Sunday, April 7, 2019
Final Project
She's done and ready for viewing! I am relieved that this project is finally done and my stress has melted away. All there is to learn about this process of this production is stated in my Creative Critical Reflection in the previous post. This was an amazing experience and I have truly grown as an AICE Media Studies student, a cinematographer, an editor, and all around person. Thank you for joining me on this adventure and hope you like our film opening, Blood Date.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Thursday, April 4, 2019
STRUGGLES!!
Today after school around 1:30pm one member of my project group and I (we had senior privilege) had to retake some shots for our film opening. We had to retake the shot of when the antagonist places the heart in the jar in the garage fridge. This shot was most likely the most difficult shot that we had to capture throughout the entire project because the camera WOULD NOT FOCUS! Not only are we capturing this shot partly in the dark, our antagonist is also wearing a mask which ultimately made it more difficult to allow the camera to focus on our actor's face.
I knew beforehand that this shot would be difficult to capture, but I did not anticipate how long it would take. Might I say the garage fridge is quite small; bigger than a mini fridge but definitely smaller than an average sized kitchen fridge. The fridge part of the refrigerator was lower than expected that the shot had to captured only to have our actor sit on the garage floor and perform the movements that we had instructed. To capture this shot, I had to place my camera in the fridge on the top shelf and focus on our subject just by holding down the shutter button on my camera halfway and wait for it to finishing doing its thing. It took multiple tries to get the right focus. This was quite hard to do because the camera that I own (Canon Rebel T5) does not have a flip-out screen, so I just had to take a guess and hope that the focus was right. I eventually got the right focus and took a couple more shots so I have a small variety to experiment with.
My group member and I then had a struggle with the lighting in retaking the shot of the daytime scene that would indicate that the film had flashed back to two months earlier. The lighting was slightly difficult because it was raining today so it was cloudy but still a little bright outside to convey the fact that it was daytime. We tried turning on the kitchen lights but after taking a few tests shots and playing them back we saw that the setting was too bright. We ended up just using the natural lighting that was shining through the kitchen window.
We had to retake these scenes because in the playback of the video we had already composed it was noticeable that in the garage fridge scene the person placing the jar in the fridge was a different person compared to the previous shots. As for the daytime scene, the scene seemed short and a little fast-paced. We retook the shot and slowed everything down to utilize more time.
Overall, I think these were the most difficult shots we had to capture in result of the focusing problems and pacing, but after retaking those shots I feel more confident that they would work better in the end.
I knew beforehand that this shot would be difficult to capture, but I did not anticipate how long it would take. Might I say the garage fridge is quite small; bigger than a mini fridge but definitely smaller than an average sized kitchen fridge. The fridge part of the refrigerator was lower than expected that the shot had to captured only to have our actor sit on the garage floor and perform the movements that we had instructed. To capture this shot, I had to place my camera in the fridge on the top shelf and focus on our subject just by holding down the shutter button on my camera halfway and wait for it to finishing doing its thing. It took multiple tries to get the right focus. This was quite hard to do because the camera that I own (Canon Rebel T5) does not have a flip-out screen, so I just had to take a guess and hope that the focus was right. I eventually got the right focus and took a couple more shots so I have a small variety to experiment with.
My group member and I then had a struggle with the lighting in retaking the shot of the daytime scene that would indicate that the film had flashed back to two months earlier. The lighting was slightly difficult because it was raining today so it was cloudy but still a little bright outside to convey the fact that it was daytime. We tried turning on the kitchen lights but after taking a few tests shots and playing them back we saw that the setting was too bright. We ended up just using the natural lighting that was shining through the kitchen window.
We had to retake these scenes because in the playback of the video we had already composed it was noticeable that in the garage fridge scene the person placing the jar in the fridge was a different person compared to the previous shots. As for the daytime scene, the scene seemed short and a little fast-paced. We retook the shot and slowed everything down to utilize more time.
