All Quiet on Set!

Filming Process and Lessons Learned

On our second day of filming, the priority was to complete the rest of the film's scenes. Because we had extensively planned out the scenes with one another, my cinematographer/director and I were able to shoot efficiently and with ease. The main issue I anticipated would come from the filming sessions was the sound and transition from the first scene to these scenes.

An unedited blooper of scene 2, where Pam is meant to be left reminiscing about her friend, specifically the video they took together from what will play before the scene.

This failed attempt was due to the unserious we felt by having our cinematographer play the 'mom' calling Pam out to attend the funeral. From this take on, I suggested we have no one speak for a couple seconds and that I would later record an older woman to play the part of the mom to increase the realism of the scene. The goal is to keep the voiceover audio smooth and consistent with the visuals; the door opens, the 'mom' begins to speak, and then Pam snaps back into reality. 

The unedited version of a take that was not a blooper, where there is an indicated pause in which I will have to edit a voiceover in.

An edited version of scene 2 with the audio isolating feature tools on Adobe Premiere Rush turned on and a darkening filter applied to the scene to develop a solemn mood. The voiceover is not added here just yet, but the sound quality is much quieter and attentive to what is desired for the audience to hear the most such as the door opening and Pam's sigh.

The exact filter added over the take can be seen in the screenshot above. These scenes being shot in daylight with significantly better lighting than scene 1 is what makes the filters show up successfully and not worsen the quality by any means as it does to clips with existing poor lighting or grainy areas. 

Creating Meaningful Props & Semiotic Signifiers

Scene 2's addition of Pam throwing out a tissue was suggested as a way for me to incorporate editing techniques I learned and strengthen the impression the audience has of Pam's mental state. In pre-production, we finalized the idea of having a close-up of Pam's trash can, in which failed attempts at her eulogy speech can be seen crumbled inside.

However, there was never a specific way we would cut to this shot that flowed, and in production from my previous film, so having Pam place a tissue in the trash can which I would then edit as a straight cutaway to the trash can close up, would tie several connections of the scene in one. Therefore, my film partner and I began making props that would help achieve this effect and make a point of the representation issue we intended to portray.

Scene 3 of the trash can close up with the eulogy speech and tissues visible.

Key words such as eulogy and overdose are in focus, as we crumbled up the surrounding parts of the letter that we did not want attention on. The trashed papers give the impression that Pam had a lot of difficulty finalizing a speech, reflecting her struggle to cope with her friend's death and also contributing to the audience that this is the day of her funeral. With editing, scene 3 will be a cutaway. The ending of scene 2 will straight cut into this scene to look as though it was continuous; placing the tissue in the trash and then putting on her shoes to leave.

The finalized eulogy speech cover with a bolded, big title stating, "Remembering My Best Friend, Abby Donovan 2006-2024" to seal the understanding audiences will have when watching the scene.

The teal necklace that the actress who played Abby was wearing in scene 1 is also sitting on the paper and is picked up with hesitation by Pam before going to put it on. This draws a further connection between them, as does the title of the paper which refers to Abby as her best friend in the past tense of remembrance. 

As far as audio considerations go, this may be where some kind of slow, sad music starts to play, but at a low volume enough for the diegetic sound in the film to still be heard as the silence is unsettling when quieted and isolated using Adobe Premiere Rush.

Additionally, these prop creations added scenes that developed semiotic signifiers that visually provide signs for the audience to piece together. In scene 1, Abby fidgets with her necklace as the camera drops below her eyes, conveying guilt. The necklace being placed on the eulogy speech, off of Abby, and now in Pam's hands signifies that the owner is no longer here to wear it. People who suffer from grief are left with the belongings of their loved ones and an empty, nostalgic feeling when around those objects which is also why the hesitation and straight cuts between these areas around the room will accentuate this representation.

Overall, I learned the importance of visualizing how scenes will go together before even reviewing the footage in post-production on this filming day. This is so problems with the shots can be addressed ahead of time and fewer pick-ups, if any, will occur. I was able to contribute well-thought-out ideas through my role(s) that proved to change the quality of our film and the editing and sound design process significantly!

Reviewing Production Progress

Input as Editor and Sound Designer on Set

When studying sound design, I learned how obvious it is to the audience the direction in which the sound comes from – even if you do not see the someone or thing making the sound. During filming, I thought about if I were placed in any other area besides close behind the camera myself, my dialogue with Abby would sound unnatural and diminish the point of it seemingly being a home video taken by Pam herself (diegetic sound).

The position my cinematographer and I, playing Pam, were in while filming scene 1.

Still from a practice shot my cinematographer took of the mirror area where our character Abby would be zoomed into. We tested angles to ensure it was not apparent in filming that it was recorded by any other person besides Pam and it was not.

