Pre-Production

Summary

Explanation of the Film Vision

The concept for this film was to create a tribute/parody of the retro sci-fi films of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This concept was the jumping off point for the rest of the film. I really want to make the film feel like it could be playing at a drive-in movie theater. This lead us to making many of the choices we made for the film.

Genre / Style of the Film

This film is a retro sci-fi film, this directed us into making many stylistic choices. The biggest stylistic choice we made was to make the film black and white. Another stylistic choice we made was to have simple camera angles. We didn’t want use any super intense camera movements, such as a crash zooms or fast handheld sequences, because these were not common place in the time period we are trying to emulate. Another choice we made was to use practical effects, physically making the UFOs instead of creating them digitally.

Influences from Other Films

This film is highly influenced by sci-fi B movies from the 1950’s and 1960’s. A specific film that was a major inspiration was Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space. Another large inspiration was Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, even though this film is more modern, it is based off a series of trading cards from the time period. Because of the film’s mix of modern and classic influences it serves as a great example of how to adapt retro sci-fi into the modern age. Another large inspiration was the Destroy All Humans! video game franchise. Like Mars Attacks!, Destroy All Humans! is a modern adaptation of retro sci-fi and serves as an example of how to bring the genre into the modern age.

Consultations with the Production Team

I worked with my production team to plan varoius aspects of the film before shooting. We all worked together to create a rough story before the screenwriter began working on the script. We did this so that each member of the production team would understand what the story was and what they needed to do to complete, including any visual effects or difficult camera movements. I worked with my screenwriter to narrow down the script, work out any plot holes, and make sure the script was filmmable in our budget and timeframe. I also worked with the cinematograpgher when creating the storyboard. For this film we wanted very little camera movement, but still wanted the shots to look dynamic and interesting. We also decied that we wanted to shoot the film in black and white, which needed to be considered when lighting scenes.

Location Scouting

This film was heavily written around locations we had access to. We also chose locations that we’re all very close together, making it very easy for us to transport cast, crew, and gear from location.

Casting Decisions

I had a small batch of actors to chose from. I’d either already worked with them on a film or I had seen them act somewhere else, so I was confident on their acting abilities meaning that casting decisions were largely based around the availability, ability, and relationships of the actors. We had three main actors that were available much more often than the other members of the cast. I ended up casting those three in the roles of Paul, Harry, and the Alien, because those three are the only characters that were in multiple scenes. The way each actor got there specific role was largely process of elimination one actor didn’t wish to be on camera that much, so I casted him as the Alien. The actor who played Harry originally was going to play the character of Paul, but he did not have his drivers license, which meant he couldn’t film any of the driving scenes. Because of this, I swapped the casting of Paul and Harry. The rest of the roles were much easier to cast. The actors that played the Mayor and the Mayor’s Assistant were friends, so I casted them in side by side roles hoping that their real life friendship would give them chemistry on screen. My reasoning for the rest of the cast came from simply from scheduling. Some actors were only available to use during school hours, which meant they were cast as the President and the Newscaster, because those were shot on campus.

Permissions

The film was based around locations that I knew we would have access to, except for the diner. The diner was a local small business nearby the other locations we filmed at. I called the diner and spoke a simply asked if we would be able to film, we which they responded with time that they would allow use to film at and even provided a place that we could film in that gave us space while not bothering any customers.

Scheduling

Scheduling was quite an issue for this production, because I needed to coordinated with 8 actors and 2 locations. Two of the actors were only available during school hours, so their scenes were much easier to schedule, giving each of them a class period. The main issue came with the other 6 actors and filming outside of school hours. Many of them had previous engagements that would make it hard to find a time to film. I managed to find a day that worked everyone, but we would be unable to film everything in that one day. In order to combat this, I broke up the filming schedule. Filming the first two scenes on different day because it need less actors. I also planned out the order we filmed in to maximize our efficiency. Filming any scenes that needed sunlight first, so that we wouldn’t run out of sunlight. Many of the actors we also not available all day, this also contributed to the order we filmed in. An other big factor was the diner’s availability. The diner requested that we arrive after lunch, but left before dinner. This limited timeframe meant we had to also build the filming order around when we could use the diner.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I had never directed a film with so many characters. Before this film the largest number of characters I had worked on was 4, this film was over double, with 9 separate characters. The film also boasted 6 separate locations that we filmed at which also posed a challenge. The writing and storyboarding for this film gave us much less time to film than I would have liked, also the time we chose to film overlapped with many of the actors’ mid winter break plans. This meant we had to film things within a very short window. The mix of several actors and locations along with the short shooting window meant I had to work hard to create the sechdule and communicate on a larger scale than ever before. The biggest thing I learned when creating this shedule was finding the mix between someone’s avialbilty and nesccirty. For example the mayor couldn’t arrive until after we planned on shooting the scene. We could have waited for him to arrive, but that would have pushed us back and made it so we wouldn’t have finished till late at night. Instead we worked around his absence, filming shots without his character until he could arrive.

