ANOTHER DAY OF SHOOTING

Hi guys!

I, as well as my group members, just got back from vacation and we decided since the weather was good we would shoot our gravestone scene. There was a slight change in location of our shots. We decided that instead of Markham Park, we would shoot in Parker's community since there was an open field which allowed us to shoot without any disturbances that we would've had in a public place.

Here is the production of our sign and placement for the shots:

We are quickly approaching our deadline and have started editing but we have one more scene to shoot (the bedroom scene) which we will shoot tomorrow after school because it'll be the most convenient time for us all. Make sure to check back in for some more previews!

Hope you all enjoyed this preview of our film opening!!

Thank you for stopping by (:

SNEAK PEEK

Hey guys!! Welcome back to my blog!

I'm glad to say we successfully filmed our first couple scenes of our film opening and they came out great so I have decided to share some with you below (:

The way in which we achieved this scene with the red and blue cop lights was through a youtube video in which we found. To get this shot one person recorder as the other held 3 phones playing the youtube video so we had enough lighting to show our faces and the symbols on our head. I'm beyond happy with the way these shots came out and I hope you all enjoy them too!!

I am currently out of town until Friday so I can't do much more filming. Instead I plan on editing and working on my CCR as much as I can.

Thank you for stopping by for an update! I'll be back with more teasers, hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did.

FINISHED THE GRAVES = TOMORROWS THE DAY..

Hi all, hope you had a great weekend!

So I finally had the time to make our gravestones since it is spring break and I didn't have to worry about homework or studying. The process took time with many drafts but I finally got the result we wanted. I made four cemetery graves for the four family members who died and also made our fake blood which we will use to put our symbol on their heads. Since our props are now done we will begin our filming process tomorrow!! I am so excited to finally shoot the opening scene and see how it factors into our final product.
We also messed around with our diegetic and non-diegetic sounds we plan on making. We decided that for the ticking of the clock we will record an actual block ticking and for the pencil tapping we will record the sound of a pencil hitting a desk. We are unsure of what music we will want in the background (we are currently discussing that in our group chat) and we are thinking of either doing a voice over or no speaking at all (most likely no voice over). These are details in which we will be discussing more as we meet tomorrow to shoot.

I can’t wait to begin sharing more with you all (:

The pictures above are of the spray paint I used and the graves immediately after being sprayed.

Here is the final product (:

Hope you enjoyed the final product. Check back tomorrow for some teasers I will be releasing when my group and I get together to film the scene! 

NAMES, NAMES, NAMES...

Hi guys!

I have some important information that I would like to share with you. My group and I have been discussing names for our characters in the film opening and agreeing on this has probably been one of the toughest things (besides coming up with a name that fit). Although this was a struggle, I am glad to say that we have finally come up with the names we will be using. 

The fathers name will be David Jones, the mothers name will be Madison Jones, the brothers name will be Alexander Jones, the sisters name will be Hannah Jones and the main characters name will be Eric Jones. 

We have also come up with ages for each character so that we may list it on the gravestone indicating how old they were when they died. Not sure if I have mentioned this in any other blogs previously (don't think I did because this was a minor change made a couple days ago) but this film will be taking place in 2015. With that being said, the ages are as follows: 

David Jones was born in 1964 and died at 51 years old. 

Madison Jones was born in 1966 and died at 49 years old. 

Alexander Jones was born in 1997 and died at 18 years old. 

Hannah Jones was born in 2000 and died at 15 years old. 

Knowing the names and years of birth/death were important because without that we would be unable to complete the gravestones. 

Now that I have all the information I need I am finally able to finish the gravestones!! I already bought the supplies needed and cut the styrofoam into the shape needed. I am excited to share the final product of our graves in the next blog post!

Until then, I hope you all have an amazing weekend (: Remember to check in tomorrow!!

ANOTHER DELAY IN SHOOTING.. OOPS

Hi guys, I have some bad news to share. We had another delay in shooting due to poor weather conditions caused by rain. Although the rain delayed shooting, it gave us some extra time to improve the outcome of our props making them more detailed and appealing.

