Acts 2:1

 FIRST FILMING DAY!

We filmed a very small 25-second fragment of the opening but I think it came out very good! Some changes had to be made and we didn't get to film a dialogue part but we will do that next week. We were a little limited on time so I think we might even redo some shots, but overall it came out very good. Next time I'll make sure to bring a bigger speaker so Sofi (The actor for Luz) can follow the music better and with more confidence. The headphones were blocking most of the sound which led her to rely more on cues than on the actual song. 

My back still hurts

  My idea was to overshoot, so I took some shots of Sofi's shoes as she walked from the side. I also took another one from the front but didn't emphasize that one much as it came out a bit rough. I still tried to include it but I think I'll end up removing it. with a different shot. Maybe one that circles around her or tracks her from the front. 

Beatriz was there to help! She helped me with transportation and filming some of the shots. She did an amazing job especially with tracking shots and following cues. 

The Team (Mafe behind the camera)

2 Corinthians 6:2

FILMING!

I am so excited to say today is the first filming day for my film opening. With help from my friend Beatriz whose taking AICE Media A Level, we're gonna record Luz's shot outside of the house, where she dances and finds Joshua across the street. I made a group chat with everyone involved in the film opening, but 2 of them are off to field trips right now, which means I will have to do the rest of filming next week. The good thing is next week I have more time after school to work on it, and so do the people helping me including the actors and production team. 

For today's filming, we're going to film on my friend Mafe's porch (I'll include a picture when I post about today). Beatriz is gonna bring a small microphone to record a small dialogue from Luz and we will use our phones to record. I have a phone camera stand but it'll be mostly tracking Luz as she walks and dances, so I borrowed Mrs. Stoklosa's stabilizer to help with that. 

I chose to film at 6pm because it is close to the sunset with daylight savings. It's not too dark but also not too bright. It also works for everyone due to school hours considering the actress for Luz lives considerably far away. 

I had some issues and questions in terms of sound with this scene. Luz will be dancing along to music, which means she has to listen to the music while filming, but I also need the music somewhere in the background to sync the scene with the song. The problem is I don't want the mic attached to Luz to extract that music and be heard within the dialogue audio. I asked Mrs. Stoklosa about it and she advised me to film the dialogue part first and then record the choreography, they do transition from a mid shot to a close-up which works to film them separately. 

After filming this shot, I want to start researching LUTs for the shot. I do want a softer, kind of pastel feeling to the opening and film overall, so I want to look for LUTs and filters with these characteristics. I am gonna use freshluts.com to look for possible LUTs and get a feeling for the film. Some possible options for the LUT include The Bubble is Pink and YELLOW&PURPLE. But I do want to reflect on these after I film to see if they fit with the scene. Magenta Day 01 also looks good

I will update you on today's success in my next blog post!

Ephesians 5:19

 MUSIC CHANGE

After the group meetings, there were a lot of decisions I made that I started to doubt. Not in a bad way, as these decisions might've been unrealistic and difficult to execute with the resources I have. I decided to change the music, it'll still be original music made by me, but one I've already made. This means the genre will also change, this is actually a positive change. This will fit more with the American setting of the film, if it were set in South America, salsa would be a good choice, but it's set in Florida.

In terms of the song I'll use, I have some choices.

1. A composition I worked on for my French competition. 

After performing this song and winning in the competition, receiving a lot of good comments from my teammates and even the judges, my friends even asked me to make it an actual song and release it. It is a very nostalgic song, it has a soft sound with a simple chord progression. The structure of the song would assist well with the opening shots of the film, especially with Luz's introduction. I can picture her dancing along to the song's instrumental.

2. A song I made last year titled 'Candles'

'Candles' is a grand song, it has big samples and bouncy drums, and it leaves space for choreography. I think it would suppress a lot of the soundscape though. Even though for a musical, the music is essential, I do want the soundscape to still be heard, so the viewer can be immersed in what is happening. This would be a great song if I decide to create a more resolving sense to the opening scene, if not, it wouldn't be a good choice.

