Inspiration

Okay so today is Monday and I did not end up filming this weekend..... I wish I had a valid excuse for why I didn't film, such as weather, or an unplanned vacation, but truth be told I decided to procrastinate and film later on. I know, stupid idea. But I have a serious issue with procrastination, which I hope wont effect me later on in the project. 
Although I did not film the I did do some research on other post-apocalyptic films. I wanted to see what was done to give the film a more apocalyptic feel. From my research I found that they mainly included things like dense fog, a slight ash slowly falling down, heavy blues or the exact apposite with heavy reds, a lot of scenic locations that mostly appeared dead, few actors, weapons, a lot of dead silence, steady long shots and a few other small details that were unique to the different films that i'd like to include. 


This is a short film called FIELDS, which i think did a very good job at depicting the post apocalypse scene. The film also includes aspects of action, so it is cool to see what they did considering i'm doing the same thing. The foot chase at the beginning of the film is well done and adds a layer of suspense and excitement to the film. This is a very good representation of how I would like my shot composed and executed. They also did an excellent job at character design and filming locations. The forest is a very common scene in a post-apocalyptic film, because it works for the purposes of the film, so i'm glad that I chose my filming locations to be ones with large fields and small forests. 

Although that film was well done, I want some other effects to be included in mine. For example in the film, X-Men Apocalypse, they used heavy blues, with smoke in some areas. I think this gives it a more dismal and almost realistic feel, so I definitely want to include the same features of the picture. 




Other then that I want to include some graphics such as the outline of buildings. Ive already tried to include something like this and I found it very simple. I imputed a PNG file then color graded it to be a little darker than the video clip. I think that's pretty much all that I want to do, but more might come..... 



Image citation:

Truitt, Brian. “Review: 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Is Overpacked, Underwhelming.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 27 May 2016, www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/05/09/review-x-men-apocalypse-movie/84163328/.

Planning for post

At first I was a little scared that I would not find a good editing software that was user friendly, yet had a professional feel. Then after some thought, I realized that last year i had asked a buddy of mine, who had his own YouTube channel, about good editing softwares. He recommended HitFilm Express. The Express version, is the free version of HitFilms, that does not offer all of the same effects, but the tools are somewhat the same. 

The Express version offers: 

• Advanced cutting tools
• Keying for green screen effects
• Audio and video filters
• Compositing tools
• Layers and masking
• 3D video support

So I got this program and grew to like it. I had to search up a few YouTube tutorial in order to learn what some of the buttons meant, but in only a couple of days, I learned how to use almost all of the features. I still have the program downloaded, but I wanted to try something new, seeing as how some of the features were restricted until the purchase of the actual program. 

After discussing this with my mom, she told me that she pays monthly for an adobe cloud that gives her access to different adobe products including, Adobe Premiere Pro. This program features all of the same things as HitFilm, with more effects, because it is a paid version. The pros of Premiere Pro over HitFilm is that Premiere Pro has a much better color correcting system in addition to other unique tools. One tool that I found really helpful was the warp stabilizer, which kind of solves my issue of shaky video. Now although the program is made for professional use, I did not find it difficult to use at all. The layout of the two programs are actually very similar and even have the same names/icons for different buttons, which was useful, because I didn’t have to learn a whole program over again. I haven’t tried editing a large clip for an actual purpose on Premiere Pro, I’ve just messed around with it, but I am not too concerned about it and if anything I can always google how to use a certain feature. 

Now I think that Im ready to start my filming process......

Filming tools

Camera equipment:

Canon E0S Rebel T5:

Okay, so thankfully i have a camera at home that I can use to film the project. The camera is my mom’s, which she uses to take pictures of jewelry for her store, but nonetheless it works for the project. The camera has several settings for picture taking, but only one for videotaping, leaving only the focus as a manual component of the camera fir filming. I guess this is a downside to the camera, but I don’t really know how to use any manual camera’s settings, so I guess that having it automatic is a plus for me. Now there is one downside to the camera. I want to get several angles of the same shot, but I only have one of these cameras, so if I were to film with something else, such as an iPhone, as well as the camera, the shots would look different, quality wise. I either have to find a way to film the angles with the same camera, or just film the entire thing with iPhones, since getting multiple of them is much easier than getting multiple Canons. I would just rather not film with the iPhones, but if worst comes to worst, they are always my plan b. The camera obviously has better features, so i’d much rather use that, for instance,  it features “a powerful 18.0 Megapixel CMOS image sensor and Canon's DIGIC 4 Image Processor for easy recording of HD video and high-resolution photos and has a huge 3.0-inch LCD screen for Live View recording and review. With a 63-zone, Dual-layer metering system, an expanded ISO range for outstanding operation in less-than-perfect light, shooting modes like Scene Intelligent Auto to take the guesswork out of complex shots plus creative options like Canon's Basic+ function and Creative Auto, the EOS Rebel T5 is ready for anything,” according to the official canon website, which is linked above.

