Film Production- Final CCR's

 PROCESS

After months, and months of working on these post every week and weekend, I have finally finished my entire portfolio. I have worked really hard for this and I really hope you enjoy my CCR'S!

CCR Part One- Director's Commentary

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

For this question, I wanted to explain how I used music/mirrors and effects as my conventions, and I felt there was no better way to display them then to go to the video and pause and explain, rather than without any visuals.

CCR Part Two - Google Most Searched Questions

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

CCR Part Three - Podcast

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

I decided to choose to make a podcast to answer this question because I could talk a lot on it and I didn't really have to do a lot of interactive and visual movements. Since it's just me talking, it was easy to film and I could easily elaborate on the question.

CCR Part Four -Whats In My Equipment Bag

How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

After hearing about what CCR's were, I thought it'd be really fun to do a 'what's in my bag', which is usually just a celebrity interview, but instead integrated it with my question. I thought I'd be good way to show what equipment I used during filming, but with a creative approach!

REFLECTION

In conclusion, I would say that my ending results and my creative critical reflection responses were worth all of the stress caused for me over the last few months. Though I am glad it's over and all the hard work is done, I will definitely miss being able to direct something and be accomplished on something that I worked completely bymyself.

Film Production- My Brief!!

 PROCESS

TODAY IS THE DAY!! After months of researching, planning, filming and editing, my completed film opening is finally done. This has been a very stressful and chaotic process, but I am really glad I did it and kept up with all my work and expectations. With little help I am really proud of how it turned out and without further ado, here is my final product, Not My Time:

If the video doesn't work for some reason, here is link: https://youtu.be/wrLtKvhl6ok

REFLECTION

Even though I worked alone, I had so much fun working on this project and my next step is working on my CCR's!

Film Production- Posting on Youtube

 PROCESS

After I tried to upload the file of my brief on here, It says the file is too big so I have to post it on my YouTube. This isn't an issue because I wanted to start posting all my projects on my YouTube anyway so I figured this would be a good start. Nevertheless, I have never posted anything on there so this will be my first time.

After I uploaded the file on YouTube, It just asked me questions like the title description, thumbnail, and all of that which was pretty easy.

It then asked me if I want to add subtitles, but since my filming didn't have any dialogue, it wasn't necessary.

The next step was checking for a copyright songs/ music which I passed so I just moved on

The final step was to adjust the privacy settings on the post. I made it public so it could get maximum reach and from there I submitted it.

REFLECTION

This posting didn't take long and was crucial to being able to upload my final post to blogger. This is exactly what my next blog post will be. I'm really excited to release my final version of my film, which took a lot of hard work and dedication. 

Film Production - Exporting

PROCESS

Now that I finished editing, coloring, adding graphics and everything, I went through the timeline to check if there's any last tweaks I wanted to make before exporting the file. I decided to make small changes like  substituting the first shot of the phone to be a clock (that I had luckily filmed) and then the first shot of the phone to have a glitch effect so you could kind of get the idea that some sort of transition happened.

I added a sound effect for glitch noises too, because I wanted it to make the most sense possible in the two minute frame I had. Besides that, I removed the close-up shot of her face from the mirror's perspective because it was too dark and instead, extend the one of her looking into the mirror from behind. I also shortened the length of some clips due to its quality.

REFLECTION

I was trying not to be picky about the whole thing because I had to keep reminding myself that it was only film opening, and stop myself from adding more and more because I'm used to making short films. Although after exporting the file to my downloads, I was really happy that I finished it before the due date and was proud with my work that I will submit.

Film Production- Title Slate + Credits

 

PROCEESS

In my planning phase, I had a whole post about how I chose my film's title and font. However, after trying to import the form, I realize I couldn't choose it. I have to pick a font that Adobe allows, so I clicked the text and then went to the website that offers Adobe fonts. I typed the title into the sample text on the website and it showed me a whole bunch of fonts with the text I want.

 The site had a wide selection to choose from so it took me a while to find one that I liked. I tested out like the following:

It only took me two tries to find one that I liked, and about 20 minutes to find where exactly I wanted the title in the timeline. I had to switch around where I wanted the credits and the slate because I wanted to have the best looking option. After a lot of moving around, I put the title for when she finishes messing with her hair and then I put the actors name when she blows the kiss, and my name at the end when she is leaving the bathroom.

REFLECTION

In this post I created and finished making my title today, which is basically the last step in my editing. I really enjoyed how the font I chose looks and the only thing left to do is export!

