Creative Critical Reflection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U09dHDp1aw

Drum Roll Please!

Hey guys, here is the project! Hope you guys enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed producing it for all my viewers! Thank you for joining me on this incredible experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltcyadbw21M

This is it!

       Good morning guys! Kind of sad to say this will be my last blog post for this project, not including the CCR. Any who, today I finished up technically all the editing and I am so excited to show you guys the finished film project. I'm just watching it over and over like a hundred times before I decide to release it because I want to make sure it looks as best as possible. Today I am preparing for the CCR and all the key points I would like to go over and emphasize on the most.

       Before I submit the video, however, I may look over a few more songs just out of curiosity to see what I find. I really like the songs I have now, and believe they fit well with their own parts, but it never hurts to check a bit more. 

       Also, I am still trying to play around a bit more with the music I am using for the school scene along with the voiceover used on the paper note. I sounds good right now, but there is this part that as the voiceover ends, coincidently the song hits this cool beat which hopes up the overall mood of the scene, but since it is low to hear its hard to spread that "wiped vibe". Therefore, I will continue to work on it a bit to see if I can fix that to help the overall mood. 

       Well guys, its been a pleasure sharing this incredible experience with you, and I can't wait to upload the video soon for you guys to see! Byeee

One step closer...

       Good afternoon everyone! Today I began to work on the voiceover with Callie. As I predicted, it did take 6 tries to get the best one, but hey it sounds like the best of the best. The tone and mood came out exactly how I imagined it so I'm pretty happy about that. I want this narrative to connect with the audience and allow them to feel emotional towards this. The point is to feel sort of sorry/upset and curious of what just happened to these characters. The goal is to make the audience create an intimate connection as the story progresses and as they try to figure out why and who ended up killing this actor they have now grown fond of as well as for the girl who they feel truly sorry for her lose. Now all I have to do this afternoon is insert it into the video, and begin to play around with the sound until it all comes out good.
       Like an old friend once said to me after walking out of a movie theater, it is never a truly great movie unless one of the main characters die or something bad happens to him or her, because if not then that connection between character and viewer won't be fully made and it won't last once the viewer is done watching the film. You want you audience to be thinking about it and finding a way to relate it to themselves even after they saw the movie and got home to do other errands.
       As I was checking my video today, I realized that I might have to do another voice over of the part when Brandon says "It was worth it" right before he gets shot, because the viewer can barely hear it if not. The thing is, the day I was filming, it was pretty windy so all you can truly hear is the wind, even when I mute most of the scene. Therefore, I think it will sound perfectly fine with me muting the whole footage and placing a voiceover.

Can't wait to show you guys the finished product soon!

       Hello everyone!! I have finally finished filming everything! Although I am relieved that I have finished all the filming with my actors, I'm kind of upset there nothing else to film. I just love joking around with my actors and we all have fun and get creative as we film. Anyways, I've been working on finding the sound of a gun bring shot and I found three that sound pretty good. So I'm almost quite sure that buy tonight I'll have that small scene all polished up and sounding amazing.
       Now the last thing I have left is the narrative. Here I am going to have to work hard with my actress speaking in order to get the perfect tone of voice, so I'm guessing it is going to take a bit more than one or two attempts. Now you may be wondering why am I making such a big deal out of this if all the actress has to do is read off a small paragraph off a paper, and I mean, who can't read a small paragraph easily. The thing is, is that the tone portrayed in this narrative is what will be determining the mood of the scene and overall idea. Therefore, it is very important to set the right tone so the overall idea of this being a mystery the viewer will want to find out, meaning he or she will have to stay attentive and watch the whole film to find out what happened to the main characters and why.
      Oh and I almost forgot to mention, I added on of those "6 Months Earlier" transitions between the title and the school scenes, and now the switch between both scenes makes a lot more sense and looks really good.

Almost done!

