IT'S OVER AAA

 It is with a smile on my face that I am pleased to announce, it's over. Everything is done. After 8 long weeks of planning, research, and editing, that it's over. Every section of my Cambridge Portfolio project has been completed!

I won't be sharing the projects or film just yet, as I want to save those for individual postings next week, but I do want to go over how editing went. First off, let's talk about LifeLine. I added in that extra scene I was mentioning last week to show that the film is ongoing, and as an overall project, I think it came out really well! I won't repeat what I've said previously, so to keep it short, I love this film and I'm so proud of what I accomplished. I also made some edits to rectify a couple issues in the original draft of the film, such as the title saying LandLine instead of LifeLine (I have no idea how that slipped past me) or changing the color of some of the credit text, as it was pretty unreadable previously.

For the presentation CCR, I had to finagle with the brightness for a bit. I don't know why, but Adobe Premier has a habit of forcibly brightening imported video clips, and combined with the fact that I was wearing a white shirt, it was practically impossible to see what was going on in the original film. I also had to find the right brightness level where the PowerPoint was readable, but it wasn't dark enough that I was impossible to make out. I also had to stitch the audio of my presentation takes, as there was no take that was "perfect". I had to take audios for separate sections and create cuts that held up the illusion that it was the same recording. It was difficult, but I loved what I came up with, and I think you guys will too!

For the dinner CCR, production went a lot smoother. I already discussed this yesterday, but a big issue was that I breathed really loudly in some takes, so I had to try and adjust the audio levels for those recordings while still making sure that I/Luke weren't intelligible. Another issue was time. The CCRs in total HAD to be less than 10 minutes. I wasn't sure if there was a grace period, but I'm right in the middle of Spring Break, so I couldn't really ask someone about that. I cut down every single audio clip, shaving off any unnecessary pauses. The first CCR came in at 4:48, so I had 5 minutes and 12 seconds to allot to my second CCR. It was incredibly stressful editing this film, as if I was above 5:12, I'd need to cut down on dialogue, meaning that the flow of the CCR would be harmed! It was extremely tight, but I finished with a time of 5:09. Talk about coming close, I had remained within the time limit by the skin of my teeth!

By far, this was both the most difficult and most fun I've had in terms of a production week. I worked nonstop nearly everyday, whether it be filming, editing, recording, or even researching! It was really hard and filled with strife, but the results are amazing. I think I and my team have created something truly beautiful, I am so proud of how far LifeLine and both of my CCRs have come. I can not wait to share them with you next week. Thank you so much for sticking by me during this time. I'll see you all later!

Filming the Second CCR

Hello everyone! Today, I filmed the second CCR. I wanted to run through all my preparations and plans for this section of my project.

Firstly, if this was going to be a nice dinner, I knew I'd be needing some kind of decoration. I wanted to put a flower in a vase, but those are expensive. Instead, I took to arts and crafts! I'm a very large origami fan, and any of my friends will tell you how much time I spend folding together sheets of paper to create things! Recently, I picked up a new skill on how to create origami stars (I actually purchased specialized star paper to create them), and I realized the stars would be the perfect "flowers) for my bouquet.

(The tutorial I used!).

Next, I needed some kind of stem. Luckily, I happened to have some beautiful green paper straws lying around that would be perfect for this. I hot glued the stars to the straws and wrapped it all in tissue paper to look like a bouquet. This was the final result!

For a very minor set piece, I'm super happy with how this came out!

As for clothing, I wanted us to be somewhat fancy, so I asked my friend and actor, Luke, to put on a nice shirt! I followed suit, and put on a casual button down for the filming session.

As for what we were going to say, I actually didn't adhere to the script as much. This was because I realized it would be best if when we spoke, we sounded more "loose" and original. This way, it actually sounds like we're friends and not just two strangers reading off of a script. Filming itself went pretty well, and so did editing, but I ran into a bit of an issue. 

I breathe too loudly.

