Previsualization Materials for the Master Shot Sequence

My job was to create the overhead for our group's master shot sequence. I've never made an overhead before so I was a little confused at first, but with the help of the group (and the textbook), it became really simple to figure out. The storyboards helped me out a lot as they conveyed angles that I could group together into different camera setups. The most difficult part was showing movement of one of the character's. In our sequence, one character (the victim) doesn't move at all while the other (the serial killer) is constantly moving around. I was afraid the arrows I was drawing would be confusing to others, so I tried to make sure the arrows were as straight-forward as possible. And hopefully I succeeded with that?

This is actually an outdated version of the final overhead, but just to show the confusion of arrows I was working with...

These previsualization materials definitely helped me to get a better idea of what my group and I will be filming and how we will set up and prepare for the shoot. And now I can't wait to start!

Ideas for my Role in the Master Shot Sequence

My group and I decided to make our Master Shot Sequence a conversation between a serial killer and his victim. Some of the ideas we had before deciding on this were:

-A speed-dating setup
-A prostitute and client
-A box of Raisin Bran sitting in a park (taking this one to the literal extreme)

We plan to have the victim laying on a table and strapped down, or being strapped down when the scene begins. The serial killer will be well-versed in what he/she is doing though probably younger than the victim. And the victim will be the one initiating conversation.

As director, I plan on making this sequence comical, but also a bit suspenseful as the viewer will be unaware of whether or not the victim will survive.

Reflection on Vox Pops & Expert Interview

Shooting the vox pops, first off, were a lot easier than expected. I expected my group and I to have a rather difficult time finding people to ask questions about our location (The Cotton Exchange). When I arrived, however, there were a ton of people out and about, enjoying the beautiful and sunny day. Right off the bat, we found a friendly group willing to spare a little time answering questions about the Cotton Exchange. I anticipated focusing more on the "haunted" aspect of Wilmington and T.C.E. but no one we asked had been on the tour that our expert gives, so we decided to focus more on the general history of T.C.E. itself. The shop owners at T.C.E. turned out to be extremely friendly and more than willing to answer our vox pop questions.

Shooting the expert interview turned out to be very informative. I was afraid our expert would speak too heavily on the haunted aspect of T.C.E. and therefore clash with the vox pops, but she was very knowledgable about the history of Wilmington and it worked great with our vox pops. Our expert doesn't have her own office or shop where we could film indoors so I was really worried about filming it outside at first. Thankfully we found a nice, low-traffic place where the Cotton Exchange could act as a backdrop and it turned out beautifully, in my opinion.

Production Schedule

After many unreturned phone calls from our original location, my group and I decided to focus our attention on The Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington. We didn't know how interesting it actually was until we all visited for the first time while shooting b-roll and vox pops.

Wednesday (2/19): We went downtown & shot b-roll at The Cotton Exchange. We then searched around for vox pop subjects; we found two customers & two shop owners willing to participate.

Saturday (2/22): At noon, we will interview our expert on the ghost tours that go through The Cotton Exchange.

Documentary Interview Plan

My group plans on interviewing either the owner of the Black Cat Shoppe or one of the tour guides who works there. Most likely, we will shoot in the shop if not right outside of it. The tone we would like to set is an informative one to let our audience know about the history of the shop and also possibly the "supernatural history" of Wilmington as well. Questions we might ask:

1. What is the story behind the Black Cat Shoppe?
2. How long has the Black Cat Shoppe been around?
3. Why did you/the owner choose to open this business in Wilmington?
4. How did you go about researching the stories you tell during the ghost tours?
5. Do you get more tourists going on the tours or more locals?
6. Why do you think ghost tours and ghost tales are so appealing to people?
7. Have you ever personally experienced a "ghostly encounter"?
8. Which "haunted location" is your favorite one to visit?
9. What is the most popular tour provided by the shop?
10. What is one story that is told on the ghost tour that moves/gets to you the most?


As for our vox pops, we plan to do those by the Black Cat Shoppe, possibly after a group gets back from a tour so we can ask them,

1. How did you enjoy the tour?
2. Was this your first tour with the Black Cat Shoppe?
3. What was your favorite part of the tour?