Production

Summary

Production Notes for Each Day of Shooting

The first day of filming did not go as well as I would have liked. Rain delayed the start of filming by about an hour. We adapted by working on the UFO sequence with the rear projection method. We worked on the sequence but we couldn’t get the rear projection to work properly. Once the rain stoped we filmed scene one and scene two, which went very well. Originally I also planned on filming scene four, but the rain delayed our schedule and we ran out of time. The next day we adapted and meet earlier than orgianly planned in order to film scene four. Orginally I hoped to film scene four in between the diner and town hall scenes, but due to the diner’s avilibilty we weren’t able to do that. I also hoped that we would have extra hands on set during that scene, but we had to film it with a skeleton crew. Because of this we needed to cut a shot featuring a tracking shot, which we simply replaced with two static shots. We then moved locations to film scene three at the diner. At the dinner we did the oppisite, we took two shots at the beging of the scene and combined them into one shot with a pan. We did this becuase we didn’t want to have a camera set up in a walkway in the diner. When then moved on to shooting the town hall scenes. We had a much larger crew for around half of this shoot. This allowed us to include shots like the tracking shot when Paul and Harry walk to the car and the pans when Paul runs to the ray gun. The film ran into issues when filming these scenes later on in the shoot. We didn’t have any water on set and the actor playing the alien was becoming increadbly dehydrated due to the hot alien mask and coustume. We ran into an even bigger problem when our sound recorder died. Luckly the location was about a two minute drive away from my house. So I quickly drove over to my house and got water and battires, while the rest of my production team filmed the close ups of the ray gun on the floor. Shortly after this a majorty of our crew left so we had to once agian work with the small skeleton crew we had. Changing plenty of shots so we would still be able to properly record audio. We also ran into issues with the ray gun prop. By the end of the day the handle began seperating from the rest of the prop. I did see this coming and did bring materials to fix it, but due to time constraints we weren’t able to properly fix it. We solved this issue by chaging some blocking and having Paul set down the ray gun after firing it (He also does it with two hands so it didn’t fall apart during the take). This got removed the prop from the scene before it either broke during a take or was damaged beyond repair. Another issue we encountered during filming was with the audio. Halfway through the second day of production we discovered that we in fact only recording one channel of audio, instead of two. We had discovered this so late into production that we couldn’t go back and reshoot the scenes with the single channel audio. Instead I decied to record the rest of the film in single channel and then to have the editor double it post, giving us mono audio. While the audio doesn’t sound as good as stereo, it actually helps reinforce the 50s/60s style of the film. With stereo audio not becoming standard in film until the mid 70s. The only scenes we filmed outside these two days were the scenes with the president and the newscaster. These scenes were increably simple to film

On-Going Discussions with Film Team

What I Learned

Post-Production

Summary

Working with The Editor

I worked closely with editor with on this film. I wanted to make sure that the film’s look fit what I had in mind, specifically the visual effects and the color grading. I wanted to do as many visual effects as we could practical, but several of the effects simply couldn’t have been done this way. One of this digital effects was the Alien’s distagration ray. The editor created these digitally using Adobe After Effects. Originally the laser blast was much detailed, being heavily based off the main blaster from Destroy All Humans!, but I felt like it looked “too good” for the time period. The editor then created a much more simplified version of the effect, which we ended up using. Another effect the editor needed to create was the UFOs. Originally I envisioned this as an entirely in camera effect, using rear projection to place the UFOs all over the world. In practice we ran into a variety of issues when attempting this method. We instead elected to film the practical UFOs on a green screen and key them into the various locations. While this isn’t as athetic as I would like, the practical UFOs still sell the cheesiness of the effect very well. Another important piece of the film was the color grading. While we shot the film in color, we planned for it to be black and white from the start. The color grading was done after the editing, in DaVinci Resolve using the film emulation plug-in Dehancer. The plug-in allowed for the editor to control various elements of the black and white effect, making it look far better than simply lowering the saturation to zero.

Changes to The Script

The script over went various changes on set. One example was a simple line change during the fight scene. In the script while holding off the Alien, Harry says, “It’s as strong as Muhammad Ali!” The line was actually originally suggested to the screenwriter by me. I thought Muhammad Ali was a good time period reference and somebody known for their strength. But when we began filming the scene I felt like the reference wasn’t instantaneous to the audience, and would cause them to think about the line to long or that wouldn’t even catch the reference. I decided on set to change the line to “It’s as strong as King Kong!” I felt like this was a much more universal reference that more people understand, it also served more of an exaggeration of the Alien’s strength. On set I also diresticly changed the scene after Paul and Harry hit the alien with their car. On set I felt like the character’s lines didn’t fit who they were. In the script Paul, who is very concerned about the aliens from the start, is the one that suggests throwing the Alien in a ditch. While Harry, who is much more skeptic, suggest going to get help and calling the police. I simply decided to just flip who says what in this scene and I feel that makes much more sense for the characters.

Final Cut

Saucer Men from the Depths of Outer Space

Original Vision For The Film

The final film is very close to my original vision. While there is some production desgin choices I wish we could have acomplished, but I don’t think it takes away from the film. One such choice was the car. We ended up using a 2003 honda element for Paul’s car, even though it is increably outside of the aesthtic. We used this car becuase the actor felt comfortable driving it and it was spacous enough to fit our cinematographer in the backseat along with the tripod and camera. If we had unlimited time and budget I would have loved to have a less modern car for the film. While an older car would have looked much better, I still think we made a good choice due to how easy it was to film inside the car.

