Creative Critical Reflection: Current Progress

 CCR: Current Progress

    Hey everyone! I am back with a progress update on my CCR. So, as you may remember, I chose to do a presentation with a voiceover, and then an interview that is self-run, like a Q and A session. So, I will first be talking about the approach to begin working on the CCR, and then how I began working on the actual two media products, and then what my next step would be. 

Approach to the CCR

    Starting a big portion of the Cambridge Portfolio Project is definitely overwhelming to think about, and a lot of time has to go into the CCR. So, I took a few days to think about how to start the CCR, since there is so much to it. I ended up deciding to type up my responses to the four questions of the CCR...

    - Question 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

    - Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

    - Question 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project? 

    - Question 4: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

    I typed these answers onto a word document so that I could make the rest of the process easier for myself. I have inserted screenshots of the word document below...

    So, as you can see from the screenshots, some sentences are red, and others are highlighted yellow. I used some color coding to help organize my thoughts onto the word document, and to prevent myself from getting confused. So here is the rundown of what the colors mean: 

    -White: Any white sentences just mean that they are part of my response for the questions. (Nothing too special behind the meaning of this)

    -Red: Any red sentences mean that they are research that I took from either previous blogs or other websites. These will help me when I have to cite where I got my information from. 

    -Yellow Highlighter: Any highlighted sentences mean that they are one of the four questions I had to answer, or titles for other sections of information to avoid confusing myself. 

Media Product #1: Presentation w/ Voiceover

    Anyways, after typing up my answers for each question, I knew that I had to begin transferring the information onto my first media product for the CCR, being the PowerPoint Presentation with the voiceover. For the PowerPoint, I knew that I did not want the slides to look super busy, but I still wanted them to look appealing with a variety of color, resembling Stella's bright character. I also chose to do this in order to make the presentation engaging. I used the following colors: yellow, green, orange, blue, pink, and white. Below, I have a video of the PowerPoint (without the voiceover) to show you all how the slides are looking as of right now...

    I still have some things to add, and some things to remove from the PowerPoint, but I wanted you all to be able to really see the progress, and see the changes I make along the way, so I decided to share what I currently have. For instance, I want to remove some words to make it more concise and add the citations for the research I did. From here, the only thing I am missing is to edit the PowerPoint a bit more and create/ add the voiceover onto the presentation. 

Media Product #2: Interview

    Moving on to the interview of the CCR, I decided to write the script for the dialogue I will be using during the recording of the interview. All I did was edit my responses from the word document, modify the language to make it sound natural for an interview and put it in script form. Below I have screenshots of my script that I created, that I will be using during filming to guide the production process... 

    While I did modify the language before transferring the responses, I still will be revisiting the script just in case there are any mistakes that I missed before. However, from what I have seen so far, there isn't too much that I have to change. But having the script ready for now, means that my next step would be the production process, where I film all of the shots that I have to film for this interview to come to life. So, soon I will have to film the scenes for the interview, and I will have to record the voiceover for the presentation. 

    Anyways, I will be moving on to filming/ recording what I need to for both of the media products for the CCR. So, stay tuned for my next update on my progress as I work through the CCR!

Creative Critical Reflection: Group Meetings

 CCR: Group Meetings

    Hey everyone! I am back with an update on my Creative Critical Reflection. So, as you all know, I have had some doubts on what two media products I should choose to create my CCR. Well, I am pleased to say that I have officially chosen my two options, and I have chosen them with the help of a group meeting that my AICE Media Studies teacher created in class today. 

Group Meeting: Discussions 

    The purpose of the group meetings is to be able to share your ideas and give feedback to your peers. So, during the group meetings, i decided to take advantage of the fact that we were receiving feedback and decided to express my concern/ doubt on my CCR options. I told my group that I wanted to choose two options that were the least time consuming, but that were also the most engaging options. I was looking for a balance between these two options, so I was not sure where my CCR was headed. 

    My peers were telling me that they recommend the talk show option and the presentation with a voiceover. I was told that the presentation with a voiceover would go well with the first two questions that I have to answer for the CCR. While the presentation does not require me to stand directly in front of the camera, it will have its visual aspects with the commentary, making it an engaging option. This option also would not be as time consuming as other options because it does not require any storyboard planning to film anything. 

    They also recommended the talk show, because during the interview sections, I did not have to look directly at the camera since it is normal to look at the "host" of the talk show. This would also mean that I would not have to memorize any lines of my responses, especially considering how complex the answers may be. My only doubt with these options is that I would have to plan out the shots, since I have to actually film this, and that I would need another actor to play the host of the talk show. However, I could just ask a family member or a friend to help me out with the part. Even though this would be engaging, I would not want to rely on finding another actor to help me out, so I will be doing an interview where I read the most trending questions about me or my production. The only thing is that I have to memorize what I will say because I would not want it to look like I am reading off something. I just want it to seem natural, like a normal interview. 

