Our Pitch Blog: Hitting All the Right Notes

    Welcome back! It’s been a few days since my last update and I’m glad to announce that we’ve moved on to concocting pitches for our upcoming short film. Part of the reason why this blog took a while to get out was because my team and I spent quite a bit of time deliberating back and forth about what we wanted our film to be about (having a hurricane narrowly miss us also factored in, but we all thankfully fared well). As you will see below, we took three major factors into consideration: casting, location, and budgeting. We also ensured to take the time to consider probable storylines before settling on the following three pitches because we felt that they demonstrated the most potential for developing into meaningful plotlines. 

Pitch A: 

An amnesiac’s life is about to take a turn for the worst.

    Despite this idea having been put forth towards the end of our musings, it was well-received enough to become one of our top three pitches. With this pitch, the age and gender of our subject are not restricted, so my team and I can easily find someone to fill the shoes of our primary actor. Additionally, given that this role will likely not require participation in any difficult to film scenes, one can also deduce that the acting required to make this film idea a success will not be too intensive, nor will it be overly time-consuming to the point that we will impede on the personal lives of our volunteer actors. As defined by the prompt above, our film will primarily be centered around a single subject, meaning that we will not need to rely on a large ensemble of actors, only having to involve about one to three characters at maximum. This, in turn, will save us the time and additional planning that would be otherwise needed to fit additional individuals into our short, an issue that some of us encountered last year when trying to work around others’ busy schedules.

    Shifting gears to focus on the topic of location, we found that this pitch does not really pose much of an issue in that sense. As any good pitch should be, this one was quite ambiguous, providing us with the opportunity to film virtually anywhere. Now, whilst some may find that having a multitude of choices is overwhelming, we believe that it is better to keep our options open as opposed to forcing ourselves into a corner by choosing a pitch that will most likely need to be filmed in a single location. The reason being that if we were to run into any problems with the location on the day of filming, where it has become unavailable to use for whatever reason, we’ll experience unnecessary setbacks that could have easily been avoided had we made more informed decisions from the start. Hence why we concluded that location would not be a major concern of ours if we do decide to follow through with this pitch. Having said that, once we eventually settle on an official location, we can begin to consider the financial implications of travel since my groupmates and I do not all live within the same area.

    When it comes to budgeting concerns in general, we found that this film concept would not be overly costly. This is primarily because we can utilize readily available props that we are already in possession of or those we can find at a relatively low cost, such as alarm clocks, mirrors, televisions, cellphones, and other common things of the like. That is not to say that the props we will use are set in stone because our film could be staged in any time period, meaning that whatever items we use must be time-specific and by extension relevant to the era, potentially hiking the cost of our film up depending on when we decide we’d like our film to be set. Since there's likely to only be one main subject, we do not need to worry about finding costumes for a large number of actors, nor do we need to trouble ourselves over the main subject’s appearance seeing as, aside from their malady with amnesia, they are an ordinary member of society that wears casual clothing and usually has on little to no makeup.

    Taking all of the above into consideration, my groupmates and I believe Pitch A to be a fair contender among our three choices.

Pitch B:

Three students on spring break contract an unforeseen illness.

    Right off the bat, my team’s initial reaction to this pitch was that it was well within our realm of capability. This belief was partially influenced by the fact that said idea, specifically the phrase “students on spring break,” insinuates that our cast would be comprised of either high school or college-aged students, a group of people that would not be difficult to acquire at all since we have contacts with people of those ages, either via friendships or familial ties. What this then means is that we would have one less area of concern to act as a hindrance to the production of our film. With that being said, however, one major drawback in the utilization of multiple people within that particular age bracket lies in the fact that said individuals, like us, attend school and take just as demanding courses, so finding a day that we are all free might not be the most realistic outlook.

    When it comes to the location of this film, we would likely need to recreate the visual aspects of a hotel room in order to stage our short in someone’s home, as to avoid the cost of having to rent a hotel room and film all of our scenes there, where we would be on a tight schedule and thus have less room for error. Even if we avoid this problem by doing the former, we would still need to purchase various props to make the set as true to life as possible. That is unless we were to play it off as a rental home that the subjects found via an online service, such as Airbnb or VRBO, which is a pretty solid option that we would of course decide on later in the pre-production process.

    Continuing on to the financial component of this film, costuming may become a bit pricey once we consider that our subjects will become afflicted with some form of sickness because depending on how we choose to flesh out our story, we may need to splurge on special effects makeup. Aside from that aspect, all other costuming would be rather inexpensive since the subjects are defined to be ordinary young adults who dress in standard attire. Once again, since we do not all reside near one another, the cost of driving (especially in this economy) is something we must assess.

Pitch C:

An unsuspecting bystander witnesses a crime they wish they could forget.

    This pitch was definitely an interesting one, solely because of the number of directions it could take. Would it evolve into a comedic spectacle where a person tries confusing the crime doer to get away? Would it become a thriller where the witness is stalked and driven mad with fear? There are a number of different avenues this pitch can take and that’s one of the biggest reasons why it made it onto this list here.

    When it comes to evaluating this pitch against our listed criteria, it fares pretty well, although it does seem to fall short when examining the potential locations where it might be filmed. Since it is a crime being witnessed by an individual who presumably has nothing to do with the culprit, that would mean that we would need to film in a public place. Last year, one of our teammates had to reach out to a couple public businesses to receive permission to film in one of them, and only heard back from a single location. If we have to put all of our eggs into one basket and rely on the unguaranteed compliance to film most of our shots, our short film could be spoiled before it even begins. Moreover, if we were to shoot our film on a regular street, there is a very slim chance that we would not have passersby in our shots, which would mean one of two things: either our shot is ruined, or we need to get permission from regular civilians to be included in our film, both of which are a hassle.

    Moving on to who we would cast for this short, we first needed to consider how many subjects we’d include. We decided that to make this film as realistic as possible, we would need about five actors, with three being our primary subjects, the criminal, the bystander, and the victim, and the other two acting in either supporting roles or as background characters depending on how we decided to spin the story. In terms of the actual plot of the film surrounding the committing of a crime, it is important to note that criminality is not restricted to a specific age group, although the actual act and severity of the wrongdoing does vary, and must be something that we need to take into consideration if we choose this idea.  

    The budget for this film would not necessarily be too high since it is a more practical scenario of events that does not require any extravagant costuming or props. At most, we might need to purchase a weapon or a simple makeup palette to simulate the look of injury on our victim, but casual clothing and accessories would suffice.

Our Final Pitch:

    After a thorough evaluation of our three prospective pitches, we have found that there are definitely some discrepancies in terms of their strengths and weaknesses in the three categories we outlined above. Looking at Pitch A, we saw that the kinds of props we incorporate may fall outside of our limited budget, which could potentially reduce the realistic feel of the film that we are striving to achieve. In Pitch B, we found that we fell short in two of the three criteria, seeing as issues in casting might stem from a lack of availability due to our volunteer actors’ prioritization of their own lives (since they are not directly affiliated with this project, which is entirely understandable) and that our budget may be exceeded when it comes time to focus on the “unforeseen illness” part of our pitch, which is contingent on the direction we wish to take in terms of our genre. Even in Pitch C, we discovered that location would be an issue because most of the short would need to be shot in public places and establishments, and since the setting of a film determines all the rest of its happenings, if we didn’t have that, we’d have nothing. Hence, we chose the pitch whose challenges we felt would be the most plausible to overcome, saving us both time and money, Pitch A. Even though we might need to obtain certain props or time-specific clothing (if we so choose to set our short in a different period), the fact that we were able to make this decision so early on gives us the opportunity to find and attain these items more easily since it’s nearly Halloween and a number of costumes stores are already open nearby. 

