooses action. That choice is significant . Without internal conflict, revenge would feel automatic. With it, his decision feels earned.

Inciting Incident
    The inciting incident is the event that disrupts the protagonist’s normal life and launches the story. In this case, it is the dragon’s attack that destroys his village and kills his family. Even though the destruction is already happening when the film opens, it still functions as the inciting incident because it destroys the protagonist’s old world, forces a new goal, and creates the central conflict of the film. Everything that follows stems from this moment.

The Turning Point of the Scene
    Within this specific scene, the turning point is when he sees the dragon overhead and watches it fly away, then pulls the sword from the ground.
What makes this the turning point? That moment gives a face and body to the enemy, provides direction, and transforms the protagonist’s grief into purpose. Before that moment, he is just a victim, but after that moment, he becomes someone with intent. The sword reinforces that shift. It’s not just a prop, it’s a symbol of agency.

The Hook 

Why does the audience keeps watching? A strong opening needs a hook, and this one has multiple. The visual hook of a burning village and a colossal dragon are immediately cinematic and dramatic. The emotional hook of the burnt photograph of the protagonist and his wife, and the broken cradle imply the loss of a family without showing it directly. That makes it more powerful and avoids unnecessary graphic imagery. Finally, there’s the narrative hook. The final image of one man walking over a hill, into the horizon, creates a central question and intrigues the audience to find out what will happen next. Can he actually kill something that powerful, and how? That is the question drives the rest of the film.

Thematic Setup

The opening scene also establishes likely themes such as:

• Revenge or justice
• Man vs. nature
• Power and vulnerability
• Grief transforming into obsession

It lays the groundwork for a high fantasy epic.

Copyright ©️ Live Science

Group Meeting Reflection

    Recently, we had another meeting with other people in the class, and this time the class is much further into the production process. Because of this, it seems that there was more to talk about during the conversation. We spoke about the issues that we faced while working on our respective projects and voiced our opinions and experiences on the entire project. 

    My group members were Jaun, Jake, Manuela, Samuel, Agustina, and Trish. We all seemed to have similar problems that we ran into, that being scheduling conflicts. And I had a particular situation with struggling to manage the time that was remaining. But everyone had unique ideas that were well received. 

    Juan’s film opening is a horror that will feature two friends sitting at home watching television when they see a mysterious broadcast. He was pretty far into his production process, though he mentioned running into a few issues and complications. For example, creating and the set was very difficult for him. He also had to rewrite the script in the beginning. But it seemed that production was going smoothly for him.

    Samuel was next to share, and he had a mystery story about a doctor who’s scientific experiments to create a medicine resulted in a deadly formula that will kill anyone who has taken it within forty-eight hours. This was incredibly intriguing and unique to me. Sam discussed the laborious process behind making the props for the film, all intended to make the setting look like a laboratory. I was very impressed by the props he was able to put together that I could see on his blog. He used red food coloring for the formula to indicate danger.  Sam and his group decided to cats their parents as the main actors in the film, as they wanted older adults to play the doctors. The problem was that the adults had conflicting schedules and plans, and it was difficult for the group to coordinate days that all parents could film.

     Agustina’s film opening is a coming-of-age story, and centers around a young girl who wants to become an artist. It would open on a flashback to when the girl was younger, and show how she is constantly discouraged from making art. She plans to have her family help her with the project, and cast her younger sister as the younger version of her character which I thought was very clever. Agustina expressed difficulty with clearly conveying the difference between the flashback section and the part which takes place in present day. However, a few of the group members suggested using some kind of lighting technique or possibly a filter.

    Manuela is creating a thriller film opening where a grieving family that had recently lost one of their children finds a mysterious person who has taken his place. However, the family members do not seem to acknowledge that this boy is not their son and continue to treat him as such. Only the protagonist notices that something is wrong. Manuela explained that she was having a hard time casting the characters, as many of her actual family members were often unable to film at certain times and the mysterious stranger was someone who she wanted to appear as creepy and strange. 

    Jake’s horror film opening would be about a girl hiking through a dark forest at night as she receives multiple warnings and ominous indications that something is wrong and danger may be near. At the end, she is approached by a dark mysterious figure. Jake would be filming at a place called “Treetops,” a place that I have been to before and can definitely approve of it as a filming location. However, Jake also mentioned that he wanted to have an actual park ranger on location help them and act in the opening, which might be a challenge. He expressed having issues with scheduling and keeping track of time, as well as being unsure about the music in the scene. 

    Trish was the last person to share, and she told us about her psychological thriller film opening, where the villain of the story is technology. It would begin with a girl on her laptop calling her friend, and then leaving to go to a party. When she tries to go back inside the house for a minute, she finds that she has been strangely locked out. Once she gets inside, she is attacked by the technology inside the house starts going haywire, and a robotic voice whispering threatening messages. Trish had a few problems during production. She was initially at a loss for how to show the call with the friend, but considered a screen recording. Also, she needs to film most of her footage all over again because the scenes that she had filmed were of very poor quality, and rework the script a bit as well. She was unsure about how to create the scene where all of the technology in the house begins to go crazy and speak to the character, though some of us suggested using a voice modifier.

    I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how supportive my group was of each other’s ideas. Regarding myself, other members ansked me about things like audio, set design, and inspiration. I explained the main issue that I was having being time management, which others seemed to relate to. I think we did a very good job staying on topic and keeping the conversation moving, even after we had all shared. 

    After all of us had shared, we spent some time discussing topical things related to the project such as editing, inspirations, titles, and the Creative Critical Reflection.

Film Opening: Set Design

    In animation, set design is a very purposeful thing because, unlike with live-action, every single tree and rock was placed there by choice. The environment creates the world that the story takes place in and reflects the characters. When designing the set for my film opening, I wanted the fantasy elements and the medieval inspiration to be felt by the viewer. I tried to put in extensive amounts of realistic details to imitate the look of a painting in the leaves of the trees and the smoke from the fire. 

