Here is a link to see my CCR:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KNvtMs1bztjPVf2Hu4TTGzjc48c3pAHY/view?usp=sharing
Thank you guys for reading my blog and keeping up with me these past few months, hope you enjoy my final videos! :D
Friday, April 17, 2020
Monday, April 13, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 31, Valid)
Here is a link to see my film opening for Valid, I hope you enjoy it! :D
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pvsWg5lhc5PpJAN2IW3zSUH2Qjb0QFEq/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pvsWg5lhc5PpJAN2IW3zSUH2Qjb0QFEq/view?usp=sharing
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 30, reflection time)
I know I've dabbled in a bit of reflecting in some of my last blog postings, but I feel as if I should make one post dedicated to how I feel about this project and also the final product.
Man, this project has really challenged me a whole lot. I never thought I would learn so much over the course of three months. I learned about new elements of film, challenged my skills on daunting tasks, and learned a lot about working with others.
As you guys know, a huge portion of my effort went into mise-en-scene and writing. Writing was something I was already familiar with, but mise-en-scene is a whole new ball game. I've already mentioned before that I thought that mise-en-scene was not something I was interested in. However, after working on the set design for this project, I actually enjoyed it a lot. It never dawned on me how much you can tell a story just by the background, I guess I kind of took it for granted.
I've also improved on my story-telling. I typically write poetry, so when it came to creating the background and story of Camille, it was a bit out of my comfort zone. However, through the assistance of my teacher and friends, I think I'm getting good at story-telling. That's not to say I'm an expert, but I think I improved quite a bit.
Working in a group has taught me the value of other people's perspectives. I really enjoyed working with Oliver and Austin. Although we do tend to slack and mess around (a LOT) I feel we make a pretty good team. There were a few moments in this project where our spirits were low, especially during the times where we had to redo or reschedule, but we always manage to pull through. We all have certain specialties and together I think we created a really cool film opening.
This whole process has felt so long but before I even knew it we finished it all. I've been looking back at all of the old blogs and it really feels like the end of an era. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now that this whole project is over. I was thinking of maybe trying to film my own short over the summer, we'll see. ;)
Anyways, I guess that means this will be one of my last postings. I think I still might post some other updates on my CCR, but other than that I'm pretty much finished. I'm running out of things to type now. This feels so weird. Well, I guess I'll keep you guys posted, for now :)
Man, this project has really challenged me a whole lot. I never thought I would learn so much over the course of three months. I learned about new elements of film, challenged my skills on daunting tasks, and learned a lot about working with others.
As you guys know, a huge portion of my effort went into mise-en-scene and writing. Writing was something I was already familiar with, but mise-en-scene is a whole new ball game. I've already mentioned before that I thought that mise-en-scene was not something I was interested in. However, after working on the set design for this project, I actually enjoyed it a lot. It never dawned on me how much you can tell a story just by the background, I guess I kind of took it for granted.
I've also improved on my story-telling. I typically write poetry, so when it came to creating the background and story of Camille, it was a bit out of my comfort zone. However, through the assistance of my teacher and friends, I think I'm getting good at story-telling. That's not to say I'm an expert, but I think I improved quite a bit.
Working in a group has taught me the value of other people's perspectives. I really enjoyed working with Oliver and Austin. Although we do tend to slack and mess around (a LOT) I feel we make a pretty good team. There were a few moments in this project where our spirits were low, especially during the times where we had to redo or reschedule, but we always manage to pull through. We all have certain specialties and together I think we created a really cool film opening.
This whole process has felt so long but before I even knew it we finished it all. I've been looking back at all of the old blogs and it really feels like the end of an era. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now that this whole project is over. I was thinking of maybe trying to film my own short over the summer, we'll see. ;)
Anyways, I guess that means this will be one of my last postings. I think I still might post some other updates on my CCR, but other than that I'm pretty much finished. I'm running out of things to type now. This feels so weird. Well, I guess I'll keep you guys posted, for now :)
Friday, April 10, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 29)
Thank god for research, am I right or am I right?
I am happy to announce that the research that I did to help my script-writing payed off! It sounds so much better than my first attempt, which soon means I can get to filming! Instead of using Celtx like I did with the other script I wrote, I decided to use Google Docs instead. I found that a lot of the formatting tools within Celtx were unnecessary.
To see the whole script, you can click on the link below and it'll take you right there. :)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qax0V177ugW8LrS42x5qDP4Wcvm9sptyHXtSoCSViU0/edit?usp=sharing
The CCR is due next Friday, which means I should probably get to filming on Monday just so I have the whole week to edit. The last time I had to edit a video it took me forever, so I want to give myself that time so I don't end up stressing about it the day it's due.
Also, I have been having second thoughts about continuing the CCR as an 80's educational video. I was looking at past projects to see if I forgot to mention something in my own CCR, and I quickly realized none of them had a 'theme' like mine. Does this mean I shouldn't do it? Or should I do it instead for originality? I'm not quite sure...