Overall, I think these were the most difficult shots we had to capture in result of the focusing problems and pacing, but after retaking those shots I feel more confident that they would work better in the end.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Take 2!
Today my group and I had to film a few new shots for our film opening. After editing the shots we captured from the first day of filming, we realized that there are some abrupt changes between some shots. Some looked as if it were reversed or the angle was too drastic. We fixed those shots by brainstorming new shots and testing them, then eventually using them.
After viewing the video we had already composed, we noticed that our character was not fully represented as a cannibal. In our original storyboard there would have been pictures of the cannibal's victims hung up on a string with red X's on them, indicating that they are dead/eaten, except for the protagonist's picture. Following a shot of the hanging pictures we would have had our cannibal pull down the protagonist's picture from the string and then cross out the picture on the set table. My group and I concluding that having those shots in the film opening would show a more stalker style rather than cannibal. So, we completely discarded those shots. We now had our cannibal act as if he would be taking a bite out of the protagonist's heart, which was previously "ripped" out of her chest earlier in the film opening. This idea was displayed by utilizing a point-of-view shot of the heart pulled close to the camera as if the cannibal is about to take a bite and a close-up shot of the cannibal chewing and then wiping his face with his bloody hand. We hope that incorporating these shots into our film opening the representation of the cannibal would be clearly shown.
Since I am the editor of the group I will have to experiment with the shots we have and see what flows and looks best. I don't expect these shots to be too much of a difficulty considering that these shots will be within the same time frame as our previous idea would have gone.
Okay, time to edit! See you real soon!!
After viewing the video we had already composed, we noticed that our character was not fully represented as a cannibal. In our original storyboard there would have been pictures of the cannibal's victims hung up on a string with red X's on them, indicating that they are dead/eaten, except for the protagonist's picture. Following a shot of the hanging pictures we would have had our cannibal pull down the protagonist's picture from the string and then cross out the picture on the set table. My group and I concluding that having those shots in the film opening would show a more stalker style rather than cannibal. So, we completely discarded those shots. We now had our cannibal act as if he would be taking a bite out of the protagonist's heart, which was previously "ripped" out of her chest earlier in the film opening. This idea was displayed by utilizing a point-of-view shot of the heart pulled close to the camera as if the cannibal is about to take a bite and a close-up shot of the cannibal chewing and then wiping his face with his bloody hand. We hope that incorporating these shots into our film opening the representation of the cannibal would be clearly shown.
Since I am the editor of the group I will have to experiment with the shots we have and see what flows and looks best. I don't expect these shots to be too much of a difficulty considering that these shots will be within the same time frame as our previous idea would have gone.
Okay, time to edit! See you real soon!!
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Late Nights are the Best Nights
Last night, March 27th, my group and I filmed a majority of our film opening. We maybe started filming around 8:30 or 9:00pm and didn't end until close to 3:00 in the morning. It was definitely a long night but we made great progress and I am proud of the shots we captured.
As previously said, this past night was the night that my group and I incorporated the blood component into our film opening. We only wanted to utilize one night for the blood because we knew we would use all of it. Might I remind you that this blood is a good 97% sugar; therefore, making my entire garage smell like candy. It didn't anything close to candy but it definitely smelled like it. We only made one batch of blood and it was surprisingly enough to cover our victim's body, as well as be used on top of the table we had set up in the garage.
We did have a slight issue with our actor not being available that night, BUT luckily we had someone willing to take over. I did feel bad for keeping him out so late but he was truly a life saver (shoutout to Fabrizzio).
We are still missing a few shots from within the garage. These shots would maybe only take a couple hours to get so my group and I plan to capture these shots Monday, April 1 or Tuesday, April 2. Over the weekend I plan to edit the shots we already have so all I would have to do later on is incorporate those shots into the video.