    We believe that Pitch A could produce an intricate, but also comprehensible storyline, which all of us found to be crucial to the filmmaking process. It’s vital to understand that there is a duality to every pitch and by extension every story, and that for a film to be successful, it must be something that is both easy to follow and compelling, a balance that can often be difficult to strike for most filmmakers. We feel as though Pitch A will allow us to achieve this careful combination and give us the unconstrained creative liberty we need to produce a film with originality, a trait that is hard to come by these days.

    Now, even though you might find that Pitch A was one of our favorite of the three choices, it is important to realize that just because we prefer one pitch over another does not immediately mean that it will be the one we choose. Although we did end up going with Pitch A, one that my team and I unanimously agreed upon from the very beginning, it was essential that we deconstruct each of the ideas we share so as to find the strongest and most reasonable of them and make that into a reality. Had casting, location, and budgeting not been major issues for our other two pitches, we may have well decided to produce equally as intriguing films in which we may have commented on witness unreliability or the risks posed by unawareness and a lack of caution for unsuspecting teenagers.

Closing Remarks:

    I’m glad that we finally reached a satisfying resolution to the days-long discussion of our short film’s potential premise, where each of us felt like we had contributed some aspects that made up the whole of a single idea. I honestly have the feeling that we might have just found the “...perfect pitch(!)” (Carl Cassette 2020).

Group Blog: An Official Recasting

    Hello again! After having reintroduced myself to you, I think that it's time for me to formally acquaint you with my group mates. This year, I've partnered with two other candidates, Ashley S. and Aja M. If you've looked back on my blogs from last year, you'll notice that their names aren't mentioned at all. The reason being that this year, my former teammates have moved on to focus on other interests of theirs. I am sad to see them go because I felt like I grew as both a person and a cinematographer with their help, feedback, and continuous creative discourse. I am, of course, eternally grateful for the time that my previous groupmates and I got to spend together, but I'm still very excited to see how far my new collaborators and I will be able to go. Working with different types of people and personalities is a valuable skill to have in any industry, field, or walk of life, so being given the chance to do so now for such an important assignment is definitely a helpful way of preparing for what the future has in store for us all. The fact that we can finally delve deeper into a project by producing a five-minute short film is such amazing news and is definitely a challenge that I’m looking forward to overcoming as my skills are put to the test in a way I have that I have never encountered before.

    When we convened for the first time today, we decided to establish that we would equally delegate work and share responsibility, holding each other accountable for anything that we choose to do. That way we know the extent to which we can rely on one another, giving us a healthy way to build rapport and meaningful boundaries. During the time that we conferred today, I also discussed some film ideas that I had devised over the break with my team. I found this to be a very insightful experience because I was able to surmise that they were a proactive and rather inventive bunch. Having taken courses and worked on projects with one of my two partners in the past makes me all the more confident in their capabilities, and those of my other colleague, seeing as they are long-time friends.

    As we went over some possible storyline concepts, they introduced a great deal of their own ideas, providing valuable insight that allowed us to narrow down some of our choices to those that were more realistic and executable with our limited budget and filming locations. Upon eliminating our more impractical ideas, we shifted our focus to more attainable goals, beginning to flesh out the conceptualizations that we felt had the most potential. In my opinion, I find that strategizing early on is essential to any filmmaking process, especially given all of our busy (and potentially conflicting) schedules as we move further into our junior year. I am glad that we were given the opportunity to engage in such a purposeful discussion today since it provided me with some perspective as to the kind of individuals my teammates are, as well as their interests in the realm of media. I find the latter of which to be particularly important, seeing as it will likely hold a great deal of significance in determining the direction our own short film will take.

    As today nears its close, I turn my eyes to the horizon and welcome all that is to come because "It's a new dawn, it's a new day..." and "I'm feeling good(.)" (Michael Bublé 2005).

Introduction Blog: I Guess You Wonder Where I've Been

    Here comes the sun!* It's been quite some time since you and I last spoke (assuming that the same person who followed along with me last year is accompanying me on my journey in AICE Media Studies A-Level this year, which I admit is pretty unlikely, so welcome newcomer!), so I thought an update was in order.

    Starting with my family, everything's been great! We're all happy and healthy, and really what more is there to ask for from life? My parents are still completely supportive of my decision to further pursue my studies in film (something that I am hoping to do in college because I really feel as though this course sparked a deep passion within me), so I'm glad to be back for what I'm choosing to call "The Sequel to End All Sequels." I'm really glad that I was given the opportunity to take this course in the first place because it genuinely feels like I've finally found my niche. For other people, I always thought that it came so naturally to them, like the fact that someone who's always had a knack for drawing would go on to become a skilled artist, or that someone who's always had a passion for music would become an accomplished performer to share their gift and joy with others. I've never been jealous, but I've always laid in wait for the day when I'd be able to say, "This, this is my thing(.)" and I truly believe that producing relatable, thought-provoking media is the reason why I've finally been able to make that statement. 

    Now that I've had about a year to feel my way around the convoluted, creative outlet that is media production, I'm ready to perfect my craft and produce something unique and meaningful with my ever-evolving sense of creative identity, as I originally set out to do. Whilst I did get a better understanding of the type of filmmaker and director I want to be after taking the first half of this course last year, like any other prospective artist, there are still those, such as the legendary Jordan Peele, Christopher Nolan, and M. Night Shyamalan, whom I wish to emulate in my work, out of respect, admiration, and just pure awe for all that they have created and accomplished. Believe me when I say that I spent nearly my entire summer daydreaming about ideas for my film this year and I can't wait to bring some of those concepts to life. 

    Enough of all of that rumination and self-analysis, let me catch you up on some of the major happenings that transpired in the last few months while I was away.

    First and foremost, I'd like to begin with what was probably the most significant event of my entire summer break, the end of an era if you will. After two long, arduous years, I can finally return to watching movies the way they were intended to be seen ever since the savory snack entered theaters in the early twentieth century. At long last, I can singlehandedly consume an entire (large) bucket of popcorn before the previews even finish. Joyous was the day I was finally freed from the metal jail in my mouth, more formally known as braces. Gone are the days when I'd have to suffer in starvation and anticipation for a film to take hold of the screen, stomach grumbling as trailers for movies slowly trudged by and my patience waned.

    Second on my list of importance (just kidding, this probably takes first place to be honest), I am now the Vice President of the honor society chapter at my high school (exciting, right?). I'm prepared to make a difference in my school this year with my position, as well as to make a difference in the film community by producing an original short film this year.

    Taking a step back, I'd like to say that I am still the same person you met a year ago, just with a little more common sense and life experience since I'm officially a junior this year. Crazy how time flies, isn't it? It felt like last year started in a blink and was over in two. 

    Here's a quick side-by-side comparison of me last year and me this year just so you can see just how little has changed.

    Moving on to how summer (and months after my last blog post) went, I've got to say that in terms of films I saw, it was about an even split between good and having to bite my tongue before I go off on a tangent about how disappointed I was. To spare you from that long-winded essay, I'll just highlight some of my favorites and briefly discuss one of my most significant let-downs.

    Starting with the good, I'm so grateful for the fact that my local movie theater upgraded and installed 4DX theaters because watching Top Gun: Maverick with two of my closest friends was quite the memorable experience. The rumbling of the seats timed flawlessly with the takeoff of the jets, the sprays of water in the scenes with snow, even the small puffs of air that accompanied the wind and gunfire, it was all absolutely impeccable. Experiences like those are the reasons why I love theatrical releases of films, and although I understand that with the recent increase in streaming platforms, it is only natural for more films to be released for in-home viewing, I can't part with the traditional ambience of a crowded theater on premiere day. 

