Month: March 2019

The main problems that we had were all behind the scenes. Our lack of a game plan came back to bite us. Here’s a bit of a retelling/diary of what happened the day of filming.

When our cinematographer, Katelyn and I arrived at the motel, we were immediately appalled at the condition of the motel, which was more run down than we had hoped for. Features that were a bit TOO different altered our plans. The door that was seen in the pictures of the motel was missing; there was just a large gap where the door should have been. This ruined the idea of having Lionel walk into the adjacent “living area” and shut the door behind him. But the biggest setback was of my own doing: assuming the bathroom was in the living area and writing my script accordingly.

Not seeing the bathroom in the bedroom area and not thinking there was any space for it, I assumed that the bathroom in which we would film the bathtub scene was in the living area. This can be scene when reading the script.

As such, we had to scrap the plan of Lionel walking through the living area entirely. This was the first setback.

There was also our problem with figuring out the Canon cameras. As previously stated, I had only begun researching the camera the day prior to filming. Katelyn’s predicament was similar. We had very little knowledge on how to operate the camera and were unsure of which settings we should put the camera on to get the best image. We struggled to get our two cameras to the same settings as my video was coming out more orange than hers was. We still needed to figure out how to accomplish a manual rack focus as well. It was 4:30.

Then came the indecision. Having neglected to plan which shots we would film first, or what shots we would need AT ALL, I proceeded to suggest that we get insert shots of magazines and books and newspapers we had brought to place in the living area. This was planned to make the living area feel “lived in.” However, we had no plans past this. Ideas just coming to us then, we began to mess with the props, trying the decide how to best arrange the props and move the camera. We then came up with a meaning for the clutter on the table we had been fiddling with for hours. One newspaper I had brought had the title, “Woman Dies in Fire” on the front. We decided that this would mislead the audience and have them think that this is what happened to the girl in the picture frame, while in reality, her death was water related. We did not go with this idea or any of the other ideas that we had come up with, including a Word document that continuously read “I Should Have Been There.” It was 7:00.

Then came the lighting. It was finally night and dark enough, which is what I thought I had wanted for the scene. Not only was waiting this late to shoot a mistake, but I also learned that a room that is TOO DARK is an issue. Not matter how much I shifted the camera’s settings, our actor, Robert, would not appear on camera. The lighting we used was from out iPhones – harsh, unnatural light. This often cast too many harsh shadows that did not look good on camera. We struggled to light our actor properly without creating a shadow to ruin the world within the film and break the fourth wall. It was 8:00.

Then came the playback. It was grainy. The Canon camera did not film well in the dark at all. The image could be described as glitching as it tried to follow Robert’s actions. We ultimately accepted this, wishing that we had switched over to the iPhone sooner. We found that this camera filmed infinitely better in the dark and filmed the majority of our shots with this camera from that point on. It was 9:30.

Then came the joking. It was getting late and we had been in that uncomfortable space for too long, and it was showing. Jokes became more frequent and we all became more frustrated with the slow progress of our film. We would sometimes spend up to 10 minutes just joking and laughing about a new random topic. As a director, I should have intervened, but I was in the same boat as them and laughed along with them. It was 10:30.

Then came the bathroom. The bedroom scene was complete. We had found our stride a bit too late. The shots we were going to use were only supposed to be half of our opening, but we knew that they would have to be more. There wasn’t enough time to film the entirety of the bathroom scene that we had planned. A quick comparison with the rough cut to the script will show you that. We deliberated. Perhaps a bit too long. We’d film an alternative ending, or else we would have had to be there until at least two in the morning. It was 11:00.

Then came the wrap. We had filmed the bathroom scene. It would have to do. It would hold much less of an impact that the plan, but it would have to do. When leaving, it was then apparent that a lot of stuff was missing. The hints that we planned to give towards what happened to the girl in the picture. The picture that we had planned to use to show who was pursuing him and their bond in the past. These were all missing and were ultimately all absent from the rough cut. It was 12:00.

Should we go back to film the missing shots?

Sources:

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i9mYrcbZ9NVUu6EjaDtLK1M6NDF1p-asATd0LLjJKpE/edit?usp=sharing (SCRIPT)

There are some issues with the rough cut that become more and more evident the more one watches it. However, the technical aspects isn’t where most of the issues lie. Actually, the rough cut is pretty solid technically.

