The Filming

My plan is still on track, as I finally filmed today. There were some changes prior to filming, but everything went smoothly. I'll detail how filming went in this post and any changes I made and why I made them. In my next post I will describe why I set up things the certain why, like my casting and my set design (I'd rather use those professional terms then say I asked my friend and put my trash on a table).

I cast an acclaimed actor and a good friend in Alec Marsh for the lead, and only role, of the film opening. I wrote the script with him in mind, and it's safe to say he nailed his performance, but I might be biased. Here's a quick sneak peak of the filming. (For some reason, I can't put videos on my blog so here's a pic).

Prior to filming, I made a change to the scene with the clock. I couldn't convert it to 24-hour time so I set it at 12:00 PM. 12 is the closest number to 13 and it resembles space and cosmic order, according to http://mysticalnumbers.com. I originally wanted 13, and if you want to know why check out my blog post The Research.

Since I presented my blog to my classmates, their only issues seemed to be a lack of representation of disappearance and isolation. Therefore, I included a scene of Alec's character coming across a kitchen table littered with trash, or so it seems. It actually is an abandoned breakfast breakfast table, and I'll go more into how and why I set it up like I did in the next post. I got the idea from two places: my breakfast and Family Guy. When I was eating my breakfast, I was drinking a Gatorade and it kind of hit me to just leave it around to make the setting seem more abandoned. Also, I remembered an episode of Family Guy (pictured below) when four of the characters wake up and discover that they are the last people on Earth, similar to my character. You can see trash on the ground and an abandoned car, all representations of abandonment.

As for the rest of filming, I made sure I had the house to myself because no other people could be in the film, because Alec's character is the last on Earth, or so he thinks. I did however have to lock my dog in a room, and she was not happy about that. I may have to mute clips if my dog's whimpering is too loud. Luckily, I recorded audio clips for every action Alec did, like footsteps and closing doors. 

I filmed my clips in order because I was too lazy to not follow the script I wrote. It took me multiple tries to get two vertigo shots I was satisfied with. My last shot was almost ruined when I woke up. People were mowing the lawn outside and I couldn't have any people in the final shot outside. My dad also pulled up during the final shot, but after a couple tries I think I got it right.

I really hope this turns out well because I want to shake the "Sports-Only" stereotype that I've been labeled. I've done a lot with sports in my tv career, whether it's making highlights or broadcasting sports games. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I've known since I was little that I wanted to be in the sports television industry for a career. However, if I can produce a really good film opening hopefully people can look past their perceptions and recognize me as more than one-dimensional. My mom put this quote up on the fridge years ago, and I seem to find my mind drifting to it a lot nowadays. I feel an underlying message from it is if you want something, you can do it, even if no one thinks you can.

"Number 12 - Meaning and Significance - Fun Facts." MysticalNumbers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"Quahog Sporting Goods." Family Guy Almanac.  N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.