The Final Day of Filming

 In the end, we decided to stick with our original plan. For some time we were having difficulties. But I'm very happy that we decided to stay with what we had. Today my group and I went to Rashawn's house. Last time we filmed, we got the scenes all the way up to James at the bus stop. Now, Rashawn and I would be included in the film. Rashawn was the friend of James (Constantine) and I was the officer. For the scenes of Rashawn walking up to Constantine, I filmed. However, we were having difficulties. Originally, we were using an actual camera. But, it stopped working for some reason right when I started filming. So, I suggested filming on the phone. I ended up filming on Constantine's phone. I filmed those two from an extra long shot. I also filmed close ups of Constantine handing Rashawn the drugs. For the scenes where they were talking I did over the shoulder scenes. After that, it was my turn to be included. Rashawn filmed me at a close up and me running after Constantine. He also filmed me arresting Constantine at a medium/close shot. I had a good time today and I'm confident our film will turn out well.

Difficulty With a New Plan

 Since the last blog I wrote, things haven't really changed. My groupmates aren't very communicative with me. So, it is difficult to come up with a new plan. Constantine told me a few things for the new plan. I was, and still am, very confused and annoyed on as to why we have to change the whole plan this late into the project. However, my teammates won't budge and I have no choice. This dispute is causing me great difficulty to be honest. Either way, my group and I must come up with something quick. Our time is running out. Once we come up with a solid plan, I plan to upload the second filming blog. Then, after that, I plan to start working on the editing blogs. Since I told Constantine that I don't want to have our weeks of work go to waste, he told me a brief plan. He said that we should keep what we already filmed, but change the storyboard for the rest of the film. He suggested to add more shots of James trying to get to school. However, his bad luck will hinder that. He also suggested adding features of a comedy. This is to make the short film more engaging. He said that at the end we can incorporate the drugs that James has. However, this greatly confuses me, as he said he didn't like the original plan because of the involvement of drugs. Either way, sadly, I have no choice but to continue onwards and get everything done before the deadline.

Change of Plans

 Our original plan has changed. Constantine let Rashawn and I know that he isn't too fond about our original plot for the short film. So then we had to figure out a new plot. We don't have much time left to finish this project. So, we have to come up with a new plan quickly. For now, our ideas are still not solid. The original plan was a story about how Murphy's Law constantly messes up a high school drug dealer's day. However, Constantine did not like the idea of filming a short film with the concept of drugs in it. Honestly, it really annoyed me that this late into the project he wanted to change everything. We already had a full day of filming. Also, he had plenty of time to let us know that he did not like the plot when we posted the storyboard, the script, and when we let him know about the idea. Sadly, even if I really find it unnecessary to change the entire plot this far into the project, I know I will have to. Rashawn, Constantine, and I texted in our group chat to try to come up with a new plot. Most of my ideas were rejected by them. So, I figured that they would have to come up with something. Constantine wanted to have something with James's life still being affected by Murphy's Law, like when he can't find an adequate bicycle. He also wanted to implement a certain type of editing where the screen freezes and the character does a voice over. To me, that sounds good. However, we will still need to come up with more for the plot in a short amount of time. We will try to come up with it quickly so we can film on Sunday.

First Day of Filming

 Yesterday my group and I filmed the first clips of our short film. We got the beginning scenes done. For some scenes, I helped film. A lot of the time I directed. Constantine is playing the main character of James. The first scene we filmed was the scene of James waking up. First, Rashawn filmed it. But then I took the camera and filmed going from a low angle to an angle over James' face. The next scene was the one in the bathroom. I directed James and I showed how to film the illusion that the faucet doesn't work. I filmed the close up of the faucet handle then the actual faucet multiple times. Then I told Constantine to get a plastic bag so we can put grass in it to make it look like drugs. After, my group and I did the scene where James realizes he forgot his keys. I stood behind Rashawn and told Constantine when to appear on camera. Then, after that scene my group and I went outside. I told Constantine to put grass in the bag. Then I helped direct the scenes where James' was walking to the bus stop. After that we went to the beach to take a group photo. I'd say the day went well. We will film again soon.

Finding the Right Outfit

 I'm going to be playing the part of the DEA officer in this short film. A DEA officer is an officer that works with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. For that part, I won't be able to wear everyday clothes. A common T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes wouldn't be sufficient. Officers usually wear a uniform. I will have to wear a hat, and some sort of agent-looking clothing. I was thinking of wearing all black. I also wanted my character to wear sunglasses to seem more menacing and mysterious. So, I decided to go out to stores and browse through their options. My store options were very vast. Living in South Florida, many people run stores and businesses. The stores I went to to find adequate clothing were Ross, Target, and Macy's. The first store I went to was Macy's. They have many clothes of different styles. However, their prices were expensive and too high for my budget. So, I had to go to a different store. The next store I went to was Target. I found the perfect hat there and sunglasses. I'm sure those will help my part as a DEA agent look more realistic. The last thing I had to do was find clothes. So, I went to Ross and found exactly what I needed. I found black pants and a black shirt. I went home and tried on the outfit, and it looked perfect.

Different Music Options

Since the genre of the short film is thriller, it is important to use music that will fit that theme. It was chosen that there will be 2 different songs that will be used. There will have to be music in the beginning of the film. There will also be music during the chase of the officer running after James. I decided to research different types of music. One type is orchestra. Orchestra is a type of music that includes a group of people playing instruments. Common instruments include mainly stringed instruments. However, music like that won't match the story that the film will show. Other music includes songs that actually have words being sung or rapped. A common type of music that can be featured in the background of films is rap music. The beat and the words are a good sound to fill the empty silence during certain parts of a film, like a conversation. Rashawn told me that he preferred that we had music that didn't include words. So, rap music is off the list. Basically, I would have to find music that purely includes instruments/sound effects. A type of music like that is ambient. It helps to emphasize the environment that the film is trying to portray. However, there is different types of ambient music, depending on the mood and the feeling that is trying to be portrayed. For example, there can be an eerie type of ambient music, which will create the feeling of suspense. For this assignment, ambient music that portrays eeriness is ideal. This music will be played with a close-up of James' face right before he wakes up and when James is giving Kofi drugs. For the part of the agent running after James, chase music will be implemented to increase suspense and really bring that thriller feel to the film.

Final Task Storyboard

 Page 1: James Murphey, the main character, wakes up, gets yelled at by his mom to go to school, and spills all his cereal on the floor in a rush. He rushes out the house, forgets his keys then goes back to get them, and goes to the bus stop. He checks his pockets to make sure the drugs are still there and he gets splashed by puddle water. He realizes that he missed the bus so he calls his mom to pick him up. The next scene on this page is him in an alleyway afterschool waiting for his friend Kofi.

Page 2: Kofi and James meet, and James gives Kofi drugs. It turns out that Kofi was working with the police, and a DEA agent finds them and runs after James.

Page 3: As James is running away from the DEA agent, he runs into a homeless man which blocks his way and allows the DEA agent to catch up to him. The DEA agent handcuffs James and James is furious at Kofi and sad that he got caught.