    The color that dominates the set the most is certainly the colors red and orange, representative of fire. This helps to establish the mood of the scene as intense and dangerous, showing the damage that has been inflicted upon the village, and the harsh orange lighting from the fire creates dramatic effect.

    One of the most important aspects of the set design is the main character’s house. Inside, it is filled with objects to convey the life and the family that the protagonist once had before the fiery attack, such as a cradle, a dining table, and a photograph. It shows the audience his backstory.

    Though there was of course no location scouting, I did take inspiration from a real-life village that had retained its medieval architecture to this day. I was having a bit of trouble finding the right angles, and I knew that I could get better images of reference from real life pictures. The village in the film is based off of  a few real European towns such as Gordes, France, Strasbourg, France, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Both served as perfect locations to base my own set design off of in a medieval fantasy world, having a kind of “fairy-tale” aesthetic.

    Really wanting to make the set feel magical and overwhelming, I made the backgrounds very intricate, detailed, and layered. 

Film Opening: Foley Sound

    As required by Cambridge, the audio for the two-minute film opening must include sound made using foley, or personally recorded sounds made by a person with regular objects. It requires a level of creativity, especially when trying to recreate sounds that you surely would not be able to replicate with the exact situation depicted in the film. Luckily for me, the opening of my film heavily features non-diegetic music in order to convey emotion, so hopefully that can mask some of the imperfections that might come when recording foley.

    There are quite a few audio effects that I believe could be made with objects in my home or elsewhere, the first one being the sound of the sword being drawn and pulled from the ground. I used the large kitchen knives that I had available to create these noises, by scraping them against each other quickly to produce a sort of ringing metal sound and clanging them against one another.

    Next, it presented a bit of challenge to find the right way to produce the sound of fire crackling, as I of course could not realistically record the sound of a massive destructive fire. I decided to do a bit of research, and found that crumpling up material such as cellophane or parchment paper would do just perfectly. I found some candy wrappers (which are usually made of cellophane) and moved them around in my hand to create a crinkling noise that sounded very similar to fire. However, I wanted to layer sound effects in order to create a more realistic soundscape, and include multiple effects. So, for a harsher crackling noise, I broke several pieces of uncooked spaghetti noodles to layer on top of the previous sound. Finally, taking a wash cloth, I vigorously waved it around to create a “woosh” sound. Real fire tends to billow around in the wind, and can make these kinds of noises in large amounts.

    I did also create one last sound effect, which I’m not fully satisfied with and likely won’t use in the final product, but it is always nicer to have excess audio effects stored away. I simply went outdoors in my backyard and, using a large shoe, slammed it down onto the dirt for a powerful, stomping sound. Though I feel that it is a bit clunky and doesn’t fit the visuals of the film too well because of the texture on the ground. 

    I feel that the sounds I made for the film are the most important ones that could be created with real-world objects, so it brings me a lot of pride in what I have accomplished so far in terms of progress.

Production Company Logo

     A small part of putting together the film opening for the portfolio project is creating a production company logo, similar to the one that appears before the beginning of a real movie. I wanted to imitate that as best as I could, but was at a loss for what my production company should actually look like. Still, in the past, I’ve always imagined what it would look like if I had my own animation studio, and had a few ideas that were tucked away in the back of my mind.

    I wanted the logo to be simple but striking; something that would stick with the viewer immediately after seeing it. Many studios and companies have a certain theming or symbol to represent themselves in the logo, respectively. For example, Pixar Animation Studios has its well-known “Luxo Lamp” character in its opening logo sequence, Columbia Pictures is known for its iconic “Torch Lady” logo, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s logo features live-action footage of a lion roaring. I hoped that the logo I created might similarly be as recognizable and memorable.

    I felt that an immediately effective way to do this would be to pair audio elements together with visuals, and like I stated before, the logo should be simple but unique in appearance. The concept of having a character or object representing a production company reignited an idea that I had had regarding creating my own studio. I decided that having a visual symbol that a viewer would automatically be familiar with would fulfill my purposes perfectly: a crescent moon. As for what kind of audio elements I could incorporate with the logo, I thought about what kinds of sounds one would associate with the moon in real life, and what immediately came to mind was the sound of a wolf’s howl. I believed that this was another perfect incorporation, as many actual production companies use symbolically use animals as a striking image in their logo. And with that, I was only left to think of a color that I could use the logo. I wanted to choose a color that would be memorable and pleasing to the eye, but didn’t want to choose a generic color that is typically given to the moon, such as blue or white. So I settled on the color gold, which was unconventional, but paired nicely with the crescent moon symbol. And so with that, I had created a concept for my own production company: GoldenMoon Pictures 

Film Opening: Screenplay

    The a film’s screenplay is always an absolutely crucial part of the production process, as it provides a detailed written outline for everything that happens onscreen; the setting, the characters, the dialogue, the sounds, the shots, and even the editing. A more complex type of script, screenplay is the plan for the movie on a sheet of paper so that it can be filmed or animated, describing each moment by what will be seen and heard. It usually consists of a heading that marks when a new scene begins or the time and setting changes, descriptions of what the characters are doing or what the audience is seeing in general, and of course, lines of dialogue (with character names written above or next to them to indicate who is speaking).

    With that said, one might assume that a screenplay for a scene with no dialogue would be a bit shallow, but that is not at all the case. In moments like these, the story is told through actions, facial expressions, visual details, sound effects, and music, which can be just as powerful. Screenplay goes beyond spoken lines. Instead, you describe what the audience can see is happening. Body language can convey what a character is feeling even better than having them say it, and the environment and setting can also help to do some narrative work and give information as well. Scenes without dialogue are often regarded as unique and admirable, and can be extremely powerful because they let the audience understand the emotions without being told what those emotions are, which can actually limit the range of feelings that might be derived from the scene. It often strikes a deeper chord. A screenplay with no dialogue can still tells a story, but with only images, movements, and sound.

