the How

Theory

The movie will explore the corner store as a social space. By interviewing store owners and frequent and infrequent customers, we aim to uncover how corner stores act as communal centers. In specific, how customers use stores for their shopping needs, the kinds of products most often purchased, and the frequency of their visits. Customer-owner relationships will be another element the movie explores. The movie will examine the dynamics between owner and customer and how it builds a lasting relationship, both business-oriented and personal.

Our project will be effective because it is a relevant subject- the corner store is a widely used resource in the bay area, especially among younger, college-aged people. It provides accessible food, hygiene, and practical use products within close proximity. The corner store is an alternative to shopping at multimillion dollar industries like Safeway, Target, and Walmart for necessity products. The movie will shed light on the behind-the-scenes aspect of corner stores. It will attempt to show how corner stores become valuable components of bay area neighborhoods.

- BM

Content, Style, and Presentation

The interviews and interaction of the owners and customers will be the main element of our film. The essential components of “Corner Store” will be the interviews, establishing shots of exteriors, B-roll of locations both inside and outside of the stores, and cutaways and close-ups of interesting elements that relate to either the people or the items for sale. The store will be the connective thread that holds it all together. Exploring the history of this corner store, and corner stores in San Francisco will add depth to the story we are telling. Additionally we will contrast corner stores with large grocery chains such as Safeway and Trader Joe’s and see what there is in the way of product overlap and price comparison.

We will be shooting interviews with store owners, staff, customers and people who are on the street in front of the store, as well as establishing shots of the exteriors of the stores. Cutaways and B-roll will be shot each time we visit, whether we have scheduled interviews that day or not. We will also be capturing continuous audio and still images to incorporate into the film. The interviewer will be off camera and no voice-overs are planned. Some vox pop or “man on the street” pieces will be included.

We will establish the corner store location setting and then follow the story lines of the store owner and a few key people over a short period of time. Shots of the exterior and interior will be interspersed with interviews and shots of activity on the street outside. Interviews will be shot both indoors and outdoors and will be fairly close-up with head and shoulders only. Camera will be eye level. The film will have lots of energy and this will show in our use of jump cuts and bright colors.  Our style will be Direct Cinema. Some directors that inspire us are Michael Apted, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and Kevin Smith for his cult-classic Clerks.

- LA

Timeline

The following is a relative timeline we've put together prior to starting the project. Feel free to check this out and our tentative calendar below.

Weekly Plan:

Mondays	Tuesdays	Wednesdays	Thursdays	Fridays	Weekends
Group Meet/Class Plan weekly agenda	Filming?	Class Editing	Blog Update	Transcriptions	Editing/Filming

- ES