I think my house was a bit dusty at the time of recording, because whenever I was the one recording, you can clearly hear my loud breathing in the background. This hurts the flow of the recording, but I didn't really know what I could do to fix it. I tried to lower the audio and raise the music, but you can still hear my breathing. All I can do is hope it isn't that noticeable. Next time I'll use a neti-pot before recording, hehe.

That's all I have to share with you today guys. We're in the home stretch, editing is almost done!! I'll see you all tomorrow!

THE FIRST CCR IS (basically) FINISHED

 Hey everyone! I've had a pretty busy week as I've been working on the first CCR (the PowerPoint one) the entire time! In this post, I wanted to go over my entire production process for the CCR, and tell you all what's coming next?

    The first thing I did this week was slightly alter what the CCR would be. Instead of being like a business meeting, it would be more like a college presentation. This way, I could be more casual in tone (and I always create better speeches when in casual tone) as opposed to a formal look.

    Anyways, for a complete tonal shift, let's talk about Instagram. As I was scrolling through my For You page, I came across a page called The PowerPoint guy. I looked through some of this creator's reels, and they were huge. They were animated, fluid, and beautiful, unlike the rigid and stiff PowerPoints that I created in the past. I looked over his page for quite a bit, and soon dived into some tutorials. After an hour or two of learning, I had effectively learned how to animate in PowerPoint! As I created my presentation, I didn't really have a script in mind as I wanted to model what I'd be saying off of the presentation. When I created the PowerPoint, the questions I were trying to answer were

• Who does LifeLine represent?
• How does it differ from standard conventions in media?
• How would LifeLine be distributed as a genuine product?

Surprisingly, this PowerPoint didn't need that much research. In the slideshow, one of the key points is that the media doesn't portray depression effectively, but this didn't require much research. I had already known what depression does to someone through prior research, and I already knew how the media portrays depression due to all the shows and movies I had seen previously. After a bit more research, I was able to prove my point!

As for distribution, that came pretty easily. I knew that we'd need an external distributor, as a new indie filmmaker like myself wouldn't have the funds or popularity to fund a release by ourselves. But first, we would need some notoriety, so we would need to submit our film into some film festivals! (The ones I had in mind after reviewing some were the Woodstock Film Festival and the Cleveland International Film Fest.) After this, I want to contact a distributor in the form of a streaming service, as they have gone to film festivals in the past to pick up films.

After a lot of time and animating, I created this. Enjoy! 

(Sorry for not just linking the actual PowerPoint. To do that, you need OneDrive access and my storage is completely full, so I can't upload anything else currently.)

After the PowerPoint's creation, the rest was smooth sailing! I went through each slide and wrote my script for each slide, and then sending it to some friends for further revision! After quite some time, I came up with this!

As for the last step, I just had to coordinate with a friend to film it! I decided on filming at my prop friend and prop designer's house, Luna as she had access to a projector and a clicker for ease of flicking through PowerPoint slides. We had an issue during production where we couldn't find an HDMI cord, but we eventually found one tucked away in the garage. I can't show you all the recordings just yet as I would like to edit them into the finished product first, but I can't wait until then! For filming, we did several takes, as no specific run of the presentation was perfect, so I want to stitch together audio from several attempts to create a "perfect" final product. I'll see you all then!

IT'S FINALLY DONE

 Ladies and gentlemen, it is finished! Landline has been in production for the better part of eight weeks, and all of my team's hard work and planning has finally come into fruition! 

Although I really want to, I won't start deeply analyzing the film in this post. That's because this is not yet the complete product. I say that even though I just told you all that I had finished the film, because I think this film has an issue. The directions stated to create a film opening, yet the ending of the video is so poetic and nice, that it feels like the conclusion to a short story! To combat this, I'll have to add a super short 5-10 second scene that introduces a new issue in Theo's story. Although I haven't completely thought it out just yet, I want it to consist of Theo in his car mentally preparing himself to drive to Stan's house. The issue is that this film is meant to be 2 minutes long and I've reached that point, so I'll have to keep the next scene very short and sweet if I want to adhere to that rule.