What I Learned

Pre-production Blog Post

Include all of the following requirements as evidence in your blog post:

1. Brainstorm with the team regarding ideas, GENRE, CONCEPTS and GROUP INTENTIONS.
2. Research the chosen GENRE and any INFLUENCES for the production of the film, identifying CONVENTIONS and DEVELOPING STYLE for the film.
3. Provide a CLEAR EXPLANATION of the VISION or concept behind the film to the team and use this as a guiding point for all decisions.
4. Go over the script and make NOTES about how each scene will LOOK and SOUND.
5. Collaborate with the writer on DIALOGUE, SCRIPT ORDER, LENGTH and any other changes.
6. Collaborate with the cinematographer about how MISE-EN-SCÉNE, LOCATIONS and LIGHTING will be handled.
7. Collaborate with the editor about PACING, TRANSITIONS, EFFECTS and STYLE.
8. Collaborate with sound to determine important AMBIENT NOISE, SOUNDTRACK, SOUND EFFECTS and how it will match the GENERAL PACE / MOOD of EACH SEQUENCE.
9. Arrange a location visit and make NOTES on ARTISTIC CHOICES and LOGISTICAL ELEMENTS (including obtaining permission).
10. Complete casting (including AUDITIONS, READ THROUGH or PREPARATION, as required).
11. Prepare CALL SHEETS.
12. Create a SHOOT SCHEDULE in the order that it will be filmed together with the cinematographer.
13. Create DIAGRAMS to show BLOCKING and ACTOR MOVEMENT.
14. Create a STORYBOARD together with the cinematographer.
15. Make decisions regarding PRODUCTION DESIGN, PROPS, COSTUMES and SET, and ensure that all are ready for the appropriate day of production.
16. Rehearse with the ACTORS to ensure that they are PREPARED for the production days.

Production Blog Post

Include all of the following requirements as evidence in your blog post:

1. Run the SET during the production phase by keeping all CREW INFORMED and ON SCHEDULE.
2. Instruct ACTORS on BLOCKING, PERFORMANCE, LINE DELIVERY.
3. Call for the start and end of each take by saying “standby”, “roll camera”, “action” and “cut”.
4. Ensure that the other key roles (primarily camera and sound) have OBTAINED CLEAR IMAGE and SOUND from the scene.
5. Make DECISIONS about when to move on to shoot the next scene.
6. Write PRODUCTION NOTES for each day of shooting-before and after: a SET OF EXPECTATIONS for the day and a LIST OF WHAT WAS ACHIEVED or NOT ACHIEVED; notes on WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.
7. Produce NOTES for post-production regarding LENGTH OF SCENE, GOOD/BAD SHOTS and other NOTEWORTHY ELEMENTS to be handled in post-production.
8. Make a NOTE of ANY CHANGES to the SCRIPT and provide JUSTIFICATION (artistic or logistical).
9. Hold ONGOING DISCUSSIONS with the key production team members and actors and provide EVIDENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS to them.
10. Ensure that locations are LEFT AS THEY ARE FOUND, as the LAST PERSON TO LEAVE THE SET.
11. Ensure that SAFETY COMES FIRST at all times during the production of the film.

Post-production Blog Post

Include all of the following requirements as evidence in your blog post:

1. Collaborate with the editor regarding SELECTION OF SHOTS and the ORDER OF THE FILM.
2. Collaborate with sound regarding SOUNDTRACK, SOUND EFFECTS and any VOICEOVER or ADDITIONAL SOUND created.
3. Collaborate with the writer and make a NOTES of ANY CHANGES that were made between the initial script and the final version, as well as an EVALUATION and JUSTIFICATION of the changes.
4. Collaborate with the cinematographer and the editor regarding COLOR, CAMERA TRANSITIONS or SPECIAL EFFECTS that need to be adjusted in post-production.
5. Provide an opportunity for the team to VIEW THE FILM and PROVIDE COMMENTS/FEEDBACK.
6. Provide an opportunity for a test screening to a new audience and make a NOTE of REACTIONS and/or SUGGESTIONS to the final cut.
7. Sign off on the FINAL FILM.

