Planning for the Creative Critical Reflection

 A few days ago I was planning for my CCR, which was the last part of the portfolio project. I decided the best route of planning what I was going to do was to create a very simple script of everything I'm going to say. I will also include in parenthesis what pictures I will insert in the actual video because it is important not to keep a video of just me talking the whole time.

Script: 

Hello! You just saw a quick clip of part of my film opening called "Pursuit", and I'm going to be talking about and discussing my planning progress throughout the entire film opening by answering a couple questions. So lets start right away with the first question:

1. How does my product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

So I'm going to split this up into two parts by first talking about how my product uses conventions, specifically, with talking about the genre of the film. The genre I used in the opening was horror, and now when you use horror as the genre of a film, it has the same approach and goal like every other film, which is to engage the audience and interest them. However, the main thing that makes horror stand out from other genres is that this genre tries to create a unique feeling compared to other films, like boosting adrenaline or creating an uncomfortable tone for the viewers. And this is overall made by using techniques like lighting and specific sounds.

Now for the second part of this question, my film does not specifically dive into or focus on any specific social groups or issues. However, it does dwell into teenagers and some struggles they could possibly have in their childhood, like doing things that cause them to be in bad situations or interacting with strangers. So for example, in my film opening the protagonist, which is of course a teenager, could have been doing something like exploring a restricted area or interacting with a mysterious person, causing them to end up in the bad situation he's in.

The next question we have is:

2. How does my product engage with audiences and how could it be distributed as a real media text?

So back to what I mentioned before with the genre and the feeling I tried to create, there are certain aspects that are used to help engage the audience. One of them can be lighting. By using a low key lighting technique or having a dark environment, you can kind of get that spooky or uncomfortable feel for the audience. In my opening, it started of bright at sunset and made the gradual change to being darker as the scene started getting more intense. Another important technique is the sounds and shots used. For example, towards the end of the opening where there is a POV shot of the protagonist hiding and looking around, this helps immerse and engage the audience into the film. The panting sound from the main character suggests that he is scared and that something could happen at that moment, which will make the audence want to pay more attention and keep watching.

Now I am not working with any big film organization or anything like that, so obviously I won't be able to distribute my film in a theater. One of the best ways to help promote and distribute content so that people can find it is through social media, like YouTube. Everyone has heard of YouTube and uses it to watch videos everyday. By posting this on YouTube and other social media platforms, people who are interested in the horror movie genre will be able to find my film and it can grow in popularity.

Next we have the question: 

3. How did my production skills develop throughout this project?

Now, A great way that I planned and and kept everything organized was through blogging everything I did. By doing this, I could look at what my ideas were in the past and if I wanted to change something. From looking at what I researched, to creating a script, and to even finding a location for filming, the blog was a great way to track everything I did.

And although I do have experience in filming things from past projects like my sound film or one word film, this was the first project working by myself. I got to have a lot of freedom on this project, and everything was my own idea. I was lucky to have my dad help film and give me some tips on something I could do better, and although he did not understand what idea I had for some certain shots, he later saw when I was editing what my vision for a specific shot was for and why.

I think this project overall helped improve my planning process for big projects like this and gave me more experience in filming and editing.

Finally, we have our last question, which is:

4. How did I integrate technologies in the project?

So first off, the film equipment I used was basic, however was super important in the film making. For example I used a tripod to help stand up my phone when recording scenes to keep a still and stable shot. The tripod had good features such as adjusting the height, being able to tilt, rotate, and pan when recording. I was able to use all of these techniques in my film to make it better.

I also used a lot of important software in this project. One of the things I used was the blog posts, which I mentioned earlier, and how they helped keep me organized and helped me plan everything out. Of course, I used an editing software to edit and combine all of the scenes together, and I used Adobe Premier Pro, which I already had previous experience with, so it was not an issue. One final important thing I used was a sound effect database to add every background sound. I used a website called ZapSplat to find sounds like the wind, crickets, footsteps, the trees blowing in the wind, and more.

