Editing Round 2

   I have been editing on and off for about three days or so. I put all the clips together and had to decipher which clips I wanted to use. Edit them to add more contrast and saturation. As I was editing, there is a clip that I have which was part of a transition but it has not turned out well. I took many shots of this but I do not like how ANY of them turned out which is extremely frustrating. I am not sure if I can redo it because it is the transition portion from my mom's office to my room. Due to the virus, I may not be able to redo it but I am going to try because it is an important part of the film opening. I am also a perfectionist and it is not fully how I envisioned the clips and all but it is slowly working out.

   Aside from that one clip, I have a minute and fifty-five seconds and need five more seconds which I am not too worried about because I need to add the title still which can be part of that time. There is something missing from it all right now, I am not sure what it is. I am going to postpone the editing for today because I think I have looked at it too many times and am trying to point out things that are off. I am not sure but something does seem off. I will most likely ask my family to preview it and ask for their opinions to see if that helps me figure it out. 

   I still need to do the background noises. I have some clips done which I did while filming such as the shredder sound. I need to make a list of sounds I need and will be doing that throughout the week. 

Filming: Day 2

   So I ended up filming last night. I had to do it at night because I needed the area to be dark so I can have light coming only from one source and I have a giant sliding door and the curtains can only do so much. The makeup ended up come out super nice. I used contour for the first time and eyeliner actually turned out well without having to do it over a hundred times.

 


   I really did not want to be in the film opening because I am not a great actress but again, the Corona Virus situation left me no other option. I had lots of difficulty shooting. My mom had found a tripod but it was for a camera, which we don't have... but I tried to use it anyways. I learned only after my phone fell a dozen times that it wasn't working. Since it was late at night, I tried not to ask my mom and brother. In the end though, my brother had to help me film, which was even more struggle some because he is tall and I have like a vision of how I want everything to look and it just was not working most of the time. The entire thing took about two hours and a half. I had to keep redoing the last scene because again, my acting is not the best and I was exhausted because it was 11:30pm by this point.
 
   In order to get the set up, I had to rearrange a good portion of my room so it looked like a mess and was difficult to get around.  I did not originally plan to use green but I needed to like manipulate the lighting more to only show on a particular potion of the room/ object so instead of putting it completely over the light, I used it around and did not cover a small portion to get the lighting.

 

Manipulating Makeup

   Due to the Corona Virus and the continuation of social distancing, I was unable to get one of my friends to be my actress. I had hoped social distancing would not for this long, but unfortunately it has so I am going to be the actress and ask my brother and mom to help me film if possible or stack a bunch of stuff lying around my room to get the right height and film like that.

   Since the ideal age range for the main actress is mid twenties and I am only seventeen, I have been looking up how to use makeup to manipulate how old I look. Although I have heard that I look old for my age, I still need to age a bit more.

   I know Wikipedia is not the best idea to use for research but Wikihow was one of the more helpful sites I came upon on how to manipulate makeup. Although I could follow a tutorial, each persons facial features vary so the general idea of what I need to do was better to understand then trying to follow a video.

   Overall, I found that I need to 110% need to figure out how to properly use contour because that will create more defined features such as the cheekbones and nose. After that, I need to go over it with bronzer to ensure it is blended and pops out. To even it out, I also need to apply highlighter right above the cheek bone. It is advised to use translucent powder but I don't have that and cannot currently get some because my mom doesn't want me leaving the house. I will also need to apply eye shadow and avoid bright colors so I will use more neutral tones. I will also attempt a slight wing eye liner because all the sites I went to expressed that it helps make the eyes look bigger. I already use concealer, color corrector and foundation which will not be a problem.

   I will be filming either tomorrow or next week and will be trying the makeup look the same day to ensure I don't waste makeup. I also usually get it on the first try and then can't redo the look another time so I plan on doing it the same day as I film.