Today I began to film the last part of my project as well as doing a bit of editing. I filmed the shot where Callie is looking out the car window, upset of what had happened to Brandon. The shots are not filled with action or much body movement at all in order to portray the depressive feel of the scene as well as to have the audience concentrate on the important narrative part that will be heard here, rather then being being distracted by too many things occurring in the shot. I still have not placed the narrative in, but the shots look good due to its simplicity.
On Friday I filmed the pool scene. Wow, that was a lot harder then I thought it was going to be. It took us almost two hours in order to get six seconds worth of footage which didn't even look as amazing as I had imagined it to be honest. Mind you, it doesn't look bad, but I wish it would of came out a bit better, although I knew it was going to be an obstacle. However, the lighting came out great. After editing that footage into the project, I began to realize that I had totally forgotten about the extreme close-up of someone pulling the trigger in order for the audience to understand that is what killed Brandon which is why he is seen falling dead into the water. Once I have this footage I will be able to add it into the film and finalize all editing as well as sounds.

Ohh transitions, why do you make my life complicated?

       Hello everyone. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect “cliché high school-feel” kind of song you hear at the beginning of all school-related films. I found two. It was so hard to get a good song for free that is also copyright free. But I finally found the one and I believe it fits perfectly with the body movements seen through the actors. I did have a tiny obstacle come my way once I began to put the footage together. Turns out in the paper ball that has the message “I know it will be worth it” the words weren’t as visible and legible as I thought it was. After thinking how I was going to fix it, I decided I was going o simply do a voice over, giving it that effect of when the reader can hear the writer's voice in their head. Turns out it sounds great! 

       After editing a bit more I realized that the flow of the the main scenes was a bit off, therefore I began to add in some transitions in order to help create a smoother shift. It looks better than before, however I will continue to work on it because I believe it can still look better than it does right now.

Time for fun and no sleep!

       I began to edit today, and although it takes a lot of time, I love editing my projects. I find it so cool how all of these long, random footages can be converted and merged into something awesome! So far it is looking good, however, it's a bit challenging editing the scenes that I took that are the same shots but in different angles. Also, as I began to edit, I noticed that the car scene I had shot for the beginning looked too out of place, therefore I began with the actors running into a gated, prohibited area. I believe it looks better now and makes more sense.
       I plan to film the pool scene sometime today or tomorrow and finish off the week with the school scene so that then I can finish most of the editing by the end of this weekend.
       Not gonna lie, I am a bit scared of the pool shot because I know it will be challenging with the lighting in the pool as well as making sure it's a tight enough shot in order to make it look realistic without the background looking like it was actually done in the pool.
       Also, now that I remember, I think I will have to retake the scene of Callie crying over Brandon's death; or at least take more shots of it in different angles, because it seems to plain. However, overall I am enjoying the outcome of the shots and editing.

Let the filming Begin!

       Today I began to film at Markham Park for the "running away" scene! To start off, (although it doesn't really relate much to the project itself) I've realized that the actors I always get for my projects start off not so excited to act at all and look as if this was an obligation, but whenever I begin to start the filming process, they end up loving it and having the time of their lives. They get so excited and begin to say stuff like"Oh, what if we do this" or "Maybe we can do that" or " Damnn that looked so cool" or "Yeah, we should retake that scene". And they begin to give so many suggestions that at one point it's like, shhh it's my project buddy, hahahaha. Anyways, the filming went great, my actors had fun and I got great shots.
       However, I did have two minor obstacles in the way. First, it began to rain towards the end of the filming process. At first I thought it would look cool to have it rain in my shooting because it would help set more of the mood I was looking for since it was the moment the guy was going to die, and it's well known for it to rain in films whenever someone important dies, but turns out it would have been a struggle later. Why? Because since the dying scene has to take place in a pool, this scene was going to be shot on a separate day, and you never really know when it will rain or not. Therefore, because I have to connect two separate scenes from two different days, it would make it a bit of a problem. But yes, it would've looked really cool. Therefore, we had to retake those scenes after waiting for the rain to die out in order to make sure this wouldn't become am issue in the future.
       The second obstacle, more of a small disliking of mine, is that the scenes didn't come out as dark as I wished for it to come out. I wanted this scene to be dark so it gives it more of a suspense/thriller feel to it. Therefore I am going to have to play around with the editing with the colors to see if I can fix that problem.

