Editing - Check!

     After acquiring all the necessary sound aspects that I needed I was able to slap it all into premiere and mess around a bit. This was my first time experimenting with audio in such a way and I had fun, I even had to use volume dial, which I didn't even know existed in premiere until right now. But anyway, everything came together, it was tedious trying to get everything to sync but we did it! I think I can safely say I'm done editing now. 

    I got all my titles and credits in order. I did have to move around my footage a lot again and cut out some portions. But that's just editing at the end of the day, a lot of back and forth. You think you're done but usually you're not, and when you fix something another thing gets messed up yada yada yada. Shoutout to premiere tho, I love that program, it has done me nothing but good in all the years I've used it. Also shoutout to my 7th grade film teacher for showing me how to use premiere. 

    Now enjoy looking at the monster that is the timeline of my project on premiere: 

Music

    I just got confirmation to use the song I planned to use on my film opening. I'M SO EXITEDDDDDD!!! I will admit, it took me awhile to decide, I just had too many to choose from. Music is the joy of my life and I think it is such an amazing tool to convey emotions. I had made a playlist with almost 40 potential songs on it, so maybe a little bit much. Anyways, what I did know is that I wanted to choose a smaller, lesser known, artist. I know I'm not a famous movie director or anything, but I like the idea of potentially increasing a small artists audience, even if only slightly. Especially since I plan to post my film opening on Youtube, Tik Tok, maybe even Instagram.

    The song is titled Thrifted Youth by dalynn. I've actually been listening to her music since 2019 so I was slightly stars struck when she answered. This song is sooooo good and I think it matches the vibe of my opening incredibly well. I highly recommend you give it a listen, and check out dalynn in general, she's very talented. Since she is less well known and doesn't have a record label or anything, I resorted to sending her a direct message on Instagram. Perhaps a little informal, but she said she was cool with it! 

    A picture of the DM's: 

Sound

     Alright so regarding all the sound editing that I planned to do. I found all of it on youtube. This was my first time using the Youtube Sound Library and it was pretty good, very easy to use and it got the job done. The thrifted youth mp3 was the only one i didn't get from there, I just had to download it from youtube as an mp3 to add to my project. Down below are the three audio files I incorporated in my project. 

    Although I had already recorded the ambiance of my house for the film opening, but I thought it necessary to add a little more to it, so I found that Ambient hum from an air conditioner sound and though it was perfect. Then the ear ringing was that tinnitus, panic inducing, sound that I was looking to add in at the end when Arlo gets stressed out by memories of the past. Oooooooooouuooo!

These are the audio files, don't mind the 'Out of Space,' it hasn't meant anything so far...:

Editing Update

    PHEW! I'm pretty much done with the brunt of editing. I have such a love hate relationship with editing. My hatred grows as I find myself in front of a computer for several hours, but the final product makes it all worth it. I have finished organizing all my footage and cutting it up to fit within the 2 minute time frame. 

    All that's left now is refining everything a little more if necessary, adding sound, and adding credits. It's exciting to finally see everything coming together at last. This has been a doozy of a project. Seeing all the cut up clips is pretty funny, it always looks so messy to me, but well that's art for ya. 

Filming - Check!

     I'm finally done filming. There were a few bumps along the road, definitely had to reshoot an embarrassing amount of times but we got there eventually. All of the filming was done by yours truly, so there was definitely a lot of awkward positions I had to be in while the camera was rolling. If anyone walked in on me I must've looked crazy, thankfully no one did. Dodged a bullet there with that one... 

    Anyway, I am NOT looking forward to having to watch my atrocious acting on repeat while I edit this opening. It sucks yes, but I couldn't find anyone willing to help me, and I wasn't going to force them. I also just feel more comfortable with it being me on the basis that I know what I want. Sometimes I struggle to give directions or effectively convey my creative vision with another person, so then it doesn't turn out how I want it and I'm too shy to ask them to do it again usually because I think I'm bothering them. I definitely have to work on that if I want to be a director in the future... crap...

    Here's a funny clip of me realizing the camera is in the wrong place:

    And a picture I took while filming the flashback: 

Change of Plans

    Alright, so we've hit a roadblock. I have, for many different reasons, realized that it will not be possible to use the picture frame/ Arlo watching old video idea I originally started with. The older video not being footage created by me, being unable to find a picture frame that fit my creative vision, etc. So, yeah... it's kind of a big deal, but we're going to adapt and recover. 