Schedule

• Pre-production
  • Review Director Responsibilities (PDF)
  • Create a blog post titled, PROJECT NAME Film Pre-Production – Director’s Journal
    • Create headings for:
      • Summary
      • Explanation of the Film Vision
      • Genre / Style of the Film
      • Influences from Other Films
      • Consultations with the Production Team
      • Location Scouting
      • Casting Decisions
      • Permissions
      • Scheduling
      • What I Learned and Problems I Solved
  • Research material …
    • Watch The TWO Different Types of Directors – Cinematography Database
    • Read Directing with Authority by VideoMaker
    • Read Blocking and Movement article
    • Read 5 Stages for Blocking a Scene – NYU Film School
    • Review Blocking Plans for a Film – Slideshare
    • Review Marking The Shooting Script (PDF)
    • Examine samples …
  • Explore and select the Cinematic Storytelling conventions you want to highlight in the film from the resources section below
  • … for the film
  • Fill in evidence for each heading of the blog post
  • Publish blog post
• Production
  • Create a blog post titled, PROJECT NAME Film Production – Director’s Journal
    • Create headings for:
      • Summary
      • Production Notes for Each Day of Shooting
      • On-Going Discussions with Film Team
      • What I Learned
  • Film the script
  • Fill in evidence for each heading of the blog post
  • Publish blog post
• Post-production
  • Create a blog post titled, PROJECT NAME Film Post-Production – Director’s Journal
    • Create headings for:
      • Summary
      • Working with The Editor
      • Changes to The Script
      • Final Cut
      • Original Vision For The Film
      • What I Learned
  • Assist in editing the film
  • Fill in evidence for each heading of the blog post
  • Publish blog post

SUMMARY – Due Jan. 28

Role

• Director

Intention (SMART Goal) for the Session

• Copy and paste your SMART Goal from the class PTS, Project Tracking Sheet, here…

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY – Due Jan. 29

LEADER(S) IN THE FIELD / EXEMPLARY WORK(S)

Primary Source

Tim Burton

While a more modern director Tim Burton has plenty of experince in the classic sci-fi aesthetic. Having directing a tribute to the aesthetic Mars Attacks! and a bio-pic about the classic sci-fi director Ed Wood.

Secondary Source

This source goes into detail about Tim Burton’s signature style, including many of his influences.

TRAINING SOURCE(S)

Embed your training source from YOUR SMART GOAL linked in the PTS, Project Tracking Sheet. Take notes and link back to time stamps within the video. Watch Mr. Le Duc’s Linked Notes Video, if you need help

PRE-PRODUCTION – PLANNING – Due Feb. 7

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pre-production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

Production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

Post-production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

PROPOSED BUDGET

Plan and include a personal budget for this project. Mr. Le Duc’s guidance on the parameters for this session is to see how much it would cost for you to be hired to do ‘your job’ or your role for this session. Add the estimated time you think you will spend on the project, research how much you should be paid by the hour, and include that total cost here.

• Film Budget Sheet Template
• Game Budget Sheet Template
• Rock – Research cost of studio time, mixing by an engineer, and mastering services

EVIDENCE OF TEAM PLANNING AND DECISIONS

Place screenshots of the following…

• Trello Board
• Storyboard (FILM) (with comments for each role) OR other planning documents like sketches, flowcharts (GAME DESIGN), song or lyric notes (ROCK), etc.

PRODUCTION – ACTION – Due Feb. 27

THE (FILM, SOUND, or GAME)

Embed or link the final version of the film, game, or song from your Google Drive (FILM & ROCK) or itch.io (GAME). Make sure it is publicly viewable.

Write a descriptive sentence about the embedded or linked project above.

SKILLS COMMENTARY

Link the team slideshow with your role, SMART Goal, and evidence of your SMART Goal for this session.

Write a sentence about your role in the slideshow and creative and technical contributions to the project.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION – Due Mar. 7

21st CENTURY SKILLS

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

REACTIONS TO THE FINAL VERSION

Place at least one comment from the PEER review and cite the student’s first name. Place at least one comment from the ADVISOR review and cite the student’s first name.

SELF-REFLECTION

Pick one of these types of reflection; action points, evaluative, intentional, or retrospective, state which one you picked, and write your reflection here…

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Place the name of the grammar and spelling tool you used to create this blog post.

EDITOR

Name the person who reviewed your blog post for grammar and spelling issues. First name only.

DID YOU DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE? <— DELETE THIS INSTRUCTION, TOO 🙂 !!!

• TITLE THIS BLOG POST: ‘Someone or Thing Fighting Someone of Thing for Someone or Thing Pitch’ <— OBVIOUSLY YOU WILL FILL IN YOUR CONTENT FOR THE TITLE!
• FILL IN ALL SECTIONS BELOW 
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s Italic INSTRUCTIONS AFTER COMPLETING THEM
• REVIEW THESE RESOURCES FOR INSPIRATION
  • Life Hack for Generating Ideas
  • FILM: Explore and use the Logline Creator and Resources to help build your logline
  • ROCK: 20 Ways to Start a Song – Keppie Coutts and Ben Romalis
  • GAME: Brainstorming game ideas with Adriel Wallick
    • She made a game a week for a year
  • GAME: Rapid Production Game Project
  • GAME: Making Your First Game: Minimum Viable Product – Scope Small, Start Right – Extra Credits
  • GAME: Watch 30 Things I Hate About Your Game Pitch

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4LTtr45y7P0%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Answer These Questions with Your Pitch

• Is this game/film/song worth making?
• Can this team actually make this project?

LOGLINE / WHAT PROTAGONIST DOES

• Explore and use the Logline Creator and Resources to help build your logline
• TEMPLATE 1: SomeONE or THING fighting SOMEONE or THING for SOMEONE or THING
• Another way to think structure your logline…
• TEMPLATE 2: In a world where ____, ____ needs to ____, otherwise ____ will happen.