Told you they were having fun ;)

Funny Complications

Hey guys! I have a fun little story for you guys today. So earlier today I filmed the school scene, which I thought was only going to take a few minutes, meaning 10 minutes the most. Let me tell you, I was awfully mistaken, took 40 minutes total! This scene had to include a bit of flirty body movement in order to portray the interest Brandon had in Callie from the start and Callie’s curiosity. When we were about to start I asked Deven (whom is Brandon) if he knew how to wink, more as a joke because what guy doesn’t know how to wink? Every guy should know how to wink! Turns out he didn’t and his attempt wasn’t any helpful either. After taking a million shots of trying to get him to look flirty, because he couldn’t even smirk sexy, I began to brainstorm as he took a break to eat lunch. When I looked up he made this amazing facial expression as he ate his food and turned around looking my way to ask what was next. I couldn’t help but to yell out “That! That was it do that! Think of food”. Moral of the story, if you ever want a guy to put a “sexy” look, have your man think of food, that’ll do the trick. Anywaysss, it brought us all a good laugh trying to figure this out. Once I get home I plan to edit this part and find the perfect song to fit the school shots.

Good afternoon! Today in class we completed a peer-group discussion about the ideas of our projects; whether it was a magazine or film. We dedicated 10 minutes to each person in order to listen to the idea and give an suggestions. When it was my turn, I told them my idea as I showed them my blog. The students liked my idea, however, they were concerned with my timing because it seems to be too long for the time we are given. They gave me a good idea on a way that I could make it more understandable for the audience on how the school scene will connect with the first scene of them running away. This idea was to have the guy, whom I’ve changed the name to be Brandon, to say “It was worth it” right before he dies, which is what is seen on the paper at school.  I loved this group discussion we had and hope to have another one soon in order to show my peers what I have so far.

After the discussion, I timed myself saying the narrative part I plan to have in order to work my way around it and my timing. Turns out the full narrative part will be thirty seconds total. Therefore, I decided thirty seconds will focus from the running away scene to the moment where Brandon dies. Then thirty seconds will follow with the narrative, and lastly a whole minute will include the whole school scene.

Good morning! After thinking long and hard, I decided my location for the film recording will change. I will be filming within Markham Park in order to capture the scene of the kids running through the woods. I will continue to seek for the perfect, dark sunset look. for the underwater take, I have decided to use a pool and simply focus the camera on the body and minimizing the amount of background seen, in order to give it an effect as if it occurred at a lake, not a pool. I will begin filming this week, which is actually very exciting.

      Hi, everyone! I have been working on my storyboard lately as well as deciding where and how I am going to be filming my shots. For the location, I need a pretty specific scenario for majority of the film. It has to be a place with woods that also has enough space to run and film in. I will then need clear waters near a dock or an edge that isn’t so tall so that my actor can fall in as well as allowing me to have the chance to film a perfect shot underwater and over-the-water shot. One of the problems is, is that we live in Florida, and well, there's a good amount of sharks and alligators in our watery areas. We need to find a safe place to film, because I along with my actor will spend a good amount of time in the water. Also, it has to be clear waters, and in case you didn't know this before, Florida is known to be very swampy. By being swampy, this means waters tend to look "muddy" and this would seem like a bit of an obstacle I will eventually have to work around to get a good shot in. However, to get this perfect location the nearest spots would be at least a 5 hour drive. Guess it’s time for a road trip!

      Another challenge I will be facing is the lighting I visualize in my head that I want to see in my film. I believe a dark sunset will be the perfect lighting in order to help set the mood of tension, mystery and suspense. In other words, when we film with the actual sunset, the takes have to be perfect on the first or second try because these sunsets leave real quick. And that makes my life complicated. But I know it’ll be worth it. (Hahaha how ironic, as I wrote that sentence I realized it is the same exact phrase I want my character to write down on the paper ball in the film opening). Therefore, we will have to get there early in order to practice all of the acts for each scene in order to have the perfect one once it comes time to actually film the legit shot. The scenario is beautiful though, we are all excited to meet this new place and explore.

And Of Course, More Research!

