CCRS

 First CCR: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/194VNzc8LCwCzetbJLy0PS6szBsPK5Tmt/view?usp=sharing

Second CCR:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-EmWeO9Z-7tBLKWe4DVc8HpsJ_N2Cdr-/view?usp=sharing

Film Opening

 https://youtu.be/CAfAQfCoVT4?feature=shared

Final day.

 Hey blog! So today is the last day of our project and I am so excited and glad with how it turned out. Eight weeks have flown by but now I feel so proud and relieved that we finished it. It feels like we climbed our way here and I am liking the mountain top. YAAAAAAAYYY

This whole process was a totally new experience that I throughly enjoyed from the making of the characters to the actual filming I loved it all. Seeing the progress as time went on was truly amazing and satisfying. There were a few arguments just on the timing of the project but now the crunch time is over and I can rewatch the opening again and again. I can’t wait for all my peers to see this and I really hope they enjoy! Lots of love, hard work, and talent was put into this so it’s a great feeling and I’m really going to miss creating and working on this day by day. Thankfully I am confident and proud of how it turned out and it feels like every single thing we have learned in our class has been put into this. I’m very grateful for this experience. Thank you for everything Mrs. Stoklosa! 

Writing the CCR

Inspiration

So I began my CCR as soon as I started watching the reference videos We watched in class. We took notes on what to do and not to do and I immediately knew how I was going to answer one of the questions, so I just wrote what I was gonna say in bullet points on the side. I also tried to find some past good CCR, but a lot of them have been deleted, and I wasn’t sure if I should pick any because they might’ve not scored as high. But anyway I began that moment in class.

Research

In my CCR I talk about The original trilogy of the Star Wars films, and how social media impacts the attention span of audiences. Since I am doing a an interview for my CCR‘s, I decided to keep the language colloquial, and the references that I make are the research part. I don’t directly quote, anything specific when talking about Star Wars because there isn’t a need since I am only discussing pivotal plot points. For the social media part, I reference TikTok specifically, but I don’t mention any reports because I don’t directly state data. Stating data would just feel unnatural in this setting and I thought it would be easier to just include it on screen. 

Planning it out

So tomorrow I will film with my father as the host. Planning out the script wasn’t too difficult because a talk show is a conversation that is question answer which is just great for this since we have to answer multiple questions. I plan to include a poster of Star Wars, an article cutout of the TikTok data and specific cuts and images of or OWN film from production and post production. I’d include things like this:

CCR Script #1

Script: 

Interviewer:

 Good evening ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our guest night. Isabel Rodarte! She is here with us tonight to discuss her upcoming film ‘ The Lost File’. 

Me: 

Hello everyone!

Interviewer: 

So tell us, what is your film about?

Me: 

Our story is about a boy who is sent anonymous files, and must work together with his long lost siblings to piece together his past, while fighting a certain villain in his near future. It sounds more complicated than it is.

Interviewer: 

haha Wow amazing! Tell us more about some genre conventions.

Me:

 So we chose to challenge a convention of the typical dystopian plot structure by starting in the middle of Doran’s story instead of the beginning, because he has amnesia, so he does not remember his distant past. We decided to start in the most pivotal point of the story, where the action begins so that the audience may relate to Doran in the way that he does not know what these files are, just like they don’t either. 

Interviewer:

Incredible, what are some other ways?

Me:

Well, we also decided to make the villain his biological mother, because: 1. she can get away with many unethical things in this world since her children are her property. 2. Because it makes the exposition more interesting and morally challenging. This is not often done, but the classic sci-fi films that are the original Star Wars trilogy do this effectively with Darth Vader, being Luke Skywalker’s father and Luke, not knowing that his whole life he was fighting against his father.

Interviewer:

Oh yes that plot twist was a cinematic historical event! So where does this story take place?

Me:

It takes place in 2050 and a dystopian world where children do all of the work and adults only supervise.

Interviewer:

How intriguing may I ask, where will we be able to watch?

