I am happy to say that I have the full short film shot!
The morning started with me covering Death's purple shirt in fake fake blood using food coloring and setting it out to dry. Then my dad picked me up, and we headed over to Trader Joe's to get blue flowers. When I got there I realized that naturally occurring blue flowers are decently rare, but I was able to find a bouquet of blue flowers with yellow centers that were gorgeous and perfect. Once I got to my dad's house, we cleared out the office space, and waiting for everyone to show up. I had told Clara to get to my dad's house at 1pm since I needed to get the most shots and takes with them. We had a small issue with the purple shirt since the red food coloring hadn't show up as much as I thought it would, so I took some of the fake blood I was going to use for purple and smeared it onto the shirt. Then we hung it to dry in the bathroom and used a blow dryer to speed up the drying process.
Everyone else started arriving at around 2pm, and by then we basically got all of the shots done for Clara. Once everyone got there, we got the shots for Yellow, Green, and Blue without any hiccup. Since I made sure we'd have plenty of time in case something went wrong, we were all able to hang out and take a break between takes. Clara did the bruise make up for Mariana, who was playing Green, and it ended up looking really cool. They also gave Ayami, who was playing Yellow, some eye bags to make her look more tired. Once we got all the shots for Death, Yellow, Green, and Blue, we were only missing purple, but we had to wait for the sun to go down since it would be filmed outside and we needed the purple light to be seen. We had a couple hours, so we all hung out and ate some snacks, and eventually everyone left, and me and Graesen drove Mariana home since I wouldn't need her help to film this last part.
By the time we got back to my dad's apartment, the sun had set enough where we could start setting up. Graesen still had not tried the herbal cigarettes that my friend Ace let me borrow for the project (Ace used the same cigarettes for his AS level project last year), and so he tested one out and we both realized just how terrible they smelled (but at least they looked realistic!). After that we set up the bottles into the right spot, and set up the camera (my phone) and the light. We go to turn the light on... and nothing. The light doesn't turn on. We thought maybe it was the outlet, or the plug, or even a loose wire. But nothing got the lamp to turn on. At this point it's 7:45pm and I'm stressed. My dad, Graesen, and I run over to the nearest Walmart and thankfully there's a color changing sunset lamp, and we grab it, pay, and drive back over to my dad's to get the last section for the project. After a couple of minutes of confusion, and I'll admit slight panic on my part, we finally got the new lamp to work and got started on the final part that I needed. The rest of the time went without a hitch, however cleaning up the fake blood got a little tricky since I didn't realize it would stain skin and it subsequently stained Graesen's hands red, but we got it (mostly) out!
Overall filming day went really well, besides a couple bumps at the end but I'm so happy with how the shots came out! I am super excited to start editing and hopefully start getting more posts on the Instagram!
While production is already complete, I just realized I never made a post discussing props, so before getting into production and how that went, let's take a little dive into the props. For "Stare" I need a lot of props and specific costume pieces in order to make the film look how I want. I have a little notes page on Notion with literally everything I need for this project so I made a check list of everything I need, and checked off all the things I already have. The green flannel and yellow button down I borrowed from friends, Clara who plays Death, and my friend Ace.
For Purple's scene, I needed a lot of fakes and special effect props like fake cigarettes and fake blood. I was able borrow herbal cigarettes that are completely safe to use from my friend Ace, who used them for his AS level project last year. As for the blood, I got a small bottle of edible fake blood, that even came with capsules to bite, however we didn't end up using the capsules. I also bought two purple shirts, one that Death would wear that is covered in blood, and one that Purple wears during his scene.
On the day of filming, I got the blue flowers that Blue and Death would use. They ended up having a bit of yellow in them since I realized that blue is not much of a naturally occurring color, but they are still really blue, and got the job done nicely. I also covered Death's purple shirt in blood that day. As for the rest of the props, I thankfully had them all available at my own home or at my dad's so it was all a matter of keeping track of everything when I needed it.