The Three Sections of the Logline

1. World establishment/ SETTING.
2. OBJECTIVE/MOTIVE for the journey.
3. CONSEQUENCE/STAKES of the journey.

PROTAGONIST / MAIN CHARACTER

• Protagonist explained
• Tell us a little about this person/setting/circumstance
• More description is better, really ‘paint a picture’ of them

PROTANGIONST CORE WOUND or MOTIVATION 

• Identify the core motivation/wound/want for the Protagonist
• These two videos are really for film but could help game and rock, too

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wm-kBreibFg%3Ffeature%3Doembed

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6arvROwW-Ds%3Fstart%3D3949%26feature%3Doembed

GENRE

• Identify Genre(s) and / or Style(s)

PLOT DESCRIPTION / GAME PLAY & WIN STATE

• Write a paragraph describing the beginning, middle, and end of the story arc or gameplay
  • Does / can the Protagonist achieve their goal?

TREATMENT: THE WORLD OF THE PROTAGONIST

• Complete at least one paragraph describing the protagonist’s world
• This description helps the team build a better, more believable world
• You may include wardrobe, family, friends, food choices, habits, hang-ups, etc.
• Use descriptive language; colorful adjectives and adverbs that help reveal more about the protagonist; they are lazy so their room is a “hopeless mess of dirty laundry and homework papers”
• Use sensory language; see, hear, touch, etc.
• Be really specific
  • “Small, dark room that smells like dirty socks and leftover take-out food”

INFLUENCES and EXAMPLES

• List directors, game designers, songwriters, or other creations FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration
• List or embed scenes, game elements, and song sections FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration

SUMMARY – Due Oct. 25

Role

• Director

Intention (SMART Goal) for the Session

• By Jan. 10, as part of TEAM 5, I will have evidence of using colors or lack of color to help tell the story by following Color Theory in Film — Color Psychology for Directors: Ep5 for Session 3.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY – Due Oct. 30

LEADER(S) IN THE FIELD / EXEMPLARY WORK(S)

Primary Source

Wes Anderson’s films are very bright and vibrant, which is something I want to implement in my film.

Secondary Source

This video explains how Wes Anderson achieves his style, I hope to take aspects of this and apply it to my own film.

TRAINING SOURCE(S)

2. Monochromatic Hue

3. Color Association, the video uses The Matrix as an example of using a green color palette, which creates connections to green digital code and sickness.

4. Desaturation/Bleach Bypass, the video uses Saving Private Ryan as an example of a desaturated film, and shows how the less saturated look creates a colder and more gritty feel to the film.

5. Contrasting Bright and Dark Colors

6. Bright Colors

7. Dark Colors

8. Create Your Own Context

9. Her Example

10. Saturation, Royal Tenenbaums vs Justice League

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pre-production Milestones

• Thing 1

• Thing 2

• Thing 3

Production Milestones

• Thing 1

• Thing 2

• Thing 3

Post-production Milestones

• Thing 1

• Thing 2

• Thing 3

PROPOSED BUDGET

Plan and include a budget for this project. Mr. Le Duc will give you guidance on the parameters for this session.

• Film Budget Sheet Template

• Game Budget Sheet Template

• Rock – Research cost of studio time, mixing by an engineer, and mastering services

EVIDENCE OF TEAM PLANNING AND DECISIONS

Place screenshots of the following…

• Trello Board

• Storyboard (FILM) (with comments for each role) OR other planning documents like sketches, flowcharts (GAME DESIGN), song or lyric notes (ROCK), etc.

PRODUCTION – ACTION – Due Nov.15

THE (FILM, SOUND, or GAME)

Crayon-Demoniumn

Write a descriptive sentence about the embedded or linked project above.

SKILLS COMMENTARY

Skills Slideshow

Write a sentence about your role in the slideshow and creative and technical contributions to the project.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION – Due Nov. 22

21st CENTURY SKILLS

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

My team and I

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

This production was different from others because almost all of filming occurred outside of school over winter break. Meaning that we weren’t able to communicate face to face as regularly as we would have during school. We adapted to this by making plans when we did see each other, and by communicating digitally.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

How did you grow in these areas during this project? Pick one and explain.

REACTIONS TO THE FINAL VERSION

“I really liked the pacing, it flowed very well.” – Gavin

“I felt like the middle could have been cut down.” – Abby

SELF-REFLECTION

Pick one of these types of reflection; action points, evaluative, intentional, or retrospective, state which one you picked, and write your reflection here…

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Grammarly

EDITOR

Carlson

LOGLINE / DESCRIPTION

Two best friends discover that they are actually cut movie characters and decide to vengeance on the films director.

PROTAGONIST 

The protagonist at first is a very one dimensional character but their personality shifts after finding out they aren’t real. They are incredibly confused about their situation and doesn’t really know what is going on.

PROTANGIONST CORE WOUND / MOTIVATION 

They discovers that they isn’t a real person and it causes them to have an introspective meltdown.

GENRE

Action-Comedy

PLOT DESCRIPTION

The protagonist receives a mysterious and frantic call from their best friend telling them about “emergency news” and to “pick them up ASAP”. After picking up their friend they reveal that they are actually fictional characters in a movie that is being filmed, but they have been cut from the film. At first confused, they quickly become angry about being cut from the movie, and decide to track down the production and kill the director. They drive to the set where they confront the director.

