Production Process- Shooting Process

Filming Week #1 !!! We're finally there! This weekend, we began shooting a few scenes. And next weekend, we're filming the bulk of it. This weekend, we started off smoothly, only shooting the first scene and getting a couple shots of Hollywood Boardwalk.

The first scene takes place in the house of the main character, Sammy (which is really my house). These shots consist of her getting ready, changing her clothes, and packing her bag for the beach. This scene establishes background information on the main character and also suggests where the film is headed (the beach). This weekend, we also got a few shots of the Hollywood boardwalk, which contains shots of stores and the sidewalk. These shots will be used in the beach montage portion of this film. Montages are common in coming-of-age films and can be used to condense time or for visual storytelling.

"Sammy" getting ready

Clip taken at Hollywood Boardwalk

Overall, this weekend was a successful filming weekend as we got our first portion of the film completed. Stay tuned to hear about next weekend's filming, and guess where were shooting?! The beach!

Planning Post - Prop/Set design

The props used and the set of a film are very important characteristics in setting the mood and tone and establishing backstory. In this blog, I will explain the props we used and why, along with where our film is set.

Props

One of the first shots in our film is a close-up of things one would bring to the beach: sunglasses, sunscreen, glasses, a brush, a water bottle, and a towel. The first scene shows a hand grabbing each item, and once the towel is moved, the camera focuses on a stack of notebooks, a folder, and a book. The beach essentials are used to let the viewer infer that the character is going to the beach, giving a little background information. Meanwhile, focusing in on the notebooks and novel give background to the character herself, suggesting that she is kind of nerdy and cares about school. As the character is shown looking into the mirror, you see her in an all black outfit, with baggy jeans and a hoodie. Her outfit is key to conveying the idea that she's different from other girls, but in the following scene where she changes into a more popular beach attire, this suggests that she is trying to fit in.

Beach Props

Book Props

Set

The sets in our film opening contain shots in the main character's bathroom, room, Hollywood Boardwalk, and Hollywood Beach. Shooting in the main character's home allows the viewer to see a little into her personal life and get a clearer sense of her actual emotions. Meanwhile, shooting at the beach in Hollywood gives the film a teenage sense.

Character Development

Developing the characters for this project has actually been surprisingly fun. In our film opening, there will be a total of 3 characters who are all teenage girls. Today's blog will focus on the development of each character and showing who they really are. 

Protagonist/ Main Character: Sammy – acted by Bri 

Antagonists: Sofia acted by Ana Sofia and Vicky acted by Veronica- the mean friends 

Sammy:

The main character, Sammy, is depicted as a shy, introverted girl who doesn't talk much. She shuts people out and doesn't care too much for attention. Since her mom died when Sammy was young it's harder for her to relate to other girls and be like other girls. Her mom's death is suggested when Sammy is leaving her house and kisses a framed picture of her mom on a hospital bed and says "Goodbye, love you, Mom." When Sammy is at her house getting ready for the beach you see her in an outfit she would wear, baggy jeans and a hoodie, but she changes when she realizes she should wear clothes other girls would wear so she could fit in. There will also be a scene where she takes off her glasses and puts contacts in as she's getting ready. Also, Sammy has curly hair, unlike her friends with straight hair, that she has in a ponytail when she's at home but then takes her hair down when she sees her friends with their hair down. This shows Sammy changing who she is to be like other people and to fit in. It also illustrates the difference between her and most girls.

Sophia and Vicky: 

Sophia and Vicky are depicted as bubbly, outgoing, sassy, popular girls. They are the classic blonde and brunette duo. Sophia and Vicky constantly talk about guys, the expensive things they own and tend to leave out Sammy since she's not like them. They can be mean at times as they are spoiled since their the typical "daddy's money" girls. Sophia and Vicky wear jean shorts and a tube top over their bikinis, typical teenage beach attire. They also wear colored clothing like pink, blue, purple, or yellow.

Classic Blonde and Brunette duo

While all 3 of the characters have their own attributes, Sophia and Vickys are more similar to each other, but different from Sammy since she's the main character and she is not like them. That's also why Sammy's character is more developed, since she's the one our film opening is focused on.

Film Project Audio

A key element in films is the audio; it is an absolute necessity as it sets the mood and tone. Our film opening will be comprised of many different sound elements that successfully fit into the mood of each scene. Along with the use of foley sounds, we will also use actual songs for parts of our film opening. 

For the actual song part we are thinking of using songs like Walking On A Dream By Empire of The Sun, Kids by MGMT, Sundress by A$AP Rocky, The Thrill by Wiz Khalifa, and more. These songs would be used in the montage scenes at the beach and the songs for the characters getting ready. This type of music gives it a summer vibe and really ties into the fun, careless teenage summer vibes we are trying to accomplish.

The Thrill- Wiz Khalifa

Walking On A Dream- Empire Of The Sun

As for the diegetic sounds, we might use the sound of footsteps and a crowd of people talking to give it a naturalistic vibe because at a beach there's usually a good amount of people. In the background of the scene where they're sitting in the sand you can hear the sound of waves and birds. This illustrates the setting and makes sense because those are the types of things you would hear when at the beach. At a point, there will also be a shot of someone putting music on the speaker and you would primarily hear the music.

