Q&A

On Friday I did a Q and A on Instagram. I got a fair amount of responses and answered some of the questions that evening and the others the following morning. This was really fun, as it felt good interacting with the audience. I went super in-depth with my answers, and hopefully people found them insightful and hopefully will enjoy the movie even more knowing some of the story behind it. I also hope that the numerous artists and filmmakers following the account can get inspiration from hearing about my process. Here are the answers to the questions I was asked:

Character Posters

 I made a series of character posters that I posted to my social media. This was an idea that I planned on doing for while and now that I have edited stills, I was able to crop out the characters from them to make these posters. It's important to me because I feel like this movie is an ensemble piece, and I want each character and actor to have their time to shine in the marketing. I gave each character a unique text logo, which is something you see a lot of in comic books when a character is seen for the first time. I kept the spiral pattern from the main poster as I wanted to have consistency with the marketing and it created a great affect visually, drawing the eye inward towards the character. I also gave each character a combination of two colors for the spiral. I needed to make sure that the colors matched both the character's costume and logo, while still contrasting enough to make the logo readable.

Lastly, I added the names of the actors playing the character and the Abnromals logo to the corner, to keep brand consistency and remind people of what this is all promoting. These are some of my favorite things that I've made for this project.

Sing a Song of The Abnormals

 Monday was a really fun day, because we wrote a song for the movie! Since the beginning I've had the idea of The Abnormals having a theme song, like any good superhero team should, and yesterday I hosted a zoom meeting with two of my friends who know a lot more about music then me so we could write it. I actually have written lyrics before. I do a summer program where we write original musicals, so I actually have a lot of experience with this. My two friends Jaden and Seth, who wrote the song with me, also do this program, and they both know guitar.

We started by discussing what the structure of the song should be like; we could go the route of a song telling the story of the film, a song that mentions the characters but doesn't tell a specific story, or a song that has nothing to do with the characters or story that just fits the vibe of the movie. We went with the second option. The idea was that it would feel like the theme song to superhero cartoon like Teen Titans or the 60s Spider-man show. 

Jaden and Seth did all the guitar stuff while Jaden and I did all the lyrics. We decided to structure it in a very simple structure of verse>pre-chorus>chorus>verse>pre-chorus>chorus>bridge>pre-chorus>chorus. For the overall song I was very inspired by the band The B-52's and their very bouncy 60s surf rock meets 80s new wave. Their song "Planet Claire" was one that I was thinking of a lot while writing. In general the aesthetic of the B-52's is something that was in my mind during the entirety of production. I just love how sincerely fun and goofy it is. 

We finished writing the lyrics during our zoom call and by the point Jaden and Seth had to log off. I then recorded the vocals on my phone to send to them to use as reference when they record and mix the real thing. At the moment Jaden will be doing the vocals. He really wanted to do it and he's a good vocalist so I think he'll do a good job. He also plays the character Toy Master in the movie, and there's something I like about having the villain be the one who sings the hero's song, especially given how theatrical the character. It's like the character made the song as a snide "are you happy now?" to The Abnormals. 

While all of this is happening, my friend Jake, who plays the character Agent Siegel, said he would be able to compose the score to the film. I had asked him before and he said he wouldn't have to the time to, but I guess things changed because he's the one asking me if he can do it. I sent him a rough edit of what I have for him to put music to. He's super talented on the piano so I'm hyped for what he sends back.

A Lot Of Social Media Stuff

A lot of stuff is happening in the world of social media for The Abnormals. First, I posted the first look images for the film last Wednesday, three stills that I felt would get people excited and most importantly make them want to know more. The last of the three gave my page's followers there first look at The Abnormals in costume, and the costume reveal is big moment for any superhero movie's marketing. It means things are serious now, like a message that says "yeah, get hyped, cause it's happening".

