An Outsider's Perspective

     I'm basically done editing the project, there are just very small details that I need to fix so as I do this I am asking my friends for critiques. I have watched the video too many times so I am happy to hear an outsider's perspective. One of my friends mentioned to me that the audio of some parts was too quiet or not noticeable at all and he suggested I do foley, so I did. At first, I thought it was a tedious task and I honestly did not want to do it, but I am so glad I did because it enhanced my video so much, and it was actually kind of fun. I got sounds of footsteps, a light switch, the wardrobe opening, a door closing, and some other sounds in this process.

This is a picture of me getting the sound of the hangers clanking

    Another common critique I got is that the acting of the parent at the end wasn't exaggerated enough, which was something I was already thinking when editing. I plan on re-filming this whenever I get the chance because it's an important part and the context is lost by that reaction, plus, it really isn't that hard to re-shoot since my mom is the actress in that part. 

    Overall, the critiques I've gotten have been so helpful in making my film opening better. Another person suggested that I add some sort of music or sound effect when Lluvia is sneaking into the parent's closet because it's kind of empty, and that was something that I will definitely include. I am so proud of how my opening is turning out so far and since I am close to the end of the project, I will be starting to write my CCR and hopefully film it very soon so stay in tune for these last couple of posts!

Editing

    I've now begun the process of editing and I'm loving how it's turning out. I'm using Adobe Premiere to edit and there are so many features that I love about this app. The masking went great and I found the perfect fonts to use so that blog post I did a couple days ago was very useful. I also added some color-correcting presets that helped me a lot (and saved me a good amount of time). This is a clip from my opening after the mask, title, and colors were added:

The same clip before color correcting (left), and after color correcting (right)

The mask I created for one of the credit clips

    To keep my timeline organized, I decided to color code all of the clips by section. The blue ones are the babysitting part, yellow is sneaking into the closet, purple is the closet modeling, and green is getting caught. I also created folders for the clips and separated them by "scenes" or sections so that they wouldn't be all over the place and I wouldn't be scrambling through footage to find a clip.

    So far the main issue I've run into is synching the audio because in some takes I forgot to do a loud clap to make it easier for me to edit so now I am struggling but it's a minor issue. Ill update this blog if any changes happen so stay tuned cause I'm almost done!

FINALLY, PRODUCTION!!!

    I just got done filming and it went great! The sets looked amazing and the lighting was great too. I don't want to jinx anything but I am so excited for the final result. Lynda and I took a bunch of pictures behind the scenes and you'd be surprised that in the footage the closet looks so clean because there was so much going on around it, saying it was messy would be an understatement. I know I said I wouldn't go handheld for the shots but I had to for some of them since I wanted very peculiar and weird angles, but I did use a tripod for other shots there are just no pictures of those.

    Here are some stills of the raw footage. I know I want to color correct the scene so much because the colors don't look saturated enough for the vision I had, but I am so glad I used those bright RGB lights because they set the mood of the scene exactly how I wanted it.

    I plan on taking some inspiration from the movie Booksmart and having a CinemaScope aspect ratio, or 2.39:1. I had never heard of this aspect ratio but I like the looks of it from this shot I found in Booksmart. 

    I am very excited to start editing but filming today drained me so ill probably get started on that later this week, stay tuned for that post.

Thinking Ahead of Time

     The competition ended and I am exhausted, I've barely had time to stop and think, but here I am writing a blog post. In my storyboard I wanted the credits to be revealed in a way that when something is moved to either side, the text would appear but I've realized that I have no clue how to do that. So I did my research and found this video that helped me understand the process, and it doesn't even seem that hard.

    Now that I know what I'll need to do in post-production, I can get a better understanding of how I should compose my shots. For example, I now know that I definitely cannot have handheld shots for the revealing text because it will make my life a living hell when the time to mask out an object comes. 

