Preparing to Film

My Filming Agenda

Filming Agenda for Day 1:

    I hope to complete this film day on Sunday February 13th. The duration of this part of production will be focused on filming the second half of the opening sequence, meaning the second location. I have decided to film the second location first because it is a lot simpler to create and it doesn't involve as many moving pieces like the first scene will include. In my previous blog post titled, "My Mood Board: Opening Sequence Film" I mentioned that I wanted one of my locations to be in a dark, cold, and damp location such as a downtown street at night to hold a tone of grit and harshness, but now I have changed this location to one that is completely different. Day 1 of filming will be done in a pharmacy store, it will be in either CVS or Walgreens, they both however have similar moods. The ideal goal for filming in a location like this is to take advantage of the realistic setting and its "props". My character is someone representing a person dealing with drug addiction. She will be scouring the isles for over the counter pills and junk food. I hope to capture this activity through camera angles and edits that reflect a heightened state most likely with the aid of jump cuts.

    I will be playing this character and my brother will be filming this process under my instruction. The time we will be heading to the location will be between 11:00-2:00 pm. I will be filming some parts as well that need my guidance but the overall objective is to gather as much material so when it comes to edits and piecing together clips I will have more than enough area to work with. An aspect I'm a bit worried about will be focusing on carefully is the sound and that it is clear and precise. Diegetic sound will hopefully play a key role in the second location's portrayal of the story. 

Some of The Shots I Would Like to Capture:

1. Shot - we see the character's back walking into the store as the doors slide open

2. Close up - feet walking through the aisles 

2. Close up - the character stuffs an empty pill bottle into her jacket

3. Close up - the character running her hand through the aisles

4. Shots - the character hurriedly grabbing medicines and junk food 

5. Behind the character shot - character is getting ready to check out and her hand is shaking or the character walks out of the isle while the camera stays stagnant  

6. The sound of a car door closing

7. Sound of the car ignition turning off

8. Sound of foot steps walking outside and of a store door opening

    Not all of these shots are set in stone but I would like to aim to complete them all even if I don't include them into the final project, it will be beneficial to me to have B roll and the main component shots in order to fully compile a cohesive narrative. Along with the shots listed I will also be sure to include static images of my process of filming this part of my opening sequence, documenting my time spent on the project. 

    Some of the challenges I am worried for about this filming process would be accurately capturing the story I want to tell. To do this my sound has to be clear and free from interruptions and my visuals should be appealing. As my first time filming a short clip ever it is kinda scary to think that this has so many moving pieces that need to all come together in the end. I look forward to the editing process even though I know it will be strenuous. The easiest part to me will be the gathering of props, I know exactly what I want and the use for them. 

Overview

Actors:

    The only actors present in this film will be myself. My film only consist of one character and the story revolves around her struggles with addiction. This character will be seen throughout the opening sequence played by myself. My brother will be helping to film me. 

Costumes:

    Previously, I thought of my character would be wearing a pure white dress in the opening scene because it symbolizes purity and my objective is to emulate a dreamlike state that the character lives in. However, I have changed my mind about this because I am working with things that I currently have with me at home and I don not own the white flow dress that I am envisioning in my head. Instead this character will be wearing a yellow dress that has little sunflowers sprinkled around it. I believe this change can still have the same impact I'm hoping to inflict on the audience. For the second scene and location my character will be dressed in something casual, most likely bagging jeans, a hoodie, and some sneakers. 

Props:

    The major props I am including are picked flowers with stems, they will either be fake or will, potentially a mix of both depending on price. These flowers will aid in my first scene. Along with these flowers ranging from a variety of colors, I will have a white sheet as my prop to that will be splayed out across the grass. A big beach hat can also be a potential prop but I am not 100% sure if I would like to include it yet. For the shots where I am in a corner store, my props would be the items on the shelf, I will be rushing to grab as many over-the-counter medications in my arms. A bright orange pill bottle will be the last prop as an indication of the character's drug use. 

Locations:

    The first location I will be filming at is either a CVS or a Walgreens which are just local pharmacy stores. This location will be the second scene in my opening sequence. The second location I will film in is a small field next to a park close to my house. The field is wide with nice green grass that can make the film's visual experience even better.

Dates and Times:

    On February 13th, 2022 I hope to film the corner store scene with the help of my brother. This process would most likely happen around 11:00am - 2:00pm. The next film date is a bit undecided as of now, but potentially can be done on February the19th since the weekends are my only times where my brother can assist me. This shot scene for the field area would happen early in the morning around 9:00am - 12:00pm

Scripts:

    My opening sequence won't have any dialogue incorporated only a music track and the use of diegetic sound. 

Film Equipment:

    The only two filming equipments that I will be using is an iPhone camera and my brother's handheld stabilizer.