Sofi’s Report

Since I was away in Orlando this weekend I unfortunately missed the enlightenment part 2. If you remember from my previous post, the enlightenment occurred during the randomized group meetings in class. These meetings are very helpful because they give you a fresh pair of eyes to help critique and bettering our project. I love these days because I learn so much and get many ideas, which is exciting because I want the project to be the best it can be. 

However, luckily my partner Sofia was there to present for the both of us. Sofia reposted back a lot of good feedback. One of the members of the group suggested that we get rid of the conversation part of the film opening because they said it seemed a bit awkward. They also noticed that we are a bit close on time as we still have 2 more locations to film at. They suggested to make the chasing/ attack more of a flashback after she wakes up in the kidnapper room. 

Sofia and I are going to talk about it in person. In person it will be easier to diss kid the pros and cons because it can get miscommunicated over text. As far as we know, we are are definitely considering their critiques… Stay tuned to see what we do with our film opening !

Props to the Disney parks

The past two days I have been on the run ! Yesterday I went to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Today, I went to Animal Kingdom. All the parks have their own thing: Epcot is all about countries, Hollywood Studios focuses on movies and Animal kingdom is obviously focused on animals. However, what they have in common is their use of props to make the the storyline and setting more believable. So I got to thinking, what props do we need to bring our storyline to the next level. 

For the scene where vernie finds himself trapped in a room by the kidnapper there are several props to include. For instance, a makeshift cot bed. I was thinking of taking two couch cushions and putting some old sheets over it. The makeshift couch would resemble other types of beds we have seen in movies. It shows that there is a level of disregard for their life and comfort. The next prop is a dirty old bucket...to make believe “delicate.” A bucket is dehumanizing, which is part of the psychological torture. We also would like to include an mirror to shoot a cool scene where she realizes what happen by looking at the cuts on her face.

For the mom scene, one prop that we need is a missing person flyer. This flyer is essential to the storyline. The flyer will have vernies face in it and will make it more believable. Lastly, the character will need a stapler to be able to put the flyer up.

So far these are the props we have left to find. A lot of these can be fun in our homes., however we were thinking of going to Goodwill to shop for anything else necessary. We may add more to the list as the ideas continue to flow to better our project… Stay tuned!

Ariana MUA + Hair!

When designing the hair and makeup for each character, we wanted to make sure it represented what each character stood for. We carefully thought about what the characters situation was and what each characters personality indicated. 

For the victim, during the park scene we decided to film her with her hair in a headband and loose. This style shows a clean cut girl, with still having a feminine flare. For the make up in this scene we used a light natural look. We only put powder, light pink blush, mascara, pink lip gloss. We wanted the make up to be simple due to the location, the park. At the park one doesn't wear much makeup because one is outdoors and could sweat it off. For the Scene after when she wakes up in the holding room, the same style makeup will be shown, except it will be smeared. There may be some special effects makeup to add bruises and cuts. The Hair will be the same with the exception that it will be frizzy and disheveled to show that she has endured a lot in the woods. 

For the kidnapper, we chose to do the hair in a sporty way. We did a half up half down bun. This gives the athletic look we were going for to fit the location and costume, while still showing the audience that its a girl. We want to to stress that the kidnapper is a girl. For the Kidnappers makeup, all we used was powder and mascara because we have to make it seem that she came with the intention of working out. When you work out you would just sweat off the excessive makeup. 

Lastly, for the mother we chose to make her look like a mess in regards to her hair and makeup. For her hair, we want to put it in a messy bun, with hairs falling out of it. For the make up we have decided to make her look like she has been crying and getting no sleep. The makeup will include, mascara residue under the eye, dark circles, and pale skin. We chose to make her look this way to go with the story line, as she has just lost her daughter and has no motivation to dress up. 

We have really thought about each one of our characters personalities and hope it shines through in the real life filming, but I guess we will see… Stay tuned!

Productivity at its finest

Helloooo! I am coming to you live from Orlando Florida! On the 3 hour drive to this lovely town I decided to change it up a little bit. Instead of the usual sleeping through the ride, I was PRODUCTIVE… round of applause please! During the ride I took the liberty to begin editing the footage for the first location of our film opening.

Through this we can see how much time we have left to execute the rest of our film opening. Currently we are at 1 minute and 15 seconds. This also helped us find mistakes in the shooting. We noticed a tiny detail that makes all the difference.

 

In the scene of the conversation, in one shot we see that Sofi’s character’s arm is put down on the bench. 

