Silent Film Title Card

     Now that we have finished filming it is time for us to fill in the gaps to complete our project. One of the remaining tasks was to create a title card for the silent film scene that appears in the montage at the end. Silent film title cards or intertitles were used in these films to show dialogue through text and we just had to include this part into our project. I did some quick research of title cards used in films like City Lights by Charlie Chaplin so that I could get an authentic look. In the end it came out really great and I was able to find a font that is almost identical to the one used in many of these classic silent films. I decided to hand draw the line design on Photoshop to get it as authentic as possible as I imagine the process was done mostly by hand. Once I send it off to Ryan and Oliver for editing they can place it into the scene and apply some additional effects to make it look old and grainy. 

Filming Day 4

     Today was the last day of filming for our short film and was by far the hardest day of the four. We finished off the production of our film by shooting the action and void scenes. We didn't have any school today so we were able to sleep in a little bit and then get right into filming. We spent the whole day filming in a garage so we didn't have to worry about the sun setting. (only overheating) The action scene came first and was one of the hardest to film because at one point we all appear on camera at once. With the help of our friend Austin, who manned the camera and boom mic at time, we were able to get this scene done and move onto the final scene in the film, the void scene. 

    For the void scene we had bought a 10 foot by 10 foot black backdrop that would give the appearance of an endless dark void when placed behind me. It proved to be a struggle trying to put up the backdrop but we were finally able to with the help of a clamp and a lot of tape. Once that was over we got on with filming and it went along very smoothly and with a little bit of editing, I'm sure the void effect will look stunning. With all the filming over, all that needs to be done is the editing and our short film will finally be complete. This whole process was much more exhausting than I thought it was going to be, but it was an incredibly fun experience and I couldn't have found better people to go through this with.

Filming Day 3

    Today we were back at it again with the production of our short film and the filming of the silent film, comedy, and the horror film. 

    We began the day off immediately with the silent film scene which of one of multiple scenes in a montage segment so it should have been much quicker than it really was. It took much longer due to the fact that we were filming on the street with cars and people appearing from seemingly nowhere with the only purpose but get into the shots and make noise. We had some serious bad luck with that shot but we were able to get it out of the way and move onto the comedy scene. This scene was the bulk of our filming for today as it had more dialogue and took some time to set up all the lights. The lighting was set up to mimic that of a sitcom inside a house and was really impressive with all the lights propped up around the room. The equipment that my group got was a massive help in this scene and wouldn't have worked without the lights they were able to get.

    The last scene for today was the horror scene since we weren't able to finish it yesterday. We had plenty of time as we finished all our filming for the silent film and comedy scenes before the sun was close to setting. Once we got to the park we were shooting at, we set up all our equipment and walked towards a sections with a lot of trees that was perfect for a dark horror forest. Luckily, we were able to get the last shot when not even a minute later, it started to pour down on us and forced us to end the day there. We rushed to the car to make sure none of the equipment was damaged especially when most of it was not even ours. At the end of the day, we were able to film everything we wanted to and with the horror scene done, we are back on schedule to finish tomorrow. 

Filming Day 2

     Production continued today as we met up and filmed for our short film right after school. We originally planned to film both the coming of age and horror scenes, but ran out of time as the sun set. By the time we would have got to the location to film the horror scene, it would have been way too dark to film anything. Despite this little setback, the coming of age portion that we filmed came out way better than I could've thought. The lighting way perfect as it shined through the window of the bedroom we filmed in and made some amazing lens flares with the camera we used. 

    My partners, Ryan and Oliver, were able to secure some high quality equipment through the Student Television Network, which made the overall quality of our filming sky rocket. We had lights, light diffusers, reflectors, stabilizers, and much more. For most of the scene we used the stabilizer to add a lot of movement into the scene that added some variety to our film. The smooth movements made our filming look very professional and will surely stand out. Other than not being able to film our horror scene, the production process is moving along very well and we expect to be over on Friday. Here's a rough edit of the very beginning of the scene:

Filming Day 1

     Hey everyone! Production has officially started on our short film as  my group came together to begin filming. For the most part, filming went by pretty smoothly with us being able to complete the romance scene. Some scenes took longer due to noise in the background being picked up by the microphone which was annoying and forced us to wait until the noise went away. I had faith in our lighting and composition of but seeing the shots in person exceeded my expectations, especially with what I've seen previously with filming in cars.

    For my first time acting it took a little bit of time to get used to especially with conveying these emotions on camera. I also had a some trouble remembering my lines and on multiple occasions messed up a take by forgetting part of what I was supposed to be saying. Overall I'm proud of myself for getting through the whole day of filming and giving acting my best shot. I can't wait to see the end product especially when all of the footage is properly color graded to truly reflect the romance drama genre type look.

Production Schedule

     Hey everyone, soon we will be starting the production for our short film. Since it will be quite complex film with a lot of different scenes we will have to film over the course of several days. To make the most out of our time next week we have created a schedule that we will follow to get down every scene we need to shoot. The schedule is definitely needed because many of the scenes will need to take place at different times in the day. Now with the schedule we will be able to pace ourselves and get the filming done without overwhelming ourselves. After that all that is left is to edit the footage and the film will be done!

• Tuesday: Romance scene
• Wednesday: Teen and Horror scene
• Thursday: Comedy and Silent film scene
• Friday: Action and Void scene

Costume Final Touches

 Finally after some time, the finishing touches for the costume design have came in the mail. Thankfully the package arrived on time and with everything inside. For the most part the package contains rings and some bracelets for the beginning part of the film where I'm acting as the main character in an indie coming of age film. The rings and bracelets work with the outfit I chose to make me seem like a skater by keeping true to the basic look that is associated with skaters.

For the last item that came in the package there was a pair of sunglasses for the action portion of the film. In that scene I'm acting as the mysterious main character that comes to the rescue in a hostage situation. The sunglasses are great for giving that mysterious look and the aviator sunglasses in particular are synonymous with the "cool guy" main character in many action films. Now with everything here, the costumes are completed and I can focus more on familiarizing myself with the script and preparing for my role in the film.