Planning For Final Filming and Editing

 Getting Kidnapped! Fun! 

    Hi everyone! Well, we're getting down to the wire here. Spring Break is over, as I'm writing this at around 8:00 PM on the Sunday before school starts up again. This upcoming week, I'm going to be majorly busy finalizing this project. I have to add the opening credits and plan for the CCR as well.  I  also have to film the last scene this week, either Tuesday or Thursday. This is because Ryan and I need to utilize the auditorium to film this scene. The scene we're filming is the scene I'm going to cross-cut of her in the "darkroom". This is being filmed to foreshadow future events in the film and hook the audience in. 

    After this scene is filmed, I'm going to quickly try and finish the film opening so I can start planning for the CCR. I'm going to write out a script for it and want to finish it this upcoming weekend so that I won't have to worry about it at the last minute. So, I need to do some preparation now. 

Filming Preparation 

    When preparing for filming my last scene, I need to think about mise-en-scene a lot. The outfit/makeup and the props mixed with the setting are what really are going to sell the scene. 

    For my character's look, I want her to have smudged makeup and messy-looking hair. Obviously, for being kidnapped, Raquel isn't going to be looking like a fashion model. I believe the makeup and hair will add to the distress and suspense of the overall opening. 

    As for the outfit, I'm thinking just a black tank top will suffice. The scene will be filmed only from about the waist up, so the bottoms I wear won't really matter, but I'm going to probably wear black leggings just in case. 

    As for the props, Raquel will have a strip of ducktape over her mouth. I'm also going to be bringing a facial mist to put on my face to replicate sweat. I think all of these aspects mixed together will fully encompass Raquel's desperation in this quick flash-forward of the "film". 

As for Ryan's character, Willam, I'm thinking of him wearing just an all-white shirt with blue surgical gloves. William's character is prestigious with his craft and wants to be careful not to smudge his "art". 

    This footage will only be up on the screen for a couple seconds, but it adds extreme uneasiness to the scene, creating an overall intense atmosphere and tone. After I film this scene, I'll worry about making it look seamless while transitioning into the overall project. After that and adding the opening credits, it'll be done! After that, all that's left is my CCR. Crazy that this project is almost done! Time flies! I'm really hoping the final product will look good and will turn into something I'm proud to share. 

Stay tuned to find out! 

Choosing A Font

 Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo 

    Hey all! So, for today's posting- I have to start thinking about the type of font I want to use in my film opening. It is required that we put certain credits at the beginning of the film opening, such as the producer/production "company", the director, editor, actors, and etc. I need to select a font that clicks well with my film. In order to do so, I need to do a bit of research in order to understand the type of font style that will best coincide with my film opening. 

    I think that everything in a film opening adds to the tone and how the audience perceives it, including the font of the credits. A font can easily be used to grab the attention of a viewer, and it also gives the audience an idea of the type of genre the film is. 

   

 In the film opening to "16 Wishes", the font used is peppy, with a white color outlined with a bright purple border. It sets the tone that the movie is going to be a bit silly, as well as targeted at girls. 

My film genre is a thriller. So, what font types can I utilize? 

    In the opening sequence to "Intruders", the font is white and thin, with small gaps in between the letters. This white against the contrasting black undertones in the footage behind it gives for a nice contrast and creates an eerie feeling. 

    Keeping in mind these specific aspects of fonts, I'm thinking I will have a white font as well, since my film opening is muted in colors and has a grey-ish overtone. I'm thinking thin letters as well, since too thick of a font will take away from the footage. I'm hoping I will find one appropriate enough that I'm able to seamlessly integrate into my film. 

As always, stay tuned to find out!! 

The Process of Editing- Part 1

 Crediting the Editing 

    Hi all! Hope everyone is doing good! So last week, Ryan and I filmed most of the footage I wanted to use in my film opening. So, this week I started editing! Fun! I went over to Ryan's house a couple of times because he has Adobe Premiere on his computer. I've used Adobe Premiere in 8th grade when I took film in middle school, so I was familiar but a little rusty. But, luckily the editing I've completed so far wasn't too difficult to do. 