    Another film that I was impressed with was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Granted, it was something I'd been looking forward to for a while, but it did not disappoint. Seeing Elizabeth Olsen take on the persona of a broken mother (Wanda Maximoff) driven into madness because she couldn't obtain the one thing any mother would want, to be with her children, resonated with me. It took an intrinsic human value to another level by framing it as the motivation behind the shift from a once heroic member of the Avengers to a cruel antagonist who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I also really enjoyed the experimental music battle scene. I thought that it was so beautifully cinematically constructed, despite what many viewers believed to be an out-of-place and "ridiculous" waste of screen time. 

    It would be of the utmost offense if I didn't take the time to talk about Jordan Peele and the "spectacle" that was Nope. Going in, I wasn't sure of what to expect. Watching the trailer back in February was like eating breadcrumbs, I was hungry for more, and I needed to see what the main course would be. Everything was carefully crafted and as I made connections as the film went on, seeing the foreshadowing come to front was so satisfying when paired with the interlaced societal critiques, small detailing, such as the naming of the characters (OJ for instance), the nail-biting suspense, the gruesome subplot, the reveal at the end, it was all so perfect. Hence why I can't understand the audience members who claimed that they found it to be underwhelming. Of course, it wouldn't be the same as Us or Get Out, that I knew, which is why I wasn't let down at all. If anything, the expansion to new topics and a different kind of execution was refreshing and engaging, leaving so much open to the interpretation and mental digestion of the viewer. I've watched countless theory videos and they all seem to fall short of giving the film the justice and praise it deserves because they only ever capture a small glimpse of all that the film has to offer and say. 

    Now that I've raved enough about my film favorites this far in the year, I have to express my utter disappointment in what I expected to be a great addition to one of my all-time favorite franchises, Jurassic World: Dominion. It not only failed to do what Spider-Man: No Way Home succeeded at, with its careless reintroduction of old-time favorites, like Jeff Goldblum, but it devolved into a cash-grab, being riddled with rushed plots and underdeveloped characters; for lack of better words, it has become the Fast & Furious of the science fiction fantasy genre, except it isn't even enjoyable in a "watch it because it's bad" way. It has reached the point where I fear that it will go out worse than the dinosaurs did. 

    Aside from watching a number of different films, I did have a fun summer break. I spent time with my grandparents in Tennessee, made a pitstop to see my best friend on the way back down in South Carolina for a week, and even got to attend the Weeknd's concert as a birthday gift to my dad. 

    The fact that summer is so short really put a lot of things into perspective for me, especially regarding how precious life is and how essential it is for every moment, happy or sad, to be cherished because it's an experience that I'll never be able to relive again. Enough of this reminiscence, this year calls for me to become a more forward-looking and assertive individual, capable of handling any inconvenience thrown her way with poise and presence, to prove naysayers wrong and rise above self-doubt and inhibition. With that being said, I intend to make the most of this year, so look out Cambridge because "I'm making my move(!)" (Tommy Page 1988).

*If you don't get the reference I'd recommend checking back to the end of my final blog last year!

    

Creative Critical Reflection: As the Curtain Falls, I Reveal it All

    Didn't expect to see me back so soon, did you? Well, how could I miss the opportunity to share just one last blog with you? Today I'm submitting my Creative Critical Reflection. This time around, since we were tasked with producing a video in which we responded to the given questions (I do improvise with one of my own), I decided to make it as entertaining as I could. I picked out my "director" outfit the night before filming and set up my filming location the day of. In the background, a picture frame showcasing me throughout the various stages of my life is shown, acting as a reflection to the way in which I feel I have grown throughout the entirety of this course. I, unfortunately, ran into issues with my editing software, resulting in the complete wiping of my work, which is why it’s not the best product that it could be (Davinci Resolve 17 will rue the day it deleted my work). Aside from the technological issues I couldn’t account for, I think I did well overall. With the help of my parents, I was able to bring my interviewer, Mr. Slothsky, a name I find to be very fitting, to life with the help of some top-notch voice acting from my dad and the use of a thread for the movement of his arms.

Anywho, I think it's time for me to cut the chit-chat and get to the chase. Here's to one last video complete with (some) editing and acting (believe me it took a lot to stifle my laughter every time Mr. Slothsky poised himself to speak), enjoy! 

As much as I'd love to end off this blog with my iconic send-offs (I even had the perfect song in mind), I don't even want to risk not being able to not upload my creative critical reflection due to a confliction in uploaded files. That won't stop me from quoting the lyrics, however, so even though this creative critical reflection marks the end of my AICE Media Studies AS-Level journey, I know that "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day" (Vera Lynn and Arthur Young 1939).

Final Task Blog: The End of an Era

     Welcome! Come one, come all to the first screening of our final task! It is with great pride and joy that I announce that said project is complete! After having put in so much time (almost two and a half months), work, and effort in, I'm glad to see that everything has fallen into place. To be entirely honest, I'm probably the most excited to be able to share our final project of the year with you! Before I do that, however, since I consider this to be the last time we'll officially "speak" (or rather you'll read anything of substance from me), I think now’s the time, more than ever, for a heartfelt and pensive message. 

    I've developed so much in terms of myself as a person, along with my skills as a fully-fledged cinematographer and self-proclaimed director, and I owe it all to this course. I fully believe that I've attested to my hopes of making "...my portfolio worth your while(!)," the very thing I set out to do all the way back on day one in my "Introductory Blog." There were times when I'd be stressed out and feel like I was on the brink of quitting, but each time when I would meet with my team and we'd finish a successful day of filming, those thoughts were quickly forgotten and replaced with feelings of gratification and fulfillment. That made me realize two things. The first of which is that "Patience is a virtue" (William Langland) and can truly make or break success, and the second of which is something that, despite being such a commonplace platitude, so often thrown around, it is not often understood. To put it in a way that will resonate with many, I'll use the words of the Puerto Rican sensation, Marc Anthony, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." That basic concept is something I understood when filming and editing, that because I enjoyed what I was doing, even though it was a time-consuming and difficult process now and again, it was all worth it in the end knowing that the work I had produced was my own and the best that it could be.

    As much as filmmaking is a huge part of self-discovery and the creation of one's identity by acting as a medium for their self-expression, I also see now that it acts as a way of joining people together. Every time my groupmates and I finished working on a film, the first people I would send it to are the ones whose ideas challenged my own, whose new perspectives brought light to flaws and imperfections in our projects, and whose opinions only serve to better our work in the end - my team. After I had ensured that they had all seen the video, I would then send it to the person who invested so much of their time, energy, and dedication to a project that wasn't even their own - our actor. I always do so with the intention that I might give them the opportunity to take pride in their work and learn something about themselves, sharing the passion I discovered with them. If that even has the possibility of sparking an interest in the realm of filmmaking and acting for them after having been immersed in the action in a major role in one of our projects, I'd say that it was worth it. And now, how could I ever overlook the people who gave me complimentary car rides, prepared delicious lunches for my team and I, went on last-minute store runs for forgotten props, and most importantly, always gave me their unwavering support, advice, love, and constructive criticism - my family. Without my family by my side, none of this would have ever been possible, so I cannot emphasize enough how important they are to me. Last, but not certainly least, I always ensure that my close friends get the opportunity to watch my films. Near or far, even my best friend, who has long since moved out of state, gets to watch my team and I's films, and every time she calls me to express how much she enjoyed them, I begin to wonder if maybe filmmaking is the calling I've been searching to pursue for so long.

    Going past that, I feel like being given the chance to explore such a versatile genre, that being the science-fiction thriller, allowed my team and I to improve and move past the conventions of the genre, replacing them with our own innovative ideas. While we did stumble a few times along the way, we always dusted ourselves off and picked ourselves up, which led us to produce our amazing final task (if you've been keeping track and we wondering, we did meet the time limit).

