That's a Wrap!

Flim Opening: Link

 CCR#1: Link

CCR#2: Link

Final Reflection

     I can't believe the day is here....I am finally done with my Film opening and CCR!! For this final blogpost, I will be looking back on this over all process.

 In the initial state of coming up with an idea for my project, I wanted to make something meaningful to me and unique to the film world. In the end I would say I reached that goal in a way I never imagined I could. My theme of trying to find who you are is very common however, I wanted tgo reach it in a way were the audience would be put in their shoes just like the fates are put in ours when they are sent to the "real world".

 Throughout this project my film making skills flourished. I was able to put all the practices we learned in class to use. I was also able to analyze why a character might be feeling that way and give meaning to them as well as implement things such color and hues to represent how a character might be feeling.

 Overall, this project taught me how to improve my work ethic. From not being a procrastinator, to planning out my filming days, and communicating with the cast, I was able to feel less stressed and spend more time focusing on my project. I would lastly like to thank you for following along with this project!

 

Post Production CCR

 Finally in the process of editing my last CCR! I am pretty happy with how it's turning out. For my second CCR I did a video podcast, where I had a surprise guest (Julia she plays Atropos/Abbi). In the video podcast we discussed the "most asked questions" about my upcoming film.

 To set up the video podcast we were filming at Julia's house, so we got two chairs and put them by the most plain wall we could find, to avoid any distractions. To set up the phone, we took a chair and stacked 2 boxes on top to get the phone at the angle we wanted.

 While filming we did come across some problems, however the were quickly fixed. For example, my phone ran out of storage mid filming. Despite this I was able to film on Julia's phone to complete my CCR. When it came to to film this CCR I made sure to over shoot, that way I would not struggle to meet the time limit unlike my first CCR. In the end, I filmed the perfect amount, and have not had any problems editing. I will say I notice a change in lighting from the videos filmed on Julia's phone vs my phone, but it's not too noticeable.

CCR Production #1

 I finally filmed my first CCR this Tuesday!! I am currently on a trip for school, so I wanted to at least have filmed my CCR's so I did not have to worry on my trip. I am glad I did this in advance because it allowed me to stress less and enjoy more.

 For my first CCR, I filmed a "bake with me (while letting fate decide what we bake)" video. I thought this idea would be creative and entertaining. The video includes mid-shots of me talking to the screen and a variety of shots of me baking and showing different ingredients. For the shots of me talking to the phone with my face showing, I am using the live audio of me speaking. However for the other shots, I will be doing a voice over.

 After filming the baking sequence, my CCR was 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Because of my main goal of trying to reach 4 minutes, I had to implement videos from the film. This worked out because I had already initially planned to do so, and it provided examples of the things I discussed in my CCR.

 Once I had edited all my clips together I had added titles and captions where they needed to be added. Soon later, I did my voice over by looking at a scripted I had previously made and tweaking what I felt should be added in the moment.

 Overall, my first CCR experience went great and I am excited to do my second one and compleate my project!!

Final CCR question

Last but not least... my final CCR question! I am so happy to be planning my final one because that means I can get started on filming them.

Question:

"How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?" 

Online Resources: 

For my online resources I used Blogger (a website where you can blog) to plan and explain my film process. Blogger has been a great outlet for me to put my feeling about my project in. I also used Google to learn about Greek mythology and the overall accuracy of the information I was implementing into my film opening.  

Software: 

When it comes to editing, I love using CapCut. Since I have been using this platform for years, I know well how to navigate my way around and use it accordingly. 

Hardware: 

I filmed every part of my film opening on my phone. This was very convenient because my phone connects to my laptop which is where I was editing. Speaking of my laptop that is another hardware I used. In addition to filming on my phone, I also used my friends phone to record audio during the scenes this made it easy to record my scenes with clear audio. When filming the underworld scenes, we used the sound board in my school's auditorium to create a void with lighting. 

CCR Question number 3

 Half way done with planning out my Creative Critical Reflections! For the second half of the questions my media choice will be a video podcast where I talk with the cast of my film and discuss important questions. This will be set up as a more casual podcast so it feels like a genuine conversation and draws the target audience as this style of podcasts is most popular amongst teens.

 The second question is, "How did your production skills develop throughout this project?"

 Throughout this project I have learned many new skills. For example, I learned how to organize myself better by creating schedules and blogging consistently. Not only did this help me stay on track but it also helped with time management which is a big aspect of this project since their are many layers to film making.

  Not only did the film making process expand my management skills but also my content creating abilities. This project taught me it is always best to over film rather than under film. I ran into a problem where a script was in one of my scenes, and thankfully I was able to switch the angle from an extra shot I filmed where the script was no longer present. Notably, I learned how important it is to pay attention to detail and character choices. When first presenting my film I was worried that you would get easily lost in the plot. However, making each character have their own niche and finding ways to implement it into my script allowed for a smoother plot.

ex: https://justayden111.blogspot.com/2025/02/theory-theory-theory.html  (blog post going into depth on character analysis/theory)

 

Group Meeting #2

Today we had our second group meeting where we shared our current projects and how they are coming along. In addition to our filming and editing process we also shared our plans for our CCR’s. 

Sofia was the first person to tell us about her project. She was having trouble figuring out the font she wanted for her credits and title but was finished with the filming process and what I saw so far looked great. She also was not sure what to do for her CCR so my group gave her suggestions. Next to talk in the group was me! I shared what I had of my film so far and everyone seemed to be impressed. This made me very happy since I put a lot of hard work and dedication into it. I also shared my CCR ideas, and they also thought they were good. One piece of constructive criticism I received was to manage my time better since I was behind on my blog posts. Since then, I have been working hard to do better. After I went, Nati went and shared her great idea for a carpool karaoke-like CCR. I thought this was so creative and different which I loved. 