At the beginning of this project, I was a little nervous on all the work I had to do, but I knew it was going to be a fun new experience. I got to improve my planning skills through blogging, I got to use my own ideas and creativity, and more. I also got to learn more about new filming techniques used in my specific genre of horror. Something I think I could do better is to not wait so long to record, so I could have more time after to fix anything, go back and rerecord, and more. Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy my film!

Self Made prop during filming

I forgot to mention this earlier when I was filming but I wanted to talk about the prop I used for my final scene in the film opening where the masked figure had to supposedly drag a bag with a body in it. The difficult part about this was how to make the bag appear like there was the shape of a body in it. After researching different ways to make this happen, I came accross a video with a very good idea that I ended up using.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urw8tapvrfI

This video cuts up a couple of big black garbage bags in half and spreads them out. They then proceed to get many used containers to make up the body and later use other bags and tap to cover everything up. 

I did the same thing by finding used containers in my recycling bin, however something I did that the video didn't do was use cardboard and towels. I think this was a really cool idea that I ended up using. The only thing I had to make sure was that the cardboard wouldn't leave any sharp corners that stand out of the bag to not make it look like a person.

Sound effects for my film

 As I have started editing, i need to use sound effects in my film. I have found sound effects for  panting, the wind, crickets at night time, and more using the website zapsplat.

These are some examples of what I was trying to find on the website. Since not all of the footsteps or environmental sounds are not recorded at the scene, foley sounds or sound effects are made or added later in editing to make it sound better, which is what I will be doing for my project. I ended up using sounds that include crickets at nighttime, wind, footsteps, and trees blowing in the wind as well.

Started editing !

    Yesterday I finally started editing for my film after recording. I started by airdropping all the videos from my phone to my mac and put all of the videos into one folder. After I imported the folder into Adobe premier pro, I started to look at all of the scenes and order them out in the same order I went in the storyboard and the shots list.

    I noticed that since I recorded my scenes during sunset, I started to notice a lighting difference between some scenes. So I might have to go back and re-record a scene to match the other scenes. Another thing I have to do later is find a lot of sound effects to add into my scenes such as the footsteps, crickets, and wind.

Done with Filming

    On monday afternoon, I finally had my last filming day! I did multiple takes of the same shots or clips to have a bunch of footage which I will be editing later. 

    

    I got my dad to film help me out and film the shots in the background, and it was also nice to have him give me some tips on how to make the shot better. For example, he told me when we were filming the masked figure or the killer that I had to look more menacingly or look like I'm on a mission to find the other person rather than just wandering and walking around the trees.

    

    I think the filming was a really cool experience for me, especially since this time I was by myself rather in a group, so I felt I had much more freedom to do what I wanted. I am excited to start editing and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

My first film days!

    So yesterday I finally had my first film day! I had to go to the park in my neighborhood at 7:15 pm right before sunset because the other days I was looking at the park, the area I wanted to film in was too dark. I found that the perfect time to record with it being dark and there being good lighting was right at sunset, which was at 7:30pm, so we were there 15 minutes early to practice the shot so we could use the little time we had efficiently.

    After sunset started, we started filming as many shots as we could before it got too dark. I originally planned to do one film day of the protagonist running, and another film day of the antagonist chasing, since I was playing both characters and I would just edit the cuts when I edit all the shots. Unfortunatelly, I did not get all the shots with the protagonist yesterday, so today ended up going again at sunset to get the last few shots. Then, on monday I will do the antagonist shots. A lot of the film opening will be the main character running, so the antagonist wont be in as many shots, so it won't take as long to record.

Mise en scene elements in my opening

 In my film opening, there will be multiple factors that will create the mise en scene elements to contribute to my atmosphere of my film. 