    Before I finally give you the chance to watch our opening sequence, I would like to thank my parents, my friends, our actors, and my teammates, once again, for making my final project possible and as great as it was! Most of all, I'd like to thank you! Thank you for accompanying me on this journey of self-discovery, for bearing witness to my frustrations and triumphs, and for coming to understand me as a whole. 

Now, without further ado, I present to you my film, "Flicker," and as I have with previous projects, I apologize for the noticeable decrease in quality, but not much could be done given the large file size and need to send it across different platforms.

If you've just finished watching the film, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you haven't, don't forget to give it a watch, I can promise you that it was "out of this world" (see what I did there). Since today's blog deserves to end on a positive note (despite us being so close to parting ways, a saddening truth I'm currently grappling with), I think I earned the right to relish in its completion just a little, so I'd like to say that I believe our final task is "...unforgettable in every way..." (Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole 1991) (perhaps a bit irrelevant, but this is the song my dad and I danced to during my sweet sixteen).

And with that, it has been a pleasure writing to you, and if I haven't said it before, I'll see you in A-Level next year!

Yours truly, 

Jordyn Minnis

Editing Blog: Working Against the Clock

    Hi again! Today we worked on our final edits for our project. I am proud to say that I finished adding in all of our titles. It was a tedious task that I'm glad is finally done. I don’t believe that I’ve said it before, but on our last day of filming when I was working alone, I had my parent's bedroom set up to film the shots in which the subject’s room would need to be arranged in a different way. With that being the case, I needed to both add and remove various props from the set to make a noticeable difference between the two sets of shots when I eventually compiled them together. In the haste of filming said shots, since I was already behind on time, I seem to have overlooked one of the props appearing in a shot earlier than it was supposed to. The prop I’m currently referring to is the bicycle in the subject’s room. Given that the programs I currently use are a mixture of iMovie, ClipChamp, and DaVinci Resolve 17 (the free version though; as I’ve said before, my teammates and I are all just broke high schoolers) their ability to help me edit is limited to the paywall that stands between me and some of their more "exclusive" features. Therefore, my group and I needed to turn to the only place we had left to look, the internet. After spending the better part of our class period scouring the internet for one such program, we stumbled upon an application that could successfully remove the unnecessary object, for free at that. That program being was "Simplified," a fitting title for the navigatable and beginner-friendly app. 

I've provided a screenshot of the website's homepage layout below:

    Now, granted, it did take a bit for me to become acquainted with the new program since it was an unfamiliar platform; however, it was definitely not the hardest thing I’ve had to do after having experimented on so many different applications. By using a masking tool, I was able to cover up the bicycle and blend it into the wall in the background, which wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be since it was a static, stationary shot. Those edits in particular took up the majority of my time today, with the rest of it being split on making some minor tweaks that I thought would better our project on the whole. 

    As I’ve said before, my group and I decided that we should darken the filter and coloration of our clips at the end of our opening, as to ensure that we created a captivating and nail-biting ending that leaves our audience in suspense, wondering “What’s next?” After a bit of internal debating, I determined that I should take things a step further, using the more abstract concept of a color change and pairing it with the more noticeable zoom-ins at the end of our video. I felt that, in doing so, I could mimic the iconic “Dun-dun-dun(!)” effect that is often used in thrillers, whilst also putting my own fresh spin on things. I was able to accomplish this feat through the use of an inaudible, but just as effective alternative. Aside from that, today was not an overly strenuous day when it came to editing because I feel that we were able to mediate the amount of work that needed to be done by gradually editing our video throughout our production process.

    All things considered, I feel as though everything I did today was just as important as the rest of the editing sessions I’ve done during this project, even if it was mainly focused on cleaning up and making small improvements to our already complete project. In light of the fact that today was comprised of last-minute editing, I think that MC Hammer's 1990, "U Can't Touch This," hit is the best way to capture how I felt when I understood that it was time to "Stop..." messing around because it was I needed to busy and down to work since it was "Hammer time!"

Film Review Blog: Editing- Improve, Revise, and Compromise

     Yello! The perfect greeting for this blog, since the portmanteau, parallels the fact that I spent today combining the suggestions I had gathered from my film review with revisions and additions of my own. The easiest choice my team and I made was the removal of our establishing shot, which saved us valuable time that we could use later on. Getting rid of this shot, in particular, was of no concern to us given that we never once made a reference to anything happening outside of the house and instead gave our sole focus on the interior of the subject's home. In doing so, we were also able to ramp up tensions because the audience and subject began to get the feeling that they are trapped in this house, the closet seeming to be the only means of escape, but as seen with our cliffhanger ending, it may instead open up its doors to more troublesome situations. When it came time for us cut down on other areas of our opening, we did choose to shred a few seconds off when our subject initially walks into what is now our first shot. While my groupmates and I were quite excited that we were able to use the places different people pointed out to us to cut down on time, we actually ended up needing to do the opposite after a while once we began to dwindle too far below, or rather an exact ten seconds under, the two-minute mark. While to most people, ten seconds may not seem like a lot, to us, making up for that time seemed to be an eternity. However, everything ended up working out in our favor. If you recall, in my film review blog I mentioned that a few people stated that they thought the "apple in the garbage can" shot was too short for them to read the electrical bill we had deliberately placed within it. Since we were now short on time, I lengthened the clip, which was a bit difficult since I needed to allow for it to look as natural as possible in terms of the amount of time it took for the apple to come into contact with the trashcan after our subject had thrown it. On the bright side, I was thankfully able to save myself from needing to refilm anything this late in the game, which I'd say is an absolute win! 

    Moving on, I would like to celebrate the fact that I happened upon a very important discovery today! After fiddling with my iPhone's features (some of which, despite having had the cellphone since December I am still unfamiliar with), I found a way to keep my shot focused on the film's title when our subject stands up from the dining room table in one of our scenes. By doing so, I was able to ensure that I provided my audience with an adequate amount of time to read and understand the title so that they would "get" its connection to our film later on (the flickering of the closet lights being a major plot point). Now, contrary to the statement I made in my first film review blog, I didn't actually end up shortening the stairs clip, as I drew it out instead. I did also end up muting that clip entirely, so that the ambient noise of our filming location would not overlap and shift the focus away from our film's non-diegetic music. It was as if luck was on my side because the music swelled at that exact moment, acting as a foreboding warning that paired nicely with the fact that the shot lingers a bit longer than it should, creating an eerie and perturbing feeling when both of said elements worked in conjunction with one another.

    When it came to the more minute, but still bothersome inconsistencies (at least for me and a couple of the more attentive and critical people that watched over our film), such as the disconnectivity between the shots of the subject as they walked over the phone and the one facing them from outside of the closet, I ended up removing the "stepping over" part of the clip entirely. In lieu of this decision, I chose to follow along with what I deduced would have been the natural progression of his movement had the shot been continuous, which actually enhanced the quality of the shot overall. Furthermore, I did speed up the second pan to match the quickened pace that our subject was moving at so that the shots were better transitioned between and connected.

    As much as it pains me to say it, from the looks of things right now, we will likely not be including our planned news anchor voice-over because of audio layering issues with the different programs we've tried, including ClipChamp, iMovie, and DaVinci Resolve 17, as well as difficulties with blurring out the television screen in the background (which we did purposefully as to make it look like there was actually a news reporting occurring). It took a bit of convincing for my groupmates to agree that it would be improbable for us to be able to incorporate that particular aspect into our film given the now limiting time constraints, but we decided that it was the best decision overall, since it would give me one less thing to worry about as I made my rounds and conducted my final touch-ups when editing. On the topic of audio, my group and I ended up deciding that it would be best not to drown out the cries of the subject at the end, but instead have the jarring, high-pitched, and quicker tempo non-diegetic music begin after the final call for his mother and the cut to black where the director's name is displayed. I'm not sure if you caught it, but I did indeed use the word "is." Aside from the editing that I conducted from what was laid out in my film review, I also got a jump start on the insertion of titles since it is likely to be a more time-consuming process being that I will need to create the titles on a separate file and transport them in, one-by-one, on Davinci Resolve 17. 

