The One With 100 Takes

Film Day #2

    I filmed today but my problems actually started on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I recalled that I actually didn't have a costume for a military officer character. Big oops. Thankfully, my mom knew someone at her work that used to be a Marine in Colombia and he has his old military jacket. And he was more than happy to lend it to us. We also found a prop badge and baton. Then on Friday before I went home, we went to Walmart and got a pair of cargo pants and some black boots that gave off the military vibe. 

   Also on Friday, it turned out that Nylah's friend who was going to play Maxxine (the main character's sister) wasn't available, and her substitute wasn't available either. And on top of that, Nylah was only able to shoot on Saturday and had to be out by 4:00 PM. The cherry on top was that Nylah didn't know anyone to be the officer and neighbor like I had expected, so I had a lot of work to do. 

    First, I decided that since the character Maxxine didn't have any lines to begin with, I ended up scratching her character from the second scene and changed the script into having it be Beatrice's birthday instead of her sister's. 

    Then, the hardest part was finding two guys that were available to film the next day, since it was so short notice. I asked around and many were busy, but my friends Samuel and Julloyd, from my last school,  moved their schedules around to help me. And for that I'm so grateful.

 

    Lastly, I arranged for everyone to meet at my apartment by 11:30, so we could start and finish earlier so everyone was free to do their own things.

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    This morning I woke up really early, at around 7:00 AM, so I could shake the sleepiness early so I could start working on the set inside my house. As soon as I had breakfast in my system and a little time to wake up, my mom and I started to set up. 

    As mentioned in my set blog, my goal was to portray Beatrice's family as a family with very low income. This is where my addiction to thrifting for antique, oldish looking things came in handy because I had plenty to work with. After throwing a sheet over the window and the table, putting some dead flowers in the middle and some old decorations around, this is how it turned out. 

    After getting everything ready, my dad and I went to go pick Nylah up from her apartment. Once got back it was 11:30 and everyone was already arriving on time. (Phew.) Once everyone was there we sat around my living room and had a sort of table reading. I went over the story idea for those who didn't know and we went over the lines a bit. 

    At first, I wanted Sam to be the military officer since he's considerably taller than Julloyd, but Julloyd noted that since him and Nylah were both black, it made it seem like the brutality is only against minorities/people of color, which I didn't think about. The goal was to show that everyone outside of the powerful ring of government were the victims, no matter what race or ethnicity they are. So, after listening to constructive criticism, we switched the roles to balance it out. We also all agreed that it didn't matter if Julloyd was shorter, it made the message louder in a way. It doesn't matter whether you are tall or short, skinny or strong, when given so much power and the authority to abuse it, you will. And there's not much others can do about it. All in all, you don't need to be large to cause large amounts of harm. 

We practiced the lines and the movements I wanted them to make while making each scene, and everyone got in costume. (Except Sam since he was already wearing regular clothes.)

 

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    We filmed the shot outside first since it would be the fastest to get out of the way. To get the angles right, we put some tape on the floor so they knew where to bump into eachother and I set up the camera in a way that the cars in the background wouldn't show. We got it on the tenth take and moved on. 

    There's not much to say since we didn't encounter many issues filming. The microphones worked well with my phone. And though the lighting was a little tough to control I thought it went okay. 

    We had to take maaaany takes. A lot. Not because they kept messing up or anything, but sometimes I wanted to change how a line was delivered or a certain angle, and I wanted to get it just right. We kind of scared my neighbors with all the knocking and yelling, but luckily we got it over with relatively fast and wrapped up filming.

(Extra credit to Julloyd for being our voice)

    After three hours of filming and 119 takes, the three of us (since Sam went home early) had some pizza and watched a movie for a bit before everyone had to go home. And that was my day. Editing here I come.

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Extra!

Sam and Julloyd playing a videogame on my PC while we shot the second half^

(My dog welcoming everyone)

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The One Where She Calls the Shots

 

Script and Scene Creation #2

    Don't let the heading mislead you, I know what my second scene is about. But since I'm filming my second and final scene tomorrow, I wanted to get everything written down, scene by scene, line by line. I wanted to do this because when I filmed the first time, the issue wasn't so big since there was no dialogue, but I had trouble figuring out where to start certain shots since I didn't plan SPECIFICALLY enough to the point I was organized when it came to actually filming. And you're probably thinking "Shouldn't you have done this a while ago?" And the answer is yes! I should have! But unfortunately I didn't think it would stump me as much as it did, but the 4 hours of filming really hit me in the face on my first filming day. 

(Detail: I'm torn between my mom and my dad for playing the parent for now, so "August" will now be referred to as "parent" while I figure it out.)

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The shot transitions from her eating from the tin in the prior scene to her eating small pieces of day-old bread. 

Over the shoulder shot: The parent setting their plate down on the table and sitting down.

