The New and Improved Plan

      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.

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.

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.

Why We Won't Be Filming Over Break

     Before break started, there was many stresses happening at school. Midterms was one of the main focuses during December. Many of our cast were busy studying and working. We didn't want to put any more pressure on them during break. Winter break is a time for every student to relax and rest from school. We didn't want our film project to be a burden on them, especially since it's not their assignment. We are just going to work with what we've already filmed. First, we're going to edit the clips we've filmed from the first shoot. Then, we're going to document the scenes we still need. I've been planning with my other partner what our schedule will be once we get back. We've contacted our actors about our new schedule. We're trying to take precautions so no inconveniences happen the next time we film. We asked if they can be available to film. We were thinking about filming after the holidays or when break ends. This gives us an idea of what we're working with. It also can help us with what we can film and if we need to have another filming day. However, for now it's a time for us to relax and enjoy the holiday season. We decided not to do much work over break. Especially since we know how stressful school has been lately. We hope our new plan will continue flawlessly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After the Break

     We didn't do any work over the break because we weren't assigned anything for class. We also wanted to relax since school and the pandemic has taken a huge toll on our lives. School is our main priority however we also just needed a mental break from all the stress and work. We didn't film over break because we wanted to focus on our mental health. We also didn't want to bother our crew and get them out to film during their break as well. We planned to film the weekend after the break since we mainly planned the schedule before and over the break. We decided to start filming the weekend of December 5th and December 6th. If we aren't able to film that weekend, then we will most likely film the weekend after. Most of the filming will be finished in one weekend. We are planning to meet up and film only the scenes that have our other members in the scene. We will most likely finish filming in those two weekends if any inconveniences happen. We're going to try to finish filming before the midterm week and winter break happens. We want to be focused on studying for the midterms. That week can also be very stressful trying to balance school and work as well. We also don't want to film over break either since we want our members to relax. We don't want our actors to be forced to film over break either. One of our actors contacted us and informed us that she isn't available to film with our group. We contacted another person to try and fill in her position. We don't have a confirmed answer yet but we're trying to stay positive about the situation. Our plan if we can't get a replacement is to edit the script and scenes to fit the number of members we do have.

Marketing the Movie

    For today, we continued on marketing our film. Last time we focused on getting the website up. Today we are gonna continue with adding onto the site. We planned on finishing putting all of the required information up on the website. My partner and I each made separate social media accounts for our film. I was responsible for the Instagram and Youtube account, while my partner was responsible for the Twitter and Facebook account. We used the same email that we created for the site so all of them have the same contact. After creating the accounts, we had to chose and make a profile picture and promote the movie. We then proceeded to add the social media links to our website. It took a few tries to see which link was correct. We also had to preview the site to see if the links actually worked. We added the headshot photos of our participants. We divided the information thats going to be on our site. I was focused on the synopsis, film festivals and where and when the film is being released. I researched the different film festivals that are local and international. My other partner were doing the reviews, photos, crew and cast. She reached out and received the photos and decided on the different roles. We had some difficulty changing different features like the fonts and photos. We both had input on the synopsis of the film. We wanted the description to show the film isn't a traditional love story without giving too many details. 

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.

Storyboard for Short Film

 

