Location Scouting & Set Design

As I am almost done with my script, I have started thinking about the sets I have in mind and how I will match them to what I've got going on in my head. Luckily, I planned my script around my limitations, so it shouldn't be too difficult to achieve the looks I want.

The first set, that will be revisited the most throughout the piece, is the therapists office. This might sound weird but I'm taking a lot of inspiration from my own therapist's office: many paintings up, a nice, cozy couch, blankets and pillows, and an armchair for her to sit on. And... luckily for me, I have all of these things in my house. All I would have to do is make sure that characters are not shown in areas that are obviously a house. I could use many closeups or utilize a more shallow depth of field to prevent the audience seeing too much of the background. I will say, though, that my house feels far too modern for my therapist's aesthetic, so I will ask around to see if I could film at a friend's house instead.

Here's what I'm imagining the set to look like:

Another scene will take place in a party. I've done many, many party scenes before because honestly, I am obsessed with the colors. I have some disco lights, though they're not very powerful, BUT... I've got some great news. My birthday was yesterday and my friend Maria gifted me this awesome little astronaut projector (as seen on the right). Not only is he really cute, but he projects moving nebulas across walls, and they're very bright. I use the projector to fall asleep, and now I can use it to add some needed color to my film! Here are some photos of the projector at work:

The party scene, like the others I've filmed, will take place at my house. I don't want to have to ask for many background actors, so I'll ask 2-3 friends and have them face away from the camera in every shot and change shirts to create the illusion that there are more people. I will also have to use some tighter shots to make this convincing.

Another set of scenes was actually inspired by the location I will be filming at: my neighborhood park. One of these scene is what inspired my entire film, and I believe it deserves its own blog post, so I will post more details about that next week. Location wise, it's alright to film there, and I have filmed there before. It is usually completely empty, especially near the trees where I'd like to shoot.

I'm glad I chose this park, as these scenes are the most important to my piece. They are the look into the protagonist's mind, and portray how they feel about themselves. That's why a private, quiet location is best.