Continuity:

The continuity is one of the strong suits of the rough cut. Since the majority of the opening takes places watching Lionel rouse from his sleep and interact with objects near and on his bed, shots were easy to take and plan so that they flowed into one another. Additionally, the 180 degree rule, or the rule that states that the camera should stay on one side of an imaginary axis between a character and an object as to not disorient the audience (Indie Film Hustle). Our camera remained on the right side of the action, switching behind and in front of the character briefly, keeping the audience oriented.

Of course, there was the minor issue of a jump in time and action between when Lionel rises from his bed to when he is in the bathroom. Peers commented that this was slightly jarring and disorienting, so adding a bridge between these actions would smooth this out.

There was also a shot 1:13 in our rough cut that was accidentally out of place. Due to my lack of communication with my editor, this was placed after Lionel rises instead of when he grabs the cloth from the nightstand like planned. I will aim to communicate better with my editor after the next reshoot.

Here’s the rough cut again for reference:

Readability as a Film Opening:

Not quite readable yet. This is mainly due to the lack of titles and more precise editing that comes with the final cut. Sounds are also largely absent and the music is nonexistent. However, once these are added, the scene will read more like an opening.

Genre:

Thanks to the low lighting and creepy blocking, the opening is easily readable as a thriller. It does come off a bit like horror, too, which is okay, given that thriller is allowed to have horror aspects. In the reshoot, however, I hope to attain a bit more of a subtle, daunting vibe that overt scares like we used in this cut.

Overall, these qualities can be swiftly fixed and altered to fit the feel of the film. But, as I said before, the main problems did not lie in the technicalities of the film opening, which actually turned out better than expected. Actually, the main issues that my problem has was the film process itself and what could have been.

Sources:

• https://indiefilmhustle.com/180-degree-rule/

At last, we descend into a very extensive thread. The rough cut and the many, many issues we encountered during the process, which only occured during ONE DAY OF FILMING. But many things went pretty wrong in that one day, leaving me a lot to talk about.

We might as well start with the surface level analysis before we delve to the concrete, conceptual issues that are present in our rough cut. Once again, I do not blame my group partners for these issues, if anything I blame myself as the director for not having the process more organized. But we live and we learn, so I plan to use these experiences to improve or process later on.

So now, shall we begin with the peer analysis?

In order to receive feedback on our rough cut and see what others made of it, we showed our work in progress to other groups of people.  A list of questions was asked to the group after they had seen our video that were based around how well our sequence executed certain tasks. Overall, the comments provided by the group was surprisingly positive.

Of course, there were improvements that were suggested and things that we could probably improve, but it was nothing that we didn’t already surmise ourselves.
This feedback actually had a surprising effect on me. Instead of what one would expect for it to do, allow one to see the flaws in one’s work so that they can go back and improve them, the comments actually prompted me to see the positives of our current work.

Besides the aspects of our project that were not meant to be clear, such as what the movie is supposed to be about, since our film is also a kind of mystery, our peers stated that the setting of the motel was apparent, it was easy to label as a thriller film, and the characters were easy to grasp and were well done, actually.

Despite a few critiques, such a bridge of action between when Lionel stands up and when he reaches the bathroom, and things that could not be helped, such as a lack of titles taking away from the opening’s readability as a title sequence, the comments were largely positive.

The process had been so grueling and the product not at all what I had imagined that I had become discouraged. But the kind and uplifting comments of the group allowed me to stop being so negative and look at the things that we did well in the opening that we could perhaps use later.

So, this whole string of blogs starts positive, with kind peers that helped me to see that my project wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.

On the surface at least.

The inner workings are a whole different tangle of problems that need to be unraveled.

A lot of technology was and is necessary for out title sequence to come together. And I mean, A LOT. Beware, this is probably going to be a long read.

Filming Devices:

IPhones

Three of our group members, Katelyn, Ben and I, have IPhones. I have an IPhone 6S+, Ben has an IPhone 7S and Katelyn has one of the newest models, the IPhone X. This IPhone will most likely be used the most as it has the most impressive and advanced specs out of all of the IPhones so far. This IPhone camera contains dual optical image stabilization, autofocus and ‘tap to focus’ capabilities as well as exposure control and 12 megapixel wide angle and telephoto cameras.

A wide angle camera/lens is any lens with a short focal length and a wide field of view. This lens allows the camera to capture much more of the scene than a normal lens can, making it great for architectural and landscape photography (ALC).

