Print, print, print

 Hi Blogger! Now that I am done filming and before I start editing, I want to focus on the print component. My biggest issue within my AICE Media AS portfolio project was that I did not balance all of the aspects within the project in an organized manner. Therefore, I want to ensure that I am giving an equal amount of time to each element within this project. I headed straight to Canva to continue to look for a layout that I like just as a started last week. Although I did not find one that I liked last week, this time I searched, I wanted to ensure that I found a design that I love. 

I wanted the style of the magazine to feel as an interview and that somebody was interested in getting to know more about my documentary and what it entails. Furthermore, I referred back to my past blog post where I researched about the print component and magazine conventions. 

-Title 

-Subtitles 

-Bold images

-An overview of the director

-Questions prepared about the project itself

-Magazine brand

-Page numbers

-Bold graphics

-Engaging overall image

After searching through camera and letting my extreme perfectionism get to me, I had finally found a magazine layout that satisfied me. I begun by making creating name of the magazine brand and the title of the article. 

After I came up with the overall idea of the magazine article, I begun to brainstorm an order for how I wanted to organize this aricle.

1. Brief introduction to intentions and what this magazine article will be about

 2. Overview of the series itself 

3. An intro to the director 

4. Interviewer asking the question "What inspired you to want to implement this documentary?"

5. Interviewer asking the question "What makes this documentary different from others that you see within the media?"

6. Interviewer asking the question "Who is this series targeted towards

7. Interviewer asking the question "Why should viewers watch this show?"

8. Brief promotion of the show itself and where you can access it 

After I came up with how I wanted to structure this article, I began to place subtitles within the Canva design. 

In order to get the full idea, I began to search through my camera roll for pictures that I have taken throughout this process to include within the images in order to match the conventions that a magazine entails.

Poster of the documentary for marketing purposes

A shot of the documentary to give a Behind-The-Scenes look

After looking through my photos, those two were the only ones that resembled what I would be discussing. Therefore, once I have the footage from filming day, I believe I will have a lot more to include within my magazine article. 

Now that I have the layout and the order of how I want to organize the article, I have a well-thought out idea of how I want my print component to look. Within this project, I have to say this component has definitely been my favorite so far since I have learned much more about how a magazine should look as well as getting to work with Canva which is something that I am extremely passionate about. Even though I cannot finish this component since my documentary is not fully developed yet, I am pleased with my progress so far. Until next time!

Filming Day

 Hi Blogger! It is the day we have all been waiting for, filming day!! Despite being scared that my storyboard would not match up well with what I will be implementing, I was super excited going into this day to put my vision into a reality. We went to the subject's home (Sadie) so that we could utilize her room to give the documentary a comfortable and relatable feel for the target audience. I had asked my friend Male to also come to Sadie's house to help me create certain shots and with other filming aspects since she has a great eye, incredible at film, and is incredibly creative.  

Although I had not previously mentioned this, I had planned to use a Nixon camera in order to create this documentary. However, once I saw the quality on Male's phone, I realized that I did not need fancy equipment and could just film it on her phone since the quality on my IPhone 12 is horrendous. Therefore, every shot that was taken on the day of filming was taken by Male's IPhone 15.

I was not prepared for it to rain on the day of filming which I thought could be a minor setback but in the end it worked it okay since there was enough light to add to Sadie's room. However, during filming, I do not think I took enough time to look over the footage that was shot. Therefore, I am unsure of exactly how loud the rain had effected the volume of the shot. I am not the best editor but if anything I can look at a YouTube tutorial on how to block out the noise of the rain. 

Overall though, filming went extremely well and surprisingly fast. At first, we had some difficulties filming Sadie's interview shots because she was not sure of exactly what to say at first and there was loud noises from her family in the background. However, once these setbacks drifted away, the interview shots only took up around 5-6 minutes for answering two questions. As for B-Roll, since I already had my ideas on paper, it was really easy to implement these ideas. With having Male, I was even able to create even more creative B-roll shots and angles since she had really great ideas that she suggested to me. 

For instance, this closet shot shown below is Male setting herself and the phone up behind the clothes and having Sadie looking through what she could potentially wear. Although this idea was not included in my B-Roll, I believe it elevates the excerpt and adds a more personal feel to the interview which something that I was aiming to have within the series itself. 

