Filming day 2 🫠

Hello bloggg!!

Today was my final day of filming and may I just say I am so glad that that’s over with. Don’t get me wrong, it was so much fun but at the same time so stressful and SO much work that I have just been so overwhelmed this past week. My journey with day 2 began with which day I would choose to film. I needed to pick one of my free days to work on, since my prior schedule clearly did not work out.  I decided to work on Saturday to just get everything out of the way and complete this blog on Sunday, which is today. 

This was such a long process because I had so much footage to capture and make up for the day that I wasn't able to get as much, I filmed a bunch of shots and tried various things simply due to the fact that I wanted everything to look clean and perfect. Although this day allowed me to use my time however I wanted to and to my capacity, I would not stop getting overwhelmed and it became a greater thing than it had to since I kept stopping for breaks whenever I got too frustrated. This was really helpful but not at the same time because I came back with a different outlook and clearer mindset, but also my process kept getting delayed, so I just got tired of taking breaks and wanted to get it over with. Luckily, I've gathered all my necessary footage and more. I've never been more happy to say that's a wrap! Stay tuned for the final project. 

Problems...

Hello blog!

Unfortunately, I did not know how many possible problems someone can run into while in production. It all began on Monday, the day before filming day #1... As I was gathering all my props, the pictures I was planning to print out, came out with barely had any pigment. I didn't mind the black and white, just as long as the picture was actually visible. This is how they looked:

 

I guess my printer's out of ink, but although this was an unlucky setback, I didn't really see it as too big of an issue. However, later that night, one of my actors cancelled on me because they got sick, which is totally understandable. Only issue was that was the only night they could film. I was left with only one actor. I wasn't sure of what to do. There wasn't really much I could do except find another actor. Although, my schedule was tight and I couldn't find an actor in such short notice, so as much as I hate to say it, I had to cut that part. Bella would still be writing about the 2 characters; they just wouldn't be shown.

I decided to use Tuesday to decorate my room. I did have less props than I originally planned, so I'd have to get resourceful. No zebra print carpet nor posters due to my budget. The main focus were the walls with cutouts anyway, except...I realized I hadn't managed my time wisely and doing these walls would take me a lot longer than a day, so I settled for an alternative: One wall. This wall will be some sort of focal point that draws attention to the scene and reflects on Bella's likes and interests. 

On my first day of shooting, the only problem was that I had to film everything myself. I had to figure out how to adjust my camera and put it at a good angle that word properly film everything I wanted it to film. It took me a while, but luckily, after some debating and just trying out a couple things, my sister came home and let me borrow a tripod she was borrowing from CBTV. She helped me out with adjusting it and getting it to the right height, and from that point, I was able to shoot some of my scenes. Go us!!

Filming time!

 Hi blog!

The day is finally here! The pre-production process was a struggle to be honest, but thankfully it's over. As I begin to set everything in place for my scene to shoot, I wasn’t exactly able to get the camera where I wanted it. It was such a mess. I spent a great amount of time just trying to figure out the angle I wanted my camera to be in. As I realized this, I started filming to capture my frustration. Of course, I am not in costume yet because I just wanted to make sure that the phone was perfectly in angle before I got ready, and this was very helpful because I didn’t have to spend even more time than needed to get in costume, as I wasn’t going to capture my main footage here. The cutouts wall isn’t up either because all of the cut outs are taped together, and I can just tape it to the wall on and off, so this was before I had even put in a costume or set up the wall.

After a while, my sister got home and came to my help. Since she’s in CBTV (a club for filming and production), she had some useful items and handed me a tripod. She also helped me adjust it and we were able to get it to the right angle that I wanted it to be. Once the set up was done, I finally began to shoot. This part was pretty fun, honestly. Since I started shooting later at night, however I could not get the high key lighting that I wanted so I only did the scenes that I could within the lighting that I had. It really sucked to realize that after all of that time that I spent trying to get my camera set up perfectly, I wasn’t going to be able to film much, but at least I learned how to do it and now I can do it again on day 2. 

Pre-production plans!!

 Hello blog!

It's finally time to begin my production, but in order to do that, I must have all the key elements to my production ready. One of the most crucial elements in any storyline really is lighting. It portrays the tone and vibe of a current scene. I thought I'd dive a little deeper and fully express my plans for lighting in my production. I’d like to use the technique of high key lighting for my production. I feel like this type of lighting suits the scene the best because the events are pretty light and simple. I associate writing with more of a daydreaming kind of outlook and since that is with Bella is doing actually, I just think that hike lighting is the best option for lighting. The other scene where Bella is writing her story that's coming true will also be in high key lighting because it is outside.