Also, look at how many layers are in my film! If you remember my Soundscape project earlier into this blogs creation, I utilized a lot of my experience in layering from that project here!

And here are some videos of me creating my own sounds for the film!

Lastly, I wanted to share something regarding my CCRs. Last post, I said I wanted to have one CCR revolve around an interview style dinner between I and a friend as he asks me about LandLine's production. I ended up creating a draft for the script of that CCR!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oHjdnkoNrCNs_0H6K5-J8Z2s9jIW14fjqwk74QLmlNI/edit?usp=sharing

I have some issues with the script though, as I feel as though the dialogue is a bit robotic at times. Nevertheless, it'll be updated in time. With editing done, I can begin to dedicate my time solely to CCR development! I'll see you all then!

Revealing my Film's title; Among Other Things

 Hey everyone! Editing is nearing completion, there's only 40 seconds left that I need to edit in sounds! Here, take a look at a screenshot of my adobe screen!

Production is coming along swimmingly! For today, I'd like to reveal a piece of the film, and explain my creative choices!

(Blogger compresses the video, so it's of a worse quality. I promise that when I upload the final product to YouTube, it'll look nicer. Also, this isn't the finished product, and it's likely that this segment will change in the future!)

I'm actually really proud of this segment. First off, the music design was a challenging part for me. I tried to learn music theory, but it's a bit difficult to do so in the span of two days. Instead, I opted to play rudimentary notes to not only serve as background noise, but to match Theo's current tone. You can't tell in this snippet, but in the past shots, the only audio was AC white noise and a somber music piece (it sounds really nice, I'll share it with you all soon!). Not only does the quiet help build suspense in what's going to happen and why Theo is despondent, it also matches his current, somber mood.

The singular high pitched music note that plays when Bakari (whose voice was provided by my lovely friend Luke, he'll be cited in the credits) asks "are you still moping around?". Alongside Theo's smile, this high note breaks the silence of the call between Theo and his father, showing that he can feel emotions, it just has to be with the right people. After this, a rudimentary melody is played as more shots of Theo's messy house are shown. This creates a relaxed feeling, as the audio juxtaposes the cold, quiet noises of the AC in previous shots. This helps signal the audience that Bakari's voice and presence calms Theo, creating a relationship between the two characters. I got this idea from my storytelling blog post, where I wanted to "make the audience work for their meal", in which case, I think I succeeded.

In the last moments of this piece, the calming rhythm brought by Bakari is interrupted by an out of tune key when Theo's girlfriend messages him. This interruption is very sudden, creating a sense of panic. I put this in because the following scene has Theo panicking as he stumbles to a picture of Bakari and him. Truthfully, I'm proud of this segment, and I think that I did a pretty nice job for one of my first major short films.

Lastly, the film's name. I'd like to introduce all of you to...

LifeLine

A WillowsWood Production

The thought process for my film's title isn't as complex as it's been for other things such as characters. First off, it shares a likeness to the term "landline", and if it were a real movie, the motif of the landline being Theo's inner struggles and conflicted feelings would carry over from the film's opening. If the landline would have such a major role in the film, I thought it would be poetic if the film's title would be similar to that word. In addition to that, a lifeline means something that someone depends on in their hour of need. When you're depressed, you need help, and throughout the course of the film, my vision is for Theo to slowly open up to his friends, a therapist, and eventually, his girlfriend. They will guide Theo to becoming more emotionally available, or in other words, they would be his lifeline. That's why I selected it for my film's title.

Thanks for tuning in guys! Tomorrow, I'll have more to reveal about the film and maybe even about the CCRs!

Thinking Out Loud

 Hey everyone! Spring Break is in session, but that doesn't mean the workflow stops. I have a shorter post for you today but I have some large announcements.