With two days left before filming, its time to get the cast together! I've had the cast predetermined for a while now, it was just a matter of seeing if they were available on the day that I plan to film. Thankfully everyone except for one person is available on Saturday, so my sister is stepping in for that person. As for the rest of the cast, it's literally just my friend group because I had easy access to them and we all do theater together, so I was able to fit each person with the character I thought they would be able to play the best. Below is the cast list in order in which they appear in the script:
Over the weekend while finishing the script, I knew that I would need to get a lot more shots of Death, since the ones I took before, were more test shots. While trying to coordinate how I would even get everyone I need to be in my project down to my dad's office in Doral, I realized I was sitting in my dad's new apartment, with an office room that only has a couple boxes and household items. I asked my dad if he'd be okay with the everyone coming to his apartment to film my project, and if I could move the boxes out of the room, and use it for Death's room and he agreed!
The blinds on the window will be fully shut during filming, and thankfully its one of those windows that faces the center of the building (its odd to explain but basically little to no sunlight gets through), so it won't interfere with the lighting inside of the room. All the other settings I wrote in the script I wrote with the specific intent of filming at my dad's apartment. Even the outdoor scene will be filmed out on the balcony. Thank goodness my dad just moved into his apartment and hasn't finished furnishing or unpacking the rooms! :D
It took me long enough, but I finally finished the script! I'm really excited with what I've come up with, and I'm looking forward to getting started with filming this upcoming weekend! I'll probably make some edits here and there after this post, but here is the full Stare script!
This past week, I unfortunately didn't get as much done as I wanted to, including finishing the script. While part of the issue was lack of proper scheduling and time management admits a terribly busy week, the other half of the issue was figuring out how to create characters, particularly the green and yellow characters who are meant to depict how people who are dealing with survivors guilt or someone who is horribly afraid of dying. I want to be able to portray these specific characters as carefully as possible since they are characters that are more rooted in actual conditions and I want to make sure they are represented accurately and respectfully.
Yellow
Yellow as a character is someone who is meant to represent people with hypochondria ( also known as illness anxiety disorder) and death anxiety. Hypochondriasis, according to sciencedirect.com is the excessive fear of serious illness. People with the disorder often experience high levels of anxiety and believe that medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are caused by serious illness. Death anxiety, is the conscious/unconscious fear of dying due to being aware that death can occur at any moment. While the associated between the two is not studied profoundly, those who experience death anxiety tend to be more prone to anxiety disorders, and it is believed that death anxiety is likely an underlying/ contributing factor to some who have Hypochondriasis. When in tandem, Hypochondriasis and death anxiety manifest through the person believing their MUS are because of issues like organ failure, and bodily damage that could lead to death.
As I mentioned before, Yellow is meant to be a representation of how someone may act when they have these disorders and come face to face with death itself. Instead of what I and originally intended for the character and having them be addicted to pills, Yellow will be a person who physically looks exhausted, due to lack of sleep from hype fixating on every sensation in their body and fearing that it means their body is failing them. When the character of Death finally gets to Yellow, they are checking their temperature, and panic when they realize they have a low grade fever (even though they have a jacket on to keep the cold out) and have run out of Acetaminophen. Once they realize death is present, they panic for they believe their worst fear is coming true and that they were right about all of their MUS being caused by something more severe.
Green
The green character is meant to be a representation of someone with survivor's guilt after having gotten in a car accident where the person they were with unfortunately passed away.
According to the National Library of Medicine, survivor's guilt is a response when someone survives a traumatic event, while others do not. People who experience survivor's guilt may experience symptoms like flashbacks or nightmares of the events, irritability/anger, trouble moving past the event, and having constant thoughts about what happened and that they didn't do enough to prevent the event from happening. A lot of the symptoms are similar to that of those with PTSD.
Within Stare, the green character will be a representation of someone with survivor's guilt. As they mourn the loss of their loved one, they can't help but blame themselves, and wonder what they could have done to prevent their death. When they notice Death, they demand to know why it wasn't them that died instead of their friend, giving a "why not me?" moment.