I am actually so proud of myself for accomplishing the "daunting" feat that I have decided to include a picture of one of the many titles I put in today as a way to commemorate this milestone.

    Anywho, I'd say that's as great of news as any because it can only mean one thing, that we're nearing the end. While I will say that this was probably my favorite project this year because everything was entirely our own (aside from the music that is), since we did not need to hinge on whether or not we appealed to our audience's material desires by applying overused commercial clichés, as we did with our advertisement, nor did we need to ground our film in the lyrics of a song as with our music video, I will not hide the fact that I am excited to see how all of our hard work will finally pay off once our final product is complete.

Of course, since our project is due this week, the only thing on my mind is that it's almost time to see how everything will come together, meaning that I can initiate my "final countdown(!)" (Europe 1986). 

An Unconventional Blog: Getting a Much Needed Break Amidst the Madness Seen at the Start of Testing Season

     Hi! I know that you might be expecting an editing blog today as a follow-up to my film review, but after having taken a statewide exam and having worked on a project for another AICE class already, I felt that I deserved somewhat of a break. I find that taking the time to decompress and destress is essential for me to work efficiently and refrain from burning out. 

    At my school, today was an early release day, or rather a professional study day, which meant that we were dismissed earlier from class so that we could go home and complete any assignments we have for tomorrow. I held out hope that I would have extra time to spare for some much-needed relaxation. I decided to consider my "task" for this class as more of a two-in-one, being both a source of work and a chance to relax. Hence why after getting all of my other work out of the way, I made myself some popcorn and watched a movie. I did of course ensure that the film I picked out was related to the genre my team and I are currently working on, one in the realm of science fiction thrillers. Perhaps I'd pick up a thing or two that I could use for my own film in its late stages as I marveled in the works of another. I ended up deciding to rewatch Christopher Nolan's "Tenet." The film had quite an interesting premise, as one of its major subplots lie in the fact that, despite having the ability to time jump, one particular individual was committed to carrying things out in the exact same manner as they had been for who knows how long. This paradoxical decision and occurrence left me to wonder if I would have the willpower and strength to do the same, or if I'd one day allow my innate curiosity to get the best of me and defect from my set path. Additionally, I thought the film had been so laden with foreshadowing and clues that it was worth a second watch. When watching the movie this time around, I was able to admire the craftsmanship of each scene and use my knowledge as an amateur filmmaker to break apart each shot. By analyzing the intentions behind each scene and the mis-en-scène that it used, I found that I was able to appreciate the film for much more than it was at face value. Since I have now dappled in the creation of two works of my own, with my third being in its post-production phase, I could finally understand the pride that a filmmaker can take in their work once every loose end has been accounted for and tied up nicely in a way that appeases both them and their audience. This film had so many of the aspects that I wanted to see come to life within my own film. It was the kind of movie where you could respect the amount of effort that the director and the crew of cinematographers put in, choreographing everything to be utter perfection. I hope that I will one day master the artful craft of captivating, moving, and inspiring my audience as Nolan has done with this film in particular. 

    Since today was definitely one of my more rare and relaxed days, I think Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song "Relax" perfectly sums up my difficulty with accepting the fact that I actually got to take a break as I had to keep reminding myself that all of my work was done, so I could "Relax [and] don't do it..." (1984).

Film Review: Being Thrown Just the Right Amount of Shade (Please Throw Me Some More, Summer is Right Around the Corner and the Heat is Unbearable)

    Hello and welcome to the day I'm sure we've all been waiting for, film review day! I showed our project to a number of different people, reaching out to individuals I’m not particularly close to, like my fellow classmates or other students I saw around me at lunch, to get completely honest reactions. In doing so, I was able to obtain a wide range of different opinions. I did ask my family and friends not to be biased and be brutally honest with me, but since that wasn't a guarantee, I did opt to ask other people for their thoughts. Before I begin, I would like to establish the fact that today was solely dedicated to receiving critiques and suggestions, meaning that I did not work on any editing and will focus on that specifically in an upcoming blog. 

    Alright, with that out of the way, I can start by working chronologically through the film. Many of the people I spoke to were in agreement that we should cut out the initial establishing shot since it doesn't really contribute much to the opening given that we never refer to anything outside of the subject's home in the opening again and because we are a couple of seconds over time. This suggestion is definitely something that we're currently taking into consideration proper to making a final decision, as are the rest of the propositions that I will highlight in this blog. On the topic of having a video that exceeds the given time limit, I did come across quite a few people who believed that I could shave off a few seconds from when our subject initially walks into the living room, since not much else, outside of the layout of the room, is revealed. If that were the case, we would likely cut straight to where he is already seated and just beginning to type at the table. When it came to the scene in which the apple was thrown into the trash can and the electrical bill was shown, I did get a few complaints that the clip was too short for them to really catch anything, so depending on how much time we have left over once we shorten a few of our other shots, I may need to refilm the shot and have it last longer. Additionally, when the subject was shown seated at the dining table, the embedded title on the laptop screen seemed to come in and out of focus, so that our audience had a difficult time seeing it, making it an issue that I will certainly address once I pick up editing again later this week. 

    In the scene that focuses on the stairs, a couple of people stated that they had trouble hearing the non-diegetic music I had input over the diegetic sound of the natural hum of life, that seemed to supersede it. With that being the case, I will likely lower the volume of just that clip specifically, or mute it entirely (a liberty bestowed upon me because of the fact that the shot contains absolutely no dialogue whatsoever), which I feel will be able to create a more ominous and suspenseful tone overall. Moreover, with regard to the fact that we are over time at the moment, I am considering shortening the clip of my own accord. Moving on from the stair clip, I did, like others that I asked, find fault with some of the transitions between shots, particularly in the closet and bedroom, such as when the subject "stepped over" the camera and it cut to a shot of them from outside of the closet, so I will need to go back over when I edit to make sure that all of the consistency between shots is down pat. Another thing people seemed to notice, which I picked up on rather quickly as well, was the fact that the speed of our second pan did not seem to match the pace at which our subject was moving, making it look very ill-fitting, so that's definitely something I'm going to work on fixing.

    The last piece of criticism, or rather suggestion, that I received was related to the audio, where I was told that it might be a good idea to make the non-diegetic sound at the end gradually grow louder and almost silence the subject's cries for his mother, which I thought was quite interesting since it would act as a compromise to our original idea of overlaying older, copyright-free music that related to his lonely situation and could add to the creepiness we were already creating within the scene. 

    Aside from what's been mentioned as part of the review, I do still need to add in the voice-over of a news anchor (which will still be on the table so long as it does not drown out the non-diegetic music or the diegetic dialogue between characters) and the titles, before everything can be finally considered as being done. There were very minimal complaints about our subject's acting ability, aside from some very minor slip-ups that are easily missable (so I'm not worried about them), and being that most of our problems lie with the cuts, length, or flow of clips, I'm fairly confident that I will be able to resolve most, if not all of them during post-production editing. While I did receive quite a few critiques for our film, I do also accept a number of positive compliments about it as well, with everyone agreeing that our music choice was fitting, that the plot was understandable and easy to follow, and that they felt immersed and engaged in the storyline all throughout the opening.

    

    I will say that as much as I appreciated the comments, I did also like the fact that I was able to receive unrestrained constructive criticism from people who I didn't know well enough to sugarcoat things for me. Likewise, I'm also grateful that the final task has given me the opportunity to learn how to accept the criticism I receive and use it to craft and plan out my next steps as I continue with editing, especially since one of the purposes as a filmmaker is to make things appeasing and understandable for the audience so that they can enjoy watching it as much as I did making it. 