I'm planning to ask my partners and also some of my other friends to see what they think. If they are not really sure or if I'm getting mixed reviews, I'll probably go ask my teacher to see what she says. I guess that means I'll keep you guys posted. :)
I am happy to announce that the research that I did to help my script-writing payed off! It sounds so much better than my first attempt, which soon means I can get to filming! Instead of using Celtx like I did with the other script I wrote, I decided to use Google Docs instead. I found that a lot of the formatting tools within Celtx were unnecessary.
To see the whole script, you can click on the link below and it'll take you right there. :)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qax0V177ugW8LrS42x5qDP4Wcvm9sptyHXtSoCSViU0/edit?usp=sharing
The CCR is due next Friday, which means I should probably get to filming on Monday just so I have the whole week to edit. The last time I had to edit a video it took me forever, so I want to give myself that time so I don't end up stressing about it the day it's due.
Also, I have been having second thoughts about continuing the CCR as an 80's educational video. I was looking at past projects to see if I forgot to mention something in my own CCR, and I quickly realized none of them had a 'theme' like mine. Does this mean I shouldn't do it? Or should I do it instead for originality? I'm not quite sure...
I'm planning to ask my partners and also some of my other friends to see what they think. If they are not really sure or if I'm getting mixed reviews, I'll probably go ask my teacher to see what she says. I guess that means I'll keep you guys posted. :)
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 28)
Our teacher gave us an extension for the projects, HALLELUJAH!
I didn't want to say in the last blog posts, but I was very nervous that I would not have enough time to complete my CCR to the best of my ability because I was working on a time crunch. I mean I know the CCR is easy to film, but writing and editing (AKA my weakness) is the challenging part of this project. Although it only is a few extra days, it is a lot of valuable time that I can use.
Speaking of writing, today I am working on the script. With my previous schedule I was supposed to be done with the script by now, however, I did not like my script. You would think that with liking English and all this should be easy to me, but I find that I'm struggling. I found that it sounded way too robotic and the way I organized my script was very incoherent; nothing flowed like the way I wanted it to.
This is leaving me to wonder if I should even make a script at all. I know some people sometimes use notes or bullet points to make sure they cover every topic they need to, but at the same time I don't think that I can do that as I tend to stutter a lot (I also say 'like' more often than I care to admit). Because of those two reasons, I'm going to try to write it again.
Instead of diving in and start writing like I did last time, I watched two of these videos on Youtube so I can learn about what to do (and what not to do) within my commentary. Hopefully, this information can help me write a better script.
In terms of using a green screen, I decided that I would not go for it. As you know, I am not the most skilled in editing nor in using film equipment. As I was researching what I would need/know how to do I quickly realized that I do not have the skills to master the art of chroma-key in such a short amount of time. More importantly, I don't have the money to buy the things that I need, so I'm not going to use it.
Well, I guess that means I got to start writing, I'll let you know if the videos helped. I'll keep you guys posted :)
This is leaving me to wonder if I should even make a script at all. I know some people sometimes use notes or bullet points to make sure they cover every topic they need to, but at the same time I don't think that I can do that as I tend to stutter a lot (I also say 'like' more often than I care to admit). Because of those two reasons, I'm going to try to write it again.
Instead of diving in and start writing like I did last time, I watched two of these videos on Youtube so I can learn about what to do (and what not to do) within my commentary. Hopefully, this information can help me write a better script.
In terms of using a green screen, I decided that I would not go for it. As you know, I am not the most skilled in editing nor in using film equipment. As I was researching what I would need/know how to do I quickly realized that I do not have the skills to master the art of chroma-key in such a short amount of time. More importantly, I don't have the money to buy the things that I need, so I'm not going to use it.
Well, I guess that means I got to start writing, I'll let you know if the videos helped. I'll keep you guys posted :)
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 27)
I was going over the questions that I still need to cover within my CCR this morning. It seems as if I do not need to do any more research for questions 3 and 4 as they are about my personal experience within this project. However, just for some consistency within my posts, I thought I would briefly answer them here, just so you guys know too :)
In terms of my production skills, I can confidently say my knowledge in mise en scene has definitely expanded. I remember the first time out teacher lectured us on set design, and I thought it was rather boring. However, the more I started to learn about the elements of mise en scene such as color theory, the more I started to appreciate it more. I also really enjoyed the process of getting the set ready for shooting, it was a lot of work but very rewarding at the end.
Another skill I would say improved would be adapting to challenges. You guys probably already know that getting things done on time are not my strength, yet I managed to get a lot done through flexibility and keeping and open mind. This skill was especially helpful in the beginning when we were planning a story and also planning on a day to film.
What I'm planning on doing for my script is to maybe take a few blurbs from my blogposts and incorporate them into the CCR video. However, I am still unsure whether if I should write out a full script or whether if I should have points instead. My gut is telling me that having a few notes will make the dialogue much more natural, but it could also make it awkward. I'm planning on writing the script this weekend so I guess I'll see.
In terms of materials, the only thing I can think of needing is a green screen. I feel that if I overcomplicate my CCR by using props or full blown sets I will be creating a lot of hard work on myself. Plus, since the whole purpose of my video is to go for a 'cheesy' look, green screens would be absolutely perfect. For now, I am planning on doing a bit more research on green screens and I'll see tomorrow if I should order one.
