Production Post 17

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Since we are nearly done with production, we will have to be focusing on editing soon. Editing is very essential part of film making, and can sometimes even be more important than shooting and acting itself. I will be taking care of most of the editing for the film, since I have Adobe Premier on my computer. On this program, I can edit the film to our liking, and will have more options and ability compared to software like iMovie.

The rest of class time we have to work on the project will be used to focus on editing, and discussion on what to do. The group will discuss as we often have differing opinions on certain things.

Here I posted a short shot that we have filmed. This shot is in the outdoors and is supposed to demonstrate the veteran's flashback. This shot shows the environment in which we are shooting in, and accurately presents the aesthetic.

Production Post 16

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This week our group has begun shooting for our film. We took advantage of out spring break and decided to get ahead and shoot. We recorded the majority of our outdoor scenes and some of those indoors. While shooting we decided to make some minor tweaks in the plot and dialogue. These changes will be discussed in later posts. We are not finished and will try to meet up later this week to make more progress in out filming.

While filming we decided to record some of the folly noises that will be in the film. As of now we are going to focus on shooting the scenes. Once we finish all the shooting and commence editing, we will focus on the audio.

This video shows a scene of the veteran's trigger that leads to the flashback. This scene is an essential part of our storyline, therefore needs much focus. I am personally thinking of redoing it, as I am not fully satisfied with it.

Research 15

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On Wednesday, our class had a peer review session with students from different groups. Here we shared our progress on of our portfolio with other students to criticize and give each other ideas on our projects.

I students who reviewed my portfolio gave some important feedback. After telling them our concept of the film, they all agreed that the idea was quite original, and could be very interesting and well-done if executed correctly. They said that they have never seen a film with a similar plot to mine, and like the fact that it raises awareness to a concerning issue in American society. This was all quite flattering but I was more focused on the criticisms.

They criticized my blog-postings and portfolio by saying that I have been leaving out some information. This information is what would happen after the flashback scene. Realizing that we did not dive deeply in this part of our film, I have been brainstorming to further develop these scenes. Because of this criticism, my last couple blog posting were about this part of the film.

Another criticism they gave me is that my group should focus on shooting. They said that the shooting process can sometimes take longer than planned so our should organize and prioritize this task.

This peer review was very helpful. I feel that by having other people's feedback, one can build their portfolio further with more impressive material. I hope my feedback had a similar impact on the other students.

Research 14

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My group and I had planned on meeting this week but unfortunately, one of our group members could not make it to the shooting. We unfortunately had to reschedule our meeting to later this week. We will meet up begin shooting the first scenes on this meeting. I'll keep you updated.

I went to talk some more about the ending of our opening.
After the scene showing the veteran in severe distress, I want to show the reaction of the people he lives with.

We decided to change the situation of the veteran from having a family to living with roommates. The veteran lives with his brother and his friend, who are younger than him. He could not find a wife before or after the war so unfortunately he lives with them. His disorder hinders him from interacting with new people, so he is even further emotionally isolated from everyone.

After the distressing scene, his brother is going to walk in in panic and console him. This scene will use medium shots and shot-reverse-shot to show dialogue between the two. This scene will illustrate that these panic attacks frequently occur. This will be done through the dialogue and the reaction of the brother.

Research 12

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In this blog I will be covering about our research on PTSD. Throughout our project our roup has been extensively reading about PTSD, and it's effects.

PTSD is formally called post traumatic stress disorder and is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing something terrifying.

PTSD is a very prevalent issue in veterans returning from war, as shown in the information above.
Our film is about a Afghanistan veteran, meaning he is part of the 11% of veterans with the disorder.

Symptoms of PTSD include
-intrusive memories (flashbacks) that are usually distressful and unwanted
-Avoidance, refusing to speak of events that traumatize the individual.
- Negative changes in emotional and physical state
- and much more\

This is only a summary of the information we gathered on the disorder. With all this research conducted, we hope to accurately and effectively represent the disorder.

Research 13

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So as we finish up the preparation stage and begin the shooting stage this week, I want to clarify a few things. I want to touch up on the ending of the film and clarify what will be going on.

As our veteran comes out of his flashback, we want to show a scene of shock and terror. This scene would be representative of the symptoms of PTSD. After much research on PTSD, We have learned the symptoms and effects and have decided how we will demonstrate this in our character. Our character will wake up frightened, covered in sweat. He will be yelling and crying . This scene will utilize many close-up shots to emphasize the emotion within the character and impact the audience.

This scene will also use low-key lighting to create a dark, sad ambiance. All the factors in this scene will contribute to creating a serious, and mournful representation of what veterans go through.

Research 11

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Our group has been planning for our meeting on the 22nd of March. We want to prepare everything so we know what we will be doing when we meet. We have decided that we will shoot the first scenes. These scenes will take place in the Isles of Weston club house as discussed in earlier blogs.

We will likely be shooting with Diogenes older brother since he looks older and matches the description of a young veteran solider who recently comeback from war.
In case of any inconveniences and his brother can't show up, we have decided on a replacement. This replacement would be my older brother Jose. He agreed that he would help us out and be part of our film.

Our last case replacement would just be one of us. It is likely that our first two options can't come since they have busy schedules and work. This would be quite unfortunate but we must always plan for the worst since we are restrained on time.

I have found a costume at my house for the soldier that will be used in the scenes of combat. For the other scenes the veteran will be wearing casual clothes since he is at home. We are thinking of using bandages or crutches for the veteran, signalling that he was hurt at war.