Creative Critical Reflection

 CCR Part 1- Magazine

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

CCR Part 2- Directors Commentary

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

CCR Part 3- Podcast

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

CCR Part 4- Presentation

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

Final Brief

 Its finally here!!! Hope you enjoy our long awaited production called "The Secret" by Antonella, Maheen and Melanie!

Production: Editing Day 3

 Hey everyone! Today was our last and final day editing for our film and I will be telling you all about it. As we are wrapping up our film opening, we are so excited to release our final production piece!

Our primary focus today was building text boxes which were dimple and easy to create. We used these text boxes to highlight important things like the actors (Noel and Melanie), the director (Maheen), and the producer (Antonella). After we did this we weren’t able content because it made us realize how much progress we have actually made. 

In order to create a scarier effect, we put the title of our film right when the 3rd scene ends and making them red. This small effect makes a huge difference in conveying the horror element of the story. It increases the emotional effect and set the mood we were hoping to create.

To change the appearance of the text boxes, we used a fill tool so it could match the style of the film. Also, we decided to add a blurring effect called “Gaussian Blur.” We found this tool in the effects panel, and dragged it onto the scene to do this. This helped bring the opening into a finale and demonstrate the skills we have gained while learning about editing. 

As mentioned before, we took a few clips and changed the lighting to kale it “low-key” and spooky. Because of consecutive internet problems, this effect was used at a minimum. We are a bit disappointed that we couldn’t do enhanced lighting changes, we are still hopeful for a positive outcome of a film.

Reflection:

After consistently editing for a while, we realized Premiere Pro was a lot harder than we thought it was going to be. We started learning bout Premiere Prob by just playing with the tools which were very different than us actually having to apply the features. Given the difficulties we faced, we are happy about the way our film turned out. Stay tuned in because very soon we will be releasing our film!

Production: Editing Day 2

 Welcome back to another blog post! We continued our editing process today and I’ll be explaining the progress that we have been able to achieve.

Today we added the clips we filmed on the 3rd day of filming because when we started editing we hadn’t filmed the rest of it. This made us realize how much things we really have to get done to make sure this film is a success.

Music

Also, we added music to our movie, which was very important for our film. Since our final goal was to create a scary horror movie, we had to make sure the music appealed intensely to the viewer. Matching the timing of the film to our music took a considerable amount of time, but it was important at the end of the day, and made a huge difference on the film.

Issues:

When we met up to edit, we had to restart multiple times because of the poor Wi-Fi. This caused us to have a great dilemma and made it super time consuming. Because of this, we weren’t able to add lighting or credits and had to add an extra day of editing. We had to use YouTube as a guide when helping us with the project which made it a lot easier since we had access to tutorials, teaching us tips and new skills.

Reflection: 

By editing today I realized that there are a lot more stressors involved and problem solving skills need to be used to over come it. I came to see that even with little experience, there are accessible tools like YouTube that can be beneficial. This goes to show that even the small setbacks can be faced and overcame. 

Production: Editing Day 1

 Hi blog, welcome back! Recently my group met up to start editing and today I will be discussing the details.

For our first day we wanted to organize our videos and going over each clip deciding if we want to use it or not. We carefully went over each shot since we took multiple so we would be better safe than sorry. Since we wanted to make sure everything flowed it took a long time to make these decisions. It establishes the structure for each scene and although this may seem as something so simple, it way very time consuming. We also wanted to arrange the clips in the correct order so that we could plan out what needs heavy editing.

Next time we edit more, we want to focus on lighting, editing and enhancing the visual appeal of the film. Since our movie is a horror, changing the lighting will be essential to create the creepy mood we are trying to create. The low-key lighting will make the scene look more realistic and tense.

Reflection

By using my research to my advantage, my group and I learned that editing is a lot more than just adding sound effects to create the production. We came to realize that even just designating a day to choose what clips we want to use are essential to the film. Preparing ahead of time and spending time on the little things would do a lot to the professionalism of the film.

Production- Analyzing Day 2

 Welcome back, everyone! Now that we have wrapped up filming, we decided it was important to analyze our second day of filming, as we did the same for the first day. Since the costumes are the same as the first scene for Luna, we decided it wouldn't be necessary to incorporate her costume. However, we are introducing a new character (Thomas), so there are definitely more components that will be noted today.