      We finished the storyboard for our short film. We were able to get a better picture of what our film will look like. Since we are in quarantine we did this short film together over the phone. One group member printed and drew half the pages while the other was on the phone helping and giving feedback. Then, the member who was giving feedback printed the other half and did the drawing while the previous drawer gives feedback. The storyboard also helped us if the weather is not our friend the days we film. Umbrellas easily fit into the film since high schoolers often go to school even in the rain, so we will just film in the rain. The beginning of our storyboard shows Alicia, the main character, getting up and looking through her closet. These first squares show the layout of her room and how her bed, dresser, and closet are all right next to each other. Then when Alicia's friends call her we at first see a split-screen between her and Audrey. In the screenplay, it is written differently but we decided to go a different way where Gen would not enter the split-screen until she starts talking. We thought this change would emphasize the joke she makes and make the characters more memorable since they are not all introduced at once. They end the call and in the storyboard, the screen goes black. In the screenplay, this is not clearly written as it just says the call ends. We decided we should have the screen go black and then transition into the next scene. We thought this would make the next scene more dramatic and that's what we wanted. These girls are supposed to be fashionable and have all the attention on them so we thought the transition from a black screen to this next scene would emphasize that. In this scene, the girls also meet Eric and Willow. These two groups banter back and forth and we decided it should be filmed in a way so that the audience can feel the comebacks. We thought close-ups could accomplish that because then it feels as if the little quips and comebacks are being said directly to the audience. Also, there is a close up that shows Alicia in front making a remark while Gen and Audrey are behind her. This represents the power structure in the friend group with Alicia being on top. We put a lot of thought behind this storyboard and are glad we were able to get a clearer picture of our short film.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Genre Research: Comedy

The second genre we researched is comedy. Some examples of comedy films are Ghostbusters and Jumanji. Common shots in comedy are usually close up, mid-shot, long shot, two shot and over the shoulder. There isn't much camera angles used in comedy, they're normally shot at eye level. Common camera movements are pan, track and zoom shots. The sound in comedies are diegetic, non-diegetic, ambient, score, dialogue, sound motif and incidental music. The costumes depends on the plot of the movie and can range from normal clothes, uniform and costumes. Lighting is normally bright or mainly directed towards the speaker(s) in the scene. Actors are normally adults but sometimes there are teens or kids incorporated. Many of these comedians are Caucasian, but there has been more diversity in the recent decades. The makeup also depends on the plot but it's normally natural or something that goes with the costumes. Props can be anything ranging from furniture to food or even stores. Setting can be anywhere like a park or a restaurant. Common editing are shot reverse shot, eye-line match, action match and cross cutting. We like comedy movies because the jokes match our humorous personality. However, some of the jokes can be offensive to minority groups which we don't support because we believe in equality.

Genre Research: Coming-of-age

  Our last genre we researched is coming-of-age. Famous coming-of-age examples are Eighth Grade and Little Women. There are not a lot of angles used, but there are some high angles every now and then in this genre. There's not much camera movements, however, they would mostly be tracking and zooms shots. The different camera shots used are establishing shots, wide shots, two-shots, close-ups, eye-level shots, medium shots and point of view shots. The sound is mainly diegetic, non-diegetic and dialogue. There's also voice-overs, ambient sound, and a soundtrack of happy upbeat songs and slow sad ones. Costumes are normally everyday clothing and something a teen or young adult would usually wear. Lighting is usually natural or bright for the happier scenes while dark and neon for the sadder ones. Actors in this genre are mainly Caucasians. Fortunately, the media is starting to diversify the actors/characters in this genre. There is normally minimal to no makeup used on the characters. Makeup is usually used to show an emotion like crying or injury. Props are mostly personal items like a phone, skateboard, notebook, etc. Settings are predominately high schools or homes. Editing in these movies consists of cutaways, shot reverse shots, eye-line matches, reactions shots, and jump cuts.We liked that coming-of-age movies are ones that everyone especially teens can relate with. We didn't like that some of the characters' problems seemed vain and that these movies are not diverse; usually only having one person of color or one gay person throughout the whole movie.person of color or one gay person throughout the whole movie.

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. 

Throwing the Pitch

A romantic movie with comedic elements that is based in high school and is about popular girl interested in a skater girl who has a boyfriend. 

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.

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.

Audience and Institution Practice Essay

Assess the importance of marketing in the media are you have studied

Entertainment is one of the biggest interests in media. Many think the actual production of the film is the only priority in the industry. However, there’s a tedious process to it that takes many factors into consideration. Marketing is important in media because it helps with distribution, consumption, and economic growth.

