The second part of my work took place over break. There is not much left to do before I film, but I decided that I am going to film during the beginning of winter break. The bare trees will help to give the "illusion" of our dying planet. I am super excited to film so that I can start editing and really put the whole thing together!
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In the beginning of November, I solidified the timeline and filmed a few more rough takes so that when I really begin filming, it will speed up this process by reducing the amount of retakes. My props are gathered, and I am choosing a day with poor weather (i.e. windy, rainy, stormy, dark) to film and incorporate overall loss of vibrancy. However, this will be further emphasized with the monochrome palette.
While I have not started filming, I have organized the props/items I need to begin filming and started editing the tech screenshots. I can now continue the rough takes and start to film in sections. This month and next (November), however, will be very busy with college applications.During my meeting with Mrs. Young, we discussed fall goals. My project is very clear-cut, which made it easier to plan out my goals for the next few months. I first need to prepare for filming. This includes editing tech screenshots, final organization, and the specific placement of objects. Once the setting is ready, I can begin to film. We discussed that filming in sections would be easier and more manageable than trying to do it all in one take.
Over the past few weeks I have filmed a few rough takes of parts of the film, which helped me to know what angle to tilt my head as to not be seen in mirrors/reflections of windows, etc. After getting a sense of the logistics, I am going to wait for a stormy day to film, because this will capture the idea of more frequent and erratic thunderstorms (and natural disasters). Once I have filmed the best versions of each take, I will compile them, distort the color to monotone, and speed up areas that need to move faster. The song I Found by Amber Run will go at the very end of my film, over aerial footage I have acquired (and gotten permission to use) showing human-caused destruction. Can't wait to keep working on this!Over the past few weeks I have been pretty busy trying to catch up with summer work, but I am still continuing to research the longterm affects of climate change, mostly through NASA's climate chapter and the 2018 National Climate Assessment.
I have created a Google Docs with some important information and split it up into different topics: Before Filming, Storyline, Interview Questions, Additional Research, Films to Watch, Followup Solutions, and Sources. My goal before school starts is to finish the storyline and do at least one rough take of the film (or parts of it). I also need to add the responses to the "Interview Questions" under that category. I will add an additional tab to this website with the followup solutions, which will include a list of habits and ideas for personal improvement in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions (direct or indirect) and waste. Today, I messed around with how I am going to film the final product. I fidgeted with our old GoPro for a while, and recorded a few random takes, but I couldn't upload those takes to my computer to edit. So, I switched gears and am going to use my iPhone instead. The camera quality is just as good, and I know for sure that I can upload videos from my phone to my computer to edit them in iMovie (or another free editing app). I thought about buying a new GoPro, but decided my iPhone can do the job just as well, despite being a bit more bulky. I used a head strap today to adjust the positioning of the camera (i.e. where to place the strap on my head and how to angle the camera) and finally found a position that works well to give the illusion that the camera is coming from the angle of my eyes. I plan to clean out our guest house to begin filming soon!
On another note, I am continuing to receive responses from climate specialists and had a Zoom interview this morning with Dr. Anna Cabre, a climate physicist in Barcelona, Spain. The interview went very well, and it was nice to connect with someone on these issues "face to face" as opposed to written responses over email. I have written the very beginning of my story line. I edited a few pictures in WeatherApp, altering the dates, times, symbols, and temperatures. To prepare for filming, I have watched numerous classic silent films, including The Birth of a Nation, the original Dracula, Hot Water, and Metropolis. While these are not the same style as what I am trying to achieve with my film, it is a useful background in silent film to know.At this point, I have connected with and sent out my questions to all the climate scientists, generalists, interns, etc. that I had hoped to reach out to. I have gotten two full responses so far and will continue to get more by the end of July. These will help me to fully plan out my story line for the film, which I have begun to create. I have also received the reading material I ordered in the mail (The Uninhabitable Earth and The Collapse of Western Civilization), which I will begin reading now!On June 12, 2020, I had a Zoom check in with Mrs. Young, my in-school Fellows mentor. I discussed the overview of my project and asked if she had any questions. One question that I don't yet have a definitive answer for is how long the film will be. The length will go hand in hand with my research, and will depend on what aspects of my research I can apply to the film. We discussed the song that I will play over the aerial footage at the end of the film, adding four minutes and thirty-one seconds. I reached out to the band Amber Run to ask about using their song "I Found" and they very kindly gave me permission to do so. I shared my plans for interviewing climate scientists and we both agreed I have a solid plan going into the summer. She assured me that she will be available over the summer if I should need to reach out at all.
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