Filming Process: Obstacles and Solutions

Filming went relatively smooth, and all together very quickly. Getting takes and instructing actors went fine, and thanks to our group member Rebekah we have plenty of pictures of the process. We did come across difficulties in other areas, however.

For example, we planned to start filming in the middle of the day. I wanted to make sure we would have plenty of steady light, as the sunset comes much earlier this time of year and the sky changes very quickly. All of our actors except for one were late, however. I decided by the time everyone got there, we may as well delay filming until the light already changed. This is a reason we may need to refilm the first few begging shots, as there is more light than there is in the later shots.

Another issue is that we had planned an shot from above; planning to use the second story deck of a restaurant. However, since it was later in the day and a Saturday, they were far too packed with customers and would not let us onto their second deck. To solve this issue, we had our tallest actor who was not in the shot, Evan, and gave him the tripod fully extended. He stood on a bench, and adjusted to what we told him so we could get the frame we wanted. Although we did not get a directly above angle like we originally planned, we still got an above angle that suited the chase sequence.

We also had difficulties with simple camera battery. We were simply running on a time crunch, and due to our location we had no means of easily charging the cameras as we filmed. Thankfully, among the equipment Evan lent us, he had multiple batteries for one camera and a second camera we used to film once those batteries had run out. We worried about the use of a different camera changing the quality too dramatically, but in the end I believe the way the second camera captured lighting was more dark and gritty- which was fitting to the intended gravity and intensity of the scene.

Despite these setbacks, we were able to get filming done surprisingly quickly. No one was hurt, no shop or restaurant owners were disturbed, and the group got dinner together when we were finished.

Below are some pictures from filming:

Aice Media Studies Midterm Draft: Fox Hunt

Our group's Midterm draft of our film project.

Project Planning: Shot List (Activity)

[Camera: wide shot/establishing shots of people walking and traffic]

[Camera: Wide shot of people walking past, actors walk in and out of frame among other pedestrians.]

·       These shots are simply to give a place of setting, we wanted to create a sense of “calm before the storm”.

[Camera: Close up on Robber]

·       The victim is in previous shot, with the robber following behind. The close up establishes he has his sights on the purse, and his nervous gaze foreshadows his actions.

[Camera: Insert of the purse, actors' faces are not visible. After purse is stolen, camera moves up to look at VICTIM reacting.]

·       Mainly meant to make it clear to the viewer that the purse has been stolen, introducing conflict.

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST.]

·       Showing her reaction helps flow, she notices the crime before she acts to stop it. It also gives the viewer a clear shot of the PROTAGONIST’s appearance.

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST's feet shifting.]

·       Meant to emphasize action, the fact that she does not have any actual plan- she is reacting immediately rather than thinking it through.

[Camera: Wide shot of ROBBER sprinting towards PROTAGONIST.]

·       Simply the best view to show the action of the PROTAGONIST easily stopping the ROBBER, hitting her like a wall and falling to the ground.

[Camera: Over the shoulder shot, Above angle looking past PROTAGONIST and down on the ROBBER.]

·       Meant to give the PROTAGONIST a sense of authority and power, she is looking down on the thief and easily yanks away the purse as he is on the ground defeated.

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST and VICTIM.]

·       A simple shot to show both actors interacting.

[Camera: Close up on Victim's face.]

·       Shows the VICTIM going to speak, grinning with relief but shifting to fear. This creates tension and implies something is wrong.

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST with the ROBBER behind them, pulling back for a punch.]

·       Shows the the PROTAGONIST’s confused expression, as well as creating dramatic irony as the audience sees the ROBBER going to punch the PROTAGONIST while she is clueless.

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST as the ROBBER's fist hits her jaw.]

·       To show how the hit leaves her unaffected, other than she has grown angry.

[Camera: Close up on ROBBER.]

·       Simply to help flow and show his reaction of shock as he has only made her furious rather than injured.

[Camera: Wideshot of PROTAGONIST and ROBBER as he flies backward.]

·       The best view on the action of the PROTAGONIST easily flinging the ROBBER away.

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST standing up, fixing their posture. Shift of focus to in the background, AGENT is revealed to be watching.]

·       To introduce a new character and to show that the PROTAGONIST has been watched this whole time.

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST from the front.]

·       Shows the PROTAGONIST’s realization that she has been watched, and pretending to be hurt to avoid further suspicion. This implies she is trying to hide her powers and regrets letting herself get carried away.

[Camera: Wide shot of PROTAGONIST and VICTIM.]

·       Helps flow, wrapping up the VICTIM’s character as PROTAGONIST leaves to try and hide from AGENT.

