Beginning of Editing

 Finally, it is time to start editing! As I've mentioned before, I will be my group's main editor. Luckily, I took some courses on editing a while ago, so I have prior experience. If I need assistance, I always have the internet and my friends to help me out and teach me the things that I don't know.

I have the ability to use Sony Vegas, Adobe After Effects, and Final Cut to edit. I'm not sure if I'll use them all, though. Regarding the actual things I need to edit, Tori should be sending me the footage on google drive soon, and Hannah and Daniel recently went searching for good copyright-free songs. 

The first song they found was Reverie (Piano Version) ft. Adarsh PV by Lahar, which is a lyricless piano song that has a calm yet dramatic tone. The second song is Token (fear Cloe Sutherland) by Fernweh, which does include vocals and has a sense of dramatic excitement. As per most things, these songs are still up in the air as I have yet to experiment with editing them into our opening scene.

I'm looking forward to how this will all turn out!

Use of Sound in our Project

 In our film opening, sound will be used in many ways. Here I will be discussing sound in greater depth.

    Throughout the majority of the film opening, there will be a voiceover of Betty describing her situation. This includes the beginning, where Betty's voice will be mixed with various sounds, such as the alarm that wakes her up and the diegetic music that plays during her bedroom scene. We will, however, edit this music in so the audience can hear it more clearly. We do not currently know which song we will use, but we have a few contenders as of right now. We have to make sure it is copyright free, so that's another factor that affects our music choice. 

    The next sound will be the doorbell ringing, and Betty opening the door should make some sound too. The conversation/argument between Betty and James will also be making sound of course, but this sound should be very quiet and then fade into making no sound, while the voiceover then continues over it. 

After this, the sound of August pulling up her car will make sound as she will be blasting diegetic music. August's conversation with James will also make sound, and James opening and closing the car door to enter it will be another sound.

When the camera then pans up to the sky, the music of the car should increase, and the sound of James and August arguing should decrease into zero volume. The music that will be playing is still not decided on, but the general feelings of it should be upbeat and energizing. While this plays, the title will be shown in the sky.

 It should also be noted that our editing softwares will be Sony Vegas, Final Cut, and Adobe After Effects. 

Failures and Successes of First Filming Day

 On our first day of filming, we definitely encountered some challenges. However, there were many things that did go well, and in this post I will be discussing both the successes and failures. 

To start with the successes, the filming of Betty's bedroom went well since it was just to experiment with where we should place the camera and how we should move it. Betty's (Amber's) bedroom looked really nice with the pink lights, so this may be a benefit since none of us really planned on using it beforehand. Also, the length of Betty and James' conversation turned out to work well time-wise. There will likely be a voiceover playing over them anyways, but knowing that the argument's time worked out was surely a relief.

The failures we encountered were also very insightful.When panning around Betty's room, we learned that we should speed it up since we were going too slow and taking up too much time. However, when we did it faster, we also learned that we should slow down since it seemed too rushed and the audience probably won't process the various props they will see. Basically, we need to find a happy medium with the panning. Another challenge was figuring out the POV shot. When we tried it, it turned out too shaky and messy. Hopefully we can either use a different shot style or film the POV shot more slowly. Furthermore, another failure was filming the tilt to the sky. The sky was sort of darker and more gray than we expected, but this was partially because we left this for last. In order to avoid this, we will be filming the tilt to the sky first, so the audience gets a bright blue sky to look at (assuming the weather's okay!) to simulate the morning time. 

Overall, we learned a lot of valuable information that should make the next filming day run much more smoothly.

Mediamel out

First Filming day

 My group began filming this weekend, but we are definitely not done. This was just to get used to the actual locations that we will be filming in.

 The room below, Amber's room, will be the bedroom that Betty will be waking up in. This room will include the various items that will demonstrate heartbreak. We played around with a few shot types but none will be actually used in the final product since time did not allow us to perfect anything. Also, we don't even have all the desired props yet, so that was another constraint.