Film Opening Screenplay:

    

Film Opening: Setting and Designing the World

     In animation, you basically have a blank canvas to build an entire world and setting for your story to take place in, and every single part of is decided by the artist. This allows for a lot of creative freedom but it can also be challenging because you have to really think about how you want to craft it. Every animated film or show has a world that was created by from scratch, and many take advantage of this to form a stylized backdrop for the story which gives the media a unique aesthetic and identity. 

    As I have mentioned before, I want the setting of my animated film opening to be clearly based on the medieval English era, as many fantasy worlds are. However, I have now started thinking about how I can add some unique elements to the background art and illustrations in order to make it more visually interesting and engaging. While I do want the characters and backgrounds to look realistic, I worry that might be a bit basic and boring to look at, and a bit of added stylization would certainly make the scene stand out.

    I decided to look back at the inspiration that I took from other fantasy films, as well as other animated films that are heavily stylized or included some kind of visual techniques. There are plenty of examples of realistic animations for mature audiences that still have distinct settings. In these films and shows, the more creative aspects of the world were in the backgrounds or textures, opting for a more artistic approach with certain things looking as if they were drawn or painted by hand rather than digitally. 

    I believe doing something similar with my animated film opening would fulfill that need for a bit of visual flair and would definitely make it look more unique. The software that I am using (Procreate Dreams) has the perfect tools that would allow me to create this kind of atmosphere. Specifically, I hope to achieve a similar painted effect in order for the imagery to appear as if it were ripped out of a fairytale storybook, fitting the fantastical narrative.

Film Opening: Color and Lighting

     Color and lighting are especially important because they determine the tone and mood of the scene, and how the audience feels when they see things on screen. For example, high key lighting can make a scene feel safe and comfortable, while low lighting can make it feel dangerous and mysterious, striking fear into the viewer. Seeing warm colors (yellow, orange, red) on screen evokes feelings of high energy, while cool colors (blue, green, purple) are associated with tranquility and calmness. Lighting the scene with a certain color other than white, as well as the intensity, is a very effective way to establish the atmosphere. 

    In a scene where a whole village full of people is destroyed in a huge fire, the mood should certainly be tragic, deeply upsetting, suspenseful and terrifying. Fire is something that typically brings fear and harm, and it is a symbol of danger in many films, animated or otherwise. It is bright, harsh, hot, destructive, and difficult to control in large amounts. In my film opening, the fire is a tragic event and I want to emphasize the large scale of the damage it has caused and its impact on the protagonist. The blaze is the backdrop for the scene, and it engulfs the entire landscape that we see. Therefore, that makes it an ever present entity. The perfect way for me to display this is by having fire be the primary lighting source for the sequence. To do this, I would need to eliminate any other potential source of light that could potentially overtake it, which is a bit tricky because the scene is taking place outdoors. So I chose to set the scene at night, in complete and utter darkness and silence. This way, the fire burning up the entire setting is the focus of the scene. In the black dark sky, it lights up and becomes the only thing visible and moving, the only thing we can see, and the only thing that gives light to see anything else.

    The color scheme of the scene would definitely include bright, harsh shades of red, orange, and yellow. In fact, we call these warm colors because they are all largely representative of fire. In the opening, the presence of warm colors should feel almost overwhelming to create a feeling of danger and doom rather than warmth, safety, or comfort. So the lighting must also be very harsh to create this feeling. The dim, dark, nighttime background would create a sharp contrast with the fire which provides this harsh light, making the lighting of the scene incredibly dramatic overall. 

    I decided to make a color board to get a better understanding of exactly what this palette would look like on screen, and the general aesthetic of the production design.

Shuler, S. (2025, November 10). The hidden color theory behind Disney animation. The DisInsider. https://thedisinsider.com/2025/11/10/the-hidden-color-theory-behind-disney-animation/

Film Opening: Audio

    Every film must include some kind of sound, especially in wordless storytelling. When creating a soundscape for my animated film opening, I knew I mainly wanted to use music and stings to enhance the mood of the scene.

    The scene of course begins with imagery of the burning houses and buildings, showing the damage and ruin that this village has suffered from a massive fire. While this is being shown to the audience, I think I would want to utilize music that is slow, saddening, and sentimental yet striking, probably including violins or some kind of string instrument. This music would be non-diegetic, meaning it does not exist inside the world of film. Instead, it is there to set the tone and create feeling inside the audience, and in this case, make them understand that this is a tragic and dramatic situation. The music makes the audience feel emotions of sorrow at the traumatic event that has occurred. When the shots transition to take place inside the destroyed house of the protagonist, the audience sympathizes with the protagonist and understands his grief as we see the kind of life he once had through the items inside his home. The music sets up the depressing atmosphere and feelings of pity and commiseration that would come with the sight of a wide-scale tragedy.

    Other important audio elements that I am very keen to incorporate into the sequence are the sound that accompany the initial appearance of the dragon as the massive figure slowly moves into frame. Up to that point, the cause of the fire is left unanswered, until we see the fire-breathing creature flying overhead. The audience understands that it is clearly capable of causing a large amount of death and destruction, so I want the moment when the dragon shows itself on screen for the first time to be impactful and powerful. Sound effects such as a loud shrieking roar could accompany the moment, as well as a strong musical sting. I imagine that sting would be comprised of brass and horn instruments, which are known to produce loud, powerful, resonant sounds compared to any other instrument (brass instruments are the loudest in an orchestra). 

    This idea was influenced by this moment from the film “The Sea Beast,” in which the massive sea monster suddenly appears on screen with a haunting music sting. 

