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/