Post-Production #2

     After talking about an issue that we had as a team last blog post I want to try and elaborate more on how we overcame this. After Brennan sent a draft of the opening me and Vanessa noticed somethings that we felt we could improve on. 

    First of, when editing I feel that we made the clips cut too fast, especially the establishing shot. Personally, I feel that when introducing a film the first shot of the movie should be around 5-7 seconds so the story could be introduced naturally. Which leads me to our next problem that involves the lead up to Asher's killing. Here it felt that a lot of the clips were also cut too short, which is an easy fix since we took over 100 different shots in total. The reason why I think this draft was not up to par with what our group wanted, was honestly miscommunication between the three of us. That's why we decided to talk about these things in order for us to have a more accomplished blend up of our ideas.

    Then for our second issue was using the incorrect clips for certain parts. This is understandable in a way due to us having an immense amount of clips and also because during this part Brennan was editing on his own time and we weren't with him to have all three of us agree on the right clip. Once again, this was just miscommunication within ourselves and it's just another easy fix that just needs to be revised. 

    While, this blog post isn't very long. I think out of the majority of my blogs this one is a very important one. I believe that it's easy to blame a person but not to blame yourself. In this situation I think a lot of the reasons why me and Vanessa weren't so happy with the draft was because of miscommunication between all of us. On my behalf, I think that not speaking up or voicing my opinion cost us time and work. So I'm really hoping that for the sake of the team we can better communicate with each other in order to satisfy our artistic opinions and have a polished project by the end.

Post-Production #1

    For our first editing session we wanted to focus on the lighting and sound. Obviously while doing this we were composing and bringing together all the clips so we could get ahead of our work as well. 

    In this film we wanted the color be a very important factor involving the films tone. Lighting is very important in terms of how a film develops, meaning that this could give us a way to add significance to the overall feel of both the outside and inside scene. The very first scene in the opening is outside, which means that the natural lighting of the film is more vibrant than what we want. This means that for this specific scene we want to change the lighting through the Adobe Premiere. Using this software we were able to change and add tints to the film layer creating a cooler less vibrant ambience to the scene. While doing this we experimented with different cool colors like blue and green to see what fit best in terms of the visuals. As everyone in the group discussed, we landed on a blue tint that would adjust the color to a more preferred tone of ours. After settling, we applied this tint to every layer and were successful in creating the vision we had. 

    The audio just like lighting is critical in developing meaning, especially during post-production. We added tense music to add suspense, but to be completely honest I'm not sure if I really like it. Here are where things between the group are getting tricky. As Brennan was editing he did a lot of the work himself, which is perfectly fine, but through this he used audio that me and Vanessa aren't too sure of just yet. Also when editing and looking back at draft pieces we noticed some of the dialogue didn't get picked up well so, we are either going to find a solution within the software or do a voiceover. With this voiceover I'm not sure it would seem natural in terms of what the audience sees so I'm really hoping we are able to fix this issue. 

    Now, that we have these issues with sound, tomorrow me and the group are going to call and see areas that we could improve on, not just from lighting or audio, but also from the editing aspect of things involving shots and timing of cuts. I know this is a not a very lengthy blog post, but I felt it was necessary to talk about the amount of editing we did and also the problems we face as a team, good and bad.  

Some Hurdles

     Now, that me, Brennan, and Vanessa got done with all of our production we are now transitioning into our editing phase. With that being known, I want to focus on some of the obstacles that we faced when filming for Pushover. 

    First of, right when we arrived at our desired spot there was a lot of people, obviously since it's a public park at1-2 PM, and I'll admit that this was definitely a miscalculation on our end since we didn't really take that into account. Luckily for us we noticed that on the other side of the park there were two tables under a little tent, almost exactly like where we originally planned to film. However, there was a lady there and when asking her if she could move to the other tables, she said no because she was there a while already and didn't want to move, understandably, but I kid you not even 2 minutes later the lady leaves. Which was good for us, but had me a little confused not going to lie. 

Original Spot

New Spot

   

    That was our first problem, now for a second problem we realized that we we're somewhat unprepared. Like for instance, when filming some of the shots especially the one's containing dialogue I did not identify different shots when making the storyboard and instead just did one, and we felt that this would make the scene boring. So, it lead us to have some artistic freedom for that part in specific, but at times we had no guideline to tell us what shots we should shoot. This was really annoying since it delayed our filming, which was not ideal especially due to the heat. Although, after sometime we were able to adjust and get the shots we wanted.

