Film Opening

 I cannot believe it is done. Here it is

Derived

Creative Critical Reflection

 Here is My Creative Critical Reflection          

                                      

Creative Critical Reflection Part 1 (Presentation

Creative Critical Reflection Part 2 (Podcast)

4/2/24- Final Reflection

 This project has been my everything for the past two months. It has taught me so much about planning, researching and dedication. I didn't know much about filmmaking before coming into this class, but I know that coming out of it I will not only have learned about media, but how to take on real world tasks. Derived has become so much to me, and I am so happy on how it turned out. I knew I wanted to bring light to something that was real and relatable so I am so glad I got to present it to our digital world. When the process first began, I was questioning on why it was two months long. However, I realize more that these two months allowed for so much planning that I now can use in my future endeavors. I truly did look forward to blogging that way I could feel accomplished for what I had done for this project in a week. Every thought, every emotion, and every second put into this project was spent on Blogger. One of the first lessons, when beginning the portfolio project was to do something that we knew. I didn't know what that meant immediately but after brainstorming and failing and picking myself up again and discarding ideas and so so many hours dedicated to this, the final product is complete. 

I have learned so many different aspects of film such as shots, angles, movement, mise-en-scene, costumes, set, but the most important thing I learned is that everything has a meaning and intention. Therefore, every movement I made was done meticulously to ensure that it had depth behind it. Derived truly captures the internal struggle of someone who is attempting to overcome the loss of a loved one and I hope that it can be relatable yet comforting for my intended target audience. I am so happy with how everything turned out and I can truly say that everything that happened was meant to be. I am so excited to show you my final product. I hope you have enjoyed this journey. Signing off!

3/31/24- The Finish Line

 Blogger, the time has come for me to wrap up this project. Today, I have finalized my CCR Scripts so now, I will be filming! I do not have too many concerns with this so hopefully all goes well after my concerns with my film opening. I had a lot of frustrations coming out of editing my film opening, however, I fixed everything that I needed to the best of my ability. I posted my first CCR Script in my previous blog post so now I will show you my second CCR Script which I am really proud of...

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Hi, My name is Samantha is this is the second part of My Creative Critical Reflection. The question that I will be discussing is How did your production skills develop throughout this project? Coming into this class, I did not know much about film or its industry. As the past month has moved along, I have learned more as the project progressed. The number one aspect used in this project was research. Not only did I use research to simply gain knowledge, but it also had a lot to do with inspiration and ideas that I had for my film opening. In my blog I discussed how I viewed my favorite film openings and what I liked about them. By taking into consideration my likes and dislikes, it gave me a vision for what I would like to see in my own film opening. I researched genre, cinematography mise-en-scene, and other elements that should be considered when creating a film opening. This research had a massive impact on choices I made whether it was color, shots, angles, you name it! I would say the research that helped the most was mise-en-scene since I did not know what it was prior to taking Aice Media and it is simply the overall look of how your film opening appears. I knew coming into this project that I wanted to make it memorable and unique. I had difficulties planning in the beginning since I had no idea what I wanted my film opening to be about and I had to make updates on Blogger 3 times a week. However, as the process kept moving forward, my research and brainstorming evolved into something greater. I made lots of changes along the way with the plot and storyboards creating multiple drafts of what I wanted my film opening to look like. However, I realized halfway through this process that I needed more research to back up what I would be discussing. Therefore, I took a step back from planning to focus on research which was one of the best decisions that I made within this project. I started this project feeling overwhelmed and anxious, but as it ends, I look back and realize how much I have learned from this and how much I have grown from the start of this class.  

 

My last question is How did you integrate technologies- software, hardware, and online-in this project? I should first start off by giving a huge thank you to Studio Binder for helping me create my screenplay and to Adobe Express for being an incredible editing tool for my film opening. They both made this project much easier to complete and I seriously do not know what I would do without them. Since I am an amateur at all of this, the only tools I used were my iPhone, a tripod my friend let me borrow, and the lighting from my lamp. I was worried that keeping certain aspects on a low budget would affect the film opening appeared, however, everything turned out fine with little to no purchases. My editing process was not too difficult since I simply put the clips in chronological order and matched the sound effects by using Adobe Express’s audio outline setting. As for the credits and title, I was slightly worried that I would struggle but Adobe Express made it easy as it manually matched the title intended for the clip I selected. Blogger was truly my best friend throughout this process and kept me so organized throughout the past two months. It allowed me to have an organized schedule to keep track of my progression. Overall, I even enjoyed making them as I got to recap on work that made me feel proud and accomplished.  