    So, my final options will be the presentation with the voice over and the interview.

Moving Forward

    Having the options that I have now chosen; I have to begin working on my CCR. For the presentation with the voiceover, I will be using PowerPoint, since I am experienced with using it, and it has a voiceover option, making it easier to work with. For the interview, I want a plain background with just a few props that may help give away the idea that the video is an interview. For now, I will be finishing up my answers that I typed out for each question, and then modify them as I begin working on my actual CCR. 

    Anyways, that is all for now as I wrap up the planning process for my CCR. Stay tuned for my next update on my CCR!

Creative Critical Reflection: What is the Plan?

Creative Critical Reflection: Plan

     Hey everyone! I am back with an update for the Cambridge Portfolio Project, as I will be moving from the Film Opening Project to the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR). So, starting now, my main focus will be the CCR, and I have been using my notes that I took in my AICE Media Studies class on the CCR, which I have put below for reference...

    These notes really helped me get a better understanding of how I should be approaching these questions and ensuring that my responses answer every part of each question. While I know that I have to choose two different media products through which I share my responses, I haven't been able to pick my final two. Here are my options: a presentation with a voiceover, a talk show, and an enhanced podcast. Since from these three options I haven't been able to pick my top two, I decided to hold off on the decision for a bit and in the mean while come up with my responses to the 4 questions. 

    My only final decision from the media products is to do the enhanced podcast, but I am not sure about which one my second choice would be. However, for the enhanced podcast, I am planning on answering questions 3 (How did your production skills develop throughout this project?) and 4 (How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?). So, whichever media product is chosen as my second option will be answering questions 1 (How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?) and 2 (How does your production engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?).

    I do have a few doubts on the media products that I can choose, so I will be asking my AICE Media Studies teacher on Monday whether or not my plans would work. Based off of the advice I get, my choices for the media products of the CCR may change, but by the beginning of next week, my plans will all be sorted out. 

   Anyways, stay tuned for my next update with me in this journey of completing my Cambridge Portfolio Project!

Film Opening Project: Post-Production (Editing)

 The Editing Process

    Hey everyone! I am back with an update on me and Natalia's journey through the film opening project. Right now, we have just finished a very important step that brings all of the shots we have together, the editing process! Just a reminder, me and Natalia filmed all of the shots with her iPhone, and we edited everything on her iPhone using the app, Cap Cut. So, let me begin bringing you all along through this process. 

Step 1: Making Choices

    The very first thing that we did while editing was place all of our shots onto Cap Cut to get an idea of how much content we have, versus how much we can keep. We started with a total of nine minutes, when the maximum length of the film opening can be two minutes. This was definitely overwhelming to work with, considering how much we had to remove, but I feel that it is better to have more than less content. Me and Natalia looked over the clips several times, and each time we deleted shots that we feel are repetitive or added little to no significance to the story.

    These are screenshots of all of the shots we had for the project, and many of them are lengthy, which made much more difficult to choose was should go and what should stay.

    After a while of contemplating what we should keep, we ended having the project be under 2 minutes, which was the goal, since the addition of the credits would add more time to the project. So, now that we have chosen which clips to keep, we then had to establish the order of these shots...

Step 2: Establishing the Order

    Establishing the order of the shots was also a very time-consuming process, since there were many orders that we could go about choosing. To approach this idea, we first discussed which shots would belong in the beginning, the middle, and the end. This would help lessen the amount of content we have to work with, making everything clearer. Think of it this way:

    Beginning: Credits, Close ups of Stella

    Middle: Documentary scenes/ interview sections

    End: Stella's emotional scenes, title insert, bedroom scenes

    After doing so, we then just experimented with the order, and then watch the video over and over, until we found the best option that we both agreed on. When we finalized our decision on the order, we added some fades to a few transitions between any shots showing Stella to give off the idea that lots of time is passing.

Step 3: Credits/ Title

    Once we had all of the shots in place with the right transitions placed, we knew that the film opening needed credits and a title. To start with the credits, we knew that we needed to mention the following...

- Producer

- Director

- Cinematographer

- Editor

- Writer 

- Main Actors

    For these credits, me and Natalia put both of our names for all of them except main actors, since I did not show my face on camera. We paid special attention to our font choices for the project, as Cap Cut has a large variety of fonts to choose from. Below is a screenshot of just a few of many fonts that we were able to choose from...