    The moment following the dragon’s appearance would quickly change the tone of the opening sequence. The music would become much more sparse and muted, and the realistic diegetic audio effects would be the primary sound. This would probably include the sound of the dragon swooping down as it flies away, growling, and the crackling of the fire. 

    As for foley (sound effects created with objects), I feel that I could use sharp kitchen knives for when the sword is pulled out from the ground, and possibly crinkling bubble wrap, tinfoil, or even sizzling bacon for the sound of the fire.

   Finally, the part when the main character picks up the sword, and we see a point of view shot of him pointing it in the direction of the dragon intercut with a tight close up of his eyes — I want some kind of dramatic musical sting to kick in at this point to place the proper emphasis that this important moment requires. It establishes the goal of the protagonist and his desire for revenge. Though I’m not sure exactly what kind of sounds this would involve, I imagine the music would be rather orchestral and dramatic. This is a key moment that concludes the opening of the film. 

Character Development

     Developing a character is key to engaging your audience, especially within the beginning of the film. This goes beyond just creating and naming them. You have to give them personality, backstory, desires, and motivations. 

    Because the first two minutes of my film don’t have any dialogue, it is most important to convey the personality and background of my character through visual and surface level elements, such as his name, physical appearance, and movements. I want him to come across as a tough, aged, rugged warrior, yet also a wise, kind, gentle, and ultimately emotionally mature person under his rough exterior. He is an older man, honorable and brave, but has a misguided affliction for taking revenge on those that have hurt him, as we see in the opening sequence.

    For the protagonist of my film opening, I wanted to give him a name that reflected the setting and genre. In most western fantasy narratives, the characters often have names that the audience would likely not be familiar with in order to establish the new, magical, world in which the story takes place, often based in the past. Characters may have foreign names derived from different languages, or ones that are entirely made up. So I decided to search the internet for Old English names originating from the Anglo-Saxon period (450-1100), and often featuring strong nature-based or virtue-driven meanings. I thought this would nicely match the personality of my character and the medieval-inspired setting, and quickly decided  on the name: Aldrich. The name means “old and wise ruler,” comes from Old English words, and is historically associated with Anglo-Saxon nobility. The quality of being a leader, king, or “ruler” reflects the respectable, honorable nature of the character, as well as the wisdom he has in his older age. 

    Much of the plot in the opening minutes is devoted to establishing the protagonist’s backstory, and depicting the aftermath of the fire. But once again, the absence of dialogue means that the information must be relayed to the audience visually. The character’s’s village has been destroyed by a fire-breathing dragon, an event that gives him a motivation behind the main goal that he would strive to accomplish throughout the rest of the  narrative: to hunt and slay the beast. Consumed by vengeance, he embarks on his quest, which kicks off the rest of the story.

    Finally, when designing this character, I of course had to incorporate parts of his personality into his design, as that is what makes a good character design. The character is supposed to be a strong, tough fighter, I wanted to give him a thick, heavy muscular build, with broad shoulders. To further enhance this look, I also have him a thick fur cape, which was perfect to make him look even larger and bigger than he already was. It also hides parts of his body, of course, making him seem a bit mysterious. Immediately, I decided to give him a beard, to make him look older and more rugged. His hair would also be grey, and I gave him large boots to enforce that idea that this character is a tough warrior. His clothing was definitely inspired by medieval style clothes, and the costuming in Game of Thrones. I wanted his clothes to look ancient, and from a different age. I imagine his clothes would be colored grey and brown, very neutral tones, but I do want to incorporate some blue into his design as well, possibly in the eye color. The eyes are where the viewer’s attention should go when looking at an animated or drawn character, because that is where the character show the most emotion and humanity.

Momcozy. (n.d.). Aldrich name meaning, origin, and popularity insights. Momcozy. Retrieved February 16, 2026, from https://es.momcozy.com/blogs/baby-names/aldrich/

Storyboard

Here is the first storyboard for my animated fantasy film opening…

Integration of Media Theory

     The class has been studying media theory since the beginning, so it is only natural for us students to be expected to incorporate our knowledge of media theory into our film opening project. With so many parts of mine already thought out, I believe I can find a theory that applies to my story quite well… 

    Levi Strauss’ binary opposition theory states that we experience life through the concept of opposites like good vs. evil, birth and death. This theory relates to narratives where elements of the story are constructed through opposition, and it applies to my own story as well. During my research, I discovered that Strauss studied mythology, a common inspiration for lots of fantasy media, and how his theory persists throughout so much of it. He broke down myths into basic elements and showed that myths from across the world are structured by binary opposition and patterns of transformation. I deduced that this might be why we see so many complete opposites in fantasy, such as the contrast between rich and poor, strength and weakness, beauty and ugliness. The audience makes sense of stories through these concepts which are easier to understand. Of course, I should be able to effectively integrate opposition into my film opening.

    The character of the dragon, who is the monstrous beastly villain of the scene, could be interpreted as a representation of evil and in many classic pieces of mythology, they are. However, I can further illustrate that concept by using color design. A black and red color scheme would  make the beast seem all the more malicious and dangerous, as those two colors, especially when used together, invoke feelings of danger and mystery in the human mind. I might contrast the inherent monstrousness of the dragon with the hero of the story, who is human, and therefore the audience would understand and empathize with him. His facial expressions are readable and we can comprehend his thoughts and feelings without any dialogue. To further push the theory of binary opposition, I should emphasize his facial movements while animating the opening. 

    Overall, focusing on one specific theory and reworking my initial plan a bit to better reflect it has helped me to learn how media theory as a whole could impact a film.

