Project Description: For my capstone, I will create a ~30 second live action short film about coming of age in college. Taking inspiration from directors John Hughes and Federico Fellini, the short will be a series of connecting vignettes about pivotal moments I have experienced throughout college. I would like to further push my layout skills by trying to tell a story through layout in a live-action space rather than a 3D animated space.
Week 1 - 2:
I presented my capstone project and received feedback. I refined by pitch based on feedback and updated my production calendar.
I began seeking out mentors.
I began working on the script and worked with Grace Wallace on storyboards.
Week 3:
I met with my mentor, Sam Woodfin. He helped me develop my story further. He gave advice on the time limit, format, and style.
Based on mentor feedback, I updated my script. And with the help of Grace Wallace updated the storyboards. I adjusted my production calendar based on the updated number of shots.
Week 4:
I created a filming schedule to organize who, what, when, and where will be needed for each shot. I began filming this week and was able to get out two scenes.
I met with Woodfin. He gave me feedback on how to polish my scenes. I plan on reshooting those scenes over this coming weekend. He also gave me advice on how to motive my story and create a tone shift.
I also reached out to other mentors who are layout artists and I am currently waiting for their responses.
Week 5:
I learned how to use Luma AI and Mocopi. I will use these programs to help with pre-viz. I will figure out blocking and camera motivation by using Luma AI and Mocopi with Unreal to make filming easier.
I met with Woodfin to discusses my story's tone shift and motivation. He helped me figure out how my story will connect from beginning to end and keep the audience interested. Based on this feedback, I rewrote my script and worked with Alex Lindgren to rework the storyboards.
I updated my calendar and filming schedule based on the updated script and storyboards.
Week 6 - Milestone 1:
This week I continued filming. I filmed shots two and seven.
Based on feedback from my milestone presentation, I will scout locations for filming to establish more aesthetic scenes. I will also need to refilm shot two as the current framing for the scene was not received the way that it was intended by the audience.
I met with Woodfin this week. He was suggested areas in town that would be good for filming. He also helped me determine how to move the camera for tracking shots, as well as give advice on how to frame the different shots. We also began discussing music for the short film and determined that a simple song played throughout the film would work best.
This week I was able to meet with my second mentor, Evan Dickinson. He gave feedback on how to reframe shots two and seven. He helped determine which lens would be best for various shots. He also helped determined how to better convey the main character's different relationships through framing and layout.
I am currently on track with filming but some of the filming days will overlap as I being reshooting as needed.
Shot 2
Shot 7
Week 7:
This week I worked on scouting locations off campus.
I met with Woodfin to discuss possible locations in Downtown Bryan that would be worth filming at. He taught me the term "shooting the rodeo" which means filming at an event that is already happening. He suggested I take this approach and film at Farmers' Market Saturdays in Downtown Bryan. He also recommend different cafes and restaurants, such as Tavo Coffee Co. and RX Pizza, that have interesting aesthetics and would be open to let me film there. He also suggested different buildings on campus that have fun, antique tiles that I can film at, such as the COKE and Academic Buildings.
Week 8:
This week I began filming in Downtown Bryan based on some of the locations from the week before. I was able to shot two sequences and edit them together.
I was also able to meet with Evan. He shared his industry experience and discussed his process when approaching layout. I showed him my current progress with older shots and he provided feedback. We went over framing, editing, and story motivation.
Week 10:
Over spring break I filmed my opening and ending shots. I edited the footage this week and met with my mentors.
After meeting with Woodfin, he gave me feedback on how to build emotional syntax through the shoes and suggested to have the actors overact to achieve this. He also suggested to add in reaction shots involving the shoes. He helped with timing, noting which shots could be cut shorter and which ones could linger.
After meeting Evan, he gave me feedback on framing to avoid dead space and adjusting my shutter speed to make the walking shots look more natural.
Week 11 - Milestone 2:
This week I began filming reshoots and editing the footage together. I updated my calendar, film schedule, and created an end-of-semester calendar.
I was having trouble getting the dinner scene to convey what I wanted for the story. After meeting with Evan, he suggested to cut back on scenes and to reframe some of the shots so the elements don't get cut off. With his notes I will be able to convey the story better.
Next week I will continue to film reshoots and editing. I will also begin my final documentation. For my final documentation, I plan on writing a paper discussing my influence, progress, and final outcome of working on this short film. If time allows, I would like to create a video component for the paper showing my behind the scenes footage.
WEEK 12:
This week I am finishing up filming reshoots. I have continued working on sound and editing. I have a rough cut of my short film. I have worked on an outline for my final documentation.
After meeting with Woodfin, he gave me some tips to improve my short film through editing tricks to avoid another week of reshoots. He took me which scenes could be sped up so there is a clear motivation between shots. He says my settings have become more visually interesting. Working with the suggestions he gave me, he believes my short film is coming together well. He gave me a goal to cut down the time of the whole short film by 15 seconds.
Next week, I will have finished filming reshoots and will focus more on editing and final documentation.
WEEK 13:
This week I am finished filming reshoots. I have continued working on sound and editing. I have an updated rough cut of my short film.
After meeting with Woodfin, he gave me some sound and editing advice. During office hours with Caleb, he suggested adding more transitional scenes to help the story flow better. He also gave me some feedback on color grading and sound editing.
Next week, I will have filmed the transition scenes, finished editing and continue working on the final documentation.
WEEK 14:
This week I finished filming all the scenes needed for the short and focused on editing the final. I worked on sound and color grading.
Evan gave me feedback on on how to add subtle overlapping action to help add emphasis to the stomp during the stairs scene. Caleb gave me sound, editing, and color grading feedback for each scene.
Next week, I plan on making these final updates in time for the final submission.
WEEK 15:
This week I completed my short film. I was even able to create a thirty second trailer for the short film.
I was able to meet with Woodfin one more time before my final presentation. He gave me advice and tips for future filmmaking.
There are still some minor edits I would like to make as I further work on this short film after class, but overall I am satisfied with its current final outcome.