The Reminder of the Past

    For this blog post of my choice, I decided to talk about how the present can remind you of the past. I mean this could come off in many ways, but right now, it’s a positive thing. 

Tainted Roots

During the day of filming, we had to shoot some scenes in a local plaza. During the car ride, we listed to “You Are” by Punch Brothers. This was the song that my group and I had filmed a music video on for a previous project. Grace had asked what song we should listen to on the short car ride and I immediately suggested that song. Everyone agreed except Max. He has PTSD from that song. But we listened to it anyway😊. We all had a good laugh while listening to that song as we never want to hear it again. But it was a good reminder of what we had been through together.

My outfit

The main character, Alice, wears baggy clothes and has a sort of “grudge” style. At first I had no idea what I was going to wear, as I play Alice. The clothes in my closet scream the opposite of Alice. But then, I knew exactly what I was going to wear. During Covid years, I bought and wore everything that was trending on social media platformTikTok. Fortunately, baggy/ emo (I don’t think that is the correct term, but that’s how everyone on social media described it) was trending… and I had to own it. One BIG piece that fell under the style were Doc Martens AND I STILL HAD MINE! (They were expensive and to be honest I love them but they don’t match my current style, so I kept them) These shoes really came in clutch as I did use them for the music video project and now this portfolio project. So, I wore the Doc Martens, some jeans (I think I win the contest for “the most jeans” award) and a baggy long sleeve shirt ( which I bought during my emo/ grunge phase) I know I said these reminders were positive, but I might need to rephrase that as I NEVER want to go back to this phase again. It SCREAMS “2021” and I can’t be stuck in the past. Okay, I know you’re going to judge me when reading this but.. I do care what other people think… and that’s why I changed how I want to be viewed. While wearing these old clothes during filming, I felt comfortable (half of because they were baggy clothes.) But yeah.. to sum this part up, as you move on in life, your past (don’t always think of the bad parts of the past) will sometimes be one step behind you.

Therapy

Okay this “past” was literally like two months ago, BUT it’s still the past. So, like Alice, I was in therapy for my mental health. I did not enjoy it at all. My mother and the hospital had recommended me to start and every question the therapist would ask me, I would answer with “I don’t know”

-“What do you want to do in the future?”

-“I don’t know”

-“What is a goal you can set that you can achieve”

-“I’m not sure”

Yup.. that was me. And that’s exactly how Alice is in my group and I’s film opening. Although filming didn’t really remind me of my past at therapy as mine was through a computer screen, it did remind me of how I acted towards my therapist. I’m sorry but I just didn’t feel comfortable talking to some random person. But our past can act as a reminder of what we can do in the future or even the present. It doesn’t always have to be a negative thing to view it as (although I do that all the time.) I picked this blog post topic to talk about what was in my mind during production and how time is going forward and your past can be a reminder of moments in life, positive or not.

The Props of DOOM

    In this blog post, I will be talking about some of the props that my group and I had to manage during filming our project😋.

  The Clock

  Oh my gosh. Okay so the setting is a therapy room and during the film opening there is a timer that goes off. Rachel, who plays the therapist, brought a digital clock. Now the scene in the therapy session is about five minutes and there’s going to be a time loop… spot the problem?…. WE CANT FILM EVERYTHING IN THE TIME SPAN. So, (I’m calm now🤭) my group and I are TRUSTING Grace to edit the time and it literally has to be PERFECT. So that’s that! Additionally, my group and I wanted an ongoing scene (I’m not sure if that’s the correct term) but we didn’t just want clips of each line. Basically, the scene is Alice getting up, the therapist talking, then the timer goes off. It took FOREVER to time the scene right. We were originally going to edit in the beeping at the time changing, but we wanted to go the harder way. Luckily, since we kept filming that same scene and the timer would go off too late, I was able to time the timer (that’s funny) and think logically of what time we should begin the scene and… IT WORKED. (I need a round of applause) The timer went off at the perfect time and we were ready to move on.

The clock of betrayal

The Call

     Okay so during some of the scenes, Alice, the main character, gets a call from an unknown number. During the car ride on the way to Grace’s house, I tried to download a fake call app. On the first app, I had to pay to change the caller name… On the second app? I ALSO had to pay to change the caller name… On the third app…. I WAS ABLE TO CHANGE THE NAME!! But oh my gosh I was literally about to throw my phone out of the window. I tested the fake call and it LITERALLY HAD A PICTURE OF THE APP LOGO WHICH SAID “FAKE CALL” ON THE CALL SCREEN. In what world would anyone believe that I was getting a real call and the image said “fake call.” So for plan Z😭 we had Max call my phone and I would just have his contact as “No Caller ID.” I guess this plan wasn’t too bad UNTIL MAX KEPT CALLING MY PHONE TOO LATE. And I thought I was the only one messing the group up. No hate to max though. So I had this idea that for some scenes, I would just use a screenshot of the calling. I didn’t use the screenshot for all of the scenes as we wanted to show the phone actually start going off. But, I guess it all worked out in the end!