Neecey. (2019, August 8). 15 Makeup Tips to Look Older. All Women Stalk. Retrieved from https://allwomenstalk.com/make-up-tips-to-look-older/

Savy. [It'sYourGirlSavy]. (2018, December 2). How to Make Yourself Look Older Using Makeup [YouTube]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I_mq5nPPrs

Vann, D. (2020, January 7). How to use Makeup to Look Older. Wikihow. Retrieved from https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Makeup-to-Look-Older

Bulletin Board Props

   I have been stalling on the bulletin board mainly because I was worried I didn't have enough to cover the board and it would not turn out well. I finally sat down and started working on what I could and once I did, the rest seemed to fall into place.
   I started with the composition of the newspaper articles. I used multiple websites to make the template because I wanted them to be different and did not like how some turned out; I even made an account with Flipsnack because their templates were the most realistic and easy to navigate. The newspapers were part of the case Agent Jackson went undercover: the murders the gangs were a apart of. There is an article from South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. I searched up newspapers from each area to place as the header: Florida was Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel, South Carolina was The Sun News and Georgia was The Augusta Chronicles.

   After I tackled the newspapers, I needed to fill more space so I made evidence bags. I recreated  one from what I had seen when I searched up "evidence bag templates."

   I also needed to create the evidence to reside in the evidence bags so I needed a font for the notes. I found a royalty free website FontSpace.

   After I printed, cut and assembled my props, I rearranged them a few times on the bulletin board to figure out which way I wanted it. With the photos, map, evidence bags, newspaper and post-it notes. This is how it turned out and how I plan to have it set up for when I film. I haven't filled out the post-it notes yet but I will be doing that before filming.

Map Of USA. (n.d.). Map of USA. Geographic Guide. Retrieved from https://www.geographicguide.com/america-maps/usa.htm

https://www.flipsnack.com/page-flip-software/editor/fuilva2sk

Online Newspaper Designer. (n.d.). Online Newspaper Designer. Retrieved from https://www.makemynewspaper.com/designer/app/open/template/11

Hirche, C. (n.d.). Newspaper Clipping Generator. Fodey. Retrieved from https://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

Harris, J. S. (August 24, 2019). Something Strange Font. FontSpace. Retrieved from https://www.fontspace.com/something-strange-font-f17510

Upcoming Plans

   This upcoming week, my main focus is the preparation of the second part of the film opening. I need to possibly change my plans with the female actress because of the Corona Virus current situation and social distancing. I also will be preparing the bulletin board this week. I already have some photos and the string. I need to find more photos. I was trying to find newspaper articles to help which I haven't been able to find. I will also be adding post-it notes and doing more research on the board. The connection part will not be so difficult, it is just finding all the elements.
   I am looking at the board as a giant brainstorming map or a bubble map. It allows ideas to flow but in this case, it allows the connection of different elements. The set up won't be the hard part, it is just getting all the elements done, which is my plan for the upcoming week.

Edited v. Unedited

   As I mentioned previously, I had to edit the clips individually multiple times. Although I had light that was emitting green, it was not as prominent as I wanted it to be. I also wanted it to be more contrasted which I was able to successfully do during the editing process. Although I was unable to test the blue lighting during filming, I was able to edit it in which I found was not the tone I was going for and was more sad than ominous. These are the edited v. unedited clips

 

Dun Dun Dun

   Music.

   Music has a way of creating a tone and connection all on its own without visuals. But with visuals, the music can be more influential of the tone. Therefore, the music is important to dictate because if you have a tense situation, you definitely should not be having sad music in the background.

   I have been looking for music or quiet some time now and realized I will not know what I am fully looking for until I actually have the visuals done. Although I was imagining everything in my head as I was listening to the music, nothing seemed right. Since I started editing and have the first half done, I started looking at the music again. I had initially written down some beats I had liked which turned out to not work once I put it with the visuals. 

   Once I had gone through every single song on the Royalty Free website- Purple Plant under creepy, I realized that I was looking under the wrong area. So next, I went through "Tense." Most of them were in fact tense but many were not fitting the vibe I am going for. I was listening to each one while playing my edits on another tab to see if it worked. I finally came upon "Cat & Mouse," which I had written off as a no when I initially wen through the music. After listening to it simultaneously with the videos, it worked for the vibe I wanted. Just to be sure though, I continued looking through other songs but nothing after that seemed to work. 

   I still need to film the second half of the film opening which hopefully still works with the music but we shall see. 

Cat & Mouse. (2020). Cat & Mouse. Purple Planet Music. Retrieved from https://www.purple-planet.com/tense

Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt. - Michael G. Scott

   Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt. - Michael G. Scott. I personally LOVE The Office and since they have many quotes that can relateable, this one fit perfectly for what I had recently endured. These little GIFs give off a visual representation of my reactions during this situation.

