Challenges in Film

 Hello, today we discussed some of the challenges we have had after our first time filming and how we solved them in the end. 

What are the challenges involved in filming? 

During filming, we faced challenges like finding props and having to retake the same scene over and over because I wasn't showing the right emotion or because we were using the wrong camera angle. Another challenge was remembering lines and cooperation. For example, Niliem had the right angle, and I forgot my line, or Niliem laughed at my face because my fake crying was too fake. Lastly, in a few clips, Suri would accidentally move in the shots of the unconscious husband, so it ruined the whole clip. 

 How are you handling each of these challenges? 

We handled these challenges by retaking scenes and rehearsing lines, also editing clips that were mostly perfect, but some minor details weren't quite right. Patience was also a big part of everything since the constant stress of redoing things over and over weighed on all of us and made us want to give up. 

Is everyone pulling their own weight? 

Not everyone is currently participating because we haven't reached the patient's scenes yet; we are just filming the beginning. She mostly sits out in the current scenes and helps when she is asked to. Suri and I are doing our best as actors, and Niliem is doing her best filming. 

Lighting? 

Lighting hasn't been a big problem since we are overall using high-key lighting, which is easy to find in the nurses' office. As of now, we are not using any lighting shifts, so we have had no issues with it. 

Sound?

When we did our first try, we realized the sound wasn't as loud as we thought it would be. In the end, we decided to voice over some of the actors' lines and record all the non-diegetic  sound separately and then edit it so it's clearer. 

Preparing to film

 Today, we came together to settle on dates we will film, the location, costumes, props, and actors. We also loosely worked on the script; that specific script is not set in stone, but it is a first draft of it. These are all the current decisions that we plan to execute. 

Actors: This film features Kamryn Phoneseuksam as the patient, Claire; Suri Nguyen as both the husband and the receptionist; and me as Dr. Elena. 

Costumes: I will wear a white lab coat with formal wear underneath as the doctor; Suri will wear formal clothing as the receptionist; and Kamryn will wear casual wear as the patient.

 Props: We will need to borrow the outfits from the school nurse. Hospital equipment from the school nurse, like a stethoscope, masks, a thermometer, and possibly a scalpel. Fake blood to use for injuries. Bedsheets and a metal table in a hospital room. 

 Locations: We will record at the school clinic. We will need to talk to a teacher to supervise us. 

 dates and time: 

January, 23,2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm

January 28th, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm

February 4th, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

February 11, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

February 18, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm

February 25, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

March 4, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

March 11, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

March 18, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm 

March 25, 2026 at 3pm to 5:30pm

Scripts: 

Scene 2:

Doctor Elena: "Alright Claire, I will call you once I get your labs back. Have a good day"

Claire: "You too, bye." 

Scene 3: 

Doctor Elena: "Hello, am I speaking to Claire?

Claire: "Yes, this is Claire."

Doctor Elena: "Hi Claire, this is Dr. Elena, calling from the clinic. I'm calling you regarding the results that we received from your recent labs a few days ago. I'm afraid that we have found complications regarding your heart. 

Claire: "What is it?"

Doctor Elena: "On our charts, your blood has shown very elevated troponin. Have you felt any symptoms recently?"

Claire: "I haven't felt anything, what does that mean?"

Doctor Elena: "Feeling no symptoms while having high levels of troponin could indicate asymptomatic heart failure, early stages of heart failure. If possible, I would like to schedule an appointment with you at another clinic to talk about possible solutions, in 2 days at 6 pm. Are you able do that?"

Claire: "Yes, that would be fine."

Scene 4:

Receptionist: "Welcome miss, do you have an appointment here?"

Claire: "Yes, it's under Claire, for 6 pm."

Receptionist: "Alright, just sign your name on this check-in sheet and you may enter her office now."

Claire: "Thank you." 

Scene 5:

Doctor Elena: "Hi Claire, sorry for the short notice. I wanted to make sure you get treated as soon as possible."

Claire: No worries. What are my treatment options?"

Doctor Elena: A safe and efficient option that I would highly recommend is a CABG surgery, which can help improve your cardiac functions. May I proceed with it?"

Claire: Yes. When can I start?

Doctor Elena: "Now."

Claire: "Wha-" 

Film equipment: 

Personal phone cameras will be used to film most of the movie's opening. Microphones may be borrowed from a production company. 

