Editing Blog: Dumping and Checklist

On my first day of editing, I had to dump the footage collected from Leila's House and George English Park onto a laptop. I received an SD holder from my teacher, so I could transfer the footage from the SD card to the laptop. There was an issue with finding the footage on the SD card, but after receiving help from the teacher, I was able to find it. Before I dumped anything, I created a folder to store all of it, to stay organized. Another minor issue was, that downloading the footage took a long time because the laptops were extremely slow. This decreased the amount of time I had to edit.

The editing process took place in class, so I didn't have a lot of time to edit due to the dumping issues mentioned earlier. Even though I didn't have much time, I made sure to use every minute wisely. Once everything was dumped, I pulled up the footage, so Leila and I could review them. I watched the footage in the order it will appear in the opening, so I could check that I filmed everything needed. To make sure I was viewing the footage in the right order, I took out the storyboard and reviewed it. If anything was missing I informed Leila, so she could write it down. While watching the footage we also discussed whether or not if the piece of footage should be used. I provided my opinion on if a scene needed to re-filmed. If the piece of footage was shaky, if the actresses were too quiet, or if the actresses were smiling when they weren't supposed to, I suggested that we should re-film it. I also proposed ideas on how some of the footage should be implemented into the opening. While I was able to watch all the collected footage, I wasn't able to edit anything on Pinnacle Studio, the editing software, because it wasn't working. The program wasn't loading, which meant I couldn't import the footage for editing.

At the end of class, I looked over the list Leila had made that stated what footage we will be using in the opening and what needed to be re-filmed. I provided input on the list, like if anything was missing from it.

This is a picture of me viewing the footage.

Filming Blog: George English Park

On my second day of filming, Leila and I went to George English Park with the actresses, Cori and Kat, who play the spies. Once we all arrived at the location, I prepared the camera for filming. Before I started filming, I wanted to look over the storyboard, so I wouldn't forget to record anything. After I discussed with Leila and the actresses what we needed to film, I was able to start filming.

One of my roles on the second day of filming was to be the camerawoman. As the camerawoman, I was in charge of making sure I filmed all the footage that will be included in the opening. I made sure to take multiple takes of each scene and at different angles, so there would be a lot of footage to chose from when editing. The footage I filmed at the park consisted of the scenes where the spies were following and watching the Target and the spies setting up the trap. While filming, I had to make sure the actresses were in frame when they needed to be. I also had to make sure not to have other people in the park in shot. I was filming during the day, so there were a lot of people at the park.

Another one of my roles was to direct the actresses. I discussed with Leila what the actresses should be doing in each scene. I would then help explain to the actresses how they should act and say their lines. For example, I told Kat that she needed to act as if she was looking around for the Target when she was hiding in a tree.

While I wasn't filming or directing, my role was to be one of the actresses. I am playing as the Target in the opening. As the Target, I had to act serious. My scenes mainly consisted of me walking around holding a briefcase, which is what the spies are after. I had to repeat the same scenes multiple times in order to guarantee having a good take for the opening. I quickly learned that it was tiring to be an actresses because I had to do my scenes many times. This was my first time acting in a film that I am creating and I believe that it was an interesting experience.

A picture of me acting as the Target.

Filming Blog: Leila's House

On the first day of filming, I met up with Leila at her house. Before going to her house I had one of the spy actresses, Kat, be dropped off at my house, and I picked up the other spy actresses, Cori, so I could drive them to our filming location. I was in charge of providing transportation for the two actresses. Once I had arrived at Leila's house the filming process began. I pulled out the storyboard and a list of all the footage we need that I organized a few days before. I made this list because I felt that it would keep us more organized during filming and it would help us not forget anything that needed to be filmed. After I looked over everything and going over the plan, I believed we were ready to film.

One of my main roles was to act as the camerawoman. The first thing I wanted to film was the house establishing shot, so I went outside. While outside, I filmed many different shots and tried my best to avoid getting the house number in frame. I also filmed the zoom in on the front door before I headed back inside. The next step was to film all the scenes that took place in the kitchen, but before I could do that the set design needed to be made. I provided help on where the props looked best and if there was enough lighting. After the set design was completed, I was able to start filming. After these scenes were recorded I took the camera and tripod into one of the bedrooms to shot some of Kat's getting ready scenes, while Cori was getting her makeup done. When her makeup was finished, I shot her getting ready scenes. The last footage I needed to film that day was the conversation between the two spies and them putting their bags into a trunk. Filming the conversation scene was a little difficult because I needed to make sure the actresses didn't move from where they were standing; they aren't supposed to be moving around when they are talking. Everyone then went outside to take the shots that included the car. Overall, while I was filming I made sure to take many types of shots and angles, so when it was time to edit there would be a lot to work with. I also made sure to record multiple takes to make sure there was at least one good one to include in the opening.

