CCR Time

 During our meetup, we also talked about how we were going to create our CCRs. The day that Mrs. Stocklosa reviewed the specifics of how to create our CCRs, Mariana wasn't there so I had to send her my notes. I made sure to text it to her, and she said that they were helpful. I really appreciated the compliment on my note-taking skills.  

Anyways, using my notes in person we were able to create a list of points we wanted to talk about when answering the four questions in our CCRs. We created a google doc and wrote down all of our ideas. I'm super excited to start writing the official script! Here's what we wrote down so far.

The Meetup

 As spring break comes to a close, Mariana and I decided that it would be best to meet up and shoot some backup shots as I had previously discussed. The two main issues that we wanted to address were sound and getting a few more shots to include in our introduction.

In the end, we were able to film more cleaning shots and we tried to include different camera angles, as I noticed when beginning editing that most of them were the same. It was very important to us that our camera angles are interesting when possible, to help keep the viewer engaged. 

Additionally, we spoke on sound. After about half an hour of browsing through some non-copyright websites for music to add to the intro... we couldn't find anything that we thought suited it. So, Mariana was able to get out her guitar and play something that we both ended up liking. I'm so excited that we were able to create something original for our video! This whole process was really fun and it was a nice way to end spring break while making some progress on our project!

It has begun!

 I'm so excited to begin this step in editing. I have successfully imported all of the clips that we recorded previously into Adobe Premiere Pro. I love this process as it lets me get really creative with what I create and I can't wait to show more. 

I have yet to be able to get super technical as we're still figuring out what sounds we want, whether it be music or foley noises (most likely both). Once I get home, we're going to get together and discuss these things so I can be sure to finish editing in a timely manner. Regardless, this is my favorite part of this whole process and I'm so happy that it's beginning!

THE FONT IS HERE!

As I was finishing up skiing this afternoon, I checked my phone and I had received a few texts from Mariana, I was so excited because throughout these few days I've been gone, she and I have been texting about the fonts. I thought that this would be a good update. I was right! She had sent me a picture of a few fonts that she had found!

Mariana and I's texts

After looking over the fonts a few times, and trying to picture what each one would look like as our title, I finally decided which one I liked! I told Mariana that I liked the one on the top left, and she agreed and told me the font was called CMU Serif. Although I'm not excited for my vacation to end, at least I have editing to look forward to once I get home next week! I'm super happy with how our font adventures turned out, and I'm getting more and more excited to see the final product!

Fonts, fonts, fonts...

 I'll have to admit, fonts aren't really my thing, so Mariana took the challenge of narrowing down the font search before I leave for spring break. While I'm away, Mariana and I will be sure to text as much as possible in order for this font-picking process to go smoothly. 

I know Mariana has a good eye for these things and, with some input from me, we will at least be able to get down to three or four fonts that we like. We have both previously agreed that a serif font will most likely fit the vibes of our movie, as most serif fonts tend to not have rigid corners and our movie isn't anything intense, so softer lines in the title will better relay that fact. I can't wait until we finally choose the font!

Phases of The Moon

 After a long day of filming, Mariana and I were both eager to start cleaning up and beginning the editing process. As we began to clean, I realized that after all of these weeks, we still hadn't given a name to our beloved project. As I stared at Amelia's "innspiration" board, it hit me. 

Amelia's "innspiration"board

Amelia's goal is to work hard enough to be able to open her own inn, "The Crescent Inn". Although the intro to our movie will only show Amelia working in order to get her inn, the rest of the movie would follow her through the process (or phases) of building her idea. So, when coming up with a title, I put together both the name of the inn and the premise of the movie to create the title "Phases of The Moon". After I explained to Mariana the meaning behind the name, she was on board as well. I'm super happy with this name, and now its onto the font picking!

Toxic Chemicals In My Car

 We filmed today! I'm so happy with how all the shots turned out, and after a long day of running around town and gathering some supplies we need and getting into some questionable places to get the perfect angle.. we have what we need! Everything went as smoothly as it could go thankfully. We did realize that our corkboard was looking a little bit empty so we decided to find some more pictures to add to it. We went to CVS to print everything we needed and then went back to Mariana's house to begin the filming process. 

