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Showing posts from February, 2024

Production Blog: Filming

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Today were the groups last day of filming. They had around 7 more scenes to record. Although that seems like much, they completed it in 2 hours. The group could have completed it in less time but there were many difficulties that happened during the day. One difficulty was with Nijah. She had to stay after school to help out a teacher for a club. The time the group was supposed to meet was at 3:00, but Nijah didn't get there until 3:30 unfortunately. This wasn't a major setback however due to Nijah not being an actor or the camera woman. The second difficulty was with the actor, Imani. Imani did not go to school on this day, so she arrived at Callie's house at 3:30 as well. This cut back the groups time to record. Another difficulty was the group not being able to focus on recording. The group is consisted of friends. So, wanting to play is inevitable, but they really needed to focus. Although it took everyone a little while to finally be able to focus, it did eventually ha

Production Blog: Filming

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 The group filmed today again. It's always hard to plan but the group came together and finally figured it out. The group had to film the next part of their storyboard. The next piece of the project to record was the girl walking home with the man stalking her. Imani acted as the little girl and Adrian acted as the man stalking her. Callie spent a decent amount of time trying to get them to act right for the film. Act correctly as in get into actor mode, not regular person mode. Callie considers herself the director of the film. The rest of the group believes that she is crazy, but they digress. Callie was teaching Adrian and Imani how to act due to her being able to see how everything looks. She knew what to add and knew what to take out. She also told them how to add more emotion to their acting. The group took about an hour and thirty to film. They got their filming done, but this was the longest process that it has ever taken for them. Another factor that affected the process w

Production Blog: Music

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 The song the group picked for their background music is Dark Red by Steve Lacy. They are using the instrumental version. Using the instrumental will allow the non-diegetic sounds to be heard over the music. It will also allow the main focus to not be switched from the actual movie to the song. This is because the song is fairly popular. The music video for this song may seem lighthearted, but the actual song creates an eerie feeling. This is perfect for the groups video; it allows them to create suspense. And using a very popular song for the groups video is a tactic to attract a young audience. Callie emailed Steve Lacy, the writer and singer of this song. Although she did email him, she hasn't gotten a response yet. Callie and the rest of the group decided to also direct message Steve Lacy on Instagram. Although they think it isn't very likely that he will respond, it is better to ask for permission than to move on without ever asking. The group continued with the filming an

Production Blog: Editing

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Today, the group continued editing their project. They diligently adhered to the storyboard, ensuring precise visual representation of their vision. The initial scene depicted a younger Imani on the day of her kidnapping, followed by a subsequent clip portraying an older, melancholic version of herself. Callie provided the voiceover, uttering the poignant words, "I was a happy girl." In the background, the haunting melody of their song "Dark Red" set the mood. Transitioning to a park setting, the scene featured Imani joyfully swinging, alone. Abruptly, Adrian appeared behind her on the swing, only for the subsequent cut to reveal Imani's disappearance. Callie's voiceover underscored the pivotal moment: "that day changed me." The swing continued its motion, evoking a sense of eerie absence, complemented by the recorded sound of its creaking. The narrative then shifted to Imani being forcefully dragged into a desolate parking lot, subsequently thrown

Production Blog: Sound

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 The group is trying to implement many sounds for their film. The film is supposed to be suspenseful and eerie. The group believes that all the added sounds will create that feeling. Adding in non-diegetic sounds to the film will help adding to that feeling. A sound that goes "dun dun" will be reoccurring in the film. This will allow the audience to know that something is wrong. Or it will allow the audience to stay aware that something important is coming up. The group will also be using ambient sounds. One would be adding in cries from the girl who gets kidnapped. The group wants that sound to be prominent, so the audience knows something is wrong. Another ambient sound that would be added is the sounds of the girl banging on the windows while being kidnapped. This will show the struggle of the little girl. The last prominent ambient sound that the group will use is the heartbeat sound. As things get progressively suspenseful, the heartbeat sound will pick up. This is used

Production Blog: Editing

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The group decided to use iMovie for editing this video. They will still use CapCut for some things, but overall, they chose iMovie. This decision was made because the group believes it will give the video a cleaner look. The group's preference for iMovie stems from its potential to enhance the video's quality.  Nijah is the main editor for this project. Although the majority of the videos are on Callie's phone, the group the group believes it's better for everyone that Nijah edits. The group agreed to this as she edited their last project. This decision also gives Nijah some more work. She is not as prominent in the actual recordings so this will allow her to contribute to the group without being on camera. Nijah's previous editing experience makes her a suitable choice for this project. The group trusts Nijah's editing skills. Using iMovie offers different editing features compared to Cap Cut . Although Nijah is the main person editing, everyone’s involvement e

Production Blog: Filming

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 The group started their filming much earlier than what was expected of them. They did this so they could be ahead of the game. This also would give the group more time to edit and make corrections on any scenes they didn't like. The group filmed the first 8 slides in their story board. The group broke it down into sections so they would know what they needed to record each time they met up. The first scene included Imani by herself. The group got a video of her swinging by herself, but due to the outside noises we couldn't get the full effect of a swinging swing noise. So after the shot, Nijah and Callie had went over to the swing and recorded only the noise of the swing very closely. They did this so when they are editing, they have a nice ambient sound. One that isn't barely heard due to the outside noises. Shooting the scenes with both Imani and Adrian were fairly easy for the group. Nijah and Callie directed their vision to the rest of the group, and they completed it