(13) Updates on the Production Issues

Great news! :D After talking with my godfather I found out how I could fix my issue with the camera. It's a very simple fix too, I can plug the camera into my phone and my phone screen will project whatever the camera is capturing in real time! This will give make the production process of my project so much easier to do on my own and it'll definitely ensure I'm not wasting time by getting bad shots. I also talked with my boyfriend and he'll help me out with getting some moving shots. However, because of our schedules and the time we'll probably need to film, the only day that'll work for us would be following Sunday on the 21st. That date is a later than I would have hoped, but for the sake of getting good footage I think it's good to choose a later date rather than an earlier one where we won't have much time to work together. :0

On the subject of scheduling and dates, I thought this would be a good time to look over my schedule and see how much time I have to get things done. Looking back on my previous plans this would be my fifth week of the project, meaning I have around three weeks to get things done. While that is a constrained schedule, next week is spring break, meaning that I'll have plenty of time to knock out the production process since I won't have school getting in my way. >:P

With that being said, I'll have to work really hard next week to get all of my schoolwork out of the way so I can take the time to focus on my project during spring break and the following weeks after. It'll be hard work like always, but that's never something I can't handle! I'll keep you guys posted on that and tell you how it goes!

(12) Costuming and Mise-En-Scene

I've just realized something that's really important!

I never thought about talking about some other production components such as mise-en-scene and costume design nor have I really put much thought into those two things, so in this post I'll take the time to shell out some planning and research for it. I want to make sure that I cover every single aspect of the filming process within my blogs and I want to make sure I don't overlook the smallest of details, so let's get to it! >:D

For the mise-en-scene of my film I am mainly going to be using my bedroom as it is. Because this film is does have my own perspective and experience within it I plan to not manipulate what my room looks like and keep it in its most 'natural form'. I want to be able to reveal how my bedroom has been a space for me to go through the motions of grief and how in some ways its been a safe-haven. Having a space that is completely unique to me has given me the room to express myself freely, whether it be how I spend my time in my room or even just how I decorate it. 

As I mentioned briefly in some other blog posts, I want to use stop-motion in order to capture scenes and settings that portray various emotions of the grieving stages. I want to focus on using them for the stages with more intense emotions such as anger, denial, or depression. For me, going through those stages often feel like an out-of-body experience. At times they're so overwhelming that I don't feel grounded within my bedroom, and so I want to use more 'alien' sets to depict that. Since my film is an arthouse movie, I have the creative liberty to interpret these scenes in the way I feel about them. 

(I'm not a really great drawer so I pulled some images from the internet that sort of capture what I want to depict within my stop motion scenes :P)

Denial feels like you just got pushed put into the deep ocean without a warning. I feel like it can make you feel very exposed, so I want to set the stage of denial in a deep ocean scene to exemplify those feelings of vulnerability.

Bargaining is one of those harder emotions to put into moods, but if I were to imagine it as a setting I feel like it would be an endless maze. You're trying to escape by making compromises but when it comes to grief there is nothing you cannot bargain your way out. 

I feel like feeling of anger is pretty self-explanatory, and in my head I feel like if anger was a setting it would be like a hot planet such as Venus. It's desolate yet chaotic; your emotions are so intense that it can make you feel very isolated from the rest of the world and everyone else. 

In terms of costuming, I'm thinking of just planning to keep a simple outfit that doesn't obscure my movements. My inspiration is coming from performance art pieces in which subject wear basic clothes and colors to highlights their motions or props rather than drawing attention to their outfits. I also think wearing a simple outfit like basic jeans and a shirt will make it easier to prevent any continuity errors as I'm filming since I imagine it'll take me a few days to film all of the live action shots.  

And with that, I think I explained and shelled out those two components well enough. :D I'll keep you guys posted!

(11) Testing Out the Production Process

Hello everyone! :D

So for these past three days I attempted to start the production process on my own. Since all of the shots that I have are filmed within my house I expected the production process to go by easily. Unfortunately, I ran into an issue. Again. 

While there are some still shots that are easy for me to film on my own, I have loads of moving shots and shots with complex angles that make it very hard for me to film it on my own. I have a tripod that allows me to set up my camera a bit easier, but it's very time consuming for me to be constantly readjusting my camera for 10-20 minutes just for a few seconds of footage.  And on top of that, I really disliked all of the footage that I got today. :( The composition in a lot of my shots were very sloppy; in shots where I needed to be centered I was not, and in shots where I moved a bit I ended up moving out of frame entirely rendering the footage useless.  

I think I centralized I realized the cause of my problems is two things. The camera I have been using has a very small window that shows me what it filming, but because it's so small it very difficult for me to accurately know what I am capturing and how it's looking. In some shots I'm very far away so I cannot see what the cam window is recording so I can't tell if I'm out of frame or if it's out of focus.  Secondly, I don't have an extra set of hands to help me film. It would be easier to do this if I was not the subject of my project, but because I'm putting myself in it I obviously can't hold the camera for moving shots at the same time. 

And so, before I go any further with the production process I'm going to need to fix those two issues. I think I can get my boyfriend to help me out with holding and camera shots, and I'm going to ask my godfather about the camera I have and see if there's a better way I can see what it is capturing. 

This is the camera I have, it's called the DJI Osmo Pocket (maybe I can look at videos about it to help me find a way I can see what I'm recording while I'm filming...)

I also need to look into getting supplies for my stop motion animation, fast. I'll definitely try to knock those things out before next week, I'll keep you guys posted! :P

(10) Storyboard Down and Looking Beyond

 It finally happened! >:D

I'm very very happy to announce that today I was finally able to get the storyboard of my project finished! With that out of the way, I finally have the time to review and finalize all of my plans for this project. After writing up my entire storyboard and then completing a basic outline of my film to go with it, I want to take the time to think about the intended target audience and possible distribution plans could be for my film. I guess this post will be dedicated to looking beyond the production process. :0

NOTE: I'm trying to figure out a way I can scan my storyboard and put it into a google file, the moment I figure that out I'll update this post and put the complete storyboard for you guys to see! :D

Since my film is centralized around my experience with grief, then I believe my target audience for my project would be for young-adults (ages 15-25) who are also going through the motions of grief. Even though my project is personal, grief is an experience that is very similar amongst people who are going through it so I think it will still resonate among my target audience. Since my project is an arthouse film that also means that my film is for audiences who enjoy watching experimental movies/shorts. Because my target audience is so specific I'm going to have to consider looking at distribution methods that will be the easiest for them to access... Maybe I can submit my film to arthouse movie festivals and maybe try to share it with counseling groups that work with teens and adults who are grieving. :0

I'm also wondering if I should create a website that provides additional links and resources that can help individuals who are seeking guidance if they are grieving. I don't think that my piece will be able to have a profound impact if it's just about the stages and it does not attempt to provide additional information about things can can help with grief. I guess I'll look into it later but it's definitely something that I am going to think about as I am working on the production of my project. 

Speaking of production, this following week I'm going to start producing!! >:D I'm very thrilled to see how it'll go, I guess I'll let you know in the upcoming blog posts, I'll keep you guys posted!