Neighborhood hunting

     I got back this morning and Veronica and I decided to drive around my neighborhood and find houses that would fit the opening. We were looking for a more country and old fashioned theme.

It wasn't very hard to find house that fit the theme. The only problem is a lot of them were spread out. But they look like nice family-style houses and that was a big goal.
     As we were driving around the neighborhood we realized that we wanted to change our location to San Diego. We felt the houses were too fancy to be in Witchita, Kansas during that time period.

     Here are some examples of the houses we found. As you can see all of the styles are similar in time period and appearance. My neighborhood normally has a variety of different style houses, so we had to make sure these houses were close by. They are very close to eachother making it easier to film smooth.

...

     I am still currently in Argentina at the airport getting ready to fly to Patagonia. Since I have two hours before my flight, I decided I should brainstorm for the last time before we start filming. The last thing that we are missing is how we are going to display the movie title. I want it white, in big font and bolded. Our movie title is "Evanescent"and below is an example of how I want it to look.

  
     I was thinking of something like this except with the scene going on in the background. I want to fade out in slow motion. This acts as a transition between scenes. So far, I think we are doing very well although we are a little held back. We are starting to film soon and I am super excited for that!

What to do...

     It's been hard to get anything done this week since I'm in Argentina and I get back on Sunday. I realized that I had forgotten a very important part of the film. The credits!! The whole point of the film is to be able to make the credits blend in the film while fitting the theme. Many audiences don't really notice the credits either because it's either at the end of the film or blends in very well in the opening. I was thinking of something plain but catches the audiences eye. 

     I wanted each credit to be displayed during the jogging scene individually. Picture this, there will be music playing in the background(a pop song), and a teenage girl will be running in her neighborhood. Different names will be displayed one at time at different areas of the screen.  

     This is a good example of what I am looking for. Obviously it would  be a totally different background but the font would look similar. I like this font because the movie is a murder/mystery and the font gives off a spooky vibe. White should also be used because not only are most credits displayed in white font, but we didn't want to take too much attention from the scene itself.

titlesss

     This is SUPER last minute but we decided to change our short film title. After a big discussion we agreed that "How It Started" wasn't the title that we are working for. It doesn't sound as mysterious as it should. It sounds more of like a light film maybe even a comedy so after a lot of thought we narrowed it down to a few choices.
"The Disappearance"
"Grabbed"
"Gone"
"Evanescence"
     After discussing during class, we had both agreed on Evanescence coming from the Latin meaning "Disappear" or "vanish" which is basically what the film is about. Most people don't realize the importance of a title because it is often overlooked. But really, the title is what sways the audience towards a movie. I mean yea the title isn't everything. But a catchy title is more likely to stay on one's mind rather than a long dragged out title. We like it short, simple, and to the point.

...more actors?

     My partner and I have been thinking about the different characters in the film. I know we're suppose to be passed that stage but it came up in conversation and we were intrigued by the concept of having more than two actors. Maybe we could have the girls parents in the film? I feel like two minutes isn't enough time to incorporate more actors but at least it's up for discussion.

     If we do add parents, I think my parents could play the roles. Or maybe the female could have one parent? I feel like that would be easier because my dad works a lot so if we need last minute filming, my mom would be home. She's also a good actor(...and drama queen). 

     Another thing that we discussed was have maybe a best friend of the female lead. I have  a lot of friends who would be up for that. I don't know. I just feel like it would be better to have more than two actors. Then again we literally don't have time:( I'm at the airport right now but when I get back I'll let you guys know what we have decided! 

XOXO

LIST!!!!

     Unfortunately I am struggling this week because I was planning on working on the project during spring break but I am going to Argentina for a week and a half. I am trying to decide how we are going to get things done on time and work efficiently. I am upset that I can't use the abundant amount of time provided to work on the film. When I get back, we are going to start filming so we have time to edit. Below, I provided a list of steps in order that we are going to do it:
1. Ask permission to borrow camera equipment
2. Go to the store and buy props
3. Go to my house and do hair and makeup
4. Get into costume
5. Drive to the houses that we wrote down
6. Start filming the jogging scene
7. Film the conversation scene between the girl and the kidnapper
8. Film scenery to incorporate in the film
9. Film the house that is the female leads(with permission)
10. Film other things that we haven't planned
11. Gather all the footage that we have
12. Start editing the footage
13. etc...etc...etc
   

houses:::::)))))))

     Yesterday, Veronica and I met up and drove around my neighborhood discussing good areas to film. As we were driving, I wrote down the house that we were going to film at. I tried to find houses that have an old-fashioned look and that would be found in Kansas. I like the house to the left because it has a family feel. I found a few houses in my neighborhood that fit the look.
     We didn't get to work on the film for that long only because I had a meeting to go to after school. However, we did get a lot done. I was able to find an outfit to wear for the jogging scene. It's old-fashioned looking and has a sense of innocence involved as well. We want the female lead looking as innocent as possible making her an easy kid-nap victim. We were also talking about hair style and I was telling Veronica how my Mom's friend is a hairstylist and she could style my hair for the specific role I am looking for. We wanted old-fashioned curls in a high pony tale. It does seem a little extreme to get my hair done, so during the break Veronica is going to test out the hair style on herself and let me know how it turns out.



We wanted to find a street in my neighborhood with no palm trees and this is the street we found. It ended up working out really well because the lighting was perfect.