Main Idea and Major Inspirations (Film Opening)

     The time has come to explain the full story behind my film opening. I have had the film’s plot already conceived for a while now, and though there is no specific piece that directly inspired it, the influence that dramatic fantasies have had on my writing is certainly in effect. I wanted the film to be the set up for a big epic story, and really lean in to the idea that this is the beginning of something greater about to happen. Many fantasy films follow the “hero’s journey” formula with their plots, often involving slaying great beasts or defeating an evil force. I wanted to allude to this in my film opening using techniques like foreshadowing and visual storytelling — it shows the hero about to embark on his quest, and why he wants to do so. I also knew from the moment I chose to make a film in this genre that I wanted to involve a dragon, as I’ve always loved the mythical creatures and I have been drawing them since I was very young. 

    The scene opens on a slow fade-in to an overhead establishing shot of a village gone up in flames, burning into ash. This would be the start to a slow, somber sequence of shots showing the singed and severely damaged town, and the smaller individual areas where buildings and structures have been destroyed. I imagine some kind of slow, sad violin or piano music would accompany this to set the tragic mood, and a lack of any sound effects. Then, in one of these shots, we would suddenly see a man, injured and scarred, crawling out from one of the houses. There would then be multiple slow panning shots showing objects or rooms from inside this house to communicate crucial background information about this man, who is our protagonist, and his backstory; the man had a life and a family who were taken by the fire. Suddenly, with a loud musical sting (possibly harsh brass instruments and horns), the scene hard cuts to a large dragon would soaring above the village with a huge roar, completely changing the tone and surprising the audience. As it flies away, becoming a small shape in the distance, the man would start to recoup himself. He stands up, spots a nearby sword projecting out of the ground, pulls it out, and points it the dragon’s distant figure. There would likely be a POV shot with him pointing the sword directly at it. He then hobbles off in the direction that the creature flew off to.

    The concept behind this opening is that the home and life of the protagonist was completely destroyed by this villainous dragon, and he is now setting out on a journey to hunt the beast down and exact revenge. A bit dark and gritty, but many intense fantasy epic have a very similar tone, if not even more so. The protagonist, I want him to have a rough, grizzled, but strong and powerful appearance, as if he were a tough, brutal warrior. The dragon, on the other hand, would certainly need to have a menacing and monstrous appearance to communicate the challenge that the hero will face in his quest to slay it.

    For someone who has been engaging with fantasy media as long as I have, there are so many inspirations that come to mind when I think of how I want to create a film from the genre. In particular, I am really looking to other films as an example for the visual aesthetic and style that I want. Along with finding a basis for the background art, it is quite the obstacle for me at the moment. So observing how other films handled these aspects and many others could benefit me greatly, and help me to improve my standing in the process.

    While developing an art style for the film, I was not sure whether to take a more realistic approach or really lean into the fantastical magical concept. But in the end, I think I am going to combine the two, though definitely on the darker gritty realism side to better serve the serious tone of the story. A more exaggerated art style can make a piece of media inherently feel upbeat or whimsical, regardless of the content itself. This is why comedic animation often comes in the form of cartoons, while intense drama typically looks much more realistic. Either way, fantasy always tends to be more colorful to illustrate the magic in the setting. The general look of the film is indicative of its tone (unless there is an intentional contrast between the two). For an exceptional example of bringing together two distinct visual styles, I took some inspiration from Sleeping Beauty, a 1959 film by Walt Disney Animation Studios. 

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 ©️ Zoungy Kligge

©️ DailyArt Magazine

©️ D23

    The first thing from this film that I wanted to try and emulate was the backgrounds. The way every single stone and tree has small details to give it a textured appearance, the careful lighting and shading, and the gradients are all so pleasing to look at. In addition, the pictures can be broken down into simple abstract shapes, such as the curved rolling hills which look like smooth perfect curves. That fine symmetry exemplifies how the film combines realism with fantasy. But my favorite part about the backgrounds is the color. Each location has its own unique palette, such as the pastels in the kingdom, and the natural tones of green and brown and blue in the forest. The visuals make it so that it feels different when ever the setting changes, and this distinction makes the world of Sleeping Beauty seem so much bigger and more interesting. This brightly colored world truly feels fantastical, even without fairies or an evil sorceress on screen. Though I most likely wouldn’t put in the same amount of extreme detail when I begin working on the backgrounds for my project due to time constraints, I will absolutely do as much as I can to achieve a similar look and aesthetic, and use similar techniques with colors, shapes, and lighting. 

Another reason why I want to take inspiration from this film is because of the character designs in the film. Disney as an animation studio has a very recognizable and well-know style which can be seen in all of their movies, whether they are hand drawn or CGI, and it of course affects character design; characters in Disney’s films are usually drawn with large expressive eyes, small noses, rounded edges, realistic proportions, and sometimes exaggerated features. This style has always spoken to me because it allows for more visually distinct emotive characters, and I love incorporating elements in a character’s design that reflect their personality. For example, Maleficent, the antagonist of the film, has pale sickly green skin, long, sharp, pointed features, and wears all black, conveying her wicked nature. Meanwhile, the three fairies have very round faces and bodies with small dainty facial features to match their kind and nurturing personalities. I want to use these techniques for myself when designing the few characters in my film opening.

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©️ The Internet Animation Database 

©️FlashFilm

   The final point of inspiration I drew from Sleeping Beauty is the design of the dragon (more accurately, Maleficent in her dragon form). My opening also includes a dragon as a major plot point, and I would like the creature to have a cool memorable look. The great thing about mythical animals in a visual medium is that they don’t exist in the real world, and therefore they can look however you want. There is no rule as to what a dragon must look like. But that presents a challenge as to what the one in my film will look like. Dragons appear a lot in fantasy media, and each film has them look a bit differently, even if they behave similarly. So deciding what mine should look like — and also getting it to stand out — is difficult. But that is why I look to other films for inspiration. I originally wanted the dragon to be red or orange to match the warm colors in fire, but I realized that might cause it to blend into the bright fiery background of the burning village. And it is also a rather common, generic design for a dragon. The next thing I considered was to color the dragon black, representing darkness, mystery, and evil, alluding to its antagonistic role in the story and vague motivations. Black is a color that automatically causes the mind to feel fear or intimidation, especially in large amounts. This would also help it to be much more visible against the background. Afterwards, I immediately thought of the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. In that film, the dark color of the dragon was a clever design element. The scary elements such as the large toothy fire-breathing mouth and glowing eyes are especially striking when set against a jet black silhouette. It also made the dragon more mysterious because the dark color obscured textures, details, and shadows. This makes it feel more like an otherworldly being, even in a fantasy world. For these reasons, my final design for the dragon in my film will likely take a lot of inspiration from Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.