My experience with CCR was slightly overwhelming. Even with the questions broken down, I felt like I had so much to discuss which such little time and I just could not find the right words to say. I think the script above is slightly better so I may go back and tweak my other script before I film the videos just to make sure it is exactly how I would like it to be. Recapping on the film opening is surreal since I feel like it was just yesterday I was struggling to decide what I would be filming. But now its time to finish everything up soooo I am gonna go film these videos, Until next time, which I believe is the last time :(

3/30/24- Lets Debrief

 Hi Blog! I know that in my last post I sounded really messy and unorganized but that was only because things were not going how I had planned them to go at first between a busy spring break schedule, computer issues, and stomach bug, I felt extremely behind. On a positive note, I can finally say the finished product of my film opening is complete. However it was not as smooth sailing as I thought it would be. Therefore, I wanted to discuss some issues that I ran into to give you further insight into my editing process since I had little to no discussion about it.

                                                                      Editing Experience

My main concern within my film opening was that it did not reach the two minute mark. This caused me to go straight into panic mode. Since I could not arrange another day for filming, I knew I had to find a different solution. I had discussed in a previous blog post that I wanted to use flashback in order for viewers to understand Avery's internal struggle about the loss of her sister. So to add more context, I created flashbacks during Avery's bedroom scene after the party to show that her sister is all that she able to think about. Adding more time stressed me about at first, especially because I knew that my final product was no longer going to look anything like my screenplay or storyboard which have been my biggest guidelines during this process. 

When combining the clips together I began to notice that every scene felt way too rushed. Looking back this bothered me a lot and I would have definitely re-filmed certain scenes if I paid more attention to details. I knew I wanted to incorporate jump cuts but now I think I went overboard. I wanted a chaotic feel but I feel like everything just moves to fast which does not give the audience enough time to absorb everything that is happening. 

I had my mom watch it and I could tell on her face that she thought that it did not make sense. I could be overthinking since she does not understand my intent and meaning behind certain scenes. However, this still worried me if my audience felt the same way that she did. 

So instead of complaining about everything I feel like I did wrong I came up with a solution. There is no point of waisting my energy on events that have already happened. I cant change the past but I can redirect my future to turn it into something that I am proud of (that might have been the corniest thing I have ever set) but I need to reassure myself that I have come this far and I cannot give up at the finish line. Therefore, I fixed issues that I ran into while editing. 

- I added more clips to provide better context of what my film would be about

- I added more sounds during the party scene to further establish my setting since it could possibly be confusing

- Filmed flashbacks when Avery is shown thinking that way the audience can understand what is on her mind 

I know this is all a lot to take in but this past week has left me with frustration as this has not gone exactly how I would like it to but I wont let it get to me and persevere instead (I need to stop being corny) Anyways... besides editing I am working on finalizing my CCR scripts tonight and filming my videos on Sunday. This all has happened so fast and I cannot believe that it is coming to an end. My biggest hope in all of this is that the end product does not seem rushed especially because every move that I made was done meticulously. In the end, I just hope it all turns out how I would like but as I have learned from this project, things do not always go according to plan! Until next time, which I believe is the last progress update which is insane to say!

3/28/24- First CCR Script

 Hi Blog! I underestimated how busy I would be during spring break but I know I have to push through this to make it a project that I am proud of. Finding time do get everything done has not been as easy as I thought it would be since I have long work hours and I still try to balance seeing my friends since I think I deserve of break from doing school work. However, this project has not failed to consume my life. Despite being off my usual routine, any free time that I am given has been put into either editing, researching, or writing my CCR scripts (I say that as I am writing this blog post on my break at work) 

 I have finished re-filming the shots I discussed in my previous blog post and now I am in the final stages of editing. I am really happy I chose Adobe Express because it has been super easy and convenient to use especially with how many clips of sound I have to layer in my film opening. Since I am wrapping up my film opening, I have been creating My Creative Critical Reflection videos. These past fews days, I have been researching, planning, and creating my script for my first two questions. As I mentioned in my CCR blog post, I knew I wanted to do a Canva presentation for one of my videos. Therefore, that is what I will be doing for my first two questions. I have just finished creating the script which is definitely going to give me a useful outline on what I will be discussing in the voiceover. I answered these questions to the best of my ability I just hope that Cambridge likes it as much as I do. 