So first off, let's talk about the film. I've done around half of the editing needed. I've mainly focused on shot composition and effects for now. At first, I thought that shot organization would go by very quickly, but it turns out I'm super particular about how I organize the film. I've just finished organization yesterday, and I've started on sound today! I've utilized sounds listed in previous posts, but I ran into a new problem. How do I find audio stings? Of course, I could scan through audio libraries, but the issue with that is that it's like gambling. How can I find specialized stings tailored for my film if I'm just combing through random songs? I found a more intuitive solution than audio libraries.

Introducing, a virtual piano! The lovely people at virtualpiano.net have created an online piano interface for people to play with and create their own pieces! Let me preface this that I know absolutely nothing about music, or music theory, or anything on how to create proper songs or stings. There's no time to learn like the present I suppose? I've been combining some basic notes and testing them in the film opening, so I'll let you all know how they turn out when the film is created! From this point going forward, almost every piece of audio not listed previously in the blog will have been created by me.

Next up, let's discuss CCRs. Last post, I talked about how I wanted one of my CCRs to be formatted like a business presentation, but I left the other one more open to interpretation. I now have another idea I'd like to share! I want the second CCR to be more casual in tone, and for it to be formatted like a relaxing chat over dinner. The video will actually consist of I and other friend enjoying a nice dinner (I've already begun buying groceries, hehe) while the friend interviews me on representation in my film, my creative process, and what technologies I included in this project. This will also have some other shots and cuts to other videos overlaying the screen to culminate in a wonderful viewing experience. I genuinely love this idea, I think it's creative and gives me a way to show off my editing skills while still having a formal video!

I want to have this play in the background. It's my favorite classical music piece, it's in the public domain, and it'll set a formal tone while being relaxing! It's a calming piece too, great to listen to if you're stressed.

Lastly, I just wanted to give a little update about myself. Truth be told, the last couple weeks of my life have been exhausting. School has been rough, and I'm really tired. In other words, I feel burnt out? It's been a bit difficult to work on other projects, such as this one, for that reason. Regardless, I won't let that stop me. Spring break has arrived, I have a full week to myself, and it's lovely outside! As long as I keep at it while having faith in the belief that good things will come, I know everything will be okay.

    In case anyone who is reading this is in a similar boat to mine, take a moment to breathe. It's going to be okay. Take a walk, enjoy the weather, just be with yourself. Most importantly of all, don't give up. Keep at it, keep working, keep enjoying life. I wholeheartedly guarantee that if you do that, life will reward you. 

Thank you all for listening. I can't wait to share what else I have planned in terms of my film (I'm going to reveal the title tomorrow!), and I'm still excited to work on this. I'll see you all next week!

Discussing my Creative Critical Reflection

 A portion of the Aice final exam is a Creative Critical Reflection, or a CCR. In this blog, I wanted to explain what a CCR is, look at past submissions, and see what I can brainstorm for my CCR.

    The purpose of the CCR is to look back on your film, and reflect on your decisions and work progression. In addition to this, you are to answer these four questions in your TWO reflection pieces.

• How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
• How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
• How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
• How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

The CCR is meant to be done in a digital format, and there are plenty of ways they can be created. You can do a podcast, a PowerPoint presentation with a voiceover, a director's commentary version of your film, a monologue of you speaking accompanied with additional pictures or sounds added in post,  and much more, although the top four are the most prevalent versions of the CCR that I've seen. Despite this, I don't think any of these mediums appeal to me. The goal of a CCR is to fully employ creative use of the tools you have at your disposal to make a visually appealing selection of presentations that not only answers the aforementioned questions, but also shows off your style and talent. 

    

I haven't mentioned this yet, but I absolutely love editing and public speaking. I'm a member of the debate program, and I've been editing videos since I was in 6th grade. I like to think that I've gotten pretty good at these two topics, yet the "typical" options don't really allow me to show those skills off. The one that seems the best to show off my talents is in a "video" format, yet I want to expand upon this. Some of the examples I have seen have been somewhat stiff and rigid, in the sense that they don't really show off creativity or the maker's personality. In my video, I plan to discuss the entire creative process of my film, and explaining each individual choice. However, I want to include a lot more edits in this video, so it is an actual "video" that is entertaining to watch, but still remains formal. I feel as though this will allow me to flex my creative muscles and show off my editing skills as well, which is something I've wanted to do in this class for a long time.

