After having all of our scenes together we decided to meet up at a Coffee Shop in order to film the voice overs and to continue editing. On my way there I received a message from one of group members saying she had arrived but left the Camera SD card and the microphone. The SD card had all of the latest videos we had filmed and we needed the microphone for the voice overs. I thought it would be useless to meet up without the resources that we needed in order to continue our movie. Luckily, one of our other groups members were able to stop by the others house to pick up the both the camera and the microphone. Once she arrived we were able to get to work on the voice overs that fill up the majority of the movie.

For one of our final scenes none of our  protagonist were involved. Instead we had to film with people we had never worked with before. Although this was a very short scene we still had some difficulties. Finding a group of friends that would allow us to film them took several days. After finally finding a group we invaded their lunch time to film. Because they had never filmed with us before they were constantly giggling and smiling. This made learning their lines  and their blocking more difficult. We were also forced to film the same scene various times in order to find the perfect. Although none of us are Oscar winning actors, this scene lacks believably and verisimilitude. Because our shots during this were medium shots the camera was having difficulty picking up the sounds so we once again recorded the sound using an Iphone that was placed right in front of our actors. At the end of the day we were able to record the scene.

After Filming our first couple of scenes we downloaded the videos and started to edit on Imovie. When we put the first scene of the protagonist confronting her friend there was many problems with continuity. The jump cuts were not fitting with each other. In one scene one person would be further away from the other and once we cut to the next scene the person would magically be closer. In order to fix this we had trim certain parts of the videos so that the continuity could improve. Although in that first scene it is still some what obvious that the cuts don’t fit, we now know what do when filming the rest of our scenes in order to fix our continuity.

 

The third day of filming we were only filming a simple one person scene. We were filming when our protagonist is looking through old pictures of her and her best friend reminiscing on their friendship. In our movie this scene is a flashback. When filming this scene we included a simple eye level  shot of me looking through the album. After that we switched over to a high angle showing a more focused shot of the picture of both the girls to demonstrate they have been friends since young kids. This was our smoothest day by far. All four of us were agreeing on the angles and shots. Because this was a flashback we would be doing a voice-over over it therefore we did not even need to record the sound. The fact we filmed in a quiet room inside a home made the day easier as well.

Our second day of filming took place outside. Because of this we knew we were going to  need a microphone and a dead kitten in order to block out the wind and outside noise. When we received the microphone we believed it was universal to most of the camera. Because we are using a Canon T-5 we thought we would have no issue connecting the microphone. When arrived to Dunkin Donuts and were setting up our equipment we realized that the microphone was not compatible with the camera we were using.  When we tried filming it with the microphone of the camera we could not hear a thing. The only thing that was audible was the wind. In order to be able to continue filming this day we decided to use the microphone on our Iphones. We decided we would record the sound and the music at the same time and when editing put the audio on top of the video. In terms of the shots we incorporated simply over the shoulder shots and eye level shots in  order to show the reaction of both people in the conversations.

After many days of deciding what scene we were going to film first, we finally decided to get to filming. Because it was more convenient for all of us, we decided to stay after school to film the scene that takes place in a high school hallway. The first issue we came across was with the camera. We had forgotten to bring a stabilizer for the camera and were forced to simply hold it. The first shot we filmed was a tilt up starting from my feet up to my face. This was done in order to amp up the intensity of the confrontation. One issue we encountered with this camera shot other then it being shaky is the fact that the camera would focus on my feet and then would not focus on my face once we tilted up. We had to decide if we wanted my face or feet in focus and we concluded it would be more beneficial to see my emotions. The rest of the scene was not as difficult to film.

 

While starting our Vertical and Horizontal Integration project I have found out various things. For example, I have found out that famous companies that are very popular in today’s society are examples of vertical and horizontal integration. I was surprised to learn that now that Disney owns Marvel, Marvel is considered a subsidiary of the huge conglomerate that is Disney. The reason for this is because they are targetting a more specific audience than the audience of Disney.  This is an example of Horizontal Integration. In terms of Vertical Integration, I never noticed how many companies are owned by a single conglomerate. Time Warner is an example of this type of company owning Warner Brothers to TV Stations. I think one danger of a conglomerate owning so many other companies is that

Our instructor gave us a project to learn more about Marxism and Hegemony. Marxism is one of the oldest theories in film. Marxism can be seen as when the poor or non elite try to rebel against the elite. For our selection we decided to examine “The Good Place”.

This week we decided to start filming a small scene in order to get into the motion of filming. We began by trying to shoot our establishing shot. Our establishing shot is a a still image of the front of our school.  After filming we have decided against using this recording and decided on re filming. Insead of a still shot we have decided to use a tilt up. This is because we felt as if a still shot was too boring an did not much the intensity of the rest of the film. As this is the first thing that is going to be seen by our audience we wanted to captivate the audience more.

Next week we will begin shooting the first couple scenes of our project. In order to do this, my group needs to get the rest of the equipment that we are missing. The most urgent equipment includes the microphone and the dead cat considering most of our scenes will be shot outside. Most of the costumes mentioned in my previous blogs are readily accessible in our closet.  For now, I believe our script is where it needs to be. Once we begin to shoot we might realize there are other things we may need to adjust or change. In terms of obstacles, I am scared that meeting up to film may be a problem. Personally, I work throughout the week and I know 2 other girls in our group are apart of a travel soccer league that causes them to travel. Another issue we may come across is the fact our group is extremely close outside of school. We are all comfortable with each other meaning we are very outspoken. At the end of the day we must have everything settled and gathered for when we begin to shoot next week.