Group Meeting #2

 Hi Cambridge! Last class, (Wednesday) I had a meeting with some of my classmates about our Portfolio Projects. Here is a breakdown of what occurred:

Brynn

Brynn went first. She is still figuring out the name of her film, so we gave our suggestions and we liked the name "20 Questions" since it goes great with her film. The genre is a romance comedy and it is about a teenage girl who gets a mysterious text from a boy in her math class and they end up playing the game 20 Questions over text. She has struggled to find an appropriate time to film due to scheduling conflicts, but she is currently working through it. One big element in her film is the fun lights. She uses LED lights and something called a Sunset Lamp to create the aesthetic of her film. As for her CCRs, she's doing it with a friend and is planning on doing something with questionnaires. It is a basic everyday teenage girl and it represents girlhood. She will film in her house, the living room, bedroom, and kitchen. Believe it or not, she actually composed her own music in Garage Band. 

Audrey

Next, went Audrey. Her film is a Psychological Drama. It is about a guy, who really does not think he is a bad guy. He sees an imaginary guy who blocks people from speaking using red tape. The red is the main thing that stands out in the film. The red symbolizes anger. The purpose behind the film is related to freedom of speech and it is inspired by Cabaret. She composed her own music as well on her keyboard. Some obstacles she faced were scheduling conflicts,  her editing being deleted, and her location being unavailable. However, all of these challenges were overcome! As for her CCR, she was inspired by street interviews like Billy on the Street. 

Sergio

Afterwards, Sergio went up. He is also doing a sports drama, similar to mine, yet he focuses on powerlifting. His idea is about a medical student with a terminal illness who has deteriorating muscles. The main character is obsessed with the gym and it is basically his will to live. He only has one more scene to shoot and the reason why he has been unable to is because of scheduling conflicts. His film opening starts with a monologue (voiceover) and it is Batman-inspired. The protagonist uses himself for his own research and if he does nothing his condition will become critical. The idea, of show, don't tell is heavily implied as well throughout his film.  He shot in his house and the gym (La Fitness). In addition to this, he composed his music on a piano I believe. As for his CCR, he is planning on doing a self-interview. 

Maria

Lastly, Maria went. Her genre is a Mystery Drama. It is about a girl who disappears who is very well known and has a good status in her society. She is accused of being involved in a drug scandal, but it is odd since she normally would not correlate with things in that area. A detective is sent to find her, but many believe she overdosed and has passed away. The detective is very dedicated to finding her and we see this throughout the film opening and film. They show montages of the detector working hard in her film opening and they use baby power to portray the drugs. She uses a bulletin board with pictures inspired by the average detective board with string connecting the pictures. All of these elements of the Mice-en scene help provide context and tell the story. However, the board struggled to stay in place every time it fell off the wall, they would need to re-shoot everything, ng or else the board would occur in different places. The lighting throughout is very low-key and the title is "Interwoven". A cool aspect I liked was the use of fingerprints. One big challenge she had was with the lighting. She wanted the light turning on and off to be smooth but it was choppy. To fix this she ended up timing the light to ensure a smooth transition. 

As for mine, I did not really receive any comments since I finished my project besides them saying they enjoyed the film opening. Anyway, this wraps up my second group meeting! See you next week. 

CCR #4

Hey, blog! I broke down question #4 "How did you integrate technologies- software hardware and online in this project?" into 4 sub-questions to ensure I fully answer the question! Here they are:

How did software enhance your project?

After filming our opening, it was time for editing. To edit we used Adobe Premiere. We have used it in previous projects and I have always hated it. For one of the special effects with the names popping up, I used a mask so it goes off the screen differently. Other than that we just cut and lengthened some clips, while adding transitions occasionally. To transport the clips, we airdropped the scenes shot through my phone or sent them through a Google Drive, to ensure the quality was up to par. 

 

What role did hardware play in your production?

