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Showing posts from March, 2023

Production Blog: Film Review

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We have finished our short film! I am so excited to say that my group and I have successfully accomplished this task. We have worked so hard and it feels surreal that we have actually made it to the end. I really feel that my group has come a long way and we have supported each other throughout the progression of the production of this film. Lili, Aleiah, Hannah, and I have become closer as a result and we will continue to work together on projects similar to this. They are really kind and patient with me and the others. I feel so relieved that we have completed this project the way that I had envisioned it from the start. I couldn't be more excited to show others the movie and see what they think. So that is what I did. I showed my friends and asked for their opinions on it. The first person that I asked was a close friend of mine. She said that it was a great short film, but she felt it needed a bit of improvement on the sound. She said that the scripts were perfect but it was mi

Production Blog: Night Out

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My group and I have one filming day left to complete our short film. We completed our project this day with a night scene. Due to the fact that we had not reached the time demand, we had to film extra clips while also not making our video clumpy. This night was really fun, because not only did we get to film, but we also were able to hang out as a group. We went out early before the sunset. This way we could prepare a little before it started to become darker. Throughout this time, I planned where the scene was exactly going to take place. Also, we got ice cream while waiting until the perfect timing. Then, the time finally came. We went out the the perfect spot to film the mysterious scene of Rachel. We took a couple of tries trying to get the perfect angles and movements. However, I was a bit worried since I knew that it would get dark pretty soon. Eventually, Rachel and Chloe did the PERFECT moves and said the exact words that went with the dark, creepy ambience. Furthermore, we wen

Production Blog: Final Touches

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Our short film is coming to an end. We have done so well as a group. I believe this may be one of our best films. However, we still have much to progress on. There are some final touches that still have to be done. We are editing everything together and have realized that we will need a scene or two more to complete our task exquisitely. We have passed the four-minute mark but have yet to get to 5 minutes. Therefore, we have agreed to meet up tomorrow and get a few more shots in. These may be action shots or pan shots. All of this will add to the effect of mystery, which in total will be better for our film. Furthermore, my group and I have decided to edit our scenes a bit more. We have included transitions in between to make the movie flow. I decided on adding a filter to some of the scenes, because they were too bright and our short film is supposed to give a more thriller effect. The mystery is what grabs the attention of the viewer. I hope to entertain our audience, as well as keep

Production Blog: Editing Sound

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My group and I have had to make many changes to the way we produced sound in our films. I found that the sound last year for our films were decent but I feel we can make it slightly better. We found it in one of our previous projects that we used voiceovers that sounded horrible. The sound did not go with the movement of our lips and made the film look tacky. Therefore, I gave the idea to my group mates to try to use Air Pods for better grasp of the voice during filming. This method extremely improved the sound in our film. My group and I would listen to the audio without the Air Pods in order to make sure it sounded better with than without. I feel it greatly enhanced the quality of my short film. I will continue to use this whenever I have a film to produce. To continue, my group and I have not thought a lot about the music but  as we continue to discuss it we realized we do not want copyrighted sound. Instead, we are choosing to use ambient sound where it’s just background noise. We

Production Blog: Practicing My Editing Skills

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I am glad to say that my group and I are soon to be on the editing stage of our production period. I have much experience editing from last year. I hope to see my progress and development in this class through my editing skills. Lili was the first person to introduce us to CapCut. It was the best app ever to edit our scene together and adjust anything we desired. I love editing since you can literally fix any errors and make the film spectacular. Last year, with the three projects that we had, I saw improvements with each one throughout the year. I definitely feel that our last film last year was the best editing wise. Now with this bigger assignment, I want to show those skills even more and impress the audience. With CapCut, I hope to accomplish these goals and persevere in media studies. Additionally,  I have been practicing on my techniques outside of the classroom. When I go out to travel, I experiment with various shots and angles depending on the view. Also, I have tried differe