    My new plan is the best alternative I could find. I have a mug in my house, really ugly, but in a good way. I made it when I was younger, so it could work as the perfect 'memento' hehe. Here's what I'm thinking: a young Arlo filming themselves, showing off the mug they painted. I plan to use editing and costuming/ mise-en-scene to try and make myself look younger and the footage look slightly older. I don't want to go overboard with the editing obviously, I'm not gonna make it look retro, I wasn't even alive in the 90's. 

A picture of the mug:

Modified storyboard:

Now there will actually be voice lines in my opening. Only in this section however, so there's not a lot. I feel like I can't really call it a script when it's 3 lines but here. 

Arlo: Ok, we're recording!

        Arlo sets phone down to talk to camera.

Arlo: Hi! I would tell you my name but mom told me not to say it on the internet. But anyway, look what I made! 

        Arlo holds out a poorly painted mug. 

Arlo: Isn't it cool! It looked sad and boring in the cupboard, sooooooo I decided I would make it pretty and fun. This is now my favorite mug in the house. I declare thee, Sir Muggy! Oh! I should go show mom! Ok bye!

Sound-Scape Plan

    I have some cool sound ideas that I really think would bring my project to the next level. 

    The past student portfolio project example that I spoke briefly of in another blog post did something super sick that I want to replicate in my own way. During their project, they showed that the music being played for the audience was actually diegetic through a record player (good stuff). I thought I could do something similar but with Arlo's headphones. So, during the initial credits I'll play a song, probably royalty free, and then, when the first scene starts, Arlo can take off their headphones. This action will cause the music to stop, obviously alluding to the music having been playing on Arlo's headphones all along, the audience listening along with them. 

    Most of my project will just be ambient noise since there is no dialogue and Arlo is in a desolate house. However, to add a little spice, I thought it would be absolutely sick to add a ringing sound, kinda like tinnitus (which I have hehe), during the more intense, nervous breakdown scene toward the end of the opening. So I'll have to figure out how to edit that into the sound later on. I'm worrying about visuals right now, sound is most likely going to be next week's problem. 

Editing Progress

     I recently started throwing all my clips into adobe and just playing around with them. After restarting entirely, accidentally deleting footage, and running out of space on my computer and phone many times, I think I finally pulled something together. Geez, I love editing, but it just takes me so loooong, maybe I'm just incompetent. I've only gotten the visual part of the initial credits, no sound or actual text yet, and it took me like 5 hours. O_O  I try my best though, and it's very rewarding seeing everything come together. The following is the work I've gotten done so far: 

    All my hard work here was just going towards that "shutter" effect that I wanted to achieve during the credits. I filmed like 10 different dynamic shots on the same set (the floor of Arlo's room) of Arlo doing something. All the credits will go here, with title going on the last clip wight before the scene change. We're doing good, it's a slow process but we're definitely getting somewhere. Slow and steady wins the race. 

P.S. I LOVE ADOBE! <3

Title Ideas

     Now, I know, I've realized that I've been putting this off. Weather subconsciously or not, I have definitely been avoiding coming up with a darn title for this project. But can you blame me? This stuff is hard. I feel like the title is such a pivotal part of the opening since it has to fit well with the tone, the mood, the VIBE of the film opening. I've always hated making titles for anything, it's like a phobia. On my poems, drawings, essays, film projects... relationships... ANYWAY, I've been brainstorming some ideas for possible titles and I think I'm close. 

1. Memento - It fits with the whole theme of looking back and hating happy old memories because one feels miserable in comparison. "Memento" works since there is a physical object that reminds Arlo of when they were happy. 

2. Vain/ Futile - This one leans more toward the depressing aspect of the film opening, conveying how Arlo feels that life has no meaning anymore and how it's all useless. Arlo feels that their life has amounted to nothing. 

3. Looking Back/ Nostalgia/ Retrospect - Kind of piggybacking off the memento idea but a little more simple. Also apparently Christopher Nolan already made a movie called memento... he's lucky he's one of my favorite directors because OH MY-! So these are just some alternatives that I think could still fit pretty well. I do have to admit however, Nostalgia is really cringe. 

Costuming

     Oh, I almost forgot to post this before, but another aspect I put generous amounts of though into was Arlo's outfit. What would they be wearing throughout the opening. I though long and hard about this and came up with many ideas. I though of a red hoodie and a blue shirt to convey both saddness and anger, but though it would look too unnatural and cartoonish. I though about just going with an all black outfit, but that felt to simple, and Arlo would just fade into the background that way, they needed to stick out somehow. 

