Final Links!

The link to our film opening: 

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHDe6p8FpA/-lUkCJmJ7im2a9qX3D_opQ/watch?utm_content=DAHDe6p8FpA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hbeb9422ec6

The link to my CCR1&2:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHEKBHUcJA/Q_2cDsIdL0O3DNpodu58lQ/watch?utm_content=DAHEKBHUcJA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hda0bdf11df 

The link to my CCR3&4:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHEIAU_U5I/zvojgutnpIKlASceFJqUrQ/watch?utm_content=DAHEIAU_U5I&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h81b58661db

Reflection

 WOW! I cannot believe we are at the end! So much has gone into this project that I cannot wait to debrief about, I have given my all into this project and am so excited to see what more I can do from here.

Overall, I think this project really confirmed for me that I want to major in communications. I have always been really creative and have wanted anything like that for the rest of my life. I have always loved editing and filming, and getting to create things like my own music videos and now films have been such an exciting task to take on. I currently want to major in Sports & Entertainment Marketing, but I think I also want to do a lot with sports media. By this, I mean creating reels and hype videos for sports teams, or helping create social media teasers for movies. I really think this is my passion and calling, and is something I can't wait to deep diver into, especially in A level!

Now for the actual process. At first, I thought this was going to be really simple as long as I stayed on task like our previous music video project. I was wrong. Going from a group of 5 people to 2, was a HUUUGE adjustment. We definitely could've improved on our organization and time management but a lot of it had to do with the conflicts we had to deal with during this process. I felt very overwhelmed with everything, and not to mention I had to edit and film all by myself. I wish I had stayed more on schedule so I wouldn't have had to feel all that stress. For the creative aspect of it all, I wish my CCRs were a little more creative. I felt as if I had really good ideas but struggled on the execution. Another issue for me were blogs, I struggle with writing so writing at a high level and lots of it was a huge struggle for me. We used foley sounds which even though we had done a project using that technique, it was an interesting learning experience doing it for an actual film. I really hope I get to do another project like this someday with hopefully more professional resources so I can use them to my fullest potential. Though, I did do everything I can to get professional resources like the camera I used along with the editing softwares. I feel like I have a lot of creative ideas so that really came in handy when dealing with a project like this.

Overall, I had a great time and cannot wait to do more projects like this in the future! I'll update when I'm a big time director.

Post-Production of CCR's

 Now onto the editing of my CCR's! I am so happy this feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders not because I didn't enjoy it, but because of the stress I've endured. SO to begin editing I am going to again be using iMovie. I started with the Lie Detector Test one:

So to start this, I imported all my footage and cut down what wasn't needed.

This was a very repetitive process of just importing clips, cutting them down, and placing them were they needed to go. I then went on the website "Pixabay" and found a couple of needed sound effects, the wrong and right buzzer noise. Once I found the ones I think fit just right, I imported them at the end of each answer response and corresponded them to the correct and incorrect answers. I also went on that website to find some suspenseful background music to sit behind the clips just to add a little bit more of an ominous essence. I also did a bit of really thorough editing where I found background music that had a loud start, and edited it in a specific way to be used a sting. I then went on Canva to create my intro (where the sting would actually be placed). 

Once I added everything together, I uploaded it to Canva and added the "Interrogation Room" logo at the top just like the Vanity Fair one to make it feel more professional. Our twist from the Vanity Fair one was that this was an interrogation rather than a test and I felt as if we did a pretty good job capturing that.

Now onto my second CCR, the podcast! I actually had a really good time filming this one so I can't wait to see how it was portrayed on screen!

Same process, uploaded all my footage into iMovie and just fit everything into place. I split some things, moved around some other things, and had finally created my final footage! Now onto the fun part, the logo. In my previous blog, I had show the intro for my podcast I created so now I just added some music on top of it from "Pixabay" and inserted it into my podcast. Then, I imported the final result and included a little sponsorship from Blogger as my own personal touch, and was finally finished.

Production of CCRs

 So I am going to begin filming my CCRs this week! As I had mentioned in my previous blogs, for my CCR questions 1 &2, I was unsure of which idea to pick. Well, I have discussed it with my teacher and had landed on the idea of doing a podcast since the autocomplete interview was a bit too similar to the lie detector test interview. As for that, my teacher said I need to create my own twist on it to make it seem more creative since it is something we have already seen multiple times before.

For my twist, what I have in mind is to make it more of a interrogation. Instead of becoming a celebrity being interviewed, I am a creator who is being questioned on how I developed my skills, and what I used to integrate my technologies into my project.

Often, they show pictures of their suspects so I could do something similar but maybe pull out the actual resources I used to film my project.

Now onto the actual production process! The script helped A LOT, a way I made it easier for me and my friend helping me out was the creation of que cards. I created a couple of question cards for the podcast one (there is a picture below) where I wrote all the questions on the back so my friend could just simply read them off. 

Then for the lie detector test, we printed out the script and read off that. The only issue we ran into was when filming, it is a little obvious I am reading off but there wasn't really anything I could do about it!

For the podcast, I even created my own animated intro and logo that would be used for the intro, and adds a little to the background. I used Canva to pick out my font and little elements to really customize what I think my podcast would look like and in-capture. Here is the before and after:

Before:

After:

CCR Production Ideas

 For my CCRs I have a couple of ideas on what I want to do in order to create the most creatively unique CCR there has been. 

