Creative Critical Reflection

This is the Creative Critical Reflection for my film opening!

Further
A Film by Santiago Triana

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9qlM6gCZhaKc193QWc1eUhwb2c/view?usp=sharing

Final Project

5 longs weeks of work led up to this great moment, I am thrilled to release this project as its been something I worked very hard on. This idea and subject, as occult and odd as it may be, makes me very happy to introduce it to many new audiences. Click on the link below! Enjoy!

Further
A Film by Santiago Triana

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9qlM6gCZhaKOXZ5ZldER0Z2dUk/view?usp=sharing

Revamping The Script...just a tad.

Why start production on a story, when the filmmaker is not TRULY satisfied with its content? Film is an art of planning and having specific desires and purposes for the presentation. Production was supposed to happen last night, yet when I was looking over the script I looked at it with a new pair of eyes. It felt incomplete. As an abnormal subject as astral projection is, there's much to be covered and the potential should be used to the farthest extent. The script has been revamped using more research and support on the topic, to legitimize the plot a little bit. An occult subject needs a strong bridge in order to properly connect with the viewer. Here are some of my sources that aided me in revamping the script a bit:

http://out-of-body-experience.info/binaural-beats-astral-projection-lucid-dreaming/

http://www.theartofastralprojection.com/blog/the-vibration-stage-in-astral-projection

 Today production will take place, now with a clearer purpose and a better method of technical execution, I am really seeing this project come together.

Production begins...once again.

In my previous post I gave information having to do with the production phase that took place last weekend, mostly containing problems I encountered. Today phase 2.0 of production is to take place. Everything that was shot the previous session will be reshot at nighttime under a controlled lighting environment. I have also acquired a wide aperture Rokinon lens which will give me a lot of natural light to work with. Also I have some gels in my possession which will give me the ability to play around with the natural light and its colors; however, I am a tad scared to use the gels because if I am not content with the footage and its look, shifting the colors around will be much harder. I'm going to play around with the locations of the light sources to see which fit the look of the scene better. I'm thinking about putting a light source outside of the window in the room, the shades will add line shadows to the light hitting the subject. Really nice aesthetic that will add to the tone of the film. Kinda like this:

The room set up is different now as I thought my room and its posters and contents were a little too sporadic. I want more of a simple look to the scene as the viewer's attention is meant to focus on the subject and not much on his surroundings. I am also using a better tripod, easier to handle, and its brand new so you can say the little fan girl videographer inside me is fairly excited. Even though it is a bit of a pain to go through the production process once again, I have honestly learned a lot from the mistakes I had made. Looking at this in a positive way, and applying that positivity to my project I'm sure will aid in the long run.

Production Obstacles

As excited to say how awesome it is that I have been able to move along to this phase of the project, I had various obstacles throughout the process which ended up affecting the footage.

As previously mentioned in the Research & Aesthetics post as well as the Script post, the style for the bedroom scene works with low light. When production of the bedroom scene was in motion, me and my friends (crew) were working with little to no light coming from the sunset; first mistake. I cannot stress enough how difficult it was to work with an unstable source of light as the amount of light it was radiating varied due to clouds and the sun setting itself. This had me bumping up the ISO of the camera constantly; second mistake. Even though a camera like the Sony A7s has an amazing sensor for low light, constantly shifting the settings in your camera (specially ones that work with light) during the production of one constant scene is NOT something to do. This led to me having to deal with clips that looked different from other clips, grainy footage,  and color imbalances. On top of it all, most of the footage is close to pitch black. Why is this? When I was setting up the shots I relied on the electronic viewfinder as my optical reference for the shots; third mistake. The electronic viewfinder uses implemented brightness and contrasts effects to aid the shooter see clearer and crisper. One should always rely on the LCD screen in the front due to the fact that the screen will show the footage the closest way to how it will be shown during post. Below is an example of a shot before and after I tried to color correct it.

 

I have been trying to fix the footage through color correction and grading, but unfortunately the footage is just ineffective. I will be reshooting tomorrow under light radiating from a controlled source such as softbox lights, depending on the LCD as my optical reference for the shots I am recording, as both of these new implements will aid me in keeping a constant configuration in the camera's settings for the duration of the shoot. Can't wait.

Script

Here's the script for the opening! Its is in audio/video format, there's going to be slight changes during production (because thats what always happens) but I feel very concrete and satisfied with the ideas reflected unto the story. Enjoy!

So I've been thinking, if I were to create the whole feature film, where would the actual plot of the story be driven towards? I've been scripting the opening with the thought of wanting to depict the plot of the story through mis-en-scene throughout the duration of the 2 minutes. The main story has to do with a teenager trying to reach the astral plane through projection in order to reconnect with his father who had recently passed away. He is undergoing the preparations and the shifting of bodies between the physical and the astral during the entirety of the two minutes. I'm trying to give this film an eerie sci-fi type feel and I'm going to achieve the precise mood through the music and SFX. Lots of rise and hits, stings, and atmosphere textures will play along with the visuals to keep the audience engaged visually as well as auditory. As I am finishing up the script and starting on the storyboard I can say I'm really excited about working on this project and making it my newest addition to my portfolio!