First of all, distribution plays the main role in marketing. Most filmmakers would have their own separate production company to control what gets made. Filmmakers would then propose deals with several producers with their suggested option fee. Many subsidiary companies would have the parent company release and copyright their products. This is an advantage to subsidiaries that don’t have the budget to market their own items. Having connections with popular parent companies, like Walt Disney, can help others acknowledge smaller subsidiaries as well.

            Additionally, audience and production expenses are both benefitted by marketing. Comcast and NBCUniversal became a conglomerate by taking over the NBC broadcast network, television networks, film studio and theme park business. Comcast has its own cable company, an internet company, and phone service to millions of customers. Brian Roberts united with an entertainment company to distribute to their clients. AT&T did something similar by taking over Time Warner. Cross-media convergence help increase both company profits. Projects that cost above $250 million before marketing is expected to gain $1 billion globally. Marketing is vital for the cost of production. Obviously, not every project costs that much. However, the cost is subsidized by the revenue of the project.

            Lastly, marketing products exponentially help with company sales. Universals several subsidiary releases gained $1.1 billion in ancillary sales and several No. 1 films of 2019. Conglomerates with many subsidiaries help place the company in the domestic market.  The Despicable Me movie was promoted across Comcast’s network, making them one of the biggest animated openings which accumulated $970 million with an 80% increase from the first film in the series. Conglomerates are more successful due to the range of audience they can connect to.

            In conclusion, marketing is a significant in media because of dispensation, disbursement, and financial gain. Parent companies issuing subsidiary products helps the both parties and the recognition of subsidiaries. Having a conglomerate also helps with the distribution and profit. Both of these factors drastically help with profits.

Extract Essay: 24

            The author's vision is to create something unexpected and thrilling. The theme of the extract is suspenseful. There’s not a direct message the director is trying to convey. Instead, the director is trying to get the audience to feel a certain rush of emotion.

            The scene starts off with a mid-shot of a guy enters the interrogation room agitated. This already hints to the audience that a confrontation is about to happen.  The incidental music that plays as he places a folder on the table in front of her, gives the audience an unpleasant feeling. There’s a cross-cut to officials outside of the room watching on camera which indicates the case they’re working on is critical. The man and woman continue to converse about someone who can potentially disarm the bomb. This reveals the significance this has to the publics’ safety and the importance of the amount of time being used. 

The guy describes to her how cold-hearted she is and flips the table. This strikes fear in the audience from how quick things escalated. The camera cuts to officials on the camera looking concerned. This suggests the audience expects something else to happen. The woman flustered the man causing him to attack her aggressively. He continues to threaten her that he wouldn’t stop until he proves she’s credible. This threat causes the audience to become intimidated by the man. The screen splits to the officials running to the room to stop him. This makes the situation more intense because they can’t access the room.

            The author can portray many meanings in the extract. They squabble and actions of the actors represent the intensity in the scene. The conversation helps to leave the audience on edge waiting for what will happen next. The calmness in the actor's voice and pace of action surprises the audience a bit as well because the mood will swiftly change. 

Creative Critical Reflection

https://drive.google.com/open?id=14VTpZ6yDpLw7xNsGJMWfdWz0BBT390ND

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

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C5_b9CZi78qyKjTpZ0en2-CvMGVh6xDt/view?usp=sharing

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

For this project, we had to film our own music video. We could choose any song as long as it is appropriate for school. My group chose Buttercup by Jack Stauber. We wanted to do a fun and upbeat song. There wasn't an original music video for the song so we had no conventions to resemble. We weren't planning on doing something extravagant. We really wanted it to look like a bunch of friends having fun. We dressed up festive because it was the holiday season at the time. We took that as a theme to give to our video.

Commercial Project

In this project, we had to make a commercial. We could choose any topics that were approved by our teacher. We had to research other commercials about the topic. We had to make it similar to the conventions of other commercials. In our film, we had similar factors. We dressed in the brands' merchandise which is the main factor. We also wanted it to be unique so we added a Halloween theme since there wasn't one made already.