To film, we used my iPhone 14. We did not use special microphones since we relied mainly on the music. We did use the simple microphone you get from Apple headphones to film some foley sounds. As for lighting, we used a small lamp in the house, since it just helped imply that this was occurring at night. I said before how we could not really play with the lighting in the gym since this film opening was filmed in a public space, but if we could have it definitely would have been taken advantage of. Unfortunately, we did not get to use a tripod since we could not sign out one due to our hectic filming schedule. 

How did online tools and resources support your project?

Before editing, I rewatched a video on Adobe because I was a little rusty. The video just aided me in using the platform saving me some serious time. As for our sounds, we used the copyright-free site Pixabay. All of our sounds and music, besides the foley, came from there. Without this software, I have no idea what I would've done, especially for the music since I am not a beats maker. Google Drive was probably the biggest eye-opener since it allowed me and my group mates to seamlessly share our clips and projects without the quality downgrading, I for sure got more comfortable with this platform thanks to the Portfolio Project.

 What challenges did you face with technology, and how did you overcome them?

The main challenge we had was with sharing the clips since we filmed with various different phones. It was mainly mine, but some behind scenes were shot on my group members phone. We sent all the clips in our group chat, but we realized the lack of quality the clips had, it was REALLY bad. Thankfully, we attempted to share them through Google Drive and success was found! Other than this, it was really time-consuming to edit since we overshot a little too much... We had over 20 minutes of filming in the gym alone since we were afraid of not having enough content because we only had one opportunity to film in the gym and we wanted to get everything done in one day.  I am just grateful that Adobe didn't break down on us and cause us to lose all of our editing progress. Unfortunately, that happened to my classmate. I think I would have sobbed for 20 minutes straight if that happened to me. In the future, I will definitely ease down a little on the overshooting to not overwhelm myself with the countless scene choices and editing. On the same note, even though this is not relevant to technology, the biggest aspect I will ensure to correct is scheduling and staying organized. We had to change our filming day(s) countless times and it simply added unnecessary stress. All in all, I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences this project has given me. 

I am excited to show you my CCRS, they are currently in the making! 

CCR #3

 Hi blog! I will be writing my script for question #3. 

Question #3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Sub-questions:

How did your pre-production skills improve?

Before this project, typically I would never plan or organize my ideas. However, I decided to take a much different approach. I sat down with my group and we shared hundreds of ideas together, I think we brainstormed the idea alone for around a week. Before we began the project, we also wrote down a schedule that we planned to follow, and believe it or not, we stuck to it despite the scheduling conflicts. When we created our storyboard, at first it was just a rough draft. But after perfecting it, the opening came to life! I am glad I did not procrastinate, even though sometimes I did for the blogs.. but mainly I was dialed in! Was it difficult, yes, but I am thankful for this opportunity since it gave me experiences I typically would not have. 

What did you learn about cinematography and filming?

For this project, I did tons and tons of research as you can see in my blogs. Whether it was films in similar genres, color schemes, or fonts, the list is endless I learned a ton. Before this class, I took film in middle school so I already had a small idea of camera angles, camera movement, lighting, costumes, etc. However, actually combining all of these aspects made this process magical. Figuring out what angle to use to portray a specific scene and feeling, perhaps of Gianna getting ready to train, taking multiple shots to ensure success, and instructing the actor(s) of what to do, all while making decisions left and right was hectic but genuinely fun. I gained a deeper understanding of all of these techniques working together to develop a theme or purpose.

How did your editing and post-production skills develop?

I have always hated editing. It is just time-consuming busy work. Don't even get me started on that one time; my work was never saved. I always struggled with editing, I just had difficulty figuring out how to use the platforms. Throughout this project, I did indeed improve. I got better at cutting the clips more efficiently, integrating sounds into my project, and just simply becoming better rounded at using Adobe Premiere. I would freak out over technical issues and often just give up, but I did not have the chance to do that in this case... so I worked through it step by step and figured things out! This project has taught me that patience is key and essential while making a project.

What role did sound and music play in your project?