    I also wanted to start looking at fonts that I could use because fun fact, I am the most indecisive person I know, and if I don't go into editing with a set font, I will spend hours if not days deciding on a random font. I envisioned the credits to look almost like a magazine with big fonts and some words having different sizes and looks because Lluvia is an aspiring model and fashionista. These are some ideas I found on Pinterest and Canva that sort of show what I mean by magazine fonts.

    These covers have that big font I want with the varying subtitles, but these are too pink for my taste, I'll definitely go for a more purple or blue route in my film. There is basically one day until filming day WOOOO!!! But first I need to rest because this trip, while very fun, has completely drained me, stay tuned for my next post hopefully about how great filming will go!

Setting the Mood

     I am on a 6 hour flight to California and the boredom is KILLING ME!!! But what better way to kill time than by creating mood boards for my characters. I think that Lynda (the actress for Lluvia) could get a better idea of who she is playing if I created a mood board for her, specifically the part in which she sneaks into the closet because I have a very specific vibe in mind for that. She also said that she had lots of dresses she could bring, this way I could choose all of the costumes but this mood board will definitely help her understand what I truly want her to wear and convey in the scene. I used Canva and Pinterest, also known as my two favorite sites to feel "aesthetic", to create this board and I am so proud of how it turned out.

    I find it kind of funny that this is the mood board that represents my film opening because I feel like this is a mood board that represents me. I love how this project is sort of a demonstration of who I am and that I am staying very true to myself throughout all of these processes. On either the first or second week I remember saying that I wanted to create something that was like me and that I had experienced which would make the video very real, and even though I've never done what Lluvia does in my film, making this proved to me that I 100% stuck to something that I can relate to in one way or another. I will give more updates as they come but there are only a couple more days til production and I have never been more excited. Let's hope I can get internet in California as soon as possible so I can post this blog!

Adapting

    After the obstacle I faced last week, I made sure that this week I would not make the same mistakes. I have all of my equipment ready, however, the problem I have now is that I lost my actress Gio. She is traveling all spring break so I'll have to find a replacement. However, I was able to adapt to this very quickly because another one of my friends (also going to the competition with me) volunteered to act in my opening, and she's a theatre kid so I KNOW she can act. I have a feeling that the setback I had last weekend was fate telling me that it wasn't the right time to film anyways because the friend that volunteered had a 10-year-old brother who would be absolutely perfect for the part of Dani. I'll just have to make some adjustments to the set design and script to make it match a 10-year-old boy but I am thrilled to be working with the two of them.

    Tomorrow, both me and the actress for Lluvia are leaving on a field trip to a film competition called STN, and we won't come back until Monday late at night so I've created a new filming schedule to try and accommodate both of our schedules and catch up on the work. 

    We will most likely film it all in one day, the day I've scheduled is Tuesday the 21st from 6pm-9pm. I will get started with editing the next day leaving time for any re-filming and critiques from Thursday to Sunday. I can probably also start writing my CCR on one of those days, but I definitely plan on filming them by Wednesday the 29th. 

    I've become very optimistic about this project and cannot wait for the final result, I can visualize it so clearly! Right now my priority is the competition but I will keep on updating the blog this week on the final steps before filming, stay tuned!

A Small Setback

    I made a mistake. I forgot to contact the Shortcuts Instagram in order to check out equipment for this weekend. I thought to myself: "this isn't the end of the world ill just solve this problem by getting equipment from CBTV and borrow some of my friend's extra equipment", but this was not possible because all of the equipment had been checked out for a competition practice that weekend and the only items left wouldn't have been enough. 

    Deciding not to film this weekend would set my schedule back by a lot since I'm leaving for a competition on Wednesday and won't be able to film until the first Monday of spring break, but I think its the right decision if I want my opening to be the best it can be. I texted the Shortcuts Instagram already, and now I'm just waiting for a response to see if I can check out equipment over the break. In the meantime, I'll keep on planning for filming and for my CCR. I realize the due date is way closer than it seems so I should definitely get a head start on that. Stay tuned for more updates because the action will start very soon.

