Lexie is the Star

Before anyone started filming, our teacher told us "everyone loves dogs". So, heading his advice, we used Sarah's dog, Lexie, in our film. She played herself and will just be in the shots. However, Lexie is a diva on and off camera. She refused to stay put and would walk off in the middle of the take. We tried many different ways to keep her entertained by the front door, but she would either follow Sarah or just walk into a completely different room.  

We eventually figured out that she would stay in a certain area if we teased her with her toy, doesn't mean that she would look at us though. She knew that we were working around her and she was gonna make us work extra hard to get the shot. 

Here are some videos of her: 

It wasn't long before she was sick of being teased by a toy and Melina opening and closing the door, so she ended up leaving us and didn't come back. We left her be and moved on to shoot other scenes within Sarah's house.

Continuity Errors

On the first day of filming, we were filming in a parking lot where we could not control who was appearing in the shot or what cars moved into/from their parking spots. We had parked "Clara's" (aka Melina's) car closer to the front so the first part of our short film was not all walking. Since we were closer to the show, we had a lot more activity such as people going in and out of the grocery store and cars passing by. It added movement to our shots but also cost us our film's continuity aspect. 

A truly upsetting example of this is the car that was parked next to us. It had been there for the majority of filming, but the car's owner eventually came out and left.

It left an empty space next to our car and we needed to fill it soon. The stalker was gonna hide behind the car to watch as Clara leaves. We ended up getting into a small tiff about how to fix the empty parking space. It was over before it even began and we chalked it up to us all being tired. We ended up moving Sarah's car into the spot and so if anyone were to look closely, they would see that continuity error.

Filming Inside The Car

A small portion of Watching Her Every Move was filmed in a car. Cars leave very little room for clever maneuvering and it was trial and error to figure out how to have the camera capture the right angle. Another problem was how far the camera was propped against the dash/front windshield. I had to stand on the outside of the car, in front of the car to be able to see how the shot looked on the camera screen. While I was viewing the camera from outside the car, I could see that it was too low to be able to properly capture the rearview window. So I was left to improvise. We had bought a cereal box in Winn-Dixie to act like a prop in the cart, we thought of putting the box on the dash and then the camera on the box. It ended up capturing the perfect angle and we were able to fix most of the problems that we experienced within the car (minus the mirror shot!). 

Exposure Experimentation

Our plan for the film was to shoot in a dark parking lot to establish that creepy aura right at the start. It was a good idea because we did not have to worry about the sun changing places throughout filming but it created a new problem of how to shoot in the dark. As a cinematographer, I had to prepare the possible ways to work around shooting in the dark without having a flashlight on the actress. While searching for potential solutions, the common answers were to shoot at a wide aperture, use pools of light, avoid auto-focus or use reflectors/white cards. I was overwhelmed with all these options and instead of taking the internet's word, I went and asked my film teacher his opinion. He told me that instead of messing with all that extra stuff, we could just adjust the exposure on the camera. I played around with how the different exposure settings and was excited to film.

When we arrived at the Winn-Dixie parking lot, it was not what I was expecting. We thought that the parking lot would've been darker but it was surprisingly well-lit. But thanks to learning how to manipulate the exposure settings, I was able to darken the parking lot to create an eerie vibe for Watching Her Every Move. 

While this picture does not show the exposure level, it is at -0.7. If we left it 0.0, the film would look a lot brighter than what is on the camera.

After filming the parking lot scenes, we transitioned into the interior car scenes (which were supposed to have the failed mirror shot). While the parking lot was well-lit, the car was not. I had to change the -0.7 exposure level to +0.3 level, which would help brighten the shot.

After filming the previously mentioned scenes, we moved on to Sarah's house to film the exterior and interior scenes. But there were many problems that came to lighting that if I had done a negative or positive exposure level change, I would've ruined the shots in one way or another. So, I had to settle for filming Sarah's house scenes in +/-0.0.

Car Door Jammed

Since we decided to date our time period in our film in the 2000s, we needed an old car. What a coincidence, Melina has an old Jeep SUV. We decorated the car with props, such as medals, duffel bags, and flowers showing that Clara is a dancer and that it was her car. 

While filming the very first shot, Clara (Sarah) would be getting into the car while the stalker watches from the rear window. I would need Sarah to rush into the car so that the shot was not too long to the point where it was awkward. The problem was that the driver's door of Melina's car would get jammed. 

For example:

We worked around this problem by having Melina stand by the driver's door so she could yank it open so Sarah can jump right in the seat by the time the stalker reached the rear window. 

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.