CCD

CCR

IDEA ON HOW TO ANSWER CCR #1

                                 PROGRESS PROGRESS AND SOME MORE PROGRESS

              How did my production skills develop throughout this project you may wonder?

Now its time to start planning for my first CCR.Here is an idea of what I would like to answer for my first question.

One of my favorite quotes is " Focus on Progress and not perfection" I like this quote so much because I think when we heavily rely on perfection we never end up with what we had in mind. Focusing on progress on the other hand allows us to aim for something much more achievable that can even achieve perfection later on.For example, its like going to the gym expecting your dream body after one workout, its the consistency and progress that will lead you to have it later on.

When I first started the project I genuinely had no clue what to expect and I mean from everything. Myself/dedication, the work, and how it would turn out. It was the constant research, the dedication, and the patience that allowed me to build something that I was actually really happy with. In the beginning of this I had never done a professional film opening before. I mean something like this was completely new to me and now I have done it and I am truly so proud of myself for learning so much about what it takes to build something like this.

My skills developed in a variety of ways. For starters, I learned how to direct a film from the shots we had to film to the angles and the prior planning that had to be done.I was able to get better at staying consistent with different choices and not overthinking what I hd to film. I also got better on how to edit, with the use of many youtube videos I learned a variety of new tricks and skills I would have never known before.

Overall, all of my production skills improved for the better.Learning how to implement what I had learned in class to real life made it make much more sense. The hues of lighting and even realizing how different media theories are implemented and used!

YEA SOME MORE EDITING.....

                                               U THOUGHT IT ENDED THERE?

 As relived as I was to have adjusted all the clips together it definitely was not the end.Now I have to fix the lighting and include the never ending credits.Thanks to some prior knowledge I have from editing different sorts of lighting on photos. I used it to my power and focused on the mood that I wanted to convey.For the beginning I made sure to use more soft lighting with warm hues.I wanted the beginning scenes to reflect more comfort and get the audience to understand the relationship among Davis and Alessandra.

For the following scenes I slightly increased the brightness and created a bit more shadow.Doing this enhanced the natural element while still reflected a bit of vulnerability in the way the characters were about to feel.I wanted the audience to feel the major heartbreak and guilt amongst both of them, so using warm tones was able to help me achieve this. I didn't over do any of the lighting too much because I knew that the camera already captured a lot of what I wanted for the film opening and I didn't wanna take away from that.

As of for the fonts, I wanted something more clean and bold.I wanted it to give the impact of THE DECISION which is what it is all based on but still have a very simplistic form of being.I decided to go with the serif style typo to create a little bit of elegance and weight.

All of these small and individual choices is what helps pull the entire story together.With such a subtle and simple difference I was able to enhance the emotions and depth of the film opening.

EDITING✨

                                                      CUT, CUT AND MORE CUTS

 Okay so my experience editing has honestly been a little more stressful than I imagined. I started off by accumulating all of the clips together and decided to primarily place all of my focus on adjusting the clips. I started by carefully selecting  different shots from our first scene in town center that would build the anticipation. I used a mix of medium shots and close-ups to establish the setting in the beginning of the film.Utilizing jump cuts and brief moments of stillness, I was able to raise the tension leading up to the grand reveal. To enhance realism, I decided to keep the pacing natural, I did this so that it could allow the audience a bit of hesitation before clicking the decision.

I incorporated a lot of fade in and split screen so that you could see the lead up until the decision. This allows the audience to see both perspectives without losing sense of whats going on. For the reveal itself I decided to choose the medium shot we filmed it switches from both of us at the table, to our raw reactions simultaneously. This was definitely difficult because I wanted the viewers to see the rawness of both emotions but giving enough time for both of our reactions was quite difficult. While I (Alessandra) showed slight joy and guilt Davis on the other hand was disappointment. So editing these clips was a bit complicated.

I think what also made this difficult was that including a lot of facial expressions was very necessary since our emotions LITERALLY had to speak louder than words. The silence created a powerful place for our expressions. 

Two iced coffees, my patience, and anxiety later I had finally adjusted all of the scenes to the timing that I wanted. 

FILMING UPDATES

                                             

                                              FILMING 

Okay lets get wrap up our filming, as much as I would have loved to film our film opening I do not have sufficient expertise in that area whatsoever. If filming were as simple as it seemed everyone would be doing it.That is why Davis and me decided to hire a camera man to film us. Although, we didn't personally film it we were able to guide him on what shots we wanted with our prior knowledge.Such as close-up shot, medium shots, extreme close-up shot and more.

With our knowledge we were able to get the specific clips that we wanted.We practically directed the poor guy on what he should film 😭.We made several changes when filming, for starters we decided to make the opening with no script.This was probably a very risky choice but we thought for the sake of the success of our film that we would be better of without it.