 A telephoto camera/lens is like a telescope, it magnifies distant objects. Distant football players, small birds sitting in trees, and other similar subjects are all much easier to capture with a telephoto lens (How to Geek).

This IPhone can also video record at 1080p HD quality at 30 fps (frames per second) and 60 fps, as well as record at 4K quality in 24 fps, 30 fps and 60 fps.

This camera should allow us to still capture quality footage while also being able to capture unconventional shots, such as high angle shots or close ups, which may have been more awkward or difficult with the professional Canon cameras that we also plan to use.

Canon T3i and Canon T4i

Fully named the Canon Rebel EOS T3i and the Canon Rebel EOS T4i, these advanced cameras were used during filming to capture the best possible footage for our opening. The T4i was rented to the group by our teacher, Mr. Engle, and the T3i belonged to our cinematographer and actor, Katelyn Wagner.

The cameras both have impressive specs: both camera are capable of 1080p HD video recording, have an ISO range of 100 – 6400 and a 9 point autofocus system to aid with focusing pictures.

I was tasked with researching the Canon T4i and it has even more advanced specs than the T3i, also capable of 5 fps (frames per second) continuous shooting, containing an LCD, touch screen viewfinder as well as a built in stereo microphone. However, we don’t plan to use the microphone as we hope to capture the sound for the film on the condenser microphone, also rented to us by our teacher.

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Audio Recording Devices:

Condenser Microphone

This piece of technology was entrusted in the hands of our group partner, Bianca. She was tasked with researching this technology, so there is more information on this on her blog. However, I will briefly cover this microphone’s capabilities here, as well.

The condenser mic that we rented is the “CAD U37 USB Studio Condenser Recording Microphone.” This microphone allows the user to garner quality audio due to its ability to capture sounds very well. So well that it also needs a pop filter – a noise protection filter for microphones, which serves to reduce or eliminate popping sounds caused by the mechanical impact of fast-moving air on the microphone.

The sound also has a switch that allows it a 10 dB (decibel) overload protection to minimize the distortion of loud sounds that may interfere with the main sound source and a switch for bass reduction to reduce room noise. This will most likely help us to record rich sounds to enhance out title sequence, especially since sound is a crucial factor of films in the thriller genre.

Voice Memos:

On the IPhone, there is an application that allows the user to record audio named “Voice Memos.” This app uses the phone’s built-in microphone to record audio that can then be played back.

This is also a tool that we will probably use in recording audio as the condenser mic presents the same issues as the Canon cameras, it is large and rather heavy. Should we need to record sounds in an unconventional area, like high up close to an air conditioner, it would be simpler to record that sound on our phone. It would also be a more comfortable experience as the condenser mic is not our own and it is also very expensive. Dropping or damaging this expensive item would not be desirable, so recording on the phone might also present an ease of mind.

In terms of the IPhones, we will most likely be using the IPhone X to record the audio in Voice Memos as it has the most advanced specs out of all of the IPhones. Although I could not find the specific, technical capabilities of the phone, my group tested the audio quality of the three versions of IPhone we possess – the IPhone 6S+, 7S, and X. After evaluating the quality of the sound acquired on each device (albeit with our own ears), we decided that Katelyn’s IPhone X had the best audio quality.

We will probably use this feature to record ambient sound and other sound within our opening sequence.

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Other Technology:

We will also be bringing different light sources to the motel just in case we need any artificial light to brighten the scene. As previously posted in “Upcoming Stress,” we will be bringing a fluorescent, LED light and two industrial yard lights to the motel just in case. We will also most likely utilize out camera flashlights and any other handheld lights that we can find around our homes.

Additionally, the editing technology that our editor, Ben, will use is Sony Vegas Pro 13, which is a video editing software package for non-linear editing – an editing method that allows you to access any frame in a digital video clip regardless of sequence in the clip. It is specifically a video editing suite that is aimed at professionals that need to produce high-quality HD videos. Sony Vegas Pro offers the ability to import media from multiple devices as well as the ability to apply more than 300 filters and special effects and optimize image quality. This software also gives the user a very high degree of control over sound settings, being very powerful when it comes to audio editing and is an industry standard video editor. It also allows one to easily organize various audio and video tracks with its “timeline interface.”

This technology will no doubt help our project to be the best it can possibly be.