Post card advertisements make it possible for filmmakers to easily advertise their films at film festivals by handing out the postcards to the people there.
Us. Them. Me. by Quincy Woo
This is the postcard for Quincy Woo's final thesis film that was to be shown at the Oregon Independent Film Festival. The way that the postcard itself is structured draws the audience in, with the two figures on each side of the text helping to establish a more serious tone as they are cast in a shadow, almost like they are fading into the black background. This technique creates a meaning in the two character's relationship, possibly something keeping them apart, while still being connected to one another. This also allows for a reader's attention to be further drawn to the white text in the center (which stands out very well against the black background), that displays the title of the piece, the director's name, as well as the three acclaims it has already received. Having the "Official Selection" for the screening at the Oregon Independent Film Festival crest going at the top of the pyramid of three brings it to the audiences attention, and highlights it as the most recent, and relevant to the advertisement itself.
Dear Peter by Scott Willis
Although this post card is for a short film documentary, I was still quickly captivated by its visuals, so I thought it would be of value to mention. The visuals are split in half, with a slightly distorted, picture of the lower half of a man's face being shown as it fades into a solid dark blue, where the name of the piece, who directed it, and all of its acclaims are displayed. The editing for the image of the faint blue and distortion, conveys a feeling of mystery, indicating that something is meant to be solved or figured out within the film. I really like the idea of doing a sort of fade into solid to display the information needed on the post card, I think its really effective in capturing the audiences interest. I think it would be cool to play with that and do something with multiple colors fading into black in the middle, where the name would be displayed.
For the profile picture for the Stare Instagram page I thought of at first using a picture of Death with the word stare on it before realizing that I don't think that would look too good, and that I would much rather not have any of the character's faces on the profile photo. I did still want to somehow incorporate the room that occupies the majority of the setting in the logo. So, I decided to use a picture that I had taken of one of the corners of the room as the main background for my profile picture.
First option.
The next thing I did was plaster "Stare " right onto the middle of the image. Then began my hunt for the perfect font. Thankfully I didn't have to go too far, as I found one on Canva called "Bahianita". I picked this font because I felt it reflected the atmosphere that I am trying to create for my project very well, something sort of abstract while still understandable. I went through some different options in terms of how I wanted the title to be displayed since I wanted each character to be represented somehow. I was torn between two options but in the end I ended up with "Stare" in the middle in solid black, with very translucent, multicolored versions of the word spread throughout the image, these representing all the other characters. I liked the first option, however I didn't want the colors to be as prominent as they were in that option, as well as I didn't want the corner of the wall to be covered. It's safe to say I am thrilled with the final result.
Final choice.
Once I made the logo, I added it to the social media page on Instagram which is linked here: @stare.shortfilm.
First Post
For my first post, I decided to create a very short reel of the empty room and then Death appearing out of thin air. I took some of the clips that I had taken last weekend, and edited them together using CapCut. I removed the sound from both of the clips, and added a copyright free sound of florescent lights buzzing over the second clip to create a more ominous atmosphere. I also desaturated the clips since that is how Death is meant to start out looking as at the beginning of my film.
Today in class, we did group meetings for our portfolio projects, and it was honestly incredibly helpful. We went around and talked about each individual project. We all said that we we're struggling with scheduling since, it seems to be, that March is a ridiculously busy time of year for everyone. The first person to talk about their project was Tai. She was having trouble figuring out when to film, since she's incredibly busy, and will be leaving for a family trip over spring break. The group suggested to plan out as much as possible with her group and write the script in order to be better able to find time when to film. Migue went next, and his project sounds super interesting. He's doing a silent short film, and using dance as his form of communicating the story. He asked for ideas on locations, since he wants to do it in an empty white studio but wasn't sure where to do it. We offered some ideas, I suggested the Rubell Museum, since he had mentioned that our teacher suggested an art gallery if he isn't able to get an empty studio. He took note of the ideas we gave him, and I'm honestly super excited to see what he ends up doing.
