My Filming Process

Hello everybody!

My group and I were super excited to start filming our opening scene. Since we were filming at my house, our first step was to move my dining room table so we could use the plainly decorated background for the scenes involving Johansen and me. We grabbed some simple decorations inside my home like a side table and potted plant to add to our background. We did our best to make my house seem like a professional atmosphere, that of a therapy clinic. 

Here is a photograph of Jamil recording a scene between our characters, the therapist and the patient.  

We filmed the majority of these scenes between Johansen and I, one day after I created the script and shared it with the group. 

Here is a photograph of us going over the script and stage directions. (Featuring my little chihuahua, Timmy, at our feet) Our main cameraman, Jamil, was also present during this to ensure he knew what kinds of shots and movements we wanted for each scene. There were a lot of breaks and cuts in between each scene shot because we had to check both the angle of the camera and position of the actors. Overall, there was a lot of communication involved and many, many changes to our preconceived ideas of how our filming was going to go. 

Then, on the next filming day, we recorded the scenes involving just me. Here, I was wearing a bright yellow tank top. We chose this color because it attracts attention and separates my character from the mundane white and light blue walls of the setting.  

Here is a photograph of Johansen and I filming a scene that required only my hands and a prop of a mug and pill bottle.  

Then, we filmed a tracking shot in my hallway.  

Here are photographs of Alexander filming this tracking shot. Then, a photograph of us reviewing it and seeing if it needs to be reshot.  

For the most part, we didn’t experience many complications, except for the first day of filming, where we struggled with ensuring we had the best sound quality, lighting, and time management possible. Our second time around, it was easier because we had resolved the issues and knew how to address them. The biggest issue we had, in my opinion, was having to refilm the close-up shots of Johansen and me several times because we weren’t content with the spacing and look of the shot. 

However, some success we had was the simplicity of filming the close-up shots of the props. There were several scenes that didn’t include any of the actors, which made it easier to record because there was less room for error. We correctly communicated and contributed to ensure our filming went as smoothly as possible. We also successfully filmed a grand majority of the opening scene in two days. All that’s left is to film a small portion we’re missing and edit!

Thank you for reading!