Challenges in Film

 Hello, today in class we were asked to discuss what challenges we faced while filming and what we did to solve them as a group. 

What are the challenges involved in filming? 
While filming we struggled to decide on what props to use, and determining which ones were appropriate for our movie opener. We also struggled with our acting, causing us to redo our clips multiple times until we perfected the emotion the character should be feeling. During this, we have to remember our lines and actions in which Veronica struggled with. Overall, it was hard to make our scenes perfect while keeping it realistic. For example, Niliem had laughed at Veronica for her acting, we were constantly forgetting our lines, and Suri kept moving while lying down, which kept ruining our scene.
To solve these problems, we began practicing our lines repetitively before filming. This helped although we still slightly struggled with our confidence in my opinion. We only filmed a few seconds but I can sense everyone worrying about whether it will turn out well. We didn't have a problem with lighting, however, we struggled with the sounds at first, trying to reach the perfect pitch. 

Preparing to Film

Hello today we were assigned to talk about our challenges and easy parts of preparing for our film, as well as explain what each group member is doing to help, what we'll use as our props, and our times and dates for working on the project. 

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My group plans on using the school clinic for our hospital scenes, and begin filming on January 28th. We will continue working on the film every Wednesday after school. (February 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, March 4th, and so on from 3pm-6pm)

Scripts 

Scene 2

Dr. Elena: "Alright Claire, I will call you once I get your labs back. Have a good day."

Claire: "You too, bye."

Scene 3

Dr. Elena: "Hello, am I speaking to Claire?"

Claire: "Yes, this is Clare" 

Dr. Elena: "Hi Claire, this is Dr. Elena, calling from the clinic. I'm calling you regarding the results that we received from your recent labs a few days ago. I'm afraid we have found complications regarding your heart." 

Claire: "What is it?"

Dr. Elena: "On our charts, your blood has shown very elevated troponin. Have you felt any symptoms recently?" 

Claire: "I haven't felt anything, what does that mean?"

Dr. Elena: "Feeling no symptoms while having high levels of troponin could indicate asymptomatic heart failure, early stages of heart failure. If possible, I would like to schedule an appointment with you at another clinic to talk about possible solutions, in 2 days at 6pm. Are you able to that?"

Claire: Yes, that would be fine." 

Scene 4

Receptionist: "Welcome miss, do you have an appointment here?"

Claire: "Yes, it's under Claire, for 6 pm."

Receptionist: "Alright, just sign your name on this check-in sheet and you may enter her office now."

Claire: "Thank you." 

Scene 5

Doctor Elena: "Hi Claire, sorry for the short notice. I wanted to make sure you get treated as soon as possible."

Claire: No worries. What are my treatment options?"

Doctor Elena: A safe and efficient option that I would highly recommend is a CABG surgery, which can help improve your cardiac functions. May I proceed with it?"

Claire: Yes. When can I start?

Doctor Elena: "Now."

Claire: "Wha-" 

 

Film Equipment: The equipment that we will be using is our personal devices like phones, and a microphone to capture sounds throughout the film.

Initial Storyboard

 Hello, today in class, our groups were assigned to make a storyboard so that we have an idea of what our movie opener will look like. My group members Veronica, Niliem, and Suri all helped decide on what scenes to use and agreed on which members should play as who for our movie opener. 

 

Scene 1

The first scene starts off with Dr. Elena in the hospital room with her ill husband as he suffers from a sudden heart disease. During this scene, there will be a two-shot to show the story tone when Elena is going through an emotional time. Then a straight cut will be used to transition to the next scene. 

Scene 2

Dr Elena returns to work and goes through her patients, until one catches her attention. Her patient, Claire who contains the same blood type as her husband, which will give her a selfish idea to help him. There is an over the shoulder shot when Dr. Elena is talking to Claire, simply to show how normal she looks on the outside despite her evil thoughts. 

Scene 3

Dr. Elena decides to call her patient Claire, claiming there is something wrong with her heart and she must come to a private clinic for a check up. This is when a close up shot is used on Dr. Elena's face while she is making this phone call. Non-diegetic sounds like the dialogue between the doctor and patient is used. Then a fade out is used to transition into the next scene.

Scene 4

Claire arrives at the private clinic and checks in at the receptionist desk where she is greeted by Dr. Elena before they head into the room. A wide shot is used during this to reveal the environment and setting that they're in. There will also be faint sounds of the tv in the background while the two characters are talking. Then a match cut is used to transition from the patient opening the door to the next scene of them entering the office.

Scene 5

Dr. Elena and Claire are in the office as they go over what's wrong with her heart. A mid shot is used to show their body language throughout the conversation. Diegetic sounds are used when Elena is flipping through her papers, going through information. Then a J-cut is used to show the patient closely as Dr. Elena walks towards Claire, with her footsteps audible. 

Scene 6

Dr. Elena goes up to Claire, behind her, covering her mouth with a cloth, soaked in sedatives. While she is walking towards her, the tracking shot will follow her movements. Claire then gets dragged, and the incidental sounds are used during this to create the suspense. As she is dragged, the door closes from behind to to automatically transition to the title page. 

Scene 7 (Title Page)

This last scene displays the title of the movie, along with the credits, info, etc.

Mood Board for Movie Opener

Hello! Today in class we were assigned to create a mood board for our movie opener. 

This is my mood board: 

In my mood board I used black, red and grey colors to represent blood and the hospital setting while also making it obvious that the movie opener has a dark and intense aesthetic. The images of hearts shows that the story has to do with a heart surgery, and the hospital photos add onto the setting. I included surgical tools and an image that represents a crime investigation to show how the procedure is being performed illegally. I also added a photo of the surgeon to show the costume of the character, giving visual reference to how they will look during the movie opener.

Final Idea for Movie opener

Hello, today in class we had to come up with our final idea for our movie opener project. 

Final storyline: 

Dr.​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Elena Marquez is a cardiologist in her area. She has been instrumental in keeping alive patients who were about to run out of time. Until the tragedy, of course, comes to her own family. Daniel, her husband, suffers a sudden and severe organ failure. The doctors gave him only a few weeks.
Elena puts him on the national transplant list right away; nevertheless, his situation is not severe enough to get the priority ranking he needs. The odds of a transplant happening in time are next to nothing.
Elena, overwhelmed by terror and sorrow, sees helplessness as the only option. She exhausts all legal routes, clinical trials, remote donor programs, and luxury hospitals, but the pace remains unchanged. She sees her husband fading away while she, a doctor who has been saving lives, feels utterly powerless.
The tension escalates, and Elena starts to do things that she had never thought she was capable of. She begins to illegally look for possible matches in hospital records. At the beginning, she convinces herself that she is only looking, not doing anything. But as Daniel continues to deteriorate, her desperation becomes an obsession.
The moment Elena discovers someone who could be the perfect donor, a healthy, anonymous person with no family ties, she is at a crossroads. She is aware of what the law requires, and she understands her moral pledge. However, she also knows that this organ could be the one to save her husband.
Elena picks ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Daniel.

What I'm excited about: I'm mostly excited for using camera shots and angles that we learned during previous classes.

What I'm worried about: I'm mostly worried that we won't have the right equipment for our move opener, and It won't look realistic enough. I'm also iffy about my acting and how the final outcome will be.