Initial Storyboard

 In today's class, we were given a paper to draft out our first scenes of the movie opener, to get a basic idea of how the storyline should go. These are the scenes my group and I came up with following the plot line previously made. Suri contributed to making the first draft of the scenes, Niliem and I contributed to explaining a detailed play-through of each scene, and lastly, Kamryn came up with the transitions and sounds. We all aided in coming up with the angles. 

Scene 1

In this scene, doctor Elena looks at hr husband in the hospital bed, lying unconscious. Distress is clearly displayed on her face. Wires attached to Daniel's skin, keeping him alive. She finds out his dire condition and is informed that he can't be helped since Daniel has such a rare blood type. Finding a donor would be nearly impossible, especially for such a vital organ. (heart)

A two-shot is used for the two characters having a sad moment. It helps keep both characters in focus at the same time. 

A non-diegetic sound is playing of the heating of the machines and faint breathing from Daniel. Elena's soft sobs are heard. 

A straight cut is used to transition to a different setting smoothly. 

 

Scene 2

In this scene doctor Elana goes back to work the next day and has a check-up with her usual patients. Everything is good with the patient, but she will call her after the scans and blood work develop. Elena gets the idea to save her husband by using the heart of another healthy person and makes up a lie to get the patient to meet her alone. 

There is an over-the-shoulder shot of the doctor talking with the patient in the hospital. The shot helps draw focus to the doctor's face and helps the viewer see the POV of the patient. 

A conversation between the doctor and the patient, and the patient, while the doctor scribbles on a paper, is heard. 

A reverse-shot is used to show the conversation between Elena and the patient. This helps show the POV of both characters as they talk. 

Scene 3

In this scene, the doctor calls the patient later on to tell her that she needs to come back to a different private clinic because the blood results came up and something looks wrong. The doctor tells her a time and location where everyone will be gone. 

A close-up of the doctor conversing with the patient over the phone is shown, which aids in displaying the emotion in the doctor's face clearly as the patient responds. 

The sound of their conversation both the doctor and the person on the phone. Also, the phone is ringing, waiting for the patient to respond. 

A fade-out is used to show a different character at a different location and help transition through the scenes

Scene 4

In this scene doctor Elecna meets the patient at an empty private clinic owned by Elena. The patient is checked in by the "secretary" (a friend of Elena's helping her with the crime). The patient walks into Elena's office to talk about her blood results. 

There is a wide shot of the patient checking in with the receptionist to establish the new location, and the background is shown, empty. 

Then the sound of a TV in the background playing in the distance, a conversation between the receptionist and the patient. 

A match-cut is used to transition between the reception desk and Elena's office, using the patient entering the door to get out of the reception and the door of Elena's office as a match. 

Scene 5

In this scene, the patient meets Dr. Elena in her office, and doctor Elena explains the negative results of her blood test. Elana explains that an emergency surgery will need to be performed. Elana tells the patient the procedure is quick and only needs her there. 

A mid-shot is used to show Elena and the patient having a conversation about the test results. The mid-shot helps draw focus to their upper body language. 

Elena and the patient are talking. The sound of Elena flipping through the results on paper. 

A J-cut is used to blend in the sounds of the background of this scene with the eerie music of the next scene to introduce scene 6. 

Scene 6

In this scene, Elena comes behind the patient with a cloth and puts it over her mouth and nose to put her to sleep. The patient's shock is shown in her eyes as she begins to fall asleep; she gets dragged into another room, and the door closes by itself. Then, to end this dramatic scene, the title screen is shown, leaving the audience in a cliffhanger.

A Dutch angle is used to create a mood of disorientation, unease, and tension as the patient's eyes show fear, and then a tracking shot is used as the camera follows the patient being dragged by Elena into a different room. 

 

Eerie music plays in the background, and footsteps are heard. 

A straight cut transition is used to cut directly to the title screen, continuing the drama of the scene. 

Mood Board for Movie Opener

  

In today's class, we searched for pictures to help us envision our movie opener. We placed these pictures into a sort of visual canvas of the characters, props, and settings. 

In this movie board, I chose to create a sense of iryness. The high-key lighting mixed with the red accents of the blood helps make a contrast between colours, which captures a tense and unsettling atmosphere for my movie opener. The image of a female doctor, a female patient, the surgery room, and the hospital bed represent a place that is usually associated with care, trust, and healing. However, the red accents and symbols of the blood contrast with that expectation; this hints that there is another motive under the façade. The knife and the heart suggest that someone might be killed and their heart will be taken out. In addition, the high-key lighting also makes everything appear clean and realistic, which makes the disturbing elements stand out. Overall, the mood I wanted to create is suspenseful and uneasy, drawing the audience in by turning a familiar, safe environment into something that feels threatening and unpredictable. 