The audio sounded much more realistic and clear in the takes, preventing an audio issue I would have experienced if this we addressed ahead of time. We continued to film takes this way and eventually narrowed it down to two versions we would like to include in an upcoming draft.

Day 1 Filming Concerns & How I Plan to Address Them

After the first day of filming wrapped up, I transferred the takes to my computer using an SD card reader and uploaded them to Adobe Premiere Rush to begin reviewing the film. The audio was good for its purpose of being a home video between friends, as there is no heavy pressure nor expectation on the sound quality other than being able to simply hear the dialogue between the friends. 

However, when watching the full version of the takes back, I noticed that there was an issue visually with using the takes; how dark the lighting was. My cinematographer did not notice exactly how dark because the preview screen on the Nikon Coolpix S3700 does not show its full quality until the content is transferred to another device. The intention was to film in low warm lighting to convey a sense of comfortability and liveliness, but not as dark as it turned out, as the transition to the following scene would be abrupt and peculiar.

So I sifted through takes and tried to apply the filter templates within Adobe that I explored before production. These filters did not help the level of darkness in the film, especially the ending of the scene where Abby looks at herself in the mirror, so other editing measures had to be looked at,

An unedited ending of one of the takes of scene 1, where the lighting is extremely dark to where you cannot see the girl's face.

My cinematographer and I realized this would potentially be one of our pickups; a scene to reshoot or cut before the girl turns into the mirror, where the darkness gets heightened. The darkness around her face could convey that the girl has gone down a dark path or lost hope in herself, hence, suffering from drug addiction. But, this is a far-reached narrative point to draw and not one I'd find easy to convey to audiences through editing or sound.

All the while, it is important to note that the narrative of Abby being addicted to drugs is not meant to be shown directly as the core representation issue, but rather implied as something that the film would go more in detail with if it was more than the first two minutes, so a shortened version shown of her character has the potential to work even better so that emphasis on Pam's grief experience can shine through. 

Being the editor, before deleting any takes or deciding to do any pickups, I now am choosing final takes from what we already have from both scene 1 and the filming day that followed it to create a draft that could possibly work with this scene even with its faults (editing flaws out as much as possible). This draft will allow us to move forward in knowing what needs to be reshot, if any, and have enough time to revise the film itself to perfection!

Action!

Last Minute Revisions 

The night before our scheduled filming day, one of our lead actresses changed her mind about wanting to participate in the film. This led my film partner and I to quickly look for a replacement so that our timeline for completing the film would not be delayed. Thankfully, we had another friend who fit the role very well because of her ability to act with ease and willingness to contribute ideas for her character – crisis averted!

First Filming Day Vision & Mis en Scene Details

Going into filming, my cinematographer and I wanted to get through at least scene one of our film. Scene one is a very long take for this film opening: 25-30 seconds. Due to this long duration, we wanted to solely dedicate at least one filming session to ensure the quality of our film. First up was getting our actress in position to play the role of Abby, a teenager suffering from a drug addiction. We used eyeshadows from makeup pallets, specifically purple and red hues, to create dark under the eyes and an irritated nostril area as planned. Above all, we wanted her to look tired and not at all put together, which also included brushing her hair in the opposite direction to add volume to it and appear 'messy.'

A photo of the completed look of our actress playing the part of Abby, taken from the Nikon Coolpix S3700 camera used for scene 1.

The process of getting our actress ready was taken on the same camera used to create the scene. We decided to use the camera's 'warm light' filter as seen in the top and bottom photos to film the long take. It adds associations of comfort and nostalgia that the saturation level has, which then should contrast with the following scenes intended to imply that Abby has passed away since the start of the video; the absence of life = lifeless color and diminished personal aspect of the filming style.

Scene Changes

Initially, scene 1 was always going to have a panning establishing shot across the room the girls are in to showcase the setting that would later again be shown in scenes 2 and on. But we wanted to create more foreshadowing details that would establish the narrative that Abby passed away and make the editing process for me less difficult to transition between the scenes.

An example take of how Pam appears to struggle with turning on the camera and realizing it is already recording, increasing the natural feel of this 'home video' between friends.

As she is playing with the camera's zoom feature, the all-black clothing on the bed is a focal point before going onto Abby. This was added in to foreshadow the funeral outfit Pam will be wearing in the following scenes. The camera intentionally moves off her face to convey that Pam is caught off guard when her friend turns around, as she looks unwell. Adding elements that will be shown in later scenes will benefit the clarity for when I straight or jump cut takes to resemble 'flashbacks'/different time-periods between scene changes.

