Filming Blog: At The Abandoned House

On Sunday my group and I met together around 4 o'clock in the afternoon again to film the rest of the scenes. We decided to show up this early because we Jazmin and I needed to put the makeup on Lesly. Although Jazmin mainly put the makeup on, I helped prepare the fake blood, create the dark circles, and mouth area on Lesly's face. Our makeup skills made it seem like he had realistic scars and even a hole on his forehead, cheek, and neck. Upon arriving, we realized we had to re-film because one of my group mates came with different clothing. Luckily the rest of my group and I wore the same outfit as Saturday. She came in wearing a shirt and shorts. However, she came with a dress that was a different color from the shorts. Due to this, it would make the film inconsistent. Inconsistency within our film would make it appear weird and poorly made. The first scene filmed was a pan shot of the neighborhood. The pan shot would be of the two houses, then the camera would arrive at the girls and I playing frisbee. The Pan shot was created by slowly moving my car forward with the camera attached. This gave the illusion of the camera moving as if it were passing by the neighborhood. Also, the scene consisted of a close up of every one of the girls. Although, the close up was changed to a Mid Shot. This Mid Shot still would be used to introduce every single character of the film(except for the Monster). Another important thing earlier was buying all the props that would be used to portray spookiness. These props include a frisbee, broken glass mirror, black rocks, colored insects, red fingerpaint, candles, doll, and red and black sand. Below is a picture of all the props in the abandoned house.

Filming Blog: Makeup, Props, and The First Scene

On Saturday my group and I met together around 4 o’clock in the afternoon to film the first scene. As soon as we met up, we started heading to Party City. It is a store that sells party supplies, balloons, decorations and more. Props were needed for the ghost as well as to decorate the abandoned house for a creepier feeling of the haunted house. I searched Party City to try and find fake blood, wax, and creepy items but there was none. Since Halloween already passed they were not selling those types of products. So, we decided to go to Walmart. Unfortunately, Walmart also did not have any fake blood, wax, or creepy items. We did buy a frisbee that we would be using in the film, instead of a ball. Since we could not find fake blood or any wax, Jazmin and I went to the grocery store to buy items to make it ourselves. The wax was made out of flour and Vaseline. The fake blood was made out of corn syrup, red food dye, and cornstarch. Lesly is playing the ghost, so we made fake cuts and a bullet wound with the homemade wax. Thus, I put fake blood in the wounds to make it look realistic. Jazmin brought her makeup and made it look even more real by blended blue, red, and black to make his skin look as if it was bruising on the outside. Later, I practiced the makeup for the dark circles and mouth area on the entity's face. This is because I came up with the idea of the black circles under his eyes and his mouth, for a scarier look. It was already dark outside because we went to two different stores and putting the makeup on Lesly took a while, so filmed all of the inside scenes. This is one of the shortest scenes because we are only eating and then Britannia’s character (Claire) realizes she left her phone in the abandoned house. This scene took about fifty shots because I would keep messing up or laugh, but we got it done. Below is a picture of Lesly’s makeup!

Filming Blog: Starting The Final Film

My group and I have not started the filming process yet. We are preparing to film for the project through the use of scripts and storyboards. The sound and shooting scripts have both been revised by everyone in the group. In fact, we all went back and changed the storyboard and scripts. This is because the actors’ decided to change their character roles. Luckily, the roles were changed before we even checked out anything. With everyone's contribution, the storyboard is complete. This will essentially help with the filming process going smoothly, as we already know exactly what we want to happen for the film. Another factor is helping us improve the film with props. I will go buy props including a mask for the “Monster”, doll, broken mirror, and handprints. The abandoned house will be perfect for the film as it is very eerie. The eerie house along with the scary props will help the movie hit its mark. My group and I have already made a filming schedule in order to be more effective. First, we will film on Sunday, February 20th in the afternoon. This filming will occur for some time until the sun goes down. Then, during the night, we will begin filming the second part. This is because, during the night, films are scarier. The darkness brings an unknown factor in the film. Below is a picture of the camera equipment and tripod I will be using for the project!