Our new schedule is as follows: 
March 25 
-Markham Park at sunset to shoot the first scene (gravestones)
-House near Windmill Ranches to shoot establishing shots

March 27-28
-Room in Parker's (another group members house) to shoot room scene

March 29
-Any extra shooting needed

Immediately after shooting is done we will begin to collectively edit through a website called 'We Video' which allows us to share the video and all work on details within so the work is divided equally.  I also plan on beginning my CCR (Creative Critical Reflection) this week so that I have enough time to make it as detailed as needed instead of leaving it until the last minute.

I will be sharing more information such as names and ages of our characters which is currently undecided, as well as the gravestones I will be making within the next couple days in order to be ready to shoot our film.

Thank you for checking out my blog, check back tomorrow for more as we get closer and closer to the final product!

MAKING THE FAMILY PROPERTY SIGN..

Hey guys, it’s been a couple days since my last post and I just wanted to share some things that my group and I are trying to achieve before we start our filming process on Monday. We have decided to make our sign for the family home in which our main characters live in. This home is the ‘Jones Family Home’. We decided that this sign will be in our establishing shot so that we let our viewers know where the action is taking place in the scene. On this property, the family is buried after being killed by their son ‘Eric’.

We will be making this sign out of wood and placing it in front of the family house. We aren’t completely done with it yet but I’ll give you all an idea of what it’s supposed to look like.

Hope you guys like the plan we have!

I'll be back with more soon (:

DELAY IN SHOOTING..

Hey guys, I hope you all had a great weekend. Originally I planned on going a different route with this blog post but there has been some changes. We had a delay in making our props (due to us all having events this weekend which held us back) but we will be working on this tomorrow to get it done in time to shoot. Since the props weren't done we had to revise our shooting schedule.

Here is our updated shooting schedule:
March 21
-Markham Park at sunset to shoot the first scene (gravestones)
-House near Windmill Ranches to shoot establishing shots

March 23-24
-Room in Parker's (another group members house) to shoot the room scene

March 25
-Any extra shooting needed if shots don't come out right

After we finish shooting we will use the rest of the time we have to edit and make sure everything is in place. Also starting this week and over spring break which is approaching next week I plan on completing my CCR so that I am not leaving it until last minute.

I was hoping to have started shooting already because I feel like we are cutting it a little bit too close but I know that my group and I will get it all done by the end of spring break, hopefully without an issue.

Thank you guys for continuously coming back for updates (: Big things are coming this week. Can't wait to share with you. Hope you all have a great week!

GROUP CRITIQUE

Hi Identity supporters!! WOW its nice to have our film name!

Today I had the opportunity to meet with people from other groups and get their opinion on my film plans. They had positive feedback as I explained my groups plan which was a huge stress reliever. They believed that the idea we have (opening the film with the graves and dead people and later showing how they died) was a good idea to show how this kid (the main character) is mentally ill. One person in the group showed me some tips on how to make a grave look more realistic which was a lot of help because it solved some conflicts I had with making the grave. They also gave some font ideas for the title and credits that fall into the thriller killer vibe of our film opening… This helped a lot because I was unsure of what font I wanted to use and how to lay it out. I believe that meeting with these other people from different groups and sharing ideas helped me feel more comfortable about my film and what stage we are at in our production process. Knowing that people were able to connect with my idea and understand what message I was trying to send made me feel prepared and confident to film.
With that being said, we plan on getting our props done this weekend and beginning our filming within the production process next week.

I am sooo excited and looking forward to how everything is going to come out.
Thank you for stopping by my blog (:

I’ll be back with more updates soon as always!

CHANGE IN SCENE..

Hi guys! My group and I have made a couple changes within our first scene, the funeral scene. In case you didn’t know already, our film begins with the family dead due to the main character and cuts back to a flashback leading to the death of the family. We believed that this made sense to do because it will catch the attention of the viewer and make them want to see what happened to them. We decided that in this scene, we want our graves to be in a private area specific for the family of the main character. The private area in which they are buried will resemble their home to show more of a deep connection with the family. We chose that it would be better because it’ll put the focus directly on them as oppose to other graves around. The location for the shot will still be in Markham Park but our shots will need to be tight so that our location doesn’t show the rest of the park.

NAME OF MOVIE!!

