Filming Blog: Looking On The Bright Side

In the previous blogs, I strictly focused on the issues we had while filming. However, in this blog I will be mentioning everything that was successful. Starting with transportation. Excluding the others who couldn’t make it, the remainder of the group had no trouble making the 30 minute drive. When everyone arrived, we wasted no time. I got my camera out and recorded the first scene, the rest was then recorded off of my group mate’s phone. While filming, there was a scene where we had to capture all of us in the film. We had no tripod, so we had to find a way around this. We plopped the camera up on a night stand, and to our disbelief the shot was filmed perfectly. Scenes 1-8 were a success, it wasn’t until the last couple of scenes where we started to have problems. 

In scene 9, we had to switch our location. We went from sitting in the living room to going to a dark moody setting. At first, we wanted to film in the bedroom, but the window’s light was shining through. Our second option was to go in the closet, but the space was too small. At this point we were hopeless and desperate. Eventually we just decided to shoot in the bathroom. I covered the toilet with a sheet so it wouldn’t be noticeable, and as for the tub we made sure that the covers show no parts. After all confirmations that our setting looked okay we began to film our last two scenes. The first scene went pretty good, but the last one was a hassle. We had to film it over and over again to make sure this one sound was perfect. 

Here’s a screenshot from one of our scenes: 

Filming Blog: Resolving An Issue

Problems have refaced the surface. Just when I thought we’ve fixed all our issues while planning. It’s as if all the confirmations were done for nothing. As mentioned before, we had some extra people contributing to our film. We’ve already discussed time, location, and transportation. However, the extras had other plans. The night before, they decided to cancel. Excuses such as going to work, or having their ride leave them last minute we’re mentioned. Our group member tried to convince us that this was a mishap, but I refused to believe. As much as i wanted to be upset, the show must have gone on. 

The remainder of us still met at the location to film. It was a hassle having to adjust from 8 people to just 4 but we got it done. For example, everyone was given extra lines. This was done so the content of the film still got across. We also had to change our script and storyboard, since those included the extras. 

Later on it was brought to our attention, that our extras were at a party. The same people who gave lousy excuses, ditched us. But the anger was no longer there, my group and I still did what we had to do. 

Here’s a picture of us discussing how we could make our film better. 

Filming Blog: Planning & Scheduling

As mentioned before in our schedule, we’ve planned to film this upcoming Saturday. However, as we continued to discuss everyone’s plans to make sure the schedule aligned issues started to come up. One group member had a track meet to attend, and another had a family outing. There was no way around this, we had to find another day to film. Being the typical high school student, I suggested that we just push shooting to next week. But my group quickly reminded me that that time is coming down on us. If we did not record this weekend, it was going to be a hassle tryna to get the entire film done in one week. So what was it going to be? Would someone have to make a sacrifice? 

After long deliberation, as a group, we’ve decided to film on Sunday. This decision didn’t interfere with anyone’s plan as well as allowing us to get things done on time. Sadly, there was one minor issue, transportation. This was more of a me problem then a group problem. I’ve already confirmed my ride for Saturday morning. Even though my group mates thought of it to be no big deal, I knew that it was. My mother tends to get upset when I constantly change my plans. She might get so frustrated that she just completely decides to not bring me anymore. To avoid this, I just asked my aunt. She already lived close to our filming location which was a win win. Now that I have fixed my issues and our group issues we were set to film on Sunday. 

Here’s a picture of my group and I when we were discussing our issues. 

Storyboard for Final Task

This is our storyboard. This story board will help out when it comes to the filming and editing process. Like in the past, the storyboard will act as a step-by-step guide for filming and editing.  For example, while we are filming we can look back at our storyboard to see what camera movements we wanted and in what scene or when to use them. We could also use the storyboard for the editing process. The storyboard could help us to remember what we wanted our titles to look like and what type of visuals we want. Overall, the storyboard helps to remind our group of our initial ideas for the film. This is helpful because we have found that sometimes while we film or while we edit we forget what we wanted and in what scene. So the storyboard helps us with this. The storyboard also helps us see if we made any changes when we finish our film or what stayed the same.

Planning Blog for Titles Sequence

In this google presentation my group and I spoke about the titles of our movie. We spoke about where they would be, what they would look like and more aspects of the titles. Examples of this include color, size, and structure of the titles. This is all included in the presentation. We also came up with the name of our movie. This posed some difficulty because we had our whole script but couldn't think of a title. We wanted our movie title to correctly summarize our movie but at the same time not give the plot away. Eventually we came up with the title. This presentation will be very useful to our group because we can use it as a reference when we are editing. And will remind us of our original title ideas if they change as the process goes on.

Planning Blog: Location, Sound, Participants, Health, Schedule

In this presentation, the aspects schedule, location, participants, and health are focused. Within our schedule, we chose as a group what days will be best for us to record. As for the location after deliberating thoroughly we decided that it will be best to film at  Sophia’s house. Furthermore, we decided on how many people we would need to conduct the film. We chose three people for our group then three extras from another, the total will result in a great representation for a group of friends. Lastly, we discussed things we can do to make sure we are safe. Which included simple things like transportation. Exchanging views about these four aspects will be beneficial to us in the future, we won’t have to replan or rethink of anything. This will prevent wasting time from our filming process. 

Sound Script for Final Task

In this Google Slides presentation, my group and I wrote out a sound script. This is a script that discusses the different sounds that would be used in our final task video. The sound effects discussed correspond with the shooting script. It is very essential to have this all planned out in order to have a smoother filming process. This script acts as a general outline for all the sounds that would be included. My group and I selectively picked out the sounds that we thought would work best with each scene. We made sure that the sounds would be able to contribute to the overall theme being horror. These sounds also allow the audience to better interpret and understand what is going on. For example, when the beat increases in the background music, the audience can assume that something is about to happen in the scene. It is extremely important to be able to identify when there will be a shift in the tone of the scene. As expected, there will be a few minor changes that may occur to the script to better suit the film. However, these changes will only be small and will not result in tremendous differences. Overall, this script will help tremendously as we begin to film, as it provides a layout for what we will need to do and edit in.

Shooting Script for Final Task

In this google slides presentation I wrote out my groups shooting script. This is a script with all of the words, camera movements and some notable editing styles. This script can act as an overall outline for our movie clip. Each slide is a new scene. So for each scene I wrote out the dialogue and the characters movements. I also like said before noted any camera movements, angles or shits that were new or important to the scene. I also did the same for any added in things that would be for the editing process. We could use this script during the filming process and follow it religiously. Of course some changes are bound to be made because that's what happens in a film. But if any changes are to be made they will be minuscule and the overall plot will remain similar to the powerpoint. And the powerpoint will be very useful for the rest of the process.