On that day, I also did something really crazy. Let me run you through my process. At the end of the film, there's a montage of footage of villains who escaped from prison. The idea was that this would allude to how comic books often end on cliffhangers while allowing more of my friends to have roles in the film. Now initially I was going to send a message to my summer break theater group chat, but I realized that that would exclude people from my school who may want to participate, as well as the people who don't frequently check WhatsApp. I would get the message sent to more people if I used Instagram, I thought. I considered that I should send it on my personal Instagram story, and that gave me an idea. What if I posted on the film's social media page, and made it a public offer? That idea is insane and also brilliant! Not only would I get more eyes on the post, I would be getting audience involvement and cultivating a fan base for the film. I made a post detailing how to film and send me a video that would be included in the film. At the moment I have received no responses, however some of my friends have said that they are interested. I love how this will make the movie feel even more like a community effort. Plus, if I am to get pretentious for a minute, I like to think that community involvement through the internet like this may be a part of the future of cinema. At least in my opinion, it should be. Imagine every movie has a call for people to submit art that will be shown in the movie, a call for any person to lend their voice to a computer generated character, a call for people to be credited for a digital double of themself that appears in the background, there's a lot of possibilities for this.

Lastly, today I posted the official poster for the film. I made it through editing a screenshot from the film, adding this spiral background that appears in the film itself at a few points that matches the green and blue color scheme I've been using, and added the tagline, release date, and the cast and director information. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I posted two versions of it, one with the credits and other info, and one with just the image and title. I did this because if for any reason someone wanted to save the poster to their phone, they should have the option to have a version without the clutter of text if they so please. Again, I'm really trying to appeal to young internet users and how they consume content, and one of the many things I know about them is that they like things that are to the point, hence the simpler version of the poster.

Editing Time!

 Alright so I have begun the editing process and I'm currently pretty far along with that. I'm mostly done with the line edit (putting all the clips in order and having them at the length they should be) and I've done a little bit of color grading. I'm really happy with how it's looking, and while a lot of it feels kind of awkward without music or sound effects, that will soon change. Making the line edit is actually fun because, and I know I sound like a broken record but it's true, I can feel the film I've been dreaming of for the past two months come to life. Color grading, on the other hand, is a tedious process that should be used as a military torture method, however it's nice seeing the visuals of the movie improve with a few clicks. As you can see, I split the line edit into three sequences, which makes it easier for me to organize and know where I am in the timeline.

Last Tuesday, I filmed the last clips I needed, which are the shots of the character Agent Siegel calling in to assign the Abnormals their mission. I filmed them against a green screen and added this background which I felt was properly retro and fit the movies vibe. Really, the main reason I used a green screen was because it would be really obvious that the Abnormals HQ and the office Agent Siegel is calling from are both just my house. I have a small house where all the walls look the same, that's why.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll discuss how I've been marketing the film on social media!

 

Cast Bios! I Have Them Now!

FINALLY after only a slight amount of pestering I got everyone to send my their headshots and bios! I'm going to start posting these tomorrow, and I'm also going to start editing. I will be so honest with you, I find editing to be really tedious and while there is enjoyment in it, I am not a fan of editing. Tomorrow I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and get this thing done. Anyway I'm not thinking about that right now because I finally have my cast's bios and chosen headshots! Like I said I'll begin posting these tomorrow, and I'll also probably be posting some behind the scenes updates throughout the week. I'm so excited, I really feel like I'm running a professional movie social media account.

Group Meeting 2 Follow-Up

 We had another group meeting! Like the last one, it was fun seeing what other people are doing and giving them advice. A lot of people are getting close to filming, so soon we'll all be on the same point in our project timelines. I certainly felt after the meeting that I'm where I need to be in terms of time. I showed some clips I filmed to the other people in the group and they all seemed to like them. I made the realization that this movie is weirdly hard to describe to people. Both in and outside of the group, whenever someone asks about it I say "oh it's about superheroes". Then when they ask for the actual plot I hesitate for a bit and say "This team of superheroes has to stop a villain from getting a gemstone." It's such a simple heroes vs villains story with absolutely nothing unique about it other than the the fact that someone is making something so simple and vintage in the year 2025 when it feels like it should be a cartoon short from the 60s. Of course that's the point, but it makes it hard to describe while accurately getting across the vision. The plot itself isn't what matters, it's the film's presentation and also it's mere existence. 

That's a Wrap! (Featuring Your First Look at The Abnormals!)

Ok so that title isn't entirely true, but what is is that I filmed nearly all of the film in one day! The only thing left to do is to film this brief video call footage with one person which will appear on the screen in the film. But I'm not thinking about that one shot with two lines right now because literally everything else is done! 