We started by filming in town center. I made sure to fuel myself with a yummy drink and breakfast item and then we began! The first shots were just b-roll of the palm trees, sky and setting.This reflected the Miami atmosphere which represented where we wanted to study.As we filmed we went through our storyboard/checklist which helped us make sure that we stayed on track.This was a guarantee that we wouldn't forget to film any scenes.

Later we filmed the scenes of Davis and me walking in town center and this took many takes since we wanted to capture different angles such as our feet walking, hand movements and a full body shot.

Eventually we switched locations and went to film at Davis house, here we were able to film the individual room scenes and all of the other clips we would want to use to fade in. I brought several simple tops and pants to change into so that it would look as if time had passed.We also made some changes in the setting, instead of filming the grand decision scene in the bedroom we went in the dining room since the lighting was better and we could capture our facial expressions more. Let me just say this part got TIRING, we had to film each scene about 5 times just to change the angles so that we had enough footage to work with.

After hours of hard work Davis and me finished and rewarded ourselves with some amazing chipotle bowls.As anxious as I was to film because I wanted everything to go perfectly.I felt relieved at the end that we had finally accomplished one of the biggest parts.

Now on to editing........

Foley Sounds

 

Foley Sounds are sound effects that are added in post production in our film opening adding foley sounds is essential to enhance our entire opening.Having the most realistic sound can make the viewer more drawn to the film.

For our film opening we specifically needed to add foley sounds and layer our sound for our first scene based in town center where several sounds are used.The sounds of chatter in the background, birds, footsteps, and our dialogue. With some of these sound effects we are not able to cohesively record them. Which is why using reliable sites can help make it the very most realistic.

I used https://artlist.io/collection/best-of-foley-2023/11422 to get the most realistic sounds. I then used I movie to edit the sounds together.Although, there are better editing sites I know how to work with I movie the most especially when it comes to sounds, since I have some previous experience from the past.

I carefully adjusted all of the sounds we weren't able to record and after what felt like 7 hours of work. I successfully did it!

Scene development

Scene development  

 In this blog post I want to dive into the development of our scenes!

  

Scene 1: Town Center – The Calm Before the Storm (opening scene) 

  

A golden light scheme that completes the town center with its warm hues lightens the place. Slightly busy foot traffic of people conducting their daily diligence's. Two teen students walk next to each other as their footsteps carried through the refreshing day air. Sounds like birds chirping can be heard, footsteps, and the clear dialogue of two teenagers can be heard. 

  

Since childhood, Alessandra and Davis have both looked forward to this day. The response from the University of Miami has remained their goal for as long as they can remember. They regarded the school admission process not just as their future dream but worked their entire life around it constantly having dedicated studying sessions. 

  

Davis spoke in a mixed voice of excitement and nervousness as he shared his disbelief that the day would soon arrive. He made a movement with hands to minimize the shaking sensation due to nervousness. We have been waiting for this moment forever as far as we are concerned. 

  

Alessandra looked at him and her eyes showed both enthusiasm and a ton of unsettled emotions. “I know. Fast forward to this moment where it seems unreal to us both since we started dreaming about admission only to find ourselves one day before receiving our admissions letter.   

 

Both of us spent endless time dedicating ourselves to achieving this”. According to him their chances of secure admission were a yes or yes. Davis’s hopeful voice helped slightly but his eyes gave away a slight moment of hesitation. 

  

“Of course. We have done everything we could. Alessandra spoke with determination but inside she felt the unknown fear about their acceptance decision. Tomorrow would change everything. For better or worse. 

  

   

Scene 2: David’s Room – The Decision 

  

Both characters faced a long evening while anticipating the big moment that would finally come. The admission decision letters arrived through email announcing a change in the application. That night, the news was dying to reveal the life-changing answer about whether they would be accepted.  

They both sat on the bed with their laptops as they waited for the anticipating news. Her heart raced in her chest. From this position beside her on the bed Davis tried to calm his nerves by stroking his hair with his hands.  

Calmly Alessandra spoke those words to hide her shaky tone. The moment has arrived for us to read the admissions letters at the same time “Let us do it side by side.”  

Davis gave a nod to the letter while showing signs of deep anticipation through his pale complexion. “Yeah, together.” 

Alessandra made her decision where she kept her breath locked and revealed the letter. Her eyes scanned the words. Then, a wide smile spread across her face. 

As she looked over, she could tell by David's facial expression that he had not entered. She quickly logged off the page before he could notice and made it look as if she hadn't received her decision.  

The chills ran through her body, and she tried making Davis feel better. She also told him, that she had not received her decision and that something was wrong with her computer. With complete sadness in Davis face he stated that he was going to go tell his parents. Alessandra nodded her head and as he left the room her face flooded with guilt.