My Plan To Film Today

Today I will begin filming. This filming process will last throughout the rest of this month and conclude at the University of Florida. I will not be filming my opening in chronological order and actually will start today with one of the last scenes. I am going to film the portion of the opening where the camera finally gets to the starting line and the gun goes off. In order to clarify my route and shot locations, I created a map. The red line resembles my filing route, the blue box is the vital part of the scene and the most likely portion of the film I will use, and the yellow oval is where my main actress Andrea will be placed in the scene:



(MAP DISCLAIMER: My school recently resurfaced the track and changed its color from black to red. On the map you will see a black track but in the picture below you will see the new red track that will be in the film.)

This is a close up of the exact spot that we are going to be filming on the red track:

 

New Camera!

Aside from figuring out my story and brainstorming ideas with my actress, I had a bigger problem to conquer. I had to get an actual quality camera thatI could use to film my entire opening. I asked all around and even went through my friends old high school TV equipment, but to no avail. I was going to settle with using my phone to record video, but a miracle occurred instead. My older sister, who lives in Boston most of the year, came down for spring break. I filled her in about this project and told her my camera dilemma. She shocked me when she took me into her room and emptied and old bin onto her bed. In this bin was a collection of cameras and equipment she had used for a similar project that she had to work on while in high school. She allowed me to borrow her camera and SD cards, so that I can film my project in good quality.



The only thing that I have left to do is learn how to use the camera. I looked up YouTube videos about the camera and all of its specs, and I believe I am now a pro at using the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100.

Brainstorming With Andrea

In my last post, I talked about recruiting Andrea to be my lead actress. I also left it with a cliff hanger stating that I would be talking about my shared ideas with Andrea. Here are those ideas:

IDEA #1

In this opening, the story would be set at the Olympic Games. It would start off with with the camera making its way through a crowded stadium and winding up down at the starting line where Andrea is about to start her race. While the camera is making its way to the line, it will be showing the types of people and confusing that happens at track meets. You will also be able to hear the announcer in the background announcing races and calling events, all to make the viewer feel like they are actually experiencing this in their real lives. Once the camera finally reaches the starting line, the starter gun will go off and a white screen will suddenly appear with the title of the film in big, bold letters and the opening will finish. The idea the viewer will get about the purpose of the film will be that they are about to find out the journey and obstacles that a young female athlete went through to make it to the top.

IDEA #2

This opening follows the same sequence as the last, but instead of taking place at the Olympics, it will be taking place at a small local meet and give the reader insight on an athletes journey of recovering from an injury. In the scenes where the camera is going through the crowd, there will be subtle hints of Andrea being injured, as she will be in the advertisements placed around the stands and on flyers that are scattered on the ground. When the gun goes off a different title will appear (One that would fit this film), but the opening isn't over there. There will be a short scene that follows the title shot, that will act as the first scene of the actual movie story. This short scene will further instill what the film will be about, and insure that  this opening does not look like a trailer, or a short film itself.



Above are some pictures of Andrea and me brainstorming ideas that would fit her as an actress. We eventually chose to go with IDEA #1 as our story.

Choosing Actors

After gathering pictures of the track and the equipment surrounding it, I went around asking who would like to act in the opening for me. To my surprise, a lot of my friends and teammates volunteered, even though I do not have a definitive story yet. After careful consideration, I chose my teammate Andrea Martinez. I chose her because I felt as if she could resemble the most amount of separate storylines compared to my other candidates.

Andrea is someone who has had to overcome many obstacles in her own life, therefore I can use inspiration from those obstacles, and be able to resemble them in the film opening.

I showed Andrea the photos from my location scouting and we brainstormed ideas for the film that would fit her in a fictional way. You can read about those ideas in my next post.

Location Scouting

Today, I want to go out to my main filming location (the track at my high school) and scout out good areas around the location that allow for good shooting angles. This will allow me to develop my storyboard and piece each idea with an actual set shot location. I will also be able to create a detailed plan to portray my potential actors.

Below are some shots I gathered on my scout..







I also want to include the following image. This is an image of an old abandoned cart of track and field equipment. This equipment is important because I now can use them at my will and won't have to check out or borrow any equipment or props from the school. The cart contains old starting blocks and hurdles (not pictured), all of which are vital to my upcoming storyboard.

I Made A Mistake...

As you can probably tell from my last post, I got a little bit confused. I started to work on the project as if I was doing a magazine, and about a week in I realized that I actually signed up for a film opening. However, this error won't prove to be a drastic one because I can still use all of my ideas for the magazine, and turn it into a film.

With my "cover story" being about track, I can turn that story into what the film is going to be about. I will have my fellow athletes work as actors for my opening and this error will have no noticeable effect on the final outcome.

Back On Track

So now I need to brainstorm how I am going to construct this opening. To do this, I decided to watch another film. Field of Dreams (1989). After watching this film, I studied its opening. I liked how they used a voice over to set the scene and establish characters. I believe I will use that same technique in my film opening. I will also take inspiration from this film by setting mine in the past as well. The opening to Field of Dreams is able to capture the narrators nostalgia as he is looking back on his life and setting up the character and plot to come.

 

Today, I was brainstorming ideas for what I want my film to be about. Like I have stated in previous posts, it is track season, so I have decided to make it about just that.

Now that I have a topic, it is time to look at examples of track and field movies from the past.



Race is a movie that highlights the life of a young Jesse Owens and his ability to overcome racism around the world while competing at the Olympics in Berlin.

With my film, I want to use similar techniques as this one to tell the story of a different track athlete and the experiences they have overcome.