Yoav, Morgan, and Abby are all doing film promos. Morgan had the idea to make each of the two trailers a different perspective of one of the main characters. We all liked the idea and said it would be really cool. Yoav expressed his issue with scheduling because of how busy he is and the availability of the people he wants to be in his documentary. Abby asked for advice on what to do for the social media component. This in particular was helpful to me, since I wasn't entirely sure what to do either. Tai suggested doing a banner like post, where each individual post ends up creating a bigger image on the Instagram grid.
I went last in my group, and after explaining the concept of my project, Tai pointed out that I'd have to be careful with how I show the colors since blue and yellow specifically are often associated with sadness and happiness and not peace and obsession. I explained that I plan on using a light blue, almost like an angelic blue, and a nastier looking yellow to showcase the perspectives I'm creating. I then asked the group for advice on what to do for social media, and Abby suggested doing highlights, one of for each color and perspective, and in each highlight I explore the perspective itself. I like this idea a lot, and will most likely implement it later down the line. The group also suggested I did a banner post, although I'm not quite sure what I'd do for that. Overall, though, I feel like it was a really helpful and productive group meeting.
As mentioned in my previous post, I spent a good portion of my Saturday driving down to my dad's office in Doral to get some practice shots for my short film, so I can start experimenting with editing, as well as get content for the social media page. I didn't just go down to Doral to get shots of an empty conference room though, I was able to have my best friend, who I met through doing theater outside of school, Clara Pangalangan to come with me. They will be playing the personification of death. I picked them specifically, because I knew that they'd be able to capture the monotone yet haunting look that I was looking for when I first thought of the idea for Stare.
When we got to the office, I was a little disappointed to see that the table was a lot bigger than I had originally thought, as I wasn't able to move it out of the room. however the wall were bare aside from a white board and a map that I could easily just avoid filming. We did have to work around the table and rolling chairs, which was quiet funny at times since we were situating everything and moving around, only to realize there was the corner of a rolling chair appearing at the very corner of the frame. At one point, I literally sat on the table in order to get an angle of the shot of Clara standing in the corner (shown above).
I got quite a few shots of them in the room, walking, and turning. I even got a shot of them staring at the camera, with a sunset lamp shining in their face, since I was trying to experiment with how I would show the end sequence of "Death" having collected all the colors. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely convinced of the sunset lamp creating the look I wanted but I still think the shot itself looks pretty cool. I also had Clara bring some colorful clothes, so I could experiment with editing and color isolation, but I will see how that goes later on this week.
Starting Social Media Page
This week we are supposed to start the social media aspect of our project, so that's exactly what I have done. I opened up an Instagram page, as I felt Instagram would be versatile enough to allow me to create various post types like video clips and images. I plan on taking inspiration from the Midsommar social media page, and creating some form of countdown later down the line, one in which each character is highlighted in each post. As for now though, I have created the profile @stare.shortfilm. This upcoming week I plan on creating the profile photo, and initial posts.
In class this week, I focused on writing my script. I had originally planned on finishing it and beginning filming on Saturday March 2nd, but I then realized that was entirely unrealistic, especially if I want to create something of real quality. I did still end up getting some shots at my dad's office, since he has a pretty empty conference room so I can practice and experiment with editing and have some content for the social media page, but more on that in the next post.
I am not yet done with the script, however as I am writing I am realizing more how dependent the piece is going to be on specific props and costumes in order to tell each character's story in the most effective way possible. This is going to be even more challenging since I am limited to the resources I currently have and a very limited amount of money I could actually spend on getting props that I can't find on my own. Good thing the dollar store exists.
Throughout the script, I also decided to not add names to the characters. They are simply identified by the color that characterizes them, or in the personification of death, just "Death". I thought of doing this because in not giving them a name, the characters can represent anyone. It is also just more simple at this point in the writing process. Them having or not having names will not effect the plot, however I do acknowledge they could represent anyone even if they did have names.