Sources:

• https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-Digital-18-135mm-MODEL/dp/B00894YX2U
• https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-18-55mm-discontinued-manufacturer/dp/B004J3V90Y
• https://support.apple.com/kb/SP770?locale=en_US
• https://www.adorama.com/alc/faq-what-is-a-wide-angle-lens
• https://www.howtogeek.com/309838/what-is-a-telephoto-lens/
• https://www.amazon.com/CAD-Studio-Condenser-Recording-Microphone/dp/B001AIQGUO
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_filter
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegas_Pro#Vegas_Pro_13
• https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/N/non_linear_editing.html

This will probably be the first of many strings of posts of the struggles we encounter(ed) on the way to our final product. So, my first tango with some new tech, how did that go?

As aforementioned, I had absolutely no idea what in the world I was doing with the Canon t4i I had borrowed the day before the day we shot the rough cut, which was probably not the best idea. Filming with technology that was completely foreign to us was a very big risk on our part. So, to make sure that we could use the Canon to its fullest ability, I took on the task of researching the camera to the fullest extent (which in my case was about 5 hours) in order to get a better understanding of how to achieve the desired film look.

I first consulted the Canon T4i’s manual – all 372 pages of it.

This was of course before I realized that the only section I NEEDED to read was Section 6, which was about shooting movies on the camera. However, reading through the rest of the manual presented a large roadblock in the path to understanding the Canon: I didn’t understand the terminology being used.

In order to be able to use the camera properly, I’d first need to understand what are considered “the three pillars of photography” (Photography Life). Here are the essential 3 that I had to come to understand:

1. Shutter Speed – the length of time your camera shutter is open, exposing light onto the camera sensor. Essentially, it’s how long your camera spends taking a photo (Photography Life).
   
   
2. Aperture – is a hole within a lens, through which light travels into the camera body. Aperture affects the brightness, or exposure, of your images as well as the depth of field (a blurry or ‘in-focus’ background) (Photography Life).
   
   
3. ISO – simply stands for “International Standard of Organization,” which is the main governing body that standardizes sensitivity ratings for camera sensors (Digital Trends). ISO adjusts a camera’s light sensitivity and is a camera setting that will brighten or darken a photo. As you increase your ISO number, your photos will grow progressively brighter (Photography Life).

Did these definitions help you? If so, good for you, but they certainly didn’t help me. I had to see these “pillars” in action. I had to see how they affected images and video for myself. This Youtube video was one that I found when searching online that was greatly beneficial.

Now, being able to see the effects these three pillars had on images, I was able to mess around with the camera and begin to understand how to adjust the image to film. There were a lot of other complicated features, but I wasn’t too much focused on those since I believed that they wouldn’t have much consequence on the final product. But how would I know?

I decided to try and find a video that would explain the features of the Canon t4i video that I needed to consider when shooting a movie on this camera. This video explained a lot that helped me to better understand the “movie making” capabilities of this camera.

Emboldened this new knowledge, I was much more prepared and eager to film our title sequence. Because what you learn about a complex piece of tech in 5 hours is foolproof, right?

Sources:

• http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300007695/01/eosrt4i-eos650d-im-c-en.pdf
• https://photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography
• https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
• https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
• https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/what-is-iso/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAt4315-uH4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDghgTznPH8

This should have probably been posted earlier, but we casted our actor (as you could see)! My older brother, Robert Thomas, agreed to fill the role of our main character, Lionel. We felt that he would be a good fit for the role due to his stoic nature, which is very akin to the desired personality and feel of the main character in our title sequence.

Our protagonist, Lionel, is a young man who has become stripped of his memories and emotions from the head trauma that he has supposedly experienced. He is cold and generally unfeeling at the time of the opening as he tries to remember what occurred and what keeps haunting him.

We felt that my brother, whose general disposition is stolid, would fit this role perfectly, as he could achieve this affect within his features without having to focus on it. And since we don’t have A-grade actors at our disposal, we thought “the more similar the character’s personality is to the actor, the better.”

In addition, we casted our own cinematographer and group member, Katelyn Wagner, as the mysterious female figure who haunts Lionel in the opening sequence. She can be seen in the picture above. We do have another female in our group who could play the part, but she’s a bit more vertically challenged than Katelyn (sorry, not sorry Bianca).

Not only was Bianca not as comfortable with portraying this role, but Katelyn’s height was seen as a large positive for the role. Having a tall figure looming behind the main character will most likely have a greater effect on the audience than a shorter figure (again – sorry, not sorry Bianca).