    As for my other CCR, I want to format it as an actual "business presentation." I want to wear a suit and tie, and record myself as I go over the PowerPoint and explain representation in my film, and how I plan to market the film (in person too, not just a PowerPoint voiceover). This presentation will have less edits, but it will be styled like a formal business presentation, look professional, and will have tons of information, like a college lecture. I already have experience with marketing products, as I heavily worked on that for my music brand project (look at previous blog posts!), so I won't have an issue with that.

    The immediate and obvious issue here is time. I only have what's essentially two weeks to edit my film, and create TWO extensive reflections, not to mention that I'll be gone for around half of March 22nd-31st (it's Spring Break and I have a vacation). Despite all of this, I want to create these projects. I know in my heart that if I put in the time, I can create something truly beautiful. I'm capable of creating a great project, and I can't wait to start editing the film. I'll see you all then, next week!

A chat about my Production Process

   Hey everyone! I haven't started editing the film yet as I've been super busy with other schoolwork, so I'm waiting on the following week for Spring Break to come, giving a chance for school to cool off. In the meantime, I wanted to talk about my production line of thinking!

The first thing that you'll notice from my film is that a lot of the shots are pretty dark. This is because I felt if the movie was dark, it could make the setting of Theodore's house to seem more depressing. If your surroundings are dark and dreary, it makes it easy for your mind to have sad thoughts as well. I created this dark effect by going into the iPhone settings of each shot, and adding 70 to the shadow setting.  As for this actual shot, a lot of the introductory shots are tracking shots, as I felt as though this was best for creating a sense of setting. This way, you could see how messy and unkempt Theo's house is, making it seem more messy.

The introductory shot of Theo is pretty interesting. It begins with a downwards tilt of Theo, which may seem like an odd choice but it was actually intentional. This downward view makes it seem as though the viewer is looking down on Theo, making Theo seem weak and small. This tilt sets him up to be a frail character, already preparing the audience for Theo's personality. A large majority of the shots of Theo in this film have him being shown in a higher angle, and this is also to make him seem weaker. I made sure the tilt wasn't that noticeable at times, or else the audience wouldn't be able to see Theo's face, making it difficult to show his despondency.

The last shot I want to show you all today is this beautiful shot of Theo taking a deep breath (it isn't that noticeable in the unedited version, I'll add a sound effect to make it more obvious in post) before coming out of his house. I added contrast utilizing another one of the iPhone's picture settings. Although Theo's black outfit doesn't change, the colors of nature are changed to be harsher and brighter. I feel as though this juxtaposes the previous shots, as almost every shot is dark and shadowy. The contrast this shot creates further outlines how different the outside world is from Theo's house, exemplifying how large Theo's decision to leave his house is.

That's currently all I have to share with you all. Thank you all so much for reading!

Prop Development and Filming Update

T Hey everyone, filming has concluded! Every shot has been taken, and I could not be prouder of the film and my team. I have plenty of articles to share with you all, but what I currently want to discuss is the additional props I had in the film. There were two props, and they were designed by Luna, my prop designer! The first was a framed photo which was needed for the "light vs darkness" shot, and the second one is an ID for the character of Bakari Durden. It's explained more in the film opening, but it's heavily implied that a party took place the night before, and that Bakari left his ID in the house. I thought it would be really cool if the ID was a prop in the setting, as that way, the audience could make the connection that Bakari is Theo's friend, rather than having the information outright stated.

    Let's talk about the simpler prop first. I had visited a party with my friend Luke a while back, and had this really nice picture of us two posing at the event. Luna downloaded the picture to my computer, and I adjusted its size to be large enough for the scene. Then, I used this neat website, Grayscale Image, to convert it to grayscale, as most pictures weren't in color back then. After that, she printed out the picture, covered it in a transparent film that she found in her office, and put it inside a picture frame. Afterwards, this was the finished product. 