Considering everything, with worries and all, I feel really confident after filming. Although my storyboard did not end up being exactly like my excerpt, my storyboard as well as outlines of B-roll, interview questions, etc. was extremely helpful to how I chose to approach my excerpt. Even though I felt some nerves going into this, I am really satisfied with the results and cannot wait to begin editing. Editing was my struggle within my AICE Media AS portfolio project so this time around, I want my A Level project to be what I envisioned because I believe this idea has a lot of potential. I cannot believe I am approaching this last task of editing. Everything has come so fast within this project and although I am excited to see the outcome, I am slightly fearful for the end. Until next time!

Pre Shoot Planning

Hey Blogger! Exciting news, I finished my storyboard for my excerpt from an episode of the series I created, "The Roots of a Flower: Our Underlying Insecurities". Although I am super relieved to be finished and have a useful outline for what I will be implementing, I am slightly fearful for filming. Even though I think my storyboard will be helpful, since this is a documentary, I do not know the duration of the excerpt yet since the interviews have yet to take place. So while filming, I definitely need to mention that the two questions she will be answering need to be around 2 and a half minutes that way I can complete the requirements for the length of the portfolio project while also showing enough B-roll that I am creating. 

The storyboard is simply an outline for what I will be filming that way I feel more organized and prepared when filming day is actually here. I am not too nervous to film since I have a plan for interview shots and a variety of brainstorm that I have for B-roll. Since I have been in Sadie's room before and know the space well, I feel more comfortable with the set since I know what I can utilize. I definitely plan on overshooting B-roll but I know that even if I do not have enough the include within my excerpt, I can still match episodic documentary conventions but having Sadie send me past videos or pictures that match up with what she is discussing throughout the documentary.

However, I have made slight changes to the storyboard since I will not be changing interview locations anymore and will have to change around the B-roll shots depending on what Sadie is discussing that way it matches up with what she is saying and the overall flow of the excerpt itself. Despite having to take these aspects into consideration, my storyboard is still going to heavily play a factor in how my piece is going to be structured.

As for the questions, I am beginning the end of the excerpt with a question about what she does to make herself better about her insecurity and the last question of the documentary being if she is happy or not. I am unsure of exactly how I want to phrase these questions but I am sure that these are the two questions that I will be asking in that particular order.

After finally completing my storyboard, I feel much more happy and confident with how filming is going to go and I cannot wait to watch my project come to life since I really like the concept that I am producing since I believe we need more awareness towards insecurities in the media. I'll see you on filming day, Until next time!

Print Research

 Hi Blogger! Another component that I have not focused on as much is print where I will be creating a magazine article discussing my episodic documentary and the series as a whole. I am super excited to create this since I adore using Canva. In order to fully understand what should be done within this print aspect and what I should include on the magazine itself, I thought it was only best to research what I observed within these magazines in order to grasp how I want to structure my own. Therefore, I decided to look at some past AICE Media A Level samples to get an idea of how I can create my own print component.

Although I am aware of what a typical magazine should look like, I wanted to really delve into the specific characteristics that it includes so I know what I should implement within my own print component. Therefore, I created a list of characteristics that should implement when designing my own magazine. 

-Title 

-Subtitles 

-Bold images

-An overview of the director

-Questions prepared about the project itself

-Magazine brand

-Page numbers

-Bold graphics

-Engaging overall image

One thing that I am also definitely taking into consideration is that even though I am only producing an excerpt of my episodic documentary, there is still an entire series behind it which should definitely be mentioned within the magazine I am creating that way readers have a better understanding my intentions and what my product is. 

After analyzing what I need to put in my own print component, I headed over to Canva to look at layouts and graphics that I can have within my own project that is engaging, bold, and included characteristics. 

I got excited and started to explore Canva by looking at potential templates. However, I have not found exactly which one I would like use for my own print component. Despite this, I am still thrilled to be creating this magazine regarding my episodic documentary for my portfolio project and will be continuing to look at possible layouts on how I want my print component to look like. It was especially helpful to observe past portfolio projects that had a print component since they aided me in taking note of everything that I should include and consider within my creation. I am super excited to start up its creation throughout this upcoming week. Until next time!

