AICE Media Studies Blog

                            My short film "Time fo r Dinner " i s a horror-comedy that tells the story of a pair of young girls who attend a sleepover that takes a dark turn. As the night progresses, th e girl's friendship reveals to be not as strong as you think. However, the twist comes at the end when it is revealed that the girls wer e toy dolls all along, and the whole story was a part of a larger narrative.   In terms of representing social groups or issues, the film touches on several themes that are relevant to contemporary society. Firstly, the film challenges the traditional gender roles that are often portrayed in horror movies. Typically, female characters in horror films are portrayed as helpless victims who need to be saved by male characters. Female characters are often portrayed as weak and helpless victims who are solely dependent on male characters to rescue them from the vill...

This is our website https://violetroberts8.wixsite.com/my-site-6 This is our postcard This is our short film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxtKtPT2t6w&t=129s

 To begin, I just combined the individual videos into one. Since I already had knowledge from the previous year, this was simple. The challenging aspect was having to overlay the noises on top of the video. Considering that I had some past experience with this, I believed it would be very simple. But things did not go as easily as I had anticipated. The sound would either be too loud or too low, which caused me problems. The sound of "Honey, dinner's ready" had to be played over the footage, I knew, and that was what I did. I naively believed that I could just silence the background video. But when the background noise disappeared and only the mother's voice could be heard, it came out as overly staged. I then considered turning up the volume a tad, but not too much, to provide some background noise while keeping the crowd from hearing me instruct the young lady. It was difficult for me to perform this, therefore it never came out right; instead, it sounded odd. I ask...

 Finally, the filming phase was complete, and the truly enjoyable phase—editing—was about to begin. Since editing was one of my strengths, I wanted to sort of take the initiative. I nonetheless offered to divide part of the job with Mila. Mila also was eager to edit and we were both very good at it.  I believed that distributing at least part of the editing duties around the group was the proper course of action. In this manner, the end result would benefit from everyone's creative efforts and one person wouldn't have to accomplish everything. I needed assistance with a few of the final scenes, so we set to work right away. It was ideal since Mila already had the final two shots that included the young girl with the dolls. It wouldn't be a problem to try to send the videos over, which I have regrettably attempted previously. Since iMovie was the easiest for me to utilize, that's where I chose to edit. I could access it on my phone and laptop for free on my Apple devices...

 The scene that had been delayed the longest was about to be filmed, and I was both eager and nervous for how it would come out. I know from previous experience that it can be challenging to get children to accomplish what has to be done. I used to babysit little kids, and it was far from easy. They would cry and make messes everywhere. They also have a very short attention span. I am very glad I am not the one filming this scene because I am not good with kids.  Nevertheless, because Mila has known the young girl for a long time, I had some optimism that she would comply. During this filming, the group was unable to facetime, so we spent most of the time texting instead. I texted Mila in the group chat on how it had to be filmed. The plan was for the camera to gradually zoom out from the toy-filled floor. She needed to have the little girl then pretend she heard her mom calling out to her for dinner time. Before the mom calls out to her, the little girl needed to be...

 The time to refilm arrived rather fast the next day. I waited for Violet to arrive at my house so we could facetime Dara and Mila. Dara and Mila had decided not to physically come to my place which was okay. Everyone joined the call at around 12:15, and Violet and I started getting ready. Filming could start as soon as the clothes, hair, and makeup were done. To record the scenes, I made the decision to support my phone on a tripod. Everyone agreed that it would work because there were no other group members there. However, issues emerged instantaneously. It was difficult to keep my dog out of the shots once he leapt onto the bed. There truly was no other way, and if he was shut out, his barking would disrupt the whole thing. Apart from my dog, our group and I all agreed that the tripod took away from the scene's ominous vibe. Everyone felt that when a person's hand was holding the camera previously, it seemed much better. The tiniest camera movement to focus on a particular ...