    For the font of the credit, we wanted to make it simple, since the font of the title later on should be what stands out more. However, the white text we used over the black, outlines the words to bring the viewer's attention to the names. Also, we edited the credits to make them change on beat with the audio, which I will be discussing shortly. 

    

    Moving on to the title, we wanted to make it stand out, make it seem more dramatic. The title is Stella, the main character's name, which also means "star." For the color of the font, we chose yellow, since that is usually the first color that one thinks of when thinking of a star. Also, yellow is associated with happiness and pleasure, which in Stella's character, is challenged throughout our film. 

    We also decided that it would be best to insert this title within an extreme long shot of Stella sitting by herself in the movie theater, as a way to further emphasize the idea that the film will revolve around her only, and her journey of trying to become something more in the acting industry. Below is a photo of what the font looks like over the extreme long shot...

    After finalizing the credits and the title, we had the last, yet very important part to this process, being audio.

Step 4: Audio

    Once we finalized all of the visual components of the film opening together, we had to work through the auditory components of the film opening. In the film opening, we used both diegetic and non- diegetic audio. Our diegetic audio would be any audio from the film that Stella is watching in our film opening. Our non-diegetic audio would be the score that can be heard throughout the film opening. We first wanted to tackle the audio that deals with the documentary/ interview scenes from the film that Stella watches. 

    Due to background noises heard during the shots we filmed, we had to use a separate device to capture audio, meaning that we had to sync the visual shots to the audio of the interview. We had to transfer the audio over the video, and keep moving the audio by seconds, until we were able to perfectly sync them together. This did take a while to perfect, since we wanted to ensure that it looked like the actress was really speaking directly from the video. 

    We then decided to take separate audios from the same "interview" and place it as a voice over that plays across the film opening during the close-up shots of Stella. This way, the viewer would know that Stella is already watching the film and can understand what it is exactly that the actress said that moved, Stella. The voice over also adds a nice touch to the overall production, considering how empty it sounds, even with the score in the back. 

    To add in the score, we had to create layers of audio so that the voice overs and the score wouldn't clash with each other. Below is a picture of what the layers looked like...

    Now you might be wondering, "Where did the score come from?" The score that we chose comes from a website that offers a variety of tracks that are copyright free music, called Uppbeat.io. One aspect of this website that we truly appreciated was it its organization; it was very easy to find an audio that suits our video, as below each track there were two words that described them. Below is a screenshot of how this looked like...

    To choose the audio that we were both satisfied with, we played each track we saw and after a few seconds, we said our opinions. Once we found a track that we were both satisfied with and felt suited the film opening, we added it to our film opening. For the intro of the film where the credits are, the score was slightly louder than in the rest of the opening, because we were concerned about the score being overwhelming and blocking the voice over. After inserting this audio and adjusting the volume, we officially completed the film opening project!

    Anyways, editing is quite a tedious process, but it is definitely an important one. That is why I felt it was important to explain each step, to clarify how exactly we went about each part of the process. This concludes the work for the film opening project, as I now have to work on my Creative Critical Reflection (CCR). 

    Stay tuned for my next update on the Cambridge Portfolio Project, as I move along to work on my CCR!

References

“Free Music for Creators.” Uppbeat.io, uppbeat.io/?rt=ppc_bing_search_general_usa&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search_general_usa&utm_content=&utm_term=copyright%20free%20music&msclkid=b5d57820d69b19e303d21c3bbb816e2a. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.

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Film Opening Project: Final Shots

 The Final Shots

    Hey everyone! I am back to fill you all in with the progress of me and Natalia's film opening project. This is officially the last thing that me and Natalia had to do in terms of the production process. So, right after this, we will be jumping straight into the editing process. But for now, I will be explaining how we went about filming the last three shots. 

The Last of Filming

    So, as you all know, most of the shots were filmed at our school auditorium to resemble the theater, and the rest were filmed in my bedroom with a set design that represents Stella. However, there is a small moment in the film opening that uses an eyeline match from Stella to a shot of what she is watching. The film being played on the screen is super important, since it hints towards Stella's inner conflict towards the journeys of her future with acting. That is why we decided that the film Stella is watching should be a documentary of a famous actress (Patricia Sarmiento), who in the documentary is shown describing her journey while reaching success in the acting industry, while also giving advice to aspiring actresses like Stella. 