      Good afternoon my people! I continued with my research earlier today and found out that suspense and mystery are quite different. Mystery is seen to be more of an “intellectual process”, while suspense simply focuses on the “emotional process” within their audience. Because I also want to include plot twists throughout the film, the goal is to have the audience constantly trying to figure out the end result, therefore keeping them interested and focused on the film. Mystery works sort of like a puzzle, as the film progresses, having new information constantly followed up by more information allows the audience to begin to solve this puzzle out in order to see the complete picture. This process is strictly based on the process of thinking and problem-solving, meaning no emotional feelings must be or should be included.

      Don’t worry guys, this doesn’t mean I won’t be including thriller and suspense anymore, rather it means I will be including a bit of all three genres. I still want the viewer to feel what the characters are going through and create an intimate connection along the way. Although it will be a fictional movie, I want the audience to be able to relate to some of these problems, relations, and feelings that the characters will experience and express. The goal is to have the audience feel like they are literally part of this whole adventure they are seeing. This also includes having these viewers even making decisions for the characters as if their thought were to change the outcome as well as having the audience feel very anxious and worried when the characters make the wrong choice but continue to support the characters.

      In order to reach such intimacy, I shall focus on the physical as well as moral points within this film. So what does this mean? This means that for the physical points I must stay focused on the type of shots and angles I use throughout the recording in order to give the audience the “feel” that they are in the story as well. Along with this, sound techniques are important stimulates because it allows the sensory receptors to get the viewer fully engaged in the movie. On the other hand, the moral point is what creates this hearty level of emotion through the moral values along with story’s conflicts as the film progresses. This technique is also known as “The Moral Premise”. This can be successfully accomplished by showing the physical action along with the conflicts as it all starts to turn into psychological decisions that the character must face with their own point of view within their own moral values.

      Now, before I end this post, drum roll please…. I choose my character names! The guy shall be named Daniel and the girl’s name shall be Callie. Till next time!

"Difference Between Mystery and Suspense." Difference Between. 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Www.nuvotech.co.uk, Nuvotech Limited. "How Filmmakers Connect With Audiences." Movie Outline - Screenwriting Software. Stanley D. Williams. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Let's Get Started!

Heyyy guys. Today I shall finally tell you about my idea.

My Idea: 

The film will open with the view of two people running through the woods (I was thinking of placing the credits during this scene). As the two characters are running one trips, whom turns out to be a girl, and the other character is a guy, who is helping her get back on her feet as quickly as possible. They are constantly looking back, and the guy is holding the girl’s hand leading the way after the girl trips. This combination of body movements allows the viewers to tell that they are in some sort of danger and very anxious to get away from where they were. This scene will then lead them to the end of a random dock, which is when the shot of a gun will be heard. This is where we will see an intense, shocking and almost disturbing, heartbreaking look on the girl's face as the guy falls back into the water. A shot of the guy's lifeless body falling into the water will then follow.

This scene will then transition to the girl staring out a car window with headphones on and upset as the camera tilts up and over the car (still trying to figure out how in the world I am going to get that shot). 

Anyways, it will then move on to a scene at school. Here the girl will be focused on her work while, on the other hand, the guy will be towards the back of the classroom playing around while being disruptive. The girl is getting quite annoyed, which is shown through her obvious facial expressions. The guy then ends up throwing a paper ball at her, signaling her that she should open it up and read it. When she opens it up it will say something similar to “But I know it’ll all be worth it.” She will turn back and look at him very confused which is when he will give her a kind smile and wink at her. Although she is still confused she will look at him curiously and smile back as if sensing something good will be coming soon between them. Here she will then be saying, in a narrative manner, something along the lines such as “I didn’t know it then, in fact I had no clue how much my life was about to change, but the point is, he did; he knew it all from the very start. He knew exactly how everything was going to play out before it even occurred. If only he didn’t suspect a thing and let it be, maybe I would still have him somehow next to me. Maybe we would’ve meet in another way, maybe we would’ve still fallin love and continue with our lives. If only we wouldn’t have done such thing he would still be here today.” The scene will end with the bell ringing and all the students walking out of the classroom as the title of the movie appears. (Or maybe I’ll place the title during the end of the first car scene; hopefully)

P.S. - I just noticed I have not come up with any names for my characters so I shall inform you guys on that small detail next time. Oh, and the place I want to film my first scenes is beautiful.