editing process and shots yay

 pre lightning oscars post:

normally, most people wouldn't be excited about editing since it seems long and really just annoying. i actually love it. editing is fun and it's always been something that i enjoy doing. 

 i know that i want my clips to be fast and to emphasize her sense of a manic episode. i did a lot of close up shots on hands and gripping to really highlight the anxiety that she's feeling. since she did do some crying and speaking i don't want the music to overshadow it and muddy my sounds. i think the violin strings will have to be very particular in their placement to not cover any dialogue. 

i haven't talked a lot about my way of filming so let's do that:

i did lots of medium shots where it felt like a handheld because i want my audience to feel her madness. the first clip straight away looks like someone walking in on her as if seeing it from inside. we did her makeup to show how she has already been through a lot and that this is clearly from the ending of the story. i chose a black shirt with black pants just to show her depressive episode. some more shots were from above when she's going through the suit case. some still shots when she starts moving things around on the desks and the dresser. i really liked the shot from the mirror as if something were behind her. the light played really well with this idea of a sad blue tone. sometimes i wonder if red would have been better to show pain and alertness but the blue hue seems more fitting and natural in a way.

ok lets talk about our to do list

 - film & edit ccr (why did i leave this for last minute help)

- finish editing overall project (not too hard)

- look for song & font (i'm picky but i'll find it)

- completely decide on a name already (omen, oracle or premonition)

- look over other projects for some inspo 

i do have a lot to do but it's a workload i'm definitely capable of, i just REALLY have to get on it and not be distracted as i usually am.

yeiiiii songggg and fonts

 ok i thought a lot about how i wanted my song to be but ugh. i really want to do the creepy violin vibe from us. that has to be it.

i've been looking for a song but i'm just so picky with the things i do that i can't settle for anything that seems like less than what i want. it's been a struggle to compromise with things because i have a lot to do still. i just want that to build up the suspense and make people feel a little anxious.

i also have to be sure how to do my credits scene. obviously i can do the name at the end for that suspenseful moment but it seems just too predictable. i might just pop it in the middle and see how that plays out but i don't know exactly what i'm looking for yet. i haven't seen fonts in adobe because i haven't worked with lettering or words on that program.

equipment used and technicalities

 so i decided to use my own camera lens and my dad's camera body that films. 

i used a cheap ikea lamp that i already had and bought color gels to cover over it so it could be some cool blue lighting.

everything was filmed in my sister's own room and then the last scene was in mine. 

honestly, my filming was pretty simple so i was pretty happy with it overall despite it being erased and then brought back. 

an early self reflection and the lessons to learn- small diary entry edition

 i came into this class not knowing what to expect, but i did hear great things about it. as the year went by i realized this is part of what i want to study in the future. this was solid once we did the music video and the campaign for it which was exactly what i love.

i'm naturally a procrastinator because i convince myself that i work well uner stress and have the luxury to do it last minute but i really hate that it happened with this project. i know i'll be able to present work that i like and that i'm proud of, but the process should also be something to be proud of as well.

i'm disappointed in the way that i wanted to push myself to do things early but didn't end up doing it. i was happy to film before and i felt so secure in myself when i knew i had time. now i'm between 'i'll get it done' and 'why did i leave it for last minute'.

consequences of actions:

i also have to learn that good things grow with time and i should have invested more time and energy, especially when i only speak highly about this class.

let's talk about my ccr

 ughhhhhhhhhhh.

i really did leave this one for last minute. i'm gonna take this weekend to film and really catch up on what i have to do but i haven't decided on my concept yet for any of it. 

i like the idea of a talk show but it also doesn't correlate with my project and i feel like i really wanted a parallel between both (ccr and project). 