I think the finished product looks super nice!

As for the ID, that was a little more complicated. This was Luna's process!

First, I saved an image of a sample Florida drivers license, 

(She utilized this one which was listed on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Florida_Driver_License.png)

then, opening my editing software with the picture of the character I was making the ID for, I edited the drivers license to remove the current picture and identifying information (name, signature, and date of birth), added in a replacement background to fill what I deleted, and then filled in the new information and added the new picture (which I cropped and removed the background of). Then I saved the new ID, placed the picture on a Word doc, scaled it to exactly the size of a real ID card, printed it out, and folded it over so that it would be double-sided and be more firm and realistic. Then, I cut it out with smooth, rounded corners, and it was done!

After all that, this was the finished project.

I find it funny how similar this looks to a genuine Floridian drivers license.

I think these props came out wonderfully, and I am so excited to show you all how they came out in the film. Before I go, there is one more thing I wish to share with you all. I've teased it for so long, so here is the completed Light vs Dark shot!

I wholeheartedly think these came out wonderfully. The blinds in the background perfectly cause a contrast between Theo's darkness and the picture of Bakari's light. We used a flashlight just out of frame to get the lighting effect, and we had my father go outside to cast a shadow over the right side of the curtains. I am so excited to edit these scenes into something beautiful! Thank you so much for listening, I'll talk to you all soon!

The Script is Finished!

 Hey everyone! Today, I'll be sharing with you all the finished version of the film script. I wanted to make my script look official and format it like a genuine screenplay. For that, I needed to do some research and came across a neat short guide by Studiobinder on screenplay writing tips and tricks. Here is the video now if you'd like to take a listen!

Script formatting is rather finnicky, so I apologize for the large wait. Without further ado, here is my finalized script.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13OyF8PTLDGgVNw1FyHUksxYN8NBmh0y409B5FbN4ay4/edit?usp=sharing

I was much less specific with the shot types in this script, as in real life, most screenplays don't give exact directions on how to film them. Instead, those decisions fall to the director. I'm the director for this piece, but in the spirit of being faithful to scriptwriting, I didn't include them. I also added in some bits during the landline segment on Theo's behalf that show emotion. Unlike films like Garden State where the main character is completely disassociated, I want to demonstrate that Theo is able to improve. The purpose of including small chuckles or nervous glances from Theo is to show that although he is closed off, he still feels emotions, and with help, he can open himself up to others. 

Those are the main points I wanted to share with you all. I'm very exciting for my filming day, and almost everything I need has been completed. I can't wait to share with you all what else I have in store. Thank you all for listening.

Business as Usual

 Hey everyone! I have a bit of a shorter post for you all today, but there have been some developments in production that I wanted to show you all!

First off, let's talk props. There are mainly two props needed for production, the landline and the framed picture of Theo with Bakari and his friends. I've borrowed a nice picture frame from a friend, and I have the picture itself. I want this film opening to take place in the 90s, so the picture has to be in greyscale. I'll be editing it soon! As for the landline, it was an arduous search, but I found one!

The search for a landline got pretty scary at first. Old phones like this aren't that common, and none of my friends had one that I could easily borrow. I looked into possible ways of obtaining one, but the ones I saw listed online were rather pricey and I'd rather keep spending to a minimum. The future of the prop looked bleak, but I came across one after exploring the storage room of my father's workplace. With this, I'll have almost all of the props needed for the film, although I might spontaneously think of ideas for other props in the near future.

Speaking of filming, I have finally planned out a date to do so. Next week, the opening will be recorded! I've already coordinated with some friends of mine to help with costume selection and filming help, so filming should go smoothly! In preparation of this, the finalized script for my production is nearly completed, and I'll be sharing it with you all tomorrow!

On a more annoying note, I've encountered a bit of a problem with the audio recording I shared last post. One of the three recordings I have for the landline section of the film got corrupted, as my editing software (Adobe Premier) can no longer "find" the audio recording data. Although it isn't completely done, I do have the finalized audio for the section of the landline where Theo's father wishes him well. Take a listen!