    The reason why these scenes were pushed so far back was that the person playing this part wasn't going to be available until this week. Now you may be asking yourselves, "Why didn't Hannah or Natalia play the part?" Natalia could not play the actress because she was already playing Stella, so it would confuse the audience since there would be two of her showing. I didn't play the actress because I am not comfortable being in front of a camera to act and am in recovery from a surgery that limits me from doing so. For those reasons, we decided to wait until the person playing the actress was ready. As soon as the person playing "Patricia Sarmiento" was ready, we took her to a nice location with lots of plants to set up the documentary scenes where she gives influential and emotional advice that moves Stella. 

    Thankfully, filming these scenes did not take too long, since it was only three short shots of Patricia giving out advice. Even though it was not time consuming, we ran into two issues that we were luckily able to fix. We had two major issues...

Two Issues: How we dealt with them

#1: Audio

    The first issue that we ran into had to do with the audio. When we were recording the scenes, we decided to do a test run, where the actress for Patricia says anything, and then we make sure that everything is okay with that shot. So, after doing the test run, we noticed that we could barely hear what the actress was saying, as there were many background noises, making her speech inaudible. When trying to brainstorm ideas on how to fix this, I thought of using the little microphone attached to people's clothing during interviews to capture their dialogue, but we do not own one of those. Then, we came up with the idea of putting another iPhone very close to the face of the actress, but far enough so that it does not show in the video. With this technique, we were able to properly record Patricia while capturing her speech clearly.

#2: Memorization/ Shots

    The second issue that we ran into had to with the actress herself. English is not "Patricia's" first language, so it was challenging to have her memorize a whole speech to repeat while looking into a camera. After several test runs, it was clear that we had to think of another plan. We then thought of the idea to have her wear sunglasses, so that her eyes do not show when she reads off the script and to give her more of an "I'm famous" look. Even though this did help block her eye movement, it was still obvious that she did not memorize a script and was reading off of one. Which is why we than decided to separate the shots, showing different angles of Patricia's face. This would help separate the lines that she had to memorize, which was much easier for her and ended up working. With this technique, we were able to film the documentary while making it look like she was not reading off of a script. This also means that we had to sync the video with the audio, which wasn't too challenging...

    This is a screenshot of how we edited the video with the synced audio below! However, this is one of many aspects to our film opening project. I don't want to spoil too much of my next update, since I will be talking about the editing process. 

    Anyways, stay tuned for my next update on our journey towards the completion of our film opening project!

Film Opening Project: Editing Software Options

 Editing Software Options: Which One to Choose?

    Hey everyone! I am back with another update of me and Natalia's journey though the film opening project. I realized that I had never talked much about editing, specifically on which platform we will be using. So, for this post, I wanted to walk you all through our original choices, our thought process along the way, and the final decision. 

What were we considering?

  Adobe Premiere Pro  

    The first option we were considering was Adobe Premiere Pro. We both knew that out of the three options, Adobe seemed to have the most flexibility in terms of creativity, as they offer the most variety in editing options within the platform. However, this is what causes Adobe to seem intimidating and overwhelming, considering how complex the platform is and how unexperienced the both of us are with this platform. Even though there are many tutorials online on how to use the platform, we would rather use a platform that we were both experienced in using. 

iMovie

    The second option we were considering was iMovie. The main benefit that me and Natalia would have from iMovie was how we are both experienced with the app, and we are well aware on how to use it. One issue that we have with iMovie is how there are times when the features of the iMovie platform do not support our projects. There have been times in the past where at least I have had to change editing platforms so that I could edit any videos in a way that iMovie couldn't do. So, based on our past experiences with this platform, we don't want to risk anything. 

Cap Cut

    The third option (the winner!) we were considering and will now be using is Cap Cut. Like iMovie, Cap Cut is also an editing platform that both me and Natalia have experience in based on past projects. In terms of the variety in features within the platform, Cap Cut would be in between Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie. Cap Cut has a good amount of features for editing, but it does not reach to an overwhelming amount. Me and Natalia also have not had any major issues with Cap Cut, so it also feels like the safest options. 

    This research on our editing software options has ensured us that we will be taking the least number of risks during the post productions process while helping us create a quality film opening project. Anyways, stay tuned for my next update on our journey with the film opening project!

References / Photo Credits:

Thinglink. “Adobe Premiere pro Was Used in Post-Production for the Ed...” Www.thinglink.com, www.thinglink.com/scene/904356246851682307. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

‌“IMovie App Logo - LogoDix.” Logodix.com, logodix.com/imovie-app. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

‌Service, App Customer. “Popular Photo Video Applications.” App Customer Service!, appcustomerservice.com/category/6008/photo-video. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

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Film Opening Project: Production Process Part 2

 Production: Part 2 (Filming)

    Hey everyone! I am back with more updates on me and Natalia's journey towards the film opening project, and I will be specifically talking about the filming process after setting up everything. However, before I begin, I would like to clarify that we did film lots of shots for the film opening, but I won't have to many visual examples to show due to some technical issues I have been dealing with on my part (since we filmed on Natalia's iPhone, a very new and high quality phone, none of my devices can support the quality, so I was not able to transfer many examples on to my devices). 