Script Revision

Filling Story Gaps

Before receiving full approval for my film production from my instructor, my film partner and I had to clarify our production decisions to him to better his understanding of the vision we had created and our own. We realized the importance of specific elements in the scenes that needed more emphasis to convey narrative with more clarity. In the scenes that follow the first, the audience is now left to put the pieces together as to why such a sudden change in atmosphere took place. Our intention is to convey that Abby has since passed away from the video and Pam is struggling with intense feelings of grief.

Having some kind of memorial speech be shown in a close up was in our script prior to his concern of this being missed to audiences, but brought us closer to solidifying the plan on that prop close up. If we bolden the title of a paper to "Remembering Abby 2005-2023" or something similar, with written speech underneath and even dried tear stains on the paper, holding on this frame for a couple of seconds will fill in gaps of comprehension the audience may experience. Similarly, a close up on a trash can filled with crumpled up papers resembling the eulogy speech paper will portray agitation from Pam, as she had many failed attempts before reaching a typed final copy. As editor, I plan to straight cut these two shots to have the connection between them become even more apparent. 

An example of how paper can be shown in an extreme close up. In this image however, the text is too small and not bold enough to have a certain line be the central focus as a read. In our shot, the title of the eulogy will be boldened and the camera will be completely in focus, shallow focusing everything else in frame besides it to have it catch the most attention as it is a key signifier early on as to what has happened.

Furthermore, my cinematographer mentioned concern of how we plan to transition the home video scene to a cinematic third perspective. Originally, it was our idea to have the first scene take up half the film opening two-minute duration with a separation from the other scenes by using a pause button effect that cuts to the girl watching it on her laptop. 

A behind the scenes view of my cinematographer testing out how this angle would look like. We asked questions to ourselves such as; does this successfully show that the home video the film started with was what was just watched by her? How can we make this moment of snapping back into reality heavier (showing her emotional reaction to the video versus using this simple over the shoulder shot)?

Transitioning Between Scenes

To complete this effect realistically as beginners and save my audience from having to watch an overarching attempt of it, I plan on using the freeze frame technique I learned from watching Adobe Premiere Rush's starter pack informational videos on editing and having the video's pause not be shown on a laptop as the main focus.

This inspired a redirection for this shot; why should the video be the focus? It can be wrapped up within 30-45 seconds to show our skills in the remaining scenes if it is made clear the video has been stopped using a freeze frame and straight cuts to Pam staring at her laptop center-screen – therefore, the story is told without the awkward transition necessary. We revised the script to have Pam's 'mother' call out to her in specific dialogue that audiences could draw context clues from with, "I know you don't want to go, but it's time." This acts as the muffled voice that pulls her out of the dissociation that took place while watching a video of her (displaced diegetic sound) and Abby that when looked upon closely, it was clear she needed help beyond Pam's capabilities. It also makes the scenes increase in meaning for the focus to shift on Pam's reaction to the video, as we want it to look like she has just finished reminiscing and that something grave has taken place in between the time periods shown to audiences.

Often when someone passes away, especially in this generation so blessed with access to technology, there is an overwhelming amount of photos, videos, and memories stored in the screens to look back on. Altogether the combination of revised, specific to point dialogue and ensuring that not just the shots consist of meaning to them, but that the way they are presented through editing and sound design, all help to mirror the vision we see for the story in our heads and tell it more personally to audiences.

Getting an outside perspective to see our film production plan helped to fill in the gaps in storyline we did not see were there on our own and I am looking forward to implementing these changes on filming days and my post-production journey. They will prevent confusion and act as seamless narrative ties between scenes!

Exploring the Canon Rebel t5i

Using a Second Camera

The scenes after scene one (at around 30 to 45 seconds) will be used solely with a Canon Rebel t5i camera. A close friend of mine is a photographer and uses this camera and has lend my cinematographer and I its use and his knowledge! Now that the thought behind filming with the Nikon Coolpix S3700 was elaborated, the reasoning of switching near the middle of this film opening is to contrast the state in which the main character, Pam, is in. We want audiences to be thrown off-guard when the camera quality becomes so impressive at the end of the home video, symbolizing the new reality Pam lives without her beloved friend with an entirely different film resolution present.

A tripod we bought to help my cinematographer make very still, precise shots during the scenes after the home video.

Pictures we took using the Canon camera to showcase the quality of the camera and the low exposure, dark atmosphere it creates.

The duality of using the camera is that it clearly separates scene 1 from the rest because of its quality and adds to the depressing atmosphere of the film from its ability to manipulate color and exposure levels as seen in the practice images. The Nikon Coolpix was used to develop the idea in audiences that it is a home video, while the Canon camera brings the film to the next level of a cinematic look. The clarity in which the camera captures also adds to the film's representation of grief; as if the world for Pam has completely changed, hence a different camera.

The content on the camera can be easily transferred using an SD card reader and overall was a quick learn for my cinematographer. Zooming in on the camera does not create any noise and creates very smooth videography, in comparison to the Nikon's produced sound of zooming in being heard intentionally in the film itself. The Canon's use in these scenes will remove the personal atmosphere of the girls recording themselves effectively. 

Nikon Coolpix S3700 Camera Workshop

Reasoning Behind Chosen Equipment and Learning How to Use It

The Nikon Coolpix S3700 and Canon Rebel t5i are the two devices the film will be shot from. As mentioned previously, the storyline of the film involves the close friendship between two girls; Abby and Pam. This is established in the first scene of the film, as it is supposed to resemble a 'home video' the girls created at Pam's house that will later contrast with a cut to the 'present' – a reality where Abby is no longer alive. This means the cinematography in this first scene would be hand-held and 'unprofessional' to indicate that it is the friend recording. To add to this personal vlog style video we intend to bring to life, I searched through old models of digital video cameras I had and found the jackpot that is the Nikon Coolpix S3700.

The resolution is distinctively different from the average IPhone for its grainy yet soft capturing lens. It instills immediate authenticity for its 'retro aesthetic' that many find nostalgic and a 'personal touch' in film.

The Nikon Coolpix S3700 and a photo we took on it to test the flash and available filter modes on the camera itself.

Due to teenagers being represented in the film and the uprising of early 2000s technology being used by the younger generation, we agreed that using my old camera would build on the narrative that this is a home video for the girls to look back on and was nothing serious at the time.

Thumbnails of the trending comeback of digital camera use among young adults on social media app TikTok.

Screenshot of Mashable article regarding the rise of the digital camera trend on social media, giving statistical data on the millions that are interacting with it online.

With this in mind, I set out to learn how to use the camera alongside my cinematographer. The camera was relatively easy to use and while practicing shots, we questioned the benefit the camera would give us over using our other options. The use of two separate cameras being used in the film not only gives us as filmmakers more to excitingly explore, but would serve meaningfully in their corresponding scenes to help contrast the them as the past versus the present through the difference in saturation levels and resolution. Additionally, the Nikon creates a playful mood being a hand video camera that reflects the girl's friendship, so we ultimately decided to move forward with it. But being the editor, I first wanted to make sure the camera's content could be transferred to another device with the same if not better quality.

An SD card reader I purchased to transfer our practice shots to another device. To use it, I removed the SD card of 8GB from the camera, placed it into the slot of the reader, and connected the attachment to my IPhone. The quality looked even better when imported and this gave us the greenlight that the camera could efficiently be used for me to edit its content later on!

A video of my cinematographer using the 'Toy Camera' effect on the camera that accentuates the blue and green tones in its appearance and testing the zoom feature. 

We do not plan on using this effect in our film because it creates an eerie found footage look, but still wanted to try out every effect so that we could choose the one best suited for our film purposes. Moreover, in the video, when she zoomed in, you can hear the camera lens moving to zoom in closer. This was something that caused us to love the choice of camera even more, especially because the sound design will rely on unsettlingly quiet diegetic sound. During scene one, Pam will question Abby for being under the influence of drugs and Abby will stay silent and continue to be avoidant of the issue while staring at her reflection in the mirror. Pam will zoom in on Abby's reflection while waiting for a response, so the faint creaking noise of this zoom will fill up that silence and increase the tension, disrupting the equilibrium that the home video had at the start successfully!

Sound Design Training

Telling a Story Through Audio

While working on our production portfolio, my film partner and I worked on the AV script template together so that our ideas for the film would be brainstormed together. As we were writing, she had the idea of muffling the sound of the first scene to transition to the next scene's audio to give a sense of dissociation emitted from the character. I loved this idea and researched how I could manipulate sound this way on Adobe Premiere Rush to prepare myself for the editing I will do in post-production.

A video I watched to learn the broadness of sound design in filmmaking and how its techniques can be done using Adobe Premiere Rush, the editing software I will be using.

I found it interesting that the application itself has sound effects copyright free for my choosing. This may be needed later on in post-production. In B-roll's scene 2, we envisioned a shot of the girl's heels clacking on the floor as she walks out of the room. To have this sound be emphasized and all that is heard in a quiet room, I could add in effects as they did in the video so that the sound quality is more 'professionally sound.' Adding in sound effects can act as transitions on their own when done correctly – as seen in timestamp 2:51 from the video. The water droplet sound effect pulls in the droplet falling into the other one, even though they are entirely different. The sound makes them coincide with one another.

A stock video from Adobe Premiere Rush that I edited to muffle the sound at the beginning and become clear when she finishes her sentence. 

Going back to the idea my film partner had, I changed the intensity of the background noise and induced echos here and then split the clip to change the audio settings for the end of it (take off the applied effect) to have the audio return to its original clarity, This is what I would do similarly in post-production, except the audio would be muffled more intensely – fading in and out as though the girl is thinking of the memory in a dream and is being pulled out of it by another voice not seen in the scene.