  Let's start with the basics. I am a huge perfectionist and it bothers me when the slightest thing is off which is why I took so many shots. I was going through ALL the clips I filmed on Sunday and oh my it took forever.

  I went through and edited EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. To ensure the green would be more prominent and the contrast was higher. I planned to go through each one to see which best fit the vision I was looking for later. Of course, this was all for nothing. I sent all the clips to We-video (edited) and they only showed up unedited. I thought it was a glitch so I deleted all of them and re-uploaded them. Unfortunately, that did not work which was/is frustrating. So, I was right about editing being the most difficult factor. But thank goodness the program allows me to edit them.

   While undergoing this mess, I also realized that some of my videos are way to shaky for my liking. Due to the Corona virus and the social distancing situation, I am unsure if I will be able to return back to my mom's office to re-film. They can suffice but again, I am a perfectionist and that is not the ideal. I will have to re-adapt.

   I still have the second part to film which I need a slightly older actress which I need to figure out because again the Corona virus fiasco has been a pain to deal with. But I will manage and figure something out. Hopefully sooner than later.

Filming: Day 1

   I spent the day filming, a whole seven hours at my mom's office. I got there around 12:00 p.m. and left around 7:00 p.m. I had forgotten a tarp to cover the window blinds to reduce lighting so it took a while for my mom to drop that off and help me set it up. I had to rearrange the room for an effective set up. Although it looks quiet crammed, I did not want to destroy her office set up so tried to work around it.

   Since it is her office, I did not have to bring any office supplies to set up the desk to look like an office desk. I did not anticipate the lighting to be as struggle some as it was. I wanted to add color so I used a green t-shirt. I was going to test blue but the shirt color did not emit the color throughout the room.

   I only really had Sunday to film in her office because my mom works Monday through Saturdays which can be hectic. Therefore, I took an arrangement of shots just in case. Because the green is not strong as I want to it to be, I will have to edit it to be stronger.

   Although the set up looks hectic, it was effective and surprisingly easy to maneuver through.

   Another difficulty I faced was the fact that I had to use my phone as the camera. I do not have a proper camera I could use to film with. I also did not have a tripod or anything to stabilize my phone. I could not borrow or buy one because of the Corona Virus panic so some of the shots are a bit shaky.

Investigation Report

After researching the format and necessities of a police report, I was able to effectively create one for the film opening. Again, mise-en scenes is a very important part of my film so I would ideally like everything to look as realistic as possible. Some of it diverts from a real, legitimate report because there were some elements that needed to be present that are not typically presented within a report. This would be the mentioning of Agent Jackson being undercover. 

 

 


These are my reports which I based off of my research but used the template of crimscene.com. The following are the example I based the template off of.

Incident Report Homicide. (n.d.). Investigation Report Homicide. Crime Scene. Retrieved from https://www.crimescene.com/elf-evidence/472-elf-incident-rpt-dead

Write Investigation Report. (n.d.). How to Write the Investigation Report. Kelvin Top Set. Retrieved from https://kelvintopset.com/how-to-write-the-investigation-report/

Investigation Report Template conduct for Case No. 0132. (25 February, 2019). Investigation Report Template conduct for Case No. 0132. Safety Culture. Retrieved from https://safetyculture.com/wp-content/media/2019/02/investigation-report-sample.pdf

The Florida Senate. (2019). Florida Statute. The Florida Senate. Retrieved from https://m.flsenate.gov/Statutes/782.04

Color My Mind Amused

   Color manipulation is one of the coolest things that we have learned. The meaning of different colors are universally known and majority of the time without the need for explanation. Red is associated with anger and love which blue is associated with calm and isolation. Although they sometimes contrast each other with different meanings, it is universally known that these colors represent these emotions.

   Knowing this and doing more research on how different colors are manipulated, I would like to either go with using blues or greens in the opening to add more depth to the piece. Since there is no dialogue, the tone needs to be expressed more directly. Green creates an ominous feeling while blue creates the feeling of sadness and isolation which emphasizes the importance of the case.The use of blue coloring is used within adventure films such as Infinity Wars, Maleficent, and Harry Potter.

 

   As I was researching, these particular images from movies caught my eye because the colors are what I am looking for with my opening. Not as prominent as used here but I like it visually and feel it will enhance the emotions of the viewers. I am unsure which one I want to go with and may experiment with it during the filming process by adding those colors onto the light to create that feeling. 