Since today was all about learning and seeking improvement, I thought Depeche Mode's song "Policy of Truth" was the best way to end things off, since I took all of the suggestions I received to heart and learned the importance of the "...policy of truth" (1990).

Production Blog: Feeling the Heat, and Not Just Because I Live in Florida

Hey there! Well, I'm back early than expected! You may be wondering why I've chosen to break my rather rhythmic Monday and Thursday posting schedule, but as you may recall from my last production blog, we only got through around half our opening and our film review is set to take place this Monday! This was due to a myriad of reasons; however, at the end of the day it boiled down to the fact that my team and I had very tight time constraints given the distance from which my home is from their houses. That's beside the point though because we were actually able to get everything filming-related done today! 

       Having said that, this next statement may come as a bit of a shock to you as I was actually the only one of my groupmates able to film today. I won't say that it was a one-women job though, since my mom and actor (whom I simply cannot thank enough) did help me out substantially. Prior to the arrival of my actor, I reorganized my parent's room to fit with the new reality that the subject would be entering into once they stepped out of the closet, retrieving various objects from storage, such as the bicycle, with the help of my mom. Once that was done, I switched gears and went over to my dining room table to set it up the same way it had been when I met with my groupmates last week. When the subject arrived at my house, my first order of business was to complete the latter half of the refilmed shot-reverse-shot sequence we conducted last time, using my mom's voice instead of one of my teammates due to her availability. Similarly to how we chose to record our subject's perspective of the shot-reverse-shot, I followed through with same logic and consistently filmed from my mother's point of view to ensure that the shots did not come out looking as choppy as they did the last time around. 

    I then transferred over my subject to my parent's bedroom where we promptly began filming the in-closet shots. The first thing we got out of the way was the low angle in the closet where I decided it would be interesting to have some subject to camera interactivity, hence why I chose to film my subject seemingly stepping over my phone. This in turn, establishes the fact that the viewers are but mere spectators, and while they may feel immersed in the storyline, they too, like our subject, are helpless to prevent what unfolds on screen. Within this shot, our actor had to engage in diegetic dialogue with his “mother.” Taking the layout of my home into consideration, I decided that it would be best to position my mom in the nearby bathroom in the hallway adjoining the room we were currently in. That way, while her voice would sound muffled and distant, it would still be within hearing range of the subject and could still be picked up by the camera.

          Following the completion of that shot, the next scene I needed to tackle was when the lights in the closet began to flicker. To do so, I employed the help of my mom to flicker them in the corner of the room so that the timing was correct as I continued to film our actor. The relatively slow flickering of the lights, both the first time and the second was done with the intention of creating a more drawn-out ominous feeling that would serve to disturb our audience. Unlike our storyboard, we chose to create one long, continuous shot in which the closet door remained open to show the confusion on our subject’s face, something that would not be shown in later scenes when the door shuts, and the flickering happens again. The same shot also captured as the subject made a step to emerge from their closet once the flickering had concluded. That way we wouldn’t be leaving our audience completely in the dark when the lights when out (pun intended) and came back on again, as they would be aware of the emotions of our subject at all times and have them reconfirmed once he was brought back into view once more. We then filmed a point of view shot, with panning and tilting included of course, to capture the state of the subject’s room in this alternate universe. This time around, there were quite a few differences, which included, but were not limited to: the change in posters, the messy/orderliness of the room, the confliction in interests between the individuals who reside in different realities, such as their pastimes (biking and playing the keyboard), preference in sports (as seen in the tee shirt on the dresser with a tennis design in the second pan and the football on the subject’s bed during the first pan), and their stylistic choices (the original set-up had more casual, athletic clothing, whereas the second set-up seemed catered to someone with dressier, more refined taste). As you will see later on in my blog, specifically within the film stills sections, I’ve included a side-by-side comparison of parts of both states of the room to make the differences more noticeable.

          As I worked down the list of remaining shots in chronological order, I came upon my next scene, the one in which our subject would lean out of their bedroom doorway. This was probably one of my favorite scenes to film because it looked so natural and organic with the way in which the camera flowed with the movement of the subject and his gaze, shifting with the opening of the doorway. I honestly believe this effect was only achieved because of my deviation from the storyboard to fit the setting of my home (the shot actually forced me to stand in the doorway of my bathroom to make sure I had space to capture everything I needed to in the shot). Said divergence from my team and I’s original plans gave me the chance to use the restrictive nature of medium shot framing to cut out the majority of the name sign on the subject’s door, making it seem as though it is unimportant to the audience at first, but later come into the frame to hold much more significance as a plot device than the audience could have initially imagined.

          The next shot in my filming line-up for today was when the subject is shown once more directly after the aforementioned shot as they pause to shake their head in disbelief and quickly return back into their closet without so much as a second thought. In this scene as the subject enters their closet, a high angle is used. Despite its being very brief and subtle, it is still present representing a dark force looming over him, one that he isn’t aware of, one that will likely come into play once the opening has concluded, and the film has begun. Just as I had done with the flickering the first time, I had my mom click the button in the corner and went on my merry way.

          Once the camera cuts from that scene, a medium long shot is used that captures the height of the closet doorframe, but that quickly devolves into a medium shot as the subject fully enters the frame, still carrying his red jacket of course. When that was done, I was officially in the home stretch! I began by shooting the scene in which the subject uncertainly calls out for his mother, rapidly exiting his room to go in search of her as he hopes that this is the end of the odd situation he had just experienced. The next shot, which captured the subject from the front using a stationary, but zoomed in shot, would zoom out once the subject reached a medium shot framing, a technique that almost acts a replacement for the eeriness that a Dutch tilt would provide, as it creates a detached and distance feeling from the subject within the audience. It essentially acts as a direct reflection of the situation the subject is in as their freedom and safety would always be just out of reach, shifting farther away as he inched forwards and hoped for it to stay. In the same shot, the subject calls out for his mother once more, the sound of fear growing more prominent in his voice. At the end of the lengthier clip, the subject widens their eyes in what one can assume to be a combination of confusion, horror, and plain astonishment as they look beyond the camera at something that the audience themselves cannot see. This when paired with the final and most gut-wrenching “Mom(!)” that had reached the epitome of urgency and paranoia, leaves the audience on the edge of their seat as they will be greeted with the name of the director and the crushing disappointment that there is nothing left to watch.

Since that about wraps up my discussion of what I filmed today, I’d like to share with you some pictures from today. Apologies in advance for the limited number of film stills, it was difficult to obtain any today because of my lack of an on-site and present crew. I would like to note that, despite not mentioning it earlier, I did message my team all throughout the process of filming so that I could receive feedback regarding changes in shots and camera placement, as well as acting critiques so that everything would be the best as it possibly could by the time I was finished with it.

Above is the comparison between the two versions of the subject's bedroom I promised to provide you with earlier. 

In the above image, our actor is pictured listening to me (not pictured, but actively behind the camera), as I tell him about how the next scene is going to be run and proceed to run through it with him right after the photograph was taken.

          All in all, I’m glad that I was able to wrap-up filming today even though my team was unavailable; however, as I’ve said before, I cannot take all of the credit, as without such a flexible and helpful actor and my attentive and involved mother, I don’t think that any of this would have been possible. Therefore, I’d like to extend a huge thanks to the both of them and I feel like it isn’t possible to express that in any other way but with song, and not just any song, but Andrew Gold’s “Thank You For Being A Friend!” (1978).

