Filming blog: At the abandoned house

On Sunday, February 23rd, my group and I filmed for the second time. We decided to show up to my group mate's house at 4 o'clock. We decided to show up this early because we needed to put the makeup on me. My group mate, Jazmin, demonstrated her excellent makeup skills in making me look scary. Her makeup skills gave me fake slashes on my face, forehead, and my neck. Upon arriving, we realized we had to re-film because one of my group mates came with different clothing. On Saturday, she came with a shirt and shorts. However, on Sunday, she came with a dress that was a different color from the shorts. Her coming with different clothing would make the film inconsistent. This inconsistency would make the film appear sloppy and poorly made. The first scene filmed was a pan shot of the neighborhood. The pan shot would be of two houses then the camera would arrive at the girls playing catch. The Pan shot was created by slowly moving a car forward with the camera attached. This gave the illusion of the camera moving, as if it were surveying the neighborhood. The scene also consisted of a close up of every single protagonist. The close up would soon be changed to a Mid Shot. This Mid Shot would be used to introduce every single character of the film(Excluding the Monster). Another thing we did was buy multiple items that would be deemed as "spooky". These items included a broken glass, a doll, and candles. Below is a picture of the items we used.

Opening Sequence Filming Blog

My group and I decided to start filming during the weekend. We decided to start filming on Saturday February 22. Before we reached the location, we went shopping for props. Props included: the clothes of the monster, Pizza, spider webs etc. While prop shopping, we couldn’t find any props to help with the “Monster’s” clothing because it was not the season(Halloween). However, we decided to put makeup on me instead of dressing me up. This decision made the film scarier and more intriguing. When I arrived at the location, it was 4 in the afternoon. Once we got there, we planned out all the filming we would accomplish for the day. We decided to film all the scenes on the inside of the house and do the outside the next day. In these scenes, the characters are eating pizza inside of the house in a calm environment. I added dialogue to the storyboard that we used. However, some dialogue was improvised as it felt more natural and realistic. Before I began filming this film, I did not expect the process to be so extensive and grueling. We filmed many scenes because of the inconsistencies some created. Another reason we re filmed scenes is that we decided some scenes would be better if they were changed.  Once we finished filming, it was already 8 at night.We decided to hold off the main scenes for the following day(Sunday) due to the lack of props and preparation. We decided to get all the makeup and props for the monster on Sunday. Below is the makeup we used for “The Monster”

Filming blog: Starting the final film

Currently, my group and I have not started the filming process yet. We are preparing to film for the project through the use of scripts and storyboards. Our sound and shooting scripts have both been revised by everyone in the group. In fact, we had to go back and change the storyboard and scripts. This is because the actors’ decided to change their character roles.Luckily, the roles were changed before we even picked up a camera. With everyone's contribution, the storyboard is complete. The storyboard and the script will help the filming process go smoothly as we already know exactly what we want to happen for the film. Another factor that will help us improve the film is the props. We will buy props such as masks for the “Monster” to make the film more scary. The abandoned house will be perfect for the film as it is very eerie. The eerie house along with the scary props will help the movie hit its mark. My group and I have already made a filming schedule in order to be more effective. First, we will film on Sunday, February 20th in the afternoon. This filming will occur for some time until the sun goes down. Then, during the night, we will begin filming the second part. This is because during the night, films are scarier. The darkness brings an unknown factor into the film, which makes it scarier. Below is a picture of the camera and tripod we will be using for our project.