The Majority

    Since a big part of our film opening is reliant on the emotions and character of Stella, our most used shots would be close ups. The whole point of our idea is to introduce our character, Stella, without creating an actual, proper introduction. We just want to throw hints at the audience that relate to Stella's emotional connection to acting. Again, I would put more examples, but I was only able to grab a few that my device can handle, so here they are!

 

    Here is a close up of Stella's face as she watches the film being played on the screen. This is one of several close ups filmed throughout the opening.

    Here is an extreme close up of Stella's eyes as she watches the film and feels captivated and influenced by its message. 

Lighting

    Now some you may be asking yourselves, "How did you and Natalia manage to show light on Stella even with the auditorium lights off?' Honestly, all we did was project a film of our choice on the screen (we chose Rocky Balboa) so that it would look realistic, as if Stella is actually watching a film. However, it did take a while to find the appropriate scenes in the film with the brightest lighting, because in some shots, one could barely see Stella. And although the lighting is supposed to be dark at times in a movie theater, this is not a visual that we wanted to show, as we wanted to make sure that Stella was shown clearly throughout the film opening. 

    And then again, you all may be asking yourselves this other question: "Why didn't you and Natalia just display a bright photo onto the projector so that way you guys don't have to worry about finding bright scenes?' Honestly, this was brought up as an idea after struggling a bit with the film being projected, but we felt that the film opening would lose its realism because the light reflecting on Stella's face would remain the same. And usually, when you watch a film, the light changes on your face, so we decided to avoid this technique. 

    So, even though the way we worked with the lighting was more time consuming, we do feel that it does add to the film opening's quality and detailing. 

What Now?

    Me and Natalia have decided to meet up in the beginning of next week to carefully revise everything we have filmed and make sure that we are satisfied with what we filmed. If not, they we may refilm a few scenes that could use more work or inspire us to add more to it. From there, we will then have to edit the film opening, which includes the credits and title inserts. We will also be keeping the instruction next to us so we are 100% that we meet all of the requirements for the high scoring film opening. 

    Anyways, I am definitely looking forward to continue working with Natalia on our film opening project, so stay tuned for my next update on this journey!

Film Opening Project: Production Process Part 1

 Production: Part 1 (The Set Up)

    Hey everyone! I am back with some huge updates on me and Natalia's journey towards the Film Opening Project. So, we finally got to shoot the film opening this week, making me feel much more relief for how on time we are for our schedules. The reason why it took us a while before we could film was due to the limited vacancy for our location, being the school's auditorium. For reference, below is a photo we took of a part of the auditorium. 

    While this picture is not a screenshot of the actual film opening, it's just a picture we took to test out which angle would work best for the film opening to really capture the size of the auditorium (even though not all of the auditorium was captured in this photo, it's just for reference!) In the picture is actually Natalia, as she took the role of playing the main character of the film opening (Stella). 

Working with Shots and Angles

    The first step we took was to play around with shots and angles that were outside of the storyboard, just to brainstorm any possible ideas that may be better than the original ones. However, not too many changes were made outside of the storyboard, since we were already satisfied with the storyboard. Unfortunately, we ran into yet another issue, which actually involves the storyboard. Originally, we had plans on including the family members of Stella, to hint more towards their family dynamic before the actual film were to begin. 

    Unfortunately, due to some scheduling conflicts between our filming times and those of the actors that would play the family, we had to reduce the film to being just on Stella. However, we didn't let this break down our plan and moved on to continue planning exactly how these shots would be filmed. One challenge that led us to spend so much time organizing the shits was due to the lighting. Even though we did consider how the lighting in the auditorium would look like during the filming, we expected it to be a lot brighter than it actually was. 

    Even though we were a bit disappointed with the lighting at first, we decided to play around with the shots and angles of each scene to make the lighting look its best. While this isn't the ideal situation for a production, me and Natalia took this as a learning experience to consider every variable of the production process and have our back up plans. So, we continued on testing the shots, which took quite a while to get together. 

    Here's a photo of me and Natalia trying to figure out what shot would be best for a particular scene (we asked Natalia's mom to take some photos of us working, so this was one of them!) 

    So, after playing around with the shots and angles, we had to begin setting up the auditorium itself to fit our needs... 

