Author: pierceth0m

Today was the official day of the re-shoot of our opening, ladened with the daunting task of re-filming all of our material.

Issues and Resolutions

The first problem we encountered today was the unexpected time constraints. It was previous knowledge that our actor, Robert, had prior commitments that he had to attend to later today and needed to leave at a certain time. However, due to a mistake in communication, I believed that he would have to leave around 5:00 pm instead of 4:00 pm. Because of this mistake, we had scheduled our shoot today thinking we would have 3 solid hours and perhaps overtime to film. Instead, we had one less hour to shoot our title sequence. Luckily, we learned of this early on and worked to make the most of the two hours we had (2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)

As stated in the previous post, I didn’t have the media shot list completely finished, so we decided to start filming the beginning of the title sequence first as we had that part mostly figured out.

We experienced issues with capturing footage of the clock on the wall. We wanted to take a mid-shot of the clock ticking away on the wall above Lionel, but with the iPhone camera, which we decided to use more this time around, was TOO high quality and captured a reflection of itself and everyone in the background. Luckily, the Canon camera’s lower quality came in handy. Since the image produced on the Canon’s video wasn’t as crisp as the iPhone X’s, we could film the clock without worrying about catching anything in the background.

There was a lot of clutter in the background when we initially tried to film the dummy in the wheelchair when Lionel opened the curtain. We had to meticulously move this out of frame so it would not distract the viewer, to take away from the world of the film.

Beneficial Decisions

 We decided to leave the lights in the room on this time, after seeing the results of the rough cut when the room was too dark. Leaving the lights on also created a juxtaposing feel to the film, with almost high key lighting in a film that is supposed to be creepy.

I also brought the industrial lights to today’s shoot. It was initially thought to light up our character as much as necessary. But, since we used the lights already placed within the room, this was not necessary. Instead, these were used to create the silhouette of the woman lying on the bed in the adjacent room. These bright lights worked perfectly for the purpose.

Because of the lights’ heat, we did not want to have someone lying in the bed the whole time with it pointed at them. Instead, we utilized the dummies present in the hospital and had the old lady dummy be in the bed in place of a group member. This also maximized the amount people to help with filming and production. We did have to move the bed closer to the curtain to get the desired shadow on the curtain as it did not produce the desired shadow while in the middle of the room, but this was an easy fix.

General Review:

The shot list I created before filming turned out to be largely beneficial. We were not only able to work at a much faster pace, but everyone was much more confident since we didn’t have to think of what we NEEDED and could think more about what they WANTED for a shot. With the burden of thinking of the necessary shots that would be needed for the title sequence to be completed, my group became much more creative and lively, suggesting different shots that we could take and being more energetic towards filming.

Additionally, leaving the lights on was a great decision. I believe that leaving the darkening of the film for the editing stage was the best choice. Not only will it lead to an inversion of expectations for the audience, but it was more practical for our sake as well.

Not to mention, we’re about halfway through filming the opening already! We will have to ask for permission to film again tomorrow, which will hopefully allow us to wrap this up!

In the meantime, though, I’ll need to do some thinking. We took some shots of the dummy in the wheelchair as Lionel opens the curtain today, but Katelyn and I felt that these were a bit cheesy and didn’t have the creepy effect that we wanted. I’ll have to think of how to make this scene creepier and try again tomorrow.

Also, do you remember the clutter I mentioned earlier that we had to move out of the way to film said dummy in the wheelchair? Well, this clutter is prevalent throughout the entire area outside of the “hospital rooms.” Our original idea was to have Lionel walk outside of his hospital room and past the dummy where he would essentially be walking in “a hallway.” This will not be possible due to the clutter. I will have to rework the plot once again to fit with the setting so that it progresses in a logical way that still upholds the feel of the opening.

SO

Now might be a better time than ever to look back at the many drafts of ideas we’ve gone through to come to this one.

We’ve been through a lot of drafts of ideas as it is. Honestly, there were a lot of detours to even get to the idea that we reached for the rough cut.

Actually, the first solid plan that we planned to make our opening about was centered on a girl. She was planned to wake in her bed and traverse her dark house, unknowingly being stalked by a killer. She would be eventually killed and someone else would wake up; not the girl, but another character, who had dreamed this murder. The next morning would come around and the character would see that the murder actually happened on a news report on television, bringing into question what kind of ability this character possessed to be able to see people deaths first hand in their dreams.

This plot especially sticks in my mind because of the excitement it caused in our group. We had been struggling to form a solid plot idea for weeks before coming upon that one. Unfortunately, that plan fell to pieces once concerns about the location, timing and 2 minute limit came into question. The time limit was the main concern, with group members worried that we couldn’t properly portray the sequence of events properly in two minutes and the idea was eventually dropped.

But, it was the start of the idea of having the opening occur completely within a dream.

