With the footage cut together it's time to move on to sound. Sound is a more than just the record audio though.
Dialog is the first thing I focused on. Making sure every line sounds like it belongs in the same scene. Sometimes dialog is quiet and other times to loud, so finding the balance is key.
Sound Effects is the next. I can't fill an office with people, so I take an office tone and lay it on top. This tells the viewer there is more going on than they see.
However there is much more to sound effects. Doors closing, water running, alarm clocks, footsteps, and so much more all needs present to help tell the story.
The killer on this short was music. I decided early that I didn't want it to fell like a Hallmark movie.
That is easier said than done. It took me hours of searching before I found music that made it feel like a real production instead of an LDS film, but I did it.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
B-roll and Context
So, after editing the footage into a rough cut I thought I was good to go. I mean there where a few places where I needed to add some b-roll, but nothing big.
After showing the rough cut to my instructor though I learned I needed more than just a little b-roll. He explained that the difference between huge studio films and indie films is the scale.
Meaning studios go and get b-roll of the places the movie takes place, where as indie movies keep it cheap and focus on the people mostly.
This made sense to me. I want my Capstone to seem like more than a no budget film student project, so we set up more shots of Dan.
These shots where really just wider shots of the scenes we already had shot. This would give the viewer more context of the world that the characters live in.
After showing the rough cut to my instructor though I learned I needed more than just a little b-roll. He explained that the difference between huge studio films and indie films is the scale.
Meaning studios go and get b-roll of the places the movie takes place, where as indie movies keep it cheap and focus on the people mostly.
This made sense to me. I want my Capstone to seem like more than a no budget film student project, so we set up more shots of Dan.
These shots where really just wider shots of the scenes we already had shot. This would give the viewer more context of the world that the characters live in.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Ready... Action.
Being on set is my favorite part of the film making process. Seeing everyone work together for a common goal is just amazing.
The filming of my Capstone went great. We were in and out in no time. We started by shooting Greg's scene and getting him out. That was followed up by the morning scene with the kids. With those in the can we broke until the evening.
When we returned is was a race to get the kids finished off, so that they weren't up late. Then a scene were Dan returns home after work. Everything was sailing along, and it was a good thing because the next scene was the most intense.
Melanie and Dan's practice was put to the test when we started the argument scene. There was a lot of emotion in their performances and everyone in the room could feel it. But we got all of the coverage needed and called it a wrap for the first day of shooting.
On the second day we started early to get the opening of Dan waking up and getting ready. It was quick and painless, except getting the alarm to go off at the right moment.
The second location was an ally where Dan's character has a mental breakdown. We put a bunch of trash and debris around a dumpster and let Dan freak out. This is where we had our first significant issue.
Dan was supposed to tear up a resume, but I for got to make copies. That was only the beginning, no one had any paper in their vehicles. The only option we had was have him tear up the shooting script and save the one copy of the resume for the close up.
It worked out and we moved on. I used the joys of a smartphone to pull the shooting script up and we shot out the final scene of the day. I have some great bloopers from this one. My friend and crew member, Nagy, played a small part as a man turning down Dan's character for a job.
Nagy jumped out of the office he was in while Dan was staring at the floor in character. This scared Dan, and I have video evidence showing Dan almost jump out of his chair.
That was it for day two and day three was an hour and a half of lack luster filming. So I'm done filming right? I thought so.
The filming of my Capstone went great. We were in and out in no time. We started by shooting Greg's scene and getting him out. That was followed up by the morning scene with the kids. With those in the can we broke until the evening.
When we returned is was a race to get the kids finished off, so that they weren't up late. Then a scene were Dan returns home after work. Everything was sailing along, and it was a good thing because the next scene was the most intense.
Melanie and Dan's practice was put to the test when we started the argument scene. There was a lot of emotion in their performances and everyone in the room could feel it. But we got all of the coverage needed and called it a wrap for the first day of shooting.