The background music in our film opening played a significant role in our film. It really set the entire mood to an uplifting energetic vibe. The music then mellowed down once Gianna arrived at her house, emphasizing that she felt best at the gym, not worrying about her problems. The use of non-diegetic sound (the music) really added a nice touch,  and I am so glad I found the perfect match ( I will never stop talking about it). Timing the music with the cuts made the opening very visually appealing, but it was a pain to do. We used diegetic sounds such as the knock on the door, text messages, papers scuffling, etc. It was difficult to pair the audio with what you were seeing on the screen, but in the end, everything turned out well. 

How did your storytelling techniques and audience engagement improve?

 Within our film opening, we integrated tons of visuals, sounds, and characters to connect with our audience. For instance, the clips with the medals and Gianna's skills are visually appealing to the eye. The music provides an upbeat tone to the film opening, and the diegetic sounds give a more realistic appeal and place the film opening on a higher level. Relatable character(s) also help us connect with our audience. Simply liking and rooting for a character makes an individual ten times more intrigued by the film, wanting to find out what happens. In addition, elements of surprise and suspense keep our audience engaged and not falling asleep during the production. Elements like whether Gianna will perform well in her competition and get the scholarship really help emphasize this.

CCR #2

 Hi blog, this blog is about my research and ideas to answer question #2 for my CCR. 

• How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Target Audience

My film's target audience is teenagers and young adults ages 15-25. At this stage of life, people tend to want to impress their peers and those close to them, excluding their parental figures. These individuals tend to be more rebellious and go against the desires of their parents, due to their awakening and feeling of control. Even though in this stage, they rely on their parents or guardians they simply attempt to hide that. Our film is aimed at these individuals who relate to overcoming obstacles and determination, whether it has something to do with a sport or not. They are intrigued by sports and/or dramas raising the likelihood of them connecting with Gianna and her story. To add on the emotional features of this film are similar to movies like Whiplash, having similar target audiences. 

Our film

Our film engages our target audience through the intimate close-up. These close-ups show Gianna's facial expressions as well as her intense training. In addition to this, the upbeat music and the clips timed to match the beat of the music create a very energetic vibe, engaging our audience. The suspense and secrecy involved when Gianna secretly signs up for a gymnastics competition informs our audience that what she is doing is wrong and that she should not do so. However, she does due to her ambition and obsession with gymnastics. The target audience is young adults and adolescents allowing them to connect with her rebellion, overall engaging the audience. 

Distribution

In regard to the distribution of our film, we would begin with small film festivals, maybe the Miami Film Festival. They have various venues we could use such as the Silverspot Cinema 300 SOutheast 3rd Street, Miami, or the Olympia Theater on 174 East Flagler Street, Miami. It is great I live near Miami since it is a place booming with opportunities. These occasions occur around April 2025 with multiple dates. With the showcase of our piece, we could interest film distributors. This would enable an amazing opportunity for our film to be distributed in small theaters before releasing it on streaming platforms. Another approach we could take is publishing our piece on YouTube. YouTube is the biggest streaming platform in the U.S. alone and typically individuals aged 18-24 use YouTube frequently, fitting in perfectly with our target audience. 

Marketing

Marketing goes hand in hand with distribution. In order for this film to be successful it needs proper marketing. with our target audience, marketing on social media would be our best bet. Here is a dem- ogrpahic in regard to social media users.

We could post behind the scenes and simply trailers on apps like TikTok and Instagram. In addition to this, we could post some intriguing content from our actor(s) like GRWMs and simple Q&As. These would be very engaging towards our target audience and posting these on social media will be the perfect way to reach them due to the high statistics proving that many teens and young adults are active on social media daily. 

Citations

Support, A. (2022, November 15). Developmental characteristics of young adolescents: Research summary. AMLE. https://www.amle.org/developmental-characteristics-of-young-adolescents/#:~:text=As%20young%20adolescents%20mature%20socially,them%20(Scales%2C%202010).

Editing Pt.2

 Hello blog! This blog is based on our second day of editing! Integrating sound and some editing techniques into our film opening!

Rewind

As stated before, at this point all we have done is select the chosen clips and organize them into the different scenes. Once this was done we organized them into the correct order, not just the category they are in (whether it is in the gym, car, or house). Afterward, we cut or balanced the clips to create a smooth balance.

