Filming the B-roll

 Today since neither of my sisters could help me, my mother helped as the "tripod" for the lights and as my behind-the-scenes camera woman. We filmed all of the b-roll this time. This time everything went smoother than the last since I didn't have an actor on the screen to be told what to do. I would like to add that I was unable to get a camera for either of the recording days and had to settle for my phone (with no tripod or stabilizer) since that is what I have available to me.

Setting up:

I forgot to mention this in the previous blog post, but I had to reorganize my shelves a bit to fit the character of the ghost (as this room is meant to have been hers). Mostly I just removed things and placed them on the table in my living room.

The Mess

Behind-the-Scenes:

Me filming while my mother serves as the tripod for the lights.

The setup for the shot of the door with the light.

Possible Concerns:

Due to my lack of tripod or stabilizer, I am worried that the shots might come out too shaky. I know a few tricks to stabilize the shots while on Premier Pro, but it's not always effective. 

Key Props:

The tarot cards and crystals to represent how Renee got obsessed with the occult before passing.

The mini setup of the attic of the Haunted Mansion at Disney, also to represent her obsession with ghosts.

This is the medicine she was taking to treat her illness before she died. (I got the flu this week)

My Favorite Shot of the Day:

My Camera Roll After The Past Two Days:

So What?

Almost done with filming. All I need is the one shot of the other girl in class/school looking bored/sad/mad. I am pretty happy with Today's results. I got all of the B-roll I believe I'll need and I know that if during editing I need to fix my b-roll, it won't be too hard to set it up again and film some more b-roll or reshoot anything. I had my mother move around the light to show that Renee is moving and the source of light is alive and not still, but I am worried that it only adds to the shakiness. Hopefully, I'll be able to edit out the shakiness of the camera, and the lights moving will look organic like I was hoping. I am content with the visual symbols and foreshadowing. The next stage is post-production: editing, finding the music, choosing a title and font, and hoping I have at least two minutes worth of content.

Filming the Ghost

 The time finally came, and I've officially started the production stage for this project. I filmed all the shots I believe I will need of the ghost with the help of both my sisters. My little sister served as the ghost and my older sister was my tripod to hold the blue lights in just the right angle, and also my behind-the-scenes photographer. Recording took longer than I originally expected, and now I'm going to have to record the B-roll another night.

Behind-the-Scenes:

The setup (also an example of the different angles of each light)

Me slightly opening the door so some (non-blue) light came through.

Examples of my older sister being used as a tripod.

Possible Concerns:

We changed the angle of the lighting liberally (as she's the one meant to be emitting the light) which might look weird once I start the editing process. I'm afraid it might come off as a continuity error rather than a deliberate choice. I don't think there's much I can do other than hope to figure out a way to make it clear she's supposed to be glowing through editing.

My Favorite Shot:

I don't want to give everything away but I did want to share my favorite shot so far. 

So What?

I'm not done with filming, I'm gonna have to continue filming Tomorrow. However, I am happy with the results so far. It is not exactly how I pictured it during the planning periods, but that's not a bad thing, I like the way everything is looking with the lights. The addition of the bunny and sowing the eye on is now my favorite part of this project, I can't believe the idea came from an accident. The next step is to continue filming, this time focusing on the B-roll, and then film the shot of the other girl at school.

Storyboarding?

 Turns out is something I dislike. They're helpful, but I struggle with drawing what I picture in my head. After a failed attempt to start one, I decided that a shot list would be more helpful for my particular situation.

The Shot List:

The Bunny:

I realized having her just rummage through a box for two minutes would be boring. I knew I wanted her to find something in that box, but I did not know what exactly or what the relevance was. Yesterday, the eye of my stuffed bunny fell off and I was devastated, but it gave me this idea. Renee, the ghost, stitching an eye in the bunny represents how she has a need to help and fix things for others. Her role in this film, in a way, is to help Tanda see things in a new way, and her fixing the eye of a bunny is, literally, helping the bunny see (stuffed animals don't see, but that's irrelevant). In my head, this room she's in is hers before she died. The things on the shelves represent/foreshadow how she died and her mentality right before it happened. There's medicine alluding to her sickness, and occult objects (tarot cards, crystals, ghost figurines) to allude to her becoming obsessed with the idea of spirits and the undead prior to her passing.

