Filming Blog: Stephanie's House

After filming at my house, Stephanie's mom picked us up and drove us to Stephanie's house. We had to film a majority of our scenes of there. We first filmed the scenes that only had Stephanie in them. For these scenes we used not only Stephanie's ring like, but also her LED lights on her wall for white light. After that, we took a break so we could have lunch. Once we finished eating, we filmed the scenes of scenes of Stephanie and I. The first scene we did was Stephanie running up and punching me dressed up as a guard. When Stephanie 'punched' me it was more of a light shove so I wouldn't actually get hurt. We had to film this multiple times because we kept laughing during takes. Next we filmed the scene of me on the floor in pain while Stephanie ran away.

Once we finished those scenes, we filmed the scenes with just me. We first filmed extreme close up of me knocking on the door. Then we filmed the tilt of me walking through the door. Lastly, we filmed a scene of me shutting the door. Originally, we wanted to use a cupcake or a cake for the scenes of Stephanie blowing out her birthday candles, but we weren't able to get one. There was a convenience store next to Stephanie's apartment so we ran over there and bought a doughnut. When we got back to her house, Stephanie changed her costume. We put a birthday candle in the doughnut and had Stephanie's mom light it for us. The last scene we did was an extreme close up of Stephanie closing her eyes while crying. Stephanie used her contact solution as fake tears.

Filming Blog: Finishing The Scenes At Kaitlyn's House

As the downpour continued, Stephanie and I decided to re watch some of our footage. We deleted whatever we felt was unnecessary. When the rain had come almost to a complete halt, we were able to film the scenes we had set aside. There was a scene where Stephanie and I were running. I asked my mother to assist us with filming this scene, which was filmed as a tilt, because we weren't able to film it ourselves. She also helped us film other scenes of us running. Next we did the scenes where I get shot. Stephanie had brought makeup so she could create a fake bullet wound on my shoulder. I wasn't very excited to film these scenes because I prefer being behind the camera. It was difficult for me when I had to act shocked when I got 'shot'. There was also a scene where I had to fall and act like I was in pain. We had to do multiple takes of this scene because my movements didn't look natural, though Stephanie did her best to help guide me. Overall, I learned that my acting skills need a lot of work.

We then filmed the scenes of Stephanie running into the fence. At first, we just filmed a track shot of Stephanie running straight into the fence. However this didn't look natural enough. So, I suggested while Stephanie is running, she looks back towards me then when she turns her head forward she crashes into the fence. This worked out because it made her hitting the fence look more unintentional. For safety reasons, we had Stephanie hit her hand against the fence then fall so it looked like she actually hit it. After filming Stephanie's scenes, we went inside and had a snack break. We realized that we had no more scenes to film, so we decided to watch all our footage once again. We deleted the clips that we felt unnecessary. Finally, we cleaned up our props and I wiped off my makeup. Overall, filming at my house went smoothly and didn't take as long as we expected.

Filming Blog: Kaitlyn’s House

Today Stephanie and I began filming. Stephanie arrived to my house at around 10:50 a.m.. We were both in costume already, which was a white tank top and black leggings, which helped filming go by quicker. We separated the storyboard into scenes that needed to be filmed at my house and scenes that needed to be filmed at Stephanie’s house. We first filmed the scenes that needed to be filmed in the hallway of my house. Originally, we had planned to have my sister dress up as a guard and have her act like she was constructed me. Then Stephanie would punch the guard and save me. However, we decided that I would act like I was tied up and Stephanie untied me. We also never utilized my sister as an extra in the film. This was one of the many improvisations we made.

After we filmed the scenes outside in my backyard. It started to rain so we wait to do some of the scenes. However, we were able to film some of the scenes under the shelter of my canopy. I retrieved a black jacket and a mask for Stephanie to wear when we she had to do a scene of her dressed as a guard. This scene was originally meant to be played by my sister but we thought it was more convenient to have Stephanie be a guard. We did another close up of Stephanie as a guard but this time she was shooting a gun. We wanted to spray paint a water gun black to make it seem more realistic. However, I thought about the potential safety concerns that it could pose and decided that it would be best to leave the water gun as it was. This scene was actually filmed while it was still raining. I held an umbrella while panning the camera which was a bit of a tedious task but it was worth it in the end.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

Today we created our storyboard. Each box contains 2 seconds of film. Therefore, we filled out 20 boxes. I am artistic, so I physically drew everything. Meanwhile, Stephanie wrote what was happening during each scene. The storyboard took a while to complete. However, it will be extremely useful when we are filming. Storyboards allow us to look at our plot and know the lighting, and location of each scene. This will greatly benefit us and save our time when we begin to film. After the storyboard was completed, we took pictures of the storyboard and uploaded them into our google slide. In addition to this, we also added two scenes so the opening sequences would last two minutes.

Planning Blog: Title Design in Details

My partner and I decided the title design that we will be using. We wanted to use colors like red because the name of the movie is "Red Dot".  We are also using green because it is viewed as a "correct color." We decided on how each of the titles will look, and how they will enter and exit the screen. We also listed important information like the actors and the "company names." This was similar to the participants. This was important because we decided on company names.We decided to use our initials, therefore the production company is "SK Productions." We feel that our title slides are well presented. However, we are willing to make changes if necessary. 

Planning Blog: Location, Participants, Health, Schedule

We addressed our location, schedule, participants, and safety. We figure out which scenes we will film at Stephanie's house, and which scenes we will film and Kaitlyn's. For example, all of the action scenes will be filmed at Kaitlyn's house, because she has a backyard. We believe that when someone is in a situation similar to this, they are in lighter colored rooms like white or beige. Therefore, those scenes will be filmed at Stephanie's house. We also discussed our schedule when we both can film. This is important because we need our entire group to be there when we film. Luckily, the group consists of Kaitlyn and Stephanie. We also decided who would get credited for each job. We are very excited to begin storyboarding.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Today we made our shooting script. We were able to stick to most of our plot when creating this script. We had our first couple scenes show Stephanie getting the red dot on her wrist on her 16th birthday. We wanted her actions in these scenes to convey the dread she has when she receives the red dot.  The next few scenes after are apart of Stephanie's flash forward of when Stephanie gets taken away by guards. We wanted these scenes to have a lot of action which is why we added violence in these scenes. We added scenes of me being a fellow "prisoner" and Stephanie attempting to help me escape. The last few scenes will be Stephanie coming back to reality, which is the moment shes about to be taken away by the guards. There are some things we still haven't decided yet, like the name of Stephanie's character. We also want to have my sister play an extra in this film but we aren't able to confirm that she will participate yet.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Today we started our sound script. We already had an idea in mind that there would be little to no dialogue in our film. We will be mostly relying on background music and sound effects in this film. In the scenes where Stephanie is discovering the red dot on her wrist (scenes 1-6) we wanted to build up the feeling of curiosity and suspense. We will be including a voice over of me singing happy birthday to create a sort of ominous feeling. There will be a screeching noise then silence which causes the audience to become fascinated about what these sounds mean. Later on, when Stephanie gets taken away by guards there will be many high action scenes. We will be included fast tempo music for these parts to create the feeling of excitement. There will be gun shots involved in these scenes as well. Lastly, these action scenes will be when the characters say their small lines.