Decision on Filming Over Thanksgiving Break

    Today is Monday, November 30th, and overall the pre-production process of the film in all aspects is moving on quite gracefully. Previously, during the break we discussed our marketing campaign and the design of the social media accounts. We are happy to say, we are proud of the results and look forward to promoting the film on our individual platforms and our website. Additionally, in Friday's blog we discussed certain planning aspects of the film. For instance, in regards to the props that we would be using to film and safety considerations that were being made. I also had mentioned that we had created a rough draft of the script we would be using throughout the production process of the film. Despite all the pre-production planning, this week and the last have been a very challenging time for my group to meet up in person and begin the production work. However, before I begin elaborating on the decision not to film over the Thanksgiving Break, I may add that the in schedule posted on a previous blog we did account for the fact we would not be filming. As such, this decision has not left us scrambling for time. 

    To begin with, there were many reasons as to why we choose not film this Thanksgiving Break. One of which, virtually everyone in our group was going on vacation. Me specifically, I went down to Marathon, Florida which is located in the Florida Keys. We towed our boat down and had a blast. Although it was windy, we enjoyed many of our favorite past-times such as wakeboarding, tubing, and fishing to name a few. However, where my situation differs from most is I wasn't surrounded by a family from out-of-state, elderly folks, or visiting a different state. In this case of another one of my group members, she needed to quarantine a few days prior to her vacation to see her family out of state. This group member plays a significant role throughout the film, and it is vital she is present in the production process. However, we cannot discount time with family or vacation, when we have enough time ahead to still complete the project. Simply put, for most of the group it did not make sense to ruin vacation plans for a brief period of time we had previously decided not to film. 

Beginning of Film Preparation

Today is Friday, November 27th, and today we have begun to make considerations for how we plan on actually filming our production film, 2020 Vision. In the previous blog I discusses the marketing campaign and the design for our website. Overall, I am really proud with what our group was able to design and market in that aspect of the production process. Despite this reality, the most important part of the film, is the actual film making process. As such, our group knows it is essential that we most plan to ensure the process goes without a hitch. An important and often overlooked aspect in the process is what we will be used to actually film the scenes. With a brief discussion, our group was able to identify 4 separate devices that could be used to film certain scenes. For instance, 2 of us have GoPro 4k Cameras which should provide high quality, raw footage for the film. In addition, I have a DJI Drone that we can use for high quality drone / birds eye view shots. Finally, the two other devices were apple phones, which we all have in the event we are unable to attain the previous 2 devices, and a camcorder which is provided for our class by the school. In terms of the shots and camera angles we will use throughout the film, we have created a basic script that we will use in the filming process. This script provides a synopsis of the scene, the dialogue that will be present throughout the scene, and the camera angles/shots that will be used. The script should be a great aid when trying to create each scene, opposed to creating everything on a scene by scene basis. However, one thing that was not addressed throughout the script was certain aspects of the mis-en-scene. More specifically, we did not discuss props that we would use throughout the scenes as the script was only a basic coverage of the film. But, what we failed to realize is the winter season is the holiday season, meaning there are frequent delays in shipping or item arrivals. While we would use Amazon Prime for some of the orders, ensuring a relatively fast delivery, we cannot ensure all our props will be here on time. Fittingly, we decided it was appropriate to get ahead of the problem and order some of our props, for instance, a lab coat, a stethoscope, and a mask shield to simulate a hospital environment, Finally, once again a previously "overlooked" aspect of the film making process is safety, however this year due to COVID-19, it may be one of the most important. It is important we have appropriate safety gear to ensure everyone's well being and good health. Appropriately, we have decided it is going to be necessary for everyone to wear masks at times were it is not important for the film making process. Additionally, we will frequently use germ sanitizer and have a first aid kit on us at all time. 

Marketing Campaign

    Today is Wednesday, November 25th, and as of currently our film, 2020 Vision is ramping up our marketing campaign. Marketing is an especially important aspect of our film, as it will drive the audience to come view our final product. However, marketing does not just happen on one form of media, let alone one social media platform. As such, we created 4 social media accounts under the official "2020VisionShortFilm" name. The platforms we signed up for were Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Despite this reality, our team realized if our audience sought out to look for our social media accounts it might be a good idea to have them all in one spot. As such, as a team we created a website to host links to all of our social media accounts. We choose to use wix to design the website as they had a great selection of templates and features that would complement the idea of our overall design. Additionally, we plan to regularly update the website so fans who may be interested in the progression of our film throughout the production process can stay up to date. 