I found a website that goes over Low key lighting and how it contributes to the horror atmosphere of a movie:

Low key lighting in horror films

Low key lighting is used in films to imply danger, mystery, and terror. It also can conceal a monster, a weapon, or a hint. This type of lighting in film can create feelings of anxiety and anticipation. It can also enhance the atmosphere and set the tone in the horror film. I will be using this type of lighting in my film, which will take place at night time. The scene will be dark and overall set up the atmosphere for my film, to be scary.

Another mise en scene element that will be used is the color of the outfits of the two characters. For example, The antagonist of my film, MASKED FIGURE, will wear a black attire covering their entire body. The color black can represent mystery, fear, evil, and more dark tones that the film also signifies. The antagonist will also be wearing a mask to cover his face. On the other hand, The protagonist who will be running away from the killer will be wearing brighter colors.

Start of Creative Critical reflection

    After I finish my film opening in the next few weeks, I have to start working on my CCR, or creative critical reflection, to reflect and go over my complete process of making my film. I took notes in class the other day and looked at multiple examples of what I have to do for the video and some tips for it.

    There are 4 main questions I must respond in the CCR:

    1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or changes?

    2. How does your product engage with audiences and how could 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, online) in this project?

    When answering each question I must discuss my process of making things or what I did to plan. As examples, I can include clips from my film opening during when I am explaining certain topics, or put up pictures of my blog posts or storyboard to demonstrate what I am talking about. Another benefit this does is that I will help not make the CCR boring rather than just having a talking head, because I will include multiple photos and text of the questions.

Here a picture of my notes of what I went over in class the other day:

Storyboard

I finally made my storyboard, after delaying it for a couple days. The drawings aren't that good, but I still think it is not hard to understand what is going on in the pictures.

Found filming location

When I first started planning for my film opening, I already had an idea of what area I wanted to film in, specifically a park. However, since my film opening was going to be at sunset or dawn (basically just a dark environment, I looked up the opening and closing times of the park I wanted to go to. But, they closed too early before sunset so I could not record there. 

As I continued to research and think of places I could record in, I was walking home from the bus and saw the park in my neighborhood and realized there is a spot in the park that would work really great for the film.

There are a lot of dark tree areas, and these big bunches of trees together in a small area. I think this could be really good for the chase scene Im trying to do, and to create some hiding areas for the main character to hide. 

There are also these dead trees that I think would look really cool on a shot during the chase scene. I know there are houses in the background, but I will just use different angles that will not show the background to keep the audience immersed in the feel to keep it realistic.

Then there is this long kind of area on a hill filled with trees and roots on the floor, which I think can be used to demonstrate the main character struggling when he is trying to run away from the masked figure

Font research for my Film

 I am going to be researching different font styles used in movies. To be honest, I have never paid attention to the fonts that movies use for opening credits or the title of the film. I am specifically going to find a font to use that will be considered scary or suspenseful, since the film genre I am making my film opening on is horror.

45 of the Best Horror Fonts for Your Creepy and Scary Designs

This is an article from the website "Vandelay Design". This article has the purpose of the most frequently used and best fonts for titles of horror movies. They discuss how creepy fonts makes the movie title pop out to scare audiences. They give the feeling of of being scary and edgy. Here are some examples:

This font is considered chaotic with its design of the writing kind of scratching the screen in a way.

This font is very spiky with every single letter of the title, with the way the sides of each line drawn. This one really helps draw out the scary and intense movie vibe.

This is one of my favorite ones I have seen on this page. I really like the gooey effect each letter has along with the sword or knife going through the "O" of the title.

This one is somewhat similar to the first one with the way the font is drawn. However I do like the effect of the marks surrounding the title.

Overall I think going with an overall standing out and red title or spiky words would be a good way to show my title in my film.

Creating My Shot List

I just finished making my shot list. This includes every shot that I will use in my film, followed along by a short description of what the shot is showing in the scene.

I think having a shot list is super important in the planning stage. It is a great way to organize my thoughts on what I want to do in each part. Another thing I can do to make a good plan for my film is a storyboard, which shows the draft of pictures of what each shot will look like. That is also the next thing I am going to do for my planning.