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©️ Disney Wiki

    Approaching the designs of the clothing and costume of my main character, I looked at Game of Thrones’ costume designs. Many of them are very clearly influenced by medieval styles of apparel and armor, illustrating genre. Characters in that series such as Jon Snow and Ned Stark wear thick fur cloaks, which I quite like as it makes them look rugged and I think I would want this aesthetic for my character as well. For me, the most important thing about the character’s costume is that it looks like something that would only be worn in olden times instead of the modern day, and that it communicates the “battle-warrior” aesthetic. Game of Thrones fits both of these criteria as it is a pretty war-heavy show, and the medieval inspiration is very noticeable in every single aspect of its production. And because my fantasy film will also take inspiration from medieval-style designs, I will definitely take inspiration from it.

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    Game of Thrones also has several individual dragons integrated into the story, brought to life in a realistic way using CGI. What I most like about the way dragons are portrayed in Game of Thrones is the pure size of these creatures that makes them seem powerful, intimidating, and larger than life on a grand scale. Having the dragons be so incredibly huge really emphasizes the sheer strength and might that they possess, causing the human characters to come across as weak and small in comparison, truly presenting the challenge and threat that a dragon could be. Because the dragon in my story is built up to be such an intimidating and daunting opposing force, having it be similarly big would definitely capture its strength and dominance over the protagonist. 

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©️Fiction Horizon

    The final point of inspiration for my film opening is Lord of the Rings. Going into this project, I wasn’t fully sure how I was going to design a serviceable backdrop for the film opening. Of course it is set in a medieval village, and the basic aesthetic that I am aiming for is that of a classic small, simple, rural village like you might find in the English countryside, surrounded by nature, only with a vintage medieval aesthetic. But there were certain aspects of that kind of location that I just didn’t know how to design. For example, I didn’t know what the houses should look like or the what kind of infrastructure a medieval town would have, let alone how to draw that location in ruins and wreckage. Luckily, I was able to find a perfect reference that perfectly captured the exact same image that I wanted achieve. Lord of the Rings features the very setting that I had envisioned in one of its primary locations, called Edoras. It is a great example of Old English-inspired set design with wooden and stone structures. I will also be using this as major inspiration for my own set design.

©️LOTR Wiki

First Group Meeting

    Before moving on any further, the class as a whole was assigned to groups made of other students, where we all had to meet up, discuss our ideas with each other, offer constructive criticism as to how to improve the project, and take note of what the other members thought. This was particularly challenging for me because I was quite nervous to share the concept behind my film opening because of how different it is. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by how productive, attentive, and understanding my group was. I think we did an excellent job of staying on task while also keeping things light-hearted.

    My group was made of students Ella, Isabella, Jake, Katalina, Marat, and Santi. Marat was the first to share, and he explained that he wanted to do a crime mystery film opening where an antagonist who takes precious artifacts from all around the world, is stealing a piece of jewelry, and the two main protagonists, who are the detectives of the film, find clues after that he left behind. He also explained that he wanted the credits to be done using calling cards that the villain left behind, but the teacher advised him against it. To me, he seemed to have a strong base idea of what he wanted to do in terms of the story, but he wasn’t fully prepared to carry it out and his vision needed a bit of revising. So the group members asked him a lot of questions about his film opening, such as where he was going to film, who he planned to use as actors, and offered some advice as to how he could improve the story. 

    Santi’s idea was a bit similar, though he seemed to have a more solid plan. He also wanted to do a mystery film. His opening would be based around an interrogation session with a mysterious doctor, framed as a flashback sequence (I believe is what he was saying). The main thing that everyone was concerned about was how the scene was going to be lighted, as Santi noted that the interrogation would take place in a dark room. So the group offered some suggestions as to how he could better light the scene, and some lighting techniques that could also be utilized.

    Jake was the next person to share, and he wanted to make an opening for a horror thriller movie. Immediately, I was a bit confused because the teacher had deterred though not banned us from choosing the horror genre. However, I found his idea to be quite interesting, engaging, and unique. Jake’s opening would be about a person running through a dark forest at night, before stumbling upon an abandoned building. This is a tricky setup, and the group was very questioning about where he planned to film this scene, and the location where he would shoot specifically, as this opening seems to be very reliant on the setting for its mystery. Jake explained that he found a sufficient nearby location called “Treetops.” I had never heard of it, but from what I understood, it is some kind of park or campgrounds that is heavily forested enough for the opening. The group asked him about how late he planned to film the opening, as he specifically said that it would take place at night. We all encouraged this decision, as having a dark background would add to the suspense and intrigue. Many of us also recommended that he use frightening sound effects to make the opening a bit more engaging and less vague, and also to use shaky handheld camera movements to match the scary tone of the scene. I believe that Jake needed to find out how late the park would be open in order to film there at night, but I think that he figured it out, and that it would be open late enough.

