Sound Recording

This past week our group recorded sound for the third assignment. I think our group has recorded some really good sound and I had fun doing so. I really like our sound and cannot wait to edit it for the second part of the project. I did learn a lot from this task. For instance, I learned for the second time how important it really is to check the sound levels and the headphone levels. When I was recording one of my sounds I found that I had recorded it too low so I had to scrap that recording and I ended up recording an even better sound. This project has also encouraged me to become more aware of the sound that surrounds us throughout the day that we typically dismiss. I tried to record some of these sounds like drawers closing, the sounds of doors locking, and the sounds of doors shutting.

Master Shot Editing Experience

So far the editing experience for my project has been interesting. I am really happy with the product so far, and I think we have the tools to make this project a good one. When we were first discussing our project we had come to the conclusion that we were going to make this a black and white film and we have managed to stick with that idea all the way through the post-production process. I have been amazed by some of the effects that Final Cut Pro will lets us do. I do not want to give too much away, but I really like how we were able to manipulate our master shot to mimic a security camera look. I also enjoyed editing the match-on-action shot. For some reason, I just find it fascinating to create that illusion of movement. So far, I am very proud of our product and I cannot wait until we finalize our project.

Previsualization Materials

Arguably one of the most important, crucial parts of filmmaking is the preproduction process. The previsualization materials such as the storyboards, overheads, and budget help tremendously. I will serve as the gaffer for this project, so I believe that the overheads have helped me envision the different ways that I could set up the lights and help me think and decide what would be the best setup for the master shot. I think it will help me tremendously when it comes to production day because it allows me to save time while we set up and I might have some time to play around with the lighting equipment to make sure everything will look okay. There is one concern that I had while creating the overheads for this project. I was concerned about how strong the hanging lamp light will be and how this may affect what kinds of lights should be used in each shot.

The Master Shot Overhead

Previsualization of the Master Shot

For the master shot project, I have been assigned the gaffer and grip position, so I am in charge of the lighting on this project. So far, our group has come to a conclusion that we will use the provided Bran and Park script as an interrogation sequence. I feel that this could be done very well. I believe that lighting could play a crucial role in the making of this project. We are hoping that our location will have a hanging light, and if this may be the case then I think that this available light source could look very well on screen. Right now I think that the tone of the project is important for figuring out the type of lighting that we want for this project, and I believe that we are going for a more serious with subtle or no humor tone. If this is the case I believe that hard lighting is important to highlight the physical state of the characters, particularly Park.

Reflecting on Vox Pops and Expert Interview

We shot our vox pops two weeks ago I think they turned out great. I believe there were some solid interviewees that could be very useful to the project and they provided some good ideas for B-roll. For our vox pops, we went to downtown Wilmington and asked our questions to people walking down the street. Unfortunately, there were heavy gusts of wind blowing towards us, so that did create an obstacle for our filming, but we found a way to get over it.

Unfortunately our group ran into a little problem with landing our original expert interviewee, but I believe we found someone better. We held our expert interview for this project on this past Friday and we interviewed Ron, who is co-owner of a nice sandwich shop in downtown Wilmington called Wayfarer. I felt like Ron was a really good person to interview because he had a vibrant personality and he showed some great insight into his business and his life.

Documentary

Due to a problem with reaching our expert interview, we have changed our topic for the 2 minute documentary to discuss people's view of a perfect sandwich, focusing around the question "What is the perfect sandwich?" Listed below are our questions and information for our new topic.

Expert Interviewee: Dee Russell (Subway manager in Wrightsville Beach, NC)
Location of Shoot: Russell's house
Tone: Tongue-in-cheek

Expert Interview Questions:
1) How long have you been creating sandwiches professionally?
2) In your opinion, what constitutes a superior quality sandwich?
3) What steps do you take personally to ensure that the customer gets the best sandwich possible?
4) Have you ever had a happy customer do anything extraordinary because of how you made their sandwich, and explain.
5) Have you ever had an unhappy customer lash out because of their sandwich, and explain.
6) What is the strangest request you've ever had for a sandwich?
7) How specific do some customers get about their orders?
8) How non-specific do some customers get about their orders?
9) How confident do you feel in your sandwich making abilities?
10) What is your perfect sandwich, and why?

Vox Pop Questions:
1) In your opinion, what makes the perfect sandwich?
2) Which component is most important?
3) Describe a sandwich that made you want to die and go to heaven.


Production Schedule:

Monday, February 11th

1:00pm - Pick up equipment at Kenan
1:05pm - Leave for Russell's house
1:30pm - Arrive at Russell's house
1:35pm - Setup lights and camera
1:50pm - Begin interview
2:20pm - Finish interview and pack up equipment
2:45pm - Leave Russell's house and shoot B-roll


This is how we are planning to setup Dee Russell in front of the camera for the expert interview (Our storyboard).




This is how we plan on setting up the lighting equipment (Our overhead).