We've faced many obstacles trying to situate our filming schedule and script. As previously discussed, many of our actors had to miss out on the original filming week. Some also weren't available to film in general. My partner and I went through many tasks trying to recruit new actors and change our script to fit the number of people we had. Our original filming day was set for Saturday, December 5th. Due to all of these circumstances, we decided to change the filming day. We talked with our cast and decided that Saturday, December 12th was better to film. However, that day many of our actors failed to show due to personal issues. We've decided to film as much as we could that day. After that, we've edited the scenes and decided on what we still need to film. However, we didn't want to film over winter break so we can rest from school. I've been talking with my partner and we've concluded to film possibly on January 3rd 2021. We thought this day was good since its after all of the holidays. We've contacted out actors in advance to see if they're available to film. Currently, we're waiting for their response to the new filming schedule. This gives us an idea of what we can film that day. We've also planned to film one of the scenes on a school day since the setting is close to our school. Many of our actors are also attending school in person after winter break. However, that plan is very vague and only an alternative if we do need another filming day. Hopefully this improved schedule will happen smoothly with less problems occurring.
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Scenes That We Still Need
After our editing, we've concluded the scenes we're going to film next shoot. Our opening scene is one of our biggest challenges. For that scene, we have three of our actors talking to each other on the phone about school. We had the vision of doing the iconic Mean Girls phone call split screen. We were originally planning for each of the actors to film that scene separately in their own room. However, we decided to do it together to ensure it comes out the right way. It's also easier to help our actors film the scene as well instead of doing their own thing at home. We were planning to film one of the scene in the bedroom, another one in the bathroom and the last one in the living room, to give the illusion of the characters being in different houses. Our other scenes is this sidewalk scene where most of our characters are having a confrontation interaction with each other. We were going to film this scene outside of one of our crew members houses. Their sidewalk is mainly secluded and open to allow all of our characters to comfortably film. We didn't want a place with many cars to pass by to distract our actors or mess with the audio. Our last scene is at Dairy Queen where four of our actors are talking and confessing the love for the two main characters. We've changed the scene to be easier to film for our crew. We took out the main characters friends in the scene. We didn't want to keep them there filming when they didn't need to. Their characters in that scene aren't that important especially since it's where the plot twist happens. We created a new scene to have more dialogue for our other actors. This helps even out the importance of the other characters so none of our actors feel excluded. We hope we can film all of the scenes in one day.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Editing Blog
I'm going to be editing the scene that we have. We've filmed on December 15th, but came across many obstacles. I will be editing the scenes to see if we need to reshoot. I have the editing software iMovies on my computer since I don't have a school desktop. I will be using iMovies to edit the rest of the film. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the major difficulties that we've faced this year. In order to be able to edit the film with my partners input, we need to be on call or FaceTime to communicate with each other. First, we tried to cut out any of the long pauses or lines that we didn’t need. We wanted each scene to roughly be a minute long to match the five minute time limit. We had two scenes from the shoot to edit. Each one was roughly 1:45-2:00 minutes long. This wasn’t short enough to match the time limit. We then decided to cut out any long lines that over-exaggerated the scene, since it was also not needed. This cut the scene down to about 1 minute and 30 seconds long. We replayed the scene to see how the outcome was. There was many cuts throughout the scene and we didn’t prefer it since we wanted the scene to flow nicely. With all the cuts, it effected the camera movement and sometimes the audio. My partner and I decided to try and reshoot that scene on the next filming day. If we don’t have enough time then we can try and salvage one of the scenes we’ve already filmed. Hopefully the scenes that we get next shoot can flow nicely with what we already have.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Why We Won't Be Filming Over Break
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Script Changes
In our script, we had a different group of people we were originally working with. One of our members had to move away due to some personal problems. We didn't think it was much of a difference since it was just a side character. We tried to find a replacement actor for that one specific person. We had other people as an option but it wasn't confirmed that they are definitely able to film with us. We decided to change our script since we would have to anyway. We first had to rearrange our crew and the different characters they were playing. We went back into the script and just changed the names of the actors to be easier during filming. We changed it to the crew that was available for the original planning.We decided to make a backup script in case one of our actors wasn't available. We had to change the location of a scene to be outside since it was more convenient during filming. We also had to tweak parts of a scene to remove a side character. Also at the end of the film, we changed the scene so two of the girl friends are out of the scene. Everyone we're filming with has a different schedule to film. We didn't want to have to rely on the actors that weren't needed in a certain scene. After our first filming day, we decided to change some lines in the script. We wanted the lines to match the personality and humor of our actors in real life. We also altered some scenes to fit more in later. Some of the lines were too detailed that weren't necessary for the film. We're planning to reshoot to correct and fit our script.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Day 1 of Filming
Today is December 12 of 2020. We decided to meet early at 11 A.M. to start our shoot. Each of us had some plans already that day. Which is why we decided to start so early so we can also finish early. We decided to change our scene to be outside near the pool. There was no one around to keep us safe from exposure to any germs or virus. The pool also had more space and less distractions for our actors. We had to test shoot to see if the audio could be picked up. We didn't have the opportunity to use the school camera so we improvised and shot on our iPhone. We decided to film the scene several times for time management so we wouldn't have to film again. We also wanted extra precaution incase the original shoot didn't was too long or short. We filmed one completed scene for the script. We went through many obstacles during our shoot. Our male actors weren't able to come that day. We decided to just reschedule to film their scenes at another time. We decided to film as much as we could without the boys in the scene. Overall, there was 2 mains scenes we could film. When we were filming, we went off script but still along the lines of the original script. We wanted our actors to be able to express themselves but still get the point across in the film. As we kept shooting, we realized we couldn't film much since our other actors weren't available.