Group Meeting #2

 Hi Blogger! I am especially excited for our group meeting since I am feeling a little stuck. I am not feeling lost on ideas within production but rather about the social media and print components. Therefore, I want to utilize this meeting to ask for advice on what I can do within these aspects of my portfolio project to ensure I am getting a second opinion that way I can gain creative inspiration for my future endeavors. However, I am excited to make changes to my project so that way I can change it for the better. 

Maria

-Already in production

-Filmed her interviews yesterday

-Documentary style

-Discussed what she would post on her blog during spring break

-Focusing on the football team

Daniella

-Follows one subject in his 60 days

-Working with Megan 

-Working within the Sci-Fi genre

-Short film

-Making it in chronological order

-Told through protagonists narration

-Has useful multi-media within blog posts

-Good pacing (provides interactive engagement)

-Thinks it may be a little longer than 5 minutes (7 minutes)

-Mainly working on how to fit everything into the duration of the short film

Nicole

-Working with Manuela and Juan

-Active social media page

-Struggled with creating an idea at first]

-Utilizing Canva

Zain

-Filming over spring break

-Her group member, Martina, is writing the script

-Guy in the workspace against normal rules (shaking hands)

-Drama/comedy

-Short film 

-Well done mood boards

-Wants protagonist, Tom, to wear mustard yellow to stand out amongst his peers

-Does not have a conflict yet

-Unsure of beginning, middle, and end

-Needs to include other unspoken rules

-Wants to be told from the protagonist's perspective

-Interested in including a short backstory for better context of the character

-Needs work with the script

-Experimenting with structure of the film

Advice

-Include not only voiceovers and use her actually talking in certain B-roll clips

-Make sure there is engagement through utilizing a limited amount of interview shots and using colors to appeal to the eye, especially for an audience consisting of young adults

-Include a bright color (Blue or purple) but make sure that it is not too flashy or distracting from the interview shot

Super Awesome Pic!

This group meeting was super useful especially since I am in the midst of storyboarding and having the advice I was given today utilized within my draft is going to help me out a lot with the overall layout and structure. I will definitely be considering these useful pieces of advice when finishing my storyboard draft since I believe these comments will advance the production and overal engagement. These upcoming week, I am prepping for production which is super exciting but I need to make sure that I am taking everything into consideration that is being said to me to ensure that this project is the best that it can be. Until next time!

Storyboarding (finally)

 Hi Blogger! Although I have been slightly holding this off, it is time to make a storyboard in order to outline and make a plan of how I want to approach the production itself of my portfolio project. Even though I had showed a draft on an outline of the structure of the excerpt, it was very brief and I need to make a shot by shot of my episodic documentary to be more secure/prepared for when I start to film. 

Now that I am planning on making my excerpt begin towards the end, I have a feeling that I will have a better understanding of how I want to structure the order of what I am implementing. I ultimately decided to come to this decision that way I can focus more on the resolution and positive affirmations within insecurities rather than being negative, having self doubt, and sulking about something that makes you upset. 

I always wanted to incorporate lights to show representation of the mood. For instance, I have a vision to use a colored light, either blue or purple, to show the innocence that people with these insecurities have with a playful mood to also adhere to the target audience. Another incorporation that I included within my storyboard is having the interview shots start at a medium shot and end in a close up in order to gain more engagement and become more comfortable as the excerpt progresses. 

Above is my storyboard draft and a good idea of what I will be producing within my portfolio project. I am pretty set on this idea and am super excited to make it come to life. Although I am slightly stuck shifting between interview shots, B-roll, and the getting "un-ready" portion, I am attempting to create a structure that will flow, not be too rushed, and that will keep my young target audience engaged within my project. Even though I still have a way to go, I am satisfied with my progression throughout this production. Until next time!

Print

 Hi Blogger! In class on Thursday, we had discussed the print component within our portfolio projects. Although I was unable to attend class that day, I had received the notes from another classmate shown below. 

