Difficulty Getting Together

This is getting a  little difficult for me now.  I joined the class a little late, so I had to catch up, but my partner and I are now having trouble getting together.  She's really busy with Ms. Ball State stuff (I think it was) and we haven't really gotten together to discuss the project in depth.  We had an initial meeting where we saw what each other looked like.  That lasted about 5 minutes, but she hadn't read the script yet, so we decided to meet today, Saturday.  Turns out she's sick and we're going to have to postpone again.  This is starting to scare me now because I don't know how often she's going to be busy. I know it doesn't take a whole week to film, I guess, but I'm just afraid that it'll get too close to the due date and we'll still need to get some really important stuff. We haven't even really talked yet.  I'm free basically all the time, and she's a busy girl, which I totally understand.  Maybe I'm just being paranoid and we'll have enough time. 

I'm supposed to send her some of my ideas through e-mail while she's recuperating.  So I'll just do that.

It! Has! Begun!

.. filming, that is. We just completed our first evening of filming. It was a little short due to wardrobe issues (Stephanie is having trouble finding a "crazy person" dress), but we were able to knock out a few integral parts. Originally, it was supposed to be an all-weekend filming thing, but Steph needs to go home this weekend, so we'll resume filming on Monday evening, and plow a lot of it out next weekend and then start piecing it all together!

Now that filming has begun my biggest concern is getting the shots right. One of the things that was stressed when we first met was that these films have to be above average. How do I know if what I'm shooting will turn out "above average"? The only thing I'm trying to do is get great framing, lighting, and acting, and from there we'll hash a lot of it out in editing. That's also one of the reasons why I want to get done filming as early as possible- that way if something doesn't fit well or looks bad when we're editing, we have plenty of time to go back and re-shoot without feeling rushed.

Oh, and I was pretty bummed that we don't get audio teams until next week. Oh wells. [PS- If you can get the subject reference, you get a high five.]

Week 2: Pre-Production

Well it's the start of a new week already, and the awkward first blog is already done. My co-producer and I have met, as most of everyone else has, and we plan to have a more in depth meeting later this week for pre-production discussion.
I am glad to hear that our audio teams will be joining us throughout the production, and not just in post. I am looking forward to working with a larger crew than usual. So far we haven't run into any problems, although scheduling time to shoot is still a concern.
Today's guest lecture was very interesting. I enjoy that we can diverse in topics to cover all of the expertise that go into creating a professional production. Overall, I am excited to get this production underway.

Thoughts About Tattle-Tail

I have met with my partner, and we are both very committed to this project. I have read through the script several times and found a few weaknesses in it. I have made slightly different version to tie up some loose ends. I have made storyboards for a lot of the film. I know how I want to shoot it. I think it enough time is dedicated to to it that it can turn out to be a pretty good movie. But, acting is crucial for this flick. There are a lot of long monologues the main character will have to go through. I am meeting with Stephen Glaspie, the co-producer from theater tonight. He should let me know who our leading lady is going to be. Then, we can get this thing rolling...

And so it begins...

Gave my partner a shout, we'll get the ball rolling on casting by the end of the week.  Read over the script a couple of times--though I read it and critiqued the original version in 410 last semester, so I'm pretty familiar with it.  Depending on how casting goes, I might get with Sam and Nick to twist a couple things around (namely genders), but, being a screenwriter myself, I intend to stay faithful to the source material.  Got some ideas for post...gonna shoot some demos and mess around with some screen tests in After Effects to see if I can do what I imagine.  On the lookout for some locations...already scouted a couple that may fit what I want to do.  This week I'm going to draw up some set designs and hopefully start experimenting with different lighting setups.  Honestly not sure how much detail I'm going to be including on these posts (probably not much) as I like to keep a lid on things until the final product is revealed, then explain what was done and how I did it.  

The Beginning

I am a huge fan of Poe, and I think this script is a solid adaptation of A Tell Tale Heart. I know Sam Price pretty well, so if I want to make changes I think getting a hold of him should be easy. Because I don't know many actors, so I'm hoping my partner will be able to help quite a bit with casting the film. I'd like to blend this film into a dark comedy, but still remain true to the original story. I'm a big fan of awkward humor, and an excellent moment for that is when the dog's owner finally talks to the lead in the doorway. That is a great setup for humor using reaction shots and "awkwardness." In terms of pre-production, I haven't made much progress. I have spoken with my partner about our "plan of attack" for this film, but we are waiting to have a real meeting until we have another class. I imagine we will have a sit down meeting this week to begin our work on the film.

Blah

I met with my partner about 15 minutes after our class ended last Monday. I never really have any problems with the people I work with within a production. I think more so than anything else, that is the most exciting thing I always look forward to: working and challenging myself with others. 

However, I am somewhat confused when Dwandra states that she wants these productiosn to be more professional than other TCOM productions when the director just gets hid buddies. I'm unsure how this is any different, especially considering the fact that I have a male co-producer, and the script is based around a female character. I do enjoy the script. Mainly because I enjoy insane female-based characters. I am concerned however, how to make my co-producer look good for his class, when his character isn't until the end. I think it would have been a better choice to have chosen a script where the sexes can be either male or female with a one character play, or a script that is slightly more evenly based. I like the script how it is, it's unfortunate that I have to change my interpretation so that my partner can be on camera more. 

Not Much

Although I joined the class a bit late, it's Sunday night and I still haven't met with my co-producer. I'm having a hard time getting ahold of her.  She's busy with a show this semester.  I'm sure we'll meet pretty soon but unfortunately, I don't have a lot to report at this time.  I'm thinking this might be an ongoing general difficulty throughout both projects-coordinating everyone's schedules.  We'll see.  

I don't have any casting prospects right now, but since my partner is a theater student, I'm sure she'd know more people than I would. 

That's all I really have right now.  Once I've met my partner, I'm sure there will be more to write.

Creepy... for sure.

I met with my partner earlier this week -- and I think we'll be able to produce a great product. The script leaves a lot of headroom for the director, so I think I'm going to take a strange dark angle with this. I want a very depressing tone, a lot of blood, and great great sound design and odd saturation effects - the product is all about mood.

We've got it cast, we've got a location, and we've got an animal - I think. I'm actually more worried about physical production than I am post-production, which I can typically do within hours. My strong point is post production, weak point is production. But I've done enough with Something Else that I expect a good product.

One thing that I'm worried about is getting the equipment I want. I want to shoot this HDV and I want the DP lights. For some reason, everything I shoot on the PD-150s, no matter how well I light it, doesn't turn out the way I want it. The camera is terrible with color, the resolution is bad, and the DV-format cripples what could be a good standard-definition project. That's why I like HDV. HDV isn't a good alternative for HD, but rather a good alternative for cheap 10-bit SD; I can get the color and resolution I want, I don't get the DV grain that ruins projects, and the final project can be broadcast ready... not so amateurish. So hopefully I'll be able to pull off getting a better camera.

Beginnings...

Well, I'll be honest, at first I was not too excited about the script. Dog-killing is not really my preferred topic, and being a fan of Poe, I really wasn't too sure about the attempts at the adaptation. But now that I've had a few days to let it sink in, I'm beginning to convince myself that it has potential to be quite good.
I met with my partner, Jillian, on Thursday and now I am quite excited to get started. We're still very much in the beginning stages as far as casting or crew recruiting, but it does seem like it will be quite easy for us to work out the general logistics of the project. I also feel like we are very much on the same page as far as the artistic direction of the project. We've already discussed some shot ideas as well as location and character motivations. I'm really looking forward to starting to shoot this project soon!