Building A Set

Like my calendar says, I was set building today! My film opening has four different shooting locations, 3 of them I found through location scouting: The park where I'll shoot the BBQ scene, the class in which I'll record the file cabinet, and I the white wall in which I'll record the prop 1964 video. The fourth one I decided to build from scratch, in it I'll be recording the shots of the 2017 experiment revival. 

I decided to turn my garage into my set because there I'll have the privacy and space necessary to film. The scene I'll be shooting in my garage is set in a "classified location", this description gave me A LOT of lead way in creating a setting that will help create a sense of menacing mystery. Since the site is classified, the audience shouldn't be able to tell where it's located or what it truly is. To accomplish this, I covered 2 walls of my garage with plastic tablecloths which hid the garage environment. Covering 2 walls instead of just one will make it easier for me to frame the shots and make different camera movements without accidentally showing my garage.

I also put a table in the middle of the corner set, I'll place all the props on the table and have the researcher work on paperwork and crossing out classified information. My storyboard has a shot in front of the table (opposite to the seat of the researcher), in order to achieve that shot I'll simply rotate the table and seat in a way that I still use the same background, giving the illusion of a 360° set. In order to help me visualize the set and the logistics of filming around the table, I made this blueprint: 

 The planning stage for building my set.

In my next post, I'll dive deep into my set's lighting set up!