Starting the Editing Process 

    Besides stringing clips together, to make it look and appeal better to the audience, I added some aspects to *spice* up my project. I added a camera filter to some parts of my clips to make it look like the audience is seeing the character through the camera lens. I also changed the lighting and saturation in some clips to make them have a darker tint. 

    On top of that, I added a musical track to make the film sound creepier. The musical tracks I chose to include crescendo at the intense moments to add to the suspense factor I want to give the audience. 

    Above is a screenshot of the camera filter that I added to a part of the film. On the side, one can view the audio file of camera clicks that I imported as well to include sounds of the camera flashing while in the POV view. 

    I had to make sure the timing was right, so I cut some clips and made sure there was continuity within each clip. I was able to cut back and forth to create a more professional look within clips, so the transition from clip to clip was smooth. 

    I added an adjustment layer as well. This was used to change the aspect ratio of the video, in order for it to look more cinematic. I also had to include audio transitions to lower background noise from the park as well as make a seamless ut between clips. I then used color grade to change the color/tone of all of the clips. 

    Editing so far has been not too difficult. I still have to film a small scene that I then have to cross-cut, and I'm kind of worried about that, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Hopefully, the rest of the editing will go smoothly and I'll be able to film that small bit and then everything will be good in the world. 

Stay tuned to find out!

Filming Day Reflection

 Ryan and Keira Take Over Gator Run Park

    Hi y'all! WE (almost) FINISHED FILMING!! It was so much fun watching my ideas work out. The day went really smoothly as well. I met Ryan at the park (with our masks on) and we picked a good spot to film. The only thing that was a little bit worrying was that part of the park was under construction, but we were able to film everything without getting any construction workers in the back. The day was very sunny, so we were wary of shadows and made sure there was no camera shadow in any of the shots. It was also very hot, and poor Ryan was about to pass out in the sweatshirt I made him wear for his costume. It was actually so hot that I was worried my makeup was going to sweat off. Other than those small inconveniences, filming went great. 

    Upon arriving, Ryan showed me the camera he brought. It was really nice. I don't know much about cameras, but I do know that it's about a billion times better than my iPhone camera. The camera also had a tripod and a handle to steadily do pans. The camera quality was also VERY nice. I'm really lucky to have a friend who was willing to let me borrow it AND be in my project. 

    Filming only took about an hour and a half. I thought it was gonna take a bit longer, but Ryan and I were prepared to get in and get out. I also already knew what shots I needed and was familiar with the area, Gator Run Park, so I knew good places to film our shots. Oh, for the record, we kept ourselves safe by wearing masks in between shots. It was also better and made my parents happier that the location was outside so it was more COVID safe, so that was also a plus. As you can see from the video above, the park is pretty large and we had a lot of space to utilize within every shot. It was also pretty funny because pedestrians walking by were looking at us weirdly. Pretty funny.

    Here are some behind-the-scenes footage videos of our filming. My sister helped us film scenes that both Ryan and I needed to be in. Ryan also brought a really cool tripod for the iPhone to use for one tracking shot we did. The tripod allows the phone to keep steady and eliminate any shakiness. We stuck to the shot list for the most part, and I'm going to start editing on Adobe this upcoming week since I have a lot more time (Spring Break). 

    Here's a funny video Ryan toon of me when he tricked me to keep being in character when we already finished the shot. :D

    Anywho, I'm hoping that the editing will go as smoothly as the filming did. Probably not though, because I'm not as experienced with editing. But we'll get through it! 

Stay tuned to find out! 

    

Film Planning and Shot List Draft

 Tannin' and Plannin'

    Hey, y'all! So for today's blog post, I'm going to be prepping for tomorrow's shoot! I'm super excited. Basically, the plan is to get almost all the shots and footage for my film and edit the majority of it over spring break. Ryan is bringing a fancy camera that the drama club used to film their plays, so I'm excited to switch over from my, not-so-fancy iPhone XR camera. Spring break has technically already started, considering I'm writing this after school on Thursday, so I'm officially celebrating my writing a blog post! Yay! 

    For tomorrow, I have my sister, my friend Ryan, and myself as actors. We are filming almost all the shots tomorrow, but there is one scene we will have to film after spring break where we can utilize the auditorium. Other than that, all of the other shots should be filmed. I have a pretty decent visual of what I want some of the shots to look like, but knowing me, that might be subject to change. I'm planning on importing the videos into Adobe Premiere and editing on there. 