Other than the camera, my mom also has two tripods, that have 360 view and get be raised vertically up to about 5 feet. This is perfect for my steady shots that include no motion. This will take most of the shakiness out of the video. Now I just have to find out how I can have walking shots, that aren’t completely shaking, considering this is an action movie and there is a lot of movement. I think i’m going to use a skateboard for some of the moving shots, but that will only work if I have a road/sidewalk that I can push the skateboard across. For the other shots i might have to make/buy a handheld stabilizer, or resort to a post editing software that can eliminate the commotion, although I feel like having steady shots, will be easier than editing them in post. I also have not thought of a way to pick up sound, better than normally. I have a few attachable microphones that may work, so I am not all too worried about it. I also am going to add audio separately, in post. After i have finished filming i am going to search and create different sounds that fit the video.

Stay tuned…..

Time and place

Okay so here are the places I am considering filming at. I may go to all three of these, or only some of them: 
Markham park: 
This park is a 666 acre plot of land that includes, a large lake, small yet dense forests, and large mountain bike trails, that would be perfect for filming seeing as how it appears to be a path to somewhere. This park is the most crowded out of all of them, but i'm sure if I go during the weekday ill have no problem finding a space to film, with no people visible. 

Holiday park:  
This park is a 39-acre park, that is ranked top three in a Florida attractions. It is nicknamed “Gateway to the Everglades,” which if you don’t know is a huge plot of protected swamp that covers a majority of Florida’s south-west region. This is important because it means that the park has a lot of spots to film, ranging from large canals, swampy forests, large plains, long dirt roads and more. There is a lot of wildlife at this park, which I don't know if I like or not, for the purposes of this video. 

Vista view park: 
This park has a total of 272 acres of green hills and fields. The rolling hills offers a perfect spot of filming as it includes a really cool spot that overlooks an entire city and with some effects, a city in ruins. The sun also sets directly in front of where the hill stands above the city, so I could get some aesthetic shots. 


Times:
Okay so in order to get all of this done on time I have to start filming as soon as possible. Thankfully spring break is coming up so I have plenty of opportunities to film. I’m also staying in town, so all of the locations were chosen because they are close to home. This weekend, the 24th and 25th I want to start filming. If I am not able to get everything done on time I want to film at the beginning of the week, such as the 27th and the 30th being the latest, so I have plenty of time to edit the clips. The first shot is in the morning when the kid first wakes up, so any time when the sun is up is fine for that scene. The shots where the main character is making his was to the city should be around mid-day, so the sun should be high in the sky. The time changed recently, giving me an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day. The sun is setting at around 7:30 now, which is great because knowing me I’m going to get out there late. If I do I end up going to the different locations, I’m probably going to do so on different days, so I’m not rushing all of my shots. I also want to overshoot everything so I have a lot of different angles and clips to work with because for the last project we did I didn’t have enough shots and I had to include blurry and/or shaky ones just to occupy time.  I may need to add different locations and therefore times, if the locations don't meet my standards. 

Storyboarding

Okay so these are the shots that i'm interested in using for my film opening. These are only the major shots, but I will add a few other ones in between just to make them flow smoother. These shots are susceptible to change, but as for now this is what I am going with: 

The Judges Verdict

So today in my media studies class we were randomly assigned to a group, to complete group critiques and provide opinions/recommendations on each others projects. When I first started to explain my story it sounded kind of stupid if i’m being completely honest. Surprisingly they actually likes the idea for my film. 

Their main criticism was that it didn’t seem original enough, so they suggested adding a twist to spice up the movie a little. They said the objective was cool and well thought out, but the story would be much more interesting if the person the main character was trying to reach was someone that he knew, such as a relative. After some further discussion they told me that since I am a kid and I will be acting in the film, it would be best to have the other person be my mom and a group of others. I really like this idea. To create a wow effect I could have the conversation play through on the radio, then only indicate that she is my mother at the end of the conversation, when I say something along the lines of, “Love you, mom.” I think this is a really cool spin on a post apocalypse movie, because I haven’t seen anything like this before. 