Editing Blog: A Snip of Our Clips

     Hello! Today I began by focusing on the most meticulous work I had to complete first. Said task being the smoothening out of transitions. I figured that it'd be best to get the most difficult and time-consuming work out of the way before I delve into new and unfamiliar editing territory. You may recall that we did reshoot some of our scenes last time my team and I met, but of course, there is still quite a bit to be done to ensure that we produce the best quality of work possible. This required that I rely on my trusty and simple-to-use friend, reliable old iMovie. In the application, I began by trimming the length of our clips so that I could then begin to look for areas within each of my shots that I could connect to other parts in those subsequent to them. Doing so would allow for said clips to flow into one another by having the movements and cuts within them follow a more organic progression. Once that had been accomplished, I turned to "Prequel" to adjust the coloration and general tone of our opening. My team and I were initially going to maintain a completely dark look throughout our opening, but we rethought our decision because where's the fun in not tapping into the realm of thrillers and subverting the expectations of our audience? We decided that it would be best if we began with a lighter look to our film and then switched to one with darker tones whenever our subject traveled to the new world. Using some forethought, we think that we can use these subtle tonal shifts to lure our audience into a false sense of security, much like the one our subject was experienced he went back to the world that he originally believed to be his own, but soon came to find, truly isn't. This gives us the ability to use lighter colors when he first returns back and gradually have them become darker and darker as our subject comes to the crushing revelation that it is not the place he calls home. Moreover, the use of dark filters will project an eerie and uncomfortable feeling to our audience as the screen becomes dimmer while things that should be kept in the dark come to light. 

Here's a side by side comparison of what we were originally going to do and what we finally settled on:

    Once I was satisfied with the way in which I had joined the clips that I had together, I switched over to Davinci Resolve 17, yet another one of my go-to editing platforms. Once I had gotten on, I started experimenting with the addition of titles to our film opening. Like I've said before, I began researching how to go about doing so on that particular platform a little while back, so I came prepared with the necessary skills to efficiently and correctly execute that part of the project. 

To ensure that you are able to get a clear picture of what the flickering effect will look like in our film, I've inserted a short video sample below, placing it against a black background to make it as visible as possible.

The next part of the titling process was figuring out how to overlay the text onto our video. That was a different beast entirely which meant that I needed to head over to YouTube to binge some tutorials on how to go about doing that. After about a quarter of an hour of doing so, I returned back to the program and only did the overlay on one of our scenes. That being the case, nothing with the overlaying has been finalized just yet because I want to take time over this upcoming weekend to evaluate all of my options before reaching a final decision with my group on how we will be incorporating the titles into our shots, more specifically, how opaque we wish for them to be and if we want them to fade or flicker out. Moreover, since we have our film review coming up, I didn't want to make "finalized" edits that my group and I would end up changing in the end because of a flaw we had overlooked. 

    Now, on to the conversation I've been wanting to avoid, our music situation. It's been a little under a month, but as we near our deadline, I think it's time for my team and I to be realistic. We will not be receiving a response from Billy Joel any time soon, and even if we do, it will be too late to integrate the song into our film anyways. Hence why I researched various royalty-free songs online via Youtube. I encountered a number of interesting songs all throughout my search. However, one song stuck out to me in particular: "Dark Theme Background Music" from the YouTube channel "Audio Instore." It has just the right "vibe," as the teenagers of today like to say, that I believe will set our audience on edge as they lie in anticipation of what's going to happen next. I find that it is able to achieve this effect because of its subtle dissonance throughout and the way in which it intensifies at some parts, reminding me a bit of Servant on Apple TV (a stellar show whose fourth season I just finished, likely why the show came to mind). I also like the fact that it acts perfectly as background music, not being prominent enough to distract our audience from the diegetic sound within our opening, but still maintaining an ominous and oppressing presence. As of right now my team and I are considering including another song, royalty-free of course, with vocals at the end to make our opening even more unsettling, but that remains to be seen. After having said all of that, I strongly believe that the use of filters to touch up on the visual aspects of our film, when paired with our carefully selected musical arrangement will serve to give our opening the ability to exude the primary characteristics of a heart-pounding science fiction thriller.

    Even though I'd say that today was not as "hardcore" of an editing session as I'm used to, given that it was mainly centered around working on the titles, getting the filters set, and sorting out our music situation, I do believe that I learned a lot more with regards to the process itself. On Davinci Resolve 17 when I worked with the titles, I found that there were so many more features than I initially believed, so the program still has a lot of unchartered territory. I do hope that I'll be given the opportunity to explore some of said elements as I continue to edit our final task, but if not, I'm sure that this summer I'll be working on some kind of short film and have the chance to do so then! I was also able to come to terms with the harsh reality that Billy Joel probably isn't the one reading his Instagram direct messages, so my heartfelt message was probably in vain.

    Anywho, I believe it's time for one of my classic signoffs! In light of my visitation of my niece and nephew over break (at least I'm going to go with those terms because I'm not sure what I'd be considered to them since my mother is cousins with their grandmother), both of whom were hyper fixated on watching the Princess and the Frog, I don't think there was a better option than one of Anika Noni Rose's (Tiana's voice actress) songs in the film, especially since we're "...almost there(!)" (2009).

Production Blog: What Happens Behind Closed "Closet" Doors

    Here's Jordyn! Today is the last day of spring break and, contrary to what one might believe of a student with a rigorous schedule like mine, I'm actually excited to return back to campus! While my group and I didn't do any filming today because we all wanted to enjoy the freedom of an unstructured, stress-free schedule, we did accomplish quite a bit in terms of the production of our opening. It was definitely an exhausting day to say the least, as I flew back to Florida from Las Vegas (a trip to see my cousins over break) during which I time-traveled from Nevada time, starting at 10:30 PM (1:30 AM back home), and after a grueling four hours made it back at 5:30 AM in local Florida time. After that, I only got two hours of sleep before getting up to arrange my set in terms of my storyboard. 

    Before I delve into that, I want to take a moment to express my appreciation for my dad as he, being aware of the fact that I would be returning home early in the morning, utterly sleep-deprived, and then would be filming the rest of the day, took it upon himself, completely unprompted, to clear out a variety of items from his closet that would've potentially obscured our shots. That simple act saved me a good hour or so of cleaning so that I had time to set everything else up. I began by putting up two of the four posters one of my teammates had left at my house about two weeks ago when we first began filming, opting to group the two anime posters I had together and put them up in the "original" version of the room. In order to hang up said posters, I had to use a stepping stool to get them high enough to not be covered by any of the room's furnishing. I made sure to look the stool's steps in place so that it would not collapse and had my dad nearby to prevent me from losing my balance and potentially injuring myself. Following that, I started to place more objects around the room. 

    Beginning from left to right, I first positioned two of my awards, a football MVP (most valuable player) trophy alongside a gold medal I earned for a Spanish competition (that being hidden as to paint the subject out to be an athletic, sports-oriented individual), on the dresser. In doing so, I was able to provide subtle clues to the audience regarding the personality and interests of our primary subject, both of which are important to establish in the exposition of a film. I placed two bottles of cologne on the mantle to illustrate the fact that our subject does care about his dignity and self-image, something that will come into question as after having argued with his mother earlier in the opening, he will call out to her for aid in his "darkest hour" as the end. Aside from those items, I also placed a pair of cargo shorts on top of the dresser and had a gray tank top hanging out of one of the drawers. On the nightstand, I placed a black speaker alongside the remote, which I purposefully skewed at an angle, and set down a half-drunk glass of lemonade (on a coaster, he may be a bit untidy, but he's not an animal), next to it. The half-filled glass can be interpreted as being a representation of one choosing to adopt a more optimistic view of life, to see it as half-full instead of half-empty, especially given the unfortunate circumstances being hinted at towards the beginning of the opening, with the high electrical bill, the "fake" apples the subject had to eat, and the sickness that his uncle was afflicted with. 

    Moving past that, I placed three articles of clothing on the bed, one Las Vegas Raiders (an interesting coincidence since I just returned from there, not sure that I agree with the everything "stays in Vegas" phrase very much now), one set of athletic shorts, and a pair of long pants, each of which was meticulously placed with complete disregard (rather contradictory I'd say), with three hangers scattered about and a football placed at the other edge of the bed to really drive the point of our subject being interested in sports home. This does deviate a bit from our original storyboard, but I ended up not being able to get a guitar, so I opted for my keyboard, which I propped against the wall, along with two speakers, to show that our subject isn't a complete jock, that he has a softer side tied to his love for music. The last four objects worth noting in the room were the laundry bin, from which I had draped a "dirty" tank top, the box of Jordan's located on a small shelving unit, which was included to establish the subject's stylistic preference, the backpack on the ground leaning against his bed, and the pair of shoes carelessly thrown next to it. I would also like to mention that all of the clothing in the film, mind for the cargo shorts and long pants, were provided to me by the courtesy of my dad. Additionally, he also retrieved some of the objects I mentioned above from storage for me so that I could focus on setting up the items I had immediate access to. Anywho, the intention behind doing all of this was to make the subject's room messy enough for there to be a noticeable difference later on once he reemerges from his closet. Once I had done that, I set up the dining room table as we had done on our first day of filming. By the time I had everything completely in place, all of my groupmates, with the exception of one who was home, sick, and our actor, arrived and we began. 

    We started off by refilming the apple being thrown into the trash can, we repositioned the electrical bill so that it would be more easily readable, especially since the shot occurs so quickly. Since we intend for the shot to cut to black, we used a blacked-out poker chip taped to the end of a red marker to act as a removable "cover" for my phone's camera that would allow us to transition to the next shot and create a more seamless cut between the two. That shot was the beginning of our shot-reverse-shot scene. We actually ended up filming our subject's dialogue all in one go, as to prevent the camera angle from shifting and looking inconsistent, so that when we meet again we can simply shoot the other half of the shot from the other perspective and maintain the consistency there are well, simply splicing all of our clips together during editing once we're done. 

    Before you start to think that all we did was refilm botched shots from our first go around, we did venture into new filming territory, as I hadn't set up my parent's bedroom for nothing. Due to differences in my home's arrangement and spacing (as I've said before, I live in a condo and my uncle lives in a house), some of our shots were different from what we had laid out in our storyboard. For instance, when our subject enters his room, the camera does not pan to be directly in line with the doorway, instead, maintaining its distance from the subject to create a detached feeling that creates a divide between our audience and the subject, an abstract division felt between him and his mother, and one that will become more literal as he leaves his reality and ends up in another. As the camera cuts to the subject entering his room, instead of just using a stationary wide shot, we chose to go for a hybrid shot, in which the wide shot was integrated into the trailing tracking shot we ended up using instead of the high angle tracking shot. Now, despite the audience being unable to see the facial expressions of our subject, they could still clearly understand the fact that he was upset because of the diegetic sound of his sighs and the dragging of his feet, as well as the thoughtless way in which he tossed his laptop onto his bed.

    When it came to the next shot, we needed to change things up a bit, since my uncle's closet has a light switch inside and my parent's closet does not, so in order to simulate the effect of the subject attempting to turn on the light without turning the light itself on, we switched the camera's perspective and recorded the sound of the light switch before filming, allowing it to play over our shot when we started videoing. I do like the way that things worked out since we managed to obtain an almost, video game-like feel, where things aren't revealed until the subject is given the chance to experience or see them for themselves. This was only able to be achieved through the obscurity of the closet with the tracking shot behind our subject which then switches to a point of view shot once the audience has "caught up" to them. After having obtained all of those shots, we decided that it would be best to get all of the shots that required the room to be set up in the manner in which it currently was out of the way this weekend, and work on the new set up of the room next weekend. With that decision being made, we filmed a continuous shot that panned and tilted around the room to show that it had returned to its original state. With this recording in hand, we are not only one step closer to having all of our shots done, but we now also have a relative idea of the placement of the objects around the room, so that we can prepare to reorganize it in a different way next weekend.

Below I've included some production stills from when we filmed:

As I mentioned earlier in my blog, we created a makeshift camera "cover" to create a smoother transition between shots, so there are my hands as I fill in the white spots on the chip to keep them from affecting the shot.

In this image, I'm pictured on the left describing the next shot to our actor as he listens attentively to get a complete understanding of the scene, whilst one of my teammates holds the camera in place to capture a test run of the scene. 

This shot was taken a couple of minutes after the one directly above it, showing our actor as he prepares to follow through with the shot, and my hand as I signal to my groupmates that we're just about ready to begin.

    Overall, we had a very successful filming session and by the looks of it, everything is going according to plan as we have roughly half of our opening complete. After everything my dad did for me on Saturday, a stellar birthday gift is definitely in order! Aside from that, we've made some great progress so I think things are "...movin' on up(!)" (Ja'Net DuBois 1975).

Editing Blog: Just Beginning to Scratch the Surface

     Hi! Today marked quite an eventful day, being the first day of editing as well as the first day of spring break! Regarding the latter circumstance, I apologize for being the bearer of bad news, but my blogging will be more infrequent over the course of the next week or so, as I will be traveling out of state to Nevada to visit my cousins for the break. If I do think of something I'd like to share, or if my groupmates and I contact each other virtually to further our production along, I will be sure to blog about it and let you know. Now being that spring break has just begun, it should come as no surprise that people, including some of my groupmates, have already left on their excursions. This has caused us to make significant alterations to our filming schedule, which, for the time being, will cause us to fall just a bit behind our plans. Due to the relatively last-minute development, we will now need to film next weekend as opposed to this one coming up since none of my group members will be available. That is not to say that I will be idle until then, being that I have quite a lot that I need to get done with regards to the editing I began today. Earlier on in the day, I began by compiling all of our potentially final shots into iMovie so that I could get a clearer picture of where our continuity issues lay. Upon doing so I noticed our biggest problem was when cutting between the long and medium close-up shots during our second scene with our shot-reverse-shot sequence. When watching back the video I found that this resulted primarily from the fact that our subject was either not facing in the correct direction, sitting in the same manner, or maintaining consistent facial expressions when cutting back and forth between shots. I resolved that editing would not suffice when it came to working out that issue. This, in turn, is why I decided to only conduct surface-level editing this time around. Once we film next weekend I will likely shift my focus to more extensive edits which include color and brightness correction, transitional refinement, the addition of titles, and the incorporation of non-diegetic audios. When it came to those edits, I essentially trimmed down the shots so that the scenes would flow better into one another. Moreover, for the cut between the point-of-view trashcan shot and the long shot in the hallway, I ensured that the screen darkened entirely to black to bridge the gap between the two and make for a cleaner transition.

I've included a screenshot of one of the scenes from our opening on iMovie to show you how I've ordered the clips.

    Aside from the general editing that I conducted, I also watched online video tutorials on how to input text with the flickering effect we'd like to use for our titles. This way, I will be prepared for when that phase of the editing process rolls around. Additionally, I also took the time to make note of the definite changes we would need to make with regards to filming in our "new" location for our upcoming scenes. In doing so, I intended for my groupmates and me to refrain from wasting any more time, and instead, get straight into filming.

I've been listening to some of the immortalized and influential Sam Cooke's songs and "A Change Is Gonna Come" really stuck out to me, not only because of its profound and moving message of holding out hope for the best, something that I believe holds global relevance in today's society, but also because of one particular lyrics' relation to the fact that my group and I have made and will continue to make alterations to our project: "I know a change gonna come...Oh, yes it will" (1964).