In terms of my production skills, I can confidently say my knowledge in mise en scene has definitely expanded. I remember the first time out teacher lectured us on set design, and I thought it was rather boring. However, the more I started to learn about the elements of mise en scene such as color theory, the more I started to appreciate it more. I also really enjoyed the process of getting the set ready for shooting, it was a lot of work but very rewarding at the end.
Another skill I would say improved would be adapting to challenges. You guys probably already know that getting things done on time are not my strength, yet I managed to get a lot done through flexibility and keeping and open mind. This skill was especially helpful in the beginning when we were planning a story and also planning on a day to film.
What I'm planning on doing for my script is to maybe take a few blurbs from my blogposts and incorporate them into the CCR video. However, I am still unsure whether if I should write out a full script or whether if I should have points instead. My gut is telling me that having a few notes will make the dialogue much more natural, but it could also make it awkward. I'm planning on writing the script this weekend so I guess I'll see.
In terms of materials, the only thing I can think of needing is a green screen. I feel that if I overcomplicate my CCR by using props or full blown sets I will be creating a lot of hard work on myself. Plus, since the whole purpose of my video is to go for a 'cheesy' look, green screens would be absolutely perfect. For now, I am planning on doing a bit more research on green screens and I'll see tomorrow if I should order one.
It still blows my mind that I am at the final part of this whole project, I never thought this day would come. Well, I guess I'll keep you guys posted :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 26)
In blog 20, I did some research about representation and our target audience for our opening, and the things that I noted are really useful for answering questions one and two. I feel that it's quite obvious that our film opening challenges the conventions of social media, and it represents the issue of perceptions versus reality/the dangers of involving yourself within social media apps (specifically Instagram).
Because our opening is based off the story of Essena O'Neil, I want to source her experience as the reason why we chose to center our story around social media, and to also cite her experience on how our opening represents various social groups. Our opening primarily focused on shedding light on women (either influencers or consumers) who use social media, specifically on Instagram. Going off on a couple of statistics and social media demographics, it is reported that women use social media apps like Instagram more often than men do, thus supporting why we chose to have a female protagonist.
Age is also another thing we considered. Because younger audiences tend to be more engaged in social media more that older audiences, it was important that our character fitted that mold. Obviously, it wouldn't make sense if we chose a senior to play our character of a social media influencer.
Going back on some of shorts that I found on social media such as A Social Life by Kerith Lemon, I feel that the best way to distribute our film would be through Youtube. According to an article that I found on filmshortage.com, Youtube is a better platform in comparison to Vimeo as it can help me reach more audiences. The whole purpose of my film is spread a message, so logically it makes more sense to post it on Youtube (however, if I were hypothetically posting this, I would post my film on both platforms).
As you can see, the information that I'll be collecting is definitely going to pile up quite a bit. Because of this, I decided to make a Google Doc of a Draft I'll be using to help organize information for the script. Hopefully this will help me out write a script in time before filming and everything.
I'm moving along, I can't wait until I get to start writing the script! I'll keep you guys posted :)
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/
https://www.quicksprout.com/who-is-more-active-on-social-media-men-or-women/
https://filmshortage.com/youtube-vs-vimeo/
Because our opening is based off the story of Essena O'Neil, I want to source her experience as the reason why we chose to center our story around social media, and to also cite her experience on how our opening represents various social groups. Our opening primarily focused on shedding light on women (either influencers or consumers) who use social media, specifically on Instagram. Going off on a couple of statistics and social media demographics, it is reported that women use social media apps like Instagram more often than men do, thus supporting why we chose to have a female protagonist.
 |
| Here is a chart I found on sproutsocial.com |
Age is also another thing we considered. Because younger audiences tend to be more engaged in social media more that older audiences, it was important that our character fitted that mold. Obviously, it wouldn't make sense if we chose a senior to play our character of a social media influencer.
Going back on some of shorts that I found on social media such as A Social Life by Kerith Lemon, I feel that the best way to distribute our film would be through Youtube. According to an article that I found on filmshortage.com, Youtube is a better platform in comparison to Vimeo as it can help me reach more audiences. The whole purpose of my film is spread a message, so logically it makes more sense to post it on Youtube (however, if I were hypothetically posting this, I would post my film on both platforms).
As you can see, the information that I'll be collecting is definitely going to pile up quite a bit. Because of this, I decided to make a Google Doc of a Draft I'll be using to help organize information for the script. Hopefully this will help me out write a script in time before filming and everything.
I'm moving along, I can't wait until I get to start writing the script! I'll keep you guys posted :)
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/
https://www.quicksprout.com/who-is-more-active-on-social-media-men-or-women/
https://filmshortage.com/youtube-vs-vimeo/
Monday, March 30, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 25)
Alright, this week I am planning on taking my time and making sure I cover everything I need to discuss within my CCR. According to my teacher, it is required that I answer these four questions:
1) How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
2) How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
3) How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
4) How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?