This morning, staring at around 10, my three actors Max, Sawyer, and Reagan arrived at my house and we filmed all of the indoor scenes at the Abnormals HQ, the ones that begin and end the film. Then my dad ordered pizza and we had lunch at around 12:30. After that, we filmed these brief suit-up montage shots against the greenscreen. Seeing everyone in their full costumes for the first time was one of the best moments of the day, made me feel like my vision was coming to life in front of me.

We then took another break after that and drove over to Tree Tops Park to meet up with Jaden and Lee, the other two stars, to film the forest scenes which take up a bulk of the runtime. We got there a little after 2 finished at around 4:45. When it came to the indoor stuff, we really had no issues. The outdoor scenes also went smoothly, however we did have to pause a few times for park goers to walk past and to wait for the sound of planes and cicadas to subside, which are both very common in that area for some reason. 

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we felt a little embarrassed hanging around this public park in our superhero and villain outfits, and yeah I think we got a few stares. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this here, but I'm autistic, and because of the social anxiety that comes with that I was kind of dreading this, so I just forced myself to not think about the passerby and just focus on the movie. I mean, we're actors and filmmakers, we're weird people. You see the general public making up stories and playing pretend as adults or even young adults? We're weird people, and that's cool.

I originally said I would make a shot list for this film, but I didn't have time. It still worked out though. I actually kind of prefer the method of improving and coming up with visual ideas in the moment. For example, I wanted to put some knick-knacks around my living room to make it look more like a superhero base, and I found this conch shell. I got the idea that when the character Astroknight turns on the TV to get the team's mission, he should do it in a cool, unexpected way. Thus, the secret mission channel is tuned into by spinning around the conch shell on the coffee table. I also allowed for a degree of improvisation with the performances. Jaden and Lee especially did a lot of these exaggerated moments that felt highlighted the campiness of those characters and the film itself. Sometimes I felt like they were taking it too far and had to ask them to dial it back, but regardless I loved what they did with those characters.

It was really fun blocking the scenes. I feel like I direct my blocking with a more theater-like sensibility than film, probably because I do theater and I'm very used to it, so if you were on set you would've heard a lot of talk like "form a line" or "form a triangle". Then again, maybe that is traditional in film and I haven't been on enough sets to notice it. 

One of the main reasons we were able to film most of the movie in one day is that I only did one take for most shots. The only times I did multiple takes were if someone messed up a line, if I messed up moving the camera, if an unexpected sound occurred, or if I felt like someone's performance or delivery needed to be tweaked. All of those things rarely happened, and I'm happy to say that a vast majority of the shots we're two takes at most. Some may say that this is a flawed method, while I say it depends on the director and the cast. I feel like the first take is usually the most authentic performance and I don't want to stress out my actors or myself with too many takes (looking at you, Kubrick). It saves time both in filming and in editing, because I don't have to endlessly watch the same clip over and over to see which variation is best.

Now is a good time for me to mention just how fun the set was. Yes we were making a film, which is work (something I had to remind my cast of a few times) but we were also hanging out and having a good time. By the time it was done everyone was feeling good and accomplished and was just as excited to see the final product as me, which makes me happy.

This is becoming a very long blog post but I'm just so excited about this movie! Now that it's been filmed, a massive weight has been taken off of my shoulders, and I have more than enough time to edit and do all the necessary marketing shenanigans. Today was an amazing day. 

I can't think of a good title for this one but guess what: Filming begins Sunday!

I've made the decision that I won't be filming at Becon for the indoor scenes. They have very specific hours that don't fit with the schedules of my friends, plus the indoor scenes, which I hope to maybe do this Saturday or Sunday, will probably be done late into the evening or night, which Becon won't allow. My new plan is that I'll do it at my dad's house. It's got these maroon red walls and looks like it's been frozen in time in the 70s despite being built in the 2000s, which fits the visual aesthetic I'm going for.

As of now it looks like we'll be filming the outdoor scenes (Treetops Park) on Sunday. I'm crossing my fingers that this date stays because I really need to get footage shot. We'll probably be at Treetops all afternoon because I want it all done in one day. They close at 6pm and I think if we start at 2pm or 3pm we should be good to film the 6 pages that encompass those scenes. I'm going to make a shot list so I'm prepared when we get there. I'm going to try to make this film have as little cuts as possible and do as much as I can in long takes simply because it will mean less time filming with having to reposition the camera and also less work in editing.

As we prepare to shoot, I'm making sure that everyone has their costume elements. As of now it looks like everyone does because I made sure that all of these outfits can be made from everyday objects. Here's the list I made: 

Costumes:

Astroknight (color scheme: blue)

• Blue cape

• Overall blue color scheme

• Logo, design, or emblem on the shirt (maybe a medallion)

• Belt (maybe the logo is on the belt)

• Gloves

• Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme

Cryptid Kid (color scheme: green)

• Denim vest

• Steampunk type goggles

• Green shirt

• Cryptid pins and patches

• Fingerless gloves

• Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme

Showstopper (colorful scheme: red)

• Patterned gloves

• Red shirt

• Domino mask and/or headband or crown-like headpiece

• Black pants (maybe a belt)

• Civilian outfit that matches the color scheme

Toy Master

• Suit (maybe with a pattern or colors)

• Colorful tie or hat

Blackout

• Black cloak

• Jewelry

• Gloves (either black or red)

• Possibly makeup around the eyes

Agent Siegel

• Formal Suit

I talked about this list with the cast, and most of the things here we already have. Here are some images:

I'm super excited to begin filming, and I really hope that I can have at least most of the shooting done before Spring break begins in a little over a week.  

Group Meeting Follow-Up

Last Friday we did group meetings, where we gathered in groups of five to share what we've been working on and get feedback on it. In the group I was in, four of us we're doing a short film and the other was doing music marketing. It was really fun talking with the person who was doing music marketing, as she's still in the early stages of the projects which meant we were all able to give input on how she could create a persona for her subject, talking about colors and outfit choices and other things of the sort. For everyone we gave input on what could be done to help improve their project or help move them along in the process. This was all really great. Not only was it useful, it was also a fun bonding experience for us as classmates. It feels like we've spent so much time in discussions and talking to each other about our projects that we've become a little media studies family.

When it comes to the feedback on my project, I was really happy that it was all positive. A few people asked how I would feasibly be able to film some of the things I was describing, but I reassured everyone that I had carefully written a script that would require nearly zero special effects despite the fantastical subject matter. I was also pleased to hear that everyone loved the mood boards that I had made, and that they felt that there's a lot of details and consistent imagery in my blog posts that made them see the vision of what of I'm going for.

Original Template

Updated Template

One of the last things I showed them were these templates for "meet the cast" and "meet the director" posts that will be put on the movie's Instagram. They said that they would prefer more stylized character posters for this film to show of the cast, which I agreed with. I still felt like I wanted to show off the cast members as actors and not their characters, so I changed the templates to remove the logo of who they're playing, as I'll save that for the posters. I'll also ask them to not mention who they're playing when writing the bios that will be featured, again to make it more about them as actors and not characters. I think these posts will be a fun behind the scenes look into the film.

As of now, the plan is to begin filming Sunday. Originally I wanted to start during the week but do to availability I had to push it back. This might actually be a good thing though, as it now means there's more time to prepare and gather the costumes and props. I'm really excited to see the movie come to life!

Tech Talk

I wanted to do a full read through of the script Monday night, but not everyone was available so I decided to postpone it to later in the week or the weekend. I still had some people who were able to join the meeting, however, so I used the time to go over the things I would've talked about after the read through, which I then sent in our group chat for those who couldn't make it.

Given that filming will hopefully begin next week, now is the time to gather the costumes and props that will be used. In this meeting, I talked about my ideas for the looks for the main characters and brainstormed clothing items that we may need. Because this is a superhero movies, it's really important that the characters have distinct and memorable appearances. I made these mood boards to showcase my ideas for what I want the visual feel of the characters to be. I've placed them below along with brief descriptions of the characters.

Astroknight: Team leader, wielder of the Astro Sword.

Mood - Heroic, adventurous, cosmic

Cryptid Kid: Scientist with the animal-like powers of cryptids
Mood - Rugged, earthly, practical

Showstopper: Actress and musician who can manipulate sound
Mood - Mythic, bright, flashy

Blackout: Villain who's goal is to block out the sun
Mood - Gothic, imposing, regal

Toy Master: An interdimensional trickster who collects rare artifacts
Mood - Theatrical, impish, sophisticated

Agent Siegel: The Abnromals' informant who gives them their missions
Mood - Put-together, authoritative, just