Within my specific genre of my portfolio project, I am told that I must create a magazine article for my episodic documentary series that includes an illustration of the goal of the documentary, page numbers, conventions of magazine, the production itself, words from the director, topic discussion, etc. Although I am super excited about this since I think it appears like a really innovative and creative task, I have some doubts since I am not exactly sure of what it is supposed to look like and I do not have much other information about the magazine itself since I was not in class that day to listen to the lecture in person. 

Despite my doubts, I plan on asking my other classmates about the magazine to answer my surrounding questions on what it should look like and I also intend to look at past AICE Media A level episodic documentaries print components in order to get a representation on what one should look like to ensure that I am capturing everything I need to. By following these two steps, I feel like I will be much more comfortable within the print component of this project. I am super excited to start doing more research on magazines since they're something that I am really interested in as well as experimenting with Canva designs to make it look visually appealing while also matching my marketing campaign to ensure that it stays consistent. I am really glad that we were introduced to this component sooner rather than later to ensure that I can start working on it as soon as possible not way I can make it the best that it can be with the amount of time that I have but so I can also ensuring that I am balancing everything that needs to get done within this project to provide organization within everything that I am implementing. Until next time!

Balancing it all

 Hi Blogger! After my last blog post, I have put a lot of thought it what I wanted every piece of my portfolio project to look like and I have resolved that I would like to focus on the ending excerpt of an episodic documentary so that I can delve into the message about what I am trying to produce much more. By demonstrating the ending, it is the resolution that discusses positive reinforcements to take within having an insecurity. Therefore, I have a lot more ideas on how I would shift the mood of more emotional moments into a more positive outlook. Due to these reasons, I am taking storyboarding more serious and am working on my first official draft for my portfolio project which is super exciting and I love watching all of these small details come together to cultivate into what is my own piece of work. 

Something that I really helped me decide on having this structure within my episodic documentary was by actually envisioning what a 25-30 minute episode of this series would look. I had watched Season 1 Episode 10 of the episodic documentary series Explained entitled Explanation Point which recounts Linguists and copy editors exploring how the exclamation point has adapted across history, literature and internet-speak. By understanding the beginning, middle, and end of an actual episodic documentary, it helped me envision how I would want to see my episodic documentaries episodes.

Since I have been trying to do it all this week, I have been attempting to build up my marketing campaign more to make sure my target audience is more engaged within my product. Although I have not posted as much as I would have liked to keep my target audience's attention, I have been creating new designs on Canva to demonstrate on the Instagram page to ensure that my audience stays hooked on what I will be producing in the future. Therefore, I have created new teaser posters and layering ideas to present on my Instagram page. 

Although I really like the overall look of these designs, I want to get more creative on my marketing campaign to ensure that I attract more viewers into my audience. I have not been as active on the Instagram page as I would like to be; therefore, in this upcoming week, I plan on creating more unique and interactive posts through polls, Q&A's, interviews with other subjects within the series, meet the subjects, and other content that can appeal to the target audience that I am reaching for. 

I am trying make sure I do not loose sight on any aspects within this project in order for my brain to not forget anything within this hefty project. Even though I discuss many of my drawbacks and things that I would like to change about the progress of my portfolio project, I think I am doing a solid job at balancing everything that must get done. I may still have some unanswered questions, but everything so far is coming along the way that I want it to. Until next time!

Structure

Hi Blogger! Now that I have began to have an answer to some of my questions that were previously unanswered, it is time to put my vision into action. After talking with Sadie, she let me know that she would be discussing her insecurity about her self esteem and overall self image of herself which is very common and relatable amongst my target audience's age. Therefore, I think by having a topic that is as recognizable as that one, it will allow my target audience to be more intrigued and engaged since it may be personal to what they're going through. 

Although I am on the right track with figuring out many significant details within my portfolio project, I am still a little bit lost on what exactly my episodic documentary will look like, especially considering this is an excert. A huge thing that is on my mind is where exactly I want to start this segment. The beginning? The middle? The end? I have no idea yet if I am being completely transparent. Despite my surrounding questions, I believe that what will work best for me is to start experimenting that way I can understanding what works and what I believe will not fit into this project. I have been playing around with different ways to go about and approach my portfolio project, as shown below...