3. A song I made last year titled 'EVERYTHING'

This song would work well if I decided to go for a more dreamy style to the scene. I would have to make the colors and the song agree which could work well, it all depends on the final production decisions. This song has a more hip-hop vibe, which allows for more dancing and does leave space for the soundscape, but it sounds a little bit too modern. One of my biggest pet peeves with films is when the music doesn't really correlate with the setting and idea of the film. 'The Great Gatsby' is an incredible film, but I think using music from Kanye West and Jay Z's 'Watch The Throne' and other modern compositions really threw me off, I expected more coherent music with the setting of the film, the 1920's.

The best option from these 3 would definitely be the song I made for my French competition. The song checks every box, it is just the only one that isn't produced, so it brings more work to the table. But it'll most probably end up being the better choice.

Songs of Solomon 1:2-4

 POSSIBLE SCRIPT (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Genesis 22:14

 'LA LA LAND' Script

After the group meetings, I found a lot of different resources that would help me a lot with my production. One resource that really stood out was the script for La La Land, my main inspiration for my film opening. I wanted to analyze one scene to have a sense of direction for my script. which I will be working on next week.

Proverbs 27:6

 GROUP MEETING!

Last class, I met with a couple of classmates to discuss our projects. I would've liked to have a picture with them to include on my post but we forgot to. Everyone in my group had great ideas for their film opening, every single one was different but creative and some were even surprising. A lot of the ideas they had actually inspired a lot of the thinking I'm doing right now. Editing techniques I would've never imagined and story fragments that would flow nicely with my story.

My group had very good advice for the questions I had, they advised me to stay realistic with my locations. To keep it simple and work with what I can not necessarily with what I want. Budget, time, and accessibility are important factors. I had an issue with one scene as I was debating on how to access a certain location I wanted to film in, but my classmates directed me well on making the more accessible decision rather than the one I wanted the most.

Corina was one of my classmates that really helped. Away from being a big part of those who gave me advice for my location issue, her blog had some resources that would really help with the development of my film opening. The script for La La Land and even videos to inspire techniques. Corina's blog had great content and noticing she had similar ideas to mine, her blog has become a great bunch of resources for me to access. 

Matthew 1:1

 Shot list

Luz

1. Close up: Luz’s face , eyes closed, wipes off a single tear running down her cheek. Puts her headphones on.
2. Mid shot: Luz looking down to her phone and playing a song through her headphones, stands up and walks by the camera and leaves the room.
3. Long shot: Luz opens the door and leaves the room. Door on the right third of the shot.
4. Mid shot: Shot from behind Luz, she is walking through her house towards the door, notices a letter on the counter.
5. Tight close up: Shows what the letter is. “Divorce”
6. Long shot: juxtaposing when she left her room, now the door is on the left side of the shot. She leaves the house and a bright light shines on the neighborhood.
7. Mid shot: Now she shows a glad, happy face as she dances along with the music she is listening to.
8. Close up: Luz’s face as she says the line that introduces Joshua.

Joshua

1. Mid shot: Closed door, opens after 2 seconds and shows Joshua leaving the bathroom after he showers. He walks through the hallway into the kitchen and grabs fruit while he reads something on his phone.
2. Close up: Joshua’s face shows he is interested in what he is reading and seems happy about it.
3. OTS: Shows his phone as he reads a devotional by one of his friends. 
4. Mid shot: Shows him walking towards his room, which is right by the bathroom.
5. Mid shot: Focused on book that is on the bed and shows him blurred out in the back. The book reads “Holy Bible”, Joshua puts on his shoes in the back of the shot and walks out.
6. Long shot: Front door of the house from the inside shows him leaving his house.
7. Mid shot: Shows him walking gladly knowing he’ll meet with luz
8. Close up: Joshua’s face as he says the line that introduces Luz.