Editing Blog: Titles and Sound

     The COVID-19 pandemic has caused our county to go on a "Stay-at-Home" order.  Due to this, having contact with others has become a challenge. I stayed in touch with my partner through text. We still had to agree on what should and shouldn't be in the film. First, we discussed on our titles. They started early on in the sequence. We discussed where they should be placed on the screen. Next, we had to deal with the sound. There are a few parts in the movie where the audio is detached. We couldn't get a hold of the artists' music we're using. That inconvenience gave us another option and just use copyright free music online. We also added the sound of a bell ringing since the plot is near a school. That was as much we can work on during this urgency. We still need to film and edit our final scene. Since I can't finish the opening sequence all there's left to do is the Creative Critical Reflection. I'm still writing and planning out my script. I'm trying to figure out a day where I can film. The order is a big obstacle because no one really wants to go out. I don't plan on editing the CCR for more than a day.

Filming Blog: CCR

     Our group had one last scene to film before spring break. The COVID-19 pandemic had our county have us on a "Stay-at-Home" order. Due to this, our group was unable to film the last scene. We are still unsure when it'll be safe enough for us to return to school. Just because we're unable to work on the movie, doesn't mean we still can't get work done. I decided to start working on my Creative Critical Reflection. At the moment, I'm brainstorming ideas for the CCR from interviews and talk shows. I'm writing down a script of the questions and answers. I want it to be a passive comedic talk show but also show the knowledge I gained in a mature way. I've always had inspiration from famous award speeches. I've been introduced to TED talks in my speech class. Ever since I've always wanted to do something honorable enough to have my own speech. I want to use this project as a way to portray that vision. I wanted to include friends in the video to have more fun. However, our county is still unsure when it's safe for everyone to interact with each other. We're trying our best to get as much work done as possible while staying safe. If filming with friends isn't the most practical idea, I'll record safely at home.

Editing Blog: Second Half

     After we filmed the second half of our opening sequence, I put the clips in order on iMovie. I decided which clips should be used and which ones didn't. I waited until the next class day to edit with my partner. We went through the footage and discarded any that we couldn't use. There was this one part of the clip that was a group of us continuously laughing. Obviously, we couldn't use all of that clip or else it would've been too long. I also had to detach the audio in one scene. We need a bell to ring in that scene and you can hear the background noise. We still need to add our background music. We're waiting on a confirmation email from the artist. We also didn't have enough time to record the very last scene. All we need is the main character talking to her friend about her mom in Australia. Due to this, we're unable to do our titles since it goes throughout the rest of the opening sequence. We're unclear about when to film due to the COVID-19 virus that's occurring in our county. Our group is keeping in touch with one another making sure we're safe and figuring out a way to finish this film. All we have left to do is add in titles, the background music, and the last scene. We can get started on the titles and just wait till the last scene is filmed. We are unsure how to contact the artist's music we're using.

Filming Blog: Second Half

     We still needed to film the second half of the movie. In our shooting script, we set the location to be at school. Until we realized we couldn't film at school. We had to change the location so we decided somewhere close and accessible for our filming crew. We decided to film at Dairy Queen which is close to the school. We scheduled with our group to film afterschool. We planned on filming for about 1 hour. There were only 3 scenes left we needed. First of all, we had to confirm the people we were filming with could come. 2 people weren't able to film. We brought another one of our friends to film. I also decided to step up and be in the film as well. Right after school, we all decided to meet up at the bus loop. We proceeded to walk to Dairy Queen which took between 5-10 minutes. We all ordered some food so the area can clear out so we didn't record anyone that didn't want to be recorded. We had to reshoot the first scene a few times because we didn't know our lines. The rest of the scenes were less diligent and we got done with them faster. We still have one last scene to film.

