Around two weeks ago we were introduced to the One Word Film project. The project included us choosing a partner, as I decided to work with a classmate of mine, Andres. Then, we had to read the instructions and go to Mrs. Stoklosa and get a word to create our film, we ended up getting the word "threatening." The second I saw that word I had already started to create ideas in my head, in my opinion it was a much easier word than the people around me ended up getting. We then had to get storyboarding sheets and also got handed a sheet of paper to write down our ideas for our scenes after our teacher wrote down our names under the word threatening. We had to write down everything we planned to do and wrote down the shots, the editing techniques and the person that would be in the shot. Our film had to be 60 - 90 seconds and only had to be filmed in the school setting. I drew out the storyboarding which did not come out so great but it was fine because it got the message across. It had to be a minimum of 15 slides which was more than enough for me and my partner. We had to get the planning sheet to our teacher, let her approve it and next class we were allowed to start filming. The main idea of this project was to be able to create a story visually, with no sound to kind of "give away" I guess the message we were trying to convey with the word we got. It was supposed to be obvious of the word we got just by watching it.
I was figured we would end up have to continue filming for two classes as it would normally take time to get enough footage to the point two people could agree to something. I kind of knew it would be a slower since it was my first time filming, but not my partners.
For the brainstorming part of our project, me and Andres spoke to each other about how we wanted to make one of us the threatening character or figure which ended up being me, and how they obviously seemed like more of a threatening form towards this other character which would be him. The overall idea I think we planned pretty good. We included details and numerous close up shots to add to the eerie, mysterious vibe of the film. Me and Andres kind of shared similar ideas in this part.
The storyboard helped me pre-visualize my project by actually being able to create the image writing, drawing it and talking about it with Andres. I was able to create details in the drawing and try to come to an agreement with Andres about the specific type of shots and techniques we would end up using. I pictured where we would be filming, how we would be filming, with what we would be filming and everything just kind of ended up creating in my head and I was just able to put it all on paper. I am not the best at drawing but you could tell the vision was there for the most part which was all that mattered.
The editing resource me and Andres used was iMovie. Me and Andres used close-ups, extreme close-ups, over the shoulder, medium shots, long shots and transitions from medium shots to long shots throughout our film. For editing techniques we used insert shots and eyeline matches to add to the darker and creepy side of the film since it was kind of a harder thing to convey since we were filming in the early morning and you could tell the sun was shining bright, the birds were chirping and the sun was nicely cut up. So it was kind of annoying but I think it actually made us utilizing the shots and editing techniques more enjoyable, like it made it more challenging.
Me and Andres did pretty good at being able to express to each other how we wanted the project to end up looking and also throughout the filming time. Our project did not turn out looking too bad, but I do think we could have had more raw footage. It was something I kept suggesting, we also could have planned out the class periods or days we had to film since I was not able to be there the next class day because I had an exam to do. I got such a better score on it but the point is my partner did not really understand I was not gonna be there next class until the very last time I reminded him which was 10 minutes before the bell rang, and then we had to start making last minute plans for when we could go film during our other periods. I also think we did not fully act in the majority of the scenes, they kind of look flavorless and the emotion does not fully give off the spooky, nerve-wracking aura I was imagining it would eventually give. Since me and my partner did not fully coordinate when we would next be filming you could tell in the film that most things changed like our clothes and the book we ended up using. Even if they are small details, they still matter and are still noticeable especially since it affect the flow and consistency of the film. I think me and my partner did a good job at communicating when drawing or writing out our scenes but when it came to having to physically put it together it could have gone better.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13cP0e5Hlsg6EJYTQ79w79TaQLnobWflL/view?pli=1