[Camera: Midshot from the front, PROTAGONIST in the foreground, AGENT in the background.]

·       Meant to increase suspense and tension, as the scene is not over or resovled. The Agent begins to follow the protagonist through the crowd.

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST, then AGENT as they walk into frame.]

·       Shows the PROTAGONIST has been cornered and the chase sequence has ended. The camera is still close enough to capture the PROTAGONIST’s facial expression, a mixture of defiance and fear, as she realizes she is cornered.

[Camera: In between a mid shot and a close up on AGENT.]

·       Creates severity as they offer a job to the PROTAGONIST, capturing their steely expression.

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST looking down, then up at AGENT.]

·       Gives viewer close up on the protagonist’s facial expression, creating a sense of severity as the screen goes to black.

END SCENE.

Casting: (Activity)

We chose our group member Maya Santry as our protagonist. As a member of the group, she would best understand what we were going for with the character. She also has the build of someone who is sturdy, which helps us portray the fact the character has super strength. Maya is a member of our school's drama department and has experience in acting.

We chose Dominique Golder to play the mysterious agent character. We thought she was perfect for the role because of her body build, which is tall and thin- creating a sense of authority. They also owned the proper attire, have experience in modeling, and also some experience with acting.

We chose Evan Morgan to play as the thief. Maya knew him, and he was readily available for filming times. He was tall, which we wanted to emphasize the protagonist's powers (as she could easily knock over someone larger than her). He also has much experience in making short films as well as acting in them. He was also willing to help us by providing filming equipment.

We chose Lauren Bogart as the victim of the robbery. She was smaller than Evan, making her seem more vulnerable. She would also be able to mix in with a crowd without looking out of place, but still stand out enough that the camera wouldn't lose her. She was readily available for filming times as well. While she did not have experience in acting, she was very eager to work with us and we believe she will be very receptive to instruction.

Project Planning: Location Scouting P.2 (Activity)

Pictures of possible locations:

Downtown Sarasota:

A corner in a parking garage, a possible spot for the protagonist to be cornered.

An above view from another parking garage, possible above angle for the chase sequence.

St. Armand's Circle:

Another possible above view, shot from the deck of a second floor restaurant.

A likely location of where the majority of the scene will be shot.

A road we would like to use for establishing shot or B-roll.

Another possible spot where the majority of the scene will be shot, however since it is directly next to a restaurant we worry it will disrupt their business, so it is at the bottom of our list.

Project Planning: Script (Activity)

On Sunday, 12/10/17, our group got together and began to write the basic outline of the script. There is not much dialogue in our script, and consists mainly of camera shots and action descriptions.
We decided we wanted there to be an establishing shot of a busy street to begin. I wanted there to be a crowd to make the scene feel hectic and make if difficult for the viewer to focus. We all thought  an establishing shot would be a good way to start without immediately throwing the viewer into the action. The scene will be of a thief stealing a purse, and the protagonist stops him. We aim to imply at the protagonist (she is not given a name in the intro) has super strength by showing subtle use of it. For example, to stop the thief (who is taller, older, and larger than her), she plants her feet on the ground and he hits her like a wall and falls to the ground. She does not budge. She then yanks away the purse with ease and returns it to the woman. Before the woman can say her thanks, the protagonist turns to face the thief again, and his fits hits her cheek- and she does not budge. We'll then go to a close up of the thief looking confused and afraid, then to a wide shot of the protagonist pushing him away and he goes flying backwards. Then, there will be a close up of the protagonist looking angry, and there will be a shift of focus to the crowd behind her, where a suspicious looking stranger wearing sunglasses is watching her intently. When she notices them staring, she looks startled and begins to act in an over exaggerated way pretending the punch hurt her face. Then the protagonist waves quickly to say good bye to the woman she saved, and begins walking away quickly. There will be a midshot of her from the front as she walks away, and in the background you will see the same stranger who had been staring making their way through the crowd towards the protagonist. When she realizes she's being followed, the protagonist turns into a more isolated walkway to try and sneak away. The stranger corners her, holds out their hand, and says: "I know what you are. And I have a job for you." This will be the end of our intro, to leave the viewer in suspense and leaving room for the rest of the movie.
It was Maya's idea to add the scene where the thief punches the protagonist to show her super strength. Then Rebekah thought it would be nice to add light-hearted humor among the tension through the exaggerated reaction. I came up with the basis of the scene of a purse being stolen, the stranger following the protagonist to corner them and offer them a job. Maya recommended super strength would be a  good power to give the protagonist because it was the most achievable with the programs we have. We all discussed and made the basic outline of the script, and Rebekah will type out a proper script from what we discussed.

The Full Script:

[Camera: wide shot/establishing shots of people walking and traffic]

Busy street, ambient sounds of cars and restaurants in the distance.

[Camera: Wide shot of people walking past, actors walk in and out of frame among other pedestrians.]

We see VICTIM walking with her purse, then PROTAGONIST in front of her. Both are walking alone and distracted from their surroundings. We see ROBBER behind them both, who is eyeing up VICTIM’s purse. ROBBER is focused yet anxious, with his hood up and shoulders hunched.

[Camera: Close up on Robber]

[ROBBER begins approaching, eyes looking down at the purse. 

[Camera: Insert of the purse, actors' faces are not visible.]

[He snatches the purse from VICTIM and begins booking it. VICTIM begins to panic.]

VICTIM: My purse!

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST.]

[PROTAGONIST turns head around towards VICTIM, concerned.]

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST's feet shifting.]

[Turns her whole body in a large sweeping motion, firmly planting herself.]

[Camera: Wide shot of ROBBER sprinting towards PROTAGONIST.]

[ROBBER runs into PROTAGONIST, falling flat on the ground with the force of it.ROBBER grunts in pain, still on the ground.]

[Camera: Over the shoulder shot, Above angle looking past PROTAGONIST and down on the ROBBER.]

[PROTAGONIST reaches down to ROBBER and takes the purse.] 

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST and VICTIM.]

[PROTAGONIST walks over to VICTIM and holds the purse out to her.]

PROTAGONIST: Here’s your purse back!

[Camera: Close up on Victim's face.]

[VICTIM smiles at PROTAGONIST, before her expression shifts to shocked and afraid, looking over PROTAGONIST’s shoulder.]

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST with the ROBBER behind them, pulling back for a punch.]

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST as the ROBBER's fist hits her jaw.]

[PROTAGONIST begins to turn around when ROBBER punches PROTAGONIST in the jaw.]

PROTAGONIST doesn’t budge, the punch having no effect on her. 
[Camera: Close up on ROBBER.]

[ROBBER pulls hand back, shocked and confused.]

[Camera: Wideshot of PROTAGONIST and ROBBER as he flies backward.]

 PROTAGONIST, now full of rage, pushes ROBBER back, forcing him back on the ground.

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST from the side standing up, fixing their posture. Shift of focus to in the background, AGENT is revealed to be watching.]

[Camera: Close up of PROTAGONIST from the front.]

We see AGENT in the background, stone-faced but aware of the situation. PROTAGONIST then realizes they are being watched, and pretends to be in pain from the punch in an over exaggerated way. 

 PROTAGONIST: O-oh! I mean, ow!

PROTAGONIST notices AGENT among the crowd and becomes anxious, wanting to get out of the situation as soon as possible. 
[Camera: Wide shot of PROTAGONIST and VICTIM.]

[PROTAGONIST turns away from AGENT and puts her hood up, beginning walking at a fast pace. VIC[TIM tries to approach PROTAGONIST, looking concerned.]

VICTIM: Are you okay?

[PROTAGONIST doesn’t turn towards VICTIM, only continuing her walking. Her tone and response are short.]

PROTAGONIST: I’m fine.

[Camera: Midshot from the front, PROTAGONIST in the foreground, AGENT in the background.]

As PROTAGONIST keeps walking, AGENT begins to follow, keeping the same pace as they walk through the crowded street. PROTAGONIST is aware she is being followed even without turning around. She becomes increasingly concerned as she can’t shake AGENT, wanting to break into a run but unable to without making a scene. PROTAGONIST looks concerned yet determined, while AGENT looks unfazed. 

[Camera: Midshot of PROTAGONIST, then AGENT as they walk into frame.]
PROTAGONIST comes to a corner and turns around, left with no other options but to face the situation head on. Her expression shifts to one of fear. AGENT stops running, but walks forward more to keep PROTAGONIST cornered. They keep their calm demeanor.

[Camera: In between a mid shot and a close up on AGENT.]

AGENT: I know who you are.

PROTAGONIST looks scared and cornered, much smaller than when they faced ROBBER. She pants, out of breath, on the verge of submitting. AGENT looks completely calm, as if they are unaffected by the situation. Their intimidating attitude shifts to purposeful as they hold out their hand.

AGENT: And I have a job for you.

[Camera: Close up on PROTAGONIST looking down, then up at AGENT.]

[We see PROTAGONIST react, uncertain about the offer.]

END SCENE