Editing the Short Film

 So today I started with editing the part of the girl (my sister) asking her mom if she can go out with her friends. As I was editing I thought I should try something new with scene like I did last year. I wanted to do a shot reverse shot so that its clear of whos talking. Another reason I wanted to do the shot reverse shot was because I wanted to let the audience see the reactions as well. I never actually notice when this is in the movie because we mostly just expect it to be there not knowing what it took to get there. Now I understand how it gets into a movie. Now that I am using iMovie, its like I'm re-learning how to edit because their so different. On the software I used before it was a little easier to do shot reverse shots because I could move the clips. But on the software I'm using now everytime I cut the clip I have delete it and add the other clip over again. I do think it is a more efficent way to do this but I think my iMovie was acting up. I tried something today that is an editing skill they use in most movies and tv shows. I took the audio off of the beginning clips and used it for the remaining clips in that scene. It was hard because I had to match the lips with the audio for the first clip. Because I was using iMovie, after each clip it automatically adds a dissolve transition from one clip to the other. Because it was a shot reverse shot I didn't want it to have dissolve transition because it would distract from the scene itself. When I took dissolve transition away it messed up the matching of the lips with the audio and I had to redo the matching again.

I also wanted to add music to that scene but of course my music was acting up again. I had to go to the learn more tab to see if it can help me, and I think it was the song I chose. I usually like to edit from beginning to end with adding music, sound effects, and even texts. When my music wasn't working I thought I should move on to the next so that at least I get more of the movie edited. 

Editing Blog

 Since I have now finished editing the titles in the movie I can now start editing the rest of the movie. I honestly didn't think editing the titles would even take that long but it did. I think one of the reasons it did take so long was because it was my first time editing in iMovie. Another reason I think it took so long was because I wanted the titles to add to the titles of the movie with colors and animation, but I don't know ow to do that. I also think to get all the cool stuff you would have to purchase something and since I was using the free version I only got the simple stuff. I also didn't want to have the titles white but I didn't want to distract from the clips itself. So after I finished the titles I knew everything after that would be pretty easy. Some of the clips didn't need too much editing, so those parts were pretty easy. Like I said before, since this was my first time editing a big project on iMovie, I knew I had to add music on some scenes and it was kind of hard. It kept adding the music on the wrong part of the clip and I would keep trying to slid it over and it wouldn't move. I eventually figured out how to add the music to the right part of the clip and it was sweatless after that. After I started adding all the different clips of different scenes and I notice how unorganized I really was. In my gallery some of the beginning scenes was at the end and some was at the beginning. I realized thats probably how profesional editors of movies clips are because I know that movie schedule clips for different times. Like thay sometimes do the end of the movie first and sometimes the beginning last. I also added some sound affects so it wouldn't be a soundless movie. In the beginning when I was setting the scene with where we were, I added the sound of crickets to keep a settle mood. And since we were outside it was perfect and actually sounded real. I also added the sound effect of a cellphone ringing for a few parts.

Filming Blog

I have finally completed filming my whole movie. I really don't know why it took me so long to finish because I could've finished most of the movie in one day. I could've finished everything except the girls in the car part. I think the only reason I didn't finish it all in one day is because everytime we got to it, we were already tired from filming the other parts of the film. Another reason it took so long to film was because I was waiting on my mom to be home for filming because she was busy during the week. Since it was finally the weekend everybody was available for filming. We filmed the part of her mother findin her in her room and kissing her goodnight. That seems very simple to film but it wasn't at all. Everytime I would say action my sister would start laughing, which made me laugh, which made us waste more time. I tried to get the lighting as best as possible. Since I knew the scene was supposed to be dark I knew it couldn't be too much light in the room because it is supposed a night scene, and since we were filming in the day time I had to make sure the blinds was closed to make it look a little darker than how it would if it was a light scene. I also couldn't make it too dark because I knew I had to be able to see my actors for the best in video. I also filmed the part of the mom confronting her daughter about the party she went to. I made a rookie mistake by not sending my actors the screeplay beforehand, because I had to feed them the script because they didn't know it. I would feed them the script and they would get an idea of what is happening in the scene and they would perform it. I was actually very surprised on how fast they understood the script. The very last sceen of the movie was the part when the mom confronts the daughter. about the party, which is supposed to be a little emotional. I was very shocked about how they took their lines and made it their own and really put their personalities into it. It was like they were real actors, I was very shocked. But there were also problems, like my sister wasn't corrupurating. After we completed doing this scene, I told them they were going to have to do it again ao that I could get another angle, and she was acting like she didn't want to do it, but eventually my mom made her film again.

