Filming Blog: How we did film

Today myself as well as two of my group members filmed today. We also brought along two actors, Taliyah and Bobby. Unfortunately, Anishkaneel wasn't able to film today so we had to film without her. Before school ended I checked out a camera and a tripod. After school ended Lauren's mom picked us up and we headed straight to Fort Lauderdale Beach. There was a lot of traffic but fortunately the beach wasn't as packed as it usually is. once we arrived to the beach the first thing we did was look at our storyboard. In our storyboard we said that we would record a shot of myself (good sister), Taliyah (evil sister), and Bobby (husband) having fun at the beach. Before we shot that scene we decided to shoot an establishing shot of the beach. We did this because we might want to add it into our film while editing; so basically its back up footage just in case we decide to change something while editing. After Lauren filmed the establishing shot we started to film the scene where we were all playing around. Jahrvia suggested that we record a hand held tracking shot of the three of us walking alongside the shoreline. In this shot Taliyah (evil sister) will be standing behind us because she envies the relationship. We recorded this scene from multiple angles. Some of the angles were side angles, front angles, and back angles. In this scene we weren't saying anything because music will be playing in the background. Originally the plan was to head back to Lauren's house and film some more scenes but unfortunately something persona came up and we had to end the filming of our movie earlier than we planned. We will finish filming on Saturday morning but we will begin editing our film in class on Friday. Lauren' birthday is also on Saturday so I'm not sure if we will finish filming that morning. If we aren't able to film then we will most likely film on Monday after school and then begin editing our final video.

Filming Blog: How we didn't film

Today my group and I planed on filming some scenes at Lauren's home after school. Unfortunately, we ran into some problems. After I got off the bus I had to go get my learners permit, after getting it I planned on heading over to Lauren's house. My mother told me that something came up, so today we had to push back our filming date to Thursday and Saturday. Another issue that came up was that my sister wasn't able to get a ride to Lauren's house due to the last minute changes. Normally my group could have filmed without us but we are acting throughout the entire movie. Although, Jahrvia, Taliyah (my sister), and I weren't able to make it Lauren and Anishka still filmed some scenes. They didn't have a camera because we didn't check one out in class. Since they didn't have a camera they used their phones to film drafts of certain scenes. For example, for the tracking shot in the hallway scene they propped one of their phones on top of a skateboard. While the phone was on the skateboard someone slowly pushed it to make it look like a tracking shot. They also filmed the scene where I would be scrubbing blood off of a dress in a bath tub. We plan to start filming on Thursday after school. If we aren't able to film the entire movie then we will most likely have it finished by Saturday morning. We aren't sure about which day we will head to the beach. More than likely it will be Saturday morning. If we go Saturday morning then we'll most likely be able to catch the sunlight. As for the other scenes we just need to find props to add into the scenes. Props such as a fake knife and we also need to buy fake blood. We can also make fake blood by using water and adding red dye. Hopefully, I will have something new to tell you guys by Thursday night.

Filming Blog: How we didn't film

Last week my group was supposed to check out a camera but unfortunately we couldn't do that. We were unable to check out a camera due to us not having our storyboards uploaded yet. We ran into a problem after one of our members left the storyboards at school. We had to redraw everything over at the last minute, but even though we had a minor problem we were able to submit our storyboards. After we turned in our storyboards we had the chance to checkout a camera this week. Unfortunately, we decided not to because we came to the conclusion that we couldn't film this week or this weekend. My group members are all apart of the school band. Due to us being in the band our afterschool schedules are always busy. This week we were all busy afterschool because we all had a practice to attend. After we realized that we wouldn't be able to film anything before February 20th we decided to choose another day to film. We will be filming our film on the morning of February 28th. This is the most convenient day for everyone. Sunday wouldn't work because one of our group members is in church all day. Friday couldn't work because of personal things that I had planned with my family, so after discussing we came to the conclusion that Saturday was the best day to film. My group also had to change our initial idea because we discovered that it was an actual movie. Our initial idea was about people committing seven deadly sins and having someone kill them. After we found out about it we chose to go with my idea. My idea was to have a film about an evil twin sister trying to murder her sister with a shocking plot twist in the end. We made sure that this hadn't been done before and it hasn't so that is our final film idea. Hopefully, our filming goes well next weekend.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

Today in class we completed our storyboard. In total we used 10 pages to show all of our scenes. My group member Anishkaneel drew out all of the shots because she draws very neat and detailed. While she was drawing my other group members, Aaliyah and Lauren, and I guided her through the process. We were each reading our shooting and sound script to describe to her what was going on on the scenes. However, we ran into some trouble along the way. About half of our storyboard scenes were missing. As a result, we had to divide the first few storyboards amongst Aaliyah and Lauren. Thankfully we were able to finish it on time, and it turned well. We were able to clearly and effectively explain our scenes. 

Planning Blog: Title Design

In this PowerPoint we explored our options and came to a conclusion on the design of our titles. We explored six different areas. First, we decided what fonts and how many we were using. The fonts a big part of the titles because it feeds into all the other elements. Next, we talked about how the fonts we were using contrast in color and size with one another and what's going on in the scene. Then we explored spacing. This included leading, in between lines, and tracking, in between spaces. Then we came up with a working title for our movie. Right now we are calling it Misconstrued. Then we worked on how the titles will enter and leave the screen along with where they will appear. Lastly, we  said how long the titles will appear on the screen throughout the two minutes. 

Planning Blog: Planning Our Movie

Before we can begin the overall filming process of our movie, we had to finalize some important details to be sure we were all on the same page. In this PowerPoint, you will see four different aspects of our planning process. This includes location, participants, health and safety, and schedule. In the location slides, we were sure to include where we were filming along with pictures of the settings. For the participants slides, we included both people who were seen in the movie and people who are going to be behind the scenes. For example, we included each characters' names along with the person who was playing them. We also included our director, filming crew, etc. For health and safety, we included a brief description on the safety regarding elements used in the film. We also added the names of our safety team. Lastly, our schedule. Here, we made a week-by-week plan of what is to be done. This includes filming, editing, re-shooting, etc.

Planning Blog: Dialogue / Sound Script

Our group’s intention was to leave the effect of contrast in the opening. The scenes alternate between the present, after/during the murder, and before. This includes scenes where Summer, the sister, meets her twin’s groom. The key element in this is dialogue. The dialogue is used to show the conversations and events that occur leading up to the murder in present time (i.e. being chased), which is contrasted by the fond and serene conversations prior to it occurring. We also wanted the film to come with an eerie or anxious tone. In order to bring this out, we intend to use a soundtrack throughout the film. The music will include high and sharp notes, intended to be exciting and climatic. There will also be diegetic sound. This will include footsteps, the sounds of Autumn’s body against the wall, as well as the crash of a lamp. We decided to include this in hopes that it would give our film a raw and realistic feel to it, something that is crucial to our genre.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

My group members and I created the script for this PowerPoint by each contributing ideas. We tried to keep everything in chronological order. to make sure that the film looked organized. We each threw in different ideas until we all could agree on the one that would best fit the film. For example, Aaliyah said that instead of starting our film from the beginning of the opening sequence we decided to start it from the ending of the film which includes the ending of the climax. The film will open with Aaliyah (the evil sister) washing blood off of her hands.  In order for us to fill up each scene  Jahrvia came up with the idea to have each scene include a flashback. After an object is touched by the evil twin a flashback of a good memory will occur. Another thing that we did to create the script for the PowerPoint is take a voice recording of everything that we say. We did this so that we could keep a record of good ideas that we might want to add into the film. By doing these things we were able to come up with a detailed PowerPoint of how the scenes in our film will play out.