Nearing the finish line!

It is almost the end of this project and one could describe my feelings stressed and anxious. As previously described in my last blog posting, we decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro as our editing software. However, my personality tends to lean towards the perfectionist side and to be honest it is difficult not being able to see how the editing process is going.



Eugenia and Rhea had a competition for a club that they are both in and for this reason me and Gabe are not able to collaborate with them on the editing process while they are there. This is stressful since we have little time left and making any changes to the opening after it is already edited will be a difficult process.

However, I must keep in mind that if we use our time wisely any changes that we wish to make will be done. In addition to this Rhea and Eugenia know how to use Adobe Premiere Pro much better than me or Gabe do so really there is no reason to believe there will be any issues. Moreover, my team and I are always communicating, so without a doubt, if there were any issues or concerns they would have been communicated.

This bump in the road has taught me that in some cases patience and trust is key. Especially when working in groups in the real world,  where you never know what obstacles life will throw at you, it is important to keep a focused mindset and plan accordingly to the changes that are thrown in your direction. No matter what, my team and I are focused and ready to work this week. I am determined and excited to see the work that has been done so far.

Editing!

Now that we have finished filming it is time to edit! So how will we edit and what tools are we going to use to aid us in the process? Well, my team and I decided to look into the options of editing software in order to make the most informed decision. 

First, we decided to look at the option of using WeVideo. The benefits of using WeVideo are that we would be able to collaborate on the project individually through separate devices. While this is a unique quality, only one of us would be able to edit the video at a particular time. In addition to this WeVideo is a software that we all are new to and are not perfectly familiar with. Although it is easy to use it would be more desirable to use software that we are confident in using. 




The next possible option was iMovie. Although iMovie is a great tool that most of the members in the group are familiar with, it does not have some features that other software's do. It would be difficult to carry out precise editing on this software and we hope that our opening is as detail-oriented as possible. So while iMovie is user-friendly we want to be able to do more with our project. 



Lastly, there is Adobe Premiere Pro. This software has a much wider range of abilities than the other two editing software that we have listed. The editing done through this software allows the editor to make much more precise edits. The drawbacks to this software, however, are that it is expensive software that not all of my team members have and it is difficult to use. 

When it came to choosing, my team and I had to look at what we wanted to prioritize in our video. That priority is the quality of our opening. My team and I want to make sure that the editing will be clean cut precise and meaningful. In order to achieve this, we decided the best option was Adobe Premiere Pro. Since it would be difficult for all of us to edit the same time anyways we thought it would only be fitting to have Eugenia edit the opening since she is the most knowledgeable on the use of the software and because she already has it downloaded. Of course, we will be able to help her along the way just not from a separate computer. 

Second day of Filming!

Today was the Second Day of Filming! We wanted to make sure the lighting was bright and sunny so we met up at Eugenia's house bright and early. We decided on Eugenia's house because her bedroom is all white and perfect for the setting of a character with OCD.

Filming from a top angle in the Kitchen!

Filming on this day was actually much quicker than it was on the first day. We quickly filmed the scenes in the bedroom and then proceeded to the Kitchen. At the kitchen, we actually needed to do some Stage prep in order to make it look spotless. We removed everything that was possible from the counters and we wiped them down.

Even for the coffee, we decided to pour it in a different container so that the colorful packaging would not throw off the clean environment we were trying to embody. We took shots from various different angles and made sure that we overshot in order to make the editing process easier and the final product look better.

After filming all the scenes we decided to retrace our steps to make the sounds crisper. We went in the room and used a microphone to record everything from the steps on the ground and the patting down of the bed sheets to the scooping of the coffee.

Re-recording small sounds!

Re-recording footsteps!

We finished fairly quickly and got a lot done in a short amount of time. It was impressive to see us all work together so efficiently, after filming the day before my group and I had a better understanding of how to film and work together efficiently. I am glad we finished filming because now we can start editing and if we need to reshoot anything we still have time! We weren't scheduled to finish filming until around Sunday so this is great news! :)

First Day of Filming!

unpacking

We started filming today! We decided to meet up at my house to film because we needed a garage that was extremely messy. While I'm not proud to say it, my garage fit the role perfectly. I had just moved to my house recently so it honestly was a mess, but for once, that was a good thing so that is where we decided to film the first scene of our opening.

Tight Space!

As soon as everyone arrived we looked over the storyboard and unpacked the cameras to get ready to film. It honestly was hard to move around in my garage because I live in a townhouse, therefore; the garage was very small. Not only was it small but as previously stated it was very cluttered so moving around proved to be a small issue. In addition to the size and the clutter, the tripod was not exactly helping our case but we made do.

Our attempt to dim light 

We then decided to look at the lighting we were dealing with. Since our film falls under the Thriller genre we wanted to make sure the lighting was low key and that it created an unnerving and ominous mood. In order to achieve this, we decided to use lamps instead of the main light of the garage. At first, we connected a lamp in the garage and it was far too bright so we decided to try and dim it by covering it with opaque plastic bags. While this did work, it was essentially useless because it came to one of my group member's attention that they had a professional light with filters.


It was quite funny to see Eugenia play around with light in different places to make sure everything showed up on camera, but in the end, it was for a good cause.

Eugenia lighting up the set 

We also forgot to consider that someone needed to throw Gabe in the garage for the opening scene, so I volunteered as tribute. However, my efforts were all in vain due to the fact that I am not even five foot and Gabe is extremely tall. So even though I was dressed in all black and you could not see my face it was not working out. Thankfully though, my brother arrived in time to steal the spotlight from me and replace me in my villainous role. Just Kidding! I'm not mad, in fact, he did a great job throwing Gabe in the garage it was quite a performance.