So what?

Not only do I now have a clear idea of the shots that I need to record this week, but I also feel more confident in the content of the intro and I'm no longer afraid of not having enough content for two whole minutes. The next step is to (Finally) begin the filming process. I plan to start and finish editing next week, and to focus on my CCR over spring break (the final week).

Blue Lights? - An Experiment

Clearly one of the aspects of this project that I am most looking forwards to is having a blue light on the ghost. I ordered these lights from Amazon last week and they finally got here, so I though I should experiment on whether or not my idea was possible at all before making the storyboard. So just in case it did not work, I could still have time to re route. I bought these lights specifically since it comes with two, not just one, that way I can illuminate my subject from multiple angles and truly make it look as close to her being the one emitting the light rather than light shinning on her. Another reason I chose these lights in particular, is because I am able to configurate a mix of colors at the same time to achieve the hue I want. 

Limitations: Lights have to be plugged in and their powerchords are attached so my possible angles are a bit limited.

Materials

• The Lights
• My Phone
• My Sister

Variables

    Control

• Same Angle

    Independent

• Light Settings/set up 

    Dependent

• Does it look like she's glowing?

 

Attempts

1. Half Half, Light and Dark Blue, No Backrground Light

Results: I thought the blue was too overpowering and made the clip look too monotone so I dicided to add white.

2. 5/6 Dark Blue 1/6 White, No Background Light

Results: The white being mixed in from the light source made it look too purple so I decided to turn it more blue.

3. All Dark Blue, No Background Light

Results: The Blue was even more overpowering. I decided I liked the mix more but having another source of white light could give the set more color while still keeping the subject blue.

4. Half Half, w/ White Background Light

Results: The Background light worked but I thought the blue was too light so I decided to remove some of the light blue.

5. 2/3 Dark Blue, w/ White Background Light  1/3 Light Blue & New Angle

Results: I thought the color combo and light in the background worked well together. Slightly changed the angle of the bottom light from 90 degrees to about 45 degrees to minimize the light in the background and direct it more at the subject. Was satisfied with results and decided to test out the settings with a close up of her hand since most of the shots will be body parts that are not the face.

    a. Hand test

Results: Was satisfied with the results of the hand, not perfect, might try to make her hand glow in post if I can figure out how to do so in after effects.

Conclusion

So, can I make it look like she's glowing blue? Yes! In restrospect, I am not sure if I prefer the monotone look or the light in the back. I might decide to record both on the day of and decide while editing what actually works best for the vibes I want to give. But overall this experiment was sucessful. Now I can feel safe while making the storyboard.

Scripting

Now that I have a more detailed idea of what the plot of the film would be as a whole, I have to ask myself an essential question before planning the intro in detail:

What is the ONE thing I want to leave the audience with?

As much as there are a million choices I'll have to make for this project, at the end of the day, 2 minutes is not a long time to establish multiple aspects of what would be an almost 2 hour-long movie. For this reason, knowing what the purpose of this intro is crucial to it's effectiveness. After researching and analyzing movie intros in my genre, magical realism, it seems to me that most magical realism movie intros create mystery, so I think I should to. 

I want to create the question of what Renee is. According to my media studies class, there are a few things I could focus on to create mystery, sound techniques (especially for off-screen elements), creating content that will lead to questions, and mise-en-scene elements (creating inferences or allusions to later in the plot).

Script

SOUND TECHNIQUES - Intense music and shuffling (off-scene).

CONTENT - The fact that the ghost is looking for and finding something that seems important but the audince does not know why.

MISE-EN-SCENE - The blue lighting in a dark scene and the item that Renee finds.

So what?

I certaintly think that this intro will create mystery and questions. With the intense music and shots only showing body parts rather than the entire picture, as well as the contrast of the dark scene to the lighter scene of the other girl, I believe that both visually and through sound, the audince will be wondering what is going on, what that person? is, what is the relevance of the item, and what is her connection to the other girl. Next I have to create a storyboard now based on this script and start filming as soon as possible.

Planning

Before I write my script I need to know how many actors I will realistically be able to get, what locations will be available, what equipment I have available to me, and when I'll be able to record. So this post is just a summary of everything going on in these regards.

