Beginning to Edit

Hey lovely blog reader, what's up?

I started editing my short film! At first, I decided to use wevideo instead of iMovie because I thought it would be more simple. it was working fine at first but I ran into an issue. Wevideo would not let me detach audio from my clips. Thus, I had to download what I had in wevideo and transfer it in iMovie. Imovie has been very easy to use(probably because I have had a lot of practice with it). I decided that I do not want to have music at the beginning of my film. I believe that music would not add to it. You will understand when you watch it. However, there is a part of my film where my main character has a dance party in the bathroom and thus I needed a song to play for that. I searched for hours but I ended up finding a song on the youtube audio library called "The saloon". It has an angsty rock vibe to it that I think helps convey my characters' emotions! That's all for today! Just a quick little update!

Filming Day 1

Hey lovely blog reader! I hope you are having a good day!

Today, I finally filmed a scene for my short film. The scene was the opening of the short film. I ended up choosing to execute this scene through facetime since I am unable to meet with Dylan in person. 


The first thing that I had to do was put the wig on. Wigs are very hard to put on actually. I tried to put it on by myself but I couldn't so I went to my sister for assistance. She helped me get the wig on. I'm not gonna say that the wig looks realistic, because it does not. However, it gets the point across. Also, did I mention wigs are very itchy, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 

I realized that I did not want the facetime call to be recorded from my phone. I thought it would look tacky and not as technically advanced. Thus, I had an idea to use QuickTime player to record my computer screen when I staged the facetime call with Dylan who is playing my boyfriend in the short film. I did have to google how it worked, but after watching a quick tutorial, it proved to be very simple. The sound quality was not bad either. 

I am not very good at memorizing lines so I pasted my lines to the top of my laptop so I was able to read them without it being too obvious. It worked pretty well.

I still have lots to film, but I am glad that I have at least started the filming process. Tomorrow I am planning to get as much done as possible! The due date is quickly approaching and I am very well aware of that. It's frustrating because I cannot start my website or card because I need to base ot off of footage from my film(which does not yet exist). I'm glad the CCR due date was moved because now I have a bit more time to get things in order. 

Outline and Script Writing

Hey lovely blog reader! I hope you are having a marvelous day! I have some exciting news to share. I not only created an outline for my short film but an actual script as well. Who would have thought this day would come? 

OUTLINE

SCRIPT

While I am very please with my script, I am very worried about the technical aspects of my film. The right music, editing, shot composition, color, etc is super super important. To ensure that my short film turns out well, I need to be careful and not overlook those very important aspects. 

At the end of my short film, the main girl is going to cut her bangs... very badly. I don't want to give myself a disastrous haircut, so I ordered a wig. I was not able to order the wig from a previous blog because it would not arrive until the end of April after the project was due. That's because Amazon is not fulfilling many orders that are not considered "essential". Wigs are definitely not considered an essential item. However, I was able to find a blonde wig that was able to arrive this week. It was honestly the only one I could find. I would rather the wig be brunette so it would look a bit more realistic, but I guess I'm not going to be able to channel my inner Elle Woods. 

By Tuesday, I would like to have all of my shots and start editing. I know that it's late in the game, but remember to take into account all of the obstacles that I had to face. 

BANG

Hey lovely blog reader! How are you doing? I have good news! I have finalized my idea for my short film. Now that I am no longer working with my friend Elly, I had to come up with an idea on my own. While it was a grueling task, I have decided to create the short film BANG. It is going to be about a girl that decides to cut her own bangs after a breakup with her long-distance boyfriend.  I thought BANG would be a funny title because the sound BANG is very abrupt and sudden and loud and so is the decision to cut bangs. The title seemed fitting to me. I don't think it gives too much away because its not called BANGS, just BANG. You would understand the title once you reach the end of the short film

Anyway, I ran the idea by my teacher and she was totally on board. This short film idea is something that can easily be executed in my home while under quarantine. I am going to play the main character and I am going to get my boyfriend to play the character's boyfriend. I do not have a finalized outline or script yet, but I know one difficulty that I am going to face is filming the scene with her boyfriend. Maybe I can facetime or skype? 

Over this week, I am going to try my best to create a script as well as get a bit of footage. I do not want to stress myself out and I will see what I am able to accomplish.

I Have an Idea!