I experimented with taking a segment from the ending of an episodic documentary episode. I did not understand why I tried this at first, however this may be the easiest one for me to do since I will have more of a resolution as well as closure that what I will be implementing. Also being having the segment be based on the closing scene of an episodic documentary, I could discuss more of how to use your insecurity as a positive reinforcement rather than just sulking about how it makes you sad. I believe by having this message included within my portfolio project will be fitting for my target audience since most young adults and teenagers do not have somewhere to look when they need a media source to give them guidance on something that is bothering them about themselves. 

Also within my planning I included some aspects I want to produce within my segment that will make shots, angles, etc. more meaningful as seen on the planning sheet.

Overall, although I am still figuring out many details within what I am implementing, I believe that I need to keep experimenting in order to find out what suits this project the best. I want to ensure that what I am putting out is engaging enough that it is not another typically informative documentary that nobody ends up watching but a production with engagement with a structure that is not typically viewed within the media sphere. Even though I do not know how I am going to do this yet, I need to keep trying while thinking of new and creative ideas (storyboarding will help me a lot with this) Until next time!

Group Meeting #1

Hi Blogger! Today was super exciting since we had our first group meeting :) I was super excited to discuss my progress and to see how other people were doing as well. Most importantly though, I was really looking for advice on things that I could add/incorporate in order to improve my portfolio project. 

While group members were discussing how there projects were coming along, I made sure to take notes that way I could get more information on what my peers have done, what exactly they're doing, how they're coming along, etc. Below, you will see some aspects that I noted about their upcoming projects. 

Julia 

-Trailer Film Distribution

-Coming of Age drama

-Blog series 

-Film is called “Wake Up”

-Has an active Instagram of a countdown for engagement

-Has a storyboard for the first trailer and is working on the second one 

-Unique ideas for Instagram

-More marketing

-Create saturation

-Have colors contrast more

Romina

-Episodic Documentary

-How people express themselves through their clothing

-Interviewees are sister and her boyfriend due to their love for clothes

-Unsure of how to market product

-Title: Window to the soul

-Using the mall for B-Roll since she works at Hollister

-Each episode would be a different aesthetic of clothing

Corina

-Comedy short film 

-Two people who start a fight club

-Working on storyboarding the plot

-Goal: Get the girl

-5 actors included

-Consider filming schedule

-Needs to find exactly what she wants

-Consider what she would like to be included within her production

Zain

-Comedy short film

-Not exactly sure of what her group will be implementing 

-Researching social media with brighter and bolder colors (Blues, purples, etc.)

By taking note of the characteristics of my group members progress, whether is was genre, social media, intentions, social media pages, what can be improved/changed, it helped me gain further insight into what I can maybe do within my own portfolio project. After discussing the highlights and drawbacks in my group members' endeavors, it put into perspective that you can always improve or change something within your project for the better.

As for my own project, my groups members had some constructive criticism in order to help me with the future in my portfolio project:

-Intense moments: Close ups

-Stick to a more colorful pallet due to target audience 

-Accent lighting

-Consider what I want the shots to look like (realization)

After receiving these comments, I now have a better understanding that although my project is a solid idea with great potential, I need to start actually putting my ideas into action and realize how I want my episodic documentary to be constructed. Although I now know who I will be using as my subjects within the production itself as well as the social media page after the group meeting, I need to start making moves with these ideas that I have. Even though I was conflicted at first about the look of my episodic documentary, Zain gave me a great idea to use brighter colors since my target audience is young adults are the use of more captivating colors will provide further engagement for this age group.

I really enjoyed this group meeting and thought is was super useful for the future of my portfolio project. Not only did it help me better understand what I want to include within my project, it was a great wake up call that I need to be putting my plans into motion. Although I am still conflicted on how I exactly want an episode of my episodic documentary to look like, I am grateful that I now have a better idea of what are my next steps and how I should go about them. However, I have made significant steps these past week through outlines, storyboard drafts, figuring out who I want to use as my subjects, and other aspects that will heavily contribute to what I am implementing within my portfolio project. Now that I have grasped all of this new information, I am ready to move along with these exciting new things that are involved in this eventful journey. Despite me not making my Instagram page for my episodic documentary super active this week, I now can introduce my subjects this upcoming week and post a variety of other pieces of content that will allow my audience to become more engaged within my product. I am super excited for planning this next week as well as captivating my audience through posts within my Instagram page. Until next time!