Final Idea for Movie Opener

 Today, my group and I decided on the final idea for our movie opener. We kept the same ideas as before, only this time we expressed some issues we might have. As well as discussed logistics and details of the movie. 

We kept this as the storyline:

Dr.​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Elena Marquez is one of the leading cardiac surgeons in her area. She has been instrumental in keeping alive patients who were about to run out of time. Until the tragedy, of course, comes to her own family. Daniel, her husband, suffers a sudden and severe organ failure. The doctors gave him only a few weeks.
Elena puts him on the national transplant list right away; nevertheless, his situation is not severe enough to get the priority ranking he needs. The odds of a transplant happening in time are next to nothing.
Elena, overwhelmed by terror and sorrow, sees helplessness as the only option. She exhausts all legal routes, clinical trials, remote donor programs, and luxury hospitals, but the pace remains unchanged. She sees her husband fading away while she, a doctor who has been saving lives, feels utterly powerless.
The tension escalates, and Elena starts to do things that she had never thought she was capable of. She begins to illegally look for possible matches in hospital records. At the beginning, she convinces herself that she is only looking, not doing anything. But as Daniel continues to deteriorate, her desperation becomes an obsession.
The moment Elena discovers someone who could be the perfect donor, a healthy, anonymous person with no family ties, she is at a crossroads. She is aware of what the law requires, and she understands her moral pledge. However, she also knows that this organ could be the one to save her husband.
Elena picks ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌Daniel.

I'm excited about laughing and doing a lot of retakes for the same clip. While it could be stressful, I think it's a normal part of filmmaking, and it will probably be funny when we fail over and over again.

I am worried about the accessibility to props and costumes, as well as the actual logistics of the movie. Details like how the surgeon will meet the patient in a place that is isolated enough to take their organ, since hospitals are normally crowded.

View Other Student Work

 In today's class, we did group work so we could all share opinions on the clip we watched as a class. Then we came up with our own conclusions on each clip. 

Dare to thrill 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=nYpjHCwRO6Q(Links to an external site.)
One of the strengths was the very smooth tracking shots and overall camera movements. One of the weaknesses is that their sound quality was pretty bad, and the dialogue of the characters was hard to hear. After seeing this clip, I will make sure the ending is more conclusive and the storyline is understandable. Also, make sure the background music is low enough to hear the actors speak. 

The Blue boar 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvMH-1XdR9c(Links to an external site.)
One of the strengths is the audio quality and the color of the film. The emphasis on the close-ups were good at showing emotions. One weakness is the storyline since at the end a blue board appeared which didn't really tie to the film.  A takeaway I could get from this clip is that I to maybe do a voiceover of the clips instead of recording the raw sound. 

White Coat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=dvAsmo32uo0(Links to an externalli site.)

One strength of this clip was that, although there were no lines for the actors, the point got across because of the shots. Another is the blue lighting, and the audio was good at showing emotions. I think, although the lighting was good, it was a bit too dark, and I think there should have been a spotlight on places where the audience needed to focus. One takeaway is that dialogue shouldn't be the main way of story telling and instead, the video elements should be.

Stalker 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxIZJKdc-Sw&feature=youtu.be

One strength is the close-up shots and the camera work, which made us feel like we were part of the movie. One weakness is that the sound is too low, and the sound effects are too loud. There were also not enough sounds, and the camera quality was a bit poor. The title was too long and awkward when it appeared in the middle of the clip. One takeaway is that there should be some kind of background sound because everything was completely silent.

Rise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AKdUT8nyg&feature=youtu.be

One strength is that the transition of the ball being kicked into the camera and then a different character comes on. I liked how the transitions were on beat with the music. One weakness is the close-up shot at the end because it doesn't really add any context to the film. One takeaway is that I should choose background audio that follows along with the context of the film.

Dear lover 

https://youtu.be/O_bKQDg6fiI?si=6S5aU015nLr-7yFI

One strength is that there is a good use of jump cuts, and the music matches well with the clip. One weakness is that the audio is a bit echoey; also, there was a poor use of costume since during the flashbacks she didn't change clothes then. One takeaway is that I could use flashbacks during my clip to show past events to add more context to the film. Links to an external site.