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Replacement Actors
We've had many difficulties trying to find replacement actors for two members of our crew. One of our actors unfortunately had to move away due to personal issues. We as a crew supported this person and understood their struggles. We just thought we could do the movie without this one character since they were a side actor. We just planned to change the script without that one character because the story would still work without them. We gathered our crew and tried to schedule when to plan. We originally planned to film on December 5th, which is a Saturday. Due to the pandemic, many of our parental guardians aren't comfortable with this gathering to film. This leads to one of the main actors not be able to come that weekend to shoot. Most of our members decided to get tested to ensure our health and safety. Also, a few of our members were occupied with their own personal life such as practice and work. This caused two of our other actors to also miss out on the shoot that weekend. Overall, we decided that it wasn't the best time for any of us to film. We rescheduled the filming week. We also decided to find some backup actors in case any of the main actors weren't available to shoot when we rescheduled. We reached out to some of our mutual friends and asked if they would be interested in filling in those positions. We had a person that was confirmed able to come to shoot when we rescheduled. We didn't have anyone else to reach out to replace. We thought we could edit the script to fit with the number of actors we have. We will plan out our schedule for future occurrences.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Music Choices
After we finished marketing and planning out our scenes, we decided to figure out more aspects of our film. One of the main categories we had to figure out was the music in our film. We didn't want to reach out to any mainstream artists for our film. Due to the fact that it would take a while to get their permission for copyright or might not even answer at all. We didn't want to risk that occurrence so we decided to choose copyright free music that you can find online. It would be more efficient and easier overall in the editing process. However, we still managed to run into some problems with copyright free music. We wanted different music to fit in with the characters of our movie. Most of the free copyright music online is mainly basic or not what we really expected in a modern film. We experienced a similar problem for one of our previous film projects. In one of our AICE Media Studies AS Level projects, we had to find music for this film. We went with a piece of copyright-free music at the time because we were warned about the same problem I previously mentioned. We thought about putting the same music into this short film. We also are going o add different songs that matched the tone of the scene. For example, in the fun and happy scenes we were going to add upbeat pop songs for those specific parts. While in our sad scenes we were thinking about adding dramatic music to emphasize the mood. We didn't choose any specific genre for each scene. We mainly just want to have a more creative way to provoke feelings into the audience that included music. We are still searching for music that would enhance our short film. We hope to find the perfect fit for our movie.
Monday, November 30, 2020
After the Break
Friday, November 20, 2020
Marketing the Movie
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Creating the Website
Today, we had to create a website to market our film. I started off with wix.com to create the site because it's free with many options to choose from. I created a new email to use specifically for our film. I didn't want to put any personal information out there as the contact for our film. The email was the name of the movie because most professional films have one dedicated for that specific film. I filled out the information on the site to get started with out business. We chose film to be our main purpose for the website. We then proceeded to chose a layout for the website. They originally gave us 6 options to from. We were aiming for something more simplistic so our info stood out the most. As we finished with the main format of the site, the website was finally official. It was exciting to see the site up, especially because I never done anything as professional before. We mainly explored how to edit and the different customizations the site had. We tested out different formats and colors to see which one looked the best. We added sub-categories to separate the different information that was required on the site. Wix already had subtitles for these categories which included cast and crew, reviews, trailers and etc. Having these formats out was very helpful in suggesting of what else we could add onto the website. We also could create out own subtitles and add photos and captions to it. We mainly just wanted to put the film description on the site. We also reached out to our participants for their photos to put onto the site.