(here's a picture of what came up when i looked up ccr. i really did confuse this with the beatles for a second which is wildly embarassing. okay enough of that.)

these are the types of things where my ideas just come to me all at once but i've been on the worst block again. i want to be able to just sit and think and write but i feel like i never have ANY time for anything because i'm just constantly busy which is so annoying sometimes. 

love hate relationship with onedrive

 i've been using onedrive for all my photography events and for other video projects but lately i've been a onedrive hater. 

it's been so long to download videos, for once i have storage problems that i haven't had before. 

i also have been trying to work on it in school but the internet is so difficult for this. 

i'm REALLY trying to be patient this because i write this as i literally wait for my 70 videos to download. please god let them download fast. i also have to upload into the adobe premiere app which is gonna take even more time. 

production and lighting and everything

 i had a lot of fun filming but now its time to really get ahead with the work that comes. i haven't put enough love or attention into this blog but i hope i'll be able to save it this week and come out with something really great.

i'll be editing my project with adobe premiere and seeing if that's the best option for me. despite what other people think, i do enjoy using the mobile app because i think it's easy and quick to do. my definition of quick is an hour or two but we'll see how that turns out.

an end to my madness

 I FINALLY GOT MY FOOTAGE BACK
i'm so happy i actually don't know how to explain it

i was genuinely convinced i would not get the footage back. thank you diskdrill for saving me and my project i love you.

i was pretty sure that i was going to get scammed which is sad and i did have to pay $90 to get it back, so it definitely wasn't the easiest process to complete. 

i'm happy that i have it but i know that now i'm going to have a lot of work with editing and finishing last minute, which is never a good thing tot procrastinate. hopefully i can take the whole day saturday to work on my CCR.

MUSIC and POSSIBLE RE FILMING

 I think for my music I wanted some violin music. I had watched US and they worked really well with the music to create feelings of suspense. For my short film, I wanted for the audience to feel her going through this manic episode and to feel uneasy. The issue would be to find music with no copyright but that's what I'm working on now.

I'm going next weekend to see my sister in Gainesville so hopefully I can refilm her parts again. I'm using an SD Recovery software but it seems I have to pay to get the footage back so I'm going to see how that works out.

COLOR WORK- CHROMATISM

 I've been thinking a lot and working with the importance of color representation throughout this film. When I filmed I had my actress wearing black, dark clothes to show her sorrow and lack of hope. I used a bright white light lamp and covered it with a blue gel paper that changed the hue. This made her wake up and have already a blue, moody setting that reflects sadness. Throughout the piece her manic episode is in her room, so there isn't a change of setting. This is why I wanted to emphasize on the other elements, for example the lighting and colors. At the end of the scene I used a red gel paper to show a sign of warning, pain and death. I really want the audience to feel her loss but also question what brought Diana to this point. 

FILMING EXPERIENCE AND ACCIDENTS

 I am angry writing this, but I understand that my project wasn't going to have perfect, linear progress and I had to prepare for bumps in the road. Luckily, this didn't happen to me one week before the project was due and I have time to re film. Still, I'm really annoyed about this since I know it was my fault. While i was switching SD cards, my card formatted and I lost all the files. I'm still working on getting them back, but if that doesn't work then I just have to film again and see how that goes.

Filming Experience:

I value the quality of my camera and of my film a lot. I know that the composition and the shots are being valued more but to me I also place a lot of importance on the sharp quality. I realized my idea was in the darkness and that would require my ISO to be too high, making the footage seem grainy. I know it might go better with the vibe off the movie since that is part of the genre but I'm gonna work around it next time I film.

I worked with my sister since it was someone that I could direct easily and correct her facial expressions. We worked really well together and got it done quick.

TODAY

 Today I have a tight day for filming since I'm filming on another project I got hired for. 

I think for my filming time, I'd do it after the sun starts to set. I already talked to my sister and she agreed, the only issue would be too little light. Hopefully if this week doesn't work out then next week I can film at the beginning of the weekend and then edit on Sunday.

FILMING SCHEDULE

I'm hoping to be able to film this weekend.