Sticking to a Storyline

Narrative Impressions

Our film will showcase a friendship between two girls that is lost to drug addiction, costing one of the friends her life. It represents grief and the issue of addiction in two main parts. This was decided early-on as the message of our film. But now having our location and actors decisions set, we are now moving out of pre-production and into production days! 

We thought over how the entire film will be shot in the same bedroom but is intended to look entirely different in each scene to insinuate that a lot of time has passed between them. Through an editing perspective, this could be a hit or miss to the audience. They may not pick this up, causing confusion of the narrative storyline and message intended to be told. It could make the takes look inconsistent rather than develop the story.

Besides freezing the frame through editing to convey a 'pause' in between scenes to distinctly separate events, mis en scene techniques could accomplish the story we are trying to tell. The room itself could be colorful with lots of decorations and personality to it, while in the second scene, looks empty and lifeless without much decor or personal touches. Adding and removing props between the scenes that are meaningful to the mood they add to the room will be essential to conveying that the girl has changed significantly since her friend's death. The colorization of the actual film as well has a dramatic impact on the tone it has.

A warm color preset available on Adobe Premiere Rush applied to their stock videos for me to practice using editing features. This makes the weather in the photo appear pleasant and for the islands to look welcoming because of this balanced and saturated, warm-tone look.

The Azure color preset on Adobe Premiere Rush using the same image to contrast the vibe each change in color creates for the photo. The waters and islands look isolated and gloomy, scary even, because of the strong deep blues and darkness surrounding the photo.

Analyzing the same scenery but with various pre-sets on it made me realize that the scenes of the same room with different implied time periods and mental state of the girl could be conveyed by utilizing one of these colorization templates. Blue and some dark colors have association with sadness, while warm-tones remind people of comfort and coziness, which is why using this kind of dramatic color contrast between scenes could additionally be used to reflect the mental state of the girl; how it changed after her friend passed away. Resolving these physicalities and using all tools available on these softwares if helpful, will make my editing process smoother and for there to be a clear visual of what is needed from production days for me to edit the vision to life!

Learning Editing Software

Adobe Premiere Rush

The editing software I will be using for majority of the film's editing and sound components is Adobe Premiere Rush. In a previous film I worked on, I familiarized myself with its software as far as filming directly on it goes and reordering clips to better implement my ideas as director. But now working as this film's editor and sound designer, I wanted to understand the software's capabilities more in-depth.

After downloading the application onto my MacBook computer, Adobe had its editing workshop for beginners; The Getting Started Series on Adobe Premiere Rush CC. I watched all the videos included in the series, teaching me the shortcuts to editing faster, smoother, and smarter.

A screenshot from the video tutorial showing the advanced sound features available on Adobe Premiere Rush.

Considering that the film will be shot at home and will likely have background noise of pets and other people, the "balance sound" and "reduce background noise" feature will definitely be used to isolate the audio in parts. The film is going to convey dramatic tension involving addiction issues, which my film partner agreed that the sound dynamic would be unsettlingly quiet, therefore these features would help grow the sound quality to reach this impression. I would have to check the buttons I want and then drag a slider to choose the intensity of the sound edit, whether it be to enhance the speech of dialogue to sound more crisp or minimize echos in clips – I have the capability of manipulating the sound to better suit the narrative being told in the scenes. 

A screenshot showing how when starting a project, adding clips is numbered and can be easily rearranged and viewed in the project tab for revision.

This is good to know going into filming days so that I can number takes in the order they were taken to choose the final takes easier when comparing them side by side. Although very basic, understanding the platform I will be working on for the weeks ahead will help me get ahead in my editing skills and organize scenes. There is also a way to collaborate on the same edits on multiple devices and see the changes you make reflect all devices it is connected to, so when choosing final takes, I can have my cinematographer review them with me and overall be closer to my part of the process so we can share ideas to improve aspects as we go along.

Predicting Edits

Knowing how the film's storyline is headed, especially with such a long-take for the first scene, I want the transition between the first and second scene to be dramatic. I talked with my film partner on creating almost a 'pause' effect that appears on the screen to create a trippy feeling for audiences to witness; past to present time jump. The idea is that the camera would cut to the other friend 'watching' the video of her and her friend, indicating that it was from the past and is nostalgic to her. This would require a 'pause effect' to take place, which required me to do more research on to find out if I could mimic the effect we had in mind. 

A concise video I watched demonstrating how you can insert a frame hold segment to symbolize the pausing of a video.

This video showed the ease it is to induce this 'freeze effect.' It allowed me to assure my cinematographer that we could transition between the two scenes using this kind of editing. Making sure I know what I am able to do for the film before incorporating the vision into our storyline will help us make a realistic planning to shoot to reality for us to follow!