Friday, November 13, 2020
Storyboard for Short Film
Monday, November 9, 2020
Planning Blog for Short Film
We are planning on beginning the filming process for our short film December 5th. This date may be subject to change, but it is what we are planning on as of right now. We can get all the filming done in a day but if not we can finish December 6th or the following weekend. We have multiple filming locations. The first locations are three bedrooms. These can be filmed at the same time since it is the actor's individual rooms so they can film themselves saying their lines. The second location will be a sidewalk. This sidewalk is located near one of our group member's house. The third location is Dairy Queen located near Fort Lauderdale High School. We have six participants including the group members since we have six roles in our short film. Since Covid-19 is still severely affecting Florida we will try to be as cautious as possible. Most participants don't leave their houses a lot unless for school and none of them go to large social gatherings. The first scene is relatively safe since each actor can film themselves in their own house. The other scenes will still be safe to film since we will most likely be the only ones their and our group is only six people. These locations are also outside in open space so we don't have to be close to each other besides filming. We will also wear masks when not filming. Our props include skateboards, telephones, food, clothes, and backpacks. The costumes will have two opposite aesthetics. The three main friends wear more traditionally feminine clothes consisting of soft pinks, blues, purples, yellows, and greens. While the main groups rivals the "skater" kids wear baggy clothes or jeans consisting of darker colors like black. We are excited to start filming and have high expectations for our film.
Friday, October 16, 2020
Short Film vs. Feature Film
I’ve watched a short film and a feature film version of 9. The short film was only 7 minutes long while the feature film is an hour and 20 minutes long. Both films had many similarities while being completely different. The films had a similar plot, setting, and characters. One of the biggest contrasts was the dialogue in the feature film. The short film had absolutely no dialogue. In the feature film, it portrayed the different dolls more than the short film did. In the short film, there were only 2-3 different dolls shown while the feature film introduces everyone and their personality. The length of the movie gave more of an opportunity for plot development. For example, in the feature film, it shows how the souls of the dolls were taken and how the dolls were created. In the short film, it's very vague and doesn't explain why or what the ragdolls are trying to do. The feature film also gives more of a background to what happened to the world. While in the short film, the dolls were just placed into the apocalyptic environment with no particular goal or reason. Both films had similar core elements where the dolls were saving the others from the robots and freeing their souls. While I enjoyed both films, I prefer the featured film more. It gave more background to the characters which helps create a connection with the audience. One of my favorite parts in the feature film was when 9 found out that the other dolls are souls from the same scientist. In the end, this information bonded the group together which was really heartwarming to me.
Research 9: Featured Film
I had to watch the featured film 9. The film is based on the short film 9. The film is an hour and 20 minutes long. The setting looks was an apocalyptic place and damaged from the revolution. The main sound in the film is dialogue, ambient, and incidental music. The plot is revolved around 9 rag dolls. The rag doll, 9, is the last doll built by a human to help save humanity on Earth. When 9 wakes up in the studio, he starts to wander around the place. As he explores the area, he finds one of his friends, 2, however, he was taken by the robot beast shortly after their meeting. Another doll, 5, finds 9 in a struggle and try to take in to care for. In their sanctuary, 9 gets to meet the other dolls. There's the main leader of the group which is 1, he controls and rules what the other dolls to keep them safe. The 8th ragdoll is the biggest and he's the "guard" of the group to make sure they're following 1's commands. 1 explains to 9 what has happened to the world and how they're supposed to be discreet. 9 and 5 start planning their rescue for 2, despite 1's disapproval. They ventured out towards the industrial buildings and found 2 locked up in a cage. When they tried to free him, a robot started to attack them only to be saved by 7. 9 found a device that took the soul of 2 to power the robots. The other three dolls eventually escaped the robot and 7 led them to a library. At the library, they found the twin dolls 3 and 4 to help them find answers to defeat the robots. They eventually found a correlation with the devices that awakened the machines only to find out that doll 6 was studying them. The dolls go back to the church to tell 1 about their new knowledge only for it to cause an argument. They were ambushed by a robot bat creature and had to relocate after the damage. After figuring out that the devices were from humans to create the dolls, 1 started to diminish their ideas which caused the group to drift. 1, 6, and 8 were attacked by the machines and took their soul to power more robots. The other dolls realized that the device with the symbols was what contained their souls and put them into the robot to fuel them. The remaining dolls, 3, 4, 7, and 9 help save the others by removing the piece from the robots. 9 put a sequence into the device which released the souls of the other dolls into the sky to free them. In conclusion, I very much enjoyed the featured film and the journey the ragdolls had to go through.