For my research questions 1 and 2, I am still deciding on what to pick. I need to discuss with my teacher first that one of my ideas isn't too similar to the idea I am set on for my research questions 3 and 4. For the one I feel may be too similar, is Wired's Autocomplete Interview. I thought of this own my own since I am an avid YouTube watcher, and completely fell in love with it. The concept is celebrities are asked question on this styrofoam board that is built like a Google search engine, and each question is covered with a piece of almost a sticky tape. As the person rips off the sticky tape to reveal the question, they answer in a charming way that always keeps the audience somehow hooked. This idea is super cute and I really hope I am able to use it. The biggest issue I would run into is gathering and creating the materials necessary to pull off something like this. I would have to create the boards along which would honestly take a lot of work. As for the background it is a very simple white backdrop.

My other idea for my first two research questions would be a podcast inspired by my ALL TIME favorite influencer and podcast, Therapuss by Jake Shane. Jake Shane is the funniest person on earth who gets celebrities on his show and asks them questions as if he is their best friend. He is so charming and so fun to watch, and I would love to capture the essence of him and his podcast through my very own CCR. This concept would actually be a lot more simple resources wise, the only issue would be location and props (mics). Mics shouldn't be too hard, but setting up an extraordinary background like Jake's is going to be a challenge. But I am always up for a challenge.

He has such an iconic look, so I would need to create a brand for myself as well.

For my finalized CCR, for research questions 3 and 4, I am going to be recreating Vanity Fair's "Lie Detector Tests." One of the girls in my previous group meetings had recommend this idea to me and I loved it!! I am obsessed with watching these videos, and it completely fits the vibe of out film PERFECTLY. I love how on theme it is which makes me love this idea even more. I am going to have to get pretty creative with this one because while the background is just a black backdrop, there is the lie detecting machine which will be hard to replicate. But as I said earlier, I am always up for a challenge!

Research Question #4 of CCR

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

Continuing the Vanity Fair "Lie Detector Test..."

Question: Is it true you used technologies that are accessible to everyone?

Answer: That is not true.

(the test will show that was a lie)

Answer: Dang it you got me again! Fine, yes, we used technologies that are actually very accessible from home that even an amateur could use.

Question: Can you discuss the hardware you acquired for this project? 

Answer: Yes I can actually! For all my projects, I use my Canon EOS 5D camera that I take with me everywhere. I love the high quality of not just the film, but also the sound. All we have to do is find an adapter and plug that into my desktop where I upload all the footage and begin editing!

Question: Now, talk to me about software. Is it true you used CapCut?

Answer: That is false. When beginning to think about my editing approach, I thought to myself about all the different editing softwares I had previously used and if I liked it or not. For my previous project, I used the editing software iMovie, so I decided to do the same this time. When editing my footage in iMovie, I noticed some of the audio and lightning were off in a couple clips. To fix these problems, I utilized a couple of iMovies many features like sound isolation, sound effects, brightness adjustment settings, and many more! For the title and credit sequences, I used my go-to platform, Canva. Here, I uploaded my film and imported and animated my logo along with creating the fonts and placements of my credits.

Question: Wow! I didn't know this process was so long. It must've taken you a long time, correct?

Answer: Correct. I worked on this project over the course of 8 weeks.

Research Question #3 of CCR

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

My first CCR video will answer the first and second questions. This idea will be the infamous Vanity Fair "Lie Detector Test." I've done some research and while it may not be the EXACT way I answer the question, here is an outline I plan to use for my CCR video. It will obvious have a cute little opening like the YouTube videos, but this will be the structure of how the questions will be answered.

Question: Is it true you watched multiple film openings and credit sequences to get inspiration to further the professionalism of your film?

Answer: No it is not. I just let my thoughts and creativity go wild with how I believed the project should turn out first try.

(the test will show that was a lie)

Answer: Okay fine. I actually did do tons of research to gather an idea of how a huge project like this should properly be executed. I took inspiration from big time directors like Felix Van Groeningen, to grasp that style I was looking to recreate for our film 'Extracurricular.'

Question: Is it true your skills as a director improved throughout a project like this? If so, how?

Answer: Yes, it is true. As a new and upcoming director, getting to work on a huge project like this pushed me above and beyond. I felt really connected to the characters, and learned how important it is to cast actors who can accurately share that feeling with audiences.

Question: Is it true you had lots of issues with casting and location changes?

Answer: This is true. I had to definietly change my approach and learn the hardships of having to recast certain actors due to conflicts, along with having to relocate our entire set. By adapting and overcoming these difficult conflicts, we were able to create something that I am so proud of. I am so grateful to have such a great cast and crew that were able to work with and push through our unfortunate circumstances.

Question: Did you overall reflect on where you are now versus where you started?

Answer: Absolutely. I never thought I would have learned this much because of a film. My terminology for different shots and composition, editing tricks, and mise-en-scene expanded tremendously. I learned the significant value of having meaning behind every detail that may appear on screen, that provides such a greater overall affect directly to the audience. Compared to my previous projects, I feel like you can see the maturity develop throughout my career on screen. There is so much intention behind everything that is shown. The beginning was a little rough with previously mentioned issues, but those issues pushed us to doing the best we could with what we had and going above and beyond with that.

The research put into this CCR was pretty simple because I was able to pull from my previous blog posts, to pick out plot points of where I felt I struggled throughout the process, and how I moved on from it and improved. Being able to talk about my own personal experience throughout this hectic project was truly a breath of fresh air.