Music

The Right Beat

    In order to film the montage of Lluvia dancing and modeling, I realized that I needed the music that will be playing in the background because she should probably be modeling to the beat of the song. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I needed to start looking for some electro-ish, upbeat songs and after some digging, I found this youtube channel that makes non-copyright songs that are exactly what I'm looking for. The issue is, I'm looking for something very specific, so it's taken me a while to find the perfect one but I have 3 options so far.

Link to NoCopyrightSounds Channel

    Im currently leaning more towards the second option, "Wish You the Best" because I think it still has that playful vibe while still having the EDM electro beat to it. I might keep on looking for more because the channel has hundreds of songs, but when I film I'll keep that one in mind.

More Pre-Production

Mise-en-scene Elements

    I recently got the script down to my desired length so I am at a great spot right now. I should be able to film this weekend if everything goes as planned. I got two actresses who would love to play the parts, and I decided to film at my house since I have more control of the closet and the wardrobe decisions. 

Samy's Film Opening Script

Dani's Room

    As for costumes, I have a lot of options for the things in the closet. Lluvia is a teenage girl so I told Gio that she can wear something that she would be comfortable in or something she would wear if she were to babysit a kid. I also told her to bring her own dresses and accessories, but I have a lot of options anyways for that part of the film. For Dani, I have already put together some props and set designs to make my 13-year-old sister's room look like a room for an eight-year-old.

Wardrobe

Accessories

    All of these sets would be enhanced by lighting and other elements, (like probably organizing the closet before filming) but I know that I am now closer to filming which also means I'm closer to editing and color correcting which is my favorite part, but I shouldn't get ahead of myself.

Creative Critical Reflection

CCR Lesson

    I know it may seem soon to start thinking about my CCR but in class, we did a lesson about what was required in it. This lecture was extremely helpful because I'm always trying to think three steps ahead this way I can plan ahead of time. Now I know that I should take more pictures through all of the processes which I've already been doing. I am so thankful for this blog, now I know that it will make the CCR a lot easier to make because I have all of my research here. 

Notes I took on the lesson

    I am definitely a person who looks at the bigger picture of things and likes to plan ahead of time so this lesson was very helpful for me. I'm already thinking of ideas for my CCR, maybe ill do one where I fall asleep and dream of me winning an Oscar, and in my acceptance speech ill answer the questions. Im not sure yet but I'm definitely sure that I will go all out for it and keep you updated in the process.

Pre-Production

Starting to Write

    Last time we went to class we had individual discussions with our advisor and if the group discussions weren't helpful enough, this certainly was. I didn't necessarily have a concrete idea of how I was going to make hours of time passing all be two minutes long, and I hadn't even thought about this issue until then. I began researching how movies make time pass by fast and found this article very interesting, but not what I was looking for.

How to Write the Passage of Time in Your Screenplay

    I decided that the best way to research the passing of long periods of time in a short span was to simply watch content. I now have collected the data, calculated the numbers, analyzed the patterns, and concluded that switching locations and shot compositions was a technique used in these situations. This helped me develop the first part of my script. I used the website celtex.com to write it because it creates the format of a script perfectly without much of a hassle.

   The main issue I'm having right now is cutting down on time because right now the dialogue is just taking up too much time and I need to save it for the rest of the opening. I don't necessarily want the babysitting part to be the focus of the piece, but I need it to provide enough context so that the viewer isn't confused. 

    I also had a new idea that I thought would be kind of funny. In the middle of dressing up, the kid she is babysitting walks in and scares her and then they both did the modeling together. It would end in the same way which is with the parents catching her in the act and firing her, but it would be a quirky addition. Soon, the final storyboard and script will be done and I will be able to start filming, but I'm certainly seeing more and more progress, I just need to stop being indecisive and solidify my concept in a way that it all makes sense.