Week 5

 Blood Effect

In post-production, adding blood spatter is usually done by layering visual effects over your footage to make it look realistic. First, you import a blood splatter clip or image (called a VFX asset) and place it on top of your video. Then, you adjust the blend mode, color, and transparency so it matches the lighting and tone of the scene. Editors often track the movement of the camera or actors so the blood stays in the right place and may use masking or rotoscoping to make it appear behind or on objects naturally. Finally, small details like blur, motion, and lighting are added so the effect blends in and doesn’t look like it’s just “stuck” on the screen.

Week 5

 Today I spent the day editing, putting together the clips we have. I work on video effects, such as camera shake (when Hailey gets slammed against the wall). Also, look into and tested different ways to CGI blood spill out of Haileys head.  

Week 5

 Another failed film day, this was due to actual responsible reason, our partner Hailey had to study for a big test and even though she was still willing to come her mother didn't allow her to leave. Her mother also had a tutor scheduled for her that day. Although we agreed to film again on April 6 Friday. 

Week 5: Song Pick

“A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke connects to my film Glass Between Us by expressing the feeling of struggle, separation, and hope for something better. In my film, the “glass” represents the emotional barrier between people who care about each other but feel distant or misunderstood. Similarly, the song talks about facing hardship and not being treated fairly yet still believing that change will come. Both the song and my film show that even when people feel stuck or divided, there is always hope that things can improve over time.

Week 4: Film Day (fail)

 On Saturday March 7, we were scheduled to film as Hailey, Danny, and me where free (after Danny got off work at 5pm). So, we planned to continue filming our night scenes that night, but due to some irresponsible actions taken by Danny. He decided to ball on us and go to party in Tampa. Due to that we were not able to film that night, so instead I download and upload the shots we had already to adobe premium. I organized them by night and day shots, then by upstairs or downstairs shots. Just to get ahead on the organization. 

Week 4: Color Grading basics

Color Grading 101

 I learned that color grading is the process of adjusting the colors and lighting in a video to create a specific mood or style. First, I learned that you have to correct the footage by fixing the exposure, contrast, and white balance so the clip looks natural and consistent. After that, I learned you can start changing the colors to match the tone of the scene. For example, warmer colors like orange and yellow can make a scene feel happier or more nostalgic, while cooler colors like blue can make it feel more dramatic or serious. I also learned that tools like saturation, highlights, and shadows help control different parts of the image. By using these tools carefully, I learned that color grading can make footage look more professional and help support the emotion and story of the film. 

Week 4: IPhone Camera Research

How to shoot Cinematic Videos on your Phone

    In this video, you learn how to adjust your phone settings to improve color filtration and control exposure, either manually or automatically. It explains how to move your phone properly while filming, including how to frame your subject while in motion and the different types of camera movements you can use. You also learn how to adjust lighting within your phone settings and how composition affects your shot and the overall look of your scene. The video teaches different types of transitions and explains how to clearly portray your theme throughout your story or movie.

    This video helped me better understand how my phone works and how to fix common filming problems. It showed me how to improve my shots by adjusting lighting and exposure. I used lighting in my film to show the power difference between my protagonist and antagonist. When the power shifted between the characters, it was shown through changes in lighting.

    The less powerful character was usually filmed with dimmer lighting, more shadows on their face, and a brighter background compared to the foreground. This made them appear weaker and less in control. In contrast, the more powerful character had full lighting on their face, with lighting used to highlight their angry or intense expression. The background was dimmer so the focus stayed on them, making them appear stronger and more dominant.

Week 3: Script

 

Week 3: Character Analyzes

Danny Sanchez as Daniel (the husband): 

Daniel is the kind of person who believes first impressions are a promise. He keeps his style business casual and sharp but easygoing, because it fits the way he moves through the day: morning coffee chats, quick client calls, afternoon brainstorms. His blazer isn’t about formality; it’s about readiness. Even when the schedule shifts, he looks composed without trying too hard.

Hailey Pollom as Hailey (the wife):

    Hailey will be a modern day stay at home wife who is going to be wearing jeans. Her character is going to be a soft-hearted wife who loves her husband dearly and cares for him and does things for him as he is going to be a "hard working" man. Although her husband is a drunk, she grew up loving people for who they are, so she never thinks twice when he drinks too much. She gets blindsided by the love he gives her and the love she has for him and never knows when it's gone too far. She doesn't read between the lines and has always been taught to forgive for who has done wrong. She will be seen wearing a cardigan with a shirt underneath and a pair of blue jeans with a belt for the main part of our film. Another half of the film, she will be seen waking up from a night of sleep in her pajamas. 

Week 3: Filming Day 2

 Film Day two Scenes 22-30

    On film day two Danny and Hailey showed up late again by 45 minutes, although this time it wasn't Hailey's fault as Danny agreed to pick her up and showed up late. This caused us to run into the same problems, but due to the scene already being set we were able to get through these problems quicker. 

    Day two was our morning scenes; to fix problems with lightening we reduced the amount of fix lights and used natural light. This allowed for our background lighting to be bright, which helped to emphasize the happy relationship. Our morning scenes show Danny and Hailey as a happy loving couple, complimented with the bright vibrant background lighting, this creates happiness and joy within the audience. 

Luckily today we had no issues with technology but had issues with our characters costumes. When practicing our scene Hailey spilled ketchup on Danny by accident. To work around this, we had to figure out ways to cover the stain. To fix this we used Danny tie as a cover in some scenes or for example, when Danny is washing the dishes, Hailey comes over and hugs him. This not only helps to emphasize their happy relationship but also helps to cover the stain, as this shot is a cowboy camera shot (from the waist up). 

Week 3: Filming Day 1

 Film Day 1 Scenes 1-13

    Day 1 started out a little rough, Hailey and Danny both showed up 40 minutes late. This setback causes us to rush through out set design and not get an efficient run through of our scenes before shooting. This also caused them to not get an effective run through of the script as they acted. This also caused us not to be able to shoot as many scenes as we wanted, but we are already planning another film day to make up for it. 

    Filming the night scenes, we were able to effectively control our lightening environment. We did this by having background lightening and main lightening to allow for the scene to be fully lit. We also controlled our exposure by dimming lights when needed, turning off lights, or adjusting exposure on our camera. We used lightening to help show the power Danny had, by dimming the lights on Hailey to show sadness and weakness. For Danny unforntenitly we didn't have access to red light at the time of shooting, but in editing I'm going to try to add redness to Danny to help show anger and power over Hailey. 

    One technical difficulty I had when shooting, was when I was trying to get a shoot of the moon and slowly pan down to the house. Due to the moon's brightness on camera, I had to lower the exposure all the way and have max zoom in. The challenging part was trying to control of 3 elements at the same time. To fix this problem I am going to reshoot the scene with an actual camera, as controlling the movements will be easier. If that doesn't work, I will adjust the exposure in post-production.