Scene 2:

Our second scene was held at Luna's house. This is where the dialogue will begin and where the suspicious components will begin to be incorporated. Still, we want this scene to appear somewhat "normal" before Luna's life takes a turn of events.

Location:

(take pic of house)

This scene will take place in the entrance of Luna's house. We are hoping to paint a picture of Luna getting a package that she has been waiting for, but it is actually not what it seems it would be. As she is going inside the house, she can be seen visibly bothered by the message she received. The scene will be short and cut to the next scene right after.

Props:

As the film progresses, there will be two very important props that will affect Luna's decisions. One of the ones that will be slightly featured in the opening and first appears in the second scene is the package she has been waiting for. The second and the cause of a turn of events will be the note pasted on the package. These two will be the first highlights of suspense and fear factor shown in the movie. We are hoping that this takes the audience off guard and realizes that maybe Luna's life isn't as "normal" as it seems.

Since there are no new actors introduced, some elements will remain the same, like her outfit and her backpack. 

Scene 3:

In this scene, we are hoping to build up the most suspense in the audience and then leave them on a cliffhanger. We will use multiple devices to create suspense and will also introduce a new character (Thomas), who will redirect and create a new picture of the movie for the audience. 

Location:

The location in this scene is very important because it will be a conversation between Luna and Thomas over the phone. The catch to this is that although Luna can be seen at her local drink spot and Thomas can be seen inside a car, they're actually at the same place at the same time. By using context clues, the audience will be able to notice that the car Thomas is in is parked at the drink spot. We are hoping that this will get the audience nervous and then leave them wanting to figure out what comes next.

Props:

Throughout this scene, there will be no props that prominently stick out other than the previous note that is mentioned. As she is talking to Thomas on the phone, she will then realize that maybe she shouldn't confide in him after he mentions something that somewhat reflects on the note. This note will play a huge role in this film for the audience to form their assumptions.

Costume:

For the 3rd scene, we will be adding a new important character, Thomas. Like we did with Luna, we wanted him to seem like an ordinary teenage boy that the audience can relate to. Quickly, the audience will realize that despite how "ordinary" he seems, looks shouldn't be the only characteristics people should depict.

Thomas:

Thomas can be seen wearing a golf hat and baseball shirt, which makes him seem like just any other, athletic, popular teenage boy. We did this so that throughout the film, he would be seen as the "popular" kid who could never seem to be the person he really is. Although this wouldn't be revealed in the opening, these outfit choices are chosen statistically. We don't want him to seem suspicious until revealed that there is something off about him. These costume pieces are used to reveal that not everyone is who they seem to be.

Production- Finding Music for Scene 3

As we are figuring out the music for the last scene, we want to make sure it is almost the opposite of the first. Since our film is going to end on a cliffhanger, we wanted the music to be an immediate source of suspense. We want to do this so that the audience is left wanting to know what happens next and almost be blindsided by the way the movie begins.

Scene 2: 

Mirage by Hamlin Naeselius

Since we want this piece of music to be shorter than in the first scene, we want to make sure the beat drop is quick/ sudden. This song does just that exactly, and fully conveys the tone we are trying to do. We think this song appeals to the audience's fear and makes it even more suspenseful than it already is

Link:

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/9756e936-659d-4469-b589-022022ae3090/

Return by Everything.

When I heard this song, I really liked the suspenseful beat it has to it. The more we listened to it though, the more we realized that it was a little slower pace than we’d like. Since there isn’t that big of a beat drop, it doesn’t really enhance the information the scene just expressed. I think that a bigger beat drop would probably be more beneficial in making the audience feel tension.

Link:

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/aacedec4-7950-4f00-bcc5-3ef5f1d9ef3b/

The Curse by Belladonna Strings

When I heard this song, I liked the eerie mood it created. The beat was very suspenseful, but it didn’t really convey a high-stakes feeling. When we started creating the idea of this movie, we wanted the music after this scene to have a large beat drop. We want this beat drop to reflect the feeling of a heart dropping in an intense, suspenseful moment.

Link:

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/1a779f92-0d5d-4cc0-b98c-3b377eb004de/

Reflection:

After contemplating on multiple music options, we decided to choose… Mirage by Hamlin Naeselius. We think that the sudden beat drop works really well with the layout of our movie. Since we only want the song to be no longer than 10 seconds, the beat drop being right at the beginning is perfect. We can’t wait to incorporate this into our film opening.