Preparing to film

 Welcome back, my lovely audience! Now that my group's storyboard and mood board are almost in the process of being finalized, the next step is preparing for filming. When it comes to filming, there are a lot of things to consider, such as the actors, costumes, props, locations, dates/times, and film equipment. Some of these things are relatively easy to prepare and manage, whereas some of these things will be much more difficult to consider. If you have not already guessed it... Today, I am discussing the easy and hard things for my group to consider while filming this movie opener!

1. Actors

The actors in our film opener are the four members of our group, including me. Each of us plays a character that closely aligns with our personalities in real life. This will allow us to make our performances/acting feel more natural and authentic to the audience. Emijola plays the friend who is visibly depressed and emotionally withdrawn. We selected her to play this role because it will reflect on her ability to express intense emotions through even the most subtle facial expressions. In contrast, I play the friend who masks her grief by acting nonchalant and distracting herself through socializing or partying. I was selected for this role because it closely matches my outgoing persona in real life. Ngoc plays the mediator of the group, which reflects her peaceful nature and tendency to keep people connected. Lastly, Jahzara appears as the best friend who died because her presence is essential to the emotional weight of the story. In other words, all four of us are friends in real life because of Jahzara. Jahzara was the one who introduced us and brought us together as a friend group. Thus, by having her be the friend who dies, it makes it more realistic and authentic. Overall, choosing the actors was relatively easy to consider because we are all playing a similar version of ourselves. 

2. Costumes

For our costumes or outfits, we plan on wearing white, flowy dresses for the beach scene where we scatter Jahzara's ashes to symbolize purity and peace. For the school scenes, we will wear casual everyday outfits to represent how we would usually dress in real life when going to school. This helps us connect with the viewer as we make it seem realistic. Likewise, the differences in costume will also help visually show each character's emotional state. For example, besides the beach scene, I will mainly be wearing bright colored clothing to represent 'happiness', whereas Emijola will mainly be wearing baggy and dull clothing to represent isolation and sadness. Overall, this aspect of preparation is also relatively easy to consider because the costumes are simple. Worst-case scenario, if needed, we can purchase our outfits cheaply from Shein or find options at thrift stores. 

3. Props

For our props, we are trying to keep it simple and minimal. Our main props that we will use are the urn and flowers. The urn will represent the death of Jahzara, and the flowers will symbolize peace and closure. These props are important for conveying our storyline emotionally heavy, especially in the beach scene where we scatter Jahzara's ashes. However, this aspect will be slightly more difficult to consider because none of us currently has an actual urn. We will need to purchase one before filming or find a substitute, such as a container for it. 

4. Locations

My group plans to film in three main places: the beach, the school, and Jahzara's house. The beach is essential for the emotional opening scene of us scattering ashes. Moreover, we plan to film in school areas to show how everyday life continues even after a loss. Moreover, Jahzara's house is important and will be used for the flashback and discovery scenes. In other words, in the storyline, we first find out that Jahzara is super sick and on the verge of dying when we decided to visit her at her house. This scene is essentially a flashback of the three girls being in her house, mourning her initial death. Overall, the locations we chose to film are relatively simple but are still difficult to consider in some aspects. This is because we need permission to film at some of these places, such as school. Moreover, filming outside, like at the beach, depends on the weather and lighting. 

5. Dates and Times

Scheduling to film is definitely one of the most challenging parts of preparation to be considered. As a group, we need to coordinate a time when all of us are available, especially for the scene where we visit Jahzara, as all four of us need to be there. Moreover, for the beach scene, it must be filmed around sunset to achieve the soft, warm light we planned in our storyboard. With these restrictions in mind, it is also important to consider that all four of us have very busy lives, so meeting up will not be easy. For example, I am rarely free after school on weekdays. This is because I have club meetings after school and other extracurricular activities outside of school, such as tennis practice. Thus, the only time I am free is on weekends and school breaks. Likewise, Ngoc has issues with transportation as both of her parents are always at work, meaning she has no ride, and it will be difficult for her to meet up. Thus, scheduling dates and times is one of the most difficult aspects of preparation, as it requires balancing everyone's availability requirements. 

6. Film Equipment

For our film equipment, we plan on using a professional Canon camera to ensure that our movie opener is high-quality. Using a professional camera will allow us to capture sharp and clear video clips to create a more cinematic look. This cinematic look is extremely important for our beach scene and the close-up shots that we plan to do. However, this aspect is somewhat difficult to consider because although I own a professional Canon camera, none of us has much experience in using such a high-tech camera. As a result, learning how to use and operate it correctly will take a lot of practice. Likewise, the SD that I currently have in the camera is low in storage. This might limit how much footage we can film at once, and thus, we might have to buy another SD card.