Summary

During the production process, I was in charge of recording the shots from the phone and controlling the lighting.

Camera Evidence

Preparation – prepared for shooting by setting up the location within a well lit room, and choosing the best i-Phone for filming with the highest quality.

Camera movement in storyboard showing the transition and zoom into the papers to the cut to the diploma and zooming out.

Different angles for shooting shots of her working, close up shot of her face to show her stressed.

More shot design – close up of her at graduation to show her joy of graduation. Contrasts with the close up from before showing her anxiety.

Shot Choice Justification

Decided to incorporate tracking shots, close-ups, and zoom shots. The tracking shots helped indicate repetition adding the feeling of repetition throughout the days. I chose to use the zoom shot in order to help add to the transition of her working to the diploma with the graduation. Lastly, the close-up emphasized the anxiety that the character was feeling.

Lighting Design

The dark hallway in the back with illumination on her face helps create a more dramatic mood within the film. It also helps add to the genre of Drama by creating a more dramatic lighting through the use of intense lighting.

The lighting during the graduation scene helps add to the atmosphere as it has more warm tones giving a sense of joy and ease within the audience.

Consultation with Editor

Editor and I worked together to decide on the lighting change for the flash-forward to graduation to help represent the futuristic feel of the film.

Alternative Shots

We filmed multiple shots of Alice on her third day with multiple papers. The different shots included different ways of her spreading out her assignments to help represent the overload of work and stress she was dealing with. We ended up choosing the shot of her spreading the papers out instead of the shot of her setting them down because by spreading the paper out, the work load appears more overwhelming.

Camera Work and Lighting Evaluation

I feel as though my camera work was very effective and my best work was the tracking shot and zoom shot. I also feel as though the lighting with the beginning scenes was a good illuminate and the graduation scene appeared as though it was stage lights.

Influences from Films

Kenny Ortega – High School Musical 3, inspiration for the graduation scene

Hoyte van Hoytema – Dunkirk, tracking shot

Demien Shazelle – Magnolia, use of the pan shot

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

We experienced issues with props which set us behind on our production schedule. This helped our team plan and realize we need to communicate about props needed so that we wouldn’t fall more behind. We also lost clips during production and realized that some shots didn’t flow together nicely. Therefore, I also learned to work with the editor on making sure all shots flow nicely together allowing us more time in post-production so that we aren’t rushed. In this production, I had to rush multiple shots to help transition the cuts more smoothly, when instead, I could have had better communication with the editor on what shots additional shots were needed.

Session Number	5
Week Number	5
Total Estimated Hours	4
Goal For This week	Finish pre-production journal, begin filming

Work Tasks

Date	Task Description	Time Spent	Was this a Best Practice?
4/24	Added examples of cinematic story telling techniques and test shots to pre production journal	50 minutes	Yes because it helped me figure out which techniques I was using to raise tension and receive credit for the film
4/25	Published production blog post, created headings, began filming Alice stressed about assignments	50 minutes	Yes because it gave me a head start on my production blog post and we began filming to stay on task
4/26	Began filming shots that will be used for repetition	30 minutes	Yes because we were able to film the shots that needed to be very similar in one day to uphold continuity
4/27	Filmed shots of Alice working	40 minutes	Somewhat, more shots could have been filmed but we did not have the necessary probs
4/28	Film Alice waking up with phone	45 minutes	Yes, we finished the beginning scenes of the film and made more progress

Summary

Throughout the production process, the role of the cinematographer is to control the lighting an increase the tension with various camera angles and movements.

Tracking Shot #72 Film Example: Dunkirk

I plan to use this by tracking Alice when she is walking to the table.

Close-Up Shot #58 Film Example: Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows

I plan to use this by doing a close-up of Alice in a graduation cap. I also plan to incorporate it after Alice realizes it was all a dream.

Pan Shot #68 Film Example: Magnolia

I plan to pan from the phone with the date to Alices face.

Zoom Shot Film Example: Vertigo

Test Shots

Lighting Tests

Equipment Checklist

Phone/Camera

No necessary added light, filming location is in cafeteria which is lit enough to create a good quality shot

Table

Notebooks, paper, pencils for assignments

Diploma

Cap and Gown

Second Phone to be used as a prop

Collaboration with Director

Discussed costuming, and props such as having a table in the scene to portray the characters work space (mine-en scene), location ideas – decided on the cafeteria, as well as any necessary lighting needed with director during the brainstorming process – we didn’t feel any added lighting was needed as the cafeteria is already well lit due to the sky lights.

Set-up Sequence Workflow

1. Set up table in corner of cafeteria
2. Grab phone to record
3. Set up audio with boom stick and mic
4. Ensure phone is focused
5. Begin recording

Map of Each Location

Storyboard Notation

What I Learned

Throughout pre-production my team and I had to brainstorm various ideas and techniques we could use to help raise tension in the film. We struggled to create ideas that would make a film relatable to the audience. However, through talking about what we were experiencing as seniors, we eventually settled on the feeling of “senioritis.”

Session Number	5
Week Number	5
Total Estimated Hours	4
Goal For This week	Finish pre-production journal

Work Tasks

Date	Task Description	Time Spent	Was this a Best Practice?
4/17	Published pre-production journal, created headings, began summary section	50 minutes	X
4/18	Chose cinematic story element techniques from Jennifer Van-Sijill packet	50 minutes	X
4/19	Created storyboard and made notations, mapped out filming location	30 minutes	X
4/20	Finished the what I learned section and workflow for shooting scenes section of blog post	40 minutes	X
4/20	Added in test shots and lighting tests as well as updated equipment check list in blog post	45 minutes	X

Session Number
Week Number
Total Estimated Hours
Goal For This week

Work Tasks

Date	Task Description	Time Spent	Was this a Best Practice?
4/10	Touched up film portfolio	50 minutes	X
4/11	Worked on CS	50 minutes	X
4/12	Worked on CS	30 minutes	X
4/13	Worked on CS	40 minutes	X
4/14	Worked on CS	45 minutes	X