So on Monday 2/24/20, Ethan and I went to Withlacoochee River Park to scout out the area. There we drove around to see where everything generally was, then walked through some trails to look for possible shooting locations and check out a lookout tower. Here are some videos from our endeavor, and on Thursday 2/27/20 we will go back again to set up everything and make sure it works out. Our new shooting date should be Friday 2/28/20, as we couldn’t get everyone together on Tuesday.
Script V2
So today me and Ethan made some revisions to the script. Here is the new version of the script.
OPENING SEQUENCE:
Opening with establishing shots of the campsite sign. Layered over with ominous story telling.
JASON (V.O/S.B)
And he ran and ran and ran and then!…
Cuts to the shot of Jason, sitting on a log. He dramatically extends his arms and emphasizes his dialogue.
JASON
He vanished!!
Shot reverse shot of the other campers reaction to Jason’s story ending. They look partially astonished. One of the teenagers among them looks disappointed.
CAMPER 1
Woah!
JASON (S.B)
Well guys…
Cuts back to the same shot of Jason from before.
JASON
…I’ll be right back
Jason stands up as another one of the teenagers begins a story out of frame. He begins to walk to the right and out of the frame.
Jason walks in from the left of frame and is now alone in the woods, he pulls out a cigarette from his pocket. Lights it, smokes it, and then throws it on the ground to put it out. The following shots are of Jason’s shoes stomping out the cigarette, he adds a bit of twist to the stomp
Suddenly we hear sounds of movement near Jason in the concealed woods. They rattle the forest around him.
JASON
Hello?
Movement picks up around Jason and he grows increasingly nervous.
JASON
Michael, Scott, you there? (slight pause waiting for a response)I’m not playing around you guys this isn’t funny.
Movement increases more. The woods start to emanate extremely terrifying sounds. Jason begins to panic and walk back to the left of the frame.
We cut to a wide, the sound and movement become increasingly more intense and in panic Jason looks back to where he was standing. In his confusion he ignores the branch on the ground in front of him and trips.
Jason is now on his stomach on the ground. The camera is set at a slight angle to him.
JASON
(Sounds of distress, grunt, groans)
As Jason recovers the camera pans into the center framed “dragged away” position and when it’s in place, Jason’s legs are tugged at once and he jerks backward.
JASON:
What the hell.?
The camera maintains its position and Jason is then ripped into the night and is no longer visible to the viewer. His scream sound bridges into another shot of the campsite, but is quiet and fades quickly.
CAMPER 2
Did you guys hear that?
Cuts to title sequence in time with a single loud ominous note.
Tools of the Trade
So today I’m going to go over the equipment we are going to be using. To start us off, lets talk about our camera. We will most likely be using a Canon EOS Rebel T4i we are borrowing from our teacher Mr. Engle. For reference, here is a picture of that model.
Now to save myself the trouble of describing this camera, I found a quote that sums it up nicely. “The Canon EOS Rebel T4i Digital Camera with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens is an ideal camera for any level photographer; combining both high quality imaging power and a wealth of functions that enable you to create beautiful imagery with ease. This 18.0 megapixel DSLR features an APS-C-sized CMOS sensor and a DIGIC 5 image processor for fast operation and tremendous low light performance to an expanded ISO of 25600. A quickened 5.0fps continuous shooting ability and fast 9-point cross-type AF system are also supported by the performance of the DIGIC 5 processor. This combination of technologies also results in tremendous image quality with smooth color gradations and clarity for both images and videos.”
Now, while this sums up the camera nicely, it also isn’t the easiest to understand. Just in case, I’ll translate: it shoots good and does nice medium/wide shots. Can work at night.
Now, for our next piece of equipment, we have our lighting.
This is a Woods L13 Twin Head Work Light. Given that we are going to be shooting outside, good natural lighting isn’t something we can rely on, so to ensure we have our set properly lit we will need this or another light. Getting a hold of one of these lights shouldn’t be an issue, as both my and Ethan’s dad work construction in shops as a hobby. We talked about a way to control lighting better, and one option we discussed was making a reflector board. It would be a DIY if we did it in order to save money, though we haven’t decided one way or the other yet.
As for sound, we are just going to use CAD Audio U37. We will hook it up to either Ethan’s or my laptop and record, simple. Now finally, for editing we will use Adobe Premiere Pro. Again not much explanation needed, Ethan owns it so he will use his laptop to edit our movie.
So yea that’s our movie equipment. Now for where I got the info for this post, here you go.
Camera: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802070267-USE/canon_6558b005_eos_rebel_t4i_digital.html
Flood Lights: https://www.amazon.com/Woods-L13-Adjustable-Individual-500-watt/dp/B0007WJJFS/ref=asc_df_B0007WJJFS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198054793886&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5830310730624960174&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012060&hvtargid=aud-801090373433:pla-350244434283&psc=1
Microphone: https://www.amazon.com/CAD-Studio-Condenser-Recording-Microphone/dp/B001AIQGUO
Premier Pro: https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html?sdid=KKQOM&mv=search&ef_id=Cj0KCQiAkKnyBRDwARIsALtxe7igjOdRDfoa-RFSv-2NmoxzK7TRWjwXybwmjo_Rulq1ZmniLScMwIYaArxoEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!383822106390!e!!g!!adobe%20premiere%20pro&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkKnyBRDwARIsALtxe7igjOdRDfoa-RFSv-2NmoxzK7TRWjwXybwmjo_Rulq1ZmniLScMwIYaArxoEALw_wcB
Shooting Schedule
So, we are getting into actually filming our opening. First of all, before we start filming Ethan and I have arranges to scout out our new locale, Withlacoochee River Park on Monday 2/24/20. Ethan gets out of class at 4:00pm on that day, and he will come pick me up. We should arrive at the park at 4:30pm and plan out where we will shoot. As for the day of filming, we have that set for Tuesday 2/25/20. Ethan will round up everybody and pick me up last when I get out of class at 3:00pm. Once we arrive around 3:30 to 4:00pm, we will set up and test our equipment to make sure everything is in order. After filming, we may stay to record ambient sound, though this depends on weather and generally how well shooting goes. Our extras are in the process of being selected. So for now, this is what we are working with. I know this is a short post, but not much to talk about and no need to fluff it up to meet word count.