We continued to research thriller conventions and inspiration until I was given the responsibility of writing a script. I began messing with ideas that had been thrown out in our group discussion, specifically the idea of water, drowning, and a red dress. This gave way to the idea that became our first rough cut.

It’s interesting to think that our opening is now on an entirely different path. I did not be make another extensive script, like the one for the first rough cut, but I was not going to be left without a concrete plan of what the film should look like.

After the experience of the motel, I knew that even with a script, without a solid plan of what shots we needed to take, we would probably be floundering about until it was too late. I took it upon myself as the director to create an extensive shot list to plan out what shots we would need for our opening.

I ran these by the cinematographer, confirming and altering some, and ultimately came to this list. It’s a bit hectic and does not cover the shots near the end of the opening since it was done quickly, but I believe it will be more than enough to keep the group on track.

Since it may be hard to follow the shot list story wise, I’ll give a brief description of the new plan for the opening:

Lionel wakes up in the hospital, awakened by a dripping sound. He turns to see a leaking faucet to his left, and he leans to turn it off. Lionel sits up in his hospital bed, noticing a silhouette of a lady lying in a bed in the adjacent room.
Confused, but not disturbed, Lionel walks to the front of the room, where he can exit the curtain without going into the silhouette’s room. When he opens the curtain, he finds a dummy in a wheelchair on the other side and is slightly startled, but steps around it.
As he walks past the room with the silhouette inside, he comes across another room, which is empty. A crash sounds behind Lionel and he turns around. The dummy in the wheelchair is gone. A dark figure flashes in front of him and he turns back to the room, which is now filled with flowers, candles and a picture of him and a girl.
Lionel walks to the picture, which is on the side of the room farthest from the silhouette’s room, and holds it up his back to the silhouette in the other room. Lionel does not see the silhouette sit up behind him.
Lionel sets the picture down and looks back at the silhouette’s room, freezing once he realizes that she is gone. He looks around frantically, but is not able to see that the silhouette is now behind the curtain directly behind Lionel. He is grabbed and pulled backwards and the title card shows.

Sources:

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nv6zYTxwAmJZx0uXkODMCf1GwZQ_XiDq806L62vsDMo/edit?usp=sharing (Shot List)

The wish to reshoot the opening completely in the post “Rough Cut Woes: The Final Verdict” was only my thought on the matter of the rough cut and what I thought was the best plan of action. I recently talked the matter over with my group to convince them of my hopes to reshoot the film and reorganize the sequence of our opening. Needless to say, it was a hard fought battle.

They at first all stood opposed to the idea due to its seemingly difficult appearance. At a first glance, this idea seems like an impossibly and needlessly difficult task to accomplish. But on further discussion, my group members began to see the merit in reshooting the film entirely and how it actually held the possibility of being easier. Not having to worry about continuity or finding the “perfect location” to continue where we left off were large bargaining chips. Additionally, I presented the argument that our film plot is based within a dream sequence. Our film starts out with our protagonist “waking up” within a dream. This allows us more ‘free reign’ when it comes to openings we can do compared to other genres and plots.

Negotiations on what we would change and what we would keep the same began and we finally came to the decision to completely reshoot the film and scrap all of the previous clips. Of course, we will still retain the memories of our experience to show us what to do differently this time as well.

As previously stated, we will be far from changing EVERYTHING about our film and actually, there will be a lot that we are keeping. Here’s the list.

What We Will Change:

• Setting: The setting is the first major thing that will change drastically within our opening. As stated in a previous post, our production designer, Bianca suggested the Health and Science room or “hospital” room to us and we all scouted it together. We ultimately decided that this location would be the best for our film, not only because it would provide more opportunities and possibilities, but it was a much better alternative to that of a cramped, dark room.
  
  
• The Sequence of the Opening: the opening will follow a different sequence of events than that of the initial rough cut. We initially had Lionel wake up in a motel and the opening was centered around him finding the source of the dripping sound before seemingly supernatural events occurred in the bathroom. This will be altered, since the setting is now a hospital. He is planned to solely wander in this area and experience creepy events here
  
  
• The Dripping: Although discussion occurred about omitting the dripping element altogether, we still wanted to use this to emphasize our brand of water. However, in this opening, we only plan to have the dripping occur in the sink next to Lionel’s bed, waking him up before he turns it off. This will have the dripping, and thus, the brand of water, act more as subtle foreshadowing than the centerpiece of the opening.
  
  
• The Costuming: The pajamas will certainly no longer work in this setting, as it might only serve to confuse the audience. Instead, Lionel will be dressed in a hospital gown to accentuate the hospital setting.
  
  
• The “Red Dress Girl”: While we are still unsure how it will unfold, the plan it to have her not appear on camera. During the rough cut, it was difficult to configure a setting that had the proper creepy vibe and still work practically in revealing the character. We might still change our minds and take this route during filming, but the plan it to have her shadow appear from behind the curtains around the hospital “rooms.”