Here is a rough shot list of the shots that I have planned to fulfill tomorrow: 

As for costumes, my sister is going to be wearing overalls and pigtails. Ryan is wearing a sweatshirt and khakis, and I'm going to be wearing a purple top and jeans. We're trying to stick to the original costuming planned a while back, but I planned it knowing that we had these outfits available. 

We're going to be filming around noon to prevent any rain and have it be pretty sunny (but not too sunny) out.  I'm going to be making a post tomorrow to update y'all on how it went! 

Stay tuned to find out! 

Group Meeting #2

 Gettin a grip

    Hi all! Happy Wednesday! Spring break is soon and I'm so excited to focus on nothing but this project! Yay! In all seriousness, I'm actually excited to get down to it and start filming on Friday. Last class, we had a second group meeting with another set of students. Personally, I love these meetings because it allows me to express my ideas to my peers and get their opinion. My group consisted of Logan, David, Jacqueline, Isabella, and myself. I talked a lot about my project (specifically with one group member) and got a lot of my worries resolved. 

Group Meeting 

    When entering the meeting, I was, again, the first one to talk about my project. I think I sacrifice myself in the hopes that other people will feel less nervous, because for some reason no one wants to talk first. This time, I was concerned about adding a certain aspect to my film. 

One specific group member, Logan, helped me resolve my worries and told me he thought it was actually a good idea. I take his word kind of seriously because I've noticed that throughout being in this class, he has a major passion for filming and he is also involved in CBTV (the TV program at my school). Once he gave me a few tips on how to actually go about my cross-cutting idea, I felt totally at ease. Once he helped me, we then proceeded to help others who brought their concerns to the table. 

I personally believe that I'm right on schedule with getting this project done at a certain time. I'm filming the majority of the project this Friday, giving me the majority of Spring Break to start editing. I'm really excited to film- I'm hoping it turns out good! 

As always, stay tuned to find out. 

Writing the Script- Part 2

 I finished!... Sort of? 

    Hi guys! Happy Sunday! So, today I finally finished the script for my opening! Well... sort of. I realized that a script is really only beneficial if you have a lot of dialogue. Shots are portrayed by storyboards, not scripts, so I wrote a lot of the dialogue on my script. Problem is? There are only about four lines of dialogue in my film opening. I realized this while writing, but I liked how most of my film will contain little to no dialogue. I think it adds to the suspense factor. But, this means that my script is not very long, and I'm going to have to get started on my storyboard right away. 

    I included the overall ideas of some of the shots in my script, but it isn't very detailed. Nonetheless, I have it written, so I'm going to be attaching it here. Next week, I'm going to be focusing on creating my storyboard as well as filming on Friday! Yay! It's so hard for me to try and transfer my ideas from my brain to the script. I have it figured out in my head, but trying to portray it through words is more difficult than expected. I explained it to my friend who doesn't have any prior film knowledge, and she seemed to understand my vision. And trust me, that's an accomplishment (she a little slow). 

I'm really hoping this will turn out well.

I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out. 

"SNAPSHOT" Script: 

Writing the Script- Part 1

 Help, Help, Help! 

    Hi all! Today I am writing this blog post in a bit of despair. When trying to write my script, I'm at a bit of a writer's block. I know how I want the beginning to go, but I have absolutely ZERO ideas of how I'm going to end it with flair and pizazz. I want those who view my opening to be left thinking about how good it was. A lot of pressure! And guess what? My creativity? Gone. My brain? Fried. Hotel? Trivago. I have to finish the script by tomorrow and I'm still a little unsure as to how I want to allude to the fact that she would eventually get kidnapped later in the film. 

    I have two ideas on how I want to allude to her kidnapping and, to be honest, I might have to only write the script up until the middle until I as Mrs. Stoklosa about which would be best. 