    Katalina’s film opening would be about a girl in her room, listening to a voicemail from her mother, who is out late and ignoring her calls. The protagonist then starts packing up her things to leave. She goes downstairs and finds alcohol bottles all over the place and a man lying on the floor. The girl would accidentally knock over one of the bottles, waking the angry man up. Katalina was still debating about who the man would actually be, but explained that he was likely the father or a boyfriend of the mother. We all agreed that this story has a lot going on at once, and that perhaps she should trim it down a little to fit the time limit of two-minutes and to avoid feeling too rushed. These things take time to set up and establish, otherwise the opening would just be confusing. Ella suggested using blank cream soda bottles as props for the bottles of wine, which I thought was a very clever idea. Jake recommended a shot taking place downstairs, showing the main character running down the stairs, and juxtaposing the clean house with the girl’s messy room (although that comment confused me because she had explained that there would be alcohol bottles all over the floor downstairs). 

    Ella wanted to make an opening to a teen drama film about a neglected girl, focused on the protagonist struggling to prepare for a party at her house. When she asks her parents for help, they dismiss her. Ella said that she was considering framing the shots to only show the adult’s from the neck down, and hide their faces. I though this was a very meaningful technique to represent the distance between them and the daughter, and how they might feel like a stranger to her, but I also noted that it would require some tactful camera work and tricks in order to do so in a way that looked good.

    Isabella’s film opening would be about a girl rushing out of cheer practice, and exchanging a strange look with a guy when she does. The protagonist runs to her house and packs up some drugs, and then the sound of a car honking would be heard before she drives away with that same guy. Isabella wanted the ending to be ambiguous and mysterious, and to show the contrast between the two lives of the protagonist. Some of our group members suggested that she use sugar or grass as the drugs. She also said she wasn’t sure whether to roll the credits towards the beginning or the end of the opening, so I suggested that it should be towards the beginning because it makes the more regular part of her character’s life seem simpler and mundane.

    And finally, with my own opening, my other group members had some questions about the story and audio elements. They had some interesting ideas for me regarding how I could portray the situation and also the technical elements such as the title and credits, such as recommending using the fire in some creative way when rolling the credits, or showing the title in the form of the dragon breathing smoke or on a wooden sign. Isabella asked me what kind of style I was going to animate in, and I knew that I needed to think about that some more. From my own perspective, I don’t think I explained the overall idea of the story and main character very well because of how frantically I was speaking. Either way, I am grateful for the small bit of input from my group and I hope that my final project will be impressive to them.

At first, I was rather hesitant to talk to others about my film opening project, but I really quite like the group I was assigned to and I really appreciate the cooperation from everyone. Throwing around ideas, receiving feedback on how to make them better and improve the story was rather fun. It reminded me of the stage in the production process where writers, screenwriters, directors all spend days discussing the script and story behind a film. Therefore, I can see how these group meetings will be extremely helpful for every student in the class, myself included.

    

Color Schemes: Researching for Portfolio Project

    One of the best ways to make a film’s opening really stick with the audience is to have a strong color scheme used in the scene. Color is an essential aspect of filmmaking in any medium, but especially in animation as you basically have a blank canvas to utilize any colors you want. But I feel that I need to learn more about color usage and especially composition before I can move forward. What shades should I use, and how much of each color? I have compiled most of the time I spent researching, looking at animated films in particular for examples.

    A color scheme is a set of colors that a shot, movie, or any form of visual media uses in its design. Though the reason for the use of color to make things look more dynamic and appealing might be obvious, color also tells a story. Color is a huge part of mise-en-scene and everything we see in frame, and it can have an emotional, psychological impact without us even noticing. Color in film can build harmony or tension within a scene, or bring attention to a key theme. When telling a story, colors illicit a reaction, draw the focus to a specific detail, set the tone, represent character traits, or show changes in the story. And that is because of color theory. Color theory and psychology shape how we perceive and interpret what imagery. You can use color schemes to direct your audience’s emotions and desires. Directors, producers, and writers utilize a movie color palette / exploit color theory to get their film’s tone and heart across.

    Designing a good color scheme is essential to evoking mood and setting tone in a film. Regardless of your intention when choosing a color, the way that the viewer actually interprets the use of that color may be drastically different. That is why color psychology is so important. It explores how different colors affect human emotions, behaviors, and perceptions. Different colors have different universal meanings and associations that are widely accepted, and therefore helps us to predict what reaction the audience will have from a specific color. When you’re creating a color scheme, you should consider the psychology of color and decide whether the color scheme you want to use is the best for evoking the right feelings and thoughts in your audience. To make sure that you’re always aware of how color psychology affects your work and that you’re using the right colors, keep in mind the following ways in which specific colors are perceived.

    Warm colors like red and yellow evoke feelings of high energy, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, cool colors like blue and green tend to induce calmness and serenity.

    Red always represents intense feelings, like anger and aggression, but also passion and love. It has the ability to accelerate heart rate and breathing and is so it is also associated with danger and urgency too.

    Orange is a combination of red in yellow, and the responses it creates are very much a combination of the two as well. Orange can represent joy, creativity, and warmth and comfort. However, it can also evoke thoughts of passion and aggression. It is linked heavily to the autumn season.

    Yellow can be seen as a cheerful, playful, and positive emotion, often associated with joy and excitement. It grabs the attention quickly, but it’s difficult for the eye to take in when there is too much yellow in a space, so it is sometimes used as a threatening or intimidating sign. It is also known for madness, obsession, idyllic, and naivety.

    Green is most commonly used to represent nature, health, prosperity, and peace. However, it is also viewed as a color of envy and jealousy. In some contexts, green can relate to sickness, disgust, or be associated with villains.

    Blue is one of the most popular colors there is. The sky and water both influence our understanding of the color blue. It often represents calmness or peace, and can even cause the body to produce calming chemicals. Blue is a symbol with positive meanings, and tends to represent goodness, loyalty, and productivity. Although it can also represent sadness, melancholy, and loneliness. 

    Purple is often referred to as a color of royalty, and that is how it came to be known, evoking ideas of wealth, power, beauty, luxury, sophistication, sincerity, and authority. It is also seen as a rare and artificial color because it does not appear in nature much, and also associated with fantasy, mysticism, magic, and even evil.

