Week 13

12/19

Our 20% day was on Thursday because it was the last day before the break. J.Ben wasn't there. Bailey brought her camera and some make-up and we did a photo shoot for our movie poster. One hand on the poster was supposed to be dirty looking so we put some brown make-up on Heidi's hand. Bailey did a great job with the make-up and it looked good and realistic. We went outside to get the pictures. We tried a few different locations and positions. We got quite a few and some were really good. Over the first part of the break Bailey edited it and our movie poster is now done. We have a basic outline for our trailer but it needs a lot of detail added. We were hopefully going to work on the trailer during the break and have most of it filmed and ready for J.Ben to edit during or after the break.

Heidi's Zombie make-up

Example of a not so good shot

This is a better shot. Not the one we used though.

Week 12

12/13

So I wasn't in class on Friday because I was preforming in Beauty and the Beast. I talked to my group and Heidi said that Bailey was and trying out some zombie makeup techniques on her and a few other people. I really wish I could've seen it but I'm sure she has pictures. J.Ben said he started working on the speech for the final project. I didn't really get a chance to work on anything but I've been thinking a lot about how we are going to make the trailer. Bailey said she wanted to incorporate flashbacks and the monologue we have already written. I think it could turn out great if we got the chance to film it. Nobody said anything about deciding on a title either. Next class, since I'm going to be there, I was hoping we would pick a title and review what we have of the trailer and the final presentation. Hopefully filming can be done over Christmas break or else we will more than likely not have a final project.

Not a good pic but there wasn't a lot that I did

Week 11

12/6

Friday was an interesting day for our group. We had a few disagreements. We kept getting off topic but we still managed to get a few things done. We started reading through the script but decided not to finish because we are more than likely not going to do the whole movie. The script was a good accomplishment for this product and so far the closest thing we have to a final project, but we will not be filming it. We decided that it will be a lot easier and overall possible for us to just make a movie trailer instead of the whole film. In class we started making the trailer outline. Deciding what events and  actions should be displayed in the trailer to capture the idea of the whole film. We also decided that we wanted to come up with a new name. This took a huge chunk of time because we couldn't all agree on one. We decided that we would all come up with 3-5 and share them either sometime next week or next friday. We also came up with a cool idea for our movie poster. It is loosely based on the example attached. We liked the distressed background it had to it and thought instead of the silhouetted figures there could be a picture more representative of the film and the change within the character. The idea that's at the top of the list right now requires photoshop, so Bailey is going to have to work on editing it once we are done taking the pictures needed.

Trailer and Script opened in Pages. This is the example picture we were using for our poster. 

Week 10

11/22/13

Last Friday I was only there for the last part of class. I had gone on a field trip and didn't get back until the end of class. My group said they ran through script while I was gone. I'm not quite sure if they did anything besides that while I was gone. Once I was there we ran through the script again with me there, since I am the main character and have the most creative input. There are a few revisions that could be made to the script but a lot of it needs to take place while filming. We didn't get a chance to really discuss when we could film. All we really talked about was that none of us could film over thanksgiving break. We are still working on contacting the extras and possibly Cole's replacement. We will hopefully get our filming started soon. We could also start working on a movie poster. These are all things we need to discuss once we get back from break.

Week 9

11/15

So in class on Friday Bailey wasn't there but we still managed to get some things done. Most of what we did was discuss things that needed to be done. It was still productive though. I think that everyone is a little more organized now about ideas and dates. We emailed Mr. Trione our script and he printed it and proof read it. This was very helpful to get an opinion about it outside of our group. J.Ben also emailed all of the extras that signed up to be zombies. In the email we didn't specify any shooting dates. I think that it's important that we set some shooting dates so that our extras know when to come and so that we know when we need to film in order to finish. It's really hard to film because somebody is always busy when we need to film and it's hard for me to get up to Fairhope sometimes. We decided that most of our filming will probably take place over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Of course J.Ben is going to be out of town for both holidays. Our group discussed it and we think it's best that we get a new actor to play Cole. J.Ben was okay with this and will still being doing the editing for the film. Bailey said she had a friend who was interesting in being in our film a week ago so we thought that he could possibly be our new Cole. Mr. Trione gave us a blank shooting schedule and script brake down. I was going to try and finalize our script, then fill these things out over the weekend and the course of next week. This is my way of helping the group since I won't be there next Friday. We also thought of ideas for our movie poster. We were thinking something kind of vague since we haven't had time to actually take a picture for the poster.

J.Ben and Heidi working

Week 8

11/8

After last weekend's attempt at filming we realized we still had a lot of work that needed to be done. In class this friday we sat down and worked on script, storyboard, and filming equipment/ people. Bailey and I were writing script and trying to finish it up and fine tune somethings. Last weekend some people were having trouble with their lines so we were trying to change them up to make them easier. It also needs a good deal of work done on the ending. We haven't exactly decided how it will end yet. I let Bailey take it home and work on it this weekend. Then, hopefully, she can get it done and I can help revise it for the final draft of our script. While we were doing this J.Ben and Heidi were working on our storyboard. It was brought to our attention that we didn't have one so they were working on that and hopefully we can have it for filming whenever we start. Heidi's brother, Knight, and his friend, Harrison, came and talked to us at the end of class. Knight might have a camera and some equipment that we can use for some of our filming. Harrison offered to help us film but we'll have to plan our filming around his schedule. Overall I think that we made some progress this friday.