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Hi, my name is Samantha and today I will be presenting the first two questions of My Creative Critical Reflection. The first question I will be discussing is “How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups and issues?”  There is a lot to unpack within this question, so I am going to break it down. My film opening “Derived” focuses on a teenage girl named Avery who is overcoming the difficult loss of her twin sister, Madi. Avery always looked up to her sister's bright light and spirit. Since she is no longer around, her life has completely changed as she feels like she is being “Derived” from the life she could have had if Madi were still around. Now that you have some background information, I will be discussing Genre Conventions. Genre is the first step within establishing my film opening. That was the first major decision when it came to this creation. Genre conventions are story elements such as character archetypes, key events, and settings that are commonly found in a specific genre. These obligatory scenes and conventions are objective, meaning that they need to exist in a story to give it shape and to make it “work” according to the genre guidelines. A genre convention found within my film opening is the death of Madi and how it is affecting Avery’s everyday life. Avery is attempting to persevere by putting herself out there, attending parties, etc. but she just cannot seem to do normal teenage activities because she longer has her sister by her side. I chose not to challenge genre conventions to make my product one that my target audience can relate to. By having a product that my audience can understand, it validates what certain teenagers have to go through and shows that they are not the only people that have to go through a tragic event. I focused heavily on representation when establishing the set of my film opening. My color choices in Avery’s clothing choices were typically duller to show how empty she is feeling. Her room is set up messy to demonstrate that she has given up and is becoming helpless. Another demonstration I made was having Avery view an F she received on a math test to let the audience understand she is not at her best. I did the opposite for Madi, I put her in a bright orange shirt to show that she stands out among her peers and that she is somebody that many look up to.  

The second question that I will be presenting is “How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?” I knew when I started brainstorming for my film opening, I wanted to make it relatable for young adults. Target audience must be specific by asking questions such as what do they like to do for fun? Where do they live? Are they mostly men or women? How old are they? Did they go to college? By having these answers, you can figure out what your audience would like to see within a film. My target audience can range between the ages of 14 to 22 who can relate to the struggle of losing someone they were close to at a young age. When deciding shots I wanted to cooperate, I researched a lot of drama films that have been successful in the past with earlier age groups. My biggest inspiration within shots and mise-en-scene was Priscilla. I loved the way that Sophia Copolla created the establishing shots to give a better context of what her film would be about. I tried to do the same with my establishing shots to give viewers a better insight into what Avery’s life looks like. I did this primarily through the set by putting clothes on floor, making “sorry for your loss” cards, etc. The establishing setting leaves the viewers with unanswered questions making them more invested in events to come. As an amateur film maker, it may be difficult to introduce my film to the public. To distribute my content, I would first start with marketing that would be mainly across social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc. By creating pages dedicated to my film, it helps potential audiences become intrigued by what is to come. On these pages I could post behind the scenes footage, interviews with actors, trailers, etc. A few examples of these social media pages would be Anyone but You, Mean Girls, and Wonka. To have my film be displayed for the public, I could enter it in film festivals so that other individuals that have interest in new and upcoming films can watch it.

As of now, I am creating my script for my second Creative Critical Reflection Video. I feel a little cramped for time but I need to stay focus that way I can end strong. I may want to review my script in order to make sure that everything I wanted to include is listed, I answered all parts of the question, and my response is written to the best of my ability. I think that my strongest aspect within answering the first two questions is the my discussion on representation in order to get a better insight into my characters through props, clothing choices, mise-en-scene, etc.

I am on a slight scheduling delay since I got stomach bug earlier this week but that just goes along with one of the main lessons that I have learned throughout this project which is that things you set up cannot always goes as planned. In the next few days the only things I have left to do are finish my second CCR script and film the videos. In the sweetest way possible, I cannot wait to be done with this. Until next time!

3/24/24- Solution

Hi Blog! I took a step back because of how busy everything has been lately but I know that there is so much that I still need to do to complete this project. I am currently adding all of my recorded clips in sequential order and layering the given sound over it. I have yet to re-film the clips that I was talking about in my previously blog post, therefore, I will be reshooting those clips tomorrow. I was keeping up with the pace of this project so well and now that I have took a step back, I feel behind. However, I cannot let these drawbacks influence me to not finish what I have started. I am pretty positive that my editing process will be done in the next two days which is super excited and relieving but I always have to lean a lot of my attention towards CCR since it is a huge project contributor. Along side editing these next few days, I will also be wrapping up my CCR research and begin to make a script as well as answer question. 

It feels so overwhelming listing every task I must accomplish in these next few days. Therefore, I made a schedule of what the next week or so will have in store for me. 

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3/25

- Re-film certain shots 

- Continue editing

- CRR Research 

3/26

- Wrap up editing

- Begin CCR Script

3/27

- CCR Script Creation

3/28

- Finalize CCR Script

3/29

- Film CCR Videos

By having an organized schedule such as this one definitely helps me feel less stress and pressure about what I have to complete. I know that if I take the process step by step and focus on the journey, I will feel less overwhelmed. I will keep you updated on my progress this week and hopefully I do not shut down out of fear of this project not ending in success. Until next time!