"Don't eat it all too fast." The parent says, lightly but sternly.

Long shot: we see the full picture, Beatrice sits at one end, Maxxine in the middle of them, and the parent at the other end. They're having a meal. 

Mid Shot: Beatrice begins to ask "...Mama/Papa... do you think you could get home a bit earlier today?" She rambles, "It's Maxxine's birthday and we were wonderin-"

Mid Shot: Parent interrupts saying "Tris, you know why I can't. You know why we don't talk about that."

Long shot: It cuts back to the table, but from a different perspective. There's a bit of silence. Maxinne is eating her food in very small pieces.

Mid shot: It cuts back to Beatrice and she begins to say "I'm sorry, it was just a thought."

Mid-shot to POV: Beatrice turns to the commotion outside, and we see it through her eyes.

We get a little closer to the scene. An officer is questioning her neighbor. It quickly turns violent. The officer pulls out a baton and raises his arm, and just when he's about to hit the neighbor, the blinds close. 

Long shot: Parent is going back to sit down after closing the blinds. 

Over the shoulder: As they sit back down, Beatrice exclaims "That was-" 

Mid-shot: The parent interrupts and says "That's enough, Beatrice." He takes a bite "Eat."

Mid-shot: Beatrice takes a breath and keeps eating when they hear a loud knock at the door. Beatrice turns to look at the door, "INSPECTION!" A man yells before knocking again. Beatrice turns back to the camera, concerned. 

That's when the screen goes black. 

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The One With Technical Issues

 

Microphone Troubles

02/25/26-

    As mentioned in my group meeting post two days ago, I was worried about the quality of the speaker on my GoPro. Though I think that the quality of the camera footage turned out well, the audio on GoPros is unfortunately a lot less than great. This wasn't much of a problem when filming the first scene of my opening, but that was because there was no dialogue, and my next scene does. I reaaallly don't want bad quality to be something that drags my project down the drain, so I borrowed a bluetooth microphone that my Media Studies teacher provided. 

    We didn't get to test it out in class because there wasn't time to charge it, but I'm taking it for tonight to test it out. 

    If the microphone doesn't work, I might have to either use another camera or my phone, which I don't like because I want the same camera quality so there's no obvious contrast, or I'll have to film the scene and then a voice over and sync it, which I want to avoid because I am not a good technology person at all. I'm already below average at editing, and having to make a voiceover and edit it in would be a huge set back. 

02/26/26-

    It turns out that the plug that goes into the GoPro, it doesn't fit all the way. I hoped that it wouldn't matter but it does, unfortunately. I tested the mic and it was getting no input. 

    Since I'm filming the second half on Saturday, I don't have many options. As in, I could try and order a microphone online but that might take too much time, and it might not even work. So, I want to try and go to a tech store like BestBuy or a Walmart to see if they have anything that could work. 

    If not, I'm going to just film with something else that does work or try and sync up the audio like mentioned before. 

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The One With the Group Meeting Part 2

 

Group Meeting #2

    I felt like this group meeting helped me develop ideas with any uncertainties about the end of my opening and especially my CCR ideas, since I didn't really have any to begin with.

 

    The first thing I noticed about my group is that we were all in somewhat different places. While some were done with filming and editing, others were in the process of filming and some haven't started to film due to technical or partner issues. 

    Another detail was that this time, we met up with different people to get some new perspectives. Although, I got two of the same group members and someone whos partner was in my group the last time. Even so, we all went over one by one talking about or general project ideas, what we've done, and what we need help on. And as we did, we discussed and gave eachother some tips or our own ideas that we could be inspired by. 

(Group members were Carolina, Juan, Sebastian, JP, Mia, and I)

    Starting with Carolina, I noted how her story was slightly different as it was last time to accomadate to small group-mate issues and setting problems. For example, she planned to film in a garage but the area just didn't work. Carolina told us how filming was tiring since it took so many takes to get it just right, and I couldn't agree more. My back and legs sort of ache from following with the camera for several takes, hunching over to get the shot just right, but we both agreed that it's worth it. Another thing I noticed was how her group has already finished filming, and I admire the time management! 

    Next up was Juan, who if any reader of my blog remember, is a part of Lydia's group with the Sci-fi Mystery movie about the glasses that see into the future. His group finished their filming yesterday. Besides a slight problem with the camera, Juan didn't have any issues with production nor story, moreso ideas with what to do for his CCR. Mia suggested that since the movie opening has to do with science, he could be conducting an experiment with different components as he answers the questions. Then I added that he could take the parts of his idea and act like each component is part of the steps of answering the question, like the steps he took to make his project are part of the formula to answer the question. 