TREATMENT: THE WORLD OF THE PROTAGONIST

The “film” that protagonist is from is incredibly low budget, and the production design reflects this. The “film’s” low budget world is often contrasted by the real world and the discrepancies are often acknowledged by the characters.

INFLUENCES and EXAMPLES

• List directors, game designers, songwriters, or other creations FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration
• List or embed scenes, game elements, and song sections FROM YOUR CHOSEN GENRE you are using for research and inspiration

SUMMARY – Due Sept. 27

ROLE

• Cinematographer

INTENTION (SMART GOAL) FOR THE SESSION

• By Nov. 15, as part of TEAM 3, I will have evidence of creating fear and suspense by following How To Shoot a Horror Film | Cinematography 101 for Session 2.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY – Due Oct. 3

LEADER(S) IN THE FIELD / EXEMPLARY WORK(S)

PRIMARY SOURCE

Dean Cundey

Dean Cundey is a legendary cinematographer, having worked on countless iconic films. Specifically have a contributed some of my favorite horror films like Halloween, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and The Thing.

SECONDARY SOURCE

TRAINING SOURCE(S)

PROJECT TIMELINE

PRE-PRODUCTION MILESTONES

• Work on and finish script by October 24
• Cast and plan shooting schedule by October 28
• Draw completed storyboard by October 30

PRODUCTION MILESTONES

• Film cabin scenes by November 3
• Film car scene by November 5
• Film classroom scene by November 6

POST-PRODUCTION MILESTONES

• Edit together rough version by November 12
• Create VFX for mirror scene by November 13
• Compose music and create sound effects by November 13
• Create a final edit by November 14

PROPOSED BUDGET

$20 an hour for five team members over a 14 hour period of work totals to $1400 for the session.

EVIDENCE OF TEAM PLANNING AND DECISIONS

Storyboard

PRODUCTION – ACTION – Due Oct.11

THE (FILM, SOUND, or GAME)

Self Reflection

This is our group’s film, it is a phycological horror piece inspired by the Smile franchise, the Evil Dead franchise, and Italian Gillao films of the 60s and 70s.

SKILLS COMMENTARY

Slideshow

This is my group’s slideshow, showing each one of us achieved our S.M.A.R.T Goals.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION – Due Oct. 18

21st CENTURY SKILLS

WAYS OF THINKING (CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, CRITICAL THINKING, PROBLEM SOLVING)

We set this film in two locations that weren’t the easiest to film in, Sawyer’s car and my cabin. As cinematographer figuring out how to light and film these locations was a difficult challenge. Sawyer’s car was difficult to film in because he was driving it and the sun was going down, and it was cramped with all four of us (and our gear) inside. We combated this by hiding the lights behind the camera and the passenger seat, in order to light Sawyer and get two shots at once.

WAYS OF WORKING (COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION)

Unlike the other members of my team, I am a running start student. This gives me much more time to work on aspects of the film. I mainly used this advantage to create schedules, shot lists, and etc. These allowed for the production to run much more smoothly. This allowed for me to do some things that would regularly take up class time, meaning that the production can move ahead of schedule.

TOOLS FOR WORKING (INFO & MEDIA LITERACY)

In this film lighting was much more important than any other film I’ve done before. Being shot basically all at night, leaving me without any natural light to use to light the scene. Having to light every shot made this a difficult shoot, but due to the horror nature if the film, I was able to be more creative with the lighting and shadows. This film also was the first time I used multiple cameras at once in order to get coverage of a scene. This was incredibly useful for the car scene, meaning that we only need to create one setup and only get good one take, instead of needing to due multiple setups and doing multiple takes for each. When it came to shooting at the cabin, we used the multiple cameras to quickly switch between a tripod and handheld setups without needing to pause and move the camera on and off the shoulder rig and tripod, saving us plenty of time.

WAYS OF LIVING IN THE WORLD (LIFE & CAREER)

Unlike the last film, this filmed was much more planned out. While certain aspects were improvised, the important aspects of the film were planned out in advance. This let the production run much more smoothly, and for us to be able to quickly adapt when problems did arise.

REACTIONS TO THE FINAL VERSION

“I really liked the atmosphere of the you guys created” -Dakin

“The mix of the sound and the shots in the intro made it feel very eerie.” -Abby

SELF-REFLECTION

As a horror fan, I am incredibly proud of this film, but there are still plenty of things I would fix. The biggest thing I would do next time is create lighting diagrams along with storyboard. During shooting I spent most of the time coming up with the lighting on the spot, which made it difficult and ultimately costed us time in the end. I also would done some more location scouting before creating the storyboard. While I was very familiar with the cabin we shot the film at, I misremembered certain details of it’s layout, which forced us to adapt on the spot to the actual space.