Re-edit Blog

     We re-edited our blog after we refilmed our scenes. I put all of our clips in order on iMovie after we refilmed. We waited to trim and cut the scenes in class together since we had a time limit that day. During class, the group looked through each scene and discussed what we need and what isn't necessary. We decided to add the titles and transitions later after we fully edited the movie. One of our actors was unable to film the other half of the movie. Due to this, we had to find a replacement. We also added the new footage we recorded. This part was the other half of the opening sequence. Again, we had to trim those clips down to fit the time limit. Our scene can only be 2-3 minutes long. We had to cut to only the parts we needed so we can fit everything. We also got permission to use a song. We're waiting for a confirmation email from the artist. We still have to film one more scene and we would be done with filming.

Reshoot Blog

     We refilmed on March 2nd. We decided we need to refilm the week before after we finished editing all of our footage. We had to refilm most of the bedroom and kitchen scenes. We went to the same house we used earlier. We started filming around 4:30 and we had a time limit since it was a weekday. We had on one computer out shooting script out and on another computer our edited footage. We followed what was on the script. We also tried to make it match the scenes we already edited. This helped us with time so we didn't have to refilm the whole scene. We had to film the bedroom scene a few times because the awkward silence was comical to our group. That meant we had to reset the alarms so the camera couldn't pick up our laughter. We finished around 4:45 but we took a break and started filming again at 5. We started to film the kitchen scene. We had no previous footage of the kitchen scene so we decided what we were going to film is what we will use. The scene wasn't long and we finished close to 5:30. All we needed after the kitchen scene was one part outside. We hurried in case the sun would set. We just had to film our main character holding her phone and walking down the sidewalk. That scene took less than 5 minutes to film. I had all the videos emailed to me and I put the footage in order on iMovie so it would be easier to edit later.

Peer Review

     Our teacher assigned the class to peer review on March 3rd. We had to write down every member of our group and pick a number the week before. We had to give the other group as much of the movie we filmed. We had a paper to fill out on the different aspects that were in the movie. We had to film Monday, March 2nd or else our movie would have two scenes. I could only edit out the parts we didn't need. We didn't have enough time to add titles or transitions. We mainly just filmed so the group reviewing us had more to look at. On Tuesday, we had to figure out who we're reviewing and who was reviewing us. Some groups weren't put down on the list. Most of the class were juniors and most of them were out for SAT practice. Everyone was asking around for the groups they were peer-reviewing. We found out the group we were peer-reviewing wasn't in class that day. We assumed they were a junior and decided to come to school the next day to see if they would come. Our class was scheduled to be the last class of the day. When we came in it was mostly empty. We were asking around again for the group we were peer reviewing and they weren't there again. Our peer review blog was due the next day so we just decided to not review theirs since we wouldn't see their movie in time.

Editing Blog: First Cuts

     We started to edit our footage in class on Wednesday. We looked through all of the footage and discarded any that wasn't useful. We had a lot of videos because we were interrupted during filming a few times.  I edited on my computer using iMovie because I personally think it's easier to use than Pinnacle Studios. I also bring my computer to school most days and it's just convenient for me and for other students. We put the clips in the order the movie goes by. My partner and I both looked through the clips and decided on what wasn't necessary for the movie. I started to cut and delete parts of some scenes. For example, the first scene when our actor wakes up was too long for one scene. To fix that, I cut out a good portion of the part where it's facing just the ceiling. There were some scenes that we needed but were too long. We decided to speed those clips up just a little so it doesn't look odd. We also wouldn't need to refilm that scene which saves us time. During editing, we realized most of the clips didn't come out how we expected. We need to refilm the scenes in the bedroom to the way we want it. We're going to refilm it when we film the kitchen scene.