    After Juan, Sebastian spoke briefly about his mystery story, which was composed of cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers was that by the end of the opening, the main character opens a mailbox and the screen goes black. Juan had a few problems on his hands, one being that he hasn't started filming since his partner bailed on him, another being an issue with fake blood, what to do for the cop car, siren, and lights,  and the last being about his CCR. As for the fake blood that he plans to put all over the main character and the car seats  (in the car where the opening will start), he was afraid to use certain materials because he doesn't want to stain his car seats. Carolina mentioned that our Media Studies teacher had given them a recipe for fake blood that effectively doesn't stain anything. Then Mia and I mentioned how he could either cover the seats in plastic or buy cheap seat covers that he could stain in whatever way he wanted. After that, I talked about how there are plenty of local cops around our city and that if he were to just explain his project to a department or even a neighbor that happens to be a police officer, they could help him out by having the car in the back with the lights and the siren. Lastly, I suggested that for his CCR, he could open the mailbox that the main character opened in the video, but instead the video continues and he finds the questions he's going to answer in the mailbox. He liked some of our ideas and took note of them. 

    Then, JP shared how filming went for his thriller movie opening. For those who don't remember, JP's group was doing a thriller/crime movie opening where it shows a kid who was over being bullied and ultimately kills his bully in a fit of rage. He talked about how filming went for him as we viewed his blog where he had various pictures of his sets and filming process, and it looked pretty organized. He asked for some advice for his CCR and Mia mentioned how since his project has something to do with school, he could have poster boards, like for projects, and have the questions and some answers on the board while also further elaborating throughout the video. Like a presentation!

    Second to last, Mia talked about her coming of age movie opening that follows the life of two best friends that always meet at a specific place in a park. As the season of an opening school year is coming up, one of the best friends tragically dies. After that, the other reminisces about her time with her friend and later, the best friend comes back as a ghost. Plot twist! Mia tried to start filming yesterday but had to stop filming early because of weather issues. I related with her because she was somewhat nervous on how behind we both seemed with the project, having filmed half or none of what we had to do. But we both agreed that it was part of the process of making something good. I LOVED her CCR idea. For one, she planned on doing this Fleabag (2019 series) where the main character breaks the fourth wall that the other characters can't notice, type of thing. So while she's on a date, the guy is asking her a bunch of questions and she gets annoyed and breaks the fourth wall to answer them. Then as he goes to ask the next CCR question, she slams the door in his face. 

    As for me, who shared last, I explained how filming went for me yesterday and how relieved I was that I got the opportunity to film where I wanted, and how great the experience was. And of course, I explained my story as well. I also explained my two biggest conflicts, which are mostly technical. One being that I can't edit videos for the life of me, and another being that the GoPro I'm filming on doesn't have a great microphone, and that I'm afraid the dialogue won't sound good solely off of the GoPro. They suggested that I borrow a microphone our teacher provides for students, and after discussing with my teacher, I'm going to bring the camera in on Wednesday to test the class mic on it. 

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Mia:

    https://wh0isgossipgirl.blogspot.com/

JP:

    https://mediajean.blogspot.com/

Sebastian:

    https://10ktrophies.blogspot.com/2026/02/

Juan:

    https://thelearningblog12.blogspot.com/

Carolina:

    https://carolrabacrepa200928.blogspot.com/

The One Where They Filmed

 

My first filming day!

    Today was SO great. I went with Nylah to the Gold Coast Railroad museum and everything went so amazingly. To follow up on my last blog about setting, I have a few things to update you, the reader, on. 

    I ended up calling the museum on Saturday (and this is where my time management issues come in) thinking that it was a good idea to just call the day before. Which was a fault on my part, but luckily I struck gold with the kind helpers that work at this museum. 

    At first we were worried because on the website, it says that the first hours of a film shoot would cost about 250 dollars. So after calling, I ultimately decided to send a formal email where I explained how I'm a student and this is a project for my Media Studies class, how I'd use my own props, and only needed an area in the museum for an hour or two. Thankfully, this morning I got a call back from them telling me I'd only have to pay for the tour entrance fee for everyone that's going (which would be my parents, Nylah, and I) and that an employee would have to stay with us as a type of surveillance since we wanted to work around the tracks. We told them at what time we were going to go down there so they knew when to stop the trains for a bit (which is such a cool feature about this museum, working trains!) And with that, we were so relieved and excited to go. More than we were already, at least. 

 

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    Once we got to Miami and to the museum, my parents and I were both attended to as soon as we got in. We explain that we were the ones who they spoke to on the phone and they told us we'd get a small tour to see in which part we wanted to film in. Soon after we got there, Nylah did too. And as she did, we walked to a back part of the museum to where some of the old-ish looking trains and tracks were. 

 

    When we saw the area above, we knew it was perfect for my vision, so we started to set up. We opened the suitcases and laid everything out. The clothes, the trash, everything to make the set look as realistic and abandoned as possible, the terrain suited the scene as well because there were overgrown plants and cobwebs around. 

 

    After we were done setting up, we started on Nylah's makeup and some extra props. We added a flashlight, screwdriver, and mask to her belt. Then, we used the makeup palettes and resources we had to make the dirt and cuts on her face and arms. 

 

    Then, finally, we started filming. The idea was to make it feel like the camera's perspective was there walking with her at the start. So instead of having still shots of her walking around, which I felt might be choppy with how short the clip had to be, I made a tracking shot of her walking through the suitcases. Along with that, we also made a few close up shots of her picking up the necklace to look at it, the can, and finally her eating. 

 

    We didn't have any fancy filming gear, we had a go-pro, which didn't have the best quality, but I honestly really like how it looks. It looks a little old and vintage which is exactly the kind of vibe I want the start of this movie to give off. Something in the middle of an A24 film and the Blair Witch Project. 

    The biggest problem we ran into was the sounds around the place and some people walking by, but we got a decent amount of shots with no one in the background and no sound. And I'm thinking with the music it won't be too big of a deal. 

    The experience was tiring because we had to take SO many shots, back and forth until we got it right, But at the same time I think it was fun! Along with that, it was amazing to work with Nylah, she was so great throughout the entire process. 

 

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    Lastly I'd like credit two wonderful people I had the pleasure to meet today!

    Kimberly is the event coordinator at the Gold Coast museum and also the one who helped us on the phone and greeted us as we got in. She explain everything to us perfectly and was so welcoming and patient.

    Mr. Cully is the train master of the museum. He was the one who supervised as we used the area. Cully was so patient as we got everything set up and we appreciate him so much for that since it took quite a while. But his job which I'd like to include is driving the trains around the museum, which I think is a cool job! 

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The One With the Company Logo

 

Making a Company Logo

    Every movie has a production company that represents them, and that production company is credited at the very beginning of the movie. If you're not completely sure on what I'm talking about, think of examples like Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures, Disney, and so on.  

    Unfortunately, I'm not the biggest tech person. Editing or animating are things that are totally unknown to me. Though, I consider myself a creative person and I think I can cook a good logo up on a simple resource like Canva. 

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    As anyone could probably tell from just the theme of my blog, I love bright color themes, especially light/pastel colors, but I don't know if I want to use that theme for my logo. On one hand, it reflects me as a producer and what I like personally. On the other hand, it contrasts the genre of my movie opening way too much. When it comes to production companies like Pixar, Disney, or even smaller companies like Blumhouse Studios, their logos mostly match the theme of the movies that they're producing. To be specific, Pixar's iconic opening is silly and lighthearted, like the movies they produce. The same thing with Blumhouse, their logo/sequence at the start is horror theme because their biggest genre is horror. 

    So for this, I want to make something that just looks classic and maybe with my own little touch. 

    Lastly, I need a name for my production company. I was thinking on doing "AVLS Studios," just my initials, something classic.

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My Logo

The One With the Casting Obstacles

 

Casting

    Due to moving schools, one of my biggest obstacles with casting is the availability and organization among my peers.

     The moment I thought of the opening scene of my project, I thought of one of my good old friends who is an actress and loves to perform, Nylah. Because though I love media and everything involved with it, I can't act for the life of me.  This thought process led to thinking about other friends that could help. I love my friends, but a lot of them would unfortunately not taking acting seriously, especially when it came to the scene where they'd have to work together. Due to this, I also remembered how Nylah's school has a prominent theatre program, so I asked if there were any other friends who would be interested in volunteering. Fortunately, she has a friend who volunteered to be her little sister, who in my opinion fits the part very much, but we so far fall short on who's to be the father, officer, and civilian. So basically, my cast lacks three people. Though, I don't think I was clear on the part where I needed people for the other roles, and I communicated with Nylah today. There is still hope!

    If this plan doesn't work out, I plan to begin asking my friends or anyone they know who might be interested, along with my family who said they'd s tep in if it were necessary. 

    I wouldn't be able to pay anyone for this, since money doesn't grow on trees, but I assured that any actor who agrees to join this project will be fully credited on this blog and in the actual credits during the movie opening, and they can use that for their own Portfolio's however they like. Along with that I promised free pizza! 

    Lastly, filming would have two locations, the museum (which would only require the filming crew, me and my mom, and the actress, Nylah), and the second scene, which would be the full crew and cast. Which would definitely be the most hectic filming day. 

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  Meet the actress! 

    Nylah: For the part of Beatrice, the main.

    Nylah is a junior in highschool, but me and her go way back to 7th grade english class. I've always known her to be incredibly creative with real skill to back that creativity up, so it's no wonder why I thought of her to be my lead the moment I started brewing my ideas. She dances, acts, sings, paints, and more! 

 

(Bonus pic of me and her in middle school)