Updating Website

 Yesterday, I decided to update the website. Originally Tekla completed the website and linking the different forms of social media. In addition to this, she made the shell of the website. For instance, the backgrounds and some basic information was on the website. It was a good start, but the website needed more.

Because of this, I decided to add more information and pictures. I added an "About Us" section. This describes what type of short film as well as when it will be released. We described it as a "suspenseful and thrilling short film" because it falls under both of these categories. In addition to this, we set the release date to February of 2021 which is next month. Our project is due this Tuesday, so we know our film will be done by this time. The "About Us" section also included how we are doing this short film for a school project on well as what we have learned by doing this. We had to use leadership, teamwork, and various other crucial tools to help us film. This can include materialistic items like cameras as well. 

In addition to this, I decided to add a "Meet the Team" section. This section has a picture of all the actors and has a small overall description. We clarified who is working behind the scenes to make this film possible, as well as all the actors. Then, there are pictures of our team and actors which now consists of nine people. By seeing our faces, this will allow people to put names to our faces, and hopefully cause the audience to be more excited about The Slicer. We are ecstatic to be finishing up our project.

Filming with Olga

 Tekla went to my house today to film. We had to film with Olga. Olga plays Bella’s mom in the short film and she’s my mom in real life. Tekla came over at 9 am. We set up all of our stuff and got into our filming clothes. We also told Olga what to wear. Once we got into costumes we fixed our hair and did our makeup. Tekla and I finished quickly. However, Olga took a bit longer because she said that she wanted to look good. My mom couldn’t remember her lines so it took a while to film. Tekla was recording and telling my mom her lines before she started recording. This was helpful and helped the filming process run more smoothly. However, it’s took like 2 hours to film these short scenes. In addition to this, we had to help her with her pronunciation. This is because her first language is Russian. As a result, she has a thick Russian accent. We tried to help her say her lines in a way that everyone could understand without difficulty. However, we persevered and finished filming. We all enjoyed the process even though it took a while. Lastly, we will import all of the videos so we can begin filming.

Filming Outside With Mats

 Today Tekla and I met up today to film outside. We met at Tekla's house and then made a quick overview of what we had to do. We knew that we would film the scenes with Tekla's dad Mats. These scenes include walking outside and talking to Tekla's dad. We drove over to a park that we filmed prior to these scenes. It was a bit of a struggle because of the wind. And we had to film at an angle in which you can see both Mats and I's faces. There is a significant height difference and this is why it was difficult. As a result, we had to change our original angle which wasn't much of a problem. Once we figured out a solution, there was a man blowing leaves which were really loud. We decided to walk to a different location. This is similar to when the group of people were filming outside. So we solved this problem and continued to film. We decided to film at noon so the sun would be at its peak. However, it was really hot. It didn't take too long to film. It took approximately 1 hour. We didn't have much dialogue, and Mats remembered his lines. However, in the scene in which I'm dragged into a bush, my arm got scratched. It was bleeding for a little, but we continued filming. The filming process went smoothly, and we are excited to begin editing when we finish filming. 

Re-filming

 My group and I recently realized that we had lost some footage. We lost the footage of the beginning of the film. These were the scenes in my bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. We were trying to put the footage into the editing software, but it was nowhere to be found. We looked through our camera rolls, computers, and recently deleted. Unfortunately, we couldn’t recover the footage. Therefore we had to refilm these scenes. We had to try to remember the angles that we used. Luckily, we just looked for the storyboard to find the angles. Once we found the storyboard, we began to film again. This process didn't take too long because we already knew what we had to film. In addition to this, we set up the camera in the sports that we wanted and used my ring light. This was extremely helpful because the footage wasn't as shaky. However, this was still inconvenient because we had to re-film these scenes. We also couldn't begin editing like we had initially planned. Dominic was video chatting with us because he is currently in Austria. This was also a setback. However, refilming went smoothly. It took approximately an hour. Then we all discussed our plan for our short film in terms of filming and editing. We decided that Tekla and I will edit, and Dominic will be on FaceTime with us to give us input. However, he cannot help as much as he would if he was with us.

Difficultly Filming During the Holidays

Most of the actors met at Tekla's house to film a couple of days ago. The process was a little uneasy because it is difficult to keep everyone focused. However, we persevered and managed to complete the filming process for those scenes. The cast and actors that were present were Tekla, Dominic, Blake, Julia, Jake, and myself. Everyone later went home. 

However, since it is winter break and the holiday season, it was difficult to film. This is because actors have families in different cities, states, or even countries. In addition to this, some actors traveled for leisure purposes with their families. Because of this, it was difficult to schedule a time to film. For instance, Julia went out of town, so we won't be able to re-film until she comes back. 

Once we completed the scenes with everyone else, Tekla, Dominic, and I started to plan when we would film the other scenes. Factors like weather and time had to be considered. In the script, the description of the location is a neighborhood on a sunny day. Therefore, we cannot film when it is about to rain. In addition to this, the script displays times in which actions are taking place. In order to obtain the correct daylight patterns, we have to film around the same time. It wouldn't make sense if one scene was supposed to be at noon and we filmed it at 4:00. The sun would be in a completely different spot, therefore lowering the quality of our film. However, Tekla, Dominic, and I have selected a date to film. We will be using Tekla's dad Mats as well.

Filming Outside

 My group and I finished filming at Tekla’s around 2:30. After we finished filming the living room scenes we decided what we were going to do next. Our schedule was altered because of the actor situation, so we had to go with the flow. We decided that we would go to a little park near my house to film. It is in a neighborhood so it was a somewhat quiet area. We all got into two cars because there was six of us, and drove about a mile to the neighborhood park. We parked the car, and met up in the middle of a grassy area. I brought the storyboard and the script, and started to tell everyone where they should stand for the first scene. Tekla filmed because she wasn’t in any of these scenes, and Dominic helped her. I would read the lines to the actors before their take so they would know what to say. We also decided to take each shot twice. This can be helpful in case we lose some footage. However, when we were filming, there was a man blowing leaves. This sound was extremely loud and we couldn’t film there. Because of this, we decided to walk a few blocks south until we couldn’t hear the man anymore.The scenes were being shot effectively. With Tekla filming, and Dominic helping with the angles and movements, and my leadership skills, the scenes were filmed smoothly. The filming process took about an hour, and by that time we were all tired. When we finished, we drove back to Tekla’s to look over the footage. We liked the footage, and will refilm if we feel it is necessary.

Filming as a group

 Our group decided to meet at 10:30 at Tekla's house. However, we didn't start filming until after lunch because we had to replace an actor. Once the character Grayson was replaced and got to Tekla's house, we started filming. We started with the indoor scenes so we wouldn't be sweaty. Tekla was recording because she wasn't in any of the scenes. I was in a few scenes, but I was primarily reading the lines for everyone and telling everyone what to do. Dominic was looking at the storyboard to assist Tekla with camera angles and movements. Overall the process went smoothly but it was time-consuming. Some of the actors couldn't remember their lines which was inconvenient. To solve this problem, I just recited the line that the individual had to say. After that, Tekla would start recording, and the actors would say their line. In addition to this, we had to add some scenes to make the story flow more smoothly. We decided to film each clip at least twice to ensure that we have a decent take. Hopefully, we won't have to refilm many scenes because of this. We worked effectively as a group to film. We did get distracted from time to time. However, we expected this to happen because we are all friends. We had a strong willpower and decided to persevere and continue filming. These scenes took roughly 2 hours which isn't too much time. Luckily, we figured out the Grayson situation and continued filming.