It is essential that I answer these questions in depth and with detail. You know what that means, research time! I did make a previous blog post about collecting research for my CCR, but it was very-surface level; I was only prepping myself to make sure I start researching on the right foot. For the next few posts, I am going to try to answer each of these questions to the best of my ability, and then once I collected all of the information I need, I will start working on my script! Here is my schedule for how I want to work on my CCR:
3/30-4/3: Do research and answer all necessary questions
4/4-4/7: Complete writing the script and also prepare for any sort of supplies you'll need
4/8: Film day
4/9-4/10: Editing stage/finalizing process
Knowing anything from my last projects, I might need to make time for myself and possibly extend schedule dates. However, I'm trying to discipline myself into making sure I everything done on time without any hiccups. Maybe I can do it (fingers crossed!). I'll keep you guys posted :)
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 24, online school? COVID-19 update part 2)
I don't usually like to bring personal matters within my blogs, but I felt as if I should make some sort of update as to what is going on. I feel as if this situation calls for it.
So a little update to this whole COVID-19 thing, because our country and state is advising us to stay in our homes and practice social distancing, that means that starting tomorrow school is now going to be online. Although I never thought I would say this, I miss going to school. It's a lot more fun to learn things within school than doing it through a screen. However, there is a silver lining to this lockdown, as it does give us more time to complete both our opening and my CCR.
Also, I've been noticing that the virus is starting to affect our own community more. One of my friend's relatives recently was diagnosed, and my other friends in AICE media are struggling with their projects, especially my friends that have not started filming yet. I was supposed to act in an opening for my friend Sara, but now my dad is not letting me go out so I cannot help her.
I'm growing more and more worried each day, not just for myself but for the whole world. I really hope this passes as soon as possible. I guess I'll keep you guys posted.
So a little update to this whole COVID-19 thing, because our country and state is advising us to stay in our homes and practice social distancing, that means that starting tomorrow school is now going to be online. Although I never thought I would say this, I miss going to school. It's a lot more fun to learn things within school than doing it through a screen. However, there is a silver lining to this lockdown, as it does give us more time to complete both our opening and my CCR.
Also, I've been noticing that the virus is starting to affect our own community more. One of my friend's relatives recently was diagnosed, and my other friends in AICE media are struggling with their projects, especially my friends that have not started filming yet. I was supposed to act in an opening for my friend Sara, but now my dad is not letting me go out so I cannot help her.
I'm growing more and more worried each day, not just for myself but for the whole world. I really hope this passes as soon as possible. I guess I'll keep you guys posted.
Friday, March 27, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 23)
I got so caught up in my blog I forgot to look at more music, ohhhhh shoot.
Austin and Oliver reminded me that I needed to find music this morning, so I spent my afternoon trying to find some songs. I sifted through music for HOURS among Youtube and I found nothing good. I don't know if it is the way I am searching for music or if there's any good options to begin with. Anyways, I got fed up and decided that I would try another website, Purple Planet.
Our AICE Media teacher has always recommended this website for our projects, but if I'm honest I've always been thrown off by the way the site looks. The verdict? Never judge a book by its cover. I only scrolled through a few songs and I already was finding very good options!
 |
| The way it looks has always lead me to believe that I would find very basic songs, nothing that would actually be usable |
After sifting through songs, I ended up narrowing my options to this one song (you can hear it with the link below). I feel the tone is perfect for our opening, I can almost picture it. Also, since Purple Planet's music is copyright free, we don't have to worry about asking for permission to use the song, saving us a lot of time as stress. I'm planning to show this song to my partners tomorrow, hopefully they will like it as much as I do. I'll keep you guys posted. :)
purple-planet.com/contamination
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 22, CCR part 2)
Who knew dreams could be so useful?
So last night, I had a dream where I was editing an 80's educational video. I was putting every single possible cheesy effect I could think of, and it turned out (just as you would expect) to be super cheesy. When I woke up, I knew I had to make my CCR an 80's educational video. There was no way I wouldn't make one. No. Way.
I feel that if I intersperse this style with me presenting, it'll be a nice tool to keep the video interesting. Of course I can't rely on only this style to make my video fun, I will need to write a good script and everything, but I think this will be a fun project nonetheless! The video below is a good example of the look I would like to have within my CCR, I'm planning on using it as inspiration during the editing process.
In terms of how I'm planning to speak or frame my video, I decided to look at commentary Youtubers as a reference. Commentary Youtube is a certain type of video where a person will comment on a common trend on the internet or social media, usually interspersing jokes, sketches, and a LOT of editing. Some examples of commentary Youtubers are Danny Gonzalez or Kurtis Conner.
Kurtis Conner has to be one of my favorite Youtubers within the commentary 'genre'. He incorporates a nostalgic style within his edits, making his videos a good reference point for my own CCR.
I guess the first step I will need to complete is making a script or some type of plan for my video before I can even think about editing. I also means that I'll need to do more research as well, maybe I'll incorporate more research within my blogs, we'll have to see. I'll keep you guys posted. :)
So last night, I had a dream where I was editing an 80's educational video. I was putting every single possible cheesy effect I could think of, and it turned out (just as you would expect) to be super cheesy. When I woke up, I knew I had to make my CCR an 80's educational video. There was no way I wouldn't make one. No. Way.
I feel that if I intersperse this style with me presenting, it'll be a nice tool to keep the video interesting. Of course I can't rely on only this style to make my video fun, I will need to write a good script and everything, but I think this will be a fun project nonetheless! The video below is a good example of the look I would like to have within my CCR, I'm planning on using it as inspiration during the editing process.