Film Production- Color Grading

 PROCESS

Hi everyone, in this blog post, I will be going through the process of coloring my film opening to my liking! It's really important to not submit a film without any coloring because it can look really bland and grading could add a lot of character and can a lot of the time portray emotions, which I found in the research I did previously in my portfolio.

To start off, I tried with the auto settings Premiere provides just to see if I like it and it would be easier, but it's not exactly what I wanted so I decided to edit it a little more. There's a weird setting on my computer where my Premiere looks way more saturated than compared to when I exported it so I made sure the saturation and vibrance was really high.

Here are some examples of the color difference I've made. On the left is unsaturated and on the right is after editing. You could also see the exact settings I used all the way to the right panel and I just kind of played around. Once I found what I like the most I copied the settings and paste them to all of the clips in the bedroom. I made the bathroom shots seem more saturated because I thought it was more fun and colorful in there with all of the eyeshadow and blush and everything, so once I found a good coloring for the bathroom, I did the same.

REFLECTION

This whole process wasn't very hard, it took me about 30 minutes to get everything to my liking. It was a crucial step in my brief, and I am closer and closer to finishing my film opening. The next step in my editing phase is to add the text in my film, as in the credits, and the title the film.

Film Production- Adding Music + Sound Effects

 PROCESS

When I checked out the mics, I didn't use them during filming because there was no dialogue so I relied on getting sound effects in music afterwards. The first side effect I looked for is the alarm clock. I had a vision of showing modern things in her room while it was beeping a few times, so I was looking for an audio that had pauses and long beeps. 

 

I found this audio and I thought I worked pretty well with the film once I imported it. 

https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/0c0b82bf-c847-4573-9397-9cd6f512af72/

The next thing I wanted to add was white noise and just like overall background noise for the film when there isn't music or sound effects over it. I chose this:

https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/6eb66c35-ecbe-498f-8033-eb3b95e9596d/

The process of putting in the music into premier wasn't hard, but I had to log into someone's epidemic sound because it cost money and then I downloaded it and dragged the file to import Premiere.

What I was really stressed about, was finding music from when she throws the phone to when she enters the bathroom, because I didn't know how to find a song that would fit the vibe. I asked my friends for help and they said I should find a fast pacing music so I searched around and I found this.

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/1178459a-6e03-3752-8d2b-785b7a32b51d/

Lastly, I had to import the 80s song I chose from before, but after importing it, I realize it wasn't exactly the vibe I wanted so I decided to go from to one of my back up songs from before which was:

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/e66f03e0-0b5d-3c37-a927-f1789b6daf6a/

REFLECTION

Adding music was a huge factor in my film opening and I'm glad I got all the sounds picked out. Now the only thing left I have to do is color and add my title slate and credits. I'm really happy with how this is turning out so far and I can't wait to submit my final project!

Film Production- Graphics

 PROCESS

I felt like it was really hard to portray that she is really confused and she's not in the right generation she's supposed to be so I wanted to add some kind of confusion graphic so I did some researching and decided I wanted to make a question mark graphic.

I have never used after effects and I don't know how to make graphics but I've heard from a lot of people that using Canva is a easy way so I decided to look for graphics and then animate them on Canva and then upload it and try to make it transparent.

Animation part was simple and I chose the motion, but I couldn't figure out how to make the background transparent, even after watching multiple YouTube videos, so I finally decided to try making the Canva screen black, and then changing the overlay and the opacity in Premiere. After about 20 minutes, it finally worked out and I got a question graphic working.

I was really happy of how that graphic turned out so I decided I wanted to make one for the getting ready scene. I really liked the shot of her doing the eye make up so I went back on canvas and looked for funky 80s graphics that I could use, and I found these and used the same scrapbook animation and I really like how it turned out.

REFLECTION

After looking back after wondering the first graphic I realize the quality was off so I decided to delete it but I left the rest. I'm really glad that I made this extra step in my editing phase and I think it adds a lot of character. The next step in my editing is to finally color and then make some tweaks and I should be done with my brief.

Film Production- Importing Clips

 PROCESSS

After I finished filming and was on my way home, I was really exciting to see what the clips looked like. I had my laptop, my sd card, and my adapter all in the car so I pulled it up while my mom was driving. When I put the sd card in the adapter and plugged it into my computer like I always do, the sd card wasnt in my files. I didnt understand why this was happening and spend 20 minutes trying to get the sd card on my computer. 