    Pink often relates to femininity, and evokes ideas of romance and love. It is a soft color that is sometimes used to make the scene feel more pleasant. It brings to mind gentleness, happiness, playfulness, tranquility, innocence and youth. 

    Black has many meanings, both positive and negative. It signifies death, grief, mystery, and evil, but it also invokes thoughts of sophistication, formality, simplicity, and tradition. Black is also seen in religious settings and is a sign of submission.

    White represents innocence, purity, sincerity and happiness, but also sterility, both because it is difficult to keep clean and because it is the absence of all color.

    Brown brings to mind earth and dirt, which invokes ideas of ruggedness, solitude, hardness, and reliability. It can also be seen as a basic and bland color.

There are three main components to consider when choosing a color scheme:

• Hue refers to the pure color itself, distinguishing one color from another like the difference between red, blue, and green. 
• Saturation measures the intensity or purity of a color, ranging from vivid or muted tones. 
• Brightness indicates dark or light a color is, altered by adding black or white.

These components drastically affect how a color scheme facilitates the design. For example, a desaturated grayish shade of blue might be read as depressing and gloomy, while a brighter shade of blue would be considered much more pleasant. It is very important to understand color theory, but these are not the strict standard rules for how color can be used. Context also plays a major role in how color is interpreted.

    A color wheel is a fundamental element to keep in mind when building up your color scheme. Red, Yellow and Blue are the three primary colors spaced evenly around the wheel. By mixing together the primary colors, we get the secondary colors, orange, green, and purple. And finally, combining primary colors with secondary ones results in tertiary colors. The right side of the wheel contains warm tints, and the left side, cool tints. A color scheme can contain any colors you want, but there are some specific types of schemes with rules that you should abide by. 

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    In a monochromatic color scheme, there is one dominant hue from which we would get various tones. It comes in shades of a single color such as red, dark red, pink, and light pink. This creates a deeply harmonious feeling this is soft, soothing, and lulling. It is easy to immediately understand the mood of the shot. 

Monochromatic Color Scheme in 

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    Complementary color schemes ade one of the most popular in the filmmaking world. Contrasting drama, complementary colors are located on opposite sides of the color wheel to each other. Complementary colors often represent internal or external conflict, and use both warm and cool tones to create heavy tension and heavy contrast.

    Analogous color schemes utilize colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel. They tend to occur in nature and are pleasing to the eye. Examples include red and violet, or yellow and lime green. Since the colors lack the high contrast of complementary colors, they instead create a more unified harmonious feeling. In general, when creating an analogous color scheme, one color is chosen to dominate, one to support, and one other like black or white to accent.

    A triadic color scheme is when three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel are used in conjunction. Red, yellow, and blue are the perfect examples. One of the three colors is chosen to dominate while the other two are used in a complementary fashion. 

    (Note: The 60 - 30 - 10 rule: a basic formula that designers in media use for color. Sixty percent of the shot should focus on a main dominant color, thirty percent should utilize a secondary color, and ten percent should use an accent color.)

    There are plenty of ways to create symbolism in a film by using colors; it is a great visual storytelling technique. But using different types of color schemes can be most effective. Even if the audience is not actively noticing the symbolism, they are subconsciously effected by it. Discordant color schemes, for example, consist of one of one or more colors appearing in a particular sequence of the movie despite it never being used before. It can help a character, object, or moment stand out in the rest of the film. Discordance is a deliberate choice of the director to deviate from the rules of the balanced color schemes in order to draw attention to something. It makes for a much more obvious symbol. Another way to make symbols using colors is through association with one character or concept. When a recurring color represents a theme / character in a film, it connects visual elements with emotional storytelling. Finally, transitional color usage is when a change in the color scheme represents a shift in the story. This could be a shift in tone or mood, in genre, or within the characters themselves. 

Color discordance in Mary and Max (2009)

Copyright: Into Film

Transitional Color Scheme in Up (2009)

Copyright: Studio Binder

    A movie’s color scheme is a place where filmmakers can create conflict and drama, improve their skills, and make compositions even better in terms of mood. You can build up your color scheme anyway you want as long as it appears cohesive and attractive. Nevertheless, there are guidelines that help to ensure that a film’s use of color is logical and meaningful. 

    As I go into production for my film opening, I now have multiple references as to how to make a balanced color scheme. The first thing I am going to do is consider the tone and mood of the scene. This will help me to determine what colors will best represent the feeling I want to convey in my opening sequence, and I can then apply my knowledge of color psychology and theory. Doing more research on developing character should help me to develop a color scheme as well.

Sources used for research:

Hurlbut, S. (2016, September 28). Building a color palette in your film. Filmmakers Academy. https://www.filmmakersacademy.com/color-palette-in-film/

Furneri, F. (2022, August 23). Color schemes in filmmaking. PremiumBeat. https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/color-schemes-in-filmmaking/

Risk, M. (2024, November 27). How to use color in film: 50+ examples of movie color palettes. StudioBinder. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/

The Los Angeles Film School. (n.d.). The psychology of color. The Los Angeles Film School. https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/the-psychology-of-color/

StudioBinder. (n.d.). Filmmaking techniques: Color theory in film. StudioBinder. Retrieved February 2, 2026, from https://www.studiobinder.com/filmmaking-techniques-color-theory-in-film/

Fiveable Content Team. (2025, September). Color Theory and Psychology (Visual Storytelling Unit 5.1). Fiveable. https://fiveable.me/visual-storytelling/unit-5/color-theory-psychology/study-guide/RMd5c7YU46H3DcKG

Radulescu, R. (n.d.). Movies In Color. https://moviesincolor.com/

Wood, K. (2025, August 7). The 60/30/10 color rule explained (with a FREE printable). Thistlewood Farm. https://thistlewoodfarms.com/the-60-30-10-color-rule-explained-with-a-free-printable/