In terms of how I'm planning to speak or frame my video, I decided to look at commentary Youtubers as a reference. Commentary Youtube is a certain type of video where a person will comment on a common trend on the internet or social media, usually interspersing jokes, sketches, and a LOT of editing. Some examples of commentary Youtubers are Danny Gonzalez or Kurtis Conner.
 |
| A photo of Kurtis Conner's Youtube banner |
Kurtis Conner has to be one of my favorite Youtubers within the commentary 'genre'. He incorporates a nostalgic style within his edits, making his videos a good reference point for my own CCR.
I guess the first step I will need to complete is making a script or some type of plan for my video before I can even think about editing. I also means that I'll need to do more research as well, maybe I'll incorporate more research within my blogs, we'll have to see. I'll keep you guys posted. :)
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 21, CCR edition)
Last blog I did a bit of research looking at other independent films similar to ours, getting information on our target audience, and studying representation within the subject of our opening. The reason why I've been starting to this is because I will need to start making my CCR, which is another component within my AICE project. Basically CCRs (Creative Critical Reflections) is another addition to the film opening where I make a video, letting the AICE judges know why we chose certain things in our film. We need to include a variety of other information as well such as representation and audience (hence the research in last blog).
A really important factor that our teacher stressed is that our CCR needs to be creative. If we were to submit a video where we just talked for minutes on end, we would probably get a poor grade. Or rather we would get a poor grade. So, I've been brainstorming and coming up with ideas on how I can present my CCR in a creative way. For me, I feel that by developing my personality through the presentation is one way to make it stand out, but I'm still not sure which route I should take it.
I guess I have two options. I could either do a video where I narrate with photos or I could do a video where I'm visible on screen. The second option seems like a better choice for me; I think I'll be able to portray my personality a little more (plus it means a lot less editing). However, I am going to have to find a way to make it not dull. Last thing I want for anyone is to see a video of me where I ramble for 10 minutes.
I guess that means I'll have to keep brainstorming, I'll keep you guys posted. :)
A really important factor that our teacher stressed is that our CCR needs to be creative. If we were to submit a video where we just talked for minutes on end, we would probably get a poor grade. Or rather we would get a poor grade. So, I've been brainstorming and coming up with ideas on how I can present my CCR in a creative way. For me, I feel that by developing my personality through the presentation is one way to make it stand out, but I'm still not sure which route I should take it.
I guess I have two options. I could either do a video where I narrate with photos or I could do a video where I'm visible on screen. The second option seems like a better choice for me; I think I'll be able to portray my personality a little more (plus it means a lot less editing). However, I am going to have to find a way to make it not dull. Last thing I want for anyone is to see a video of me where I ramble for 10 minutes.
I guess that means I'll have to keep brainstorming, I'll keep you guys posted. :)
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 20)
Before I start with my project, I want to say happy 20th anniversary of blog posting! :D I've been looking through my old blogs and seeing how far I've come in this project, and all I can say is that I'm very proud of our group and myself for accomplishing this much. It isn't over yet, but what we have been doing is pretty cool nonetheless!
Okay, back to the important stuff. I was searching for more music on Youtube and I still found nothing. I was getting pretty bored of searching so I decided for today I wanted to look at other film shorts/openings that covered topics that are similar to our story. I'm hoping that by doing this, I can get a better idea of our target audience and the impact of the representation we have within our film opening.
It didn't take a lot of looking to find videos that covered social media. There are thousands of short films, TED-Talks, speeches, and commentary videos on the subject, and there's also a lot of people putting their two cents on how they feel about social media. The majority of these videos that I found painted social media in a negative light, warning audiences about the affects it has.
Another thing I noticed that the representation within this topic seems to be pretty equal amongst both genders. I have to be honest, this surprised me. When I think of social media, I was lead to believe that woman are more impacted by it in comparison to men, therefore they would care more about these issues. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. I am planning to do more research on how men interact with social media in the future, that is definitely something I should look into.
As I was scrolling through youtube, I found this short titled A Social Life, directed by Kerith Lemon. I wanted to include this video within this post because I feel that it beautifully conveys the message I want to show within our own story, so maybe we can look at it as inspiration in the editing stage. I also really like the music within the film, so maybe we can look to this video to serve as a guide to find a song that'll match the tone in our opening.
It's taking me a long time to research yet I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg, I definitely need to look into this more and see what else I can find, I'll keep you guys posted. :)
https://www.google.com/search?q=social+media+both+genders+stats&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS863US863&hl=en&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ALeKk00F8BZgv1i9ccefbxuaEilQpMHb4Q:1584941853318&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR-5_B8K_oAhWkgnIEHfisAxoQ_AUIDygC&biw=987&bih=684&dpr=2
https://netsanity.net/social-media-and-its-effect-on-boys/
http://cs4lv.stab.org/78digitallife.html
(here are some links I found regarding social media and its affects, it also contains information on social media demographics)
Okay, back to the important stuff. I was searching for more music on Youtube and I still found nothing. I was getting pretty bored of searching so I decided for today I wanted to look at other film shorts/openings that covered topics that are similar to our story. I'm hoping that by doing this, I can get a better idea of our target audience and the impact of the representation we have within our film opening.