Working Out the Details

Location Considerations Early-On

As editor and sound designer, it is important for the location where filming will take place and for actors involved to be reliable. In my last film, the weather outside prevented our shots from looking coherent with one another. It was also around other people filming so often times, we would have background noise of other groups. Aside that, when deciding on filming dates and location, especially if it is outside, in-depth planning before filming is essential to the success of the film.

We pondered on our original idea to film the characters at the beach. Filming outside creates uncontrollable variables such as weather changes and large groups in public interfering with filming. Going back to the main issue we want represented, it led us to an entirely different location that happens to reduce those variables; the girl's bedroom on the day of the 'funeral.' This would help to strengthen the narrative to tie back the memory the girl gets of her friend to one they spent in her own room. Friends often go to one another's houses, so immediately it can be assumed that they were very close. The audience will also get a personal feel with the characters.

Keeping it PG

As our film is about drug addiction, we wanted to make it clear to the audience that one of the girls is suffering from addiction without actually using drugs or props that give the impression  of them in the film. So, we have to rely on specific mis en scene techniques and narrative implications to convey this. 

Still from Euphoria, 2019 of main character, Rue high on drugs. The red, purple eyeshadow makeup under her eyes and nostrils makes her look tired and under the influence of drugs. Her hair is also ruffled to make her look unkept, as though she has been lacking in taking care of herself.

Still from Moonlight, 2016 of the mother in the film erratically looking into the camera, dark circles accentuated to reflect her exhaustion and desperation for drugs.

Cinematography wise, these films in these shots use shallow focus as their depth of field to emphasize the state of mind of the characters from their appearance. But most of all the makeup and facial expressions of the actors is what correlates to the audience that they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol from this rigid 'look' and behavior. Therefore, in our own film, we plan on implementing makeup on our actor assigned to the role of playing someone with an addiction issue.

Incorporated Sound

When watching the openings of films on drug addiction, they seemingly have one thing in common; uncomfortable silence at times with random outbursts from the character that is addicted to drugs. This is something my film partner and I agreed would be the sound style of our film, so we made it clear early on to our actors, as they would have to portray themselves as jittery and 'on a thread.' The makeup and hair effects being 'rugged' help this portrayal but the sound and body language of the actors tell the rest of the story. I plan on doing deeper sound research to learn how I can isolate and muffle areas to drown out sound, giving the feel of dissociation as almost an insight to the mind of the person suffering addiction and the other girl's grief battle. The details tell the story!

Titling and Prepping for Production

Choosing a Title

As my film partner and I near the beginning of production, we first have to create a pitch for approval. To do this, we discussed the possible names the film could have. Grief and addiction often go hand-in-hand, with those who are addicted feeling utterly attached to the drug, while those around them to feel as though their loved one has already passed away from how much the drugs have changed them. They become shells of their previous selves. Addiction commonly leads to overdoses as well, making grief the emotion that follows after people who care for the addicts. These two issues create significant negative impacts on mental health and will both be subtly represented in our film.

Due to the strong correspondence between the two, titling our film, 'Intertwined' meaning "difficult to separate" and "closely connected" felt perfect for the film's context. Having a title we could put meaning to helped to move along the process of developing a storyline for our film.

Expanding Editing Knowledge

In the process of creating a storyline, we had the idea of making the first half of the film transition smoothly to a girl 'watching' what was just shown full screen, to being on her laptop, at an entirely different location. Thinking ahead in terms of how this transition will be edited, I researched editing techniques.

A video I watched to learn editing techniques ahead of production.

Walter Murch's Rule of Six chart (as shown in the video linked above) divides each aspect of film that should be shown through editing with emotion, rhythm, and story as the main components. 

Some editing suggestions he has are:

• Mournful, contemplative scenes should hold on scenes longer to communicate those emotions while frantic, chaotic action packed scenes should use rapid cutting to reflect that. I want the film's two main scenes to contrast heavily with one another, the first being playful and chaotic and the second being solemn and quiet. Keeping Water Murch's theory in mind, I would need various shots for A-roll (the first scene) and long takes for B-roll (the second scene).
  
• Cutaways, involves a cut from the place of action to another place — create and break tension or can indicate what is on the character's mind. This edit will likely be used to transition the first scene to the second, conveying that the first half was in the past of the girl's mind. 

A few other key terms learned from the video are:

• Eyeline match — cutting from the eyes of a character to what they are seeing to correlate their perspective to the audience.
• Cross-cutting — editing two or more scenes happening in different locations simultaneously back and forth to give a multi-layered action effect.
•  Eye trace — cutting between multiple shots that focus on the same area of the frame. This increases audience focus to a particular character or object from shot to shot.