Setting Up the Auditorium

    After figuring out which type of shots work best for the film opening, we then had to deal with the auditorium itself, and how to operate it. This was probably one of the most challenging aspects of the filming process, since it took a while for both of us to set up the projector and the auditorium lights (there were so many buttons on the control panel!) 

    This is another photo that Natalia's mom took of us trying to figure out how to set up the lights and the projector.

    Luckily, we were able to figure out how to operate the lights, and how to put the film onto the projector. However, for some reason, the volume was not working properly, so the film that we put up onto the projector was shown on mute the whole time, but me and Natalia just decided to do a voice over of the film's audio on top of the scene itself. 

    The last thing that we needed was our main prop, the wheelchair for Stella, which we were able to borrow from the school's nurse. After getting ready for the film by completing the set-up process, we began to film. 

    Anyways, this how we set up everything necessary to be 100% prepared to film. Stay tuned for my next update on our journey with the creation of the film opening project!

Film Opening Project: Bedroom Scene Production Results (Tips and Tricks)

 Production Process for Bedroom Scenes

    Hey everyone! I am back with new updates on the filming process for the bedroom scenes of the film opening. So, for a recap, I decided to get a head start on filing the bedroom scenes while my partner Natalia is working on location scouting for the theater scenes. I am pleased to say that I was able to shoot the bedroom scenes in under an hour. 

    I have to give credit for my shot list, as it made this process much faster and more time efficient for me to now focus on the next steps. However, like any production process, I ran through a few minor issues while filming, so I decided to share with you all how I dealt with them, or how I improvised. I will also be sharing a few minor changes in props and explain why I made those decisions. I will be focusing on the two major issues that I ran into. So, let's get started!

Inconvenience #1 [Tripod]

    The first issue that I ran into was the tripod itself. When I began filming the top of the photo wall, I noticed that my tripod could not reach so high, which did not let me film what I needed to film. For reference, this is what my tripod looks like...

 

    The first photo is of the tripod without extending it. The second photo is of the same tripod with the maximum extension (the difference is huge!).

    So, even with that height that the tripod can reach, it was not enough for the shot I needed. Some of you might be thinking: "Hannah, why didn't you just move the photos from the photo wall a bit lower so that the tripod can reach?" To answer this question, I just didn't want to, it took a lot of time to set up the photo wall, so starting it over would remove so much of my time. For that reason, I put the tripod on top of a pile of my school's yearbooks (since they are very big), which then allowed the tripod to reach the area. 

    In other words, if your tripod ever fails to reach a certain height, just place it on top of an object (furniture, books, bed, etc.). That way, you won't have to change any plans and continue filming. 

Inconvenience #2 [Lighting]

    This next issue that I ran into I would say is more my fault, because lighting is something that you plan before filming, which is what I didn't do. Here's what happened, the spot I was filming was in front of a big window, which was perfect since I wanted the most natural daylight lighting in the scenes as possible. 

    However, near my window, I had a light in my room that was turned on, reflecting its light onto the photo wall. This made the photo wall blurry and almost blinding, as the light didn't allow the photos to be shown. Now some of you all may be thinking: "Hannah, why didn't you just turn off the light from the start?"

 Honestly, I did not realize this issue until I was over halfway done with filming, so as soon as I realized this, I had to start over, which took so much time off of my hands. The lesson I learned from this is that I have to do a test run of what I am filming and make sure that everything component is just the way I need it to be. I always have to make sure that I check my surroundings and ensure that nothing will disturb the filming process. 

Inconvenience #3 [Bed]

    This issue that I ran into wasn't as much of a big deal as the others, as I found a solution to this quickly, but I still thought that I should share this in case some of you might need this tip. For the clip that is supposed to show Stella sleeping, I wasn't sure how to show that someone else is sleeping in the bed, since Natalia and my family were busy. I didn't want to be the one under the bed because I was already filming. 

    So, I decided to use stuffed animals and pillows under the covers of the med to mimic the figure of a person (which I thought came out pretty well). For reference, I have the photos of how it would look like in the film, versus how it was actually like.

    Coming up with this idea reminded me that there is always a way to overcome a problem, so another tip I have for you all is that there is always a way to do things, so keep brainstorming new ideas until you find one that works for you (wow, so inspirational!).

Minor Changes with Props

    While I did in fact dedicate an entire post towards props used in the production, I wanted to update you all on a few minor changes I made. I ended up removing the star lamp prop and just kept the normal lamp, because after trying to add the stars, it just looked very fake and last minute (even though I tried adding the stars for around 2 hours until I decided to remove the idea). 

