NEW WILD SOUND OPTION?!?!?!?

While filming in the Winn Dixie parking lot, I was getting barked at by a dog in a car (windows were down). I thought it would be pretty cool to have the sound in the movie because the dog only barked as I walked past the car. Having the dog barking in the movie, at the stalker specifically, could be a fun and subtle way of having the audience warned about the stalker but also warning Clara but she ignores it because she is a teenage girl. I tasked Melina with recording the dog barking while I walked past to film, I think it will help create tension for our film. 

Stalker Drama with Black Jacket

We had to work around the fact that we did not have an actor for our stalker silhouette. I couldn't do the role because I am a bit too short, so Melina had to play it, she is the perfect height and stature. The problem was that Melina was wearing everything but stalker attire, she was in a bright yellow shirt and colorful pajama pants. We all had a mini freak out because Melina in a yellow shirt would ruin the shadow/silhouette of the stalker. Luckily I remembered that I had a black jacket sitting in the backseat of my car. I was so relieved that I found it, it helped make the shot even creepier. 

Since she has taken over the role of a stalker, for the next day of filming we will all be better prepared and dressed for their parts.

Groceries and Other Props

The whole premise of the first scene is to have Clara coming out of Winn Dixie after a quick shopping trip. What we didn't discuss was how we were going to get the groceries to act the scene out. Since we were at Winn Dixie, we just shopped for a bit. Bought some cereal and other things to fill a couple of bags to put in a shopping cart. By buying groceries we were able to better communicate what Clara is doing walking around a parking lot at night. Here we are checking out:

The next things that were bought to better communicate Clara was a ballerina were some fake flowers from the Dollar Store to act as a bouquet from a recital and then some medals to show that she is a really good, award-winner ballerina.

By adding these tiny details into the shots, we are helping to tell the smaller parts of Clara's story to the audience. Which adds an even more meaning to the shots that I capture. 

Where is Our Actor?

Our friend Ricardo was supposed to play the stalker. He is super tall and lanky looking and that is a classic horror silhouette. But due to some scheduling conflicts with his job and homework, he was unable to attend either day of filming we had planned. 

So after a quick team meeting between the three of us, we asked Ricardo if it would be easier for him to stay home, so he isn't stressed about homework or his job. 

It was fairly easy to find a replacement for Ricardo. Melina is tall and since she is the editor, she was free during filming to do whatever I told her to do. That is how Melina became our stalker and she did an amazing job at standing ominously.

Mirror Shot (Total Fail)

While planning our film, I had come up with the idea to have the stalker watching Clara through the rearview window. Clara was going to adjust her rearview mirror and catch a glimpse of the stalker but once she fixed the mirror, the stalker would be gone. Sarah and Melina really liked the idea and I was quite excited to try it and create my idea. My biggest concern was how I was going to get the angle just right without showing me or the camera. That ended up being the easiest part, I just had to move into the back seat. The hard part was finding Melina (she was playing the stalker) in the window and mirror. It was too dark to see her, it wasn't helping that she was wearing a black jacket and blended in even more. After about 20 minutes of trying different methods to get it to work (lights, Melina's face showing, backlighting her), we gave up and decided to scrap the idea. It made me pretty sad that I couldn't bring the idea to life but I am happy with everything else we filmed and it gives us more time in later scenes. 

Me sitting in the back seat trying to find the right angle.

A photo of what our camera was seeing in the mirror. It is just a black blob.

Wild Sound

In our last film (Queen of Hearts) we used an awful Nightingale audio to include bird noise in the happy park scenes. Our teacher said it killed his ears and we are not allowed to do that again.

Here are the bird noises in question:

So in order to avoid using pre-recorded bird noises, we are planning to record Lexie barking, cars driving, breathing, footsteps, and the landline ringing. We started capturing some wild sounds in a parking lot. We were able to capture a grocery cart going across the asphalt and just the natural noises of a parking lot such as cars locking/unlocking/driving, keys jingling, loading grocery bags, carts again, and the noises of the busy road.

Here are some of the noises we have so far:

These sounds will help make our movie a more natural feel to them. We still plan to film even more noises like Crickets but this is a good start. 

First Day of Filming: Location Change

We started filming on March 4th, 2023. The original plan was to film at Sarah's house but that plan was scrapped because her parents had invited their friends over. Filming with many people would've been very messy and frustrating. So we decided to film in the Winn Dixie parking lot. We spent quite a lot of time there, prepping the shots, running into obstacles, and then fixing said obstacles. Overall the first day of filming was productive as the first scene was finished. I think the hardest part of filming right now is my schedule. I have a job and work mainly nights, which causes a problem when the movie is supposed to take place at night. We are currently working around my schedule but with the amount of work we put into today, we will have the movie finished quickly.