Sky Breezes

Doing the Piitstagram challenge on Tumblr, instead of Instagram. 

Mauricio Jauregui, who was my Director of Photography, is doing the coloring for my film. 

During filming, we had an Odyssey 7Q monitor which allowed Mauricio to film with Look-Up-Tables. 

Even though I’ve already gotten used to the raw footage, we’re going to color it in a way that makes it more clear when a flashback occurs. 

Also, the present is supposed to be pastel and washed out, the past is supposed to be  vibrant, and the tunnel is supposed to be both vibrant and dark. 

For my rough cut, the main feedback to improve upon was the pacing of the film and confusion over the story itself. The pacing was quick and there was not enough time to sit with the characters. At the end, it felt like a music video. Another comment was that it was uncertain if I was going for a narrative or an experimental film and that figuring that out would help me to tighten up the film. 

Comments for positives were the composition of the shots and the music selection for the scene in the tunnel. 

I definitely heard all of the comments, and I tried to implement them in my next cut. I took out some shorts in the beginning that the class decided were unnecessary, and I switched around the original opening shot to be a flashback instead. 

I also tried to clarify the story by adding multiple shots of the carousel and breaking up my placement of the flashbacks to convey Jeannie’s inner state of mind. I did take out some of the shots that weren’t needed, but I chose to leave others in. I liked the later cut better with them still in. 

March 17th - 

The first day of shooting was very fast-paced. We left from LMU to make it to the Santa Monica Pier at 7:30-8:00. We weren’t able to enter the carousel area until 9:00AM. 

Some of the extras rode with us and some met us there. We didn’t get officially started shooting until around 9:30, and we only had the carousel for an hour, so that was a little nerve-wracking, considering the bulk of the film is supposed to take place in the carousel. But I think we got enough of what we needed. Because of the time restrictions, my shot list kind of flew out of the window, but that’s okay haha. 

The carousel operator gave us some extra time in the carousel to film, until 10:20. By then, we had to leave, and we had time to chill until we walked over to the Pacific Park part of the pier. 

Then the Pier director met us and stayed with us for the hour of our shoot. We got to go slower there- there weren’t nearly as many shots to get. It was pretty fun on that side too. We used this giant cloth so that we could see the camera haha. 

Also- it was super foggy, which was perfect! The sun would have overexposed the shots. We ended by 1:00, and everyone headed their respective ways. 

 March 18th - 

We were in the Kenneth Hahn Hall building for this day. The night before we built the tunnel of love in one section of it. 

This location was great because we were able to basically have free rein and be there by ourselves. And it was freeeee. (S/o to Mr. Robert De La Cruz)

Mariel and I made a shooting schedule off my shot list in the morning, and she kept us on schedule pretty much. We started a little late due to lighting and whatnot, but we ended up finishing the whole day on time based on the time we set that morning. 

It was much slower paced than the previous day, which I really enjoyed. After we shot the first scene, we had extra time and got extra footage. 

The last two scenes were very short, and those were easy too. 

The martini shot was super cute.  

March 19th - 

Mariel ended up being sick this day, so we scrambled around for a little bit in the morning gathering things, but Anika came in clutch, and we finished on time this day too. 

We were on campus for this whole day. The scenes were both short again. 

Best parts of set: 

The crew and cast! Everyone tended to have a positive attitude, and I was really grateful that all these people were just there to help me when they didn’t have to. Like that literally continued to amaze me every day. There were a lot of laughs too, and I just really enjoyed the people that came to help. Some people I had just met that week, like my gaffer, and he was literally fantastic and so genuine. So, it was nice working with everyone. The actors were also on time everyday, and they did a great job. Beyond that, they were just nice people.

Also- something that made me really like the footage was taking screenshots of it afterward. May you all always fall in love with your footage. <3 

Things to be improved:

Having more point people who are able to go do so and so thing. 

Also carpools. One day I wasn’t aware that some people were going to just drive to the location, and that meant that I would have been stuck at LMU with the gaffer or have driven myself, so there was that. Could have had better communication about that. 

Mmmmm. Yeah - I’m sure there’s some more, but I’m happy with the experience. Glad it’s over, and happy that I can now look back fondly. Mainly on the people, and the way everything turned out. 

Sound or music inspiring me:

The sound from the film 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days and other international films that use minimal music and rely on naturalistic sound. 

Music: 

This playlist from YouTube user Apeiron: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQId5MIOdIY&index=8&list=PL4VmR0FJWdr23x33xnXBxZvjXZqVrsuR3

But I definitely don’t want music that leads the audience to feel a certain way. Unless it’s in the credits ;) Additionally, I’ve been listening to Beyonce and Russ while looking at the clips. 

Toodaloooo. <3 

In The Tunnel, the main moment of decision comes when Jeannie decides that everything might be okay, although she is still unsure. Writing this after having already filmed, we decided to show it as Jeannie leaving the carousel with Marc, while looking back at the carousel.  