My other job was to direct the actresses. I told the actresses how to act during the different scenes and what emotions they should be portraying. For example, I informed the actresses that they needed to act worried when their characters realized they made a mistake. I also discussed with Leila how the actresses should be acting.

Planning Blog: Storyboard Blog

Today in AICE Media Studies Leila and I finalized and uploaded the storyboard. The Storyboarding process was a tedious process that required critical thinking. During last week, Leila went over to my house to draft a storyboard to understand which camera angles, shots, movements, transitions and editing techniques that might be included in our final task. Also, I began to sketch rough drawings of the storyboard. These first sketches were figure out the amount of details we wanted to include and confirm the storyboards are on the right track. During this week, I mostly did the drawings while Leila finished Scenes 9 to 10 and typed out the sentences for our other blogs. Also, Leila drew the extra details to make the frames more realistic.

In the Google Slide attachment, we attached pictures of the storyboard to each slide. On each Google Slide, we attached pictures of the storyboard to the corresponding scene. In the storyboard, it will detail the camera angles, movements, camera shots, and Mis-en-scene involved in each scene. Also, the storyboards will  list the editing techniques and lighting that will be included in each frame.

Planning Blog: Location, Participants, Health & Schedule

Today in AICE Media Studies Leila and I finalized our planning blog for locations, participants, health,/safety, and schedule. This is where we edited our schedule and decided whose name will be included in the titles. We also grammar checked our responses and added the images of our locations. During the weekend, Leila and I met at her house to draft the locations, health/ safety, participants, and schedule. In the Google Slide Attachment, one some of the slides, it will  detail where we are going to film and the safety procedures we will be following. It also details our schedule for our production of our final task along with the list of the participants involved in the making of this film.

The most challenging part of the this blog was the schedule and the locations. Scheduling was difficult because we had to coordinate it to our actors' schedules school-calendar and our own schedules. Planning the locations was not difficult but, it involved critical thinking. For instance, when we can film on the middle school since parts of the middle school is public property. When we were planning the participants it was uncomfortable because we both wanted to give each other more credit. We were able to finish these blogs this evening and we can start on our storyboard blogs.

Planning Blog: Title Design

In AICE Media Studies Leila and I planned our title design for our final task. This was a tedious and lengthy process because we reviewed different types of fonts, sizes, colors and spacing of  our titles. We didn't realized how much calculation was involved. We had to perfectly time the titles' entrance and format to fit the action conventions. We reviewed the different combinations of fonts and sizes of our Working Title and occupation titles. Then, we had to figure out how long the title should stay on the blog. The Title Design Blog will detail how the titles will appear and disappear throughout the movie. In the Google Slide attachment, it it details how our Working Title and other titles will be formatted. Leila and I will reference the Title Design Planning Blog, when Leila and I are going to inserting Titles into the movie.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

The second assignment Leila and I received during this week was the Sound Script. A Sound Script is a script of all the sound that will be included in the final task. This will range from the diegetic sounds in the characters' world and the nondigetic sounds of instrumental music playing throughout the title sequence. The Sound Script is another key element in Production. The Sound Script will be referenced to ensure the correct lines are being said and the audience can experience the characters' world. Our Sound Script will be presented onto the Google Slide attached to our blog. Similiar to the Shooting Script, we chose to present the Sound Script because it is simple, easy to read and accessible. The Sound Script will also be key in the Post-Production process. The Sound Script will act as guideline to when certain instrumentals should end and begin.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Today in AICE Media Studies Leila and I finalized our Shooting Script for our final task. The Google Slide uploaded below will illustrate details of the Shooting Script. The main reason our Shooting Script is on a Google Slide because of its accessibility and its simple themes. The Shooting Script is one of the first guidelines for our final task. During the Production days, we will use the Shooting Script as a guide to ensure we included all the required camera angles, shots, and movements. It will also act as a guideline when we edit the takes during the Post-Production days. In the Shooting Script, it will detail how the camera angles, shots and movements will help create an enjoyable two-minute opening sequence. In some of our scenes, there were less elements while some of the scene contained multiple events occurring at the same time. Also, the Shooting Script details the lighting and color design. We only mentioned a conversation because the dialogue will be in our Sound Script in the next blog.