Storyboard

    Our last major obstacle was when filming the tracking shot in the house. During the filming of this scene we had to retake it about 20 times. Each time we filmed, we found a new issue or way to improve the shot itself. When entering the house we wondered how Asher (Brennan) could walk inside and close the door without me (the cameraman) and Vanessa (who was holding up the mic) being in the way. So here we adjusted by making it seem like Asher forgot to close the door and here we would sneak in behind. Then after this we realized that there was a mirror that could showed me filming; so once again we had to change things up a little bit to make sure that part looked good. Then another issue we faced during this was the lighting. When Asher would walk to his room the scene was extremely dark due to the closed curtains, so we decided it'd be better and more natural for Asher to turn on the lights as he enters his home. That's pretty much the major issues and hurdles that we faced during our production.

    A lot of it was fun, but it definitely was tedious at times when we we were lost artistically and technically. For now, I'm just hoping that when editing there's not as many problems concerning the footage. 

The Second Meeting

     Today we had our second meeting. I saw new faces, those being Sebastian, Juan, and Mia, but I also saw some old faces those being Carolina and Andrea. 

    We first began through Carolina where I already had an idea of what her story was. She told her idea to everyone and the different things she added and adjusted from her original concept. Out of everyone she was the one that was most ahead and had filmed weeks prior. What she was mostly struggling with was her idea for the CCR which we recommended her to make it seem as if she was still in the asylum and answer questions that way.

    Then we went on to Juan who's story, who is working with Lydia from the first meeting. His story was practically the same as what Lydia told us but with some tweaks. Him and Lydia were also done with filming and according to him he found it to be a very enjoyable time. Him just like Carolina needed help on his CCR which we suggested him to make a Back to the Future type of theme or use the glasses from his story and answer things that way. 

    After Juan, Sebastian went. His idea was one I was yet to hear and it involved a similar story to mine where the first scene was the crime scene and the rest of the movie was the 5 hours before the crime. What Sebastian mainly needed advice on was filming since he had not started yet, but here we suggested that the scene that involved a police officer he should try and contact the sheriff office and see if he can use some of their equipment. We also suggested something along these lines for his CCR by having the officer ask him questions while in the back of the car. 

    Next after Sebastian was me. Here I explained to my group my story and what I had done in the last week. I mentioned that what I really needed help with was the CCR, so I had a couple of ideas brought to my attention. First came the idea to make a draw my life type of thing from YouTube which I found interesting and the one after that was the idea to make a posterboard that would represent Asher's and Austin's project from the first scene of Pushover. For now, I like these ideas and will look into them a bit more, but as of right now I'm not a 100% sure what to do.

    After I went, Mia went and here she told us her story and what she had done. She also talked about the obstacles she went through trying to film, but was unsuccessful in the end. Due to this she was definitely in need of help when filming and we suggested that she should be patient and have fun so she doesn't get frustrated with any inconvenience. Out of everyone she was the most complete when it came to her CCR as she already had an idea and pretty much had her overall plan set. 

    Finally, we get to Andrea who was our last group member to present. Andrea had done a majority of her filming done and was a little hesitant on her last scene. We advised her to try and have an officer knock on her door and then the opening would end, she was unsure of this but was taking it into consideration. Then for her CCR, like most of us, she was unsure. Here we suggested that she could have one of the officers ask her questions and make it almost like an interview/interrogation. 

    That was pretty much what this session was about. We had a lot of important pieces of ideas being suggested to everyone. It was nice and it definitely helped me in terms of how I could improve and think of the CCR. 

Designing the Set

    Now, that I showed the filming process in the last video I want to talk about the set design and the difficulties that came with it. 

    

    For our first scene which involved being in the park, we had to make sure all the materials that Asher used were properly organized so it would develop his character like we wanted to. For example, in the picture to the bottom we set every piece up in a specific way so it would add to Asher's character. This was pretty easy to do, but with the wind coming in every one in a while we had to redo some parts sometimes. Also, since this scene was out in a park our setting was pretty much set and we didn't really have much to do in terms of how this scene was organized other than the things on the table.

    Then after this scene was done we transitioned into the next scene which was the more detailed scene. Here we needed to find ways we could maneuver things so Asher could be represented through his belongings. As Asher enters his house we noticed that originally there was too much light that would construct a more lively ambience that we didn't want, so we decided that almost every curtain would be closed except the once's near the living room which helped bring in a little cool light. When recording we did feel that it was too dark so to combat the closed curtain we felt that it would be good to have Asher turn on the lights in his house when coming in. This helped with the lighting of the whole place and overall set a nice cool tone as Asher through.     

