AICE Media Studies Blog

 Yesterday I formally met the rest of the acting team, Elena and Kay, when we met up to film. Ariel was also supposed to join us but got held up with a transportation complication. I managed without Ariel well, taking over camera work using my personal phone and referencing the storyboard and screenplay several times. Elena and Kay were comfortable in front of the camera and quick to catch on to the attitude of each scene. Elena and Kay also knew each other before filming, aiding in the compatibility of actors working together. Elena is playing the part of Sam and Kay is playing Noah. Elena perfected the goofy demeanor of Sam, making the idea of her getting them all lost in the woods surprisingly believable. Elena was the star of most scenes filmed today as Sam survived longer than Noah. Elena remained focused on task and suggested improvements throughout the filming session, such as recommending a new area to film when the one we were in was too muddy. Elena also came prepared wit...

    Today began the first true day of filming. Ariel and myself decided to start with all the scenes including Chico to get them out of the way first and allow some additional scouting of Easterlin Park. Filming with Chico turned out easier than expected, but still involved some unexpected hiccups. We began filming with having Chico standing over a body, which was simulated with a jacket over a large log and piles of sticks. There was little to no trouble keeping Chico in the area off leash, but due to the excitement of a new location and new person, he was reluctant to sit still. However, when I got out his training treats he was happy to go along with it. I directed Chico by leading him to the log, gently lifting his front paws onto the jacket, and giving the stay command. After this, I would stand next to Ariel and hold a treat just above the camera. It took a few tries for him to calm down and understand the instructions, but there were no other obstacles in that shot. In ...

     Where some projects start smoothly, most start with a few trips and hold ups. This project was no exception, beginning with scheduling conflicts. Where our first filming date was set for February 4th and 5th, due to some confusion with times and standard, yet unforeseen, scheduling conflicts we eventually pushed our first filming date back to our first backup date, February 20th. I had anticipated pushbacks, but never so many and so significant. However, despite the extremely tight schedule that's been made, I'm still confident in our recovery skills. To combat these setbacks, the editing schedule will start a week sooner, beginning with the footage gained from February 20th. Then, filming dates will be set to the last weekend of February and first weekend of March, both of which will have longer hours to make up lost time. It's also likely there will be less takes during filming to save time and get through as many scenes as possible. With these faster scenes, there...

    One of my responsibilities not listed in the official schedule is training our demon dog, Chico the chihuahua. I began training Chico as soon as the idea of using him in the film came to my mind. Going into our training, Chico was unexperienced as he had never been trained before, outside of potty training. He is naturally respectful and calm, so there was never any pressing need for me to train him in the past. However, this comes with the consequence of taking extra time to teach him the concept of training before beginning with sitting, staying, and coming when called. When starting our training, I used pumpkin biscuits and began with sitting, which for the most part included me pushing his rear to the ground to gently force him into the sitting position. Unfortunately, the biscuits were too big for him to eat quickly, so I was only able to give him one or two a day. The biscuits became a bigger issue when Chico began disliking them, due to the frequency of having them,...

 This is our full storyboard for Chico's Revenge. Page 1- This page is the first 6 shots of the conversation that the boys have before they enter the woods. Here we see friendships and characters established.  Page 2- These shots lead up to the boys arriving at the woods, with Evan's character as the "responsible" one being made known.  Page 3- A sudden cut to the woods in the afternoon is shown, brining a sense of humor to the situation, as Evan clearly did not want to go. Their relationship with the woods is established here.  Page 4- The first "scary" event happens here, with Noah having his ankle snapped at by a goose. Humor is brought in through Noah's reaction and Sam's claim of spiritual warnings.  Page 5- This page is where things start to pick up. Noah's dead body is found and the boys start to realize that going to the woods was maybe a bad idea.  Page 6- More humor is potrayed here (through Sam again), by him not thinking ahead, as he ...