Miguel Castro: Assignment 2
Film Research
The Introduction of the Jet gang.
A section of the Prologue introducing the Sharks though dance.
Maria as she spins in an imaginary space.
The Mombo scene where the two gangs dance with their girls.
The main characters encounter each other for the first time, finding themselves in a world where only they exist.
Maria and Tony on the balcony scene after the dance singing "Tonight."
Anita and the Sharks girls dancing to "America," a satirical song reflecting on the ups and downs of life in America for Puerto Rican Immigrants.
Maria dancing and singing to "I Feel Pretty." This song is about Maria's giddiness over her love for Tony. The Shark girls mark her off as crazy and out of her mind.
Maria and Tony singing "One Hand, One Heart." In this scene, Tony visits Maria in the Bridal shop where they act out their marriage.
The Rumble is a scene where both gangs fight against each other with one member representing each gang. The fight gets out of hand when Tony tries to break it up, resulting in the death of his best friend Riff and Bernardo at Tony's hand.
The Dream Sequence is a scene where Tony runs back to Maria and tells him what he did. Maria refuses to dismiss her love for him and together they sing "Somewhere." This song embodies their struggle to find a place where they both can be togehter.
The final scene results in the death of Tony by Maria's supposed fiance Chino. Maria cries over Tony before kissing him far well.
Essay
West Side Story is set in Manhattan, where we meet a gang of boys snapping their fingers to a beat. They are a Caucasian gang known as the Jets. They reveal their rivalry in the prologue of the story as they encounter their Puerto Rican rivals, the Sharks. The hatred that the two gangs harbor for each other explodes whenever they find each other on their turf in the streets. Their opposing color schemes such as the Jets’ blues and yellows to the Sharks’ purples and reds emphasizes this passionate rivalry. In the dance at the gym scene, we see the separation between the two sides as all the Sharks stay to the left and all the Jets to the right. Their energetic movements become a blur as the two star-crossed lovers find each other across from the dance floor. Elements of fantasy occur throughout the story in the minds of the main characters such as this scene and the dream sequence. The mood of the story starts off very energetic and quick paced, but then it slows down and takes on a light-hearted tone with witty numbers. Songs like America and I Feel Pretty add humor, which relieves the escalating tension. The love between Tony (a former Jet leader) and Maria (the sister of the Shark’s leader, Bernardo) threatens to bring the two opposing gangs together. Tensions rise as the gangs decide to settle the score in a fist fight. A frenzy ensues as the two gang leaders fight knife to knife, resulting the in the death of both gang leaders. All the youths run to escape the scene as the police sirens blare. Tony is left distraught after he killed Bernardo and lost his friend Riff (the Jet leader). Tony runs to Maria and tells her what he did but she refuses to hate him. They dream of a world where they can belong. The movie reaches its pivotal moment when Tony is shot and killed by Maria’s arranged partner Chino. Maria is left with feelings of grief and hatred for the feud that killed so many people. She learns to forgive Chino and so does everyone else as they realize that their rivalry killed those whom they loved. The rich music scores and the vibrant colors of the movie makes this film unforgettable and iconic
5 words: Rivalry, Passion, Love, Impulse, Forgiveness
Words to Idea + Thesis Statement
West Side Story is a film about two teenagers from opposing sides who fall in love and try against all odds to bring the two rival gangs together.
Visual Research (Inspiration Board/Collection)
Exploration/Formulation (Style Board/Examples/Studies)
For my concept, I wanted to center the story into a grid structure. It is tilted into a diamond shape to represent a chain linked fence but also a birds-eye-view of Manhattan where the story takes place.
The gird becomes clearer as it gets closer.
The name will appear in a similar way. This is not finalized
The interconnected paths on the grid represent the places that the story takes place and their connections leading to the finale.
The grid will serve as a basis for the design.
These interconnected paths essentially become streets in which the type will be laid.
the angle of the screen will shift to follow a path in a timely session.
Exploration/Formulation (Motion Tests)
Story Board
This section will start with a map of the city containing the names of the cast played out on the "streets."
The camera will zoom in to follow the names around the city.
The dream scene will appear as a night in the city with colors of both gangs intermixing. The names of the stars will be displayed in this section.
This section marks the beginning of the Dance at the Gym Scene. This section of the map slits in half and highlights the rivalry.
The grid then becomes filled with the colors of the gangs.
Once the grid is filled the grid is removed.
What is left is a more abstract array of colors.
The squares then break away to find their dance partners.
There will be segments of dance battles between small and big groups.
Squares will scale up to represent the dancer being lifted or jumping.
Example of group dance off.
Final Film Titles
West Side Story FNL from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.