Reviewing film

 Merry Christmas and a happy almost new year!

 I’m beyond excited with my group and I’s progress so far. In the month of December we have reviewed our storyboard and our script thoroughly. We have brainstormed and chosen the best actors for a film. We have created extra steps an extra precautions to take due to Covid. Lastly we have filmed. Filming is the biggest accomplishment we’ve done because now we can move on today best steps which includes editing and more. So while we filmed we made sure to take many different takes of the same scenes so that we could start to choose which ones we like the most. My group meeting I have reviewed the first three scenes so far. We have a lot of footage to sort through.

For the first three scenes we all decided on which clips would be in our film. We decided by clipping certain scenes together to see which ones would flow more naturally. After we clipped them together we made sure that the audio was clear in order to hear the dialogue. We had to make sure the audio was clear because while filming we had some difficulties with a neighbor doing construction. So my group mates and I have to use the clips that are the most clear. We also decided to keep scenes with tracking shots, and wide angel shots for the beginning mostly so that audiences can familiarize themselves with the setting. We still have a lot of footage to sort through. So we have tasked ourselves with certain scenes to sort through the footage. This would be best because we want as much time as possible for the editing process. Thank you and once again happy new year! 

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas !! 

I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. I know that the holidays are tough for many and I know that this year is even tougher. My heart goes out to everyone. Happy holidays. Today is a chill day to spend with our families. However the days before this I have reviewed and looked at the footage. We have a lot to sort through and this will not be an easy task. But my group-mates and I got this. We will all sort through them and select the best shots. 

We took many over the shoulder shots. Along with tracking shots. So now when we edit we must decide which shots we want more of. We also talked to one another and said that we want to make sure it’s even and consistent. We don’t want to have our film look all patched to gather and ugly because we are repeating the same shots. We also have to edit some sound because while filming, the group mates  neighbor  was using a digger and was doing construction so it might be hard to hear the actors. If this can’t be resolved while editing we might have to do a re-film day. I’m fine with a day like that however it would not be ideal. The most ideal thing is that we start the editing process right way so we have enough time to do our titles and close our music. That’s another fun part!

Filming day!

 Today was the day! It went so smooth and I’m so happy with the results. It was so refreshing to see my group-mates because we are also friends and I haven’t seen them in awhile. 

This is how the day went: 

My group-mates Brooke picked me up from my house because I had props and more. She had already picked up one of the actors. After we drove over to our other groupmates home Leo. Leo’s house is where we filmed for the whole day. We started filming in chronological order of scenes. Starting of with scene 1,2,3,4 etc. We made sure to have the actors change between each scene to make the illusion of it being different days. We did it this way because there’s no way we could have filmed on different days because then filming wouldn’t taken around 5 days. We took many shots of the same scenes to have options. We also took many different angles so that when editing we could choose the best ones. It’s also best to always have more than enough than too little. We filmed all the scenes in one day and were very productive. Brooke did most of the filming and is amazing at it. I helped tell the actors there lines. Leo helped us know which scenes we needed to film and which props needed to be in it. We have all the footage and will soon start the editing process. Today was a good day! 

Preparing for filming

Tomorrow we film! My group-mates and I are beyond excited. We have been planning and reviewing for so long. Now we can actually safely get together and film! I have sent the script to the people who will be in our film. This is because I want them to feel prepared for tomorrow, making it easier on everyone. I have spent the last few weeks with my group-mates finalizing the script so everything should be perfect. However , we are still open to changes to make anything more comfortable for the actors. Our scenes have been reviewed so us as “directors and creators” know what we are to film and what type of shits to film. We have all talked and are going to film multiple angles of the same scenes because lots of footage is way better than too little. 

We all still need to bring objects for tomorrow. I will bring props such as a drill and a toolbox. I will also bring security cameras. Brooke will bring boxes as props. Brooke will also bring boxing tape, markers, and her car is going to be used in the film. Leo will bring his home. (Haha) His house is where we are filming so it’s necessary for him to be there so that we can film in different areas of his home. Actor 1 will bring multiple changes of outfits for different scenes.Actor 2 will do the same and actor 1 however they will bring more feminine clothing. Actor 3 will bring only one outfit which is all black. We also all have new iPhones so filming can be fine on any of our phones.