Editing Blog (Adding Titles)

 Today I have finally started to edit my short film. I thought I should start off with aomething simple like the titles. Since I am using Apple iMovie, I wanted to make sure I knew exactly how to work it. I started by going in the app and looking at all the buttons so I know how to apply what I need for my movie. I started by putting all of the beginning shots in the bar to see how much footage I had. When I put all the shots of the beginning scenes in, I realized I didn't get the other shots I wanted to add in. I wanted to have some pan shots of the beginning from different angles to get the feel that the movie is starting. I know that I do have the opportunity to re-film that part of the movie but unfortunatly I can't. The reason I can't refilm that part of the movie is because my sister, the main character changed her hair. If I was to refilm that part of her with different hair, I would have to refilm everything I've already filmed. Having to refilm everything I've already filmed would've put a huge setback in my completion process. As was stated before I started with titles to get me going on my editing process. I like that I can have my titles on stock shots, so thats what started with. I did try to look for the required titles to ensure that I had all the titles needed to complete this assignment correctly. Sadly I couldn't find where the list was so I probably have to look at my past movie to look for all the titles I included. Since last time I had to make up a production company and filming service last time,I'm going to use the same company names for this movie to keep it in the same name. I'm honestly not sure if I want to even keep the stock shots in the beginning because I can just put the titles throughout the first part of the movie. 

Another Filming Blog

 I really wish I wasn't doing another filming blog but I did film alot. Yesturday I finally filmed the biggest part of the movie. I filmed the part of the girl and her friends going to and from a party. I've been wanting to film thos scene for the longest, but I could never get everybody in place at the same time. I didn't even know I was going to be filming it today but I knew I had to because my cousin was finally off from work. And the day everybody is available I didn't have my phone. Since I didn'e have my phone I would've had to use one of my cousins phone to record. But I ended up getting my phone back so that I can film the movie. Luckily I was able to get my phone back because I knew I had to use my phone because I had the best quality camera. So I first started with the scene of her going outside to the car in the coat she had on and heading to the car. I couldn't finish that scene right then and there because I didn't have my other actor for the car scene. So we had to go pick up my cousin, which is the other actor, to complete this. We didn't want to go far from my cousins house so we found an area by some christmas lights to film at. The only bad thing about that area was that it was in the middle of the road. So everytime I saw a car approaching we would have to go all the way around to let the car go ahead. Everytime we turned around we had to start over and I had to tell them their lines over. Since I didn't print out the script like I wanted to, I had to tell them their lines and hoped they rememebered it. So I would go over their lines and they would practice it while I was in the car with them. After I told them their lines I would get out of the car so that I wasn't in the shot and wait for them to finish their lines. Right when I would get out the car they all would forget their lines. One person would mess up and then the rest of the people in the car would follow right after and forget the lines. They all would be so goofy and start laughing and make us start the scene over. But we ended up finishing that scene and doing the part where the girls was on the way to drop off Abby and they were late for curfew. I also loved how my actors took the script and made it there own by adding some lines they would normally say to get more into the character.

Researching Other Movies

 In the beginning of the year my teachers told me that taking this class would totally ruin the way I watch movies. And to be honest, I didn't believe them when they said it, but now I understand. Everytime I watch movies now I always analyze why the director used the angle he did or used the lighting he did. It always helps me see how the angles help display the theme to the audience. So I thought it would be helpful for me to watch a bunch of differernt movies and television to help me. I thought that watching the movies and tv shows could help me get a better understanding of how they use lighting, camera angles, sound and shots to make it the movie or tv show it is. So I started by watching some of my favorites to help me see exactly why I like those movies. I've watched the movie Home Alone 2, when the boy was lost from his parents at the airport. The scene that comes to mind is the one when they realized Kevin wasn't actually there. I liked how you saw it go all the way down the line with the pan shot and how it captured everyones different personalities. And the part when the mom realizes he's gone and she does that screaming scene, it was a great visualization of how she felt. The way the sound built up and how the camera was set up helps the sudience get a great feel of the emotion she actually feels. With all the classics I watched, I also watched some low budget films to compare. I'm not really sure of the names of the movies because there were so many. As I was watching the low budget movie I was noticing what the director was missing or what a better director would've done differently. I know that I'm not a professional director but I know as a "professional" movie watcher that I know what is missing or what is confusing to the audience. As I was watching the movie I saw some things that I wouldn't do or some things I would add to make my movie good. My whole goal for this movie is to make it look like a real movie. Even though I know the quality will not be as professional, I want the editing, lighting, sound, and camera angles to be well thought out and well protrayed.

via GIPHY

Filming More of the Movie

 Since the day wasn't over yet, we decided to continue filming. Because it's night time, we thought we could use it to our advantage for the scenery. Since one of the scenes are supposed to be night time we thought we might as well finish those scenes while its dark. We filmed the part of the mom coming out of the bathroom to check on her children. We started with her in her room with her robe on. It was so hard working with my mom cause she kept trying to add her two cents in. Everytime we would film a scene she would say "maybe we should do this...", "maybe we should do that...". That's probably why it took so long just to film that one scene. While we were filming my sister thought it would be a good idea to cook. So everytime we were ready to film, she would start moving post and we would have to start the scene over. We even filmed the part of the girl asking her mom to if she can go out. We filmed the shot of the mom's point of view. We couldn't do the girls point of view because she was cooking and because she took off her costume. While she was gone we I had to do her dialogue for her behind the camera. But it wasn't sufficient because it was throwing off the sound of the scene. Eventually we had to ask my sister to say her part as if she was being recorded. It helped because it would be a better match for when I edit the clip in. While filming this, my sister was being so goofy. She continued to slow down our filming process by her joking and laughing. We had to start over so many times because of her making me laugh. It was also hard for my mom to get her lines. Everytime we would start the camera she would say something different which means we had to keep starting over. It was also very funny how she kept messing up which was more laughs.