Week 7

11/1

Friday I think we didn't make as much progress as we should have. During class we read through the new script for the first time as a group. I explained to everybody what camera shots I was using for each scene and how they were supposed to say their lines. I think everybody has a better idea of what their character is like and what the storyline entails. After school we all came to Bailey's house to start filming. It turns out that our original zombie and camera man couldn't make it this weekend. We tried to plan ahead for more filming next weekend though. We didn't get very much filming done because by the time everyone was here and we had the camera all set up it was getting dark. I'm still not sure if we are going to be able to use what we got because it might be too dark. We also had a problem with people remembering their lines. While we were at Bailey's house we also experimented with some of the zombie make-up, making sure that we knew how to use all the materials. It worked out pretty well.

Week 6

10/25/13

On Friday we all agreed that we were behind on our movie. I think we were all ready to work because we actually got a lot done. I'd say that over the course of Friday and the weekend we've made the most significant headway on the project as of yet. In class we read through the script and saw a lot of holes or creative mistakes rather. We didn't have time to correct everything in class so I was chosen to edit it over the weekend. Editing has been going good. I don't think I realized how much there was to add detail wise until I started editing. There was a basic storyline but most of the actual scenes where in our heads. On paper (or computer rather) it made just about no sense. There were no shot commands and most actions were in paragraph form. I'm not finished with editing yet but I'm hoping to be finished my Monday and can e-mail it to Heidi, Bailey, and J.Ben so they can look over it. In class we also discussed when we are going to start filming. We all set aside next weekend to start out filming. On Monday everybody is going to bring some money and give it to Bailey so that she can buy all the special effects make-up and other materials by Friday when we start filming. Over all I think it was a productive week.

Heidi practicing her creepy face. 

Hard at work. 

Week 5

10/17/13

This week we had a half day Friday so we worked on our project on Thursday instead. We only had part of the class to work on Thursday because of exam. So obviously we didn't get as much done as on other weeks. We worked only partially on the script. We decided we needed to calculate all the costs and find who is going to be our first zombie before filming starts. Bailey has all the costs calculated because most of it will be spent on special effects make-up which is her area. They are not completely finished because we might find things that we still need once we start filming. The rough draft came out to about $15 per person. I don't see this cost being a problem for anybody in the group. We still aren't 100% sure how we want to end our short film but we thought that we would wait until our whole group is here to figure it out. I personally want to start filming either 10/26 or 11/2. I don't really think that filming will take that long but I also didn't think that writing script would take that long so the sooner we start the better.

Week 4

10/10/13

On friday we worked on the script for our short film, Day of the Zombie. We got a good portion of it done. It will probably only take us one more class day to finish it. Then we have to start filming. We talked about filming a little bit during class too. We still aren't sure of a location. We are going back and forth between Bailey and Heidi's houses. Anna also offered to let us use her house because it has a the right setting for our movie. We will probably decide on a location next class so that we can start filming soon. We will not be filming next weekend because some of our group members already have plans. It would be ideal to start filming the weekend after that though. That also gives us time to gather all the special effects make-up that we need. I don't think that finding a camera will be hard. J.Ben said he had one and Heidi said she could borrow one from her brother if we needed too. Heidi's brother also has a lot of filming equipment we can use. Overall I think we have enough script done to be back on track soon.

Group work!

Script spoiler! Hasn't been edited though. 

Week 3

10/4/13

Today we were all in class, so we got to work as a group again. I received the file that had the updated outline and read over it in class. Everybody in our group created an account on Celtx.com and we shared the file containing the script. Now we can all add to it and work on it and be able to see what other people within our group are adding to it. We only got about the first scene done on the script. We all think that we should start meeting after school to work our zombie movie but we haven't decided on a date yet. We agreed that filming should start soon and after we start filming we should have a shot that we can use to make our movie poster. While doing evaluations we decided that Bailey and I are going to be the main script writers, from help with J.Ben and Heidi. We already knew that J.Ben would be the lead in filming and editing. Heidi is going to help with location, snacks, and costumes or clothing in general. Bailey is going to do all of the special effects make-up and I will help with regular filming make-up. I think that we are doing good as long as filming or at least some more script writing starts soon.

Week 2

9/27/13

I was not in class Friday so I did not get to meet with my group about our zombie movie. Over the weekend I talked to Heidi about what our group did in class. She told me that they have a scene mapped out for the very beginning and another for close to the end. Most of the story line has yet to be determined and needs to be worked on over the course of the next week or so. Then we can start filming. Last week I typed out my character's background story along with a brief connection to the other characters. I emailed it to Bailey and Heidi said it was very useful during class and that they used it in their blogs and to help shape their work. I will probably type out a story line by wednesday. Then type out an event outline by Friday and start on the script in class. We need to start filming soon to be able to keep up with our month deliverables in our proposal. I also think it would be good to get a movie poster started and work on some music. I can ask my group members to do that since I will be trying to write the story outline.

The backstory and outline documents along with some examples of movie posters.

Week 1

9/20/13

Today we worked on our short film about the zombie apocalypse. We did research on how to make a short film. There are many parts to a plot to look into and use to structure the script. Today we started outlining our plot by coming up with some different events and developing the start of the story. We have ideas for the opening shot. We decided our main character was going to be Brittany and what her relations with the other characters are going to be. We determined Paige was going to be our first victim in the zombie apocalypse. Over the weekend or over the course of the next week we will all develop our characters's back stories and characteristics and then next Friday or whenever we have a chance to get together we will pull the characters together and give them a group backstory. We will also be working more on developing a plot and theme on the outline over the next week.