On the second day we started early to get the opening of Dan waking up and getting ready. It was quick and painless, except getting the alarm to go off at the right moment.
The second location was an ally where Dan's character has a mental breakdown. We put a bunch of trash and debris around a dumpster and let Dan freak out. This is where we had our first significant issue.
Dan was supposed to tear up a resume, but I for got to make copies. That was only the beginning, no one had any paper in their vehicles. The only option we had was have him tear up the shooting script and save the one copy of the resume for the close up.
It worked out and we moved on. I used the joys of a smartphone to pull the shooting script up and we shot out the final scene of the day. I have some great bloopers from this one. My friend and crew member, Nagy, played a small part as a man turning down Dan's character for a job.
Nagy jumped out of the office he was in while Dan was staring at the floor in character. This scared Dan, and I have video evidence showing Dan almost jump out of his chair.
That was it for day two and day three was an hour and a half of lack luster filming. So I'm done filming right? I thought so.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Practice Makes Perfect
One thing that I think filmmakers should be doing is read throughs/rehearsal. It gives the director and actors a chance to see if the dialog sounds off. It helps actors understand what tone and emotions the director is wanting from them.
That being said, I got Dan and Melanie together to go over a scene where they have a emotional argument. We ran through the dialog a couple of times and found it was clunky in places. After a little rewording I asked them to start acting, not just reading the lines.
They read it around a dozen times. Each time we bumped the emotion up. By the end there was yelling and tears.
It was something I had never done before, and I'm glad I did. Not only did it make the shooting smoother, it helped bring the performances to another level.
That being said, I got Dan and Melanie together to go over a scene where they have a emotional argument. We ran through the dialog a couple of times and found it was clunky in places. After a little rewording I asked them to start acting, not just reading the lines.
They read it around a dozen times. Each time we bumped the emotion up. By the end there was yelling and tears.
It was something I had never done before, and I'm glad I did. Not only did it make the shooting smoother, it helped bring the performances to another level.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Location, location, location.
Finding locations in the small town of Saint George is a mixed bag. On one hand most business will let you film at their location for a simple credit in the movie, but it's hard to find certain type of places. In my case it was finding an alley. Not just any alley, something old and dirty.
In Saint George there are a few allies, but they are commonly used as parking for the business they're located behind. But I kept searching for the one.
As for the house, where most of my Capstone takes place. I needed something that showed this family isn't poor, but didn't scream "we're rich."
My house was out of the question do to the wall paper from the '70s and the commercial carpet. I talked to Dan about his house, but his wife was already mad I was having him kiss another women, so that was not a possibility.
Dan did, however know someone that deals with vacation homes and sent me the link for her listings.
One day while in search of an alley I went behind a strip of businesses and noticed there was an actual ally way apart from the parking lot. I snapped a few pictures and saw that there was also a window looking down on it. It was perfect for the scene.
I was never able to get inside to shoot down from the window, but it wasn't a shot that drove the plot.
After I spent a a few hours looking through the website I found two houses that I liked and we set up a time to look at them with the agent.
The first one we looked at was a little to flashy. I want the audience to feel bad for these characters, not think that they were rich snobs.
The second house was perfect. The way the kitchen flowed into the dining area. The space in the master bedroom would allow me to put more distance between characters, helping the emotion of the scene.
So now with actors and locations locked in, it's time to shot a movie.
In Saint George there are a few allies, but they are commonly used as parking for the business they're located behind. But I kept searching for the one.
As for the house, where most of my Capstone takes place. I needed something that showed this family isn't poor, but didn't scream "we're rich."
My house was out of the question do to the wall paper from the '70s and the commercial carpet. I talked to Dan about his house, but his wife was already mad I was having him kiss another women, so that was not a possibility.
Dan did, however know someone that deals with vacation homes and sent me the link for her listings.