After a while, I began to question whether the clips even saved so I inserted the SD card back into my camera and the clips were there. I had to call one of my friends and they suggested that I should try plugging the adapter into my phone since it was both the same plug. When I saw my files there, I was even more confused cause neither the card or the adapter was the issue. I tried airdropping them all to my MacBook and one, but it didn't work so I had to do it one by one. It took me about an hour and a half.

    

After I airdropped all the videos to my MacBook, I inserted them on premiere.

After importing them all to me premier, they were all out of order so I tried to line them up as accurate as possible.

After going to the order, I inserted them to the timeline and be begun to line edit.

REFLECTION

This whole process was very long and very stressful but I'm glad I got it over with the day I filmed.  There isn't a lot to do now since I finish filming, because it's mostly just editing. But now that I've line edited, all I have to do is add music, color and graphic if I want.

Film Production- Filming Day!!

 PROCESS

Today was finally the day I filmed my entire film opening! In total it took about an hour and a half, from 3:30 to 5:00pm. Getting the equipment was easy because I just checked it out before school ended. I got everything that was on my equipment list I made a few weeks ago, including an FX-30, Sigma 50, 18-35mm, tripod, and a light kit. 

OUTFIT

I had tried on the outfit I wanted her to wear the night before to see if it was the style I wanted. It it consisted of  a skirt, a really big button up, a belt and a MTV jean jacket. When we got to her house I had her try it on and it looked perfect! For pajamas, I had packed her my my moms oversized t-shirt that says NASA. I thought it would be the best option but Ariana found a vintage pajama set that her mom had that fit the aesthetic I wanted.

Originally, I was planning on doing a match cut with a really old clock that I bought from amazon and a modern clock, to show the  transition between the 80's and 2020s' but I didn't use ether after setting up the shot. I couldn't change the time on it and couldn't make the room look dark enough so I scratched the idea.After shooting all the scenes inside the bedroom we starting filming all the scenes inside the bathroom.

I couldn't get a lot of different shots and angles of the parts in the bathroom because there wasn't a lot of free range to move around. I didn't want to break the 180 rule of switching between the left and right side of her, so I had to stay on the left side of her or directly in front of her. Her toilet and shower were also on that side of her so it was really hard to maneuver in there with a tripod.

REFLECTION

In todays blog post, I talked about my experience and the changes I made during filming. I had a lot of fun filming this and I am really excited to see how it is going to turn out. For my next post I will be starting to edit so I will be importing the clips!

Film Production- Filming Date Difficulties

 PROCESS

So based on my filming schedule and how everything was worked out to be, I was supposed to film on Thursday, but I couldn't because of some issues scheduling with the location so I have to reschedule. So because of this, I have to find a day that would work for everyone instead. Not being able to film last week was a big issue because I had nothing to write about, but making a film comes with a lot of ups and downs and it's important to learn issues that can happen. 

I asked Alina if I could film at her house on Wednesday but she has volleyball practice and Alina and Ariana can't do when they are Thursday because they are filming something else. That is only me a long time because spring break is next week and everyone is busy during them so the only dates I could do it Monday or Saturday to leave me time to edit. This whole situation is very stressful and it's very hard to find a date. 

After a lot of conversation and planning I am able to reschedule to tomorrow, the  9th. Leaving me enough time to edit before and after the break starts. I really hope I don't have any more issue before filming because it was very stressful to find a date before break, working with everyones schedule.

REFLECTION

In this blog post, I discussed the obstacles I have faced about filming and finally rescheduled. This is really important that I film tomorrow because it effects my post-production time. For my next post, i will be discussing how my filming went and will be starting to edit.

Film Production- Production Checklist

 PROCESS

After having all my pre-production events done such as storyboarding, planning, and buying materials, I don't have much to do before I film so I am going to be making and going through checklist about completing my pre-production factors.

CHECKLIST

• CONFIRMED FILMING DATES

• CONFIRMED ACTOR AVAILABILITY

• MADE  STORYBOARD 

• EQUIPTMENT LIST MADE

• HAIR AND MAKEUP PLANNED

• PLANNED CAMERA SHOTS

• CHOOSE MUSIC

REFLECTION

Completing this checklist ensures that my production phase is efficient and professional. Being organized will allow me to focus on my performance and visual quality rather then technical problems. For the next step of my post, I will finally be beginning my filming unless there are issues.