Meet the subjects!

Hey Blogger! As you can tell, I have an idea of what I will be implementing, however, I am not sure of exactly what it is going to look like and how it will be structured; this is partially due to not having an idea of who I am going to include within my portfolio project. Therefore, I have final solidified who will be starting in the episodic documentary itself as well as who I plan of including within my Instagram page. 

This is my friend Sadie who is a Junior in high school like me. Although Sadie told me that she is not exactly sure about what she wants to discuss in my portfolio project's excerpt, she has agreed to discuss a insecurity in her life that she thinks about often and how she does positive reinforcements in order to cope with her feelings about this insecurity. Sadie's goal, which is similar to mine, is to allow others to understand that your feelings are valid and that you're not alone in regards to having an insecurity that bothers you.

This is my friend Finley who is Senior. She has agreed to be demonstrated on my social media page to represent that my portfolio project is a display of a series. Therefore, Finley is assisting me appearing as a subject within my episodic documentary. Similar to Sadie, we have not discussed what insecurity she will be speaking upon, partially due the fact that I brought the idea up to her in a brief manner. However, she agreed to aid me in any help I need for posts within my social media page for my episodic documentary. 

This is my friend Cecilia who is also a Senior like Finley who has agreed to be displayed on my social media page. I was able to go more in depth with Cecilia on what my episodic documentary will be about, therefore, she told me that should be representing her insecurity about her ears. Within the social media page, I will have her discuss the thing that she does not always like in a more uplifting manner in order to go along with my theme and purpose of this episodic documentary which is to make people more comfortable within their own skin. 

I am really happy I have found who I will be including within my portfolio project since now this gives me a better indication of the content that I can create in my future journey that will take place within this project. Although I am still missing some details along with some unanswered questions, this will help put my mind at ease while getting a better understanding of how I will be going about the rest of this project. I am super excited for what is to come next with my amazing friends who have agreed to take part is this process. Next blog post is the group meeting which I am DESPERATE for since I am in need of a lot of advice and guidance. However, now that I have my subjects, I feel much more secure. Until next time!

Fork in the road

 Hi Blogger! As much as I have been discussing the digital aspect of my portfolio project through my Instagram page that I have set up last week, I think it is time for me to actually start creating the excerpt for my episodic documentary. For this next week, planning will be crucial for what I am planning to implement. Therefore, I will be creating storyboards, making outlines, brainstorming B-Roll, figuring out who my main subject will be. 

However, I feel slightly stuck. Since I am unsure about who I will be using as my subjects as of now, I do not have many ideas or inspiration. Therefore, I am a little all over the place. Despite this, I attempting to persevere in any way that I can. Consequently, I am working on both planning for the excerpt itself as well as more inclusions to have within my Instagram page. It has been a little hectic and chaotic within my planning process recently but on a good note, I did make a poster for my episodic documentary that I am extremely proud of.

                                                                                    Poster

I believe this image is suitable for my target audience since it has an innocent essence while also remaining engaging as well as appealing to the eye. I also think that my tag line, "What you can't see wont hurt you", being in a text message box is relatable to teenagers since majority of this age group's primary source of communication is through text messages. As for the flowers, I picked a wide variety of shades to add color to bring a positive mood and message to the series to allow my target audience to understand the purpose of this production is not to discuss how much insecurities suck but how you can use them to uplift yourself along with your overall well-being.

On the other hand, my storyboards and outlines have not been as successful as my social media campaign since I am unsure of exactly who my subjects will be. Therefore, this made me realize that this week I need to figure out who I will be using within my project that way I can properly plan out what I will implementing. Due to me not having an idea of who will be in the production, the storyboarding did not go very far since I did not have a way to surround fitting B-Roll. My main takeaway from storyboarding during my class period time today is that I need to find my subjects as soon as humanly possible. 

Despite not having a ton of new progress, this blog post has made me understand that in order to figure out exactly what the future looks like for my portfolio projects, I need to figure out who I will be incorporating into my episodic documentary that way I can come up with a larger sum of ideas and promotion strategies. Therefore, this week will be heavily focused on choosing who I want to include that way I can get down to business. Until next time!