    Which is why I replaced it with a jewelry stand. The reason why I incorporated a jewelry stand with lots of colorful jewelry because I wanted to emphasize the idea that Stella is very expressive with her clothing, through the use of bright colors. I added it to hint towards this idea before the actual film began. I also decided to not show Stella in these scenes, as I wanted the main focus to be on all of the props. 

    Anyways, those are all of the tips I have based on my own experiences, so I hope they will be useful for you all. Stay tuned for my next update on this journey!

Film Opening Project: Bedroom Scene Shot List

 Bedroom Scenes Shot List

    Hey everyone! I am back with a new update on the journey with the film opening project. This will be a continuation of my last post, as they are both related to the process of the bedroom scenes for the project (I will talk about the theater scenes later). So as you all know, I already introduced the props that will be incorporated in these scenes to represent Stella's personality and dreams.

Staying Organized

    Before shooting the bedroom scenes, I felt that it was very important to have my foundation of my ideas ready, so I originally thought of creating a storyboard. However, since these scenes are fairly short and while facing time constraints in my schedule, I decided to go with creating a shot list. 

    A shot list is very important because it reminds one of what exactly needs to be done. This allows the production process to run smoothy, as no thoughts are needed to come up with on the spot. This also reduces pressure of creating a quality product while filming, as all of the shots have been preplanned. It is definitely recommended to create some type of shot list, whether its digital or on paper.

The Shot List

    To show you all how simple it can be to organize your ideas with a shot list, I decided to include a screenshot of my digital shot list, which can be found below....

    To clarify the set-up of the shot list, on the left are my solid ideas for the shots within the scenes. However, any writing directed by red marks or arrows highlight my alternative ideas, or "Plan Bs", just in case the scenes need changes during the production process. This also gives me more flexibility for what I can film. Also, any writing in grey are just extra clarifications to remind myself of any other examples or just extra information that I may forget.

    Anyways, what I have shown you all above will be the main thing I will use during the production. Stay tuned for my next update on the production process!

Film Opening Project: Every Detail Counts

 Clarification Through Props/ Set Design: The Bedroom

    Hey everyone! As you all know I am continuing my journey with the Film Opening Project with my partner Natalia, and with the many components that this project requires, we decided to take some time to focus on props and set design. So, for that reason, I decided to dedicate a post for these two components.

Why do props and set design matter? 

    Props and set design are key players towards building the personality of the main character. These two components are important as the give hints to the audience that link towards a variety of aspects that relate to the main character. So, when me and Natalia decided to talk about how to let the audience know more about the main character (Stella), before formally introducing her, we came up with a list of ideas to place emphasis on her character. 

    There will be two sets that will be utilized throughout the filming process. One is our school's auditorium, which resembles a movie theater (perfect!), and the other set will be the bedroom scene shown right after the insert of the film title. However, I am dedicating this post towards the props for the set design of the bedroom in particular, since we are still working on location scouting for the auditorium. 

The Set 

    While I knew that the bedroom scenes would only be a few seconds long, I still feel that it is important to plan out the props in the scenes since I would like the prop choices to properly represent Stella (the main character). Below I have inserted photos of the exact bedroom I will be filming these scenes in...

    I also included this picture to zoom in on the specific part of the room in which I want the majority of the props to go. 

    There are two reasons why I felt this spot would be best to film. The first reason being the spot of the wall and the night table. For the idea of the photo wall, this is the only bedroom wall white enough space for a photo collage. Also, the night table is an important prop to the set, so this spot would be very convenient for filming. The second reason for choosing this spot is because of the lighting. The biggest window of the room is on the opposite side of this wall, so it would help the lighting look more natural during filming. (To clarify, these pictures show how the bedroom looks like before the addition of the props).

Props/ Inspiration

    Keeping in mind that Stella is an aspiring actress, we decided to first brainstorm room decorations that could match her dreams, but also her bright personality. Since photo walls tend to be a very popular room decor choice for women (even I have a photo wall), I felt that she should have a photo wall, but of things related to the acting industry. This would include film posters and a collage of photos with the acting "aesthetic" to be shown as her form of manifestation for her dreams. 

    However, we cannot keep taking all of the credit, as our inspiration was drawn from Pinterest. So, to keep our ideas organized, I created a Pinterest Board with photos that inspired our thoughts. Below this, I have incorporated part of the Pinterest Board I created, but the full board can be found by clicking this link: Stella Bedroom Pinterest

    This Pinterest Board however only contains bedroom decor in relation to the photos that would be hung on the wall, since it is what I had the most ideas for. 