Welcome back to my blog! I have some exciting news for you all (:

We’ve been brainstorming and we finally came up with a name for our film opening. This was a huge step in our production process and I'm excited to share with you!
 The name we came up with was “Identity” but with a backwards E. We chose this name because we felt like it fit the genre and message being told within the film. The name represents the main character since he, like the name, is not completely normal. We came up with identity because throughout the main character is constantly having a conflict with himself to find his true identity.
As I go more into detail with my project with specific details this will make more sense to you all.
We plan on the name to appear like this but the font will most likely change as my group and I find more that may fit our film more.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I can't wait to continue showing you all everything we've come up with.

I'll be back with more information soon (:

PLAYING WITH FONTS..

Hi guys! Sorry for the short blog but I felt like this was a step needed before the filming and editing process. Today I decided to play with some different fonts to find one my group and I like for any words that'll appear such as our movie title and credits. We don't know our movie title yet so I tested it with the word "credits".

Theses are some I like:

Credits

Times New Roman

Credits

American Typewriter

Credits

BatangChe

Credits

Century Gothic

Credits

Footlight MT

Credits 

Avenir

I chose these fonts because they were the most professional and easiest to read. These are common fonts used in films and very appealing to the viewer. I hope you guys enjoyed this. 

I'll be meeting with my group tomorrow and hopefully deciding on our title and when we will begin our prop making. 

Thank you for stopping by to read this (:

NEW STORYBOARD

Hi all!! Hope you had a great day (: I just wanted to update you on some things that my group and I have changed. We changed a couple shots within our story board and made it more detailed so we are ready to film next week hopefully! I'll be attaching the pictures below so you can see exactly what we are planning!

PROPS RESEARCH

Hi people! Happy Friday, it’s the weekend woohoo!!
So today I did some research on making fake blood and gravestones that we will be using throughout our film opening.

We researched multiple ways of making blood and what kind of blood we wanted to make and we finally decided on making oxygen-depleted blood and guts so I did some research and this is what I found.
To make oxygen-depleted blood I will need:
· 2/3 cup chocolate syrup
· 1/3 cup Tide laundry detergent
· 4-6 teaspoons red food coloring 

And to make guts I will need to make blood using the same recipe and just tear thin strips of toilet paper to stir into the blood until the texture is achieved.

This is the link I used to make the blood if you want to check out what I am attempting to make:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/how-to/a35075/how-to-make-fake-blood/

I also did research on gravestones and how to make one. This website I came across, “The Roanoke Times” gave descriptive details on how to make a gravestone that looks real.
Here’s what they suggested:
For a paint effect:
· Tombstone background: Dark gray or black latex paint
· Cup of sand
For highlights:
· Light gray paint
· Black acrylic paint
· Orange/tan paint
· Shades of green paint for moss
· Model railroad turf
Tools:
· Jigsaw with long blade
· Hacksaw to put PVC pipe
· Razor blade or X-ACTO knife
· Pocketknife
· Foamboard adhesive
· Urethane glue
· Paint roller and brushes
· Pen or marker

and this is what it'll look like:
https://www.roanoke.com/arts_and_entertainment/diy-tombstones-turn-your-yard-into-a-graveyard-for-halloween/article_9caf32f4-6a6f-5ee3-ae2c-2f1c793a5846.html

My group and I will be getting together to make this gravestone within the next week so that we are ready to begin filming. I am excited to see how our final gravestones and blood will come out. I’ll keep you updated throughout the entire process (:

Talk to you guys soon.

UPDATE ON LOCATION

Hi again, so today in class we decided on the location in which we are shooting the first scene at. (I’ll attach a picture below) The scene in which we are shooting is the opening shot of the cemetery and gravestones with the four dead people. We want to shoot the scene when it is as dark as possible but it can’t be too dark, so we plan on doing it around sunset. The problem in shooting the scene when it is too dark is that there won’t be enough natural light to show the message we’re trying to send of the dead people and the symbol.
I went to Markham Park, the park in which we are shooting, an hour before the sun set and I stayed there until it went down in order for me to find the best possible time to shoot this shot.
I took a couple pictures of different angles and lighting to show you guys what I saw during this process to see which was the best. After sharing with my group, we decided on a time in which we will shoot… I am excited to show you a sneak peek when we finally shoot ((:

Thank you for visiting my blog(:

Hope you enjoy the pictures attached and that it got you excited to see the final product!