 

 We then moved on to Amber's front door, which is where Betty will argue with James. My group wants to do a POV shot while Betty opens her door, but our test of it turned out to be pretty shaky. We'll see what actually happens. This is the door:

Finally, we moved on to the shot showing the sky, as the camera will tilt up to show the title of the film. This was definitely the easiest to try out. The weather could have been better, but for testing purposes it worked out pretty fine. Here is what they sky looked like:

All in all, this was a good experience as we got a better feel for what we want to do with this opening scene. Not all the actors were present so there will definitely be more filming days, or at least one more filming day.

Mediamel out

Filming Preparation: Challenges

 Being an AICE Media Studies student in early 2021 is not easy. That being said, here are some challenges my group has faced so far in the film production process:

To start, because of COVID, meeting up with my group and the actors has been a great difficulty. Obviously none of us want to bring the virus to our families, but we still have to get this opening scene done. I'm still not sure if I will even be allowed to go on set, but I do know that my group will try take the most precautions in order to be safe. The actors are all okay with being on set, so that is fortunate.

Also, we had challenges with deciding on the general locations of filming. We were undecided for a good while on whose house we will film in. We have to use the bedroom and front door of someone whose parents will allow the group to enter their house, so this already eliminates the option of using my house and Tori's. Amber, the girl who will play Betty, seemed to be okay with having the group enter her house, so hopefully this will work out and we can film in Amber's house.

 However, there were easier things in the preparation process that went rather smoothly. For example, we did not have any disputes over who will play who, as the roles were decided pretty easily once we knew who was available. Also, regarding the actual editing, I have some experience since I took an editing course or two a while ago. However, I should note that a friend of mine agreed to give me tips and help out if I ever find myself struggling. My entire group is very very grateful for his potential future guidance.

The roles of the crew also were decided upon smoothly. I will be the main editor, with Tori being available to help out with editing if I need it. Hannah will be "director of photography" who does the majority of the camerawork. Daniel will be both an actor and a screenwriter, but honestly all four of us will be helping out with screenwriting. My group and I are happy with these roles. 

That's it for today!

Mediamel out✌

Film Preparation

 Hey everybody !

I recently had a virtual meeting with the rest of my group, and we spoke about various aspects of our opening scene that we are preparing. Topics of discussion included actors, costumes, props, locations, dates/times, scripts, and film equipment. Without further ado, here is what we decided on so far:

Actors

Betty - Amberina Khoja

Amber was the best match for Betty since we're probably filming inside her room, so it is the most practical. Betty is described as a delicate, shy, and kindhearted teenage girl who had her heart broken by James recently.

James - Daniel Morales [uncertain]

As of right now, Daniel is the only available male to fill the role of James. He doesn't want to play him if possible, so hopefully we'll find someone else somehow. James is also a 17 year old, and he cheated on Betty with August. He should seem like an average teenage boy that made a mistake he is deeply sorry for.

August - Ashley Polo

Ashley agreed to play August, the forward and flirtatious popular girl whom James cheated on Betty with. August is also 17.

Costumes

My group had similar ideas on costuming based on the personalities of the characters.

 For Betty, we agreed that light colors, such as pink, should be worn in order to reflect Betty's innocence and femininity. An example outfit would be a light pink cardigan, light blue jeans, and white sneakers.

For James, we agreed that he should wear a simple outfit consisting of a hoodie and either sweatpants or jeans. We decided it was best for him to appear average.

For August, we agreed that she should wear darker colors than Betty to show her lack of innocence. An example outfit would be a crop top, skinny (possibly ripped) jeans, and party sandals.

Props

Props will definitely be a key feature of our opening scene, since we plan on revealing a lot about the situation using Betty's bedroom as a tool to "show" rather than "tell". Most of the props we plan on having revolve around the idea of heartbreak. Betty's room should have a teddy bear in the trash, old and wrinkled love letters, ripped-in-half photos of Betty and James, wilted flowers, and many more prop ideas that we'll come up with. Props not related to heartbreak include Betty's phone or alarm clock to wake her up, a hairbrush to use, and makeup to apply in front of the mirror. James will likely be holding flowers in front of Betty at her doorstep, so this would also be a prop we planned.