1st and 2nd CCR Question

 CCR starts now!!! We are finally done filming, and now it is time to focus on our Creative Critical Reflection. Before I begin dissecting the questions and how I will go about answering them, I would like to decide what type of media I will create to answer my questions.

For my CCR that answers questions #1 and #2 I would like to create a video where I answer questions while baking. Although baking has no correlation to my project, I believe it will be a fun and engaging way to answer questions about my film. I had an idea to maybe make it like a baking show, where the style of the video is almost like I am teaching the audience how to bake while promoting the film and talking about it. In addition, I will be "determining my fate" by choosing the in ingredients from a cup anonymously, just like the fates determine the mortals destiny.

Now to begin the research on question number 1!

"How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?"

I will tackle this question by first by identifying what genre conventions I used since they are not your usual mix. My genre's of choice were a coming of age and a fantasy hybrid. Due to my selection, I was challenged with making the them blend together without complicating the storyline. To make the genre's seamlessly mix, I made sure to give backstory throughout the film that would allow for what would be confusing parts to make sense. My film also used classic film conventions such as the plot beginning in the past to allow for history on what is to come. The second part of this question is representations and social groups. My film represents teens figuring out their place in life and how they fit in to current societal norms. We see this through their personalities when they are transported to High School and are to find themselves as well as learn about the people around them. This may relate to teens with social disorders or adolescents struggling with fitting in and discovering who they truly are.

 Moving on to question number 2.

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

My project will engage with audiences by, being distributed to Youtube. I choose this platform because it is the most used media platform by adolescents. In addition, Youtube is known for its more time lengthy videos rather than TikTok. I engaged my target audience by creating relatable character, like Chloe who cares a lot about what others think of her and being trendy.

Finding The Perfect Song

Hiii, it has been a long week, but I still have work to do with my project! I was thinking and I believe I need to add music to fill in for the emptiness of the Underworld Scene. Incorporating music into a film could add or alleviate tension into a scene. Background music could also evoke a certain amotion/feeling to a scene. Music has always been a big part of my life, so this aspect of my film opening means a lot to me. 

To begin with, the tone I want to achieve is eerie but also nostalgic. I believe I can achieve this with a song in a minor key as that key is known for its mysterious feel. For my project I need to find copy right free music so, I began to search on YouTube. After lots of searching I think I found one I really like. The final decision is still up in the air but, it’s a strong candidate! 

Post Production Time!!

We are in the final stretch of the filming process. I have 1 more scene that I am filming next week due to conflict. However, it is time to begin editing the footage that I currently have! With this office scene there are lots of different noises and sounds happening in the background. In addition, this scene includes Abbi banging on a drum. Due to the many cuts of the shots, the drum sound is no longer consecutive meaning I must input new audio as an overlay over the past audio. This will include Foley Sounds for the makeshift drum, the dialogue, and diegetic office sounds. 

 

Foley Art (Makeshift Drum): To achieve the sound of pens tapping on a bucket I used pens, and various items I found around my house. For example, a glass candle, plastic cup, ceramic mug, and plastic Tupperware. In the end I decided on the plastic cup because it created a sound most similar the original. 

Dialogue: When it came to the dialogue, I had my actors say their lines over the audio then I replaced the past audio with the new one. 

Problems vs Solutions

  Sometimes you face problems that are out of your control. Unfortunately, I am facing a bumpy road in my project. However, part of creating media is learning from your mistakes and improving.

Problem: Last Wednesday, I was supposed to film the underworld scenes for my film opening. My location for filming was going to be in my school's auditorium, where I was going to create a void with the light board and spotlights we have provided there. To my surprise, the auditorium was being used by one of my school clubs for the rest of the week. This mistake is 100% on me because, I should have checked the booking schedule before committing to that date.

Solution: When faced with a problem you can't fix, the only thing you can do is learn from it and move on. Due to this problem, I will now be filming next Tuesday because my actors and I have rehearsal this week for a musical we are in. Meaning, next Tuesday is the closest date we can continue to film. Even though this would mean I would be behind on the filming process, I am grateful I will eventually finish the project on time.

1st Filming Week Summary/Title sequence

 Over all, the first week of filming has been great. I have edited all the clips from the office, and I am now working on creating the title and credits sequences. Although I have ran into a few problems throughout the process, I keep reminding myself that this is my first time creating a project this intricate, and that it's okay to mess up sometimes because that is how we learn. 

Title/Credits: For the past week, I have been testing out different title designs on Cap Cut to see what I liked and what would match my film. This is such a hard thing to choose because there are many things to take into consideration. Such as, the color, font, animation, and background image. Color wise I know I want a color with a cool hue like dark purple or dark blue to match the fates "real world" outfits. For the other aspects I am just trying to see what I like and what looks good with each other.

Ex: 

How my film got its name?

 Starting off this blog post I am now realizing I have never stated the name of my film opening in my blog postings yet. Coming up with this name has been difficult because I wanted it to be able to capture everything that I am featuring in the opening as well as what I believe it would include if the film were to continued on. I hoped for something that would reflect not only the storyline, but also the genre. Believe it or not, title of films, actually have a lot to do with the genre chosen. After much consideration, I settled on the name Moirai (a new generation).

 

"MOIRAI a new generation": Nowwww, it's time to break down the title to it's simplest terms and what it means to me! To begin with, Moirai are also known as the fates (my main character's in my film opening) I thought it was fitting since the film stars the three goddess. The next part of the title, "a new generation" was added. This is because I felt I needed something that could capture more of what the film is about. Since my genre is coming of age, I also felt that part of the title represented my genre more. The title of the film is trying to get the message across that the fates are getting involved with new generations, however leaves the rest up to the film to explain what is happening.