Some Things to Consider

I was hoping I wouldn't need to shoot much for my second day of shooting, but I'm thinking I might do the three shots I need of outside and then do a photoshoot and stage the shots, which means I'll need the uniforms back from the library that I borrowed. I also need to reshoot some of the book footage I originally shot because I'm not happy with it, and I might have to reshoot a few book scenes with Cassandra with better lighting.

I need to shoot my interview because the one I did on the spot while shooting Saturday was terrible and I don't like anything that I said. I should probably interview the cast as well, but I am terrible at asking questions so I'll probably stick to the very basics, such as, "What was your favorite scene to shoot?" and "How did you enjoy acting in this role?"

Julia was really good at interviewing us, and she asked a lot of good questions so maybe I'll ask her to help me come up with a list of interview questions.

I still need to find music for the movie's introduction and conclusion, and I'm running out of time. It seems that all the people I've talked to about making music are either busy or uninterested, which is quite surprising since most people would jump at the opportunity to have their music featured in a movie.

And also, I need to take photos for the background of my DVD menu, the cover of the DVD and DVD case, and some photos for the bio pages and if I decide to make them, other sub-menu pages. My professor showed us how to make DVD menus and whatnot so hopefully I can make something really cool. Obviously my movie has to do with puzzles, love, and books, so I need to come up with something coherent and entertaining that will get the message across. I was already thinking of doing the Rubik's Cube footage as a background for the main menu, unless I get the shot I really want of Cassandra and Simon overlooking a bridge with a Rubik's Cube in Cassandra's hands and a book in Simon's.

A Day of Editing

So today I began editing my movie, and after going through all the footage once, thinking it was importing and later discovering it never imported, I managed to secure all my files--all 152 of them. At least, I think that's how many files I had. I could be wrong. There are likely more than that, as I haven't even put in music or pictures.

I got a migraine after working with the footage for only about an hour. It turns out it didn't come out nearly as good as I wanted it to. It looked fine on the camera while I shot it, it looked pretty darn good on the camera when I reviewed it, but when I imported it, it looked all grainy and dark on the computer screen. I''m hoping this is because the computer is darker than the actual footage and that some changes can be made to the screen's light projection, because otherwise, I'll have to reshoot all my footage.

I have already decided that this script will be shot again with serious actors at a much later date, sometime that isn't this semester. Although my actors and actress did a good enough job, I feel like something is missing with their performances, and I want to reshoot the movie with other people when I have dates set, people who aren't quitting without telling me at a reasonable time beforehand, and equipment that actually works the first time I take it out. A budget might be nice, too, but isn't necessary, and having someone who knows how to use the camera better than me would be great, as well.

It turns out I shot about 33 minutes of footage, including outtakes and interviews among the actual footage for the movie itself. From what I shot, two scenes will have to be badly constructed because I shot them incorrectly, or I didn't notice something was in the scene that shouldn't have been. The lighting is off in some shots, or the white balance changed without me noticing it, and the acting isn't as good as I'd hoped in certain scenes but I'd forgotten to mention the mood I wanted the characters to be in and so their moods aren't as consistent as I would have liked.

Also, Simon says one line that's just so funny when it shouldn't be, and another that's really creepy, but I luckily got two takes of that line because that time I did notice that it was creepy. My outtakes may not be hilarious, but they're fairly funny, and I think one of the outtakes will explain my production company name, "Not On a Horse Productions". Some of the funnier outtakes didn't make it because the audio went out, but that's all right.

As of now, I have all the scenes chopped up and almost all of them are put together in the correct order. I think I have three scenes left to finish, one scene to start, and three shots I need to shoot once the weather gets better. I might reshoot some of the messed up scenes and I'm thinking about getting more shots of the books because they're fairly inadequate and there aren't nearly enough of them.

First Day of Shooting: A Success!

I just got back from today's shoot and while we ran into several problems (broken tripod, forgotten lines, patron interruptions, accidental pressing of buttons that influence received light), it was overall a major success. We shot about ninety-nine percent of what I had planned in the storyboards.

Due to the weather being crappy, we couldn't shoot outside at Delaware Park because the swings weren't up, and it was fairly dark and cloudy and too many people were outside to shoot the flowers scene.

I also realized that I can't have the guy who plays Simon play the person who pops up in Cassandra's thoughts after each clue, so I'll need to find someone else to go through the motions of the three short scenes.

The quality of the camerawork isn't as good as I'd have liked, but I believe I grew from the experience. Joe, unfortunately, had to work today, which is why I was stuck doing the camerawork, but Ryan (actor who played Nick) and Julia (actress who played Cassandra) alternated with me to get the sound recorded correctly.

We had a few instances where the microphone wasn't turned on and we had to reshoot three scenes due to bad audio and poor lighting. It took me about an hour to figure out how to use the camera in the first place, and we didn't start shooting until about ten, but we finished around two.

The opening credits I shot last night, and they're beautiful. I just hope my other credits and my actual footage isn't awful, 'cause we spent a lot of time working on scenes and I really would be upset if the quality isn't as good onscreen as it was on the camera.

As I see it, I'll rent the equipment for a Monday or Tuesday afternoon in April, when the weather is nicer, and I'll shoot the final scenes then.

As for editing, I booked the editing suite at school for Monday night from four to six, though I'll stay until about nine to see how much I can get edited. I need to download the music from No Time to Think's website (their permission has already been given) and move the songs to either a jump drive or e-mail them to myself. I also need to find some more music to use for the introduction and/or conclusion credits.

DVD Photography

I've been thinking for a while about what I want the picture(s) on my DVD and DVD box cover to be. Some thoughts I had were the following.