    Besides the film related posters/ photos, I also thought of including inspirational photos/ quotes on the photo wall, and I have reasoning behind this choice. With the insecurity that Stella has with her dreams of becoming an actress, she feels that she needs lots of support to keep herself determined, despite her harsh journey she will have to overcome along the way. Since she wants to keep herself motivated, she purposely hung up several inspirational quotes that she reads every morning, reminding her of what she wants to do. Below are examples of some inspirational note cards that I own that I will incorporate to the photo wall...

Extra Props That Hint Towards Stella

    While the props I mentioned above do hint towards Stella's love for film and dreams for pursuing acting, I felt that I could use more variety in props that could hint even more towards Stella herself. Since the name Stella means star, and actresses are usually referred to as stars, I felt that I should incorporate some small details with inclusions of stars, so that way later on, the viewer can puzzle these props together with the meaning of her name, as well as her dreams. Below is a list of all the possible props including stars that may be featured in the film opening...

- Phone wallpaper of stars

- Star jewelry on the nightstand

- Stars on the lamp

- Inspirational quote with stars (one example is actually shown above)

- Star stickers on the nightstand

    While I haven't exactly chosen which one of these I will use, or how many I will use, items on this list will definitely come in handy soon.

    The last but very much important prop that will be used in these bedroom scenes will be a crumbled up acting audition paper sitting on the nightstand. This prop will be the biggest hint to give to the audience that would basically confirm the character's passion and dream. The reason it is crumbled up is to show how much she has contemplated whether or not to go to these auditions, as well as symbolizing how harsh her journey for pursuing this dream will be. This prop will also be linked to a calendar prop that will highlight the date of the auditions, confirming her desire to act while giving the viewer a sense of time.

    Anyways, I hope that this blog post cleared up the current situation on one of our set designs and hints through props. Stay tuned for my next update on our journey!

Film Opening Project: Thinking in Advance

 Introduction to the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR)

    Hey everyone! I am back with a new update on me and Natalia's journey through the Cambridge Portfolio Project. So, as you all may know, me and Natalia are currently working on the actual film opening itself, as we work on actually filming what we have on our storyboard next week. However, in the back of our minds, we knew that after the film opening was completed, we would have to worry about completing the CCR for the project. It's hard to not think about even when our teacher told us that we should only be working on it after finishing the film opening. 

     However, in my AICE Media Studies AS Level class, our teacher decided to teach us a lesson talking about the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR), to help us better understand what we must do. My teacher dedicated an hour of our class towards teaching us about the CCR and went into depth about every part of the CCR. This lesson answered all of the questions I had in my mind in regard to the CCR, which made me feel relieved. I obviously took notes on this lesson so that I would not forget any important information and can use my notes for when I actually begin to work on the CCR. For this reason, below I have inserted photos of what my notes for the lesson look like...

 

    As you all can see, I tried my best to keep my notes nice and organized so that way I don't get confused looking back at them when I actually have to begin working on the CCR. Right now I am considering making a podcast and a talk show as my two media products, but I am not entirely sure yet. However, I am trying to not get too ahead of myself because I still have a whole project to film before that. But I will definitely come back to working on the CCR when I am done with the opening. 

    Anyways, stay tuned for my next update!

Film Opening Project: Crossing Challenges

 Dealing with Delays

    Hey everyone! As you may know based off the schedule that me and Natalia made, we haven't made any posts related to our production process when this week was the first week of filming. So, you all may be asking yourself questions like: "Did something happen?" or "Did plans change?"  To be entirely honest, we have run into some delays for production due to issues with location scheduling. 

How did this issue come up?

    Me and Natalia had planned to film in our school's auditorium, but when talking to administrators if we could film after school, we were told that we couldn't film this week after school due to the school holding a performance every day after school in the auditorium and hosting other activities in the afternoons. However, it would not be an issue to film next week, so for that reason we have to hold off our filming process until next week. 

    At first, we were both caught off guard because we weren't considering this to be an issue for our project, so when were told that we couldn't until next week, we knew that would give us less time to film and less flexibility to do what else we needed to do. So, after being told about this setback, we knew that we had to make changes to our weekly plans. 

What are we doing for this week?

    Instead of waiting until next week, me and Natalia decided to be more productive with our time, so we decided to focus more on planning and go over the outlines and storyboards to make sure that we are satisfied with our ideas. We are also going to pick out the outfits that will be worn in the film opening based off of each characters' aesthetic and costume design (which you all can check out in my blog post on costuming options). 

    I am glad that me and Natalia were able to think about the bright side to this situation, as we were proactive and did not let the issue affect our spirits in any way. For this reason, we will continue discussing our options and what we can do with this remaining time, so stay tuned for our next update on the journey!