Friday 3/11 from 6-9

Sunday 3/13 from 6-9

I wanted it to be set while sun setting and during her conflict and crying she it would progressively get darker. By the time she finds her sister dead in room, it'll be lit by moonlight. I have to figure out if to rely on lamp posts outside my house or if I'll cover a light in my room with blue colored gel paper. 

OFFICIAL IDEA

 I think I can say now that I know what I want. This blog has been a lot of blocks and indecisions but I've settled on something that I like and I know I can produce, the two things that are most important.

I'm going to use my sister to act as Diana and I think we're going to film in my home. 

Idea of Scene:

The scene opens with Diana frantically dialing her phone as if she knows something is going to happen. She's seen hiding in a bathroom after shutting the door in frustration. There's cool light implying that it is almost night and the source of light would be the moon. Her voice shakes and someone answers the phone as she begins to warn them that something is about to happen to them. After a few seconds of hesitation she quickly blurts out that the person on the other end of the line is going to get attacked by burglars where they are. Diana hangs up the phone and sobs saying "Please enough of this", "Just take me don't hurt anyone else I love". Simultaneously as this happens we see Diana's sister in her room at night getting up from her bed and tripping over a shoe, falling over her night stand and snapping her neck instantly. This happens right after Diana hangs up the phone and mutters those words. She frantically runs to her sister's room just to find her dead. The end scene shows her sobbing with her sister on the floor of her bedroom. 

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS

 I've been thinking about the way I want to shoot the beginning of this. Something that will reveal a bit off the plot but leave the audience intrigued. I had thought about Diana talking to some sort of therapist or doctor figure at the beginning but now I might like her simply talking over the phone.

Since the plot involves her predicting accidents with consequences, I thought maybe at the beginning I could show the final victim. She would be distraught and bloody, as if she has survived a lot already. I'm not sure if she should start inside of a house or maybe somewhere wild on the street. 

I want to use the audio of the phone call on the other line over the shots, like the beginning of Scream.

GREECE

 I've done research about my concept and I found precognition. I thought that word was too similar to Sandra Bullock's premonition so I think precognizant might be better. That is still simply an idea that I have to develop.

As the internet defines it, precognition is the ability to "have the potential to contain prophetic messages". When said like that it sounds pretty mythic and reminds me of some type of Oracle. Oracle also seems like a nice option for a title. I decided I want my title to be one word with a lot of meaning, not too revealing but enough for an audience to be intrigued.

I've also toyed around with he word Delphi. It is a place in Greece where people were said to unite for their personal prophecy. This ties back to Diana, a Greek goddess who held power harnessed from the moon. I don't want the film to be set in some ancient time or for it to be a decade piece. I'd like it to be the current, modern world with subtle allusions to the past and to mythological beings.

https://www.healthline.com/health/precognitive-dreams

https://www.britannica.com/video/180008/oracle-Delphi#:~:text=Delphi%20in%20central%20Greece%20%2D%20this,kings%20would%20send%20their%20delegates.

CONSEQUENCE

 I've come up with a concept. Something familiar and something personal.

My main character Diana is a superstitious girl who has always had a sixth sense about things. During the movie she begins to realize that her superstitions and visions have consequences. Diana sees accidents, deaths and inconveniences before they happen. If she warns anyone about seen event, something twice as bad will happen, not to them but to her life.

This came to me with the struggle of saving your own life vs helping others. 

I've always been someone who has an instinct for things, and knows when something bad might happen. Whether it was predicted my uncle's accident in a dream or knowing that a stranger would throw up in school right before it happened, it was always something mine. It was something I've wanted o project and write about but never knew how. I want with my film opening to show this in a supernatural heightened sense.

I'm unsure how to begin. I don't know if to show her visions or show how she ends up at the end of my film. After watching Great Gatsby, I liked the idea of a narrator looking back and telling the story of how things got so messed up. The idea for the pitch would be Diana telling her visions to a person, and explaining the consequences of her own actions. I want the audience to be aware that her telling this will lead to something terrible in the end.

PHOTO INSPIRATION

 

INTRODUCTION

                                            

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