FINAL PROJECT

“RAAAAH!!” A man dressed in ripped clothes and a clown mask jumped out from behind a curtain and raised his chainsaw threateningly at his next victim. A little girl with blond pigtails stood there and stared at him with big bored eyes, clearly unimpressed. His “RAAAAH!!” died down pathetically as he stared back, suddenly disheartened.

As Greg considered the possibilities and details that would be needed for the team’s latest assignment, a light tapping shook the door, which was unnervingly loose on its hinges. “Come in,” he said over his shoulder. The door scraped open twenty-five percent of the way, just enough for a small-framed woman to peek in.

She burst into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Burning tears poured down her face as she sliced her nails over her face violently. Her jaw locked in a silent scream and she beat and kicked at the wall. She went to the sink and splashed her face with water.

This project made me nervous at first. I wasn’t completely happy with the scene descriptions my AI chose because I had certain shots and ideas in my head for a few of the others. I was most worried about being able to make a clown and a weapon as well as finding the right environment for the scene. The other problem was that I did not have a 5-year-old girl within reach to use for the clown scene. So, I had to be creative with angles, placing, and costuming for that whole scene. I thought the desk scene was interesting because of the set I used. I was only able to get the shots by doing certain angles. The last shot was not anywhere near where the first two were in that scene, but I still moved around the light and camera angles to make it work the way I wanted it to. As far as the bathroom breakdown scene, I was a little nervous about finding someone to act it out. It had to be really dramatic and the faces and makeup had to be just right. The camera angle for her bursting into the room was difficult to make look decent given the spatial limitations of the room. I also struggled a little bit with lighting. I did my best to make a difference with lighting, and I think it turned out alright, though I had more options (especially in the bathroom where there are automatic lights instead of a switch). I also would have liked to have the option of 4 or 5 shots together instead of definitively 3. I had a finishing shot that I really wanted to use for the bathroom scene but I had to pick and choose, and whatever I chose it was going to feel incomplete to me. However, the order I chose ended up telling the story better contextually than using the shot I really wanted. So, I wish I could have added it. But limitations, I recognize, are a reality that we all have to live with. Overall, though, I feel as though the project turned out a lot better than I thought it would. In the end I really enjoyed the process and would love to do it again with even more challenging and creative scenes.