    Beginning with my contributions to the social media accounts I was tasked with creating the logo of the movie. My plan for the logo sought to match the retro vibes that we had established when designing the website. As such I thought a luminescent red and light blue would be fitting, similar to the old school 3D glasses. Another aspect that I wished to include was a mask somewhere in the logo. The overall idea of the movie surrounds a fast spreading virus, and similar to what we are seeing in today's current events, preventative measures need to be taken to stop the spread. Finally, one mores aspect I wanted to include in the logo was a blood splatter. The blood splatter is used to symbolize the genre we are going to be following for the production of the film. It is not trying to create a sinister effect but rather heighten emotions and anticipations for the movie. The draft of the design was as follows:

    Another aspect of the social media account design that I helped with was the creation of the bio for all of the platforms, more specifically, Instagram. For the bio I drew inspiration from other short films and knew I had to include key terms such as "Official" and "Feature Film." As such our bio reads off as follows:

"Official Account for the feature film #2020Vision starring Blake Booysen, Chloe Stein, Hillery Brinkworth, and Tess Pancera."

 Following that bio, we also included a link back to our website incase our audience wished to view our website or other social media platforms. Overall, I am really proud of how our team has begun our marketing campaign, and I am excited for the progression throughout the production process.

Storyboard for Short Film

Storyboard Pages 1 and 2: Road Trip to the Vacation House (2020 Vision)

Throughout these 2 pages, our goal through the storyboarding process was to portray the overall purpose of the scene. In the early interpretation of this script, the heading read, “Four high school friends are on their way to their vacation home to celebrate spring break 2020. The city is packed with tons of spring breakers and traffic is at an all time peak. The four friends continue happily into Fort Lauderdale, and are excited for the warm weather and beautiful beaches.” As such, we thought it was appropriate to include drone footage of a lot of the scenery. Additionally, we included multiple mid shots of the individual characters as they shared their thoughts and ideas. Finally, we also included multiple shots of the car the characters would be driving in. This adds an additional action packed element to the scene, as the car rolls down the street with the drone following it with a profile and head on shot. Overall, we are really happy with this portion of the storyboard and are excited to continue planning the following scenes. 

Storyboard Pages 3 and 4: Guard at the Gate (2020 Vision)

In the portion of the script, we decided it was necessary to plan out 2 storyboard pages for the guard at the gate scene. In the original draft of the script for the 2020 Vision production, the scene header read as follows, “Ryan drives up to a gate that is the entrance to the neighborhood they will be staying in. Ryan is greeted by the guard at the gate, who he must show his check-in information for the airbnb that he booked. The guard seems confused throughout his conversation with Ryan.” In the terms of the shots used throughout the scene, the first and most obvious connecting scene was the establishing shot of the guards tower. Then, we used a drone shot to follow the car as it pulled up the guards post. Finally, we used mid shots and pov shots to connect the dialogue throughout the scene between Herb, the guard, and Ryan, the main character. All in all, we are excited with how the planning process, will benefit us throughout the production time, as we are planning ahead of time.

Storyboard Pages 5, 6, and 7: Vacation House and Grocery Store Scenes (2020 Vision)

In this portion of the script, we decided it was necessary to split these two individual scenes across 3 pieces of storyboard. For the general interpretation of the vacation house scene, we originally wanted to include, “The four friends pull into the driveway of the house that they are renting. It is beautiful, and they start exploring the rooms and backyard. They decide to turn on the television to relax after their long car ride. However, the channel that comes on alerts them of a looming virus that interrupts their plan for the day.” Fittingly, many long shots and establishing shots were included to depict the setting, overall aspects of the houses, and the breaking new scene. Additionally, we decided to once again make use of mid shots for the dialogue between characters. In regards to the grocery store scene, we once again referenced the original script for the scene. “All four of the friends park at the grocery store, get out, and go inside. While inside Jordan takes the lead, deciding what supplies to get. They stock up on food, water, and toilet paper quite frantically and all the while Ryan is receiving weird looks from people which he shrugs off as a paranoid response to the virus.” Throughout this scene we specifically looked to incorporate multiple long shots to introduce insignificant characters and provide insight into the actions of the characters. For instance, we plan on using a long shot as Ryan grabs toilet paper or other necessary supplies. 