 I was most concerned about the footage being deleted. That, regrettably, became my reality today. I had started editing the film and was feeling extremely productive and successful. But when I was in the middle of editing, my phone died. I quickly put it to charge, hoping nothing got lost. Then, once it started turning on, it randomly started updating. I tried to keep calm and hope for the best. Whenever I update my phone, my photos and videos sometimes don't save to my phone and disappear. It turned on and my worst nightmare became reality. I checked the editing app, to see if my progress had saved. A pop up displayed saying there was missing videos. I quickly open my photo and video gallery and my heart stopped. Half of the videos deleted. I contemplated what to text my group and told them the videos got deleted. Sadly, the scenes would need to be reshot because they were essential to the film. It was the moment when I was going to stab Violet while holding the knife in fro...

 The next day's filming continued smoothly and fast. Due to our experience the previous day, the group and I were already aware of exactly what needed to be done. Violet picked up Dara, Mila, and I this time to take us to my house after school was out. My group and I went to Starbucks before Violet drove us to my place. This was done so that the group and I could fuel up before the shoot with some great drinks and snacks. Our group made a brief halt before continuing on our journey to my home. Everyone immediately got to work doing what they needed to accomplish after arriving. Dara and Mila set up the filming spots. Violet and I dressed in the costumes we had worn the day before. Same as the day before, I helped Violet with doing her makeup. Everything finished quite fast—at least more swiftly than the day before—and the filming soon got underway. Again, there were no dog in the scenes' backgrounds since Dara and Mila alternated holding my dog. The first few shots passed by t...

 As I was sitting in my room doing my make-up for the film, I started rehearsing my lines. Violet and I were the two actors in the film, and we previously rehearsed our lines in school. Still, I wanted to be very prepared. I had about 15 lines, but they weren't hard lines to memorize. They were mostly short responses and actions. I rehearsed in the mirror and got into character. Both Violet and I had previous acting experience, we both did theatre and I go to acting classes. So, making a short film like this got me very excited. As I was getting ready, I got a notification on my phone. I had music playing in my room, so I didn't hear it. After a minute or two, I heard a knock at my front door, and I immediately knew my partners were here. It was finally time to film. I rushed down stairs and they showed all the props they had just bought from Target. We needed three props, which was a jump-rope, a slice of cake, and a comically large spoon. Unfortunately, they couldn't find...

 I couldn't wait to start filming today and see my group's and my ideas come to reality. After school that day, Violet, Dara, and Mila were supposed to come to my house. I had stayed at home that day, so I didn't need a ride to my house. Exactly this is what my group and I did. However, Violet, Dara, and Mila realized we needed to run to a store fast to pick up some missing props before heading straight to Addison's house after school. Target was near to the school and had everything we needed, so my group partners decided to head there. While they went on a mission to get the props, I decided to clean up my house a bit. I first started by moving all the things in my house that would stand out in the film. I mopped and swept the floors, cleaned my counters, and made everything look presentable. My house had a bunch of candles, so I lit them to give an eerie vibe in the film. The dim lighting, candles and antique pieces in my home gave it that perfect creepy aesthetic we...

My group and I decided to finally start filming and I am so excited! Unfortunately, my partner Mila, something came up to where she couldn't make it. She had to get a new teacher for her spanish class and had a scheduled time to call them the day we film. Nevertheless, it wasn't a major issue because my group and I were able to sort out the issue. In order for Mila to provide feedback and "be there" during the process, it was determined that we would facetime call while the rest of the group films. Dara would also be allowed to capture each scene while Violet and I acted. Even though it wasn't our initial idea, it made sense given the current situation. Violet then disclosed that she would also be unable to make it on Monday, therefore the entire scheme ultimately failed. The group agreed to start filming on the following day instead. The Cambridge Award night was on that night, therefore there would be a time rush. Dara, Violet, and Mila would all need to hustle ...

 After spending several hours researching music that would work well with our film, my group and I finally made a choice. I personally began by looking up royalty free short film music. After searching and listening for a while, nothing immediately stood out to me. I was able to select a few songs that I liked and kept in the back of my head as I worked. Songs like "Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus" were among them. The song's instrumental majority, slow speed tempo, and peaceful atmosphere appealed to me. It was eerie yet different. It seemed like a fantastic subject for the film to me. Additionally, I thought the Backwash song "Black Magic" had a great opening that was nearly the ideal fit for the movie because it was slow pace and eerie. However, I didn't enjoy the song's remaining portions. I would just need to remove the song's opening section in order to use it in the movie. Then I would have to continue and play it repeatedly for the length o...