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Grammarly

EDITOR

Sawyer

SUMMARY – Due Sept. 27

Role

Cinematographer

Intention (SMART Goal) for the Session

By Oct 11, as part of TEAM 3, I will have evidence of using western shots in order to contribute to the style of the film by following How to Get the WESTERN Style in Your FILM for Session 1.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY – Due Oct. 3

LEADER(S) IN THE FIELD / EXEMPLARY WORK(S)

Primary Source

Tonino Deli Coli was the director of photography on both Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, both of which are in a constant battle for the title of greatest western of all time.

Secondary Source

Embed a source explaining the PRIMARY SOURCE. Assume that the reader of your blog has no idea who or what the primary source is. Use the secondary source to explain and justify why the primary source is a good role model for this project. This could be a video essay or interview about the primary source. Write a sentence describing why you chose this source.

TRAINING SOURCE(S)

Embed your training source from YOUR SMART GOAL linked in the PTS, Project Tracking Sheet. Take notes and link back to time stamps within the video. Watch Mr. Le Duc’s Linked Notes Video, if you need help

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pre-production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

Production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

Post-production Milestones

• Thing 1
• Thing 2
• Thing 3

PROPOSED BUDGET

Plan and include a budget for this project. Mr. Le Duc will give you guidance on the parameters for this session.

• Film Budget Sheet Template
• Game Budget Sheet Template
• Rock – Research cost of studio time, mixing by an engineer, and mastering services

EVIDENCE OF TEAM PLANNING AND DECISIONS

Place screenshots of the following…

• Trello Board
• Storyboard (FILM) (with comments for each role) OR other planning documents like sketches, flowcharts (GAME DESIGN), song or lyric notes (ROCK), etc.

PRODUCTION – ACTION – Due Oct.11

THE (FILM, SOUND, or GAME)

The Red Outlaw

SKILLS COMMENTARY

Slideshow

I focused mostly on the cinematography of the film, working on reating the storyboard and using the camera during filming. I made sure that the film contained western style cinematography, which is a major part of achiving my teams desired look.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION – Due Oct. 18

21st CENTURY SKILLS

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

This session was a new exprince for me because it was y first time working in such a stylised genre. Working on a western is much different then other films I’ve done becuase of the specialised camera angles that the genre uses. Doing research in the genre allowed me to be able to replicate the feel of the genre. One other issue we had to solve was the cenosrshipe my group and I faced by not being able to inculde firearms in the film. Many classic western shots invole firearms as a way to create tension, but because of our inabilty to include my group and I had to work around this constraint.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

This session my group and I communicated, but it felt like we started a bit to late. Me and some group members communicated outside of class independently, but it wasn’t till a few days before shooting when we formed a group chat to communicate together. I wish we created this group chat a few days prior because I feel like it could have prevented us from forgetting things we needed for filming. This group chat did become incredibly important later when I became sick and missed almost all of post production, it allowed me to communicate with my team and help them remotely.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I feel like the filmmaking area grew the most in this session was oddly location scouting. This isn’t something I’ve had to really do before, I did a bit at the end of last year, but the location was much more simple and easy to find. Because of my rather open schedule (Running Start and Tennis meant that many days the hour drive to my house and back wasn’t worth it) I spent time researching locations on Google Maps and Earth, and then driving out to some locations. I believe that our final location was the third or fourth idea, with different locations not working for various reasons. For example, our initial location was going to be Mima Mounds, but after driving to the location I discovered that there was a local shooting range incredibly close by and gunshots would be constantly going off in the background (the shooting range was facing away and I wasn’t in danger). From a more technical perspective I felt like I didn’t grow much this session, because the film was stylized as a western and incredibly short there wasn’t really new techniques I could have done. The film was very simple, but I think that it worked to it’s advantage, but for the next session I hope to learn some new techniques, specifically different types of composition.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

I think that I really relearned the importance of planning. Last year I made sure to plan things out in detail, but because of the short length of this session I felt like it didn’t need as much planning, which turned out to not be true. I think next session I will bring back some of the techniques I used last year when planning out the next film.

REACTIONS TO THE FINAL VERSION

Place at least one comment from the PEER review and cite the student’s first name. Place at least one comment from the ADVISOR review and cite the student’s first name.

SELF-REFLECTION

Action Points

I felt like there were plenty of things I could have done better this session, both artistically and productivity wise. I could have more varied camera angles in the film, but I feel like I got away not having them because of the style of the film and it’s short length. I also felt like there wasn’t a completely solid plan between our team, but I feel like that may have been a product of limited time and it being the first session, I expect us to have less of a problem next session.

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Place the name of the grammar and spelling tool you used to create this blog post.

