Filming More Scenes

      Over the past 2 days, I filmed scenes 2, 7, and 8. These scenes include K going to bed, finding a camera, and inspecting the camera. This leaves scenes 3-6 to film. These mostly consist of scenes including the Hooded Man. I've been intentionally saving his scenes for last, as they could present a problem if rushed. I can't film in my room normally for his scenes, so I need to find out if there's a time I can close off another room to do so. If I can't film elsewhere, I have a few ideas on how to transform my room enough to make it look like a different room. My main idea is to darken the room so that it can't be identified. The Hooded Man would be lit by the laptop he's using. However, this would present a problem for when he stands up. Another option would be to film somewhere in the room that hasn't been seen. The problem with this is that my room isn't that big and most of it has been shown. If I need to film in my room, there would be little I could do to change it. This is why I'm saving those scenes. Another problem comes up in the way I filmed the 7th scene. The 7th scene was planned to come in after an action match with the hooded man. However, I filmed the 7th scene as its own thing. This can be remedied by adding in the action match. The camera can change once K gets up from his chair. So far, filming has gone smoothly, there's just possibility of future issues.

Editing the First Scene

      After filming the first scene, I decided to edit it. There wasn't much to edit, as it was a short scene. I've also decided to not add the titles yet. I'm going to do this at the end of editing. Once I have all of the scenes filmed, I am going to go back and add the titles. I feel that this will make adding the titles flow better. What I did during editing was cut out the beginning and end of the footage. This is because they included me walking out of the room and turning off the camera. Neither of these actions would fit into the film, for obvious reasons. Also, I added in the song that I chose. Adding the song was more work than it sounds like, but still simple. All I had to do was match up the lyrics with what K was saying and cut out the unneeded parts. I also made the song fade in and out at the appropriate times. It fades away faster, as K takes out the earbuds. This partially simulates how the sound would get quieter as he puts them away. Lastly, I added in a static effect at the end of the scene. After the last edits were made, I rendered the scene and saved it for final assembly. Throughout the filming and editing process, I had done everything needed. While editing, I got the clips together, got the song ready, put together the footage, and rendered the first scene. Unsurprisingly, this trend will continue throughout the making of this film.

The Actually Filming Blog

      As you could tell from the title, I did film this time. I filmed on February 20, 2020 and got through my first scene. The scene where K comes home while singing along to a song. Before, I said that I need a song for the film. I was able to choose one, without copyright, before filming. The song I chose is called Pull Up and it was made by an artist named Bazanji. The start of the song has a few seconds of build up before the chorus starts. This allowed me to time when to come in and give myself some time to let the shot rest before I started. For the entirety of the first scene, the camera is tucked away under my desk. This was a small hurdle to get through. While I could easily fit the camera and tripod under my desk, I had to angle it in a way to make it look hidden. I remedied this by angling the camera upward a bit so that the underside of the desk was visible. Not only did I want the desk to be visible, I wanted the top of the door to be visible as well. This ensured that I would fit into the shot. Although I wasn't able to get the top of the door into the shot, I was able to make the camera look hidden. Lastly, I had to worry about being heard over the song. At first I played the song out loud, but scrapped this as I needed it to fade out quickly.

The Not Filming Blog

      The weekend of 2/15/2020 I was not able to film. Why, you ask? Because I didn't complete the blogs in time. Well, I did finish them before the deadline, just not in time to get a camera and film over the weekend. Now all I can do is plan for when I am able to film, which I have been doing. I have been planning where to put the camera to sell the facade of it being a spy camera. I've had ideas of placing it on my dresser, where it can have a wall covering some of the vision. This'll make it appear to be hidden, more hidden than it being out in the open at least. Other than places for the camera, I also have to think of my costumes. Not only do I want to sell the illusion of the camera being hidden, but I also want the audience to think multiple days have gone by. Different outfits could sell the illusion, as well as filming at different times of the day. Something else I've had in mind, was to add the date on-screen. This way, I could match the outfit to the day. For example, I could wear formal clothes on Sunday. Of course, there's the added benefit of forcing the audience to thing it's a different day. Lastly, I've been coming up with backup plans. In case I need to prolong the film, I've been thinking of ways to do so. What I've come up with, is to add shots of K finding secret cameras. Along with the scenes of him finding it under his bed, in his closet, and somewhere high up, I've thought of other places it could be. So far there's under his desk, behind blinds, and behind his computer monitor.

Planning: Storyboard

Above is a presentation of all the storyboards I've made for the film. I've had to add a few more scenes to fit the 10 storyboard requirement. Nothing else has been altered too much. All the scenes are the same and everything is in order. The scenes I've added are scenes of K, the main character, finding hidden cameras in his room.  These extra scenes can be added or taken out, if needed. I can come up with more places to put the camera, or take out some of the locations. I like these extra scenes, I feel they can add some more fun to recording. I could also go as far as to have family members hide the cameras as well. This could also make K finding them more authentic.

Planning: Title Design

Above is a presentation outlining how I will be designing the titles that will show up in the film. I have a font in mind, although it may not work with the film. As said before, the things I'm planning are subject to change. I do intend on making the titles white. As white would go against the colors of my walls. However, I can add a border, if there's a need. The spacing is it's own issue, the font does place the letters close together, which may be a problem. I can counteract this by leading and tracking the text box to make it more clear. I also put in the title of the film I want to go with, as well as some rationale behind it. Lastly, the titles will stay on screen for 3 seconds so that the audience can read them before they leave.

Planning: More Planning (Planning²)

Above is a presentation outlining my schedule, filming locations, participants, and safety precautions. My schedule is a little more lenient as I'm alone. However, that doesn't mean that I'll be putting off filming or working. Whenever I get the chance, I'll film as much as I need to make a good product. I specify that there will be more days outside of the three listed, those are just days that I can list for now. I won't be filming in many places, which fits in with the film I want to make. Having a small list of locations allow me to film a lot more. Same thing for participants, I can change the project if something doesn't work, although there are some issues. The opening I'm planning to make doesn't give me many opportunities to hurt myself. However, anything can happen, so I've planned for that too.

Planning: Dialogue & Sound

Above is a presentation outlining the sounds that should be in the scenes of my film. The music from the first scene isn't decided yet. I had the idea of using a song that was copyrighted, but I've learned that this wasn't possible. So I'll have to look into non-copyrighted songs and decide. Other than that, the script is a little short. There isn't much dialogue, which fits into the idea of the film. K, the main character, is alone in his room and doesn't know he's being spied on. This explains why there isn't much dialogue. Later on, K does talk to himself. These lines are here so that he isn't completely silent the whole time, as well as to provide some context.

Planning: Shooting Script

Above is a presentation of the shooting script for my film. It has 8 scenes planned out, specifically the actions the actors should be taking and the camera angles. Things are subject to change, I could need to add or remove some scenes to fit the time limit. I made sure to think about the filming process, as I could have some issues recreating the image I had in mind. There have been some tweaks done to the original idea to make it possible with my resources. The character that's observing K may be the most difficult to film. I'll need to get a different place to record his scenes, as well as a costume to hide his face. The limitations I have are never apparent before recording. So, I only have speculations as to what I'll need to do. I do expect the script to be mostly reflected in the final product.