Film Opening Mise-En-Scene Part 2

The previous post was about mise-en-scene regarding costumes and props. This post will focus on the set and the lighting which are also essential in filmmaking. 

Set/ Location

The film will take place in several locations including the beach, the Hollywood boardwalk (in Florida), and the main character (Sammy) house. The set/location used for the scenes is essential in conveying the mood and the message along with giving background to the characters. The first few shots are set in Sammy's house and it gives insight to her character, showing her uniqueness and also suggesting her mom's death in the shot of the picture of her mom on a hospital bed. The beach is used for the scenes of the the 3 girls hanging out because ging to the beach is a popular teenage hangout location.

Main location- Hollywood boardwalk/beach

Lighting

The lighting is a key factor in conveying the mood of each scene. Dim lighting is typically used to illustrate sadness, fear, or mystery. Bright lighting could be used to be able to see characters' facial expressions clearer or suggest a happy or light mood. For most scenes, there is bright lighting to embrace the liveliness of being a teen. Although the shot that suggests her mom's death is the picture of her mom on a hospital bed will have dimmer lighting to enhance the sad mood. 

Film Opening Mise-En-Scene Elements

Mise-en-scene is one of the most important elements when filming. The mise-en-scene tells the viewer about the characters, the personality, the setting and so much more.

Costumes

For the costumes, Sophia and Vicky's clothes will be very similar since the 2 characters are also very similar. They will both wear bathing suits with sandals, jean shorts, and tube/tank tops on top. This is a very typical teenage outfit for going to the beach, letting the viewer infer that that is where they're headed. Both characters will wear clothes with color unlike Sammy showing how she's different from them. Colorful clothing is also common among "popular girls", so it shows how Sophia and Vicky fit the stereotype. As for Sammy, she will be wearing a similar outfit in an attempt to fit in, but she will wear all black to show a contrast between the characters and their personalities.

This picture somewhat resembles the outfits and colors Sophia and Vicky will wear

Props

For our film opening the characters are going to the beach. In one of the first scenes, the main character is shown getting ready and packing her bag for the beach. In her bag, she will pack a water bottle, sunscreen, a towel, sunglasses, a brush, and snacks. Showing these props when the character is getting ready leads the viewers to infer where she is heading. Once the characters get to the beach Sophia and Vicky pull out a bottle of alcohol which will just be a bottle wrapped in a brown bag. This prop is essential for conveying the message of peer pressure.

Script

Begins in Sammy’s house, mainly her room and bathroom. 

Music plays, Hear specific diegetic sounds like a sink running and certain objects being set down. 

Sammy: (kisses framed picture of her mom) Bye, Love you Mom 

Sound of a car honking 

Sammy: (Runs out of house) Bye dad, Love you 

Dad: Love you too, have fun and dont get into trouble 

Sammy: (sarcastically) yea, IM going to get into trouble 

Sammy and her dad both laugh 

As Sammy runs out of the house she slams the door 

The sound of a car honking repeats 

Vicky: (yelling) Get your ass in the car! 

Sophia: (giggles) 

Sammy opens car door and closes 

Sophia: Could you have taken any longer? 

Sammy: (nervously) I’m sorry, I'm sorry I woke up late. 

Vicky: (dry tone) Ugh, whatever let’s go 

Car leaves to go to the beach 

Upbeat music begins to play 

Arrive at Hollywood Boardwalk and the 3 girls walk around 

Upbeat music playing as montage of beach begins 

Music fades out and diegetic sound of beach and the characters talking becomes prominent 

Sophia: (smiling) OMG! You would never guess who texted me last night 

Vicky: (Dry tone) hmm wild guess... Anthony 

Sophia: (confused) What? How’d you know? 

Vicky: He’s talked to just about the entire school about how badly he needs someone to put him on with you and he basically drools everytime he sees you(pauses) it’s kind of pathetic 

Sophia: (sweet voice and blushing) I don’t know, I think it’s kinda sweet 

Sammy: (smiling) Aww, you guys would be perfect together 

All sit down in the sand on towels at the beach 

Vicky: (eye roll) Whatever. I just hope Lucas remembered to lock up the house before he left this morning. 

Sammy: (confused) Morning? 

Vicky: (Sassy) Yea, this morning, he spent the night. 

Sophia: (excited) Okay, hold on, why did I not know about this?!  

They begin to unpack their bags 

Vicky: (Smiling) I wanted to tell you in person so i could see your reaction. Yea, since my parents are in Italy for 2 weeks he slept over tonight. 

Sammy: (smiling but also uncomfortable) aww 

Sophia: (excitedly) Sooo, parents out of town, are you thinking what im thinking 

Vicky: Oh yea 100%, im throwing a rager tomorrow night  

Sophia: We are so out 

Vicky: (pulls out bottle of alcohol)

Sophia: Okay so I actually love you

Sammy: (Akwardly) I didn't know we were drinking

Vicky: Duh why wouldnt we

Sophia: You've drank before right?

Sammy: (shyly) Uhh no, not really

Vicky: Oh my god what a loser, alright you have to drink now

Sammy: i dont know, I've never reallytried it and what if something bad happens

Sophia: Stop being a baby, nothings gonna happen

Vicky: Jus take a fucking sip bro its not that deep

Sammy: Okay, okay fine