Me:

Since target audience is young adults ages 14 to 20, we are distributing through YouTube and film festivals that part of the older target audience may be able to attend. In order to appeal audience, we included many cuts, and frame changes so that the audience stays engaged. For example, the longest frame is under 10 seconds because with apps like TikTok, people’s attention spans have been dramatically reduced. We also kept the cinematography simple so that it would be easy for them to understand. 

Interviewer:

Amazing! Let’s take a look at this preview we’ll be right back! 

Draft:

 

 

Editing audio

 All right, so as I said before, Victoria  and I are working on separate editing softwares (I’m using CapCut she’s using adobe). In the end, we are probably gonna end up using her draft, but I wanted to have my own draft in case of emergency or just to generally give her some ideas that I find. 

Trouble 

As I said, I was scared that something might get deleted or something like glitch on Adobe because it tends to be like that and as it turns out, Victoria’s draft deleted so she has to restart a little bit, but since I already have the structure of all the clips she can use that for reference. Thankfully she knows how to use all of the effects now that she tried it. But we’re still definitely rushing against the clock. 

In the meantime…

While, we have all the visual aspects of our film planned out and basically done the only thing left is the sound, which is something I was trying to figure out. 

For the dialogue it was sounding Too much like a voice recording so I found this effect on CapCut to make it sound more like it is in a recording, and Victoria is going to find something like that on Adobe.

The effect I found was called phonograph, and this is what it sounds like with it:

And without: 

Another thing I was focused on, is finding the music for the background office, which I searched on the YouTube music library, but then just searching for jazzy background music that was copyright free. When I started on the YouTube audio library I didn’t really find anything I liked until I found this: 

And this is what it sounds like on the film: 

I also sent this to Victoria and she’ll definitely do something similar it’s just for inspo! 

While I wait for her to respond I am going to work on my CCR! YAY

Editing office scene

 Okay so this next part is a little more rough because I’m not entirely sure how much of the office we want to show so it’s more like an outline right now. 

For this one I really haven’t used any effects or filters yet because I want to polish and establish the tone in the beginning first and then fix the lighting. Honestly the hardest part about this sequence is choosing which angle goes best where and how much time each clip should be. The first part of the opening evokes mystery and creates a tone but this part is more for contexts on where the siblings are now. 

I’m enjoying this process of editing a lot because I get to try many different styles and use different techniques. I also wanted to edit all of the visual aspects first (roughly) so that we know exactly what we need and what to add for the audio. I like to share these clips so that by the end we can see the progression of where it began and how it’ll eventually end… 

Creative Critical Reflection Ideas

So I’ve been thinking about how to answer some of these questions and I am going to do a talk show interview. The reasons for this are because:

1. I love talk shows

2. It’s a more natural way to give the explanation

3. It’s more visually engaging this way and it’ll help me not stare at the camera

I began to think about this in class when Mrs. Stoklosa was giving us some ideas during the lesson. I couldn’t help but think about the fun that Jimmy Fallon has interviewing his guests sometimes which are movie directors. One film director he has interviewed is Greta Gerwig: 

https://youtu.be/rbdSVbHyZ8I?si=Wnh-Uf7QLsIgT8aa 

In the interview they talk about things from her personal life to her work and make jokes and comments to keep the audience engaged. I really like how Jimmy Fallon seamlessly transports from one topic to another. When I am recording I will answer two questions in as much detail as possible and film from different angles and sides just how this show does. I also loved this idea because it can include different forms of media like photos of posters, sets, costumes and include video clips naturally making it easier to include various media forms and styles. It also makes this whole process feel like a real film with a premiere and a press tour. The editing for this video should also be fairly simple because it is mostly two people on the screen discussing with music in the background and a small microphone in front of them. In general, filming an interview where I can talk in depth about something I love that I put a lot of work into will be satisfying and exciting. The set I would use would be two sofas from my living room and a small table in front of the person who is interviewing me. AHHHH YAY. I am loving this whole process because I feel like I am learning so much. I know that all the hard work will pay off in the end so its a relaxing thing to know and to look forward to.

