Filming Blog:Final scenes

 

At this point, I have completed the closing scenes to the opening sequence. I have now finished filming the movie clips and can start editing to modify each scene. I had fun filming each part of this opening and look forward to seeing how the final product will come out. For these scenes, there is hardly any lighting due to the power going down. This made some scenes too dark making it hard for the audience to see. This was challenging since the flashlight did not give off as much light as predicted. This may not necessarily be a bad thing since my film genre is horror and dark lighting is a convention feature. Just like the other beginning scenes, I made sure to record at least twice per scene to have options to choose from while editing. In some clips the sound would be off and we would have to go again with a louder tone. There is only one shot left in particular that still needs to be filmed and that is the final scene. 

This is the most important scene because it leaves the audience at the edge of their seat and sets the plot for the rest of the movie. I plan to begin filming the last shot as soon as possible and then will begin my journey with editing. I also look forward to the feedback that I receive to benefit my film as a whole. The scenes that I filmed last all were shot at night to ensure the correct lighting was presented. The contrast between the light in the opening scenes and the darkness in the rest of them really represents the storyline of my film. Filming for the past 3 days has been smooth aside from technical difficulties with the sound or lighting. The footage paired with my editing will look way better than the clips by themselves. I plan to add two ominous scores along with other editing techniques. I will first include the specific titles that I planned to use since this is a very important feature to present. Time is flying by since I began to film the start of my opening sequence and soon I will have a finished project.  

Filming Blog: Two shots

      Today I filmed a few scenes that began the plot of my opening sequence. The scenes showed Jennifer and Layla’s first encounter (that Jenny knows of). Another over the shoulder shot of Jenny is included of her touring the house for the initial time. As she enters the place the shot is presented in a high angle. This was difficult to capture since I had to film from above and couldn’t see how the shot looked until the aftermath. Luckily, I took a couple shots of each scene to ensure that I have a shot with the correct lighting, sound, etc. Most of the scenes that I filmed had dialogue except for one of them. The lighting in each of these scenes still seem bright until the action starts. In one scene in particular I included a transition from a red solo cup to Layla plotting for the future. In another shot a split screen is shown to show the two characters having a conversation.
      As the director, I enjoy seeing my work come to life especially since I planned the story out myself. There have been a few obstacles that I have faced with trying to capture the correct lighting or other things along that line. The location for these scenes have changed from the previous scenes that I’ve filmed. These scenes show Jenny making her final decision about moving in and they all take place at Layla’s apartment. I am content with the scenes that I have filmed so far and I know that with editing they will meet my expectations. The next scenes I will film will have little to no lighting since the power will shut down. This will be challenging compared to the last scenes I have filmed since the lights will be dim making it harder to capture the right lighting. I will begin to film the rest of my project for the next two days. Then I will edit the whole project to finish up the initial process. I look forward to continuing my progress to finish my product.

Filming Blog: Beginning

      For the past few day’s, I have started the beginning scenes of my opening sequence. I have made some progress and I have utilized my planning as a guideline. Personally, I am not acting in the film so my job is behind the camera. I have found that it’s a challenge to capture the moment perfectly as to what I imagine it to be. I have not filmed any scenes so far that include dialogue, so I have been mainly focusing on the visuals in the shots I’ve filmed. I have about two more weeks to complete the initial filming process, so I have been using my time wisely to ensure that I don’t run out of time. Although I have created similar projects to this one, this is the only one that has structure. Also, this is the first project where I chose to work solo so this has made the process slightly more difficult. I made sure to take multiple shots of the same scene allowing me to choose from many options if needed. A lot can go wrong when you are filming such as the lighting or sound.
      First I filmed the scenes that sort of set the plot in place for the audience to have a better understanding. The first scene was an over the shoulder shot of my sister or “Jenny” looking onto her laptop to find a roommate. I picked her costume and props along with producing the actual scene. We worked on another scene for a while that introduces her getting ready for a walk. This scene was important for the climax to begin showing the sign that she found. We filmed these two shots over and over again until I decided that we had created the perfect scenes. I have 17 scenes left to film as of now and I plan to continue working hard to make my product. I have also started to search for a score that matches the scenes I have filmed. I will begin filming again with a two shot of the only two characters presented in my sequence. I have been focused on completing this project and will work to complete the initial film by the beginning of next month.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