Production Blog: Deciding the Next Filming Date

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My group has had difficulties deciding a free day where we are all free to film. However, we are dedicated to filming on Thursday to finally finish our film. Something that worries me is not having enough scenes to complete the entire 5 minutes. I am hoping to edit some of the scenes together to see how much time it has made up. Then with this information we could film additional scenes on Thursday, if needed. I feel it is the best choice to make collectively with my group mates the ensure we will appropriately complete this task. On Thursday, we will be filming the coffee shop scene with the friends where it will be Aleiah, Lili, and I. Chloe (Lili) will announce her suspicions to her friends where she will say that she has noticed that someone has been following her. The friends will react and help her come up with a plan. Additionally, the final scene we will need to film, which will also be the final scene in the short film, is the attacking part. This is the most exciting and thri

Production Blog: Attempting the Third Day of Filming

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It has been a bit rough for my group to find another day where we can film. Each person in my group has entirely different schedules from each other, so it's hard to find a free date for all of us. To be completely honest, it's been hectic. However, my group has strong people in it where we will all find a way out of this pit hole. Aleiah and I won't be able to film this Friday, but Lili and Hannah can. Therefore, since they are the most seen in the movie, it would be best if they filmed without us. They agreed and will be filming alone together just one scene to get this show on the road. The one thing that worries me is that since the filming was all shot on my phone, will it come out with a different quality of image? My phone is different from my other groupmates so it's risky, but I think it will work. We tried it out on two of our phones comparing it to mine and it seems similar with very small differences. To use a phone as similar to mine, Lili’s friend is going

Production Blog: Getting Closer!

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My group has really impressed me by how much we've grown. They have all understood each other when problems pop up out of nowhere. We all understand that we can't all film on the same days and we must find arrangements to fit all the needs of this film. I'm glad that I have this group because we are all very responsible and know when it is time to get our stuff together. We keep up with our film and know what each of our roles are. Although we were falling behind in the beginning, we are picking up the pace with the support of each other. I would guess that we have to meet up two more short times or one long day of filming to complete the recording part. One thing that has happened for the past two filming days is that my group and I keep forgetting to take out the props that we had bought from my car. I will have to remember to bring it again next time we meet for that scene where we will need those props. I think we will need to meet up soon but many of us, including myse

Production Blog: Second Day of Filming

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My team did it! We found a date where we could all go even if it was for a short amount of time. Lili had a babysitting job at 5 p.m., so my group really had to hurry. At the same time, it still had to be good and not looked rushed because it would show in the film. To begin, there were some troubles with transportation. After school, Lili and I expected our entire group to go together in my car to Lili's house and make it easier and faster for everyone. However, when the bell had rung to leave school Hannah left with her mom and Aleiah with her sister. Lili and I continued with our plans and went to eat something before going to film. Then, Aleiah and Hannah let us know that they were going on their own. So, Lili and I made a quick stop at McDonald's and coincidentally, Hannah and Aleiah had gone to a Chick-Fil-A right next to us. We found out afterwards when we saw each other again at Lili's house. Once we were all done eating, we got out of the car and went inside the ho

Production Blog: Overcoming Difficulties

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My group and I have worked hard so far to be able to produce our film in a timely manner. We have had many issues finding dates where we are all free. This became a big issue because there was no time throughout our week where we were all free. I was a bit stressed about it all because I wasn’t sure if we were going to have the sufficient amount of time to film and edit. However, I feel we are back on track now since we have a set date on Wednesday where we all arranged our plans to go to Lili’s house and film as much as we can. My group and I will be on a time crunch but it is necessary to film as quickly as possible to have time for any mistakes or last-minute checks. Furthermore, there were many difficulties with the places we picked for the setting of each scene. For example, with the original location we had planned for the Starbucks scene where the friends will be conversing seems to be giving us a bit of trouble. This is due to the fact that it will be very loud, therefore the s

Production Blog: First Day of Filming

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We had our first day of filming! I'm so excited to get this show on the road and it was really fun being able to start a new film since last year. It has been so long and I feel like I have really progressed with my filming skills and concepts. My crew is basically the same people where everyone from last year is still part of our production group. The only thing that changed is that Brianna (who was in my group last year) is no longer in our Media Studies group. However, Hannah, her twin sister, is in our group this year. I really enjoyed filming the first scenes to our short movie. I had a lot of fun and there were no arguments since my group is already confidential with one another. For this first day of filming, my group and I felt that it was best to buy all of our props and begin the most challenging scenes which included going to a restaurant near a bridge. There were many people passing by here at all times. My group had to stop filming many times until the paths were clear