Idea #1

    This idea was actually my original idea, but I'm unsure if it's "too much". I wanted to incorporate cross-cutting. Basically, what would happen is that when Raquel and William are at the park, there will be an eyeline match. During this eyeline match, the shots will alternate between Raquel's face in the park and Raquel's face in the "darkroom", with duck tape on her mouth, whereas it will then start to cross-cut between Williams face at the park and him in the darkroom looking down, smiling maniacally with a camera in his hand. The film would then end with him walking up to her. I'm not sure if I explained that well, but I have it good in my head and if I do decide to execute that, I know what I want it to look like. I'm just... not sure it'll make sense? I think it will but I'm not sure. I'm gonna ask Stoklosa about it. 

Idea #2

    This idea was actually given to me by Kim when we did a group meeting about a couple weeks ago. The idea is that only the audience would know about William's malicious intentions. As William is taking the camera out of his backpack, pictures of other girls that he has taken will fall out of his bag. He'll quickly throw them back in the bag, and then introduce himself the same way he would in the previous scenario. 

I'm including a voice-over from Raquel as well in my opening. I'm hoping with the combination of the voice-over, editing techniques, and the right execution, the film will look... decent :D. 

Guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out! 

Scripting With Celtx

 Celtx- Pick the Script! 

Hey everyone! It's Hump Day! Currently very stressed because I have my second SAT coming up on Saturday, but hey, why not make a blog post, right? So, this week's main focus is to develop my script. That means I need to get my plot sorted out so I know what I'm writing about. I don't want to spoil my script until it's entirely ready though; the script will be coming out on Sunday. As for now, I wanted to do a quick post on the platform I'm going to be using to write my script- Celtx. 

What is celtx?

Celtx is a scriptwriting tool that also allows you to create storyboards, screenplays, and has post-production aids as well. Celtx has a dropdown menu to incorporate different scene changes, dialogue, characters, actions, etc so everything is nice and organized within your screenplay. It also saves your work as your writing, so I never have to worry about losing my progress. 

I honestly love Celtx. I've used it back in 7th and 8th grade when I took film in middle school, and even used it for this class back in November for a Film Pitch project. I'm very familiar with it and have gotten used to how things work on the website. So, this is the platform I'm going to be writing my script on. 

Above is a screenshot of how the home screen looks on Celtx. Here, you can select which tool you want to utilize, as well as look at your past saved projects. There's also a help tab for users who may be running into trouble 

In the next screenshot above, one can see how a screenplay is formatted once written on Celtx. This is a picture of one of the past screenplays I've written. In the top left corner, one can see that there is a dropdown menu available. By clicking on that, you can select which aspect of your screenplay you want to implement next, whether it be a new scene heading, an action, or another option. As you can see, the screenplay itself is rather organized, and the application helps keep everything in one place. 

This website has become one that I have started to be comfortable with and will be a good place to store important aspects of my project. 

I'm excited to get writing! I'm really hoping that it will turn out nice.

I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out! 

Target Audience

Target Audience- Whose Eyes Are On The Prize?

    Hola! So, for today's posting, I'm going to be delving into the target audience for my film opening! I think it's important to note who exactly should be the target audience you're trying to appeal to when making any sort of media, not just film. I learned a lot about target audience with my music marketing project. 

The type of genre being portrayed has a major influence on the type of target audience a piece of media will have. 

What is target audience?

The definition of a target audience is "a particular group at which a film, book, advertising campaign, etc., is aimed". This means that certain media is aimed at particular groups of people, typically a specific age range. Target audience is also affected by gender/sex, location, income, and just general common interests. 

Genre

The genre of a film majorly impacts the target audience. Since my genre is a thriller, the target audience of my film opening will be individuals who are in their late teens to early adulthood. Most thrillers have a larger male demographic, but my film opening will be aimed towards female viewers, as it has topics/overlying themes that more females go through. 

In order to portray my film to the target audience, I want to make it known through my piece that the female character is being represented and the problems that women go through are being shown. The majority of females have had the unfortunate experience of being gawked at by unfamiliar men, thus making my opening relatable for my target audience. 

Overall, I've determined that my film opening's target audience is teenage to young adult women. I will try to make this clear by including topics that are relevant to the harsh realities of the female experience. 

Let's hope I can pull it off.

Stay tuned to find out! 

Costume Design Ideas

 Costuming- Makin' Heads Turn!

Hi there! Happy Friday! So for today's blog post, I'm going to be showcasing/pitching some ideas/designs for the costume ideas I had for my project. These are just some rough ideas that I had as to what kind of style I want my characters to go for. 

