Post by theselected on Jul 15, 2018 4:16:20 GMT
This week for Team The Selected has been a very, very busy one. We are finishing pre-production work. I have been learning the way things go from watching training videos, YouTube videos and also some special websites about how to shoot certain scenes, sound considerations, etc. This week I re-wrote the script for the 5th time. I want to write SO much more, but I can't. We sent our script to Netflix (because we had to), and we began to demolish the interior of my old chicken coop which will become the interior of our crew capsule. I've also made several props. I just finished the "shot list" today, which is going to save us a million hours on set trying to figure out whether we will shoot wide, medium, or close. I learned about the shot list from a training video.
Learning the Lingo & Training
I am a very structured person. I need goals and plans written out and then we need to work towards them. I've been watching training videos online for a film editing software program and I have learned a lot of new vocabulary such as "above the line," "below the line," "rule of thirds," "clapperboard", etc., etc. I also learned about the phases of Pre-Production which was WAY more detailed than I imagined. After I learned about the need to list the scenes, and create a "shot list" for each scene, I felt much more comfortable knowing that I had already thought-out this before we get to production.
Rewriting the Script & Sending to Netflix
I had to rewrite the script after our 3rd and 4th readings because we kept adjusting dialogue. We had to cut a lot because we were running over on time at the table readings. I am very happy with our script now, and I had to number the scenes so I could make a shot list. I learned that there are three basic shot types: wide, medium, and closeup. There are variants of those too such as medium closeup, and extreme closeup. By going line-by-line through the script I was able to notate the screenshot type I envisioned in my mind. Also, my chicken-coop is getting a second life.
There is a song from a Netflix original series I wish to use. I called and requested permission, and Netflix asked for a letter and the script mailed to their corporate office. So, that will be arriving on Monday. They would not consider granting our request if we did not send the script, which bears the appropriate copyright information on it.
Chicken-Coop Soundstage
We are blessed on our family's property there is a big red pole barn. There are two smaller buildings inside it. An aluminum tin shed that has some kind of critters living in it, and a chicken coop. We haven't had chickens for over ten years, so the chicken-coop became a storage area. It also has power, exterior walls, and studs every 24 inches on center. This is perfect for the material we are using for the walls. We are using 4 x 8 sheets of foam insulation board from Lowe's to cover the walls. One of the beautiful things about the chicken coop is it's the perfect side to build a crew capsule for three.
The foam panels are about $15/ea and they will be primed and painted before being glued to the studs. The windows will be covered and sealed. Foam insulation boards are also good for a sound barrier. Before any of that, we have to continue with demolition of the interior which includes the stuff we had stored in there, and shelving units. I also bug-bombed it yesterday to get rid of any critters that might be lurking about. Of course, it's hot in there...it's over 100-degrees in Florida this time of year during the day. Spending hours there would be torture.
Lucky for us, we have a spare window A/C unit which will be temporarily put in the off-screen part of the set. We will run the air during non-filming and between takes and breaks. With all the insulation, it should stay pretty cool in there just long enough for us to get the scenes we need. Our film has 4 scenes. 3 of them are in the crew capsule. So it's important to me that no detail be overlooked in the set making and set dressing for our crew capsule.
Prop-Making
I have also been trying my hand at a little stagecraft. I examined photographs of the avionics panels of the Space Shuttle. I noticed they had at least 5 computer screens. How do you get 5 screens without going to the thrift store and buying them at $9.99/ea or more? You go to the dollar store and buy picture frames that are $2/ea.
I wanted my "computer screens" to look realistic, so I created some avionics graphics in Photoshop based on the Shuttle avionics screens and printed them out on 8.5 x 11 paper. I also used gray duct tape around all of the edges of the frames so that they looked metal, and textured! They translate as computer screens VERY WELL on film, and I'm delighted with myself on this. Avionics was my prop assignment for this week. My wife and fellow cast member have been working on costume issues.
There is a notorious helmet ring that is on every astronaut's orange uniform. We ordered uniforms in with the patches already on them, but they don't have the helmet ring. So, we bought three needlepoint/cross stitch frames from Walmart for $1.77/ea. We painted them black and used silver mirror tape to give the ring's upper portion the silver metallic look that is present on real uniforms. The silver tape does not want to adhere to the black wood painted with acrylic paint, so we may have to try something different to get our desired metal effect.
Shot List & Costumes Ordered
We were initially going to make astronaut uniforms from scratch, patches and all. We ended up buying our orange jumpsuits online and they already come with the patches and required markings. The only thing we need to do is attach the "helmet rings" and we're good to go. 95% of my shots are medium close up, and close up.
Just today, I made a shot list. That was exhausting. I went through each line of my script and I indicated wide, medium, or closeup for each shot, plus some camera direction notes, such as tilt, follow, POV, eye level, travel with, etc. I learned how to make a shot list from a YouTube video. They said that the more planning you do in preproduction will save you a ton of time on the set wasted. I don't want to waste time, so I'm doing the best I can to make this production efficient.
Moving On to Next Week
Next week we have a full schedule. I plan to get the set mostly constructed and installed on the chicken coop soundstage. Our wardrobe will be in on Monday, and we have a Cast Reading on Tuesday afternoon. We're also going to take some promotional pictures of the cast in uniform, i.e. Astronaut Portraits for promotional purposes on Tuesday's reading. We will close the pre-production phase and begin the transition to the production portion of the project soon. I'm overwhelmed at times wearing so many hats, but hey, sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do.