SUMMARY

Role

Director

Intention (SMART Goal) for the Session

By May 10, as part of TEAM 4 as Director, I will have evidence of Directing Interesting Dialogue Scenes following How to Direct a Dialogue Scene – YouTube for Session 5.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Training Source(s)

Project Timeline

Pre-production Milestones

• Finish Script by 4/10
• Finish Storyboard by 4/12
• Trial Shot by 4/12

Production Milestones

• Start Filming by 4/15
• Principal Photography 5/1
• Start Reshoots 5/2

Post-production

• Rough Cut 5/6
• Music Done by 5/7
• Final Cut 5/9

Proposed Budget

Budget

Evidence of Team Planning and Decisions

Trello Board

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The Film

Human Error

Skills Commentary

Slideshow

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

Right before this session I hit a gold mine of used filmmaking gear deals, and I greatly added to my camera rig. My biggest purchase was a shoulder mount for my DLSR, along with the shoulder mount I also bought a monitor and a variable ND filter. These pieces of gear were invaluable to the production, especially the shoulder mount. The shoulder rig allowed me to add more dynamic handheld shots which definitely added to the tension and adrenaline of the fight scene. Handheld shots like the ones in the fight scene have been something I wanted to do all year, but I wasn’t able to execute properly. Another useful piece of gear I bought was a camera monitor, which was incredibly useful with the shoulder mount because it allowed for the camera operator to see what they were filming. I also bought an ND filter, which was incredibly useful when filming the picnic scene, allowing use to properly expose the bright outdoor conditions. All of these new gear allowed me and my team to better achieve our vision when creating the film.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

Reactions to the Final Version

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

Overall, I am extremely proud of this film. A mixture of time and new gear allowed me to do things I’ve wanted to do all year. There is definitely some things I would have done differently. Some of the more basic things such as music, sound, and focus suffered because of some more advanced techniques (the handheld shots, vfx, and different locations) I wanted to do. But I also feel like my team and I exucted those more advanced techniques quite well though. If I went back and did this film I would have planned out these basics first, and then add the extra flare of some these techniques afterwards, instead of coming up with a cool idea and trying to make it work. I think that method would have benifited the film dramatically, especially with the sound. I also felt that after watching the film, that I may have been to stubborn of a director. I became to commited to some ideas, which did create some issues during the production. When I watched the film I say

Grammar and Spelling

Editor

LOGLINE

• A person fantasizes about leaving the shackles of their boring job for the freedom of nature.

PROTAGONIST 

• They hate the monotony of their job and the fakeness their coworkers and bosses
• They like nature, and view it as an escape from their job
• Has worked at their job for a while, and it seems to be getting worse and worse for them

PROTANGIONST CORE WOUND / MOTIVATION 

• They are motivated to escape the seemingly endless cycle of their job after hearing about a change in the workplace that would cause him to work more, have less interesting work, etc.

GENRE

Drama

INFLUENCES and EXAMPLES

PLOT DESCRIPTION (FILM)

• After hearing about possibly getting a promotion that result in having to work more hours and would cement their future at the company, our protagonist fantasies about what their life could be. They think about how about how they have been trapped in by the artificial man made world and how they what to escape it to find peace and freedom.

TREATMENT (FILM)

• Our protagonist lives in a extremely corporate world, full of briefcases and suits and ties. They work at a corporate office of where everyone thinks that they should be on top and only care about getting there. Their boss is very inconsiderate of the company’s employees, not caring at all about personal lives and working conditions, but rather about product and productivity, turning the office into almost a factory operated by robotic employees. The corporate world is extreme bleak, dominated by greys and cool colors, a tighter 4:3 aspect ratio, and a constant clacking of keys and ringing phones. On the other hand the world our protagonist imagines is much more interesting, with plenty of bright and warm natural light, a more open 16:9 aspect ratio, and more calm and natural sounds. The natural world is also very unpopulated, with no one else to distract our protagonist from their peaceful retreat into nature.

SUMMARY

Role

Director

Intention (SMART Goal) for the Session

By March 1, as part of TEAM 4 as Director, I will have evidence of creating an engaging montage by following How to Create a Great Cinematic Montage – YouTube for Session 4.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Primary Source

Secondary Source

Training Source(s)

Evidence of Team Planning and Decisions

Storyboard Slideshow

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Art Thieves

This is our film about overconfident thieves who attempt to steal a painting.

Skills Commentary

Skills Slideshow

This is my team’s slideshow, which showcases our evidence for how we achieved our SMART goals.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

During this session, we encountered a variety of different issues which we had to creatively solve. One of these was when we started filming our rough cut, but the room we were going to use was already occupied. To combat this we adapted by changing the location and creating a new way of lighting the scene.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Being the director I communicated with my team in a variety of ways. An example of this is when we planned out the filming we did after/outside of class. I needed to communicate with my team to find a time that worked for both me and my team and gave us the time we needed to be able to film what we wanted.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

In this session we used a new camera that hadn’t used before, upgrading from a Canon T3i to a Canon T6i. While these cameras are very similar, but have some slight differences that Carlson and I needed to adapt to. The camera also allowed us to shoot in C-Log, which opened up new opportunities for color grading, but provided new challenges when setting up and exposing a shot.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

During this session, I learned the importance of planning out tasks and communicating with my team. this is important to the world of work because working without a plan or communication can create a confusing work environment and a bad final product.

Reactions to the Final Version

James Clark said that it “was the best montage I’ve ever seen” and Sawyer Conklin said “The montage was really dope.” and “I wish it was longer.”

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

I had a good time on this production and am proud of the final product. I think this film was different from the ones I’ve made in the past and allowed me to try some new stylistic choices in the film. The heavy use of montage allowed me to be more creative with blocking because the narration supplied information that usually came from blocking. The extra time that I had this session allowed me to take ideas that I had shoot test footage and see if it would work out how I wanted.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Jack