Lights, Cameras, ACTION!

        Our first day of filming was rather tame, as we had mostly wanted to try out different things for our film. We used this day as a “rehearsal” day to figure out what we really wanted out of this scene. Anyways, below are some of the shots we tested out to see if we could use for our movie. 

Overall, the day went rather nicely with a few cast members to note, such as Jonathan Green, Davin Williams, Randy Smith Jr., Jon Le, and yours truly. We tested out different shots specifically for the second half of the opening scene, where we had the blue vs. red team action going on. 

For visual quality, the wide shots we took were a bit low quality, so we believe we need to include a variety of mid shots and close ups of some of the action sequences. For our sound quality, it was disastrous with the wind constantly hitting our phones, which made for unintentional sounds to play on our videos. We will have to tweak these scenes to muffle out these unwanted noises or add additional sfx to drown them out. Of course, it is a case by case situation, such as when we want to mute out all the sound during a few intense moments, or when we use microphones to make all the sound come from the actors’ voices. 

Filming our movie will prove difficult, especially because of the setting we have chosen to use. We must do what we can to make every sound and visual feel powerful, not feel as if you were simply watching a video recorded from your iPhone. Thank you viewers for reading through this blog, I will see you in the next blog!

What does Color have to do with anything?

    Everywhere we look colors are present, on every surface, nook, and cranny. Mostly everyone has their favorite colors that they use in their clothing, homes, items, etc. The thing that most do not realize is that color depicts certain emotions and attitudes, which convey what the person may be feeling or the ideas they pertain to. For example, purple provides a sense of beauty, wealth, and prestige to others. The thinking of color theory helps provide the audience a glance into what a character’s history and personality may be like. The use of color theory in our new film is our discussion in today’s blog, so make sure to read through!

In previous blogs I have mentioned the use of blue vs. red for our football game in the Offsides movie. Starting off with the color of red, where its shading expresses the aggressiveness that the red team will convey throughout the scene. They will be responsible for demolishing Ricky’s confidence during the game, thus it would be fitting for them to be wearing red. They are fueled with the raw-emotion of aggression towards their opponents and would want to show how much power they really have over them. 

The blue team attempts to express the idea that this team doesn’t have as much aggression as the red team, making them appear weaker as a result. We want to drive home the idea that the blue team will be destroyed during the game, but we also want to ensure the audience understands that the blue team will attempt to defy this idea. Blue is also associated with trust, intellect, and security. It foreshadows Ricky’s development through the film from someone less active and weak to someone who others can depend on to win. 

As for the tone of the film in its setting and scenery we want to begin the shots of the outside field with a bright sunny day to encapsulate the hope that the blue team may have before facing the red team, but as they position themselves on the field the filtering will darken to a moodier shading to reveal that they have no chance. The moodier shading will be present throughout the rest of the opening scene, ending it off on a bad note for Ricky. The tonnage will certainly follow the positioning of the team, where it is much brighter on when they are away from the red team, but as they begin to move closer the day gets darker. 

Thank you viewers for reading through today’s blog, I hope this created an overall picture of the film in your head. Tune in next week!

Did you hear that? I surely did!

 Good evening readers, in this week’s blog I introduce you to sounds we want to include in our upcoming film, Offsides. I want to state to you that we will be utilizing iMovie and Filmore to edit the entirety of our film, as well as a disclaimer before we dive in. We have not finalized the sounds and music we want to use in our scenes, but the ones listed below are examples that may be put into effect. Keep reading down below!

I want you to picture the film transitioning from a black screen slowly to a shot of Ricky Schmidt in front of the mirror, appearing nervous about playing his practice flag football game. The lighting is toned down with sunlight colored ceiling lights shining down on him. The sound of his heartbeat accompanies this shot’s transition from black and as you listen closer you will notice the sound of ringing to compliment the intensity of the scene. These are the only two sounds you will hear, non-diegetic sounds. 

These sound effects work to create that anxiety that Ricky is feeling all the way to the ears of the viewers. The visuals alone tells the story, but sounds also impact the overall mood that your scene intends to create. Ricky’s heartbeat playing over the scene tells the audience of his feelings about playing the practice game, tense at the thought of it and what negative memories it may have brought about.

 

The following scene features Ricky leaving the restroom with the diegetic sound of the door opening, as well as the blue team’s coach yelling at him for not being present on the field. We do not want the audience to lose focus of the flow of the story, thus, we will only allow diegetic sounds to play for these next few shots involving the blue team. We want the viewers to hear their voices and become accustomed to their sounds to introduce their characters properly.

For background sounds, we want to include the sounds of people playing in the background to make the scene feel more lively, but as they get into position for the game we will tone down those sounds to primarily focus on the heat of the moment, where Ricky is finally being tested against tough opponents. The challenge in doing these diegetic sfx is to make the sounds flow from one shot to the next without them sounding disorganized. Thus, if you can hear a boy screaming something in the distance it must carry on to the following shot.

During a minor montage featuring the red team’s players we want to include non-diegetic rock or hip-hop style of beats to make the players look hardcore. These following shots need to sell their characters to the audience instantly, clueing them into who and what they are. 

Sounds are an essential aspect in making movies feel magical, with soundtracks and OST’s that would be memorable to the audience. We want to drive home the point that sounds will allow anyone watching the movie to understand the feelings and emotions of the characters on screen and to understand their stance of their situation, simultaneously characterizing them for the rest of the film.

The Challenges of Filming Offsides

 

Good evening viewers! In this week’s blog I want to go over the current challenges my crew and I are facing during our shoots for our film, most of which arise from technical, as well as practical, sources. Anyways, proceed on to find out!

It is no secret that choosing what angles and shots is a core part of filming your movie, whether it be attempting to find the degree the shot should be placed at or trying to make it fit the tone we are trying to convey with our film. Finding the proper lighting is a major issue for us when it comes to production, as we may simply not want to have too dark or too light in our film. Many films in today’s media use high-budget cameras and post-production editing to achieve the lighting that they wish to use. For example, you want an outside scene of the sun illuminating an orange glow onto the right side of a character’s face, simultaneously having the dark shade resting on the left side. This type of scenery can be beautiful and hopeful. However, for our film we would have our main character be inside of a restroom, where I wish to have him in an environment with that same orange toned lighting, but with low-key lighting present to distinguish how nervous he was about stepping onto the field. Unfortunately, that is not the case with public restrooms, especially when they have white ceiling lights instead of orange ones. However, a fast solution for this would be to simply film certain scenes at different locations and times, such as at someone’s house or at a different park.

The next issue comes from the schedules of our actors. A good quote that I enjoy using in any situation would be “The more the merrier!” However, when it comes to producing a film, I have grown a few gray hairs. Unfortunately, actors do not simply free their afternoon up on a Saturday to come film too often, especially when you don’t pay them at all. At least a quarter of the cast are available to film at a time, so our solution is for us to make the most of it when we can. We hope the lack of participation would not have us tweak the story a bit in order to assist with this downside, but for the time being we will stick with our current cast. 

Additionally, my co-director and I want to state that we do believe we will overcome these complications, because we are dedicated to releasing a polished and intriguing film to our fans. We sincerely wish the best for our work, because the film-industry is based off the efforts the production team implements into their craft. Thank you, reader, who has supported us throughout these blogs and we look forward to showing you what we have in the works.

Offside's Costuming Choices!

  What’s up readers, in this weekly blog post I want to introduce the costuming styles that we will be including in our highly anticipated film, Offsides, with costuming hand picked by yours truly. Anyways, let’s dive right in!

Beginning with the costume choices that we have decided for the team the protagonist will play on, which includes a simple outwear of a blue t-shirt and black shorts. The blue is used particularly for the protagonist’s team to clue the audience in that these players relate to a colder, less active part of the spectrum. They are more inclined to feel fear rather than being the ones creating it. It also contributes to attributes like trust and dependence that we want our protagonist to achieve with his team throughout the film, which will allow them to push through obstacles and pursue victory.

For the opposing team we have provided them red t-shirts, as well as the absurd style choice of blonde hair. Beginning with the red shirt, we want to signify the aggressive and exciting energy that this color choice generates. This team will be the very first obstacle presented to the protagonist in the film, so we want to ensure they feel the wrath of these athletes, providing power to those wearing this color. 

Additionally, we want to bring up the elephant in the room, blonde wigs. The simple answer for why we would include such a prop is simple, comedy. We want the entirety of the red team to be using fake hair as a gag that adds to the silliness that makes its presence known throughout the film. Just imagine my co-director, Davin Williams, in a blonde wig. It’ll be a sight to behold I tell you.

Another character included in the film is the referee, which we obviously would need to have in order to hold a proper game of football. Fit with the black and white stripes, black pants, and the most important prop, the whistle. It is truly perfection.

 

These two props are to be used during the football scene, which means there isn’t much to discuss other than the items include a football and flag football belts with colors pertaining to the team they will be used by.

Here we have the costumes that the coaches will be wearing, with respect to the color of their team. The difference that I would like to point out is between the manner they wear said costumes. The red coach will appear more professional with his tucked in, buttoned up shirt and tie. This contrasts with the image that the blue team’s coach attempts to present, where they do not have their shirt buttoned completely, their shirt untucked, tie hanging around their shoulders, and no belt present around their waist. The blue team’s coach conveys the reason the blue team does so poorly without having to provide backstory, it's all provided by the manner in which the coaches dress themselves. We do also want to attempt to make the blue team’s coach sound informal and a bit grumpy when dealing with the players, adding to the gag of the scene.

That is all I have for you guys this week, tune in next time to find out who the protagonist for our film really is and what they’re all about!

Additional Movie-Making Information

         Good morning readers! Planning a movie is a very complicated feat that not many can pull off successfully, that is becoming a stress in the creation of Offsides, but nonetheless, the work we have put into it has proved we have the means and talent to accomplish our goals. We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on our storyboard, to which we will post an update of our storyboard later this week. Because we want to ensure that our filming does not require us to improvise our scenes as much, as well as having scenes that make sense to the story, we have not yet been able to film yet. 

We have agreed upon filming at Miramar Regional Park for convenience of having open land to film our football movie, which is also in close proximity to most of our casts’ houses. We want to allow those working with us to have an easy time getting to the location without worrying about distance or unfamiliarity with the area, so this park will be the perfect place to produce at. 

Additionally, in terms of those we are working with, it is all involving friends we are close to and know we can work with. I would rather not disclose their names yet as some are still deciding whether they can be a part of the film, but stars such as yours truly, Davin Williams, and Randy Smith Jr. will appear in the upcoming film. We do want to create anticipation that we will have a large cast of characters to compliment the liveliness of the movie, ensuring they help guide the protagonist’s goals, challenges, and actions in the story. 

 Movies and shows that have inspired us to create our film, Offsides, involve classics such as All American, Tooth Fairy, The Blindside, Remember the Titans, and The Waterboy. As you know, these football movies have allowed the audience to indulge in inspirational stories about underdogs and those with complicated lives, as well as ones with silly circumstances to deal with, especially in The Waterboy with Adam Sandler.

 His role as Bobby Boucher skyrockets his college football team into winning games with his special talent of tackling even the heaviest of opponents. The comedy sells itself through the silly and unrealistic circumstances that a waterboy would place himself into, which is the type of comedy we want to present our audience with Offsides. 

    That is all I have to discuss with you this week, tune in next time to find out our experiences getting onto the field and filming for the first time!

The Star of the Show, Ricky Schmidt

         Good morning people, in this weekly blog I want to discuss with you the main character in our new film. Randy Smith Jr. plays the role of Ricky Schmidt in our upcoming movie, Offsides, which will be releasing soon this year, so make sure to reserve your seats at your nearest theater.   

Who are they?

Ricky Schmidt’s character revolves around his weakness in the sport of football, non-existing athletic abilities. In the film, you will witness his failure in performing well for his team, seeing his lowest points in his life and interests. However, Schmidt wishes to improve his skills as a defender in the sport, where he will put himself through the most grueling of training and situations, which will involve silly experiences and moments for the audience to indulge, as this is still a comedy. You will watch his character grow throughout the film, both physically and mentally through failure and training.

Schmidt is a kind-hearted person with the hope to win the game, but his tendency to day-dream the win rather than applying his skill is his downfall, shown during the opening scene of the movie. It will take much practice before he can feel comfortable and fit enough to fill the role of a defender.

Physical Characteristics and Costuming

Schmidt will be wearing a blue t-shirt with black shorts and runner shoes during the opening of the film. The significance of using these clothes is to sign the audience into what side that he will be a part of during the flag football practice game. Our protagonist will be an 18 year-old African American with glasses, who is also around 5’8 feet in height. His physical appearance has no significant impact towards his story or actions, but his height may pose problems for him when faced with taller opponents.