Fonts

The fonts we ended up working with were: Filmotype Honey for the areas where it said, "edited by" or "a film by", Futura for the names of the individuals, and lastly for the title we used the font, Marker Felt. All of the names were timed with the beats of the music, which was pretty tedious and time-consuming to actually get right, but in the end, it worked out well. When one of the credits appears on screen when Gianna is doing a flip on the bar it gets wiped off, through the use of a mask. 

More

Unfortunately, many of the digetic sounds we planned to use, ended up not being used at all. The sound we used from Pixabay song is what you hear throughout the film. The sound mellows out as the film opening continues and it is turned down in volume. The one diegetic sound we did use was the sound of the text message ring and we used one of our foley sounds for the knock on the door. We added a couple others to the shuffling of the papers but we mainly ended up relying on the song. The clock we used was found on Vecteezy and it is copyright-free clock! It really adds a nice touch to our film opening emphasizing the time skip with the jump cuts. Other than this, we mainly cut and switched around some clips to make it appear more seamless as stated in the previous blog post. We ended up not using the scene of Gianna putting on her knee tape simply because of time management and it simply did not fit in well with the rest of the film. 

This concludes our editing and I am unbelievably happy with the result! 

Our Film Coming to Life

 Hey Cambridge! We had two major settings within our film opening. By now, you most likely know of them as the gym, and Gianna's house/room. 

Photo Wall

As stated previously, a person's room tells a lot about a person. We took this as an advantage to help create our main character, Gianna on a deeper level. Since she is a teenage girl, we were inspired by photo collages which are popular in today's room decor. We designed the photos so they give off the aesthetic of someone who is obsessed with gymnastics. We used various photos from famous gymnasts like Simone Biles and other professionals to emphasize her idols and her dreams. These photos are displayed on the walls of her room, constantly reminding her of gymnastics. These photos were found on Google, from things like the Olympics to big trophies and medals as well as famous gymnastics which I stated above. 

Here is a picture: 

Medals 

On top of this, we displayed some of her awards around her room. They were dispersed EVERYWHERE from the mirror to the walls, to Gianna's hangers, and her bed. The medals act as a trophy, illustrating her talent. It was fun placing the medals everywhere and seeing all the places we came up with. Unfortunately I do not have any photos.

Grades/Papers 

Finally, one last thing we used was the papers from the poor grades and the signup sheet. We used previous homework assignments and modified the dates to fit the timezone of our film opening. We simply spread the papers out on the desk and took some shots of the papers. 

Here is a picture: 

Gym

Without using the gym, our opening wouldn't be complete. The gym, it was a public area, and after our dilemma, we talked in person with the other owner in order to use the gym at a different time, besides the text message we unfortunately have no other form of proof, besides signing the waivers to use the equipment. 

Ultimately, these settings played a significant role in our film opening and without them, the scenes in the room would have been simply bland and a waste of potential. It was very fun to bring these aspects to life!

Editing Pt.1

 Hey, blog! Filming is officially complete which means editing is up next! This post will focus on our editing process.

If I am being sincere, I do not enjoy editing. In previous projects, I have always struggled to handle the software and have a hard time finding the motivation to edit. But, we are splitting up the editing! Before we get started, let me tell you a little bit about editing. Editing is the organization of shots, and it is the process of putting raw footage together. Some editors work together, which is what we are doing in this case. This requires less direction from the professional world so it is common. Editing is the choice of specific organization techniques and it aids in storytelling while giving a sense of realism. Not only that but editing guides the emotional responses of the audience. 

Regarding my film opening, I am in the process of transporting the clips from the phone and camera to the computer. We mainly filmed on my phone, which is an iPhone 14 so the quality was pretty good. I shared the clips to my group but after further inspection, we realized the lack of quality the clips had afterward. To fix this, we simply shared them on Google Drive and I airdropped some of the other clips as well. This ended up fixing our problem with the quality when changing through different mediums. 

Afterwards, we began ordering the clips in the right order, but before we could do this we had to select the best shots. This process took SO long just look at all the clips we had.