In this blog I included the presentation of my storyboard. In my storyboard I provided descriptions of each scene that is paired with a colored detail image of how I picture each scene to look. In my storyboard, I decided to show the lighting and specific angles, movements, and shots for each part. In total I have 19 scenes in my opening sequence. Planning out each scene is useful since now I have an estimate of how long my film will be exactly and how long the filming process will take. This storyboard is a mix of the previous presentations that I have created with an exception of no sound script. This was sort of a struggle, since my work had been deleted initially and this is my second time completing this part of the assignment. Now that I have completing the planning process, I will move into filming for a certain amount of time. I believe that I will successfully create an original opening sequence with all of the experience from past projects that were similar to this one. By the time I upload next, I will already have started filming the beginning of my sequence.

Planning Blog: Title design

In this Google Slides I incorporated the specific details relating to the title design of my opening sequence. I talked about my plans for the working title, along with the general theme of my film’s titles. I will be using only one font throughout the editing process of this assignment. The two colors that I have chosen to use consistently are black and white. This matches the theme of my film genre since I decided that I would do horror. It is important to set up a plan for my titles because this allows me to be more organized as well as let’s me double check my original ideas. I must ensure that the titles I present can be easily seen, however, not to the point where they distract the viewers from the actual scene. My next step in this process is storyboarding. In order to correctly finish my storyboard, I must include specific titles and people so skipping this step would be difficult. By utilizing each presentation that I have recently created, I will successfully finish the planning process of my opening and then begin the actual filming process.

Planning Blog: Location, participants, health, schedule

This is a presentation that I have created to further continue the planning process of my opening sequence. I included the locations that will be shown in the shots for my film such as the park and a sidewalk near my neighborhood. I also included a detail list of the participants that are going to be involved in the making of my product. Now I have a set idea of who will be participating and what their role/job will be regarding the film. I talked about the health and safety measures that I will follow as well which is the most important thing to keep in mind. We will be cautious specifically in the scenes that are risky to shoot. The schedule of the remaining process for my opening sequence is included last and is very useful for planning. Having a blueprint of when I will be expected to finish each task allows me to stay on task as well as making sure that I take the right amount of time to film, edit, etc. The next step and the final step is to create a storyboard of the expected scenes with specific details and in order. Once I complete the last part of the planning process I will began to film using the thorough plan that I have brainstormed.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

This is the shooting script that I have created as a guideline for the filming process of my original sequence. This is the second part following the sound script and both of them are very useful in the long run. Each slide has a different scene on it in numerical order and they all describe the actions that take place during each shot. This is most important for filming because this allows me to stay on track and plan ahead to ensure my product is organized. I want to make my film to my best ability and this allows me to do so. This also gives me a general idea of how long my opening will be and how long it will take to gather the footage. Instead of what is being said in the scenes, I focused on what each character is doing. Editing will be less difficult as well since I know exactly where to add each touch to the scenes. The next step that I can work on now will be discussing location along with other key information. From there storyboarding will take place with the use of the two scripts I have presented.

Planning Blog:Sound Scripts

 

This blog includes all of the sound that is presented in my film opening sequence. Each scene is listed and paired with the sound that I plan to use during them. For example, I discuss how I use voiceovers , non diegetic sound, and dialogue to enhance the scenes throughout the film. My opening begins with ominous music and ends with a sound motif to warn the audience and dialogue to keep them on the edge of their seat in the final scene. There are two scores that I decided to use and both of them leave the audience in suspense. Having this layout of my sound script is very useful and important for the filming process of my product and will help me stay on track with the ideas for sound that I have come up with. This script is also important for the editing process, in cases where I will have to add sound effects and music to specific parts of the movie. This is just one step of two for planning the overall script of my project and will be partnered with my shooting script where I plan to brainstorm what shots/movements will be used along with lighting and the actual plan for each scene. Sound is also included in this because especially in the horror genre sound plays a major role in maintaining the mood of a scene. Now, I have a guideline to follow for the sound in my film and I look forward to having a completed plan for my final product of my opening sequence.