Extra precautions

 Since we have decided to film on the 21st of December, we have to make sure everyone is safe. Due to COVID life is not normal. Nor will filming be. Since I live in Florida the COVID cases have been alarmingly increasing. Which is even more nerve bending around the holidays. This is because Florida is one of the most visited states during the holidays. Same with our county everything is just getting worse. We will have to take extra precautions. Wear masks and social distance while filming. Everyone will have to do so. 

We have received news that someone who was going to be on our film can no longer be in it. There mother has been exposed to COVID. He does not want to put us at risk. Nor do we want to be exposed to COVID so near the holidays.   We have recommended them to go get tested and they are doing it at once. However the results from after being tested can take anywhere from 2-7 days. This means he will not be in our film at all. This is ok because when choosing who was going to be in our film we reached out to multiple people. Thankfully we have a backup and someone who is equally excited to be in our film! So excited to be closer and closer to film. Everyone stay safe. 

Adjusting script

 Hello again! 

So my groupmates and I have been super busy trying to get everything finalized. The script is what I’ve been reviewing.  I’ve noticed that some of our sentences are too descriptive and too long. This makes it seem like the conversation is unnatural. I also wanted to make it very easy to memorize because, the longer the sentences are, the harder it is for the actors. I changed certain lines from some scenes. I also added some dialogue in places I felt was lacking. Our main goal is to create a dialogue that flows smoothly for both our actors and audiences. 

Some of the specific adjustments I made were, I added a note for us to include the names of our characters. At first we weren’t going to use or say any names but we decided that we should. we thought it would create more of a thriller feeling if we didn’t mention names.However now we think that in the introduction scene each character should obviously say their names because they are “introducing” themselves. We had to make slight changes in order to add names.Another specific adjustment I made was in the security camera scene. The dialogue was too vague in parts. Then the dialogue would become too descriptive. My goal for this scene was to create a nice even dialogue.I took out some of the more descriptive sentences.When I did that I replaced it with more a naturally flowing sentence. 

Plan for December

 So my plan for this month is to be very productive. In two weeks we go on “winter break” which is when my group-mates and I plan to film now. I want to do and review many things before then. I will review the storyboard, and script. My group mates and I will make the selection for who will be certain characters in our film. Once we have made the selection we will have them review their lines, however that is in the future. As of now, what my part will consist of is making sure very thing is going to perfect for filming. After reviewing The script I made very slight changes to it. I changed certain words so sentences flow more easy. Also my groupmates and I have been on a call trying to see who could be actors in our films. 

It’s very important for me to get as much done as possible before break. My groupmates and I all decided that we want to enjoy our break as much as possible. This means that we want to get as much done so that we can enjoy it more. Filming will be our main priority in December. Filming will most likely and will happen during winter break. Winter break is the best time to film because we will all be free. As of now finals for our classes are the priority. So is the storyboard and script finalization‘s.thank you!

See you next time blog!! 

Kicking into high gear

 Hello! It’s December, meaning it’s Christmas season and time to kick filming, editing, and more into high gear! My group mates and I are trying our hardest to make everything organized. We also want to try our hardest for our film to have actual viewers, so we came up with a theory. The more publicized our film is the more views will come in return. Our mentors came up with the brilliant idea of creating a website. This websites soul purpose will be for our film. On the website we will add information about the movie. More information about the release date. Along with the information, we have decided to create some social media pages to attract more audiences. 

On the website you will find these socials; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We chose these socials to use because these are the most popular and active. We hope to gain more audiences and gain more attraction. On Instagram we hope to attract other film makers. Audiences mostly around the age group between 16-30. On Twitter we hope to gain attraction from ranging ages as Twitter is primarily used across all ages. On Facebook we hope to gain attraction from the millennial age group and up. Older generations tend to use Facebook more than Twitter or Instagram based off a study I read. We attached YouTube to our website because this is where we will post our film. YouTube is free and anyone can access it which is an added bonus. 

Our website:

https://mediastudiesbkl.wixsite.com/website