Educating myself on different editing styles and techniques as explained in the video, will help me give make informed collaborative decisions with my cinematographer, such as how many takes or shots in the same location are needed during production to aid me in the editing process later on. 

Representation in Film

Deciding on a Representation Issue

From the bat, my film partner and I wanted to convey mental illness as the representation issue being portrayed in our film. But we wanted it to be more specific to the issues teens of the modern day struggle with. Recently, there has been an uprising of drug overdoses in minors in the United States. The issue is overwhelming and continues to effect the new generation, some deaths even involving children as young as being in elementary school. When researching this issue, we decided to make our film's message with it in mind; grief and addiction in adolescence.

To begin developing the structure of our film with this message, we broke up the film into two main scenes (A-roll and B-roll). The first half could introduce the character that will be 'addicted to drugs' while the second half could exhibit the 'aftermath' of her addiction, which would later develop (if the film was longer) the emotional turmoil experienced with grief.  This past to present narrative style jump was inspired by analyzing Euphoria, 2019 in my previous blog post and chosen for the dramatic effect it would create on the audience by seeing someone 'before' they hit rock bottom addiction.

Researching Chosen Representation Issue Further

With this organization in mind, I wanted to ensure that we both had an understanding of how addiction issues are represented in existing popular films.

Opening scene of Beautiful Boy, 2018.

Beautiful Boy depicts the perspective of a father seeing his son lose himself to drug addiction. In the first two minutes of the opening, there is a very long take of the father discussing the point he is at with his son; desperate for help. The take explains the situation, establishing a strong narrative. The scene also shows the love this father has for his son, enough to reach out to understand what the drugs are doing to his son and how he can help him. 

The sound of this long take is quiet, focused entirely on the dialogue exchanged between the father and the person he is seeking help from. The camera does not move from this one-shot of the father. Even though there is another person speaking, the camera position stays locked on him, conveying that the matter has entirely to do with him. The sound does not change either, and the two aspects of the film here reflect the serious nature of the conversation, the uncomfortable harshness of it.

Then, a 'one year earlier' text appears against a black screen at almost a minute and thirty seconds, transitioning to the past (temporal editing) to catch the audience up to what led the father to reach that point of exhaustion. Editing text onto screen such as this to clarify the period of time in which the events are taking place in, help to maintain the audience's understanding of complex storylines involving heavy messages. An establishing shot of the son's room is shown in dark lighting, creating a mood of emptiness as the father opens the door to see if his son is home. The father being alone in the house is shown with straight cuts from what he sees in the empty house, to emotional expressions in close up reactions, as well as the restlessness in his body language in wide shots.

What stood out the most was the significance that the pace of editing had on the shots storytelling; the father is waiting and waiting for his son to return home. Slow editing creates tense and in-depth storytelling for this kind of context. As far as both editing and sound design goes, this opening has inspired me to incorporate very unsettling silence and one-shot long takes that correspond to the nature of the film as Beautiful Boy utilizes in my own film. Having long takes that give the impression that it is going on for too long, waiting for a trim, relate back to the unsettling and mournful mood the film intends to create. Using one-shots and slower paced editing between them will increase the personal level audiences will feel with the character on screen and help to isolate the emotions of the teenager suffering with addiction, as well as the effect this has on her loved ones.

Take Aways

Impact of Analyzations

Breaking down The Breakfast Club, 1985 movie opening, inspired me to incorporate the foreshadowing the film exhibited into my own ideas. If we can't show the entirety of a beginning, middle, and end storyline, showing the 'aftermath' of the film could make it more intriguing to audiences, leaving them to piece together what could have happened or what message was intended in under two minutes as they did. However, the opposite of this approach is shown in Euphoria, 2019 pilot episode successfully.

Opening scene of Euphoria, 2019, season 1 episode 1.

The beginning of this show, in its first 2 minutes, unravels the main character's life and struggles. Visuals are shown of her being in her mother's womb to her as a child, which jump to her as a kid and then as a teenager. This allows the audience to feel personally connected and invested with her character, as they have just witnessed her 'growing up.' She narrates this opening by talking over clips that correspond to certain struggles she endured throughout her life, leading to an understanding of the life she lived, relationships to others, as well as her mental state. 

The cinematography appears use quite a few one shots of her centered to frame, conveying a feeling of unsettling isolation surrounding her character. The camera positions begin distant and zoom into characters as they are talking to separate each identity of the characters being introduced thus far. The editing is fast paced, with straight cuts used back and forth to transition from one state of age to another and a dark hue over the scenes to resemble nostalgia as she talks of her past. This is called temporal editing, when editing allows for the perceived time in the film to be manipulated. Altogether, these techniques aid in telling a story — a fast overview of her life before the show's beginning. This sets up the storyline for the rest of the show and is a great way to maintain an audience's interest.