After this part we come into Asher's room, where we, once again, made Asher organize all his materials in a specific way. We also removed things that Brennan had in this room beforehand to give it a more realistic view into Asher's home life. Then for the lighting in this scene we put a ring light in a place that was hidden away so when he came in the room it wouldn't be so dark inside. This helped in creating a little contrast in the shot so it wouldn't feel so dark and closed. Also, when setting this scene up we cleared Asher's desk to make it seem like he is solely focused on his work and things related to his computer. 

    Overall, the experience was fun, but frustrating at times especially when dealing with the troubles nature can bring with either wind or light. 

The Shooting Process

     Today was the day we got all our filming done. We began around 1:30 and ended at 5:30 and personally it felt like a very long day; since I was the actor for Austin I needed to wear a black hoodie with jeans in 80 degree weather which was horrible. I was sweating the whole time and the sun was facing directly at us, but other than that I'd say it was a pretty fun day.     

    During the first scene which was outside, we felt that there was some things that didn't line up. For example, the original setting for where Austin and Asher would have their scuffle was taken up by some people so we needed to pivot and decided to go to some tables on the other side of the park, which actually ended up working better for us that if we used the original tables. At this new spot we weren't in the way of people coming in and out of the park, so it was very helpful when people started coming through during the shoot. 

    For much of the beginning scenes we had a very successful run in terms of efficiency due to there not being any dialogue, but then we started shooting scenes that involved speaking and things started to get more complicated due to laughing or generally just messing lines up. Thankfully, we navigated through this and instead struggled on getting the right angles since we felt some shots in the storyboard worked better closer and further away. This was really the only thing that made us struggle after the dialogue, although I did feel that when filming the scene where Asher runs up to kill Austin we had to do many takes since a lot of the time the shots felt awkward and unrealistic. However, we were able to get the perfect shot and even some backups incase of any issues.

    Now, we transition into the second scene that involves Austin entering his house into his room. Here we originally had Brennan's mom screaming to Austin, but due to difficulties and unavailability we couldn't add that too our scene, but personally I think this better develops Asher. Why? Well I think that him coming into a home that has a dark cool tone to it with no parental figure around helps attribute the fact that Asher is someone who struggles mentally due to no reinforcing figure around to help him. Pivoting, into the actual shooting of this second scene; there was a lot going on between us as a group in terms of how we were going to film this tracking shot. We felt very iffy and unorganized at first but through the process of taking so many takes we were able to have everything and every idea down. The part in which Asher walks into his house was annoying to film since we kept bumping into things and we had no idea how to close the door after Asher entered the house, but by deciding Asher would come back to the door almost like he forgot to close it, it would look natural and that's what we did. Another thing we noticed when filming this scene was that the lighting was off so we made Asher turn on the light when coming in the house.

    Then, as we finished the tracking scene into Asher's room we noticed there was a lot of depth missing, so we as a group decided to add some shots right when Asher turns on the lights in his room, here we would show Asher organizing his materials in a specific way into a close up of all the things neatly put together. And that's it for out filming, I thought it was definitely a learning experience and it helped me put into perspective the dedication it takes to craft art like this into something great. 

Logo

     For the logo/name for our production company we felt that it should have some back story in order for the company to have some sort of history and meaning. Due to this we struggled on choosing a specific name that would make sense to the group in general. Many ideas flowered from different companies and we studied them to understand how these company names were created. One that specifically stood out to all of us was Walt Disney Pictures, because it originated specifically from Walt Disney himself. This got us thinking that we should have one of the members names as the name of the company. So, this lead us to Brennan's last name "Briggs." We felt this name was unique and definitely  had a story behind it since Brennan told us that we he was younger he had come up with a production company himself, which we felt spoke a lot of what the company's goals are about, like expressing and making films from people who are passionate about their art. It all went smoothly and we landed on the name, Briggs Productions. 

    Now, that we settled on the name we focused on the logo next. We wanted to keep our logo simple, yet we wanted it to follow conventions between other logos like DreamWorks and Columbia Pictures, which are both simple but also effective in representing the company. DreamWorks keeps a simple yet iconic design that is very well planned out and executed; on the other hand, Columbia Pictures follows a simple design but also has an image on the right of the logo that develops the brand and its goal. So, with all this in mind we felt that our logo should obviously say Briggs Productions but also have a picture somewhere near the words. This lead us to finalize our logo into Briggs Productions with a pair of glasses at the bottom of the text. These glasses are meant to focus on two things the fact that me, Brennan, and Vanessa wear glasses, and also to show the time we have been putting into this piece of work, since glasses are normally used long-term. 

BRIGGS PRODUCTIONS LOGO:

   

    This is what our logo looks like, and honestly I really like since it's not really overcomplicated in any way and it keeps it simple yet effective through different fonts. Another thing I like too, is the glasses which are to me are very essential in terms of what the company means.