Jayden's Media Studies Blog

 One of the main challenges in filming was finding the perfect time to film. We all had packed schedules and could not find the right day to film. We had a few costuming issues and lighting issues when filming but we got them resolved. I would say that we were not entirely prepared to film and we were just 'going with the flow' at first, we got things done correctly by our 3rd day of filming.

 The first day of filming was a practice run for filming, we figured out what lighting looks best on camera, how to film certain angles and making sure Mikayla (main actor) does not look pale on camera. This day really helped us when we started filming by giving us a general idea of where to be and place the camera, it also helped us make minor tweaks to the story that helped us later on. 

      Our film only has 3 actors in it: Me (Jayden Harris), Samantha Matheus, and Mikayla Parkins. We will each be representing our identities. Two people are black and one person is Hispanic. The film opener is completely fictional, however, tons of black women go missing each year and they make up a large percentage of missing person reports. It makes me incredibly uneasy to know that women (especially BIPOC women) have to worry about being kidnapped daily. 

 The Kidnappers: They kidnapped Alexandria for exploitation. It is not the first and it will not be the last time that they will have done this to other influencers. As long as they get money, they see no harm. Until she starts talking back. The Fans: Alexandria's fans are the first people to notice that she is not acting normally on her channel. They've realized that she changed locations, has bruises, and has different speech patterns. They'll most likely be the ones to solve the mystery of what happened to Alexandria.

                                        ➡ Our main character A lexandria Serenity Williams III is a popular YouTube influencer who mainly makes get ready with me content. She has a preppy and basic fashion style and is upbeat overall. Once she is imprisoned, her happy attitude becomes much darker. Her behaviour change will be reminiscent of the public mania and paranoia experienced by certain celebrities and influencers in recent years.

We decided that our main character would wear blue and orange colours in a preppy fashion style. The colours change throughout filming to signal the levels of danger that the main character is in. The kidnappers were originally going to wear all black with masks on but we changed it so the kidnappers would still be in all black, but in formal attire instead. The all-black with masks is a very stereotypical look in movies so we decided to change it. 

 Before the group started filming, we needed to decide where and when we would be filming, along with, what costumes would be needed to portray each character.  Acting: Each of us will portray the characters in the film opener and Mikayla Parkins will be the protagonist. Costuming: All of the costuming will be provided from our own closet Location: Either at school or at our homes Props: It depends on what we have Filming Equipment: Provided by the school or our phones. Script: Typed by Samantha Matheus

The first 5 panels of the storyboard are supposed to represent our main character after she gets abducted. It takes place on the first day of her being exploited for her YouTube videos The next 5 panels include scenes not featured on her YouTube channel and in the "real" world. The main character starts changing and starts showing fear to her captors. There's a drastic change in her behaviour in the videos and her fans take notice in the comment section. And a reveal that she is kidnapped in the first place. [One of my partners working on the storyboard]