filming : outside

For this next scene, we filmed a car and outside scene at the clubhouse of Emily's neighborhood. To begin, we brought two cars but only used one. I drove my car to drive a few people so that Emily could film the two actors in the back seat of the other car. I helped lay out the red carpet and tell Emily the best shots to get. Finding a good place for the red carpet was important to fill the famous look. Similar to the inside filming I had my phone with different things set up to film. I pulled up the script, the scenes and the story board for this part. I had to remind Emily to shoot the car pulling up as well as some scenes on the red carpet. A low angle shot was important to our storyboard and I helped Emily get the shot perfectly. This was part of my co-directing job. All scenes were accounted for and if we wanted any extras, we shot them. One downfall during this was the rain, we didn't necessarily have anything planned for lighting but we would have preferred it not been raining. In the end it worked out fine as the rain didn't intensify until after filming. I also helped make sure the outfits looked good during these shots. The heels, hair and dresses needed to look prepared for this scene. Another main job I had was to be the paparazzi. I held two to three phones and I kept clicking the flashlight to interpret a camera. I tried to do this near the camera instead of near the actors so that you can see the flashing. During this, I also had to shout out to the "famous couple". I said things like, "yes work it" seeming like I am filming them. This is done to show their social class.

Filming: inside the house

Inside the house 

Over the weekend we filmed the inside scene, to film the main food scene. This filming took place at Emilys house. There were many things to set up before this scene started, including outfits, food, plates and the table. I had to pull up a few things on my phone. I had the pictures of the storyboard, the google slides of the script and the shooting. Since I was not acting it was important that I was around to help remind the person filming and the actors what shot we want to get. The food scene is about the only scene shot inside. I helped Emily direct the film and shots. While the food was getting set up, I helped make sure everyone was in their right positions. I did this by looking at the story board and seeing if the actors, Jaheim and Victoria were in their proper seats. I then explained to Emily what we had in mind for which angle to shoot the shot. When it was time for their lines about the food, I pulled up the script. I reminded Jaheim and Victoria what they each had to say. This was important as they were constantly forgetting which line to say next. My importance here was not too hard, I enjoyed helping out the person filming and the actors. Co-directing, I would say is a good title for my role. Some other things that were a part of the food scene, was correcting certain things. For example, the plates positioning and when to put the food where. As well as making sure the camera was in an angle that did not include mirrors, or blocked out anyones face. Due to to tightness of the dining room with mirrors on both sides, we had to make sure the camera was set perfectly centered. 

Filming blog: pre-start

Unfortunately, my group and I have not started filming. This has to do with the fact that the blogs that were due in the last few days, including the 10 pages worth of storyboarding. Stretching out each scene to fit into 10 pages was probably the most difficult part.  Although I am confident in our script, it was hard to make each scene in this much detail. I personally had some trouble putting both the script and storyboard together. I knew the work was being done but I needed to sit and match each one to have a better understanding of what we will be filming. The group also raised some concerns as to whether our script would clearly match the storyboard for the filming. Due to this hesitance we have not yet filmed. We took this class period to come up with a schedule that works for us all. I drive, so location is not an issue for me but one factor that made it difficult for me to schedule well is my work. Since this filming needs to be done as soon as possible, this weekend was our best bet. i work all weekend, so I am making it my responsibility to switch a shift around to be able to make it. We are creating a schedule that all four of us can attend, since two of us are actors, one if filming and then I will be helping with props and extras in the film. Even though we do have a location, we found another one that may fit best. This is another reason why we took a while to film, because we wanted the best possible spot. We have decided instead to film at our group members grandma house. We want to meet up on Saturday around 12-1. We also needed props and food prepared before we started filming. Food is important to set up since it needs to resemble body parts and more time to set this up, the better. Also, more time allows us to set up the house to get rid of anything we do not want in the shot as well us set up anything we do in the shot.

planning blog: storyboard

The storyboard for my film was done by two of my group members. In order of each scene, the following is drawn out: 

The first template shows a sketch of the film. protagonists (the married couple) in their wedding photo, before slowly zooming out to glass surrounding it as a foot steps down and shatters it, the couple will also be yelling at each other in the background as this happens although we didn't write that out explicitly. The camera will then cut to the couple arguing and yelling at each other. The next shots will be of a plate flying across the screen, followed by a bowl, and then a wine glass. Shots of each object breaking will be shown in between. The next scene is a scene of the protagonists in a fancy car. An establishing shot is used, and then a two shot showing one character looking at the driver, then jump cutting to the other looking outside the car window. The car then pulls up to the venue and quickly finish the drinks they were having before opening the door. One foot comes out followed by another with the camera zoomed into them, staying zoomed as the character walks down a red carpet with cameras flashing. Paparazzi will be shown accompanied by a bright camera flash that will then show the characters smiling. The second to last scene returns to the couples' home, showing food on their dining table. The female will look at the food, quickly looking away to meet eyes with the male before returning to the female as an eye-line match. As the final  scene, he food will then slowly be shown, revealing that what the characters are eating is... not quite right. This will take a bit longer to make the viewer intrigued, before ending the film (or well, the final scene of its beginning). 

planning blog: location, participants, health and schedule

In this google slide a lot is discussed. This all basically sets everything for filming. The location is know, which is one of our groups member house. The schedule is there, which we do not have a specific day yet since our group has to coordinate. Most of the schedule just provides a general time line of when we are going to film each scene. For the health portion, having a first aid kit is the main thing that we have. Since we will be in one place almost the whole time, there isn't many health hazards that are in our way of filming. The two actors are Victoria and Jaheim. They are playing the role of husband and wife, which comes with many parts. Lastly, sound is described for each scene. This is done to keep the scene structured, especially to include all the other factors.

planning blog: title design

For this title blog the different things we’ve added will help make the film stand out. The fonts will stay the same. The colors will change due to background. The only thing that will be different will be the directors title and the different fade in and outs of the names. With the name that showed up with the flash it will pop out at the audience. This will make the name stand out wile also keeping it creative. The ways the names will show throughout the film depends on the scene. This also means it depends on how the scene will flow. The scene will shift with the names and how they blend in or stand out. This is how we will make our movie intro feel and look creative.

planning blog: Sound&Dialogue

 For this google docs, the focus remains on the script for sound and dialogue. Again, it will be split based off of scenes in order to make the filming and editing easier. With audio, these slides will be important during the editing phase, since sound can always be added in. These scenes align with the shooting scenes, which we can combine to make a smooth film. This planning will become very useful when it is time to start filming, and will save us as a group a lot of time.The sound is very important because we need to distinguish sounds we have to create, sounds of crowds and two people dialogue. The slides where there is no dialogue is also just as important so we know that music is necessary. The idea of creating non-diegetic sounds for things like the car pulling up, will be really interesting for the group. The idea of when music will be played is also important. This is not stated very specifically in the slides but the group decided suspenseful music should be added in when the couple is being showed. This is to bring a certain feeling every time the couple is shown.

planning blog: shooting script

 We made this google docs in order to lay out scene by scene what we will be doing. This has the purpose of making filming a lot easier, as well as finding a location and gathering actors and props. Now we are pre-prepared when we start to film as well as after when we are editing. Each scene is important because it signifies something new coming. For example in the first scene we begin with a couple fighting but by the last scene, they are eating "dinner". This change in plot is important when it comes to putting them into groups or scenes. Another reason this slideshow is important is the fact that it includes shots and angles. Each scene has the angle that we are trying to accomplish to make the tone of the scene exact. The last part of each slide that is crucial, is the time. Each scene has a certain amount of time with it, that helps us know how long it should be and helps us get to two minutes for our film.