What Will Remain the Same:

• The Plot: The plot of the film is remaining intact. As previously stated, we will not dig our opening up from the roots and will keep the character of Lionel, Lionel’s backstory and the idea of the opening being a dream sequence intact.
  
  
• The Actors: We will be keeping the actors the same: my brother, Robert, and our cinematographer, Katelyn. These two fit well with the role, and since the roles are also not changing, there is no need to change them either.
  
  
• The Brand of Water: As previously stated, this will remain a part of our film’s brand and will still be presented in the opening. However, it will function more as subtle foreshadowing instead of the core aspect of our title sequence. It will be easy to look past as nothing is planned to follow up the dripping sink, but it will be used to suggest the importance of water to Lionel’s head trauma “later in the film.”
  
  
• The Overall Genre/Feel: Of course, there was no way we could change the genre of our film at this point, but we still plan to present the creepy, paranormal vibe that was present in our rough cut.

If all goes to plan, we will secure permission to film in the room and film there Tuesday, March 12^th!

In order to prevent from interrupting the flow of the “Rough Cut Woes” series, I postponed the posting of this post. This occurred two days ago, on Friday, March 8.

Presented with the discussion of how we might be re-shooting our opening entirely, our production designer and location scouter, Bianca, brought us to another location that she thought would work. The Health and Science room located on our own school campus.

I was amazed, unaware that such a room existed on school property. It looked very close to a real hospital. Since hospitals are a popular place for thriller movies to take place, I thought that such a scene would not only benefit us in terms of a fitting location, but it would also fit the conventions of thriller.

Of course, there were some objections and concerns to be discussed. This new location is  vastly different from the previous motel and will most likely require a complete reconstruction of our previous idea and script. Concerns for time and the possibility of pulling this off were brought up.

Concerns about brand were brought up as well. The brand of water was big (or at least SUPPOSED to be big with the submersion in the bathtub scene) and a central aspect of our last rough cut. In the hospital location, it would not be possible to emphasize this brand of water nearly as strongly. Talk of “transporting” our protagonist into a bathtub full of water to end our opening in a similar way began to satisfy this. We still have not come to a decision about this.

There are faucets and sinks in the location, so we still might be able to suggest the brand of water through those.

We left the location without having come to a solid decision due to the heavy importance of the decision. We still plan to converse in earnest about this to come to a decision as soon as possible since, currently, time is of the essence.

Personally, I already have a lot of new ideas of how to go about this hospital setting buzzing around in my head. Whatever my group ultimately chooses, I’ll be ready, equipped with the experience I gained from the first rough cut to better direct our film.

No. No we shouldn’t.

Now, with all that said and out of the way, the biggest questions among my group are: what will we do instead? What will we change? The answer that I’m advocating for is –

EVERYTHING

I want to change everything.

Okay, that’s a little bit dramatic. I don’t wish to dig our project up from its roots, but we should probably dig a little bit lower than what we might deem comfortable.

I don’t wish to change our plot, but changing our setting is almost a must and the sequence of our opening will most likely change. To me, it doesn’t make much sense to go back to the motel. The first and largest issue we face is the price. $120, or $20 for each of us after my dad took on $20 of that cost, was already at the limit of our “budgets” that we wished to reach. Going again would be of great expense to us. This might not have been as big an issue had the spot been an exemplary film location that presented the possibility of us to get all the shots we wanted and more. In reality, it was sub-par, uncomfortable and completely different from what we imagined, which leads me into my next point.

Creativity. I think it’s safe to say that it was violently stifled. We were all uncomfortable in that area, with it being much dirtier than we had expected. Jokes were what we used to lighten the mood and feel a bit better about dealing with what we were stuck with and when it was time to get serious, the discomfort showed. We struggled in our filming due to the difficulty of working comfortably in such a location. Why would we want to go back there?

And finding another similar room doesn’t really seem like a possibility either. When deliberating about the bathroom scene, we did come up with the alternative ending, as stated in the previous post – however, the group wasn’t too stoked about changing the ending and filming it elsewhere. Worried about the continuity, one of my group members adamantly opposed the idea of changing the bathroom scene. I was able to convince them otherwise so that we didn’t leave the motel too far into the AM, but I feel that I will find much trouble in finding a bathroom suitable for our film while also convincing that group member that the continuity is sound based on the immense length of time and discussion it took to find the initial location. Consequently, this also means that reshooting any crucial shots in the bedroom will be virtually impossible lest we wish to absolutely disgrace the continuity of the opening.

Frankly, I don’t see any other way to go about this. Especially in such short a time.

Although it probably seems like the hardest route on the surface, but when considering the quality of work my group wishes to put out and the increased effort it will take to keep the continuity intact, re-filming everything in a new, better location seems like our best bet. This way, we can also be sure to learn from our mistakes and include everything that we wish to include.

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