My cast is annoyed but grateful at my insistence on attention to detail. For example, our crew capsule should not be square. It should be round and curved. We are using the foam panels to create the curves we need, and that is going to work great.
I am curious to know where everyone else is in their project.
Until next week,
-Chris
Learning the Lingo & Training
I am a very structured person. I need goals and plans written out and then we need to work towards them. I've been watching training videos online for a film editing software program and I have learned a lot of new vocabulary such as "above the line," "below the line," "rule of thirds," "clapperboard", etc., etc. I also learned about the phases of Pre-Production which was WAY more detailed than I imagined. After I learned about the need to list the scenes, and create a "shot list" for each scene, I felt much more comfortable knowing that I had already thought-out this before we get to production.
Rewriting the Script & Sending to Netflix
I had to rewrite the script after our 3rd and 4th readings because we kept adjusting dialogue. We had to cut a lot because we were running over on time at the table readings. I am very happy with our script now, and I had to number the scenes so I could make a shot list. I learned that there are three basic shot types: wide, medium, and closeup. There are variants of those too such as medium closeup, and extreme closeup. By going line-by-line through the script I was able to notate the screenshot type I envisioned in my mind. Also, my chicken-coop is getting a second life.
There is a song from a Netflix original series I wish to use. I called and requested permission, and Netflix asked for a letter and the script mailed to their corporate office. So, that will be arriving on Monday. They would not consider granting our request if we did not send the script, which bears the appropriate copyright information on it.
Chicken-Coop Soundstage
We are blessed on our family's property there is a big red pole barn. There are two smaller buildings inside it. An aluminum tin shed that has some kind of critters living in it, and a chicken coop. We haven't had chickens for over ten years, so the chicken-coop became a storage area. It also has power, exterior walls, and studs every 24 inches on center. This is perfect for the material we are using for the walls. We are using 4 x 8 sheets of foam insulation board from Lowe's to cover the walls. One of the beautiful things about the chicken coop is it's the perfect side to build a crew capsule for three.
The foam panels are about $15/ea and they will be primed and painted before being glued to the studs. The windows will be covered and sealed. Foam insulation boards are also good for a sound barrier. Before any of that, we have to continue with demolition of the interior which includes the stuff we had stored in there, and shelving units. I also bug-bombed it yesterday to get rid of any critters that might be lurking about. Of course, it's hot in there...it's over 100-degrees in Florida this time of year during the day. Spending hours there would be torture.
Lucky for us, we have a spare window A/C unit which will be temporarily put in the off-screen part of the set. We will run the air during non-filming and between takes and breaks. With all the insulation, it should stay pretty cool in there just long enough for us to get the scenes we need. Our film has 4 scenes. 3 of them are in the crew capsule. So it's important to me that no detail be overlooked in the set making and set dressing for our crew capsule.
Prop-Making
I have also been trying my hand at a little stagecraft. I examined photographs of the avionics panels of the Space Shuttle. I noticed they had at least 5 computer screens. How do you get 5 screens without going to the thrift store and buying them at $9.99/ea or more? You go to the dollar store and buy picture frames that are $2/ea.
I wanted my "computer screens" to look realistic, so I created some avionics graphics in Photoshop based on the Shuttle avionics screens and printed them out on 8.5 x 11 paper. I also used gray duct tape around all of the edges of the frames so that they looked metal, and textured! They translate as computer screens VERY WELL on film, and I'm delighted with myself on this. Avionics was my prop assignment for this week. My wife and fellow cast member have been working on costume issues.
There is a notorious helmet ring that is on every astronaut's orange uniform. We ordered uniforms in with the patches already on them, but they don't have the helmet ring. So, we bought three needlepoint/cross stitch frames from Walmart for $1.77/ea. We painted them black and used silver mirror tape to give the ring's upper portion the silver metallic look that is present on real uniforms. The silver tape does not want to adhere to the black wood painted with acrylic paint, so we may have to try something different to get our desired metal effect.
Shot List & Costumes Ordered
We were initially going to make astronaut uniforms from scratch, patches and all. We ended up buying our orange jumpsuits online and they already come with the patches and required markings. The only thing we need to do is attach the "helmet rings" and we're good to go. 95% of my shots are medium close up, and close up.
Just today, I made a shot list. That was exhausting. I went through each line of my script and I indicated wide, medium, or closeup for each shot, plus some camera direction notes, such as tilt, follow, POV, eye level, travel with, etc. I learned how to make a shot list from a YouTube video. They said that the more planning you do in preproduction will save you a ton of time on the set wasted. I don't want to waste time, so I'm doing the best I can to make this production efficient.
Moving On to Next Week
Next week we have a full schedule. I plan to get the set mostly constructed and installed on the chicken coop soundstage. Our wardrobe will be in on Monday, and we have a Cast Reading on Tuesday afternoon. We're also going to take some promotional pictures of the cast in uniform, i.e. Astronaut Portraits for promotional purposes on Tuesday's reading. We will close the pre-production phase and begin the transition to the production portion of the project soon. I'm overwhelmed at times wearing so many hats, but hey, sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do.
My cast is annoyed but grateful at my insistence on attention to detail. For example, our crew capsule should not be square. It should be round and curved. We are using the foam panels to create the curves we need, and that is going to work great.
I am curious to know where everyone else is in their project.
Until next week,
-Chris