It didn't take a lot of looking to find videos that covered social media. There are thousands of short films, TED-Talks, speeches, and commentary videos on the subject, and there's also a lot of people putting their two cents on how they feel about social media. The majority of these videos that I found painted social media in a negative light, warning audiences about the affects it has.
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| Here are the results after I searched 'social media'; I wanted to see what would come up if I searched using neutral language and still a majority of it was negative. |
Another thing I noticed that the representation within this topic seems to be pretty equal amongst both genders. I have to be honest, this surprised me. When I think of social media, I was lead to believe that woman are more impacted by it in comparison to men, therefore they would care more about these issues. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. I am planning to do more research on how men interact with social media in the future, that is definitely something I should look into.
As I was scrolling through youtube, I found this short titled A Social Life, directed by Kerith Lemon. I wanted to include this video within this post because I feel that it beautifully conveys the message I want to show within our own story, so maybe we can look at it as inspiration in the editing stage. I also really like the music within the film, so maybe we can look to this video to serve as a guide to find a song that'll match the tone in our opening.
It's taking me a long time to research yet I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg, I definitely need to look into this more and see what else I can find, I'll keep you guys posted. :)
https://www.google.com/search?q=social+media+both+genders+stats&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS863US863&hl=en&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ALeKk00F8BZgv1i9ccefbxuaEilQpMHb4Q:1584941853318&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR-5_B8K_oAhWkgnIEHfisAxoQ_AUIDygC&biw=987&bih=684&dpr=2
https://netsanity.net/social-media-and-its-effect-on-boys/
http://cs4lv.stab.org/78digitallife.html
(here are some links I found regarding social media and its affects, it also contains information on social media demographics)
Friday, March 20, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 19)
We have officially moved onto the editing stage! Austin and Oliver are taking care of editing, and since I want to help I am looking for a song to have within our film opening. I'm also very bored right now, so this is giving me something to do while I'm quarantined in my home.
Now, when it comes to music, there are a LOT of choices. However, I've been finding that none of them really suit our video. Mind you, I'm only looking through Youtube at the moment, so there's probably a lot more options that I have yet to discover. In terms of music on Youtube, there seems to be two categories. For one, you have music with lyrics in them, which typically tend to be songs that people listen to more often. Then you have instrumental music, which is comprised of basic music or 'artistic' sounds (vaporwave or lo-fi music are two examples).
I don't know why, but my Youtube search-bar suggests a lot of this lo-fi music. It doesn't work for our video, but I do think it sounds cool. I also have been finding a lot of jazz albums which I like, such as this album below. Although I think some of these songs could work for our opening, I'm not completely sold.
I guess that means I have to keep searching for music. Hopefully I can find a song soon, especially if I need to ask permission to use it. I'll keep you guys posted :)
Now, when it comes to music, there are a LOT of choices. However, I've been finding that none of them really suit our video. Mind you, I'm only looking through Youtube at the moment, so there's probably a lot more options that I have yet to discover. In terms of music on Youtube, there seems to be two categories. For one, you have music with lyrics in them, which typically tend to be songs that people listen to more often. Then you have instrumental music, which is comprised of basic music or 'artistic' sounds (vaporwave or lo-fi music are two examples).
I guess that means I have to keep searching for music. Hopefully I can find a song soon, especially if I need to ask permission to use it. I'll keep you guys posted :)
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 18, filming edition)
The day is finally here, film day!! :D
I woke up today pretty early so I could get my makeup done and also go over my lines to make sure that there are as little screw ups as possible during the process. Oliver and Austin came over and then after a brief talk about Animal Crossing, we started working.
I woke up today pretty early so I could get my makeup done and also go over my lines to make sure that there are as little screw ups as possible during the process. Oliver and Austin came over and then after a brief talk about Animal Crossing, we started working.
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| A photo of me doing my hair and makeup |
For makeup, I did a natural look to put more focus on my outfit (which was the fanciest look I could come up with). I really like the look, and more importantly it matches the style of our character.
The whole filming process turned out to be very long, but because we prepared in advance it was relatively easy. We all were on the same page when it came to how we wanted the shots to look, the only main difficulty we came across was the lighting. It was kind of cloudy so the light within our set kept changing. Not to mention that a LOT of light was coming in through the windows, so we had to play with angles to avoid any over-saturation within shots. Also, filming using the mirrors was a bit hard, but it was a fun challenge too.
The whole filming process turned out to be very long, but because we prepared in advance it was relatively easy. We all were on the same page when it came to how we wanted the shots to look, the only main difficulty we came across was the lighting. It was kind of cloudy so the light within our set kept changing. Not to mention that a LOT of light was coming in through the windows, so we had to play with angles to avoid any over-saturation within shots. Also, filming using the mirrors was a bit hard, but it was a fun challenge too.
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| Outfit (ft. my dog) |
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| Reviewing footage |
For one of the shots we needed to take, Oliver had the suggestion of making a screen recording of me taking selfies so that when we filmed, my phone screen would not capture the camera through the mirror. It. Was. Genius. I'm so excited to see that shot within our opening, it's going to mess with people's minds!