One day while in search of an alley I went behind a strip of businesses and noticed there was an actual ally way apart from the parking lot. I snapped a few pictures and saw that there was also a window looking down on it. It was perfect for the scene.
I was never able to get inside to shoot down from the window, but it wasn't a shot that drove the plot.
After I spent a a few hours looking through the website I found two houses that I liked and we set up a time to look at them with the agent.
The first one we looked at was a little to flashy. I want the audience to feel bad for these characters, not think that they were rich snobs.
The second house was perfect. The way the kitchen flowed into the dining area. The space in the master bedroom would allow me to put more distance between characters, helping the emotion of the scene.
So now with actors and locations locked in, it's time to shot a movie.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Moving Forward With the Script
With the script written it's now time for Pre-Production. First, casting my actors.
I have a friend who fancies himself an actor, and he's not bad. I went to him with the script and asked if he would be interested. He was more than happy to do it. Dan loved the challenge of an emotional role that would push his skills.
Now with my lead actor cast I need someone to act across from him. Melanie Camire is young actress from Chicago. I know her from a short Dan had casted her in. The best part is in that short they acted across from one another, and had awesome chemistry.
Dan and Melanie play a married couple with two kids, but where do you find kid actors? I don't know, I just used my own.
And finally the last big role goes to... Greg Frisbie. Greg is someone I met while at DSU, but I never thought of him as an actor. One day though Greg acted in a little short for a class assignment and I knew he could play the role of Brian Lewis.
I have a friend who fancies himself an actor, and he's not bad. I went to him with the script and asked if he would be interested. He was more than happy to do it. Dan loved the challenge of an emotional role that would push his skills.
 |
| Dan Fowlks |
 |
| Melanie Camire |
Dan and Melanie play a married couple with two kids, but where do you find kid actors? I don't know, I just used my own.
 |
| Ashden and Kajlyn |
And finally the last big role goes to... Greg Frisbie. Greg is someone I met while at DSU, but I never thought of him as an actor. One day though Greg acted in a little short for a class assignment and I knew he could play the role of Brian Lewis.
 |
| Greg Frisbie |
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
The Light in the Tunnel.
In 2008 The Used released "Shallow Believer." The tenth and final song on the album is "Tunnel." For some reason this song has just hits home for me.
But more importantly it sparked the idea for the short I am making for my Capstone. A short written four years after first thinking of it and one year before ever shooting a single frame.
My Capstone is the story of a man that finds himself wondering aimlessly through life, months after losing his job. It all comes to a head when a foreclosure letter is found by his wife.
I wrote a simple script for a five minute short, but decided to dive into the narrative a little more bulking up the back half of the story. Originally the short ended as the man tosses the foreclosure letter in the trash. After some thinking I felt it would more challenging for me, and the actors, if I added conflict between the man and his wife.
As it stands now there is a happy little ending because most people want to see that, but some ideas have been thrown around for a very dark ending. I'm on the fence right now with it, but feel that like real life this short could end with tragedy.
But more importantly it sparked the idea for the short I am making for my Capstone. A short written four years after first thinking of it and one year before ever shooting a single frame.
My Capstone is the story of a man that finds himself wondering aimlessly through life, months after losing his job. It all comes to a head when a foreclosure letter is found by his wife.
I wrote a simple script for a five minute short, but decided to dive into the narrative a little more bulking up the back half of the story. Originally the short ended as the man tosses the foreclosure letter in the trash. After some thinking I felt it would more challenging for me, and the actors, if I added conflict between the man and his wife.
As it stands now there is a happy little ending because most people want to see that, but some ideas have been thrown around for a very dark ending. I'm on the fence right now with it, but feel that like real life this short could end with tragedy.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
The Final Step on Long Journey
After three and a half years at Dixie State University it's time to do my Capstone Project. Well it has been time. I started on it over a year ago, but DSU is now requiring students to keep a blog documenting the process of completing a Capstone Project. That being said, I will be blogging retroactively.
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