Costuming is very important when trying to portray a character's persona but not enough time to do so. The film opening I'm creating can only be a maximum of two minutes in length. Because of this, there is not enough time to give a thorough analysis of each character. With the utilization of costuming, the director can indicate certain aspects of the character to the audience without having to directly have a character say that aspect out loud. 

For example, if a character is wearing a cross necklace or has a Star of David bracelet, the audience can assume that the character is religious. Or, if a character is wearing a lot of jewelry or makeup, it makes the character look more feminine. Costuming has opened many doors for directors to indicate certain characteristics for the characters. What does this mean for me, however? Through costuming, my goal is to portray the character's ages and social status, as well as their hobbies. 

I have created a photo collage for each character being portrayed in my film opening- take a look: 

Raquel

As pictured in the collage above, I want Raquel to be wearing clothing that is very "on-trend".  Raquel is a popular high school girl, so being caught up with fashion is very important. Air Force 1's (the shoes) are very popular, along with the rolled-up mom jean look and the fitted, ribbed purple top. I have also included some jewelry in there to indicate that she is feminine and likes to dress-up. Having her look like she is popular will help add to the fact that she is a popular girl. 

William

Now, for William's character, I wanted something more mysterious yet still in his age range. This is why I've chosen clothing that basically covers his body- a long-sleeved hoodie with khaki pants. The most important object to note here is the camera. With the use of costume design, I'm able to allude to the audience that William is a photographer without having to have William specifically say that he has an interest in photography. I also may have him wear glasses for a more "nerd" look, but I'm undecided on that as of right now. 

Raquel's Little Sister

This character might seem unfamiliar, and that's because I didn't include her in my casting post. This is because I'm using this character more as a prop than an actual character, and she definitely is not part of the main cast. Nonetheless, she still needs clothing. I'm having my real-life little sister play this role, and although she is 13 years old, I have developed a costuming idea that is meant to make her be perceived as younger than she actually is. The mix of the overalls with the pigtails will bring the connotation to the character that she is a young girl. This style is better associated with children of a younger age group, thus helping me portray my 13-year-old sister to be around 7. 

The use of these costumes that I have in mind will help the overall plot of my story come together. I'm able to portray certain characteristics about each character without having to use dialogue in order to do so. I'm hoping, if I execute it properly, that the costumes will look good on camera as well.

Stay tuned to find out!  :)

Location Scouting

Location Rotation  

Hi, y'all! Happy Wednesday! I'm a little burnt out because I took the SAT today for the first time, but I had to update the blog! Today we're going to be talking about my process of choosing a location to film my project. First, I'll talk about the thought process of why I chose the type of location I did. 

For a film opening, I believe that one to two locations are best. This is because I want the main layout to introduce the characters and allude to the main point of the plot (kidnapping and such). This is why my media studies teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa, suggested that I film at a park/playground type area so I can set the scene and have the characters meet each other. I agree that this is pretty much a perfect setting- it's outside so it's safer during this Covid era, there's a lot of space, and I can take my time. So, I've narrowed it down to two locations. I'm leaning more towards one, but I'm going to show them both for the sake of the blog. :D

Location #1- Sand Park in my Community

This was actually my first idea as to where I should film my project. The problem is, the area is not very large and it's at an awkward location; there's a pool to the left and a parking lot to the right. But the main issue is that the "park" itself isn't very big at all. It's actually more like a playground, but there were some pros. It's very close to my house and is very easy to access. I've also been several times so I know the layout well. 

I honestly don't think I'll be using this location unless there's some unforeseen event that prevents me from using the other one, but I thought it was worth mentioning considering this was my first thought for a location. The person that actually helped me decide on the location that I'm actually thinking about using to film was Kimberly from our group meeting! So thanks Stoklosa for having us do that because it was very helpful :p

Location #2- Gator Run Park 

The second location is Gator Run Park, a park that's actually pretty close to my house as well. I couldn't believe I didn't think of this location before it was suggested to me. It's pretty perfect- it has the playground aspect but it also has a lot of space surrounding it so there's a ton of space. 

I think that I'm going to go with the latter location! It's still all up in the air though. I'm really hoping that this will work out because I really like this area. 

 

I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out.