Hello lovely blog reader,  how are you feeling today? Personally, I feel very tired. Lounging around my house all day just makes me feel tired. Even when I do productive tasks like organizing my room and working out, I still feel tired. Anyways, with the due date fast approaching, it is essential that I come up with a project for a short film. I still do not know whether I will be working alone or as a duo, I brainstormed a few ideas.

One idea that I had was making a short film about a girl who is debating cutting bangs. I have been debating doing this myself so I think it would be a neat idea to explore. I would start the film out with the girl seeing other people with their bangs cut, her debating it, and then, in the end, she cuts her bangs. However, I want this film to be a bit comedic. I thought it would be quite comical that after the countless hours of debating whether or not to cut her bangs, she ends up cutting them too short. In the end, she will just laugh. Maybe like a joker type of laugh. This film could be more of an experimental film, showcasing her emotions and such. Since I am limited to shooting in my home,  the actors I am limited to being me, my 16-year-old sister, my 10-year-old brother, my parents. I would probably star in it as the main character. Also, I don't want to mess my hair up so I think that I can buy a wig on amazon or clip-in bangs. 

I would want to play with color and lighting to make the short more engaging and dynamic. This is an idea, but I think this is the one that I'm going to roll with. The idea is simple and something that I can definitely execute in the comfort of my own home.

A potential Schism

Hello lovely blog reader, I hope you are doing swell!

Elly and I are very good friends. Recently, we have been getting in many arguments over this project. Elly is a very organized person and likes to have schedules for things. She values order in her life and she will get very stressed in situations like this project. I used to be like that, but over this past year, I have learned to calm down. I used to stress over every assignment I was given. I would stay up till 3 am with 100s of flashcards memorizing test material. This year, I told myself that I wanted to relax. And that is exactly what I have been doing. Thus, our ways of approaching this project are causing us to fight. Elly has requested to work by herself and I respect her decision. While this may or may not be approved, I think it is still very important to brainstorm ideas. 

As you know, it took me quite a significant amount of time to come up with our original idea. having to start from scratch means going back to the sate of having no idea what to do. I have been pondering a few ideas, but nothing substantial. With the project being due very soon, I have to come up with an idea in 3-7 days, and that is still pushing it. Luckily, I am in quarantine and have lots of time to accomplish this without the project looking rushed. 

It always works out in the end. I always tell myself that. It will work out. No worries!

The Best Way to Get Inspired is Just to Watch Some More Short Films

Hello lovely blog reader! I have yet to come up with an idea for a short film. Please do not come to me. I had an idea...but then all the coronavirus stuff happened and *poof* gone. I have been trying very hard to come up with an idea, but I feel like I have not been feeling very inspired lately. Maybe its because all I do is lounge around the house(that's probably it). 

I watched 2 short films in a bid to get inspired.

The first short film I watched was called PAPER. Its a 7 minute short that I found on youtube. It's about a girl who is trying to make it in the modeling industry. The film begins with the girl and other models against a solid white background. They are all in white tank tops in black underwear. They are all judged and sized. The main girl runs into another one of her fellow models in the bathroom. The model she runs into is a bit more experienced. She tells her that being a model is not glamourous in a way. She even goes into horrific detail about how she would count every single calorie, even going as far too searching up the calories in a breath mint. The short film features shots of the main girl doing everything that the experienced model is talking about: extreme exercising, dieting, etc.

The film utilized music to convey the girl's feelings about the events that are taking place. At the end of the film, for example, the music in the background gets very intense, showcasing that the girl is overwhelmed with emotion. Also, the dialogue was super important because the words the experienced model was saying was paired over what the new model was doing. This film focussed on a very simple story. It was very easy to follow and I liked the simplicity of it.

Another short film that I watched was called The Elevator. This short film was only 3 minutes long. It's about a guy who gets into an elevator and more and more people start coming. He notices the maximum weight is 2000 pounds and becomes very freaked out when many overweight people get in the elevator. He even takes out a calculator to try to determine if it is over the maximum. Then, an obese man is approaching the elevator and the man decided he needs to get out. he then gets into another elevator in which all of the people are coughing and sneezing. That's how it ends. There is very little dialogue, only when the man says excuse me to get out of the elevator. Rather, the film fixates on the man's facial expressions while he is dealing with everything. Also, the music playing in the background is elevator music. This also was quite humorous because the music is so calm but the man is very stressed. It was a very clever juxtaposition of the two. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this piece as well.

I'm glad I watched these two short films. Maybe inspiration will hit soon!