Short Film: Day 1 of editing

  

      Now that the filming process is done, it is time to start editing! Editing is what makes a movie. It presents the tone as well as the mood. It also plays a major factor in things like creating drama. Editing is especially important in our drama film. Since there are three separate storylines going on in our film that will all come together in the end, a lot of editing will be involved. My group and I got on a call to discuss the next step. We all feel that we needed to brighten up some of the clips. Lighting is another factor that plays into editing. By brightening up some of the original clips, we can amplify our movie and make it even better. We also noticed the sound in some of our clips needed to be adjusted. Leveling out sounds like our voices or cancelling out background noise is very beneficial. 

      Covid-19 has once again affected our lives and this project. Normally our teachers would provide an editing software for us to use for this project. However, since my group mates and I are learning from home, these sources are not available to us. This meant we had to do research and come up with some alternatives. Luckily, each one of my group members and I are familiar with the same editing app. We decided on using iMovie to edit our movie. This app has everything we need to make this movie great. Working together, we can bring the vision of our short film to life. 

Short Film: Wrapping up filming

       We had almost all of our footage and were so close to wrapping up on filming! The last few scenes we had to shoot were Sophia’s character’s scenes. We started by first getting to room set up. There wasn’t much to this part, all we had to do was put the pregnancy test a in a drawer. Once she made her bed and everything was cleared for filming, we started to shoot the scenes. Filming in the bedroom was not hard but getting the right lighting was. Lighting a crucial in film because it creates the mood of the scene and also lets the audience see what’s happening. Since the sun was setting, we didn’t want to rely only on sunlight. We set up two light fixtures in the corner of the room. This would show that it was still close to night time but Sophia and the props would still be very visible. 

      The last scenes we had to shoot took place in the bathroom. This room was harder to set up and film in because it was much smaller. There is also a huge mirror displayed over the sink so we had to make sure me and the camera were not getting in the shot. Filming the exterior bathroom scene was pretty cool because it turned out how we all had visioned  it. The light seeping through the crack of the closed door really helped tie those scenes together! Once we had filmed the bathroom scenes we were all done! After a long process, we had everything we needed. We made sure to take multiple takes of each shot just incase something were to happen. Overall, filming went pretty smoothly. We’re very excited to start editing and see how our film turns out. 

Short Film: Filming and Props

     The beginning outside scenes were done along with all of mine and Lauren's scenes. Before we could start filming Sophia's scenes, we needed to get a pregnancy test. The pregnancy test plays a major part in Salem's (Sophia's character) story because it is her main focus and the main struggle she is dealing with. We decided that since we were going to have to take a trip to the store anyway, we could film our ending scene while we were out of the house. The ending scene takes place outside the next day. We couldn't film the last scene when we filmed the opening of our movie because it was supposed to be an entire different day and we would have been wearing the same outfits, which would be unrealistic and slightly confusing. Before we left for the store, Sophia and I changed our cloths. We followed the same conventions when it came to our outfits to keep in touch with who our characters are. Only Sophia and I changed because Lauren's character is not in the closing outside scenes. Although Lauren wasn't going to be on camera, she was there to record and make sure we got all of the footage we need. 

    Both Sophia and Lauren can drive so we just rode in Sophia's car. We made sure to bring facial masks so we would be following Covid-19 guidelines and keep everyone safe. We walked into the store and the place was packed! After getting the prop and waiting in line for ten minutes we contemplated going to a different store. We still had to film our closing outside scene before dark. Since we wanted to stay on schedule, we chose to leave and head to a different store. It had been about 20 minutes since we had originally left the house before we got to the other store. Luckily, it was pretty empty and they still had exactly what we needed. Before going back to the house, we went to a resting outside area that seemed just right for the ending scenes. Lauren filmed Sophia and I and we got the scenes done fairly quick. We finished those scenes and started heading back to the house to film Sophia's scenes.

Short Film: Filming (Chloe and Grace)

     After all of the outside scenes were filmed, it was time to move on. Rather than each one of my group mates and I filming ourselves individually in our own homes, we decided to film at one person's house. Since Sophia had the biggest house with the most rooms, we decided to film there. Although we filmed at one house, our movie states our characters all live separate from each other. This meant we had to make each section of Sophia's house and each separate room feel like its own location. Conveniently, her home has three separate doors to enter her house. This meant that each character could enter from a different way and truly make it seem as though these were filmed at different houses. We used the kitchen and Sophia's moms bedroom to film all of Lauren's scenes. The guest bedroom and TV room were used for my character's scenes. Sophia used her bedroom and the main bathroom to film her scenes. 

    Once we had figured out the designated spaces for each of our characters, we could began filming. We started by filming each of us enter the house through the different entryways. Grace, my character, entered through the side door, while Lauren entered through the garage door. Sophia entered through the main entry way. We decided the best way to go about filming our scenes would be to choose one of the characters and film all of their scenes first, and then move on to the next character and do all of their scenes. This felt like the best method because of how frequently our movie jumps from one character to another. We chose to film Lauren's scenes first because her character, Chloe, has the most scenes to film. We started with filming the kitchen scenes and then the bedroom scenes. Those were the easiest to film so we filmed those first. The most intricate scenes to film were going to be the bathroom scenes so we filmed those last. 

Short Film: Filming Outside

     This past Sunday, my group and I put our movie into action. Although we filmed on a different day than we had originally planned, we still followed the timing schedule. We met up at around 12 and then went to the park. We started with the outside scenes first because that is where the film begins. It also the location where we spend the least time filming. All of the other scenes take place indoors so we wanted to get the outside scenes done first. We made sure to bring all of our props with us. Sophia and I were in charge of brining picnic blankets. Lauren had to make sure she brought a towel to lay on as well. Luckily we all came prepared and were set to start filming.

    We set up for our scene by laying our blankets and towels down to make it look like we were hanging out and having a picnic. Any time we were walking out of our filming location, we made sure to keep our masks on. We also made sure to set everything up in an area that was not close to anyone and definitely followed the guidelines for social distancing. The footage was filmed on my iPhone 11. Due to Covid, cameras were not distributed. However, this was no big deal for my group and I because luckily we are all familiar with filming and editing on our phones. An obstacle we encountered while filming our outside scenes was a baseball game happening at the park. Because we only had a few scenes to shoot there, all we had to do was wait for the teams to go on time out. We got the outside scenes done and made sure to have multiple takes of each scene just incase something comes up when we watch the clips later. When we finished filming the park scenes, we cleaned up and cleared out our set and went to our next location to film the indoor scenes. 

Short Film: Delayed filming

     Last week was Thanksgiving break so we had the entire school week off. My group mates and I originally wanted to film during that time. However, Covid-19 changed up our plans once again. One of the people I was working with ended up visiting family. She went out of state and was gone for half of the break. This meant she was in an airport and around a lot of people at times. Although she followed the safety procedures, we as a group decided it would be safer to wait until she had quarantined for two weeks. Taking an unneeded risk like this could hinder the filming process for the rest of our movie which is the last thing we want. We decided we would film next weekend instead because that will be when it is most safe for everyone! We will also continue to follow Covid-19 safety guidelines during the times we are filming.

    This gave us more time to plan and prepare as much as we can. I went through the storyboard again and wrote down different ideas we might have for a shot. My group mates and I have each spent time reading over our script as well. After reading over everything and looking at the storyboard we communicate any side notes or ideas we have. This process is also how we came up the name for our short film. We decided on the name "Perception" for our movie. We felt that this name fit since people often perceive someone as one way before knowing any details about their lives. Our film is also dramatic so we thought the name should have that same weight. We make sure we are communicating frequently throughout this process to ensure our film comes out as we envision it! When we film, we will be very prepared and everything should go smoothly. 

Short Film: Music

    Music and sound are two very important aspects in film. They can create the feeling an entire scene and add emphasis to certain points in the story. Finding the right music can be difficult since most songs have copy right and we'd need permission to use it. Our solution was to research non copy righted music that we can use in our film. My group mates and I thought a dramatic instrumental would fit best for our short film. The music will be very important in our movie because it will convey the intensity we want the audience to feel. I began my search for the perfect instrumental by looking on google. I had previously learned that some websites include full lists of non copy righted people can use for free. I found a few of those websites and started looking through them. I did find a few potential songs but I thought I should keep looking to make sure I found something that fit our film just right. 

    The next thing I did to find a song was go to youtube. I learned a lot when I worked on the opening scene of a movie project last year. One of the things that project taught me was how to search for the best instrumental. I typed in intense instrumental with a crescendo and no copy right. I found several songs that I felt could work! I sent all of my findings to my group so we could decide which one we thought was the right fit. We eventually settled on one. Although finding the perfect song can take a while, we figured it out and are happy with our decision. This intense music will help amplify our scenes. It will also set the atmosphere for our short film since the characters are not interacting with each other directly in every scene. Our next step in this short film is to began filming. I am very excited to see the story come together in our film!