Highway 19--Almost Done! EEEK

Sneak Peek: The cutest actor in our production-- Hayley!

Highway 19 is in the final stages of production, and it will be completed by next week! Come out to watch the CAP 10 short films on May 29th at 7pm in the MBHS Auditorium! 

Our short film finally has a complete soundtrack, and it is very good (if I do say so myself). We have a country-rock vibe and even some Buddy Holly. Now I know you're dying to see it!

SPOILER ALERT: We need a gun for one very crucial scene in our film, but we are not allowed to bring guns (even fake ones) to school. So this predicament has required some serious thought and innovation. We are going to experiment with the green screen. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be too cheesy.

On Monday, our editing time was cut seriously short, as the Blair computers were not available for login until 20 minutes before the end of the class. This required me to go in at lunch to accomplish what I needed to get done on Monday. The class time that we lost due to the network errors weren't wasted though. Many of us got in some much-needed review for the Government AP test :) During lunch on Monday I FINALLY fixed the color correction to be perfect in the flashback scene; however, it was changed yet again--to what I hope will be the final-- by Isaiah, our story author and director.

Today, I started to balance the audio levels. It's harder than it sounds. I have to find a good balance for the music that plays in the diner. It has to sound like it is playing in the diner; not like the other parts of the soundtrack that play over the movie.

Next week I hope to finalize the sound levels and fix the credits. I just realized that I forgot to include that our film is based on the short story "Melting Snow" by Isaiah Silvers. OOOPS! Can't forget to give Isaiah his well-deserved credit.

I'm really excited for this event, and I hope we win a lot of awards :) If we don't get best soundtrack, I will be convinced that it was rigged (just kidding... maybe :) )

So please come to CAP Hollywood!!!!

UPDATE--5/18/13

**SEE BELOW FOR MORE SNEAK PEAKS**

A lot has happened with our film in 3 days. I spent about 3 hours on Thursday and Friday each. On Friday, we finally got to shoot (get it?shoot?) with our fake gun. That alone has improved our film by A LOT!!! I am planning to color correct the entire film, and add in a shot of a jukebox. If we have time, I am also going to make fancy opening credits, buuuut we'll see. I am not quite sure how that will turn out. And, oh yeah, I finally found the last addition to our soundtrack. It's another Buddy Holly song :)

Sneak Peek: This one gets no explanation. You'll have to come to CAP Hollywood to find out what it means!

Adapting Melting Snow

Sneak Peak: Our main character as he walks on the side of the highway.

"Melting Snow", a story written by my classmate Isaiah, is now the story that we are adapting into a short film. The story explores what young people do when they feel left out of life.

I am really excited about how the production is going so far. We have already done all of our filming at Tastee Diner and on the side of a highway... Cool, right?

We have been editing for about a week and a half, and we've already made a lot of great progress. I am my group's editor, so the pressure is on, as I try to work out my differences with Final Cut Pro and make this short film look professional.

Here is what we have achieved so far...

Editing Week 1

• Imported all footage into our timeline and laid out a rough rough-cut
• Tried to come up with a new title for the film adaptation (because there isn't any snow...)
• Started color editing the flashback sequence. I have never done color editing before, and it really enhances the effect!
• Found two thirds of the music for our soundtrack
• Finished the credits
• Started working on a movie poster

Editing Week 2 (This week)

• Fixed some of the awkward jump cuts
• Picked out a title font!!! It's getting really professional, guys :)
• Imported all of the music into the timeline; adjusted sound levels for soundtrack and dialogue
• Came up with a production company name: Chicken & Corn Productions
• AAAAND we finally came up with a title. We considered a lot of different title (North, Highway to Hell, and I think at one point: Melted Snow). We finally settled on Highway 19!

While we have made a lot of progress, we still have a lot more to do as a group. We have to finish our movie poster, finalize our flashback music, and record voice overs. I hope to get all of that accomplished by the end of next week. That way, we'll be able to use the last week of production for small adjustments.

Once we record voice overs, I have to put them into the movie. I also have to put in opening and closing music, as the music I originally found, isn't the best. I also hope to come up with a cool intro and add more cutaway shots of the diner (which I may need to get more shots of).

And, oh yeah. We need a pistol for one really crucial scene in our film, and we don't have one. What to do, what to do?

***Come see our short film and others at the CAP Hollywood awards event on Wednesday, May 29!***