During The Tunnel, Jeannie is motivated by her feelings of doubt and the need to reconcile that doubt. Is her insecurity valid or only in her head? 

Marc is just trying to get through the day. He is not there to try to have a fantastic time with Jeannie. He’s just there to go through the carnival with her and then go home. His mind and heart both are not there. 

For the physical attributes, they have changed a bit. Originally, I pictured my friend Tuscany as the look of Marc. 

As for the specific details mentioned in the character bio for Marc, I am not tied to those. Except for the main character being Asian. That stays. Because why not? This is LA, don’t let people tell you it’s hard to cast Asians or Latinos or black people. 

For Jeannie, her physical attributes have also evolved. In my mind, she is no longer only black. She can be either Asian, Latino, black, or Native American. I used Gina Rodriguez as an example in my Look Book. I am more so looking for the attitude that the girls convey when they come in to audition. A quiet strength about them- that could also be wounded. 

My hope for The Tunnel is that it will feel slow and quiet, yet not long - similar to how The Dark Knight Rises felt (RT - 2:45:00) . 

I envision mainly tight shots, except in two instances. (1) When Jeannie turns to take in the view of the city behind her (2) After Jeannie lands on the grass after running out of the tunnel of love. 

I want the film to feel intimate, which I hope to accomplish through the use of close-ups in which you can usually see Jeannie’s eyes. There will also be a few POV shots as Jeannie observes the atmosphere around her. 

For the visual design of the film, at least as pertains to color, I imagine the undertones of color that are present in every day life being placed in the foreground. For the outside scenes, I see pastel colors- lilac and eggshell. 

For the scenes where the tunnel of love transforms into an almost-hell, I envision more low key lighting, point of view shots, and close-ups of Jeannie. While the rest of the film should feel internally quiet, as if Jeannie is crafting it, the tunnel of love scenes should feel like a panic. I envision some handheld, shaky shots and dutch tilts. 

In the rest of the film, there will be handheld shots with a steadicam but also scenes that are shot on sticks (tripod). 

I would like to use mainly a 50mm lens, but to also have an 18mm, 35mm, and 75mm on deck. 

For the actors, they should be moving in a slow, almost careful way when they are at the carnival. For the character of Jeannie, this conveys her decreased comfort around Marc. For Marc, this conveys the increased removed nature that he has now. It is clear that he is not enjoying his time there very much and is not present in the moment. 

The scenes of the past will illustrate their difference in behavior. They’ll still move slowly but with more confidence and more contentment.

The camera that we’re going to be using in a Canon C300.

I envision my short film to be something I am extremely proud of when it is completed. I want it to end up being award winning, and I want to see it do well at festivals. I want each person who works on it to be proud that we all came to our destination together and had it be so worthwhile. 

Thus far in film school, I have yet to produce something that looks cinematic to me, and that’s what I really want out of The Tunnel. I don’t want to see that I’ve made a video, but I want to see that I’ve made a film. 

When I think of the look, I think of muted colors for the outdoor scenes. Somewhat like Ginger and Rosa (dir. Sally Porter) or The Virgin Suicides (dir. Sofia Coppola). 

For the outdoor scenes, I see more of a very light lilac and eggshell yellow tint over it. It has a pastel feel. The outside is supposed to be bright but almost restrained. It’s not quite as bright as it could be, and that represents the inner feelings of the main character, Jeannie. 

For the carnival scenes, the lighting is naturalistic. 

For the downtown tunnel scene, the lighting should convey more of an urgency and excitement. It will be darkened, but the type of dark where something great is about to or has happened. These tunnels convey Jeannie at her most content. 

The Tunnel of Love, from the outside and during the ride, will be lit more sinisterly. There are flashes of red, purple, white, light pink. From the outside, it will be set up that something is not quite right with the tunnel. The darkness of the inside sets it up to change into the almost-hell vision. 

The film itself is also quiet. Beyond the silence with dialogue, I don’t want the film to be overwhelmed by music with words. I want mostly naturalistic sounds, done in Foley or post prod from a sound library. The only part where I might want a song that has lyrics is during the credits. However, that also might just stay silent. If I do choose a song, the lyrics would have to tie in very well to the theme of the film and it would begin playing before the credits begin to roll. 

This playlist captures what I would imagine: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4VmR0FJWdr23x33xnXBxZvjXZqVrsuR3

For the soundtrack, this soundcloud by my friend Cameron is similar to what I would like it to sound like. 

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-kuwada/tracks

To me, I imagine the film feeling both anxious and content. Content in the sense that Jeannie is very peaceful at certain points of the film but is also content in her anticipation of the future. The anxiety comes around through her relationship with Marc and worrying about unspoken doubts. It has a mature, youthful feel. There’s an aspect of “I can conquer the world” but accompanied with the question of “how”. It’s a tug-of-war of feelings for Jeannie, and I hope to visually and aurally convey that. 

The Tunnel is a story I wrote for my English Fiction class. I decided to adapt it for my screenwriting class. I am very excited to make it and see it come to life. I hope to be proud of the final product, and I know that I can be.