Once this was complete we finally began organizing them into the different scene from the house, car, and gym. All of our shots combined were WAY more than the limited two minutes so we ended up not using some of the clips at all or just shortened them immensely. We definitely had most of the shots from the gym since we want the main focus to be on her injury while training, of course with some aspects of her going behind her coaches and mom's back. Now that the organization of the clips was complete, some shots were too short and abrupt so we tried to balance them with the rest of the film by adding in some longer takes. Of course, some shots were simply too long so we ended up trimming those to fit the balanced combination of clips. 

This concluded our first editing day! Everything is now organized and sorted out so techniques and sound can be applied next. 

CCR #1

 Hey Cambridge! As for my CRR, I will create one piece answering questions #1 and #2 and another for questions #3 and #4. This blog post will discuss the research regarding question #1. Enjoy!

Research:

As you are aware, the genre of my film opening is a sports drama. It involved a high-school senior who desperately needed a scholarship from gymnastics but was struggling due to her knee injury. My film follows her struggles and overcomes them as she achieves her dreams. 

Sports film + Drama film= Sports Drama film

A sports drama includes dramatic elements to a sports-based storyline. These types of films will usually cover the rise and fall of the chosen subject. The target audience is more mature individuals since the sporting world is not all rainbows and sprinkles, and the films accurately represent it. 

Common characteristics of a Drama:

• Conflict: Central to driving the story forward.
• Pressure on the main character creates tension and intrigue.
• Clear plot
• Emotionally-driven characters
• Exaggeration of characters and setting, enhancing dramatic effect.
• Mise-en-scene: Use of costume, props, lighting, and music to create characters and atmosphere.
• Character connection with the audience, creating interesting and relatable characters.
• Exploration of diverse topics, such as love and family.

The highlighted ones above are some of the bigger conventions we implemented in the film opening. The main conflict in our story concludes with our main character's injury and her pursuit to perform well in a competition to receive a scholarship. Gianna's poor grades and injury leave her stuck between a wall and a hard spot. Of course, with any film a clear plot is essential, and as stated above and in previous blog posts our plot is structured well and organized. Of course, mice en scene is crucial in all films but it is heavily used within dramas. We used several props such as the medals, the calendar, and the knee wrap to emphasize our characters and plot. Lastly, we attempted to create a relatable character. We came up with a sneaky, obsession-driven, dedicated gymnast with poor grades and one outlet to let all her worries out; gymnastics. The reason we chose not to include emotionally-driven characters is because we want our film to emphasize Gianna, and solely on her. Due to the multiple actors participating in the gymnastics filming session, it was difficult to incorporate emotional expressions into the film. This goes for any aspect of exaggeration in our film since it was difficult to change anything in the gym because it is a public space and we tried our best with what we had to dramatize Gianna's love her gymnastics through her room decorations and actions. Finally, we did not explore various topics because we wanted to emphasize her dedication to gymnastics, which contrasts her lack of interest in school. The strong contrast helps our story propel forward. 

Common characteristics of a Sports film: 

• Focuses on a singular sport
• Has a sports setting
• Shows real, unfiltered hardships 

We implemented all of the following in our film opening. Firstly, we filmed in a gym and showcased the skills Gianna possesses, this emphasizes and gives our film a spark. Our film only focuses on gymnastics and no other sport to illustrate her love and dedication to the sport. The second one ties in with what is stated above. Lastly, showing Gianna's failures whether in school or in the gym (her injury) checks this box up and gives a realistic appeal in our film, not covering anything up. 

Ultimately, we attempted to balance both conventions of each genre to produce a sports drama!

Representing social groups/issues:

All of these characteristics and techniques we use aid our representation of groups and issues. For instance, our film opening represents rebellion among teenagers. Gianna goes against her strict mother's and coach's wishes to take a training break. The mother and coach represent restriction vs support. Gianna feels extremely misunderstood by those most prominent in her support system. In addition, our main character is training through an injury, representing the struggles athletes face with an injury (passion vs health). Our film opening foreshadows the consequences of going behind the backs of your guardians. 