Storyboard Pages 8, 9, and 10: Breaking News and Vaccine Administration Scenes (2020 Vision)

For the final portion of the storyboard we wanted to make the shots as intense and dramatic as possible in order to follow the theme of the movie. In the second breaking news scene, we decided to film with close-ups and mid-shots in order to establish a sense of intensity, the scene header says “As the friends are arriving home from the store they receive an urgent message from the government alerting that a vaccine has been found. All US citizens must receive the vaccine as soon as possible. The friends rush to make an appointment at the vaccine center.” For the administration of the vaccine, we focused our shots mainly on Ryan since the story ends up revolving completely around him and his intense hallucinations. In this scene, the header reads “The next morning the friends drive to their 10 AM vaccine administration appointment. They pull up to the center and are greeted with a doctor coming over to their car. The doctor asks Ryan to step out of the vehicle because of Ryan's unusual behavior. Ryan is administered the vaccine and in an instance his friends are no longer in the car.” Almost every shot in this scene is of Ryan or the doctor in order to really emphasize the disappearance of Ryan’s friends. The final screen will most likely be a sudden blackout following Ryan’s last line.

Planning for Short Film

Schedule-



The schedule for the 2020 Vision Production goes as follows: throughout the first week of December, we are going to wait on further guidance from our respective teachers, as the situation with the ongoing pandemic is unknown. Moving onto the second week, with an anticipated due date of early spring, we want to begin an in-depth plan on how the production process will go, including the shots, camera angles, mise-en-scene, and other various aspects. On the third week of December, the filming process will begin. On December 16th and 17th, filming will take place at actors' respective houses. This includes the scenes of the actors arriving at the houses, the news broadcast, and other various scenes. Then on the 18th, we will go to our local Publix, assuming permission is given, and then on the 19th, to the testing center. In the third week of December, we will first begin with planning the editing techniques and timeframe, and then follow up with 3 days of consecutive editing. Finally, we plan on being finished with the production aspects of the film by late December to early January, to meet the timeframe of the submission process.

Locations-

1. Car

2. Guard Gate

3. House

4. Grocery Store

5. Testing Facility

Each of these locations are in a very close proximity to one another, so it should be very easy for our group to get to each spot. These locations are key to use being able to properly convey the characters’ situations. The car will be essential to showing our characters traveling to their spring break destination and throughout the area of their rented house. The guard gate will serve as the entry point to the neighborhood they will be staying in. The house will be the location that the characters spend the majority of their time. The Grocery store will be a very important scene for the characters because it will show what the outside world has turned to. Lastly, the testing facility will reveal the plot twist for our character, Ryan.

Participants-

Hillery Brinkworth (as the role of Jordan).

Philip Stein (as the role of news broadcaster)

Tess Pancera (as the role of Skye).

Chloe Stein (as the role of Sabrina).

Blake Booysen (as the role of Ryan).

Spencer Regli (as the role of security guard / possibly the test administer)

Health and Safety-

The main health concern is making sure we are safely around each other during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We will all be getting rapid tests before filming so that we will know that no one will be spreading the virus. In most of the scenes, we will also be wearing masks. When filming in public, everyone else around us will also be wearing a mask. Any time we are in a car, everyone will be buckled in and legally driving. Parents will be present during all filming experiences to make sure all minors are safe. There will be first aid kits present throughout the process. All phones will be charged so that, if necessary, emergency calls can be completed.

Props Costumes-

For the costumes, Ryan, Jordan, Sky, Sabrina will be dressed in normal, everyday clothes. Each actor will carry a mask with them to wear during the grocery store scene and when they are around others. Props used in the grocery store scene will be a cart, food, water, and toilet paper. The covid-test administrator will be wearing a white lab coat, gloves, goggles, a mask and a face shield. The news caster will have on a suit and he will have glasses and a notebook as his props.