On the next shot, the arm is put up, which needs to be fixed. Now we know we have to reshoot this part of the scene.

Now that we have this part edited, our next step is to find the sounds which are needed to with in that part. We have to figure out which foley's are needed to assist the storyline, to make it the most realistic and believable. We also have to decide which music to use for the scene to develop suspense. We are thinking of using Killer Tracks and purple planet. Until next time, stay tuned!

Lights, Camera, Action (part 1)

Our first day of filming went fantastic! We found the most perfect spot of the park called the “fitness zone.” This part of the park has exercise machines and benches, but the best part is that it is located right next to the forest I wanted to film at. Through our amazing find, we had to improvise and change our story line a bit. At first we wanted to begin our film opening in a car. However, the car idea would be difficult to lead into the forest, which is vital to our entire story line. So we changed the initial location to the the “fitness zone.” We used the exercise machines to our advantage.

We also had to make a few changes to the script since they followed the original story line. Look at the picture underneath for new script:

The distance between the “ fitness zone” and the forest was on point. It made complete sense why she would run into the woods from where she was originally sitting, which was one of my biggest struggles. The woods were perfect only a little bit of light shining through, making the location look mysterious. There were a lot of low branches which allowed us to take cool shots behind their leaves. The only bad part about the forest was all the spider webs and creaking sounds all around us...I swear I felt like something was gonna jump out and attack me. I really don't know how I used to enjoy to spend time in there as a child.

Overall it has been a successful day of shooting. Working with Vernie and Sofi has been super easy and fun. Vernie and Sofi had great ideas which bettered our project. One filming location down, two to go. Stay tuned!

Call me ranch cause I’m dressing (the actresses)

Each character has a specific look in Sofi and I’s mind. It is important that the clothing suits the what the character stands for and who they are. Through the use of color in our costumes we have been able display the characteristics, subtly. 

For the victims character, we have chosen to dress her in colors such as white, pink, yellow and some red. We chose white to show the innocence and purity of the girl. Pink was chosen because we wanted to show the characters femininity. Yellow is symbolic for happiness, so this color will be used during the happy period of her life being filmed. Lastly the color red to symbolize desire as the kidnapper desires her. The character will be seen wearing very closet girly clothes such as dresses and flowy shirts. 

For the kidnapper, we have chosen to design the colors of the clothe to be dark. The color black will be prominent in the costume design for this character. Black is symbolic for power, mystery, and fear. Which is what we want the character to stand for. The character will be seen wearing exercise clothing. This type of clothing was chosen to adhere with the story line of the kidnapper “jogging” through the park. 

Lastly, for the mother we have chosen to use the hues of the color dark blue. The color dark blue is symbolic for sadness. The reason for this color is to express her feelings towards losing her daughter. The blue hues will be paired with semi loose and “ lounge wear” type clothe as the mothers depression, will be reflected on her lack of care for her appearance. 

Actresses found...check, location… check, costumes done...check. Filming… stay tuned !

On the hunt... for a location

When Sofia and I created our shots list we decided that we would shoot at three different locations.

For the first part of the film opening, we envisioned it in a secluded woodsy park. As we wanted the chase to lead into a forest. So we sat down and brainstormed what location nearby had the look we were going for. I then remembered when I was in middle school during my summers I used to go to summer camp. This camp was located our very own Markham park ! During my time at summer camp we used to go on “ nature hikes.” The forest that we went on the hikes is a PERFECT match to our vision. The forest has moss on the floor and the trees are lush. The trees are so tall that the sun barely reaches into the forest, which gives a mysterious vibe.

The next location has been troublesome to find. On my previous posts I have spoken about my original vision for the “kidnappers hiding place.” At first I wanted an all white room, then I considered using a walk in freezer. However, the walk-in freezer is a no go. My boss said no to filming in the fridge, what a party pooper!! So Sofi and I played with a two ideas, one was to film in her garage and make it seem as if she were actually trapped in a confined space. However, we have made the decision to film the kidnapper hiding place in my closet. This closet is the length of my stairs so the closet is narrow and long, it will give the illusion of being trapped.

The last location where we are filming is in the savannah commons. This location is going to be for the the part that focuses on the mother. We chose the savannah commons because they have a bulletin board which is perfect for the scene we are planning. Also it is in the same neighborhood as where Caroline lives, which will make it easier to film with her. 

Little by little we are getting closer to reaching our goal of filming by Sunday. Stay tuned!