I think the voice of Theo's father makes him sound very elitist and proper, which adds to the contrast between him and his parents!

I do want to find some stings/an audio track for a bit of nondiegetic sound while this plays, as I think that only having the audio play will be a bit quiet. I've already begun looking, and I'll update you all when I find the right fit! Thank you all so much for tuning in, and I'll see you guys next time!

Film Production Has Begun!

 You have not misread that title, I've started creating the film opening this week! Although I haven't necessarily begun filming yet, I have been working on other elements of the opening, in particular, the answer machine segment. First off, I needed an actual script to read off to create this segment. What I settled on was this. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ynQutVmOOINuNl0HDCMWD63aYPUXcQelt_s-suZPiI/edit?usp=sharing

It was difficult to have a noticeable contrast in the way Theo's parents interact with him as opposed to how Theo's friend, Bakari, speaks with him. Regardless, I think I made it sound natural and made it flow. Now that that's done, it was time to start forming the actual audio. Searching online, I found this neat voice changer that was built in to a website, with no required payment or login. They had an option for making your voice sound like it came from an old telephone, which is perfect for my needs. Huge thanks to voicechanger.io for making this project possible, they'll be credited in the credits of my film. 

Most answering machines have the "You have.....x.....new messages" dialogue whenever you boot them up, and I wanted that for mine as well. At first, I attempted to create the message myself, which was fine.

After that, I combed through a free sound library, freesound.org, in search of better sound effects for my answering machine. I found these samples!

I don't know whether to use my sound or the ones found in the library, but regardless, I have the sounds ready. As for the actual recordings of the characters, I have one here. Let me know what you all think!

(The message from the girlfriend character)

I haven't revealed the other dialogue options as I'm still trying to ensure they can be the best they can be, but I'm still proud of what I have. Here's to a smooth production process in the coming weeks!

A Catalogue of Filming Locations

 Hey everyone! Next week, I really want to start filming, so I'll have to pick a filming location! Today, I've prepared a catalogue of possible filming locations. Before I show what I have to offer, I am basing my grading of these locations based off of what they can offer for my film. What I'm looking for is convenience, shot possibilities, and ability to mess with lighting. The pictures I have listed are taken of a kitchen counter top with a window in the back. This is because this is where I am going to take the shot of Theo, covered in darkness, looking at the picture of his friend, bathed in hopeful light (if you're lost, look at my other posts!) as I believe this is the most important shot in the opening, so I want to make sure the filming location can replicate my vision. Without further ado, here is what I have!

My House

  (Yes that is my dog in the background, his name is Oreo and he just wanted to see what I was doing!)

This is my house. In this picture, the countertop looks a bit cluttered, but I'd be removing the large flower blocking the window if I were to actually film here. I recently moved to this house, so I still have quite a bit of boxes lying around, which would be a great element to sell the idea that Theo is a very messy person. Additionally, I live here, meaning filming would be as simple as walking out of my room! Alongside that, the windows at the end of the picture have blinds, and there is another large set of panes not seen in the picture with curtains. All this is to say that I would be able to control lighting easily, so that's a plus! I also have some family members and friends in my neighborhood, meaning I'd be able to get additional help with filming easily. The downside of filming here is that my kitchen is going to undergo a renovation in a few weeks, meaning I would have to film sooner rather than later.

                                          Luke's House

(From this post going forward, I'll be referring to all of my friends through pseudonyms for the sake of privacy)

This is my friend Luke's house! His residence is a quick walk away from mine, so it would be very easy for me to film over there. Additionally, Luke is a skilled photographer and is amazing at filming and taking pictures. Although he could come to my, or another house, it would be easiest for him if we filmed at his, meaning that if I filmed at his house, I could use his skills in my film! The downsides of filming here are that he lacks the type of counter that I want for the shot (I ideally want a rectangular island, while his is more of a square), and the main window, the one seen in the picture, doesn't have blinds, making controlling lighting rather difficult. The countertop itself is also white, which would contrast the "dark" feel of the opening.