 Locations

Our first location is Betty's bedroom, and she will be shot waking up and getting ready for the day. After this, our next location is at Betty's front door, where she will then see James at the door. Once Betty slams the door in his face after rejecting his apology, the next location will be the neighborhood sidewalk as James shamefully walks home. August would then drive and stop by next to him. James would enter her care and the two of them would be talking inside of the car.

Dates & Times

The film opening would start at 9:00 AM on a Saturday morning, as this is when Betty's alarm will be set to. After she gets ready for the day, it would then be 10:00 AM when James rings on her doorbell. Once he leaves and speaks with August, it will be 10:15 AM.

Film Equipment

The equipment we will be using will be nothing fancy, since we are just amateurs and cannot afford $65,000 cameras. We will be using a digital camera during filming, and hopefully we can find a tripod to have more stable shots at times. Hannah has a ring light, so we could potentially incorporate this into our opening scene as well.

Script

Our (definitely not finalized) script is:

Betty's Bedroom-Scene 1:
“Quote over black screen”
ALARM SOUNDS
BETTY GETS OUT OF BED
VOICEOVER AND OPENING CREDITS START
BETTY WALKS AROUND
ROOM GETTING READY AND PUTTING ON MAKEUP
PROPS THAT IMPLY HER HEARTBREAK ARE SHOWN

BETTY
When I was 10 years old, my mama told me that men can never be fully trusted. I never realized how true this would be until this past summer when I learned that lesson the hard way. My name’s Betty. I’m no one special. Just an average girl from an average town. I get good grades, play the guitar pretty decently, and come from a loving family. How could anything be wrong with my life? Trust me, a lot. “Men aren’t to be trusted.” Jeez, how could I be so naïve? Didn’t I see the signs? I guess it was always meant to be this way. After all, love is a ruthless game, and if you don’t play it right, you end up getting...


DOORBELL SOUNDS

Front Door Affair-Scene 2:
 BETTY HEADS TO THE DOOR AND OPENS IT, WHERE JAMES IS STANDING OUTSIDE

BETTY
James? What are you doing here? What do you want now?

JAMES
Betty, I just want to talk to you. About everything.

BETTY
I’m sorry James, but what’s done is done. I really just don’t have time for this anymore. Go home, bye

 BETTY SLAMS DOOR
 
BETTY-IN VOICEOVER:
…you end up getting hurt…

Neighborhood Stroll- Scene 3:
 JAMES WALKS AWAY FROM HOUSE AND WALKS ON THE SIDEWALK OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AUGUST PULLS UP IN HER CAR
AUGUST
Hey, hot stuff. Long time no see.

JAMES
August, I told you that I’m done with this. Get over it.

AUGUST
Oh, silly James, you know you don’t mean that. C’mon hop in.

JAMES
No. I already hurt the girl I love enough and I’m not repeating the same mistake.

AUGUST
C’mon. You need a ride home anyway. I’m not letting you walk all the way home.

JAMES
Well, I’m walking.

AUGUST
James! Stop being so immature and get in the car

JAMES
*sighs* Fine…

JAMES GETS IN AUGUST’S CAR

THE CAR FIGHT- SCENE 4
AUGUST
So, how’s my cutie pie

JAMES
August! Stop being such an annoying brat and drive!

AUGUST
Excuse me?! Don’t speak to me like that. I’m giving you a ride home for god’s sake!

JAMES
I didn’t even ask for this!

AUGUST
Yeah?! Well, I didn’t ask for this attitude!

JAMES
Oh, come on!

 JAMES AND AUGUST CONTINUE FIGHTING, BUT THEIR VOICES FADE WHILE MUSIC PLAYING FROM RADIO GETS LOUDER, EVENTUALLY DROWNING THEM OUT
PANS UP TO SKY AND TITLE IS DISPLAYED.
FADE OUT.

And that is what we have so far!

Mediamel out ✌

Moodboard for Film Opening

 Hey again!

My teacher told my class to make a moodboard based off of what we want our opening scenes to feel like. So, I did just that. Here’s my moodboard, which includes ideas of lighting, props, costumes, and setting:

 

 I originally made the collage on the left, but then discovered that I needed to include outfits and settings. I quickly put those on the side.