Here's a sneak peek of how our victim's body looked like with some blood poured over her:
As previously said, this past night was the night that my group and I incorporated the blood component into our film opening. We only wanted to utilize one night for the blood because we knew we would use all of it. Might I remind you that this blood is a good 97% sugar; therefore, making my entire garage smell like candy. It didn't anything close to candy but it definitely smelled like it. We only made one batch of blood and it was surprisingly enough to cover our victim's body, as well as be used on top of the table we had set up in the garage.
We did have a slight issue with our actor not being available that night, BUT luckily we had someone willing to take over. I did feel bad for keeping him out so late but he was truly a life saver (shoutout to Fabrizzio).
We are still missing a few shots from within the garage. These shots would maybe only take a couple hours to get so my group and I plan to capture these shots Monday, April 1 or Tuesday, April 2. Over the weekend I plan to edit the shots we already have so all I would have to do later on is incorporate those shots into the video.
Here's a sneak peek of how our victim's body looked like with some blood poured over her:
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Lights, Camera, Action!
WE HAVE A SET! I technically already said that my group and I will be filming in my house, but this time I will be showing some proof and talking about the lighting situation.
For the most part, my group and I will be filming in my garage. When we film we found it better to film at night so not much coverage is needed in the holes of the garage door. The set will mainly be dark with some flashlights and lamps be used for a more mysterious lighting scheme. In the photos below 2 hurricane flashlights are used, one LED and one covered with a red jacket. The LED gave off a slight blue tint which worked to our advantage to have a contrast in colors on set. We set the lights on either side of the garage to allow the lights to fill up more space. We have come to the conclusion that the LED light will be our primary lighting source because with the bright light our subject of the frame will be seen more easily than the other light. Also, the LED light allows for shadows to be sharply seen on the garage door which will help with the scene where the murderer “rips out” the victim’s heart from her chest.
Overall this lighting scheme worked better than we had expected. See below for how our set turned out!
For the most part, my group and I will be filming in my garage. When we film we found it better to film at night so not much coverage is needed in the holes of the garage door. The set will mainly be dark with some flashlights and lamps be used for a more mysterious lighting scheme. In the photos below 2 hurricane flashlights are used, one LED and one covered with a red jacket. The LED gave off a slight blue tint which worked to our advantage to have a contrast in colors on set. We set the lights on either side of the garage to allow the lights to fill up more space. We have come to the conclusion that the LED light will be our primary lighting source because with the bright light our subject of the frame will be seen more easily than the other light. Also, the LED light allows for shadows to be sharply seen on the garage door which will help with the scene where the murderer “rips out” the victim’s heart from her chest.
Overall this lighting scheme worked better than we had expected. See below for how our set turned out!
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Editing...what?
Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to talk about what program I’ll be using to edit our film opening.
I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro CC to edit. I like using this program because it has a lot to offer. I am able to edit so many things from sound quality to image quality and even adding certain graphics. In the program I am able to see what I have imported, what clip I am currently editing, my timeline, and a preview of my product all on one screen. This makes it easier on me so I don’t have to keep flipping between multiple tabs. My specific laptop, Apple Macbook Pro 2017, isn’t made specifically for editing so working in Premiere Pro is a little slow but not too slow where I’d have too much trouble editing.
Learning how to use Adobe Premiere Pro does take some time but I think it is worth the wait. I had to play around the program to find where everything is but now that I know I find it a lot easier. I would personally recommend using this program to have more access to other resources and have a high quality product.
I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro CC to edit. I like using this program because it has a lot to offer. I am able to edit so many things from sound quality to image quality and even adding certain graphics. In the program I am able to see what I have imported, what clip I am currently editing, my timeline, and a preview of my product all on one screen. This makes it easier on me so I don’t have to keep flipping between multiple tabs. My specific laptop, Apple Macbook Pro 2017, isn’t made specifically for editing so working in Premiere Pro is a little slow but not too slow where I’d have too much trouble editing.
Learning how to use Adobe Premiere Pro does take some time but I think it is worth the wait. I had to play around the program to find where everything is but now that I know I find it a lot easier. I would personally recommend using this program to have more access to other resources and have a high quality product.
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