Mariana printing pictures at CVS

When we came back, we rearranged Mariana's room further in a way that we thought better represented Amelia's character. We moved around some furniture and changed the bedsheets to give it a more mature look. We also made sure that the corkboard looked the way we wanted it before we started to film anything.

Mariana putting the finishing touches on the corkboard

Crouching in the back of my car to get the right shot

Next, we began to film. We started filming outside where Amelia gets her supplies out of the back of a car. We kept making mistakes, between me not liking the angle or Mariana closing the trunk wrong so it took a few takes and some contortion from me to get an angle I liked. We also really wanted to incorporate a shot of Amelia dropping her bucket on the floor, and we accidentally put too much water into the bucket. This caused a few spills on our set, but it did create a more authentic cleaning scene!!

A little bit of a blooper!

There was one particular shot that I really fell in love with and it just happens to be our final shot. I feel that it really helps summarize Amelia's love for her inn. I can't wait to begin editing all of this footage and I hope this section goes as smoothly as filming did. Mariana and I agreed that if there was an issue with any of the footage that we would refilm the scenes we need to during spring break. For now, here's my favorite shot from the entire day!

SEEN or SAN?

 Today is an imporant day in creating the correct filming environment for our project. We decided that we would be filming in Mariana's house. So, Mariana went home and started to set up some of our mise-en-scene elements. We made sure to order the corkboard that will be an essential part in telling our story. We also made sure that the living room would be set up similarly to the way we had designed it previously, so some things were moved. There is still some work to within our mise en scene, but I'm happy that we've gotten one day closer to filming! We've decided to film on Sunday, so expect a new post then. For now, here's what our set looks like!

A Story On A Board

 Today, Mariana and I were able to finish up drawing our storyboard! Hooray!! I'm so excited that this crucial step in the preparation process is finally finished and we can finally look forward to filming. As of right now, it looks like we're going to at least begin filming before spring break starts next week. I might start the editing process during spring break assuming we will have all the footage we need. 

I really enjoy how our storyboard came out; our goal was to not rely on dialogue to tell our story and I feel that we were able to achieve that goal very well. We will heavily rely on the shots of our corkboard, mentioned in previous posts, and a flyer that Amelia has posted to it to help show the audience that the inn is Amelia's goal. I'm hoping that when we start recording, our vision is able to come to life in the way we imagine. We are now taking a new step in our project and I can't wait to see how it goes!

Our final storyboard!

"Inn"side Our Character's Mind

 Earlier this week, we met with Mrs. Stocklosa to discuss our project. She suggested that we include something within our introduction that shows our character's goals, without using dialogue. She suggested that we give our character something like a corkboard where she can hang up her posters and ideas for her inn. This dream board will most likely be featured in a few shots within our introduction and will serve as a natural way for the audience to realize why Amelia is working as hard as she is. 

Because of a DECA competition my partner, Mariana, had to go away for the second half of the week. However, we still were communicating through text when she was able to find the time. She was able to create this dream board and I plan on discussing some additional things I want to add when we are able to see each other in class on Monday. Although, this dream board is an excellent start and I believe if it is used correctly within our introduction, will serve its purpose very well.

The Dream Board

I Hate Drawing

So when we began our storyboard, we got into a small argument over who was going to be the "brain" (the person who came up with the storyboard) or the "hand" (the person who drew them). Even though drawing is not one of my strong suits, I was nervous about taking the reins and thinking of the different shots we would be composing in our project. We eventually settled on the correct decision and, by the end, we were both coming up with the next shot and working together to begin our storyboard. Mariana definitely took the role of the "hand" however.

Although we didn't get very far with our storyboard today, we have a general idea of how our introduction will begin and how it will end. Additionally, we have the first few shots planned out. We knew that we wanted to establish in our opening that our main character, Amelia, is working hard to accomplish her goal. She is cleaning around peoples' houses to eventually make enough money for her to achieve her dream of owning an inn. So we decided that we would begin with different shots of her cleaning around a house just so we can establish that fact extremely early. We did not get much farther than that today, but we will continue to work on the storyboard throughout the rest of the week and hopefully come up with a title for our project, fingers crossed.

Mariana holding up our storyboard