I'm really satisfied with all of the footage we got today, and all we need to do is simply edit. Austin and Oliver are much better with editing than I am, so that's their main job. However, I will be working on sound foley and finding music as well. I did cover music choices in an earlier blog, but we were not entirely sold on the idea so I guess that means I have to continue searching. I'll keep you guys posted! :D
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 17)
Alrighty, so change of plans (again)!
We decided that we are going to plan in my bedroom instead of Oliver's space, which means we need a few days to prepare. Basically, this is a long-winded way of saying we are filming tomorrow instead of Tuesday.
Yesterday we were talking about how we want our set to look like, and we all agreed on the idea that our character should have a 'blank' area as her photoshoot space, and the rest of her room should look like a colorful tornado. Thing is, my whole room looks like a colorful tornado, so for today I worked on perfecting our mise-en-scene. For starters, I changed the prints within the frames. I found magazine pages and various sketches to replace colorful prints for more neutral tones, thus sticking to our idea of an elegant, mature palette.
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| From this... |
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| To this! |
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| Before |
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| After (had to repot my cactus for this, sorry lil' bud) |
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| All done! |
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| The other side of the set, looks like one of those I-SPY photos |
I feel that there is a very clear contrast in between the two spaces. While the photo area looks clean, it looks almost cold in comparison to the other area. I feel that this creates a very good reflection of the character, as the second space has a lot more things that suggest that our character is, well, an actual person. She has messes and she has things that say things about her, it isn't as monotone as what she wants her followers to see.
I am not completely finished; I still need to set up the mirror and also the whole vanity space. However, judging the fact that I need to move a desk into the middle of my room in order for that to happen, I'm planning on waiting for tomorrow to do that.
As you know, the Coronavirus is preventing us from going out to the store to get props (which was our initial idea), so I had to get creative with finding things I already have laying around. I'm always up for a challenge, and I think I did a pretty good job! I can't wait for filming tomorrow, hopefully everything runs smoothly and we won't run into any bumps along the road, I'll keep you guys posted. :D
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 16, COVID-19 update)
So the Coronavirus is now in the area where we live, huh.
This past week a lot of discussion has been going down on what to do now that the virus is starting to affect our community, specifically what will happen with school. On Friday afternoon the board for Broward Schools said that they will be closing down school this following week, meaning that we technically have two weeks of spring break. I would usually be ecstatic at the thought of even missing one day of school, but in this situation I'm starting to get nervous.
I'm concerned that this virus is going to make it harder for us to complete our project. Obviously our health comes first so if we do need to postpone something we definitely will, but as of now we were told by our teacher to continue the project as we normally would. I talked with my group and it seems that Oliver's parents are really concerned about him going out of the house, so that is going to be a barrier we'll have to work around. It still seems as if no one is really sure about what will happen these next few weeks, so for now I guess we have to keep going on as usual.
I'll keep you guys posted.
This past week a lot of discussion has been going down on what to do now that the virus is starting to affect our community, specifically what will happen with school. On Friday afternoon the board for Broward Schools said that they will be closing down school this following week, meaning that we technically have two weeks of spring break. I would usually be ecstatic at the thought of even missing one day of school, but in this situation I'm starting to get nervous.
I'm concerned that this virus is going to make it harder for us to complete our project. Obviously our health comes first so if we do need to postpone something we definitely will, but as of now we were told by our teacher to continue the project as we normally would. I talked with my group and it seems that Oliver's parents are really concerned about him going out of the house, so that is going to be a barrier we'll have to work around. It still seems as if no one is really sure about what will happen these next few weeks, so for now I guess we have to keep going on as usual.
I'll keep you guys posted.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 15)
Today in class we were looking at things that we needed to complete before our filming day, and Austin had the suggestion of completing a script. At first I didn't really see the point, but after Austin pointed out that the last time we tried to film that I kept stuttering and messing up my lines, I felt that it would be a pretty good idea. Here's a copy of it below:
By having a script, I feel By having a script, I feel it'll give me a chance for the filming day to run pretty smoothly, and hopefully save us time (and pain) during the process. In terms of our set, I realized something that I feel our group needs to consider.
I was talking with a friend of mine about our film project and giving her a run-down of the story and our character. I showed her the shot of the photo string and how it's supposed to convey that she was just like an everyday person before she became an influencer. I then showed her our set, and she began to raise a few questions. She said that if we are trying to develop this character through our set, why is it so bland? She suggested we should try to build/use a set that is 'more established' to develop our character even more, and I agree.
I was talking with a friend of mine about our film project and giving her a run-down of the story and our character. I showed her the shot of the photo string and how it's supposed to convey that she was just like an everyday person before she became an influencer. I then showed her our set, and she began to raise a few questions. She said that if we are trying to develop this character through our set, why is it so bland? She suggested we should try to build/use a set that is 'more established' to develop our character even more, and I agree.
I want to suggest the idea of using my bedroom as our set instead of Oliver's space. I feel that if the audience can see more things about our character in the background of our shots, it would make our story (and her) look more realistic. I was thinking that in one space of my room we could convert it into her 'photoshoot area', and have it look more pristine in comparison to everything else around her.