Everything

Actors/help:

To not overcomplicate myself, I'm gonna use my sisters. Fr now I want to only use my little sister on screen, and have my oldersister help me out behind the scenes and helping me document the process.

Locations:

Honestly, I am thinking of keeping it limited to my house since my sisters will be the ones helping me, this way I don't have to worry about travelling from one place to another. (4 rooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, dinning room, kitchen and pool).

Equipment:

I ordered these lights from Amazon, and I am waiting for them to arrive (more on these once they do arrive). To film I have my Iphone, although I might be able to borrow a camera from my schools' television program since I'm a part of it, but I cannot gurantee there will be one available until the day of.

Timing:

It's my birthday this week! One of the reasons why I tried to schedule recording for before this week. My family tends to go all out, and I'm having multiple events with extended family. I only mention this as it will slow down my filming schedule. I'm gonna have to film everything next week, edit the one after, and do my CCR on the last week. Atleast my older sister will be able to help me behind the scenes while she's home for spring break.

So What?

Now I'll be able to mostly keep my restrictions in mind while writing my script. I might still try to push some limits, (thinking of including the girl and not just the ghost whoich would require another actor and location.) Now I'm gonna be better able to continue writing my script while being realistic.

Turning a Concept into a Story

I will be honest, my story as of now is more of a vibe/a concept than a fully fleshed out plot. Before being able to properly plan an intro that would fit the story, I need to know more details. Since I won't be writing word-by-word script, I'm gonna write an outline of what would be the whole film.

But before we start, lets name our characters:

Girl- Tanda (seer of life and death)

Ghost- Renee (born again)

I'll admit that I find joy in naming with meaning whether ironic or literally. Renee, is a ghost; she has, in a way, been given a second chance at life and been "born again." Tanda is the only human that can see Renee and, therefore, is literally able to see the dead.

Outline

• Renee - She is a lonely ghost, trying to find a friend in this world, but always being ignored.
• Tanda - She is a lonely girl who gave up on finding a friend in this world and who in turn ignores everyone around her.
• Tanda is able to see Renee, she pumps into her but doesn't notice that Renee is different and sticks to paying attention to what she's doing (like looking down at her phone). (also possibility that Renee only glows blue at night and looks almost normal to Tanda during the day)
• Renee is stunned, excited, scared, for the first time since she died she has hope that someone out there can see her, that she won't be alone in this word forever.
• Once she starts to focus on what is going on around her she can no longer see Tanda and so she decides to stay in that area until she appears again and comes up with a plan.
• She decides to annoy Tanda. She follows her into her classes and keeps trying to talk to her. No one else can see Renee but, since Tanda is trying her best to ignore Renee, she doesn't notice.
• Eventually Tanda breaks, she screams at Renee asking her to leave her alone, the rest of the people in the room stare at her and ask her who she's talking to.
• Renee follows Tanda to her house. Tanda realizes that he can't touch Renee, and after the sun sets and Renee starts glowing blue she realizes that Renee is a ghost.
• Renee explains to Tanda that she has never been seen by anyone before, that she has noticed that Tanda feels the same way, that maybe they are meant to meet.
• Renee tells Tanda that she doesn't know what her unfinished business is, and since Tanda is the only one that can see her, she's meant to help her figure it out.
• Tanda agrees to help her.
• Slowly Tanda starts warming up to Renee.
• They become best friends, but really they both start to feel more comfortable in who they are.
• Before she even realizes it, Tanda warms up to those around her.
• She finds herself becoming friends with some people in her classes.
• Tanda is still trying to figure out how to help Renee pass on.
• By now Renee starts to feel guilty of all the friends Tanda is making, she's scared that once she passes on there will be no one there for her and they get in a fight.
• Tanda tells Renee that she will always care about her, even after she moves n, she reassures her that there must be people from when she was alive that miss her and are waiting for her, she promises to someday, hopefully not soon, join her and find her again.
• When she goes home the next day after school she cannot find Renee anywhere.
• She has an understanding that Renee's spirit passed on.

So what?

This certainly gives me more to work with to plan the intro. It is not the most fleshed out or complicated story, there are certainly more details that could be developed, but I believe this is enough for this stage of the project. I might write a story based on this outside of the class where I would work out the kinks and plot holes. For now, however, the next stage is to write the script and make the storyboard for the 2 minute intro.