"Stare"
Another realization that dawned on me while working on the script, was that I needed a title for the short film. At first I thought of naming it "The Room" since the main setting took place in a room, but that didn't go with what I was trying to create. It made the short film feel more like a horror situation, which is not what i am going for. Just "Room" didn't work either as, again, it didn't quite go with what I wanted, and also there is a very popular 2019 movie staring Brie Larson with the exact same name. I tried experimenting with maybe making the title the name of the character that would be personifying "Death" but I couldn't find a name that really stuck, and I also didn't want "death" to be something that could be so easily identified by a name since the whole point of the short film is how death can be perceived in many ways, and it is not just tied down to one label or perception.
I still had no title for my short film and felt completely stuck. Out of no where, I'm washing my hair and getting ready to go to the office to get some practice shots for the project, when the name "Stare" dawned on me. It was perfect. It encapsulates my film as a whole without giving anything away. "Stare" literally refers to the fact that the personification of death is always staring directly at the camera, but it also refers to the idea that all the characters which "Death" encounters, have death staring them in the face, and subsequentially, so does the audience.
I unfortunately grossly overestimated the amount of time that I had this week after school, and while I've been working well throughout the week, I still found I scheduled out my week wrong. Regardless of my miscalculation, the show must go on, and I will make sure that this upcoming week I properly organize myself. This week was time to start researching our social media component for the portfolio project. Below are three social media pages for pieces of media that either inspired my film idea, or are of a similar genre.
Midsommar
Social media tool:
Instagram
Description of types of posts:
The posts consist of a healthy combination of pictures and videos. In the week leading up to the release of the movie, there is a series of posts counting down the days till the release. In each post, clips of the movie are shown, each seeming to follow and introduce a different character or different significant aspects of the film. As the posts go on, they get more and more intense as well.
Before this, the pages first two posts consisted of the movie's posters, clips of the trailer and movie, as well as one post that has an image or clip from the film with a quote from critics praising the film. In these particular posts, the use of what looks like a piece of paper burned at the edges is used to display the quotes.
Description of how branding is developed (or not):
Throughout the page, the color is consistent, with a very pastel color palette, and overexposed images that are consistent with the aesthetic of the movie. There are also a lot of colorful flowers included throughout the social media that are very important to the premise of the film. Despite the pleasant color design and flower elements, the content includes content that raises fear and suspense with the audience.
BoJack Horseman
Social media tool:
Instagram
Description of types of posts:
The account takes on a creative approach to promoting the show, by making the account a personal account for the titular character of the show, BoJack Horseman. Through out the page there are pictures of him promoting the Netflix series itself, or promoting the projects that he is shown being in with in the actual show. All the posts consist of the animated characters in the show.
Even the captions on the posts are very indicative of BoJack's personality, and fit right in with something viewers may see him say or do in the actual show. There are even screenshots from notes apps, that give further insight into the life and mind of some of the characters.
Description of branding and how its developed (or not):
On the Instagram page, the brand is developed through the developing of the main character's personal social media page. Through this, the show's overall cynical and day-in-the-life of a celebrity tone. The use of posts of the animated character's promoting their work and sharing moments with one another, makes the viewer feel like these are real celebrities, which is perfect for the show since it often includes the names and faces of celebrities from the real world, as well as parodied versions of things that exist in the real world too.
World of Tomorrow
Social Media tool:
YouTube
Description of types of posts:
The YouTube page for which the short film is promoted on Don Hetzfeldt's page. On this page he promotes World of Tomorrow by posting clips of the short film as well as a trailer, and clips of episodes that come after the original film. Its important to note that this film is based on YouTube, so the platform it's promoted on is the same platform that it is shown on.
Description of branding and how its developed (or not):
The brand for this short film is very futuristic, and almost ominous. All of the clips and trailers have ominous music playing in the background. This along with the black screens with various quotes of praise for the film interjecting clips from the film itself help to create a very particular tone that is incredibly futuristic and mysterious. The page itself uses images from the short film as the profile picture and banner, highlighting it as Don Hertzfeldt's most popular project.
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)