They also suggested that I have the character wake up from a coma in a hospital only to find that the apocalypse has happened. I thought this was a cool idea, which is probably why The Walking Dead used the same idea, to start their show. So we ended up disregarding the idea, but I did think it was cool so I want to implement something similar in my story. I could have the beginning of the scene be a dream, where his mother is attempting to wake him by banging on the door but when he wakes he learns that it was actually a zombie banging at the door. Or I could just have a black screen where I say something and then he wakes up from the banging. I think I actually like the second option better mainly because the first one seems too cliche. I could also use the black screen beginning to introduce the problem through voice over narration without physically showing anything, which would make it easier on me. 

The group really enjoyed my character design, so i’m pretty much done working on that part. He doesn’t have a lot of dialogue in the film so I think I can get away with not creating his personality traits. Some of it will be revealed through indirect characterization so i’m going to skip that part. We are all kind of on the same step on the project, which is good because I thought i would fall behind after having to change my story idea and rescheduling filming. 

The two other members in the group didn’t even have a character designed, they just had a general idea of what they wanted to do for it, so I actually feel confident in my pacing now. I’m going to start focusing on my story and the shots I want to use now. 


See you guys next time..... 

The end of the world

 So i've decided to go with my first choice of a post-apocalyptic world. At first I thought that this would be too difficult to create, but after thinking about it I realized that I could imply that the apocalypse has begun without physically showing it. For instance if I wanted to include zombies in the story I could include the sound of them, without actually showing them. in doing so I'll be able to avoid the costume and makeup for a bunch of actors, while still giving the audience a picture of what is happening. I want to keep the genre the same so my story should include aspects of an expedition as well as action scenes. The action part is fairly easy to create because I can just include a foot-chase scene away from zombies, where the sound of multiple zombies could be heard as the character runs away from them in a panic. As for the adventure part of the film, I think a cool quest and end goal would be meeting up with another group that is still alive.  I could indicate this by a radioed conversation between the character and the group. This forms a sort of objective that the character must achieve in the name of survival. Because of this reason i'm going to have the character alone in this intro, making his journey seem necessary. As for the actual cause of this apocalypse I think that a good story would be that Cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope of Cobalt, was produced through nuclear fission inside Earth's mantle and transported through the crust, contaminating Earth's waterways. I could tell this story simply by including a newspaper article somewhere in the film, that discusses the causes of the disease. Most of the zombie movies like I Am Legend and World War Z, take place in the city, which shows how they have fallen and uses a tremendous amount of CGI. Obviously, I am not capable of doing such a thing, so I want to keep my character away from the city and possible have him go on a journey to the city to meet the people.  My scenery would mainly include forests and big fields, that appear abandoned. 

This is an example from the T.V., The Walking Dead, which depicts two characters that are standing in a scene, similar to the one i would want to film. It is simple, but it gets the point across because the scene looks desolate and abandoned, illustrating the post-apocalyptic feel. 





As for the character of the film, i'm going to play him. No, not because i'm self-centered and want to be the star of the show, but because I know what I want for the film and even if I suck at acting, I just want the message to get across. Im going for a run down and beat up look for the costume design, similar to that of the picture above. 

 I started out with a shirt I got from my brothers closet, that he must not need because he left it when he moved out. If he did like the shirt we may have a problem because I cut up a bunch of holes in it to make it appear over-lived and make it seem like the character has gone through some troubles that caused them. 

This is the final product. I just used an old pair of jeans with a white tee-shirt that I had in my closet. The boots and belt I got from a summer camp for JROTC and I thought they were a nice touch because it makes it seem like I scavenged them because they don't match the rest of the outfit.  The boots are also something that would just generally be seen in a zombie movie because they could be useful.



Now i'm off to plan out the shots..... Stay tuned!






Image Citation:

Venable , Nick. “The Walking Dead Recreated By Kids Is Brutally Adorable.” Cinema Blend , img.cinemablend.com/cb/c/f/f/9/0/d/cff90dc043e52facf4e800eea6c4470c49956023a86d43ba79c82f46eb755641.jpg.