Baker, L. (2016, August 2). Manipulating the Audience's Emotions with Color. The Beat. Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/manipulate-emotions-with-color-in-film/

Fusco, J. (2016, June 24). The Psychology of Color in Film (with examples). No Film School. Retrieved from https://nofilmschool.com/2016/06/watch-psychology-color-film

Renee, V. (2016, September 12). This Infographic Reveals the Connection Between Color and Emotion in Film. No Film School. Retrieved from https://nofilmschool.com/2016/09/infographic-reveals-connection-between-color-and-emotion

Filmmakers Use Colors. (n.d.). How Filmmakers Use Colors To Set The Mood Of A Film. Digital Synopsis. Retrieved from https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/film-movies-color-psychology/

Let's Be Low Key

   Lighting manipulates the emotions viewers have on the film. It sets the tone before any music is played or any dialogue is presented. This is going to be one of the more difficult parts for me: the set up of the room with the lighting.

   I am going to utilize low-key lighting because it creates that dramatic effect I am looking for. The intense contrast will create the tone of suspicion and the idea of being untrustworthy as the case file is introduced. My mom's office is surrounded by windows so creating a more dark atmosphere will be slightly complicated and I will need to rearrange the room which will take me the longest as well as getting the right light being presented through the camera.

"How Low-Key Lighting can Instantly Make Your Film Dramatic" by Caleb Ward

After doing some research, I found this visual in one of the websites the most helpful because I can get a visual idea of how I need my set up to be when I start filming. I realized that the lighting needs to be angled on the side to create the intense contrast on the subject. Of course when filming, I will take more clips and experiment with it so I have a variety of shots to choose from during the editing.

Ward, C. (2015, July 7). How Low-Key Lighting can Instantly Make Your Film Dramatic. The Beat. Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-low-key-lighting-can-instantly-make-your-film-dramatic/

Renee, V. (2017, June 24). A Guide on How to Use Light to Communicate Emotion for Film. No Film School. Retreived from https://nofilmschool.com/2017/06/guide-how-use-light-communicate-emotion-film

Board Troubles

   So update on props. I found a bulletin board but I am not sure if it will be too small but I do have the red string and tacks for it. I still need to determine the layout of the bulletin board and more evidence to put on it. I was looking at examples online and are using these for inspiration. I found that I have the option of either using just photos or use a combination with other stuff like newspaper articles, maps and locations.

Hopefully after I finish the investigation report, I will have a better idea for the bulletin board layout. 

Photo Aging

   My worries about the clips for the bulletin board has been lifted! I used the app recommended from the group discussion, FaceApp. Although what I was able to use was limited, I feel that it is sufficient for the image in the film. It won't be shown for too long but I want to ensure that they look close to the age I am looking for.

Before:

 

 

 

After:

 

Group Meeting

   Today, we were put in group to discuss our ideas and main concerns/ challenges for our film opening. It opened my eyes to other people's ideas and their concerns, which were interesting. Thankfully, we were each able to contribute to help each other with some of these concerns which was a relief. This meeting answered majority of my concerns for my mise-en-scenes elements. I was worried about adjusting photos to make people look older and younger but the group advised me to use the app FaceApp which has been very helpful. Another concern I had was the bulletin board being too confusing so instead of using many photos of people, I will include locations and newspapers. I still need to work on my set up to start filming and being able to manipulate lighting. I will hopefully be able to work on that this upcoming weekend as well as getting all my props finished. Now that I have a better idea of the bulletin board, I can get started on this as soon as possible and get a proper layout.

Plans, Plans, Plans

   Now that I feel more confident about the opening, my plan for the week is to focus more on scheduling filming and work on my props. My props are vital to my opening because it is the main focus so I would like them to look as real as possible. I am also a perfectionist so I will be working very hard and diligently on my props throughout the week. So far, I started working on the case folder. I still have a lot to do though.
I need to make...

• investigation reports
• photo of my victim
• photo of people involved in the case
• case folder
• set up of the bulletin board

I need to buy...

• red string
• print photos

   

   I will be borrowing my mom's office shredder, printer, filing bin and desktop computer. I already have tacks and the bulletin board.

Before I start filming though, I need to do more research on how I can manipulate lighting to make it more suspenseful. 

   This is the case folder as of the moment but I still have more to add towards it which I plan to finish up throughout the week.