1. Close-Up: Cassandra holding a book over her mouth and nose, smiling with her eyes, looking straight forward. Title of the movie appears on the book cover.
2. Extreme Close-Up: Cassandra's hands holding a Rubik's Cube. Title of the movie appears on the Rubik's Cube.
3. Close-Up: Cassandra tipping a book off a shelf full of books. Title of the movie appears on the book cover.
4. Long Shot: Cassandra and Simon stand back to back on a bridge or field overlooking water. Cassandra holds a Rubik's Cube and Simon holds a book. The title of the movie appears above the two.

Props and Credits Ideas

Tomorrow I pick up two Rubik's Cubes from my friend today to use for Saturday's shoot. I'll probably use the four by four cube at the beginning shot of the movie where Cassandra finishes solving a Rubik's Cube, just to show that it's more complex than the original three by three cube. I am considering having the three by three cube sitting on the table to imply that she has solved the easier of the cubes already and is now finishing the harder of the two.

I also plan to use the cubes to either introduce the movie or to roll behind the closing credits. I will have a puzzle book and several crossword puzzles that will have credits written in them if I can get the wording, spacing, and writing correct. I might find a site and create my own crosswords to ensure a perfect fit. I was thinking I'd use different colored pens to indicate different things, like have a red pen used for the name of the person and a black pen as the job they had.

I have yet to figure out how I'm going to make the Rubik's Cube show the names of people if I switch it up between the Rubik's Cubes and the crossword puzzles. I think I could have the Rubik's Cubes introduce the movie and the crosswords end it. The colors of the Rubik's Cubes against the background I had in mind would be very alluring to the audience (or so I hope).

I came up with an idea of how I want the cubes shot (stacked on top of one another, independent from one another, different angles, etc.) but I can't figure out if I want to put the credits directly over the squares that make up each cube or if I want to just have the cube look really nice against a stark white background and lay the credits over the white. I have a light box at my parents' house I built with my dad and I could use that to shoot the Rubik's Cubes.

I considered shots of the library as a way to introduce the movie but I think those might be too boring or redundant when I consider the fact that I'll be shooting most of the movie in the library anyway.

Prop List

Here is my prop list:

• Library Student Assistant Uniform T-Shirts (3: S, M, L)
• Library Student Assistant Uniform Hoodies (2: L)
• Books (The Shining, The Glass Castle, The Onion Girl, Catching Fire, Fahrenheit 451)
• Labels for books (5)
• Glasses with the lens removed
• Chairs (2)
• Table
• Book cart
• Rubik's Cube
• Puzzle book
• Pencil
• Paper with Patron Request
• Tape

On Friday I'll pick up the equipment I reserved from the school and the Rubik's Cube that a friend said I could borrow. I packed up most of the props in a bag already, along with a camera for someone to take photos of the shoot with. I will print out some more copies of the script on Friday in case we need extras on Saturday, though all my actors have a final version of the script as it is. I still need to create the labels for the books and tape them onto the books, and I also have to find spots in the library Stacks area to place the books so they look like they belong there. I'll probably go looking for the P section later today, which I can only assume stands for "POP FICTION" because several books I own that the school library also owns have them listed there, and they're popular fictional books.

Production Date

So I am officially filming on Saturday the 12th of March. However, my first actor who wanted to be Simon said he can no longer be in the movie because of his commitment to the school play. I can't reschedule the date so I just recast his character and gave the position to the person who wanted to play Nick, the secondary character, and found a replacement for Nick. The guy I chose to play Nick has a very similar personality to the character so I believe it shouldn't be too difficult for him to remember his lines or physically perform.

Assignment #7: Production Schedule

For this assignment, we just have to turn in a piece of paper listing our shooting schedule. Some people have simple production schedules listing only the dates they plan to film, whereas others have very complex schedules. One student in my class mentioned she would create a list of each scene she would shoot including the names of characters, props she would need, and locations she would shoot at.

As I'm not completely positive of my first shooting date, I can't do this assignment as thoroughly as I would prefer.

I know I want to shoot this Saturday the 12th from around nine in the morning to about one or two in the afternoon. I don't know how long it will take to do each scene, or if I'm going to shoot in order of the script (for easier editing) or group scenes together based on location (for a quicker work day). At some point I'll make a prop list and go to pick up the uniforms I need from the library.

Scouting Locations

When I wrote my script, I didn't want to have complex locations and multiple places that I would have to film, so I was lucky when I received permission to shoot at the library on campus. Here are some pictures of the areas within the library that I will be filming.

The First Problematic Encounter

So I ran into my first real problem for this project. My artist friend and I had a falling out after she completed the first sketch of the storyboard. What I learned after we fought was that her cat had passed away, but that still doesn't excuse the way she spoke to me and treated me when I didn't know what had taken place. Before I knew of the death, I asked her when she thought she would be done with the final version of the storyboard and she freaked out because she had been skipping her other classes due to depression at the loss of her cat.

Therefore, I will be finishing the storyboard myself. I will cut out each frame, place six of them together on a page, and copy them. Now, she drew the initial sketches on tracing paper so I'll need to lay a thicker page or a solid white piece of paper over the back of each sketch so each frame comes out when I'm done copying it.

With roughly seventy to eighty frames, I have my work cut out for me. But I will do my best to get this storyboard completed. I will still give her credit for doing the storyboard but because she didn't finish it or put in specific details, I'll probably have to add my name to the credits as well for the work that I'll do. Hopefully the next post will contain some pictures of the storyboard, or segments of it. Her work truly is amazing. It's just too bad she won't be a part of the team anymore because we share a similar aesthetic preference and she would have been an incredible, helpful co-director.