I filmed a portion of my opener this past weekend (or maybe the weekend before last, I don't know... Time feels really weird right now), and I'm very unhappy with it. But that's okay, because at least I'm learning something through this experience and will know how to make my next shoot better.
The first thing is that I was just nervous and unprepared. I honestly thought about filming the entire week leading up to my shoot date, and that did more harm than it did good. I kept asking myself, "What if it turns out bad?" or "What if it's the opposite of what I want?" and guess what? It turned out bad! Overthinking not only took up tons of mental energy, it harmed my filming process because all I could think about was potential outcomes, instead of focusing on what I was doing. I also didn't have all of the equipment that I needed- I needed a dolly zoom and didn't have one, a microphone set, and better lighting because my ring light broke (oops)... Overall, I was just way too nervous, and unprepared. But I know now not to worry about the outcomes so much, so I'm sure I will be more calm at the next shoot. Plus, in film, things are bound to come out not exactly how you envision them... Especially because I'm just a student filmmaker with a small DSLR. That just motivates me to improve, so I can really make my visions come to life someday.
I mentioned before that my ring light was broken, and it was- the stand that it's supposed to go on broke, so my actresses'/friend's brother had to hold the ring light in his hand! That made the lighting super unstable and Sarah's face was poorly lit. My camera also wasn't working with the low light conditions- my footage was really grainy and it just looked bad. I need to research how to film in low light on a budget, so that it looks better the next time I shoot. Maybe that'll be another blog post on here.
Another thing that I need to remember is my time limit. This opener is a maximum of 2 minutes, meaning that the portion that I filmed (the nightmare section) should be no longer than 20-30 seconds, so that the rest of my film can go well.
So, I know that for next time, I need to be more prepared, less anxious, and just enjoy my time while filming. I'll research how to film in low light, so that it will look better, too... I just feel like the next time that I film will be better. Yay!
My (very) rough cuts: