Filming using technique

                                 Filming using technique

So I want to continue with explaining to you guys what me and Hannah's vision of using technique was. I will be discussing examples of shots and angles used to ultimately set the mood of our main character. 

                                                  Shots 

Within shooting the film, we used several, and I mean...SEVERAL close-ups. After using the research of our chosen, we had to incorporate shots that would be used to distinguish the chosen genre. Close-ups are commonly used in the Drama genre in order to demonstrate significance in a specific scene, in this case, the emotional aspect of the character would be considered the important factor in the movie's opening since the film surrounds our main character and her feeling towards becoming an actress. Below are some examples of different shots we used to give our film opening the dramatic feel we desired it to have. 

Extreme close-up of Stella's eyes as she is mesmerized by what she is seeing on the big screen. We see just her eyes and this moment really speaks dialogue through the expression of the eyes, it can be inferred that she is really into the film and doesn't get distracted whatsoever. 

Medium shot of Stella tearing up with the film because she is just so engaged and so inspired by the film. She is consumed by her dream that she forgets she is even in a wheelchair. 

Filming day!!

                                            Filming Day!!

   

     Hey everyone! So yesterday we filmed in our desired location! It took a while for this location to be available to us, but as soon as it was vacant, we took as much time as possible to work with what we had. We spent around two to three hours filming in the auditorium. My mom, Mrs. Roca, helped us make this happen after school hours. We used the wheelchair as well, which was really helpful in portraying our character. 

        We did struggle at first to figure out how to use certain things in the auditorium such as the lighting, projector, and equipment. First off, we wanted to make the room dark but it took us a while to figure out lighting and even try to find out where the lighting panels were located, but eventually got the hang of it. Then the projector was not enlarging as much as we wanted to and the screen kept turning off so that was another issue that was resolved by having Hannah stand by the laptop and projector, making sure things were running smoothly. Below are some pictures of us struggling and attempting to figure out how things work around the auditorium. 

We also ran into some issues with sound from the chosen film that we wanted to project on screen.  For some reason, the film was playing just fine on screen, but the sound was not audible so when we begin working on editing the project, we have to include the dialogue from a specific part of the film a match it up with the scene. We tried numerous amount of tries to fix this when we had the chance but we knew that we still had a lot of footage to capture for the project so we did not want to waste any more time. 

Getting to work

After most of the technical issues were resolved, we began developing our storyline. When looking at our storyboard, we realized that we were missing a key component which was the father and the brother figure. This was very important to me and I explained to Hannah that using a dad and brother would really capture the essence of the girl and her life.  Hannah told me that we couldn't be focused on that since not many people have time to be in our project and it would be very times consuming to spend time asking others to be in our film.  It honestly took a lot for me to see eye-to-eye with what she was saying but I knew that this conflict would not be solidified and that Hannah's mind was already made up so I had to surrender my brilliant idea, sadly.  

We just began with clips of me (Stella) being completely intrigued by the film. I had to really spend some time putting my acting cap on and focus. When I tell ya'll it was so hard not to laugh, I mean it. I kept telling Hannah to look away because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep my composure, but she kept doing it anyways to mess with me.  We needed scenes of me crying but it was so hard to do that since I couldn't think of anything sad since we just kept making jokes about how trash my acting is. 

Location scouting

     

                                           Location Scouting 

Hey guys! So for weeks now, it has been a major concern to search for a good location that depicts a movie theater setting for the scene.  Originally, Hannah and I thought about renting out a movie theater so that it would look as realistic as possible but then the budgeting and cost fees came into consideration and Hannah immediately disregarded the idea. We called the nearest theater but they said that it would cost money and we would have to schedule a day and time to do it which was a problem since, at he time, we had no clue when we would be available to do this so this option was out of the question, sadly.  The auditorium at school was our number one choice after this since all we had to do was ask Mr. Franks if we can borrow the auditorium and if he can help us project a film scene on the screen.  We plan on asking for this on Monday morning and then utilizing the auditorium after school with Mrs. Roca's help. 

Shooting process

         

                                           Shooting process

As I have said before, the shooting process has not been an easy one. Hannah came over to my house to film the bedroom scene.  We tried putting images on my wall for decor and putting star jewelry on the nightstand but it didn't look good when shooting. We tried lots of angles and shots to see what would work but nothing did. The process has been a little rocky considering we've had to wait for our location to be available to us. We have been considering Hannah's bedroom rather than mine since mine just didn't seem as fitting as hers. The shooting got delayed because of how bad the turnout was shooting in my room. Also, we want the quality to look good so we wanted to use my phone since I have the iPhone 14 pro max which has a better quality camera and has autofocus as well which helps with the bedroom scene in demonstrating the details of the bedroom. Hannah's phone does not have as many camera settings for some techniques we wish to utilize. Overall, we have had many obstacles during the shooting process but this week will be the week where our shooting process becomes a lot smoother and more is able to get done considering time, tools, and software. 

Prop/ set design

 

                                        Prop/Set design

Hey everyone! So I know I said before that Hannah and I were hitting major delays, well, that delay is still preventing us from starting our filming process. The "Legally Blond" production took all week-long practices after school so we couldn't use it. Although this happened, Hannah and I decided to start another part of the film another scene of Stella's bedroom which will be included in the film after the film title.  This would be much easier to begin creating as it does not take time and effort to get the design done. Below are images of the bedroom that will be utilized. 

This bedroom seems very minimalistic but we plan on putting decor in some places to add pictures of her dreams and demonstrate specific detailing to show her aspirations and she's really like to get to know her more. Again, we are using two sets but this one is what we have been using in the meantime while we waited for production week to end. 

CCR

     

                               Creative Critical Reflection

        Hey guys:)) I'm back and wanted to get back to you guys on my project and what is going so far. So today our teacher went over the Creative Critical Reflection component of our porfolio project. We sat the whole class and listened to feedback that Mrs. Stoklosa gave us for it. I made sure to take thorough notes the entire class to help me remember some key points from the lesson that could be helpful for the reflection. As she was speaking to us I tried to get all the points on paper and make it as organized as possible but it was hard considering the amount of information given to us. Below are all the notes I had taken in class! 

Starting next week, Hannah and I would have begun our filming process so stay tuned so some awesomeness happening very very soon! See ya'll next week:)

Down a bumpy road...

                                 

                                               Down a bumpy road...

    Hey ya'll! So since my last post, Hannah and I have been discussing the "when" and "how" our project would be developed. When discussing our location of filming, we have been having bit of difficulties with beginning filming. Reasons include the "Legally Blonde" production hosted by the Drama club is being held in there. We asked admin if it was possible to use the auditorium for a couple hours (at least) to do the project and they said shooting in the auditorium would most likely be possible next week, so our filming that we were supposed to begin this week has been postponed until next week. Basically, now our plans had to be altered. 

    Beginning next week, Hannah and I will start being more productive with our time management. Although this circumstance is not our fault, we know that we have to an our A game starting next week and get some filming done after this setback. By next week, our screenplay will be written, character costumes will be chosen, and we will have at least the begging of our film recorded. I will be sure to update you guys next week on what is happening with our project and if our problems are resolved yet:) Thanks for sticking with us through it all guys!