Citations: 

Slideshare. (2019, January 28). Genre conventions. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/genre-conventions-129559988/129559988

https://medium.com/@english_grammar/characteristics-of-drama-2d42c83e9a08

By: Education Help Published: September 10th, 2015 

Title: Characteristics of a Drama 

Filming Day 2

 Hey, blog! with our filming coming to a close, this blog will be about our second day of filming. With my members running a little bit late, I took matters into my own hands and began filming. We began on bars and since it was not actually Gianna's actor, I paid extra attention in ensuring you could not tell if it was her or not. We did multiple shots on bars, mainly of her hands with the grips on. Then, I transitioned into the chalk cloud and we filmed that as a close-up once again. Finally, before my members arrived, we shot a tiny bit of beam using close shots again. While my friend was up on the bars, I had to climb up there as well, and truth be told... IT WAS TERRIFYING. I managed to get one picture before I jumped down, thankfully not hurting myself. 

When Emma and Candelaria arrived, they signed waivers and from there we began shooting! As explained, we did a bunch of quick clothing exchanges for when someone was doing a trick in my group, since none of us do gymnastics currently, and I myself discovered how rusty I became. We shot close-ups of mounts, turns, and jumps on the beam emphasizing Gianna's right knee when she landed. We were on a time crunch, and we emphasized overshooting and we pretty much just did tons and tons of jumps with close-ups so the audience could not indicate who was truly doing the trick. One big challenge, I just have to state was trying not to get others in the shots. We had to take multiple tries to make sure no one was in the background, but luckily we got it down! 

Once the overshooting of the landings and tricks finished we did some shots of Ariana (Gianna), alone. We showed her walking into the gym, with the use of long shots, close-ups, and tracking shots. Various shot types always boost the aesthetic of the film, and show the audience the scene from different directions, raising engagement within the crowd. In addition, we got a great idea to show Gianna looking over at the many trophies displayed in the gym. This shot truly highlights her love and desire for gymnastics and to win. Gianna was also shown taking deep breaths, emphasizing her focused nature when training. Gianna fixing her hair also illustrates how hard she trains, to the point where her physical appearance begins to crumble. 

All in all, we had a successful filming day and had lots of fun! Here are some pictures:

waiver

my terrifying setup

tons of shots we ended up taking (R.I.P my storage)

clips we took (sneak peak)

Filming Gianna focused

Sounds Pt.2

 Hi blog! This blog will discuss sound integrated into our project on a deeper level.

Background music: As said in the previous blog post regarding our background music, I found the song through Pixabay. I originally was looking on YouTube, however, I struggled to find the perfect choice that truly fit our film opening. I was inspired by the song Elephant, by Tame Impala, however, his songs are unfortunately not copyright-free. Eventually, after endless scrolling and searching, I found the right song. song

Foley sounds: In my previous post I discussed foley sounds, in this post, I will reveal them! Here you go! 

Knock on door

Landing on mats

Setting bag down

Walking on floor

Squeaking of shoes

scrolling on TikTok, gymnastics feed

I have separated our sounds into desperate sections to ensure organization. I cannot wait to see these in action in our opening! 

Diegetic:

Gym: deep breath

heavy breathing heavy breathing

zippers zipper

chatter gym noise

softer foot sounds barefoot steps/run

lockers closing and opening locker

notifications text

AC ventilation AC

velcro velcro

Car:

car door closing and opening  car door

car driving/sounds car driving

car doors being locked  locking doors

car door opening

Home:

papers rustling papers rustling

marker writing marker

going upstairs upstairs

opening door opening door

sitting down on the bed sitting down on a bed sound effect

pulling chair pulling chair sound effect

putting phone down down

sigh female sigh sound effect

sitting down on a chair sitting down on a chair sound effect

clicking of pen clicking with pen sound effect

writing  writing sound effect

gasp  gasp  sound effect

walking up stairs walking up stairs sound effect

These sounds will be incorporated into our project and will definitely enhance the final film opening! All sound effects were found on Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/. I am grateful we had a sound project in AICE Media beforehand since I got some practice with finding sounds and incorporating them with Adobe and my projects!