                                       Luna's House

This is my friend Luna's house! Her residence is pretty far from where I live, so coordinating a filming day would be a bit difficult. Other than that, her house has amazing conditions! Her lights can be controlled from an external app, making lighting control very simple. The main windows in the picture don't have blinds or shutters though, so for desired lighting, we'd have to wait until night or overcast weather. The countertop itself is amazing, as it's a nice dark grey to add with the dark colors of the film. Her countertop, like mine, is rectangular, so it fits the description for the shots that I need. She also has quite a lot of loose food ingredients in her house, meaning we could achieve the "messy" tone of Theo easier if we filmed at her house.

    

    Looking at all of these options, I think that my house is the best option. I'm the only one of my options who has blinds on most of my windows, meaning we can easily add darkness to the film. The contrast of dark vs light is super important for my shot, meaning that I must prioritize it, which is why I selected my house. I'm hoping to film soon, and with this blog post, I know where I can go to do it. I'll see you all then!

A Cozy Chat Regarding Storytelling

 Hi everyone! In my most recent Aice Media AS class, I was shown an interesting Ted-Talk hosted by a filmmaker named Andrew Stanton, who has created numerous films such as Finding Nemo, Toy Story, or WALL-E. This speech had some very interesting components that I want to incorporate into my film opening to make it the best it can be, especially since I think my script could use some refining. Here are some of the key points that I want to discuss today!

                                         (Here is the Ted Talk if you wish to view it for yourself.)

Make Me Care

Immediately, the first thing that jumped out at me from the speech was the statement, "make me care".  There are so many stories and forms of media in the modern world that it is difficult to grab the attention of an audience. In my film opening, I want to immediately catch the audience's attention to ensure that they'll remain hooked throughout the piece. At the very least, my opening should demonstrate that the story of the film is going to go somewhere interesting. A criticism that I heard previously is "Okay, so your main character is depressed. So what?". Although a bit harsh, I saw their point. The main thing I want to get across is that the main character in my film's depression is harming both them and their relationships around, yet he is trying his hardest to put himself out there in order to feel better. This would serve as like a "promise" to the viewers that my story is going somewhere, retaining viewer attention in the process.

Take a look at the opening for the film Ratatouille for an example. In less than a minute, the story sets up the conflict of  "can anyone cook?" with a TV broadcast. Immediately, this tells the audience that the story is going to go somewhere as it attempts to answer that question through its story and characters.

Work for the Story

An interesting thing Mr. Stanton pointed out was that the audience likes to "work for their meal". What this means, is that the audience actually prefers to have to think and work to understand the story that the film is trying to tell rather than having every key plot point spoon-fed to them through dialogue. To better understand my point, look at this scene from WALL-E. 

There are no snappy edits or corny "I love you" lines in this scene. Although the story occurring onscreen of WALL-E in love with the white robot, EVE, seems obvious, it wasn't outright stated by the film. You had to think in order to understand that plot point, and that is something audience's love. My opening won't have many lines of dialogue, but after today's research, I'm feeling inclined to include even less. I want the main story of the opening to be told through other mediums such as characters or setting, and not by a piece of dialogue.

Invoke Wonder

Andrew Stanton said in his presentation, "The magic ingredient, the secret sauce, and that's can you invoke wonder? Wonder is honest, it's innocent, it can't be artificially created. For me there is no greater ability than the gift of making another human being giving you that feeling, to hold them still just for that brief moment in their day, and have them surrender to wonder.". I want to have one of my scenes to invoke wonder, and I want it to be the scene where my main character (Theodore Mead), covered in darkness, looks at a picture of he and his friend together having fun, bathed in light. I want this shot to be beautiful, and I have been planning it for a while to be the "magic ingredient" in my film. After hearing this quote, I am only more inclined to make the scene happen to the best of my ability. Thank you all for tuning in, I'll see you all next time!