Production- Filming Day 1

Scenes 1, 2, and 3

Intro:

    We finally made it to the first day of filming and the energy was high. After weeks of figuring out a final script, costuming, and going over our camera shots and angles, bringing it to life with the camera felt like a weight off our shoulders. We covered the first three scenes of our film, Brutal Sentencing, which all take place indoors at night.

Shot outcomes:

    While filming, the shots came out almost exactly as we pictured them to. Our opening shot of Derek scribbling on the paper, followed by an over the shoulder shot of him tearing the paper set the tone for our film. The body bag on the floor wasn't initially obvious until Derek goes over to kick it out of anger, leaving the audience to question the "peekaboo" of the body bag. The POV of the fridge took a few shots to get correctly, but it ended up being one of the best shots of the day.

Mise-en-scène:

    Within the first three scenes, our main focus was what was in the frame rather than any movements. For example, the bulletin board was a significant detail. Names being crossed out with photos pinned over it allows the audience to get an idea of who Derek is without audibly saying anything. We kept the lighting low, creating an eerie feel to all three scenes. In the kitchen scene, the jump scare of the judge through the window gives a cue that there is a threat.

Reflection:

    Day one was successful and a lot got done. Getting everything set up took longer than expected, which added some pressure on us because it created a time crunch. In scene 3, there was also a few takes where the audio from the phone call wasn't clear so we needed to go through it again. The unsettling tone we've created is exactly what we wanted, so I am happy with what was accomplished just in day one. This leaves me excited to see what we get done on day two.

Behind the scenes: