Finding The Perfect Song

Hiii, it has been a long week, but I still have work to do with my project! I was thinking and I believe I need to add music to fill in for the emptiness of the Underworld Scene. Incorporating music into a film could add or alleviate tension into a scene. Background music could also evoke a certain amotion/feeling to a scene. Music has always been a big part of my life, so this aspect of my film opening means a lot to me. 

To begin with, the tone I want to achieve is eerie but also nostalgic. I believe I can achieve this with a song in a minor key as that key is known for its mysterious feel. For my project I need to find copy right free music so, I began to search on YouTube. After lots of searching I think I found one I really like. The final decision is still up in the air but, it’s a strong candidate! 

Post Production Time!!

We are in the final stretch of the filming process. I have 1 more scene that I am filming next week due to conflict. However, it is time to begin editing the footage that I currently have! With this office scene there are lots of different noises and sounds happening in the background. In addition, this scene includes Abbi banging on a drum. Due to the many cuts of the shots, the drum sound is no longer consecutive meaning I must input new audio as an overlay over the past audio. This will include Foley Sounds for the makeshift drum, the dialogue, and diegetic office sounds. 

 

Foley Art (Makeshift Drum): To achieve the sound of pens tapping on a bucket I used pens, and various items I found around my house. For example, a glass candle, plastic cup, ceramic mug, and plastic Tupperware. In the end I decided on the plastic cup because it created a sound most similar the original. 

Dialogue: When it came to the dialogue, I had my actors say their lines over the audio then I replaced the past audio with the new one. 

Problems vs Solutions

  Sometimes you face problems that are out of your control. Unfortunately, I am facing a bumpy road in my project. However, part of creating media is learning from your mistakes and improving.

Problem: Last Wednesday, I was supposed to film the underworld scenes for my film opening. My location for filming was going to be in my school's auditorium, where I was going to create a void with the light board and spotlights we have provided there. To my surprise, the auditorium was being used by one of my school clubs for the rest of the week. This mistake is 100% on me because, I should have checked the booking schedule before committing to that date.

Solution: When faced with a problem you can't fix, the only thing you can do is learn from it and move on. Due to this problem, I will now be filming next Tuesday because my actors and I have rehearsal this week for a musical we are in. Meaning, next Tuesday is the closest date we can continue to film. Even though this would mean I would be behind on the filming process, I am grateful I will eventually finish the project on time.

1st Filming Week Summary/Title sequence

 Over all, the first week of filming has been great. I have edited all the clips from the office, and I am now working on creating the title and credits sequences. Although I have ran into a few problems throughout the process, I keep reminding myself that this is my first time creating a project this intricate, and that it's okay to mess up sometimes because that is how we learn. 

Title/Credits: For the past week, I have been testing out different title designs on Cap Cut to see what I liked and what would match my film. This is such a hard thing to choose because there are many things to take into consideration. Such as, the color, font, animation, and background image. Color wise I know I want a color with a cool hue like dark purple or dark blue to match the fates "real world" outfits. For the other aspects I am just trying to see what I like and what looks good with each other.

Ex: 

How my film got its name?

 Starting off this blog post I am now realizing I have never stated the name of my film opening in my blog postings yet. Coming up with this name has been difficult because I wanted it to be able to capture everything that I am featuring in the opening as well as what I believe it would include if the film were to continued on. I hoped for something that would reflect not only the storyline, but also the genre. Believe it or not, title of films, actually have a lot to do with the genre chosen. After much consideration, I settled on the name Moirai (a new generation).

 

"MOIRAI a new generation": Nowwww, it's time to break down the title to it's simplest terms and what it means to me! To begin with, Moirai are also known as the fates (my main character's in my film opening) I thought it was fitting since the film stars the three goddess. The next part of the title, "a new generation" was added. This is because I felt I needed something that could capture more of what the film is about. Since my genre is coming of age, I also felt that part of the title represented my genre more. The title of the film is trying to get the message across that the fates are getting involved with new generations, however leaves the rest up to the film to explain what is happening.

1st Day of Filming

  Today began the first day of our filming process. I am so thankful for the time my actors have put into helping me make this project the best it can be. As there is much to unpack on my experience, let's begin!  

To start off, I would like to talk about how cool it was to see my creation come to life. These characters that I have created from their personality to their style, and clothing, each one has their own persona, and I thought it was remarkable to see these creations take on my filming process with me. 

Something I learned from the beginning of this experience that I will take into account for the future is to make sure to account for everything. When we got to the filming location, I had realized that I never specified what to do for the fate's hair and makeup. Luckly, we were not on a time crunch and my actors were able to take a few minutes to do their hair and makeup. One more thing that I have learned just from the start of this process is to also account for background sound that is already present. Such as, a noisy office. Due to the sounds of people walking by keyboards clicking, and doors opening and closing, I was worried my audio would be ruined. Fortunately, I was able to record audio through someone's phone that I will simultaneously edit with the video footage 

Organizing Last Minute Things!

With much in store, it’s filming week!! Since we will be filming the office scene tomorrow, I have decided to make sure I have everything planned and up to parr. This will include what my actors are wearing, deciding where in the office I will film, and what shots and angles will be most effective for my film. 

Costumes/Clothing: In one of my blog posts last week, I stated the color theme of the outfits for the fates was going to be dark blue, grey, black, with accents of white. I also stated that the differences in the outfits would lie within the style of the clothing, rather than the color. This being said, I texted in our team group chat requesting what I would like all actors to wear, and we communicated on what would work best. Our final decision was to have Julia (Atropos/Abbi) in an oversized t shirt and jeans, in addition we added converse, sunglasses, and earbuds. To add on, Isabel (Clotho/Chloe) will be wearing a trendy tank top, a skirt, purse, and headband. Notably, Victoria portraying Lachesis/Lacy will be wearing a collared shirt layered with a sweater, glasses, and pants. 

Office Location: Since we are filming in my school’s office, we are making sure to film after-school hours so we will not be a disturbance to those around us.  

Effective shots and angles: I am not too worried about the intricacies of tomorrow's scenes shots and angles because, the underworld scene is going to consist of the most eye catching and meaningful ones. I do want to make sure I get many shots of the setting to set the scene for how the tone will play out. On top of this I would also like to make the scene seem chaotic but in an organized way. This is to make it obvious that Lacy is the mediator/organized fate. I plan to do this by filming the same scene from various angles to make the shots look busy but with intention. 

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