Storyboard for Final Task

Today, my teammates and I were able to start drawing out our storyboards. We grabbed our storyboard template, which we already had a stack of for future use. Then, it immediately began. After completing our genre research, title research, and planning blogs where we discussed how we wanted to go about filming our opening scene, we knew it was time for our storyboard. It took approximately two hours to draw and write out our camera angles, camera movements, actions, and titles for each scene. Working diligently we were able to finish in class. First, we discussed our scenes with each other. Then, we made sure everyone agreed on what would happen in each scene and what angles we wanted to use to capture that moment. Although we had originally planned some of the scenes differently, there were changes in the final decision. It was decided that most of the scenes would be filmed at the abandoned house and some at Anyeska's house. Storyboarding would have been a much longer process if the entire group was not helping one another. We assigned different jobs, so that way we would all be diligently working. Since most of us in the group could not draw, we decided Lesly would be the best choice. Our storyboard consists of pan shots, medium shots, and high angles. It also has a brief overview of each character and each placement of the titles. Our opening scene will be around two minutes. So far, we are on a good track with timing. It is filled with great details that will guide us during the filming process. Our storyboard is shown below.

Planning Blog: Title Design

The studio my group and I have chosen is JLab Productions. In this Title, The Font size will be 40, the color would be black, the font would be Ultra. Also, the title will disappear after 2 to 3 seconds. The Production company we chose is RNFK Productions. The font, size, color, and duration will be the same. The film title we have chosen is “The House on NW 10th Ave. The color will be red and the font size will be 80. Soon after the film title is shown, the Actors’ Name titles will be shown. The actors include: “Anyeska, Britania, Lesly, And Jazmin. In the casting by title, The title will state, “Casting by Lesly”. Other slides include: Music by title, Costume Designer title, Edited by title, Production designer title, Director of photography title, Producer, executive producer title, Story by title, written by title, and directed by title.

Planning Blog: LSHP

The location we will be filming in an abandoned house in my neighborhood. This house was burned down, so it gives off a spooky atmosphere. Another location will be Anyeska’s house. Most of the scenes taking place in my house, specifically the Dining Room. Our sound will be found online, for free. For health and safety, we decided to bring a first aid kit on set in case anyone gets injured during the film-making process. Also, we have my parents who volunteered to supervise while we are film-making. The supervisors will have access to the phone that can dial 911. Our Participants include Anyeska as Molly, Britania as Claire, Jazmin as Rose, and Hangeno as the cameraman. Lastly, my groupmates and I scheduled the filming to begin on February 16th and to end on March 27th.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Below is our group’s PowerPoint of the sound script for our opening sequence. The sound script is about what the characters will be saying along with the type of sounds in each scene, minus angles, movements, and character movements. The purpose of the sound script is for us to know exactly which sounds to use in our movie, giving us a structure. Sounds which we plan to incorporate in our opening sequence include ambient music, diegetic sound, score, non-diegetic sound, and of course, dialogue. By having a variety of sounds, our opening sequence will appeal to the audience’s senses. Being that we have planned out our shooting and sound scripts, our ideas of our opening scene is beginning to manifest. We are now in a stage where we are more aware of how our movie will look and sound. Moreover, we have it in mind to edit in more information and do our final changes at any given moment being that we are still in the planning process. Making the sound script was relatively easy because we already knew what we wanted to use for the sound. The use of eerie music along with the monster’s laugh will definitely keep the audience on their feet.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Above is our group’s PowerPoint of the shooting script for our opening sequence. The shooting script revolves around what we will be doing per scene. It involves the camera angles, movements, and character movements, minus the dialogue in each scene. There are 10 scenes, not including the title slide. The scriptwriting format was written in short, visual sentences, avoiding more than three sentences in each scene. Some of the camera angles, movements, and shots that we plan to use in our opening sequence include three-shot, wide shot, point of view shot, medium shot, close-ups. By mapping out or script ahead of time, we will be more organized and have the ideas and plans set for the film. We had to think of ways to make all of our thoughts of the film come to life. As we progress through our planning process, we have it in mind that our ideas of our film can possibly change. Therefore, having access to our PowerPoint, we will always ensure to go back and edit in new details to perfect our movie to our liking.