Anyway, we thought that Katelyn was great for the role as well and would act it well. As the director and scriptwriter, it’s was my job to present the motives and personalities of the characters to the actors to help them best embody these fictional characters.

Luckily, we found a motel, Super 8 Motel, to be exact, which seems to best fit the needs of the script. Both the living area and the bathroom seem suitable.

To begin, the area of the room seems to be closer to that of an apartment than a hotel room and the separation between the bedroom and the living area can allow for a distinct separation when Lionel switches area. This was the largest selling point for me. Unlike the hotel rooms, the door can close off the bedroom in the background if we choose to have our character migrate into that room.

There’s also the point of the components that come in the suite. According the website, this room contains a color TV, cups, a kitchenette area, a microwave, and mini refrigerator. Having these amenities, as well as the props we are bringing, will be useful in making it seem like this is an area that Lionel has resided in for a lengthy period of time, like it’s a place that he is comfortable with and knows well.

There is also the positive of the bathroom, which, from the pictures, seems like it will fit the look that we are hoping for. A white bathroom with dull, bland colors residing within and sufficient space to allow for a little wiggle room when it comes to camera angles and shots we hope to get. Since this is where the most important action will take place, it needed to fit our vision.

As previously stated, the room ended up costing about $120 at the end of the day, which is more than we’d hoped to spend. Our collective budget for a motel room setting was projected to be at most $100. Nonetheless, we are willing to spend what we have to in order to get the setting that we hoped for.

Hopefully this area will live up to our expectations and allow us to make the best opening and get the best shots that we possibly can!

Sources:

• https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/tampa-florida/super-8-tampa-usf-near-busch-gardens-downtown/overview?CID=LC:SE::GGL:RIO:National:12063&iata=00065402

The journey to find and secure our location was a long and arduous one. One that, frankly, I’m glad is over.

Our group member, Bianca, was the primary person in our group to search for the setting of our film. This being said, we all collaborated to find a suitable area for our opening sequence and, being the director and scriptwriter, I also had to have a decent amount of say in what setting we chose as it would have a great effect on the meaning of the film.

Nonetheless, my input wasn’t that vital at the beginning anyway as we began looking for a suitable setting way back in early February, long before the concrete script was actually conceptualized. At that point, we all had the same general idea of what our film was about, which, needless to say, wasn’t much.

We did, however, know that we wanted our opening to take place within a dream sequence. This would mean that the setting would most likely be something from the main character’s, now named Lionel’s, memory. The setting would not only have to reflect this, but it would also have to reflect his mental state and personality. A dilapidated, run down house or motel room was the first idea that we had and tried to run with. In the first few drafts and ideas that I formed, as stated in a previous post, we had planned to have Lionel in a messy living space before hearing dripping and eventually finding himself in a disconcertingly clean bathroom.

These were planned to be taken in two different areas, one run down living area and one very clean house, with a very clean, white bathroom. The latter was easy to attain, with many friends with large homes being kind enough to let us use their house’s bathroom for filming on a designated day. It was the former, the run down house, that began to give us problems.

You see, in Hollywood films, the sets that are made to be shabby and battered, only look shabby and battered. They are designed in a way that purposefully makes the scene look as genuine as possible without the actual risk. Filmmakers have the liberty of creating the ‘sense of a threat or discomfort’ in a set without actually having the issue of there being a real threat or unnecessary discomfort. When your budget is virtually nonexistent, you don’t have that liberty. 

To find a set that looks run down enough to pass as dilapidated in the scene, it has to actually be run down.

And never mind the lack of comfort and possible diseases that linger in these settings, the sketchy neighborhoods were what we were really worried about. Being in an area where you could get snatched and never heard from again isn’t the kind of area where shot creativity thrives. One area that Bianca suggested was the Rainbow Motel, which had virtually no lights around it judging from the picture. This wouldn’t be such a problem if we didn’t plan to film at night.

The reviews on this motel provide fairly decent scores and give the little motel some pretty high praise.

And the overall score of the 75 Google reviews were summed up as “Good” by Google

Nonetheless, certain reviews also contained pictures from the inside of one of the motel rooms. This was pretty uncommon among the hotels. Unfortunately, the interior of this establishment didn’t seem like it would suit our film.

Any area that was run down enough to pass in the final product, either didn’t fit the needs of the project or didn’t provide enough comfort for the group.

Subsequently, we decided to change our focus from “run down house, clean bathroom” to “suitable bedroom area that can be traversed and suitable bathroom.” These boundaries seemed more attainable, but still kept the general idea of our opening intact.