New Locale
Ok this is a very short post, only a slight update. Ethan and I ran into some issues with shooting at our original location, so we are instead going to film at Withlacoochee River Park, as it is closer. We realized that other obligations such as classes at PHSC and Ethans job made the extra distance to JB Starkey hard to coordinate. So… yea. We are currently working on a shooting schedule, so that will be up soon.
Storyboard
So over the past few days Ethan and I started working on our storyboards, and now they are done. We also talked during he process, and some complications came up so we might have to change location, in which case I will make a new blog post about where. As for the storyboards, we didn’t have to put too much new thought into them. Not because we don’t care, but because long ago we already discussed what our opening was going to be and some general shot ideas. All we had to do was write them out talk about specific instances between our already established ideas. Without further ado, I present our storyboards.
Sorry about the poor quality of image, specifically the writing underneath. Ethan sent me the pictures once he finished drawing(he is a better artist then me, so he was in charge of drawing), however apparently he didn’t have a good camera on him or he just sucks at taking pictures. If it’s the latter, then hey one more reason I am the cameraman. Well, tomorrow I will probably post about our equipment, mise-en-scene, or both. Th-th-th-th-thats all folks.
What is my job?
As I am doing blog posts about the creation of this movie, you may wonder what my role will be in the movie itself. Aside from helping with ideas and the like, my job will be as the cameraman. I have some past experience working as a cameraman and guiding people to get the shots I want from working on a mini-movie depicting a scene from Macbeth. For this reason, as well as the fact that I can’t act and our overall small group size, I will work as the cameraman. I will probably end up giving directions on shooting day, seeing as I will be responsible for capturing our vision. As for the camera, I will be talking about the equipment we will need in a future post.
As for everyone else, Ethan will wok as an actor, the star of our opening in fact. He will be our soon to be dead teen. Our other actors don’t really matter and are only going to be present in the first shot to fill space. They are just extras basically. We will most likely just ask a few friends to stand in for us. As for why Ethan is playing the lead role, there are many reasons. A few main ones would be his age, 16, which fits perfectly with who he is playing. He is fairly handsome, and movie actor typically are meant to be pleasing to the eye to make the movie look better. Ethan is also the most passionate about film out of our friends, so he is most likely to put on a good performance. The final reason I’ll mention, and probably the most important, is that he wanted to act and he is leading the project, so he automatically got the role. That doesn’t take away from the other reasons, rather makes them coincidence rather than chosen characteristics for the role. For these reasons, these are our current roles in production.
Where are we?
So, as we get deeper into our preparation, the question arises: where will we film? Now I have briefly addressed this before, but I haven’t gone into detail. Previously I stated we will be using Ethan’s connections to shoot in a park, however now, we have which one. Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park.
That’s the where, and as for the why, there are a few reasons behind it. The main one, however, is convenience. Jay B. Starkey is relatively close, close enough to allow time for travel and shooting in single day. Also, it wouldn’t matter how close it was if we didn’t have access, but Ethan’s dad works at this park, so we can secure access. It is the closest park that fits our needs and we know we can access. The trees are thin enough to allow for say a chase scene, open areas are perfect for group shots to start our movie of our campers all together. There are enough trees to keep our background full. Overall it works the best as our shooting location.
Film Pitch
For our Film Pitch we had Ethan present the pitch, as he is much better at talking than I am. The script was written a day in advance to allow time to practice. The video was completed a few days ago, but I just received the video today, hence the late blog post. Without further ado, I present our film pitch to A24.
Seeking Distribution
So for our movie we are going to need a distributor. After discussing it with Ethan, we have decided that A24 would be the best choice. This is due to many things, one being the fact that we are making the film. While having the film be distributed by say, Disney, would be great because Disney is so popular, it would be unrealistic. Disney mainly only distributes in house movies to keep their brand pg. Well, our movie is 1.) certainly not pg, and 2.) indie made. A24 is known as an Indie distribution outlet, so they are more likely to agree, and will get us the audience we are looking for. Speaking of brand, our brand of the movie is like a sort of throwback to the “good old days” when horror movies were popular and beloved. This sort of brand would go well with A24 as they are known for a sort of dramatic/serious tone in their movies/shows, which aligns with our brand and is shown through their movies such as “Into the Forest” and “The Monster”. This is also why a lot of other distributors like Disney wouldn’t work. Disney movies, while they may have serious undertones, are mostly kid friendly shows. This means their audience wouldn’t like our movie in all actuality, so we wouldn’t get as many people actually going to watch it. In terms of budget, A24 is almost famous for turning low to medium costing movies into masterpieces due to cases like the movie “Spring Breakers”. Also, though this is to a lesser extend, A24 is one of Ethan’s favorite distribution companies, so having a movie produced by them would be kinda big for him. So yea, with A24 the stars sort of align. They produce our type of movie, with our type of budget, are well respected and widely known, have our target audiences attention, and we like them as a distribution company in general. For these reason, they are our target distributor.
Film Project 