STORYBOARD AND SHOOTING SCHEDULE

Hey guys! Hope you all had a great weekend (:

My group and I finally set a shooting schedule and made our storyboard to follow! This was a big step closer to a final product because we finally have a set plan and vision for our opening. We plan on making our film about a boy dealing with a death and a specific symbol of death, that'll be shown throughout, haunting him. Below I’ll attach our storyboard and shooting schedule so you can check out the specific details (:

Our shooting schedule is done throughout two days because we want all shots that are supposed to be consecutive to be done looking the same so our final product doesn't look choppy and off balance.

For our shots in the cemetery all need to take place on the same day due to the sunlight and weather changes day to day. The shots in the room/house/school are all the same day as well due to mise en scene looking the same and environmental conditions being the same throughout.

Can't wait to shoot these shots and see how they will lead up to the final product! Hope you enjoyed our storyboard and that you are as excited as me for this film opening!

OUTLINE DRAFT

Hi again! Hope you all are having a great Saturday (:

Yesterday in class we met to discuss plans for the film opening but unfortunately, I came down with a cold and spent my morning at the doctor. I found out that others in my group were absent as well due to field trips so either way we didn’t get to discuss the project in person. Instead, we made a group chat and we spoke about the project and came up with the basis for the plan we will follow but the details aren’t for sure yet, things may change as we film and see what looks good. We also haven’t come up with a name for our film yet so we will need to discuss more to figure out one that really fits the message we are sending.

This is an outline of our film opening:

-Start with creepy music in background

-Keep low-key lighting throughout

-Establishing shot of cemetery 

-Close up graves (we plan on trying different angles and shots to see which looks the best)

-Cut to dead victims with a symbol on their heads (this symbol on the heads will make more sense throughout) 

-Cut back to graves (in the amount of dead victims)

-Title of movie is then shown (bold that catches the eye) 

-Close up of clock

-Sound of clock ticking (foley sound-made by us)

-Cut to close up of faucet dripping water 

-Close up cut to extreme close up of a kid tapping on a desk with pencil (foley sound of tapping on desk) (Kids face isn’t seen)

-Cut to medium shot of door opening and mother walking in room taking the pencil away 

-Close up of kid getting mad and storming out of room

-Close up of mother shocked 

-Weird drawings (the same symbol on dead people) all over the walls

-Cut to close up shot back to mom looking down at desk 

-Close up of hand grabbing a crumbled paper

-Medium shot looking at the paper

-Close up of the symbol on the paper 

-Close up of mothers reaction to the symbol seen

This is all we have so far, we need to play around with the shots and see what looks best with the plan we have. If anything changes I’ll update you guys ((:

SCOUTING LOCATIONS

Hi again!! Happy Friday!!

Today I decided to go scout a couple locations for the film opening. I, along with my group, decided that we needed to shoot in a park that we can make look like a cemetery. We decided on a couple places such as Vista View Park and Markham Park. (I'll attach photos I took below) The amount of grass and fields in these parks will make it possible to spread out tombstones in which we will be making. (I’ll be sharing that process with you guys as we make them so wooohooo!!!) We also need a place where we can shoot with empty walls so we’ll probably be shooting at one of our houses in order to accomplish that. We aren’t 100% sure on the details for that yet but we will be for sure attempting to create a cemetery.

Since we plan on shooting outside I looked up some tips on how to achieve good shots without the lighting affecting it. 

Heres a little bit of what I found on Premium Beat, a shutterstock company:

Film during the middle of the day so the light isn't as harsh, use the sun as a backlight (this is a tip I am definitely using when I decide to film the cemetery scene), use the sunrise and sunset, invest in filters for camera lens, make use of flags and reflectors, use the right lenses when filming shots. 

I also found a YouTube video by Film Riot, I linked the video below if you're interested in the tips I was given. (:

Here are some photos of the places I scouted if you are all curious of where we plan on shooting:

Thank you for reading my blog!

Hope you keep coming back for some more information on our journey to filming this film opening!

https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/how-to-make-foam-halloween-tombstones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r9GvqDiPSI 

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/6-tips-for-filming-outdoors/