    I wanted something realistic and simple, but would still help to express how Arlo feels and make them the focal point of the opening, which they are. So I settled on black joggers, a black shirt with some red in it, and a red zip-up hoodie. I thought the black and baggy outfit could represent Arlos depression as well as fitting well and realistically with a non-bianary characters clothing. The red zip-up then representing the anger and disdain they feel, wearing it as a protective shell of sorts. 

Set #1

     OK, I got a rough draft per say together of what the set will look like for inicial filming tomorrow. There is still defenitely more I can and probably will add to it as well as some tweaks here and there. However, I just really needed to see something to try and invision how this will actually go. There are also already some deveations and changes I made from my original plan, some were voluntary and other weren't. 

    Firstly, during actual filming, this all will be a lot darker, I want to keep the lighting to a mínimum to add to the depressing tone of my opening. Some light will be coming from the computer, some from an outside source, and I'm still debating adding a lama in there. Also, the papers, I decided that the set needed something more, and I though papers were the perfect addition that could give it that sense of frantic disorder that reflecta Arlo's mental state. 

Prepping

    My room had to go through some pretty big changes for this idea of mine to work. As it existed before, the space was too small for anything to be done with it. And, seeing as I wanted "Arlo's room" to be one of the two locations in which my opening was filmed, I had to do something about that. So I did! It didn't take as much as I though it would, just slightly rearranging some things. 

    Here's a time-lapse. Enjoy me struggling to move my huge bed: 

    Now, there's a ton of space in between my bed and desk to decorate, or 'dress' the set, WOO! I've always loved set design and I'm really hoping to do my very best on the mise-en-scene elements, of course with whatever is available to me. It's not going to be Hollywood movie level, but I just wish to make something I can be proud of. 

Storyboarding

    Now here is the real way I plan for this project to go. The Plan B (Plan Better). The plan to end all plans. Excuse my non-existent drawing skills. 

    There in the beginning is some examples of the kind of shots that I would put between the shutter effect that I've been meaning to try out for the credits. It's very probable that I'll do more than what is shown. Also, the transition with the eye-close up going from night to day, simultaneously changing setting and scene. 

    It's clear from this storyboard that I am a very big fan of transitions, smooth ones more specifically (what can I say? I'm a smooth crimial ;) lol). Not only does the picture frame trigger Arlo, but they're also shown watching an old video of them as a baby, which only adds fuel to the fire. 

Some overall notes: 

    - Most shots will be dragged out, they will be long and still. Done to convey depressed and static tone/mood. 

    - The jump cuts toward the end illustrates Arlo's quick shift in attitude. Arlo becomes anxious, panicked, and frustrated. 

    - The shutter effect at the very beginning almost hints at/foreshadows how frantic and trapped Arlo feels. 

    - Scenes constantly change from day to night so the audience isn't really sure of the timeline or when these events are taking place. Done to show how Arlo feels they have no control over their own life and the days are all melting together (no concept of time). 

Orginal Plan

    As I mentioned before, I've actually been thinking and coming up with ideas for this project since second quarter. So there's been a lot of thought put into this, and surprisingly, my concept has not changed that much. I began with an emotionally caged and frustrated character, in their room, and it's evident that they are losing it. Here's a picture of my pas plan (very well drawn out might I add): 

    My original plan however had a scene of my character writing "WHERE DREAMS COME TO DIE" really big on the walls of their room, trying to express how they feel in some way, and then walking out of the room, of screen, ending the opening. I asked my mother if I could write on my bedroom door, and she promptly responded no, which is fair. So, I had to come up with something else. This is how I came to the hallway/photograph/memories idea. I though it'd be good to have a nice change of scenery after the credits to establish that distinction. 

    I still am grateful to past me for coming up with this and fleshing it out pretty well despite not knowing what this project had in store. Thank you past me! 

Shooting Schedule

    Unfortunately, due to school competition, I am not able to start filming this week for my project. So, I decided that it would be best to stay as productive as possible and clearly define my shooting schedule.  I'll be specifying what scenes need to be done by when and when would be most ideal to shoot them. Spring break will also be interrupting a lot of the time that I would otherwise have for filming, meaning I have to plan accordingly to be able to get all my filming done in the little time I have. My way of tackling this is that the more prepared I am, the faster I can shoot my scenes and have everything go smoother. 

Primary filming will be done on Saturday, Sunday being used as a catch all, of next week. The rest of the week beforehand will be used to get everything in order, materials, set décor, setup, etc. This is how I'm splitting it:

Saturday: (early morning) photograph scene in the hallway. Washed out bright, but soft, lighting through curtains. 

                    (late at night) credits scene of different flickering cuts, "flashback" scene of Arlo looking at old footage - film reaction. 

Sunday: any corrections that need to be done + additional footage needed