Filming Blog: The Notification

     We were scheduled to film on Saturday the 22nd. Unfortunately, our main actor was busy on Saturday. Since she was unavailable, we decided to film on Sunday. We need to have footage for others to peer review on Monday the 24th. This worked perfectly for us to be able to have the footage in time. We had many difficulties filming the first scenes. There was a lot of background noise when we needed silence to hear the alarm. We also couldn't control our laughter when we were waiting for the alarm to go off. The main actor had to reshoot several times of her picking up the phone. There's one scene in the movie where the camera is at the ceiling but you can still hear the background noises of the actor getting ready. We filmed it regularly and have the camera pick up the noises from a distance. The audio of our actor getting ready was too mute. We wanted to emphasize the noise because there's nothing shown during that scene. We had an idea to take a voice memo recording of the ambient noise. We were able to film closer to the noises and catch them better. When we had to film outside, there were many cars driving which made us have to record that scene several times. We recorded it for most of the day. As a result, I didn't have enough time to edit our footage together. We also still need to film the kitchen scene.

Filming Blog: Didn't Film

     Our schedule didn't go as planned. We canceled to film on Saturday due to personnel events that came up. Since we didn't film on Saturday, we had nothing to edit on Sunday. On Monday, we planned to check out a camera and film that whole week. There was no school on Monday because of President's Day. My partner had to miss school on Tuesday because she felt sick. We had no camera to film on Wednesday. We decided since we're already more than halfway behind in our schedule, we had to reschedule everything. We had to tell the other participants in the movie. We still had the same plan for the schedule.
     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.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

We had to plan out our storyboard. We needed to do ten pages since each box is two seconds long. We split the pages up so we can do five pages each. We used our shooting script and our sound script as a reference when we were writing out the storyboard. While we were writing our storyboard, we came up with more ideas. We thought they were more creative than the ones we thought of before. There were a few parts in the scenes where we changed some aspects of it. We changed parts to fit in certain shots and editing needed for the project. We changed the scene where Isabelle is walking in the neighborhood to fit an action match. We also changed the scene where the friend group meets up to fit an establishing shot. Our storyboard helped to solidify our plan for what we were filming.

Planning Blog: Title Design

We planned our titles for our opening scene. The titles will appear for 2-3 seconds each. The studio name fades in on a black screen in white font. The studio name will be in Calibri light in size 20 font. The production company will follow in white. It will be in Microsoft Gothic Neo size 14 font. The actors will follow each showing up as notification sounds. These will be in Calibri light, size 14, in black. The film title is The Notification and that appears next in white. It will Microsoft Gothic Neo, size 28 font. Cast by, Music by, Edited by, Director of Photography, Producer, Story by, Written by, and Directed by are all in Calibri light, size 14, black font. These titles will all fade in and fade out into the next title.

Beatific Studios presents  

an Ebullient productions film 

Isabelle 

The Notification

Planning Blog: Location, Participants, Health and Schedule

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

We wrote our shooting script today. It is all the action that takes place in the movie. In total, we have five scenes. We have multiple shots and angles at the opening of our film. It is harder to picture what the angles are since the movie is filmed from the main character's and phone camera's point of view. We originally stated in our pitch that the movie was filmed from a phone camera's point of view but it is also from the main characters. The reason for this is to show not only social media itself but the immediate reactions from the main character. This lets the audience get a deeper connection by seeing the character's physical emotions. When the screen cuts to black it is usually to represent the phone being put in the main character's pocket. We think our film will show the audience a different perspective on teens' relationships with social media.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Our assignment was to write out all the sounds happening in the film. There wasn't much sound in the first few scenes. It was mainly background or ambient noise. There wasn't much dialogue in those scenes. There would be parts where the sound would become muffled. Towards the end, there's a group of friends hanging out and it eventually gets more hectic. The actors are talking over and gossiping with each other. We were planning to use the actual school bell in our film. We didn't want to edit in the bell so it would be more realistic. The sound is very important in the film since it's being filmed by the main character's phone's point of view. It indicates the action happening by letting you hear it than see it since the phone is mostly in the pocket.