Here is the one of multiple screenshots I had to take because Max didn’t hear when Grace said “CALL” ☺️

Don’t laugh

     In this blog post I will mainly be talking about how DIFFICULT it was to film, as Max, who plays T. Jacob’s, and I, who plays Alice, KEPT LAUGHING.

     This was definitely one of the main struggles my group and I had to overcome because not even one second after Grace pressed the record button, you would hear a giggle (I was the one who kept messing up.😔) I really really love acting and that’s why I wanted to take part as the main character (I mean I never took classes but acting is definitely one of my jobs in another life) but man it was definitely a challenge to keep a straight face. In my point of view, you have three other people in the same room whom you all are friends and it’s dead silent. HOW COULD YOU NOT LAUGH. What makes it even worse was that everyone would be mad at me… I’m sorry. At least we’re done filming (I hope.) HOWEVER, I wasn’t the only one who kept messing up and laughing. We had filmed most of my scenes first but when we got to max’s scenes he also kept messing up and giggling. It also took a long time to film his parts but hey, who am I to judge. I’m not entirely sure how I controlled my laughter but I think everyone saying my name in an upset tone after I giggled made me a little sad so I kept trying to hold a straight face and I would slightly slap my cheek to get rid of my grin. In a lot of the clips, before Grace cuts out the beginning part, you can see my smile and then I immediately relaxed and remembered that this is for a large grade. I think that helped…  As I’m realizing, maybe I’m not as mature or professional as I thought I was. I just kept making mistakes and I really tried to not laugh but I just couldn’t stop. 

Behind the scenes clip

Mise-en-scene Element: Set

     Okay! Today was a very productive day! My group and I filmed our entire film opening. Max, Rachel, and I went over to Grace's house to shoot the therapy room scenes. I think a few days before filming, Grace had already set up her living room to our desired set which it was amazing. I hope the set on camera didn't look too much like a house, as Grace couldn't remove some elements of her home (Totally not her fault) but overall, I think we were able to capture the therapy vibes😜.

BTS of filming

    Not once did I ever tell Grace how the therapy setup should look but it's like she read my mind. When I walked into her house, I was like, "I know this film opening is going to eat" (Sorry for Gen Z slang😞)

    

    One of my favorite parts is how the therapist's chair is for one person while the patient's side is for multiple. Additionally, the lamp and side table on the therapist's side while there's less lighting and things going on, on the patient's side really contrasts their characters from each other. (Okay I just HAVE to point this out, but if you zoom in on the window blinds, it looks like there's a face. Like I can see an eye. It is literally staring at me while I'm typing this.)

    There are a few scenes where Alice is walking outside from the therapy office to her car and so my group and I went to this empty plaza near Grace's house to film those shots. I don't think the plaza has been "updated" (I can't find the right word) but you could see your entire reflection in the window so it was really hard for the person recording, Grace, to not be seen while we were recording me, Alice. BUT, since my group is amazing, we got the right angles😜.

        Very reflective window

 

Audio

 Unless you're making a One Word Film,😂(....😐) you're going to have to incorporate sound into your project one way or another. 

Alarm clock

    For my group and I's portfolio project, we for sure know that we want to have an alarm clock. This alarm clock will be going off in two scenes, so we have two choices: perfectly set up the clock to ring at the right moment, or input an alarm sound during editing. We are filming tomorrow, so I think we should know by then. However, if we go with the second option, we would have to record the alarm going off at its own time, extract the sound, then layer it over the clip. I don't think this option will be too bad in editing, but it may be hard for it to sound real.

Alarm clock example

Caller

    In my group and I's film opening, there is a mysterious caller. We had this idea in class to get a famous person to be the caller. (I'm trying not to laugh while writing this...) I looked up "Willem Dafoe contact" and clicked on the first thing I saw. (I think that was a bad idea😞) I put in all the information and... and... and.... no response. Worst case scenario, Grace, one of my group members, will have to be the mysterious caller and input her voice recording during editing. (I am very sorry. For some reason, my pictures keep coming out blurry.)

Willem Dafoe contact

Audio effects

    In the beginning of scene, my group and I know for sure that we want the therapist to be calling Alice's name. (Alice is the main character.) The therapist says Alice three times. The first two times are going to be muffled and the final time will be normal. I'm glad I'm not in charge of editing much because I do not know how to do this to sound...

    Okay... this might sound bad, but I don't think my group and I are going to add any nondiegetic sounds. Like you know when there's music playing but the characters aren't hearing that. Well.. yeah. I just don't think there's anywhere in our film opening to include those sounds. I mean since we have are script, there's basically dialogue all throughout and I know you can have music quietly playing when someone's talking, but how I'm picturing the film opening, I just don't think there is one moment to slide music in.

Character develpment

     In this blog post, I will be focusing on character development. I'm not really sure where to start but our main character/ protagonist is Alice. (My group and I came up with the name before we saw the blog example😔.) Alice is an 18 year-old female trying to overcome her trauma by going to therapy. My group and I were trying to come up with reasons on why she would be in therapy in the first place and we landed on depression and anxiety and the hospital had recommending seeing a therapist. Alice's character does have a slight attitude and I hope this will show that she does not want to be there. For example, she doesn't really open up to her therapist, and she gives short responses. For our plot, Alice is stuck in a time loop. (Here, her attitude will definitely show.) The loop will show that Alice can't keep bubbling up her emotions and eventually, her refusal to open up will change. I don't know if this is a bad thing, but my group and I don't really know how the film is going take off after the first two minutes... but we know that the time loop will help with character development.

Script

    I would like to add that my group and I finished our script!!! This will, for sure, help us remember our lines and how the story is moving along. (I tried to just put pictures of the document with the script but it was too blurry😞) Script▼

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REGRESSION 

A SCIENCE FICTION FILM 

 

 

BY GRACE MAZZILLI, MAX MORAN, MAIYA COLE, AND RACHEL MILLER 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLACK SCREEN  

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(muffled)Alice... 

(less muffled) Alice. 

(clearly) ALICE! 

 

CUT TO: 

 

INT. DAY THERAPY OFFICE. 

 

The room is full of neutral colors with muted cool tones. There is a couch where ALICE, the therapy patient, is sitting on a couch. Across from her is her therapist, DR. SHULTZ. They are towards the end of their therapy session. ALICE fully zoned out. 

 

ALICE 

(reserved)  

Oh, sorry... 

                              

DR. SCHULTZ 

(getting annoyed) So, have you heard anything from your mom? 

 

ALICE 

Uh, no.  

(dismissive) 

 No, not really.  

 

 

RING RING! ALICE’s cell phone ringing. ALICE looks at the phone, doesn’t recognize the number and hangs up quickly. She stares at the phone, pondering the unsaved number. 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(O.S.) And how does that make you feel? 

 

ALICE 

Wait, what? 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

You’re a little out of it today, huh?  

 

Alice wants to say something important when suddenly the door to the office opens. T. JACOBS, a doctor’s assistant, bursts into the room unannounced. ALICE looks annoyed.  

 

T. JACOBS 

(unaware) 

Hey- Oh, sorry to interrupt. Uh- Dr. S, I’ve got those files you wanted. 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(getting more annoyed) 

Ju- Leave it on my desk. 

 

T. JACOBS sets the papers down and starts backing out of the room with his hands up in surrender. His bad.  

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

Alice, what were you going to say? 

 

ALICE 

(a little more confidently) 

No, it’s just- 

 

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The timer for the session goes off.  

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(wincing) 

Looks like our time is up. 

 

CUT TO: 

 

EXT. DAY PARKING LOT 

 

 ALICE is now walking dejectedly/angrily to her car. Just as she is about to get in the car, she gets a phone call. RING RING. She pulls the phone out of her pocket. It is the same unknown number from before. Maybe it’s someone important, maybe someone died. She begrudgingly picked up the phone.  

 

ALICE 

(angrily) 

What!? 

 

MYSTERY CALLER 

(sinisterly) 

You should have answered the first time... 

 

ALICE is extremely confused. She moves the phone away from her ear to look at the screen. 

 

MATCH CUT TO: 

 

INT. DAY THERAPIST’S OFFICE 

 

Time loop begins. She is back where she once was, on the therapist’s couch. She is still holding the phone in front of her face. All of a sudden, she realizes where she is. 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

And how does it make you feel? 

 

ALICE  

(tweaking) 

Why am I here? 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(realization) 

We all have a purpos- 

 

ALICE 

(crashing out) 

No, I mean why am I here again? We just did this! 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(thinking she’s making a breakthrough) 

I know it may seem redundant at first but the more sessions we have the more progress we’ll make.  

 

BAM! Once again, T. JACOBS bursts into the office unannounced. ALICE jumps at the entrance, but she has seen this before.  

 

T. JACOBS 

Hey- Oh, sorry to interrupt. Uh- Dr. S, I’ve got those files you wanted. 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

Ju- Leave it on my desk. 

 

T. JACOBS sets the papers down and starts backing out of the room with his hands up in surrender. His bad. ALICE is slightly cowering into the couch. She is intensely confused.  

 

ALICE 

(worriedly) 

Uh- I need to go to the bathroom. 

 

ALICE hops off the couch and quickly leaves through the office door. DR. SCHULTZ gets out of her seat a little just to save face. 

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

(apathetically) 

Wait, Alice! We aren’t- 

 

RING RING. The timer for the appointment goes off. The session was over. DR. SCHULTZ shrugs her shoulders. Guess they were done.  

 

CUT TO: 

 

EXT. DAY PARKING LOT 

 

ALICE rushes out of the building to her car. She stops before getting into the car. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at her call history. She sees the number at the top of the list. Should she call it? She moves to press the number, but before she can dial, the number CALLS HER BACK. Against her better instincts she answers the call and puts it up to her ear wearily. 

 

ALICE 

(almost yelling) 

Who is this? 

 
There is only static on the other side of the line.  

 

CUT TO:  

 

INT. DAY THERAPIST’S OFFICE 

 

TIME LOOP. Once again, she is back in the office, all as it was in the minutes before. She is frozen in her spot, she doesn’t know what to do.  

 

DR. SCHULTZ 

And how does that make you feel? 

 

The realization dawns of ALICE. She is stuck. She doesn’t know what to do. She is TRAPPED.