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Research 9: The Short Film
Today, I'm suppose to research the short film, 9. The film is only 7 minutes long. The setting looks like a futuristic wasteland. This is very similar to the movie WALL-E and how he's the only cleaning robot on Earth which is covered in garbage. The characters look like rag dolls, however, their eyes are the only "human like" characteristic. This reminds me of the movie Coraline and how her parallel universe was the "rag doll" version of herself but her eyes were buttons. There's no dialogue in the film which is interesting. I like how this can give the audience some freedom when watching the film. The audience can create their own conversations and plot which can be entertaining. It also helps emphasize the characters emotions though their eyes. The main noise is normally ambient or diegetic sounds. There is some score in the film when the robot is fighting with the dolls. The lack of dialogue helps focus more on the ambient noises. This creates a more suspenseful and tense scene. The plot of the story is very intriguing. In the beginning, it shows two of the characters and one of them has a 9 written on the back. They have this glow up device to help connect the characters together throughout their mission. However, there's a giant robot that targets 9's partner. Sadly, they was taken and it looked like the robot had his soul sucked out and into their glowing devices. I'm guessing later on in 9's life, they're reminiscing about their lost crew mate and adventure. Coincidentally, the same robot creature comes back to attack 9. In an intense chase and battle, 9 eventually tricks the robot onto a ledge and makes it fall into a pit. After their attack, 9's devices started glowing. They put the two devices together and it exploding out a bunch of the other cremates and their numbers. 9's original partner, 5, comes out and looks back towards 9 as a sign of their redemption. Overall, I really enjoyed this short film and the redemption that 9 gets back for their friends.
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Genre Choice for Film
We have researched 3 genres for our film. Our genres were romance, comedy and coming-of-age. Out of these three choices, we have decided to do a romance genre with comedic elements. We decided on romance because our main plot point revolves around 2 girls falling in love. Therefore, we decided romance was the best fit for our film over coming-of-age and comedy. We decided to add comedic elements because we wanted the movie to be light-hearted. We had more of a liking toward romance. The genre is very versatile, so they're many roads you can take with the romance film. We really liked the freedom the versatility provided us with. This freedom is also why we added comedic elements to our film. We have grown up watching numerous rom-coms. When we've pictured our film, we didn't think of our film being dramatic. We wanted the romance to be more happier instead of a sad and intense film. We were also inspired to add comedic elements because of our own personal lives. Our interactions with our own friends are more humorous than serious. Average teenagers are more easy going than they have been portrayed in recent media. Many TV Shows and/or movies, like to have teens act like adults. However, teens still are kids and like to banter with their friends. We don't need to modify our pitch because we've already corrected our mistake.
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Genre Research: Comedy
Genre Research: Coming-of-age
Genre Research: Romance
One of the genres we are researching is romance. Examples of romance would be the Twilight series or the movie Your Name. Two-shots, over the shoulder shots and mid-shots are the main shots used in romance movies. Tracking shots would also be used when the character walks to or runs away from their love interest. Pans would also be used during romance movies. The camera is normally angled at the same level as the subject, there isn't really a high or low angle used. Most actors in romance movies would normally wear everyday clothes as costumes, or dress for the occasion they're attending. The lighting depends on the scene. If there's a dance it would have darker lighting than if it was a brunch date. The actors could vary to anyone, but the main actors in most films are Caucasian. Makeup is normally used for special occasions the characters attend. Common props could be anything from keys or a phone to a cake or a car. The setting also depends on the scene, it can be anything from a castle to a sketchy ally way. There are a lot of shot-reverse shots and an eye-line match to capture the characters' dialogue and some cross-cutting to show what events are about to happen. The main sound in romance is the dialogue but there's also ambient sound and score. Elements of the genre we liked were the versatility and the feel good effect. Romance is very versatile in the way love is portrayed whether through tragedy, happiness, etc. There is also a feel good effect that romance has when the couple is together and happy that makes the viewer feel happy. We disliked the lack of diversity in romance movies as many of them are heterosexual with white leads. We also disliked how many romance movies follow the trope of falling in love with someone who bullied you or did bad things to you. We think that arc is somewhat toxic because many of these bullies/ bad people do not have a good redemption arc all that happens is they apologize once if at all and the main character falls for them or stays with them.