I would be fully on board with this idea, except for the fact that it would mean that we would have rearrange things within our original plan and storyboard to make it work. Obviously, my bedroom is not the same as the space we had before in Oliver's gym, so that is going to be tough. Also, does this mean we are going to have to extend our film date? And if so I'm wondering if it will be worth it then... I guess I am just going to have to suggest my idea to Oliver and Austin and see what they think, I'll keep you guys posted.
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| This is the space, by adding a mirror here and lights, I feel that it'll show that this is her studio space |
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| This area can be used in the final part of the opening where she is scrolling through social media |
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| All of the things hung up on the wall can be enabled as props and suggest that there was more to her before she became an influencer |
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 14)
Folks, I'm back with some more aesthetic research!
Well, I haven't started it yet, but I did find a book that definitely will help me out. I was going through books in our house to give away to the library (our family is trying to get rid of a LOT of clutter) and I found this! It a philosophical book on aesthetics by Dietrich Von Hildebrand (super fancy name, I know) maybe this book can give me a bit more insight on the idea of beauty which then can help us out with our project. I'm planning on doing some light reading when I get the chance, I'll let you know how it goes.
Currently, Oliver is at a competition, so right now Austin and I are planning to work on the script and also any other thing we need completed by Tuesday. There are rumors going around that school will close next week due to the virus, so maybe that give us some extra time to film just in case we don't finish everything we need to get done. I love my group, but I will admit we do like to procrastinate, so I'm having the feeling we may not get everything down by Tuesday... Anyways, I'll keep you guys posted :)
Well, I haven't started it yet, but I did find a book that definitely will help me out. I was going through books in our house to give away to the library (our family is trying to get rid of a LOT of clutter) and I found this! It a philosophical book on aesthetics by Dietrich Von Hildebrand (super fancy name, I know) maybe this book can give me a bit more insight on the idea of beauty which then can help us out with our project. I'm planning on doing some light reading when I get the chance, I'll let you know how it goes.
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| Even the cover goes with our visual theme |
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Film Opening Project (blog 13)
Okay, since the last time that our group met up, we did not have a solid image on what we wanted the mise-en-scene and visuals within our opening to look like. So, my job for today was to work on that.
I was doing some research on Instagram of various social media accounts on certain aesthetics and popular trends, and one thing that kept reappearing was this renaissance/rococo aesthetic. People take certain images from paintings of this time period to adorn their accounts with this airy and clean image; I took some photos of it below:
I have to say I love the way it looks! I also feel as if it is not too far off from our previous inspiration of other influencers, so that means we are not starting completely from scratch. Not to mention it is super beautiful :D
Although I could be disillusioned because I like the way it looks, I do think we can use this aesthetic to our advantage for two reasons. One, it's trendy right now. Since I want out influencer to be a modern-day one, it would be illogical for our character to have a style that is not in fashion at the moment (I also feel having a modern style is crucial as it subtly shows she is dedicated with keeping touch with what is popular on social media). Secondly, I feel that this aesthetic ties in with themes with the nature of perfection or the strive for beauty (which is what our story is all about). With my (brief) knowledge I have about the renaissance/rococo period, perfection and beauty was highly revered within art. Because of these commonalities within the style and our story, it makes sense to use them together.
In terms of our set design, I feel that we were pretty spot on with the color scheme, but we definitely need to fill our room with more things. This type of style plays with a lot of elements and it is far from minimalist, which I think was our mistake before. So, with the information I gathered, I spent my morning working on this Pinterest board with various images that share similar motifs. You can see it with the link below; I guess for now this is our 'unofficial mood-board'.
https://pin.it/6yobIUO
I was thinking we could print out a few of these images to serve as posters, I think that would look pretty cool. I'll keep you guys posted :)
I was doing some research on Instagram of various social media accounts on certain aesthetics and popular trends, and one thing that kept reappearing was this renaissance/rococo aesthetic. People take certain images from paintings of this time period to adorn their accounts with this airy and clean image; I took some photos of it below:
I have to say I love the way it looks! I also feel as if it is not too far off from our previous inspiration of other influencers, so that means we are not starting completely from scratch. Not to mention it is super beautiful :D
Although I could be disillusioned because I like the way it looks, I do think we can use this aesthetic to our advantage for two reasons. One, it's trendy right now. Since I want out influencer to be a modern-day one, it would be illogical for our character to have a style that is not in fashion at the moment (I also feel having a modern style is crucial as it subtly shows she is dedicated with keeping touch with what is popular on social media). Secondly, I feel that this aesthetic ties in with themes with the nature of perfection or the strive for beauty (which is what our story is all about). With my (brief) knowledge I have about the renaissance/rococo period, perfection and beauty was highly revered within art. Because of these commonalities within the style and our story, it makes sense to use them together.
In terms of our set design, I feel that we were pretty spot on with the color scheme, but we definitely need to fill our room with more things. This type of style plays with a lot of elements and it is far from minimalist, which I think was our mistake before. So, with the information I gathered, I spent my morning working on this Pinterest board with various images that share similar motifs. You can see it with the link below; I guess for now this is our 'unofficial mood-board'.
https://pin.it/6yobIUO
I was thinking we could print out a few of these images to serve as posters, I think that would look pretty cool. I'll keep you guys posted :)
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