Considering Both Approaches

The reasoning for analyzing The Breakfast Club and Euphoria is for the fact that they are both coming of age media that contrast heavily for not just the time period in which they were filmed to reflect teenagers (80s versus modern day) but with how they began. The Breakfast Club opening with its resolution of the entire plot and then going back to how it all began, peaks interest in the audience and leaves expectations of the film solidified (the ending was revealed). Euphoria however started with an exposition, focusing on the main character's upbringing (birth to present) which leaves expectations for what will follow unknown.

It is interesting to see such different ways of beginning a film that represent similar core representation ideas; addiction, bullying, depression, and loneliness that is the teenage experience for many. Although, for their individual storylines it is apparent that it could not have started off any better. Several take away notes have been made ranging from each opening's foreshadowing of events and manipulation of time, to utilizing color hue editing to convey a mood into my planning for my own film. Overall, kicking off strong and dramatic with good narrative storytelling through a unity of work from editing, cinematography, and sound design, is what makes a good introduction impressionable for a coming-of-age/drama film!

Preliminary Research

Being Aware of Film Intentions

Keeping in mind that this film is supposed to be the first two minutes of a whole one, there should not be a distinct beginning, middle, and end in it, but still however showcase some kind of representation issue. My partner on this film and I discussed possible genres we could use with representation issues we wanted to explore, the most being a drama/coming-of-age film. Prior to this film, I created a comedy. I found it unfulfilling to convey a message of representation when given humorous circumstances. This time around, doing a drama, something more serious in nature fits right onto the kind of meaning I want my films to develop in the audiences it reaches.

The first idea we decided on was that the group in which we would be filming would be teens. This is because of our limited abilities to find actors that would be as flexible or invested in the film. We also felt that representing an issue teens go through would be reflected better considering that we are teenagers ourselves.

Analyzing Film Openings

As part of my preliminary research, watching the openings of films that resonate with the dramatic flair we had in mind helped us get a sense of the structure our film could mimic.

Opening scene from The Breakfast Club, 1985.

The first two minutes of The Breakfast Club, 1985, (post-credits) seemingly shows the aftermath of what the movie will entail. There is a quote by David Bowie describing the new generations as rebellious, but self-aware. This quote 'shatters' with an editing effect that makes the quote appearing to be glass breaking, with added shattering noises. This dramatic transition to clips of a school, "Shermer High School" and the message of the quote create a foreshadowing to what the movie is about, where it is taking place, and who its representing; teenage students of the new generation.

The cinematography of the opening is primarily establishing shots of the scenery around and inside the school, with several close ups of meaningful details. There is vandalization on its property by students, some being carvings in walls hence "I don't like MONDAYS" and the broken locker with its contents spilled out on the floor. The editing is also synced to parts of the beats in the music, which increases the flow of the opening scene aesthetically.

As for sound, there is a song playing in the background with strong guitar riffs and a voiceover of one of the characters reading a letter that is from the characters in the movie. Rock music has is often stereotyped and associated with being 'rebellious', furthering the assumption the audience can make of the main characters. The letter being read aloud also gives context of the movie and its end before anything else; the students are at Saturday detention and were instructed to write a letter to the teacher on who they think they are. What is being read out loud is the finished product. 

The letter's tone is confrontational, leading the audience to anticipate what it took for the students to reach such a strong conclusion of themselves. The boy who reads the letter describes himself and the other characters before the audience even meets them as brains, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. This establishes well-rounded labels for the character types and dynamics in the film, creating a deeper understanding of the film's representation. Altogether, these techniques will be noted for usage in my own film to better my editing and sound design responsibilities to tell a story just as equally as the dialogue or plot will on its own.

A New Beginning

Rebranding Lantern Shark Productions

With my first film completed, I have a better idea of how to go into my next one, as well as more knowledge on the broadness in which I can explore and implement media techniques and devices. My role as director on my previous film taught me the importance of maintaining a consistent vision throughout every stage of production to create a good film; to ensure the storyline components, sound design, and cinematography coincide with one another. Learning the basics of roles that were outside my own to better understand the process in making a good film, has excitingly raised the expectations I have for my own work and others I work with.

When researching the skill roles of my group and doing a Creative Critical Reflection, editing caught my eye the most. So, Lantern Shark Productions will be taking on a new challenge as the editor and sound designer of my next film, with emphasis on the editing journey process. My aim in editing this film is to utilize the power of turning cinematography into a higher art form. As someone with high media consumption, I want to understand the tools available to me on devices I use so often. How can I contribute to creating something that sparks interest and discussion in its audience? And how can this be done through editing and sound design? The possibilities are endless!

Photos I recently edited to exercise relighting techniques to suit a photo's mood better. I am looking forward to implement my love for editing and photography to working with videography!