Genres I Would Like to Research
For the movie my group and I will be filming soon, we have to pick a genre. There are three genres we decided to research. The first genre is romance. The second genre is comedy. The third genre is coming-of-age. We felt these genres would be potentially the best fit for our movie. Our movie's main plot revolves around a girl who likes another girl. This is why we chose to research romance. Also, when planning this movie we didn't want the mood to be heavy we wanted it light and comedic. This is where we got the idea to research comedy. Our movie is also set in high school which is where coming-of-age movies are primarily placed. That is why we decided to research coming-of-age. These genres not only go with our pitch but we also have interest in these genres aside from that. Coming-of-age movies especially have an impact on us since we are high school students. There also many romantic and comedic elements in coming-of-age movies. This also influenced our chosen genres to research. We have seen many romance, comedy, and coming-of-age movies that are set in high school. This will give us experience and a feel for what our movie will be like. We are excited to research these genres. Since we have watched so many of these movies casually it is nice to analyze these genres. It's fun to see what makes that genre so nice to watch.
Monday, September 21, 2020
Throwing the Pitch
Friday, September 18, 2020
Finding the Group
For the final task, the class was assigned to do a five minute short film. We were permitted to work in a group up to four people. I have decided to work with the one and only Alicia. We decided to work together because we were previously friends. We already worked together on all of the films we made last year as well. We also didn't know anyone else in A Level Media Studies. We have agreed and been helping each other with the class because we're both on the introverted side. We decided it was better to work in a smaller group as well. When we did work in a big group with others, some people wouldn't do their part of the project. We also wanted to find a way to integrate our friend group into the project. I wanted to make a plan to do something fun that our friends can be a part of. COVID-19 has been affecting our lives for the past few months. At an isolated time right now, I wanted to mentally check up on my friends and do something eventful for them. The main problem we have at the moment is the different periods. I have Media Studies 7th period and Alicia has the class in 8th. Being in different periods is a disadvantage because we are not able to work face to face at the same time. However, it's better we have the class the same day so one of us isn't ahead of the other. I am looking forward to the production of this film. I think our group will be amused and creative in the process. I am excited to see what we create.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Welcome Back to The Series!!
Hello everyone, it has been a while last time I've talked to you guys. Not much has really happened these past few months. It honestly feels like I've been re-living the same day over and over again. The United States have limited social interactions due to COVID-19. I've tried my best to stay inside. I've explored many different hobbies to take up my free time. I'm currently taking an online class to help me receive my required graduation credits. Art and embroidery has been one of my favorite hobbies so far. I also am trying to be more active so my body doesn't quit on me at 20. I started to swim and do workouts. I've started doing workout and yoga programs to help increase my muscle and flexibility. I've had a few plans to meet with my friends during the summer. We enforced masks and social distancing when we did meet to stay safe. One of the best thing that happened during quarantine is getting a new dog. My mom allowed my and my sister to get a mini Australian Shepard. We decided to name him Grey because of his grey coat. The biggest difficulties is trying to potty train him. I'm glad we're going back to school so I can do something productive. I'm not really sure it's the best idea to open up schools. I think it's safer if we continued to learn online. However, I'm excited to go back into the work ethic.
Monday, May 4, 2020
Audience and Institution Practice Essay
Friday, April 24, 2020
Extract Essay: 24
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Creative Critical Reflection
This is my Creative Critical Reflection. I answered the first two questions about the content from the Final Task. I answered the last two questions about everything I've accumulated from the school year. The video was supposed to be creative and fun. However, the COVID-19 virus had put my county on a "Stay-at-Home" order. I didn't want to risk exposure being out with my friends. This quarantine gave me a few ideas to edit my video in a fun way still.
Final Task Project
The Final Task was to make an opening sequence from any movie that you had to come up with. My group came up with a coming-of-age movie. It's about how a teenage girl is influenced by social media. We had the idea to have a serious topic but also something that many teens can relate too. Due to the COVID-19 virus, we were unable to finish filming our whole movie. We edited as much as we possibly could. We hope the audience can pick up the subtle hints in the film.
Music Video Project
Commercial Project
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Editing Blog: Titles and Sound
Monday, March 30, 2020
Filming Blog: CCR
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Editing Blog: Second Half
Monday, March 16, 2020
Filming Blog: Second Half
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Re-edit Blog
Monday, March 9, 2020
Reshoot Blog
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Peer Review
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Editing Blog: First Cuts
Monday, February 24, 2020
Filming Blog: The Notification
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Filming Blog: Didn't Film
We moved all of our filming days to next week. We are still going to film the first few scenes this weekend on Saturday. I'll edit that footage on Sunday so if we can have more time to edit the other scenes. All of next week, we're planning to meet during switching times and personalization periods. Those are the main times we can film with everyone in the movie. I'll edit everything filmed over the weekend. If we are missing any footage, we'll prioritize the week after to reshoot anything.