Throughout filming, we were also faced with some safety issues that we did not expect to encounter. For example, when Gabe was falling off the chair we did not want him to lay on the concrete so we incorporated a bag filled with bags to cushion his fall. We then filmed shots with him already on the ground and we plan to use editing to our advantage to put the scene together. In addition to this, we did not want him to get harmed by the chair when he dove to the ground so I masterfully guided the chair's movement so that it seemed realistic but did not hurt Gabe.

Overall we got a great deal of footage to work with. We made sure to overshoot in case we needed it and we got all the filming in that location done. :)

Meet our Actor!

Surprise! It's actually just Gabe! So we were actually going to try to look for an experienced actor. As previously mentioned, my team and I were looking for an actor which could vividly convey the feeling we were trying to provoke in the audience. However, things did not turn out this way.

Due to the fact that Psychological Thrillers depend on the emotion and the build-up of suspense, having an experienced actor was something we were aiming for. So we went on a search for actors, and we asked around. Me and my team posted on our social media asking for an experienced actor who wished to be a part of our production. However, we came across several issues. One of these issues being that it was extremely difficult to find anyone whose schedule matched up with ours.

Due to the fact that my team members are all leaving for spring break and have tournaments to attend to, we have a short window of about three or four days to film and time is of the essence! Not only did they have completely differing schedules, yet many of them did not even live nearby. Finding transportation for them to come and shoot on multiple days was not ideal. Not only did we face this issue of time and location but also several of the actors who were offering help were females.

Of course, nothing is wrong with female actors, however, we already designed everything including the storyboard around a male character. Making changes such as the character's gender would affect several things including costume design and props that we do not have time to change. We then had the bright idea of contracting the help of the Drama Club. However, this was a failed attempt because the Drama Club at our school is also leaving for a trip.

So this was an issue

This is when we learned about compromise. We realized that getting a different actor on such short notice, that looked exactly the way we wanted, that fit our schedule, that lived nearby, and that was experienced, was not an attainable goal. What did we have though? One of my team members is Gabe, and while no, he has never taken any drama classes, he has stepped in for several other projects as an actor. Gabe is also not shy, he fits the character well, he lives nearby, and he has the same schedule as the rest of my team. In the end, I am not worried. I am sure that if we overshoot and we help direct Gabe's acting the end product will be successful! :)

What does this project really mean?

Challenging Conventions

As I near the end of this project I have to start realizing how it would fit into the real scheme of the world. If this were a real film opening what would make my film different from others? How would it make a difference, and what would be its purpose? How am I challenging conventions? Well for starters, no creator of any media wishes for their end product to be mainstream. To make a production and be someone who is creative is to come up with ideas that are new and provide a different perspective and impact others in ways that haven't before. 

However, there is a caveat in this aspiration. That caveat is that my group and I are students and considering this would be our first film opening challenging conventions in an extreme fashion would not be wise due to the fact that we are not an established production company and we do not have a reputation. In order to build that reputation, we must first put out content that generally follows conventions. 

However, this does not mean that our film has to be bland or boring, there are small ways in which we are provided creative freedom to step outside of boundaries without scaring away audiences. In the Genre of Psychological Films, the opening scenes usually consist of setting up the beginning of the film, a story which proceeds in chronological order. This can be seen in Gone Girl where there is a voice over of  Nick describing his wife, in the shining where there is a series of establishing shots, and in Split where the plot just starts right away. My team and I wished to do something to challenge these general conventions.

Therefore we decided to start our film opening with a fast forward, bringing the audience to the climax of the story and then sending them back to the beginning. In this way, we wish to capture audiences attention by providing them with a film that is not sequenced in a conventional manner and that keeps them wondering how the character reached that point. 

Representing people with OCD

My group nor I can say that our film is attempting to make a societal statement by releasing this movie. It is most uncommon to say that about any film within the Thriller genre since incidents which occur within these films are often exaggerated for dramatic effect. For example in Split, various articles were written on News outlets such as CNN and The Guardian criticizing the film for portraying Dissociative Identity Disorder in the wrong way by making it seem dangerous and violent. 

In our film, we have carried out research concerning the disorder to make sure we had a strong understanding of what OCD is and how people with the disorder actually carry on with their lives. Although the film will exaggerate various aspects of the disorder since it is a Thriller, we want to make sure it is rooted in factual information of how people with this disorder act. 

By Challenging conventions and waiting to make a film after being well informed of the facts, we wish to make a film that truly is enjoyed by the audience.     

References

https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/health/shyamalan-split-movie-dissociative-identity-disorder/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/12/cinema-dissociative-personality-disorder-split-james-mcavoy 

Production Company Logo!

Very Exciting news! My group has finalized the design for our production company logo! Here is a picture of it:

We decided to go for this logo because we wanted it to represent all of us in some way and each of the letters is the initials of our first names: G- Gabe E- Elly (me!) E- Eugenia R- Rhea. Not only does it accomplish subtly incorporating some of our personality into our film but it also sounds like the words "Gear" hence the G being shaped as a Gear.



I think the idea for it was very creative and the execution of it also looks very professional. I feel the "Gear" is also a representation of how well we work together almost like we were a machine! I am very excited to see how our opening scene ends up looking like! :)