Searching for locations was still tough, though. We ran into the problem of expense initially. Any hotel that we tried to find with a nice interior always leaned into the monetary range of $150 – 300 dollars, which we were all not willing to personally pay. However, anything less, hotel or motel wise, resulted in a small room that would not be suitable for filming. As most motels and hotels are generally open concept and each separate room doesn’t contain a door posed problems, as the background that would show up in certain shots would possibly be a bit too dense and busy for the audience.

We also tried to find a bathroom and motel/hotel room together so that we could not only spend the one day filming in the motel, but also because of the ‘open concept’ issue. The initial bathroom area in hotels and motels, often don’t have doors. If this area was shown in the shot, we would either have a problem with continuity or have to put in more effort covering up the fact that this area doesn’t exist in the second area that we’d be shooting in (a different bathroom).

Luckily, we found a motel, Super 8 Motel, to be exact, which seems to be a good mix of what we are looking for. I believe it is the best fit for the needs of the script.

Since this post is quite long as is, I’ll elaborate on the qualifications of the Super 8 Motel in the next post. 

Sources:

• https://biancaraby.home.blog
• https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/super-8/tampa-florida/super-8-tampa-usf-near-busch-gardens-downtown/overview?CID=LC:SE::GGL:RIO:National:12063&iata=00065402

Well, remember when I said in a previous post that we didn’t plan to be at the motel past 12:00 midnight? Well, we were. We left the motel closer to 1:00 am than 12:00 am, actually.

I’ll just go ahead and say this: there’s A LOT of problems that I have with the shooting process – the set itself, the filming process and the final product.

Of course, I know it’s not the “final, final” product, but essentially, there’s a lot of stuff I hope to change, you know, the usual with a rough cut.

In terms of the rough cut itself, it’s done! Thanks to the quick work of our editor, Ben Isaacs, we got the clips together.

Overall, all things considered, like the fact that we filmed this all in one day and we have nowhere close to professional equipment to shoot this opening, I’m happy with the product. The story is pretty solid, the thriller effects are fairly apparent and the scares and creepy atmosphere affect the viewer as desired. 

That being said, a lot of fundamental parts of the rough cut that we had hoped to be in there are missing and the overall effect that we had hoped for was not fully realized. I know that’s vague, but I’ll go more into detail about this later.

I might as well put out the disclaimer that none of these issues with the projects are aimed at the editor of our rough cut, nor any of my group members. Not the cinematographer/actor or the production designer. If anything, I’m more upset at the director (a.k.a me) for not considering these issues that we encountered.

Anyway, after building up this topic so much, it seems kind of mean to postpone this discussion, but that’s what’s happening. I still have to talk about a few things that I discovered and should have posted before our rough cut. I’ll be getting those out of the way first before going into this discussion, but don’t worry, it’s on its way. 

We didn’t form anything concrete for our film shoot today, but the following is how we plan to go about filming today and transportation to the location.

12:00 PM

Robert Thomas (actor), Katelyn Wagner (cinematographer) and I (director/scriptwriter) plan to meet at my residence where Katelyn and I will exchange on the information that we have gathered about the cameras we have been researching.

After this is finished, we will carpool to the Super 8 Motel in Tampa, Florida

2:00 PM

We will check-in to our room at the motel and bring all of the items that pertain to the shoot into the room

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Robert, Katelyn and I will observe the room and any problems that we may foresee. If we believe we will encounter any problems either shooting, we will revise the script or planned process accordingly.

We will also take this time to set up any necessary elements (ex. lighting, props, etc). It will be best have as much completed and prepared as possible so that we are ready to shoot when the last two group members arrive.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM 

The last two group members, Ben Isaacs (editor) and Bianca Raby (production designer) should be arriving around this time. At this point, we can begin filming

5:00 PM – APPROX. 10:00 PM

We project to begin and complete filming in the estimated time period. It might take a longer or shorter amount of time, but we do not plan to spend the night and will be leaving sometime the same night.

Hopefully, this general schedule will benefit us and help us to complete the project in the desired time. I don’t plan, nor do I hope, to be at the motel past 12:00 midnight. I’m hoping that we complete everything before then.

Partner’s Blogs:

• Bianca: https://biancaraby.home.blog
• Katelyn: https://katelynwagne.blogspot.com
• Ben: https://benisaacs102501.blogspot.com