New Plot

Raul and I have finally come up with a general idea for our new adapted plot. We wanted to maintain the key plot components that made up our last script. More specifically, we wanted to still tell the story of a teenage leaving for college and what they are leaving behind. 

Here is an overview of the changes that are going to be made:

Characters: The main character of this film will be me! The other characters included (my family) will be seen in the archived footage. 

Setting:  All the footage shot in "real-time" will be entirely done at my house. 

Plot: 

-The main character finds a box in the attic with a bunch of CDs, and discs, filled with past footage of their life.

- The main character will be recollecting their past before they make their next step towards the future. 

- Emphasis on the family bond.

Changing the plot like this was definitely a challenge, I feel these changes had to happen in order to start making some actual process even during a pandemic!

 

Filming Cancelled

Due to social distancing and COVID-19 concerns, Raul and I were unable to gather our cast in order for filming. Most importantly, our main character is not going to be able to film. Thankfully, Mrs. Stoklosa held another online meeting so that she can reach a consensus on where everyone is at with the project.

As of now, AICE exams are all canceled due to the virus. Knowing that this project is a component of the AICE Media Studies A Level Exam, I was definitely a little concerned with what to do next. In the online meeting, Mrs. Stoklosa explained to us that we still will be completing the project and doing everything as normal. We were also informed that we may have to alter our plot to only have one actor. Additionally, we were told that we could use archived footage in order to combat the inability to film.

Since our whole plot revolves around a group of people and involves going to different public places, Raul and I are going to have to go back to the drawing board. Man, this is hard...

More problems...

It is crazy how fast things have changed with regard to this virus. Just over a week ago we were told we will be not having school for two weeks to stop the spread of the virus. Today, the school may be postponed indefinitely, mostly all restaurants and public areas are closed now due to the new social distancing measures put into place by most local governments. There are around 500 cases in Florida right now and I do not think it will be too long before we get put in a statewide lockdown. With all that being said, we are now unable to film at most of our filming locations. I have been talking with Raul a lot and he has been telling me how strict his parents have come due to the virus. He pretty much hasn't been allowed to see people ever since the news started recommending social distancing.


There is some good news though!!!


Thankfully, I will be able to film with Irina where we can film the main part of the film as well as take pictures so that Raul can work on the print component. With regards to our plot, we may have to scrap it or at least change it to locations that we would be allowed to film at.

Online Meeting

Hello, blog! For this post, I just want to give an update on the Coronavirus situation. Today Mrs. Stoklosa had an online meeting with my class however I was not able to attend due to a family matter I was dealing with at the time. Luckily I was able to come in contact with a classmate of mine who did attend the meeting and they told me what Mrs. Stoklosa said with regard to the future of our projects. Basically, the project’s due date is going to be moved to April 19th, a week later than the initial due date of April 12th. We were pretty much told to continue working on the project as planned so I guess that is what I will do.

Currently, our filming dates are still set however I’m constantly communicating with the actors in order to see if they are still able to film knowing the new social distancing recommendation initiated by the CDC. Everything is good so far and but it is important for us to film before Florida gets put into lockdown in a similar suit to states like California.

COVID-19

Things are going to be changing. 1 month ago, the threat of Coronavirus seemed like a joke and an across the pond type of problem. On Friday, schools all across Florida and the country have shut down as this virus has continued to spread rapidly across the globe. If this virus spreads how it did in Europe and China we could be forced to begin online school and possibly have schools shut down for months. 

Thankfully, this project can be done without having access to school, however, my chances in rounding up my cast for filming have dropped dramatically. Many parents have begun not letting their kids out of the house as this virus continues to spread, especially in Broward County. For instance, Raul wasn't allowed to come to my birthday party today because of his parent's concerns about the virus. 

With a problem like this one, I am definitely a little bit nervous knowing the due date for this project is right around the corner. As of now, film dates are staying the same, and I am definitely looking forward to an update as to the next steps from here in terms of due dates and how COVID-19 might alter the timeline of this project. 

Filming Schedule

After creating a group chat with our actors Raul and I sent them a google form to fill out in order to figure out which days are best for filming.

Our results are shown here:


We have reached the consensus that this project will require two days of filming, and 5 of the possible 7 days of filming can be attended by 80% of our cast. With that said, we do have some flexibility for choosing when we want to film.


The two dates we have chosen for filming are 3/22 and 3/23

Cast

For choosing my cast, I more or less based the characters more of the actors. The reason I did this is that none of us are really that good at acting so I thought it would just be easier to play ourselves.  After much anticipation, I am excited to announce the cast for our new short film:

Stevie- Irina Blanco

Raul- Raul Passarini

Diego- Diego Machado

Sara- Sara Briones