First Day Of Filming!

 

First Day of Filming

Description of Filming Process:

    My first day of filming was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Clearly, I am not a professional and do not have professional equipment which makes conveying my film's story difficult. The visuals and the audio could have been clearer and more vivid with higher tech equipment but I would have to edit my camera shots in the post production process. During my first day I had to film in public in a convenience store where other people were actually shopping, so it was slightly awkward but I got through it. I had a prepared list of shots that I wanted to capture, and I had successfully got those clips, however looking back at the images I have, I now know that a greater variety of camera angles are needed to tell the story. 

I was able to collect the following shots:

• Long shot - character walking down the store aisle 
• Close up - feet/shoes walking through the aisles of the store
• Jump cuts - character grabbing medicine products from shelves (have to reshoot this to make it more frantic or I'll do some heavy editing)
• Close up - character running her hands through the shelves (probably won't add into the final film, rough draft and needs to be reshot)
• Camera tilt up - to character putting an orange pill body in her pocket 
• Static shot - of shelves with over-the-counter medical products: pain relievers and migraine relief pills
• Tracking shot - store shelves (this shot came out kinda shaky, needs to be re-filmed, not sure if I'll keep this perspective)

Shooting Schedule:

• 1st day of filming - Sunday, February 13
• Setting - drugstore/corner-store, Walgreens
• Camera Shots, angles, and cuts - close ups, static shots, long shot, jump cuts, trucking
• Sound - capture sound of car door closing and the store door opening 
• 2nd day of filming - Saturday, March 12
• Reshoot of corner-store scene
• Need close ups of the shelfs and products 
• Shoot wider variety of camera angles
• For this film day I might try to reshoot this scene at night to create a darker and depressing setting
• 3rd day of filming - TBD
• Setting - open field, flower field scene
• Camera shots, angles, and cuts - close ups, overhead shot, dissolve, etc
• Establishing shot is created on this day as well
• Sound - I'm not too focused on sound for this day because I will be shooting in slow motion most likely and will have a soundtrack playing along with the scene (that will be done in the editing process)
• 4th day of filming - TBD
• This day will be for touch ups and reshoots for smaller details of either scene

Sound and Video Outcome:

    The video aspect of my time of filming was actually not too bad. I used my brother's iPhone 11 and his handheld stabilizer, this helped in the smoothness of the video and reduced shakinesses. I wish however that I made some of my clips longer than they actually were so that during editing when I piece the shots together there can be a smooth transition with wider wiggle room to make changes, whether that is shortening or lengthening the clip or even splitting it in half. 

    The sound was the most difficult since I was in a public place the audio picks up little kids crying, loud voices in the background, and customers exchanging dialogue with one another. I'm thinking of either using an artificial sound for the background music, a sound effect, or keeping the original sound of the video. Another problem is that the sound does not transition well from shot to shot which makes a rough and amateur film. I would have to resolve this some way possibly by using a soundtrack. I used an audio recorder app on y phone to attempt to capture the sound of a car door closing and an engine turning off. The car door slamming shut was clear but the engine cutting off was not, may be due to my brother's car having a silent turn off system. 

Reshoots:

    I have only done one day of filming so far, and as far as I can tell I would need to re-film the drugstore scene. Some of the clips and audio I gathered are really rough, like a first draft. This time I will spend a larger time analyzing the store and using it to my advantage by using unique camera angles from different heights or maybe introduce different cuts. During my reshoot dates for the corner store scene I would also like to achieve shots of my face, I realized I didn't have many shots of my features (I was more so focusing on my clothing). While focusing on my face I'll probably be filming again without the mask, I forgot to take it off so that the audience can see my reactions and emotions. Specifically for the drug store scene I might have two separate reshoot days, one at night and one in the day. I want to try to film at night just to see if a darker setting may portray the depressing and dreary life of the main character.

Picture Documentation: