Week Two

Week two here at Charming Stranger was a whirlwind of meetings, planning, coffee runs, and train rides! To start off the week, the team had to finalize the selected films for the Coven Film Fest and schedule them into the appropriate blocks. This was a long process of ordering and re-ordering, but it was so rewarding in the end when we finally came up with an amazing plan. However, organizing Coven doesn't stop there! Next, Sylvia and I were tasked with creating a trailer to promote the festival. Since I love editing, I had a great time putting together a trailer that would really highlight all the diversity and skill that the filmmakers in the festival had to offer.

The next couple days, Sylvia and I spent working rigorously on editing our scripts and writing other preproduction tools as well, such as storyboards and a shot list. We were also constantly talking to Cameo and Connie to get insight and advice for our films. All of this work totally paid off because by the end of the week, I felt that I had a story and script I was confident in.

On Wednesday, Sylvia and I had the opportunity to work as production assistants on the set of a music video. I was so excited as I had never worked on a set and I was eager to see the behind the scenes action. Although we were new, the cast and crew were so welcoming and I had a great time helping run errands, set props, and lend a hand whenever I was needed. The music video we were on set for was especially interesting because it was one person playing all the parts, so the magic and effects were all going to be added during the editing process. I can't wait to see the final product and know that I was a part of something really special!

Towards the end of the week, I started focusing more on my film as the production days were quickly approaching. I began looking into actors and specific locations that would fit my film. During this process, Connie was super helpful as she helped me reach out to actors and people that would help during production. In preparation, I also started reading finalized scripts from other movies and watching movies, to see what angles and shots I liked. One movie that I watched, The Sixth Sense, was a great example for the style of story that I wanted to tell and after watching it I felt very inspired. Over the weekend I'm hoping to visit Chabot College to finalize the locations that I want to shoot and then next week is going to be busy and filled to the brim with shooting for my film. I can't wait!