Alyssa's Blogosphere

Since I finally have film to work with, I'm able to start editing! When I first got all my footage, I uploaded it to my program- Imovie- in sequential order. I chose longer clips to make sure my film ran long enough, while also making sure they made sense chronologically, and looked good enough. Imovie, though convenient, can be a more tedious program to work with, because it's more amateur. I don't mind this, however: I welcome easy to manage programs with open arms, as I'm doing the editing for my film, and I am not exactly the most tech savvy person out there: I'm creative, but not exactly the smartest when it comes to working my way around an unfamiliar program. Thankfully, I have worked with Imovie before: I know how to layer sound, which is important. Speaking of sound layering, I had to mute most of my original audio clips to make layering sound easier as well as cleaner transitions: forest static gets choppy when separated from itself: I need to find good am...

  Over break, I finally managed to film! Here's how that experience went: I had to wait until way later in the night to film, considering the time change having the sun set later, and the fact I needed both my environment to be dark, and to have the moon out. While it didn't cause any extra difficulty, it did make me veey antsy leading up to film: I kind of just wanted to be Done with everything. I was also using my brother and another girl on the trip with me to help film, and I didn't want to take up a bunch of their time. When I finally got to filming, it was chilly out... North Carolina mountains at night get cold- in a nice way. It helped with moving around without getting too tired or hot. Filming went by pretty fast- the main problem coming with lighting and traversing forested land in the dark. Also: my antsiness to get everything done and respect everyone elses time helped with efficiency. But overall, it went well! Is it something I'd like to be in charge of a...

  When i started this project, I knew that my best bet would be to work alone, rather than in a group. I have a very complicated schedule that can change at the drop of a hat, and I feel very strongly about being a good group member: I didn't want to bring the group down as a whole because of any personal circumstances. I also enjoy the freedom and creative liberty I can take alone: I change my mind a lot but I am also very stubborn once it's made. Despite this, working alone has been a lot more difficult than I intended on it being... If you couldn't tell already based off of my last few posts. A lot of my problems are with my schedule and how it doesn't mix well with people I'd be best to work with. Extrenuating circumstances on their ends aside, my own schedule has been atrocious, and my motivation has been dwindling because it really is frustrating to not be able to work things out for yourself no matter how hard you try. I can get people to help me film: just n...

  The first thing I have to say is: Ugh. Scheduling things with high schoolers isn't easy on a good day, but when all the people you need to rely on are seniors and busy with their own things, it gets extra difficult. There was a period where I considered changing the entire premise of my film to be able to get it done as a one-man project... But life has a way of working out. I'm actually taking a trip to North Caroline very soon where I'm staying in a cabin on the mountainside. Considering my film takes place in a forest at night, and I live in Florida, where a forest is hard to find, this is actually very convenient for me! The fact I get to work on private property instead of in public is also comforting as a teenage girl who values her safety. So I've decided to film and edit on and after my trip- I know if I edit some parts a little earlier I can get this done and get it done better than before with the resources I now have at my disposal. I know that the time fra...

When I shoot my film, I plan on using a mix of natural and unnatural lighting- although, I plan on all the lighting in my film to have visible light sources. The natural ambient lighting will be from the sky and the surrounding environment, where the unnatural lighting will be coming from my main character’s flashlight. I chose these lighting forms both out of budget constraints and theming my film to my selected genre: Horror/Thriller. Films in my genre selection usually have very dimly lit scenes- me having a strong definable light source via flashlight makes it much easier to see onscreen, as well as adds to the curious nature of my main character,  who is exploring the woods at night, and needs something to light the path. Another big reason I wanted to use a flashlight for lighting was because of the suspense it can add. As someone who consumes a lot of chilling media, the idea of having a light source fail on you in a tense moment is a trope that never fails to really scare m...

  When working on how my title sequence is going to appear onscreen, I’m taking into deep consideration font and sound design. I need a font that can stand out against a dark background, while also translating a “natural” feeling and fitting well into a horror environment- cursive based fonts were immediately excluded from the lineup because of these needs. Additionally, because I need it to be intimidating, any rounder fonts were also out of the question. These are the top 5 contenders I had for what I was trying to go for: The fonts in order are: Bernard MT, Boucherie Block, Chiller, Forte, and High Tower Text. Immediately looking at the lineup, I find myself bored with Bernard MT compared to the others- it's readable, but plain. Chiller is a little too cliche for my taste- the "scary" font for a scary movie. On the opposite end, I feel that Forte is too endearing- it's a rounder font than what I initially thought it would be. My main choices, then, are between Bouc...