Shotlist/Schedule

Readers, in my original planning for my portfolio project, I had a fairly ambitious schedule in mind with this Google Doc as my planning space. However, life gets in the way. I'm choosing to combine my shotlist and scheduling posting, because I find it difficult to separate the scheduling of my filming and editing from the shots and sets I'll need to use. In my earlier planning post, I told you about how I took some practice shots around my home. Using that information, I was able to define three different filming locations that I can use.

First of all, the entryway of my current home is going to be the second set chronologically in the film, but I have a very definite deadline for filming the sequences by the front door and on the stairs: I am moving on Wednesday, March 15th. My first day of shooting with my classmate Beatriz/Bia, who is my main actor besides myself, is Sunday, March 12th; my second and third days of filming are Friday, March 17th and Sunday, March 19th. Here are the shots I need in that location:

1. Charlie and Christine walk in

2. Wide shot of Charlie framed against the door

3. Medium shot of Charlie looking at stairs , possible zoom to a close-up

4. Close-up of Charlie looking at stairs, in case the medium shot doesn't work as well

5. Christine leads Charlie up the stairs

Shots 1 and 5 involve both me and Beatriz, so we'll need to shoot those either with a tripod or with someone else holding the camera. The only logistical concern that I have in that arena is that shot number 5 looked pretty good with some camera movement to draw the eye to Christine and Charlie. However, the dynamic lines of the white banisters, combined with the actor movement, should be enough to create interest with careful framing. Since there isn't a lot of dialogue in most of these shots, we should be able to shoot them with convincing delivery. However, that leads me to the second location in my current house: the bedroom that Christine's family gives to Charlie.

I took some practice shots in my bedroom, which I found logistically impractical for multiple reasons. First of all, I have a mix of white, medium brown, and dark brown furniture in my room, as well as a large full-length mirror in one corner, and posters on my walls. So, it's not only visually distracting, with multiple color and shape disturbances on the walls from every angle and perspective, it also reflects my unique personality. While I quite like having a room that reflects a bit more of an eclectic, academic aesthetic, I wanted Charlie's room in Christine's house to feel very, very sparse, and a bit stuffy, as though it hadn't been used since Christine's grandma died. So, I took more practice shots in my older sister's bedroom. Here are the shots I need in the bedroom set:

1. Medium shot of Christine and Charlie walking through the door (main shot)

2. Medium shot of Christine and Charlie walking through the door from behind (extra take)

3. Close up of Christine and Charlie walking through the door (extra take)

4. Wide shot of Christine and Charlie sitting on the bed

5. Conversation, recorded over Charlie's shoulder

6. Conversation, recorded over Christine's shoulder

7. Conversation, CU on Charlie

8. Conversation, CU on Christine

9. Christine walking out and closing door

10. Charlie staring at door, scribbling on notepad

11. CU on notepad ("Unpacking")

I would like to spend some time practicing the script with Beatriz, so that we can perfect our delivery. I want to practice this in my bedroom so that we can use my full-length mirror, or in my office so that I can use my large mirror there and we can see our facial expressions. Having spoken with my instructor about the tight, intimate nature of my production, she advised me that whatever dialogue is delivered in Unpacking needs to be well-rehearsed and well-delivered. Therefore, I think it's a good idea for us to practice that portion of the script. This will also be shot on Sunday, March 12th, possibly in the late afternoon or evening, since the positioning of the shots compared to the one window in the bedroom we'll be using as a set for that location works better with the artificial light from the overhead lamp compared to natural light. However, I'm the most worried about matching the lighting schemes between the first and third settings: the entryway... and the car.

The car was a setting that I was initially worried about shooting in, because I was worried about continuity problems matching takes and different angles with the background moving. However, after meeting with my instructor, we determined that it would work better logistically, as an amateur filmmaker, if the car was parked outside the house. Here are the shots I need from the car, which can be done either outside of my current house, the house I'm moving into, or possibly Beatriz's house as a last resort.

1. Medium shot of Charlie in the backseat, staring out of the window

2. Close-up of Charlie in the backseat, staring out of the window

3. Charlie getting bags, getting out of the car, from the interior

4. Close-up of Charlie opening the car door from the interior

5. Medium shot of the car door opening, from the exterior

6. Close-up low angle of the car door opening, from the exterior

7. Medium shot of Beatriz from the backseat, eyes in rearview mirror

8. Close-up of Beatriz's eyes in rearview mirror

9. Close-up of Charlie getting bags from backseat

I want all of these shots to be done in daylight, and while that's my biggest criterion, I'm also somewhat worried about the quality of the light and the weather. If possible, I would like the sky behind Charlie to be somewhat dim and gloomy; and I'm not very experienced with editing or post-production, so I don't think that it would be feasible for me to edit the light to look cohesive. But the most important thing to me is making sure that the quality of the natural light is fairly cohesive between the entryway shots and the car shots. So, if possible, I would love to get all the shots done at my house on Sunday, but I also don't want to put too much stress on Beatriz to help me get everything done that particular day. So, on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th, while I'm setting up the hair, makeup, costume, and mise-en-scene elements for Charlie, Charlie's room, and Charlie's bags, I may try to shoot some of those shots by myself. I'll let you know how well that goes.

Yours always,

Clover Fields