Regarding the general theme of the opening scene, I envisioned it to be bittersweet. It should definitely show rough heartbreak and yet gentle sweetness through the items in Betty's bedroom. Lighting should be light throughout the opening scene's entirety, as it would take place in the morning. Items shown could possibly be: old teddy bears, wilted flowers, old photos of the couple, and old love letters. Betty herself could be shown with tears, and James should be shown looking sad himself. However, Betty's outfit and bedroom should be dainty to show her innocence and sweetness. With August, the girl James cheated on Betty with, her outfit should be much different than Betty's. I'm not sure what my group will agree on in the final product, but I think she would look good with less innocent and more dark clothing. Other things I should point out include the other setting. The outdoor shots of the car (with August and James inside of it) should also be taken with light lighting, and natural daylight would suffice. 

 And that is it! I hope you enjoyed this next step in the process.  

Mediamel out ✌

Initial Storyboard

 Hey everyone, welcome back :)

Recently, my group has gathered together via zoom and we've decided upon a general timeline for our opening scene. In order to keep things fair, we decided to split our initial storyboard between the four of us. I suggested we each do six shots, but Daniel suggested we do only three since this is just a rough idea. We went with Daniel's suggestion. 

Thankfully, Daniel was able to send a message assigning what exactly goes in each shot. We all based our storyboards off of his message. 

I did shots 1-3, Daniel did shots 4-6, Hannah did shots 7-9, and Tori did shots 10-12.

 

Like I said, shots 1-3 are the ones that I did. Like I've mentioned before, my artistic abilities are pretty bad. However, I managed to draw how I imagined the beginning of the opening scene would roughly look like. After a logo or something animated appears, it would fade to black. While the screen is still black, the audio of an alarm would play, and the visual of it would quickly show after while a girl's (Betty's) hand would try to shut it off in a close up.

Following the close up, there would then be a cut to a medium of Betty stretching and waking up. Betty would begin narrating her story through a voiceover at this point with calm, non-diegetic music in the background.

After this, there would be a cut to a pan showing the entire room, highlighting the different items in Betty's room to display a recent heartbreak and/or breakup. Such items would include ripped photos, tissues scattered around, and a teddy bear in the trash can. While this happens, music would play while Betty continues narrating her story and her past situation in the voiceover. Credits would be playing on the bottom of the screen as well.

These three shots are the ones Daniel drew. There would be a cut to an over-the-shoulder shot of Betty in front of a vanity/mirror while she puts on makeup. The voiceover would still be happening. The sound of a doorbell would play, and Betty would turn around out of curiosity. I think the music would still be playing, but I don't know if this would stop once the doorbell rings.

After, there would be a cut to a POV shot as Betty walks up to the door to answer it. When it opens, the camera would show Betty's ex-boyfriend, James outside the door. He would be holding flowers and he would have a sad facial expression.

Then, there would be a cut to an over-the-shoulder shot of Betty and James having a short conversation. The camera would show Betty rejecting James' apology.

These shots are the ones that Hannah drew. Here, the scene picks up from the over-the-shoulder shot and cuts from this to a POV shot of Betty slamming the door shut after the conversation with James. The flowers he was holding would then fall to the ground as he looks extremely sad and cries out "But!". Betty would not respond. 

The scene would then dissolve to a wide shot showing James walking away from the house and into the street. He would still be looking sad while he walks, and sad non-diegetic music would be playing.

After, there would be a cut to an over-the-shoulder shot showing James and a different girl named August as she drives by and rolls her window down to talk to him. She would say something along the lines of "Get in," and the music would stop playing.

These last shots were drawn by Tori. There would be a cut to a medium shot showing James walking towards August's car. The two would get into an argument and the arguing would continue even as James enters the car. The camera would start moving backwards and exiting this area. After this, the camera would turn away from the action and tilt up to the sky, as the audio of the arguing would begin to muffle.  The film title would then appear in the sky. Melancholic music would be playing during the duration of these shots.

All in all, I think my group did pretty great collaborating on this initial storyboard. I'm sure our final product would look very different than what these drawings represent, but having a general outline of where things are going is surely a relief.

Mediamel out!