If it were easy, everybody would be a filmmaker

So, we thought we had our filming nailed down. We especially thought that the big admissions reveal scene, the one where Davis and Alessandra find out their college admissions results, was perfect. We then watched the footage and, unfortunately, it didn't scream "lifelong friendship" or "devastating moment of truth." It looked more like two people awkwardly checking their emails or Canvas assignments. So, as a result, we have some quick reshooting to do. There are three main areas we need to make sure we get right: 

Capturing the friend’s deep bond: First off, we need the audience to instantly get that Davis and Alessandra are super tight, like best friends forever vibes. To do this we need more shots of them laughing, sharing inside jokes, and maybe even a slow-motion smile as a means to express this. Dialogue plays a huge role here because they need to establish their past quickly, maybe by remembering different things from their past together. This will help viewers understand the depth of Davis and Alessandra’s friendship.

Make sure that their platonic friendship is highlighted: Next, we want to showcase that a male and a female can be best friends without any romantic entanglements. Our film is s a classic coming-of-age drama, but with a small twist: a real platonic male-female friendship. This isn't something you see every day in films. What we are used to seeing in these situations is some type of romantic tension between the two opposite sex characters. The audience almost comes to expect this. We want to focus on this unique take so that we can challenge traditional conventions and offer a fresh perspective on male/female relationships. Another angle would be focusing more on a social group of anxious high schoolers trying to get into college, but the platonic friendship angle feels more interesting. So, here dialogue is key to establish this quickly. Maybe asking about each other’s boyfriend or girlfriend and showing that they will always be part of each other’s lives.

Getting the admission reveal scene right: This is the big one: the admissions reveal. This scene is the emotional center of our film open. We have got to get it right. Our initial attempt at this did not have any of the emotional tension and pull that we were going for. Our acting and camera work will be everything. Specifically, we have to focus on:Better acting in the form of micro-expressions (just learned this is a thing, but it is what we need). We need Davis and Alessandra to take us on a rollercoaster of emotions. We need to feel their anticipation, dread, joy, heartbreak without saying much. We have to script out a flicker of hope in the eyes, a sigh while looking down, eyebrows coming together in worry, a bounding knee or fidgeting hands showing anxiety. A choreographed dance between who is looking at who. I now know that close-up shots will be our friend here.

Better camera work: The camera has to capture the tension in the room. We have to employ slow zooms and close ups. We need to make sure every glance or gesture is captured.

Thoughtful editing: The pacing of this scene will make this scene. We need to use quick cuts between Davis and Alessandra's reactions to tell the story and build tension. We also need to insert cutaway shots like a clock or a nervous hands to reinforce the story.

Here is an example of a cutaway shot from a James Bond movie (Goldfinger). The film keeps including cutaways to a ticking bomb inching down to 0 seconds. That is definitely a great way to keep tension high.

I have to be honest and say we underestimated how complex this scene was, so we are heading back to film again.