Good news: I was able to finish the video pre-production today during the last weekend.
All the things consider, I was really stressed on Monday the last week. ( and it felt almost like a month ago, but it was just last Monday) The plan for the costume wasn't working and my friend said she won't be available after the weekend until graduation. The tight and troublesome scheduling along with the lack of personnel and venue had make my production process extremely difficult. I was sure that I won't be able to finish shooting by April.
I am glad everything turned out fine.
For the costumes, I did online research and found out that the local theater has costume rental service. The costume shop operates on Monday and Friday from 3 pm - 6pm. I missed the window on Monday, so I emailed them right after I got out from the film class on Monday. They have cloaks, they have several of them.
Well, the story wasn't exactly like that. They do have cloaks, but most of them are either the red riding hood cloak, or the victorian style velvet cloak with laces. I found two sleeveless thin cloaks and a sleeved one which was originally a judicial robe, the costume shop owner added a hood onto it.
The total fee was $30 for the costumes and $100 for the safety deposit ( I did get the deposit refund). It wasn't a really good deal, but I was desperate. The two sleeveless cloaks caused a little trouble during the shooting and I had the re-recorded the entire sequence. It was dark and the ground was wet because of the rain, I slipped and almost got my eyes poked by the tree branches.
Lesson: never shooting in the slippery wood without enough people. Even the Blair Witch Craft Project's director had a small team with him.
As for the location, I chose Tice park.
My original plan was to light up a small bone fire to create the sense of a cult ritual. I even went to talk to the studio art professor to see if I could "steal" some wood. Then I changed my mind. Instead of burning actual wood, I decided to use alcohol in a set of ceramic bowls. First, it is safer than using the wood because I don't need to use too much alcohol, it is easier to control and the fire is also easier to put out. Second, By add water between the ceramic bowls, the majority of the heat will be absorbed by the water, so the outside bowl will be nice and chill. My friend could hold the flames safely.
I was able to get another friend to help me on Thursday. With her help, I was able to finish the shooting. It took us two days to finalize it.