Film Storyboard blog

Today, my teammates and I were able to start drawing out our storyboards. We grabbed our storyboard template, which we already had a stack of for future use. Then, immediately began. After completing our genre research, title research, and planning blogs where we discussed how we wanted to go about filming our opening scene, we knew it was time for our storyboard. It took approximately two hours to draw and write out our camera angles, camera movements, actions, and titles for each scene. Working diligently we were able to finish in class. First, we discussed our scenes over with each other. Then, we made sure everyone agreed on what would happen in each scene and what angles we wanted to capture that moment. Although, we had originally planned some of the scenes differently; there was change in the final decision. It was decided that most of the scenes would be filmed at the abandoned house and some at Anyeska's house. Storyboarding would have been a much longer process if the whole group wasn't helping one another. We assigned different jobs, so that way we would all be diligently working. Since most of us in the group could not draw, we decided I would be the best choice. Our storyboard consists of pan shots, medium shots, and high angles. It also has a brief overview of each character and each placement of the titles.  different ... scenes. Meaning, our opening scene will be around two minutes. So far, we are on a good track with timing. It is filled with great details that will guide us during the filming process. Our storyboard is shown below.

Planning Blog (Title Design in Details)

The studio my group and I have chosen is JLab Productions. In this Title, The Font size will be 40, the color would be black, the font would be Ultra. Also, the title will disappear after 2 to 3 seconds. The Production company we chose is RNFK Productions. The font, size, color, and duration will be the same. The film title we have chosen is “The House  on NW 10th Ave. The color will be red and the font size will be 80. Soon after the film title is shown, Actors’ Name titles will be shown. The actors include: “Anyeska, Britania, Lesly, And Jazmin. In the casting by title, The title will state, “Casting by Lesly”. Other slides include: Music by title, Costume Designer title, Edited by title, Production designer title, Director of photography title, Producer, executive producer title, Story by title, written by title, and directed by title.

Planning Blog (Health and Safety, Location, Sound, Schedule, and participants)

For health and safety, we decided to bring a first aid kit on set in case anyone gets injured during the film-making process.  Also, we have the parents of my groupmate who volunteered to supervise while we are film-making. The supervisors will also have access to the phone that can dial 911. The location we will be filming at is an abandoned house in my group mates’ neighborhood. This house was burned down, so it gives off a spooky atmosphere. Another location will be Anyeska’s house. Our sound will be found online. Most of the scenes taking place in Anyeska’s house will take place in her Dining Room. Our Participants include: Anyeska as Molly, Britania as Claire, Jazmin as Rose, and Hangeno as the cameraman. My groupmates and I scheduled the filming to begin on February 16th and to end on March 27th.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Above is our group’s PowerPoint of the shooting script for our opening sequence. The shooting script revolves around what we will be doing per scene. It involves the camera angles, movements, and character movements, minus the dialogue in each scene. There are 10 scenes, not including the title slide. The script writing format was written in short, visual sentences, avoiding more than three sentences in each scene. Some of the camera angles, movements, and shots that we plan to use in our opening sequence include three-shot, wide shot, point of view shot, medium shot, close-ups. By mapping out or script ahead of time, we will be more organized and have the ideas and plans set for the film. We had to think of ways to make all of our thoughts of the film come to life. As we progress through our planning process, we have it in mind that our ideas of our film can possibly change. Therefore, having access to our PowerPoint, we will always ensure to go back and edit in new details to perfect our movie to our liking.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Below is our group’s PowerPoint of the sound script for our opening sequence. The sound script is about what the characters will be saying along with the type of sounds in each scene, minus angles, movements, and character movements. The purpose of the sound script is for us to know exactly which sounds to use in our movie, giving us a structure. Sounds which we plan to incorporate in our opening sequence include ambient music, diegetic sound, score, non-diegetic sound, and of course, dialogue. By having a variety of sounds, our opening sequence will appeal to the audience’s senses. Being that we have planned out our shooting and sound scripts, our ideas of our opening scene is beginning to manifest. We are now in a stage where we are more aware of how our movie will look and sound. Moreover, we have it in mind to edit in more information and do our final changes at any given moment being that we are still in the planning process. Making the sound script was relatively easy because we already knew what we wanted to use for the sound. The use of eerie music along with the monster’s laugh will definitely keep the audience on their feet.