The next element I’d like to delve into is props. I am planning something really big for my props as I believe that they play a big role on my story. Prop development I'd say is one of the most important parts of my storyline, and therefore I am taking it really seriously. Since most of the opening takes place in Bella's room, I wanted to really express her interests all throughout. I'm planning on ordering 1-2 2000's magazines from Amazon and cut out some stuff. In addition, I am going to print out pictures of big singers like Avril Lavigne on my printer and cut that out as well. Although this may be a little over the top, I'd also like to order a carpet of some print like cheetah or zebra. Other items I already have prepared are the pieces of paper she will hang in her room, and an old version of a phone with Apple EarPods connected to them. The scene where Bella is illustrating a story doesn’t really have any props. It’s just an open field with two people.

Lastly, I would like to further discuss my costume option. I recently explained that I wanted Bella to have some comfy clothes with that 2000 style. I want her to look like she spends most of her time in her room, thus her hair will be in a messy bun, she'll be wearing glasses, and very light makeup. Makeup is put on almost every actor that faces the big screen, and that's why she will have that no-makeup makeup that many actors wear on a daily basis. For her shoes, she will wear crocs, as they were pretty popular during that time and it’s just a comfy shoe to wear around the household. My two other characters will also be wearing 2000s clothing, but more daytime. The guy will wear an oversized flannel shirt and any shirt of his liking really but possibly just a solid shirt with some jeans and Nike shoes. The girl will wear a halter top with low-rise jeans and Converse shoes. Since she is outside, she will have some heavier makeup and a blowout. 

With all that set, I am finally ready to begin filming!!

Audio!

 Hello again, blog!

Today is all about audio. My original plan was to pick out a song from my playlist and email whoever's in charge of allowing me to use it, but I have recently found that the process is not as easy as it sounds. After reaching out and either not getting permission or never getting a response, I decided to just use a free copyright audio. I ended up using the website Artlist, which gave me countless options. After listening to many of the sounds, I chose "All or Nothing" by Russo. I thought this was a really cool song to put at the beginning of my film opening as it's just fun and hype, which is a perfect fit as Bella is just allowing her creativity to take over. She’s wilding out and expressing herself in a safe space. Here is an image of the album cover and a link of the song.    

                                                      

                                https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/song/all-or-nothing/65833

Furthermore, ass the scene switches to the other characters, the song will be playing in the background as well. It’s just a fun little song that I thought fits my genre and my character nicely. I also thought it would be a really cool idea for Bella to have this music playing in her headphones and it can be overheard because of how loud it is and as she sits down, she takes them off and places her right next on her neck and the rest of the music can just be overheard as a scene progresses.

Mise-En-Scene: Props

 Hey blog!

The second element of mise-en-scene that I will be furtherly discussing is props. I am planning on Bella's room to be an explosion of interests, meaning tons of props. I did some research on what 2000s teens were interested in and found out that shows and music were the biggest hits. R&B and Hip Hop were huge, meaning those genres' artists were also very popular. Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, and Avril Lavigne were very well-known names. As for bands, Paramore and Coldplay were the favorites. These are all interests I have decided fit Bella. In film, she is fond of 2000's rom coms like 10 Thinks I hate About You or comedies like the Devil wears Prada, which transitions into her interest in fashion. She has so many fashion magazines and cut outs around her room. Not only fashion though, but other interests as well. I imagine her to have cutouts of her favorite bands, singers, television shows, and icons taped all over her room. Something in similarity to this, just in every wall:

In addition to the walls, she has a bunch of books all over her room ranging from all kinds of genres. Her room is the perfect combination of messy and clean. The one exception to the cleanliness are her writings, though. Bella has a huge pile of writings, but they are not very neat. Her writings consist mostly of a bunch of pieces stapled together that she may occasionally tape around her room, depending on how much she likes a piece. The current story she is writing is carefully placed in the center of her small desk.

Mise-En-Scene: Costume

Hello blog!

Today, I will be elaborating on a mise-en-scene element of my choice. The element I chose to address is costume choice. My story will be taking place in the 2000's so I wanted my protagonist, Bella, to have this style. I researched a lot of protagonists in movies around this time and saw that they were all wearing a mix of Y2K and edgy style. Most girl characters had tight layered clothing, which I am planning to incorporate on Bella's outfit, except more toned down due to her being at home. I want her to wear a tight shirt or sweatshirt and flared sweatpants, in similarity to juicy track suits, something simpler, and for comfort and not as much for the look. I do want her to wear a brighter color that will stand out as she’s in her room to highlight that she's the main character. 

For inspiration, I studied Samantha Montgomery from A Cinderella Story, whom I believe shares qualities to Bella. She is a very introverted girl whose story is also based around the 2000s timeline, but since Samantha setting is mostly a school, she wears a different and more formal clothing.  Yet, I did notice that she always wears tight and layered clothing, which is the typical 2000 style. Here is a picture of one of her most iconic looks from the movie: