Planning: Choosing and getting approval for music

We have a spot to film so now it’s time to pick music. My group and I, of course, wanted to make this step to be done by all of us. The way we decided to do this was for all of us to choose a few songs first. We all chose 3 songs and then put them into a playlist. My group and I listened to all 9 songs and chose individually which 4 songs we thought fit the best for our film. For me, the process of picking out the 3 songs was very fun. I loved looking through my playlist and listening to songs that I loved. The songs I chose were: Night Shift by Lucy David, Candy Paint by Post Malone, and Lights Up by Harry Styles. I picked these songs because I thought they perfectly fit our film and had a specific place where I thought they’d sound nice. When it was time to listen to all the songs Ben and Joaquina chose, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to just sit and listen to music. After listening to the songs, it was evident which ones would fit best. We used 2 songs Joaquina suggested, 1 I suggested, and 1 Ben suggested. My group and I were really glad that the “finalists” for the songs were all chosen by someone different. I think this allowed for creativity from all of our parts, rather than just one person shining through. The next thing we had to do was ask for approval. We emailed all the managers of the artists who wrote the songs. I emailed the artist of the song that we chose that I suggested, Joaquina did the same, and so did Ben. We still haven’t gotten anything back. Hopefully, we will get something back because if not we will have to chose new music. If we have to do so, the first thing we will do is look at the other songs we chose and then look into new songs, if we don’t like those. I’m so excited to be diving into this film even more every day. See you later with even more updates on our film! 

Planning: Getting approval to film at Moonlite Diner

Right from when we picked what we wanted our film to be about, we knew we wanted to film at Moonlite Diner. This diner is retro and cool-looking on the inside and exactly the "vibe" we want our film to be. This diner is close to all of us in proximity. This diner is also one of the only diners we know around us. We obviously knew that we couldn't just walk into the diner and film, we needed approval. The first thing we did was have Ben call and ask if we could film. He was told, by an employee that in order to film/ask questions about anything, we would have to go to the diner's website and fill out a form with our questions. Joaquina composed the email (the form) and sent it to the diner. We didn't get an answer for a week, so we decided to try again, but still with no luck. My group and I decided it would just be best for me to go to the diner and ask for the manager. After asking the manager, he told me he would ask the owner and then he'd call me back. He assumed it would be fine, as long as we didn't film on the weekend (their busiest days). I didn't get an answer for a few days so I called again and asked for the manager, he told me that the owner approved but still wanted to talk to me on the phone. He called me and we discussed my group's plans and when we were considering filming. He asked about our film and I told him it was about an LGBTQ+ experience and he loved it. He even told me that he usually charges people if they want to film, but he would let us film for free. The owner's only requirement was that we didn't film on a weekend and that we took photos of the diner for him to use for the website. My group and I of course said yes. The whole Moonlite Diner staff was so sweet and my group and I are already excited to work with them. Now that we officially are filming at Moonlite, we can't wait to start filming and create a wonderful film. 

Marketing Campaign/Social Media

Filming is getting closer and closer and my group couldn't be more excited. As filming is near we have started to do some things to make our film feel more like a real movie. We have made multiple social medias for our film. We've made an Instagram account, a Twitter account, a Youtube account, and a Facebook account. We've also made an email and a website. Joaquina, Ben, and I all worked together on the website. It was actually super fun to make. We had a different vision for our website, but unfortunately, it did not come out like that. It still looks nice and we're really proud of it. Since we are not in school and could not be together, working together on the website was difficult but we were able to go on ZOOM and share the screen to work together to make the website creative and our own. We chose colors that fit the diner and incorporated that into the website and our production logo. We wanted to do the colors of the bisexual flag, but when we added a picture of the diner on the home page of the website, we realized the colors did not look good/match. We all decided together on the different tabs on the website, like producers, about, content, etc. The website we used to make our website had its own tabs, colors, and pictures and we had to customize them all. It was difficult to come up with tabs and agree on colors but we ended up making do. For the social medias, Joaquina made Facebook and Youtube accounts, I made the Twitter account, and Ben made the Instagram account. I don't have a personal Twitter account so it was fun using the platform and following my friends films. It was also a cool experience for me to explore the platform and I'm even thinking of making a personal account for myself. It was such a fun and new experience making the social medias and website, which I've never done before, so thank you for this cool experience. Anyways, follow us on Twitter @moonlitefilm, Instagram @moonlitedinerfilm, Facebook @CassidyJensen, and out Youtube @moonlitedinerfilm. 

Storyboard for film

We’re definitely moving along with our project. This past week, we finished the planning for the filming of our short film. We have done everything from picking a title ("Moonlite Diner") to figure out the location. We are so excited to be able to count the days. This week, we all helped piece together our storyboard. The storyboard helps later on when we have to worry about camera placement. We sketch out the overall look of the scene and any specific angles or movements. Because there are three of us, we were able to split up the pages so it wasn’t as much work. We each took on a few scenes and talked about how we envisioned the shots. It got us even more excited about getting ready to film. We tried to organize the scenes, so the more the audience watches, the more they feel for the characters. For example, the main character Cassidy is supposed to be set up as relatable for queer teenagers. To relay this, we had a shot of her with the love interest’s head on her shoulder. She had a shocked expression and it was clear that she was freaking out. This comes full circle with the genre of the film being LGBT+. We wanted to make a short film that accurately represents the anxieties of being “in the closet” and in a relationship. Not only is it an interesting thing to film, but it is something that a lot of the LGBT+ community go through. Recently, there have been a few LGBT+ films in the limelight. Only a few of those, although, are an accurate representation. That’s why it was so important for us, and me especially, to tell a real story. 

Planning for short film

 

        Since my group and I have already finished writing our screenplay, it's time for us to start planning. We have been provided with a list of things we need to have thought out. That is very helpful because it's easy to lose track of what we need. The first thing we had to think out was our schedule. As of today, we've set aside the days from November 16th to the 23rd. We chose these days because two of the members of the group might be away for thanksgiving. Also, with the holidays coming up, one of us might be out of the country, so we feel it's important that we film as soon as we can. The next thing we had to think of was the location of our scenes. The opening scene, along with a few others, takes place in the main character's room. For those, we are going to use my room, as it is most fitting for Cassidy's (the main character) personality. Along with my house, we are going to be using Aitan's house. He s a friend that will be one of the actors in the short film. We are also going to film at one of our local diners and following their protocol for filming. In between certain scenes, we will also be filming in cars. Besides our three group members (Joaquina, Amy, and Ben), two of our friends, Gleda and Aitan, have volunteered to be some of the main roles in our project. Health and safety is definitely the most important factor in filming this year, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We fully plan on wearing masks everywhere we go and avoiding seeing anybody, besides our families, the week before we film. Since we won't be needing to do any stunts for any of our scenes, we are mostly trying to stay safe from the virus. For props, we don't need anything specific, besides the phones that will be used in certain scenes and things for mise en scene, like the food, and decoration for the rooms (posters, furniture, etc.). The last thing we need to plan is the costumes, which we decided are going to be very casual and modern, with each outfit fitting the character's personality.