 The four of us believed that everything would go well this time after the failure happened the first time. We once again tried to make  plans. The next weekend was chosen to shoot. In case we required another day of filming, this would be the weekend of the 25th and maybe the 26th. But then it came up that Dara and Mila had to go to a beach clean-up for their club that weekend. I am usually free to film, so it depended on everyone else in the group. Since both Violet and I act in the film, we wouldn't be able to shoot the sequences individually. It was thus determined that my group and I would get together and determine a specific day for shooting when everyone would be available. My partners and I opted to shoot on the sixth. After school, Violet would drive everyone to my house after picking them up in her car. But I didn't want to wait around till we could all get together and shoot the film. Instead, I made the decision to work effectively on the project's editing co...

I was meant to begin filming with my group this weekend, if not for the entire weekend. My group and I had intended to start our video and complete at least a few of the initial parts. Even if it didn't, it would at least give an idea of how the filming would proceed. Regrettably, it was not possible to perform this properly. My groupmates and I quickly realized that we had weekend plans that couldn't be put off. For instance, one person had a soccer tournament, and another was out of town. I am almost always available, so the day we filmed depended on everyone else's availability. A school night would be too difficult so my house has to be available on the weekends. This is a result of the fact that I live so far from the rest of my group. I wouldn't have enough time to sleep by the time I came home from filming before I had to get up at six the next morning. I had to inform my colleagues that I would be unable to attend that weekend. I did, however, believe that they ...

Storyboard   Scene 1: The first five seconds will show clouds going down with "...Presents" and "...Production Company."  Scene 2: The next scene is a tracking shot of a very vibrant neighborhood with the actors' names.  Scene 3: The camera gets closer to a house and shows the film's name. Scene 4: The camera goes into the house slowly. Scene 5: The camera continues throughout the house that looks very put together. Scene 6: The kitchen is a little messy-looking and says "The Music by..." Scene 7: Two girls are shown talking muted as the "Directed by.." is displayed. They are stiff.   Scene 8: Sara grabs a chair and sits as she says her first line stiffly. Scene 9: This is a close-up shot of Lynn and she says her first line very smiley. She has a lot of makeup on.  Scene 10: The camera turns to Sara as she says her next line wearing a lot of makeup. Scene 11: The camera watches closely as Sara gets out of her chair stiffly and asks Lynn i...

The participants include Mila Rakic, Addison Walker, Violet Roberts, and Dara Sedaka. The location will be Addison Walker's house. Our backup plan in case Addison's house doesn't work out will be to film at Violet's house. We will have Addison's parents home during the filming. This will be to ensure health and safety. They will watch over us to ensure nothing goes wrong and help us if something goes wrong. This is especially important since we have dangerous props, like a knife. For the props, we will need as follows: two barbie dolls, a rope, a cup of lemonade, and a chocolate cake. We will also need a plate for the cake, a knife to slice the cake, a small vile of green liquid, and a T.V. remote. Finally, we will need a bowl of popcorn, a glass of water, and a knife. The costumes will be regular clothes that a teenage girl would wear. This works so the audience doesn't get suspicious. It will also slightly reassemble a barbie, so things like the color pink and...

  INT. KITCHEN - DAY This is the home of SARA. The two girls are talking casually, LYNN is sitting at the kitchen table, SARA is standing beside her. SARA I seriously can’t believe we don’t hangout more often. Every time we’re together we have the most fun! LYNN I was thinking the same thing. Maybe this time we could even stay up super late, like until 12 o’clock at night! SARA Yes yes we should! By the way, are you hungry? I’m so hungry. LYNN Oh, yeah, I am. What should we eat? SARA Oh! I have some leftover cake in the fridge! A chocolate cake. LYNN gasps. LYNN Oh my gosh yes! SARA Ok I’ll go get it for us. SARA walks to the fridge and removes a cake from inside. She places it on the counter and begins slicing two slices. SARA Do you want a drink with your slice? LYNN Sure! Can I have a lemonade please? SARA Of course! SARA opens the cabinet and pulls out a comically large cup. She then secretly removes a mysterious vial from her pocket and pours its contents into the drink. She ...