EDITING first part

 EDITINGG YAYAYAYAY

I can’t believe I’m already on editing but I’m excited to get it together. So first thing I did was pick the clips that we will for sure be using. 

Creative process

    This is the first very messy draft of the pre-credits and the most important part of our opening. So for this project my partner and I decided to try to edit of different apps to see which effects overlays and everything was better. Victoria is actually in New York this week because it is spring break so since she is far away she is editing on adobe and I am using CapCut. Another reason we decided on this is because if anything goes wrong on either site we have the other to rely on. Even though for this part we each have more creative freedom we are still in close contact sending each other ideas or just things we are missing. Since we cannot edit on a platform together doing it separately allows us to both find ideas and at least have something to work on while we are apart. Also that way one person doesn’t have to do all the editing alone. 

Tools

To make our story come alive we are going to add some effects to give the audience more context. 

Since we want to make it obvious that these are files and someone is watching them, we are gonna use a camera filter called recorder II to embrace that. Another reason we wanted this kind of overlay is so that the audience can read the nam of each character at the top and know who is who for the later scene as well. Another reason I love the camera overlay is because it sets the time period (even though it is a dystopia) and it signifies a difference in the year between Doran’s clips and the files.

To make the tone darker and to get rid of a blinding light I used a filter called warlock. I don’t think I am fully finished with the lighting but I appreciate the tone this filter gives. 

AHH it’s starting to come together and I couldn’t be more excited!

Filming Day 1!

YAYYYY today was actually very fun and I think we did a great job on time. 

COSTUMESSSSS

Ayden in her Fidelia costume

Sebastian in his Doran Costume

Victoria in her Miriam costume

    So thankfully, everyone showed up in their costumes that we had assigned them and they looked really great. The name tags were made by Victoria  and I brought the little clear things to put the names in. We really needed those name tags because that is the way the audience identifies, who is who from the younger file videos to the present. To make the younger siblings, look the same as the older siblings we drew some beauty marks on the older siblings to make them look like the younger ones. Specifically on Ayden. For the twins, to make Andrea look like a different person, we also drew a beauty mark on her and gave her glasses.

SET

    So, at first we were going to use the library when we began thinking of where to film, but we ended up being able to use this tax firm, which worked perfectly for the modern office look we were trying to go for. We did have to move some things out of the way in order to get specific shots but it wasn’t too hard. 

    On our second set, we were able to find a white wall where we could film the files in my house. This all pretty much went smoothly. The only issue we had was from the night before when we found out that Noah had broken her arm.

    Thankfully, all she had to do was stand and talk to a camera which she was safely able to do. Also, her doctors allowed her to take her bandage off for a little bit and since she doesn’t have a cast yet we were able to remove the bandage. 

CAMERA

The camera we used was rented out by Victoria and honestly worked very well. We changed the battery about three times, but it was very simple to figure out and to use. We use a tripod to make some steady shots and try out different angles when filming to see what worked better in the setting or what looked the best.

Overall, I’d say it was a pretty successful filming day. The biggest issue was transportation but thankfully, one of my friends can drive and the rest of us fit in my car. I was very lucky to work with a talented and dedicated cast and crew who had a great attitude today, even the little girls. I think the only thing I would’ve done differently was organized the transportation a little better because we had to wait at the office for my dad for an hour and we could’ve use that time to film instead but either way we finished all of it. It’s great to work with friends, who are hard-working because it makes the time go by a little faster and make it seem more like a hang out instead of work. Thank you to everyone who helped out today!!! 

Title Font

     Since we have finished most of our filming, I’ve decided to look for some fonts that we could use as the title in our opening. This is very important because it is shown in the first minute of the entire film, and it has to set the proper tone for what the film would be like. I went on the editing app I use and started looking for possible fonts, and effects that I would like the title to have. This was definitely more difficult than I thought it would be because I’m indecisive. Thankfully, I have a partner who can give a second opinion and help me out when I can’t decide. I have two options that I think could work, but one creates a darker tone than the other and I’m not sure if I love how rustic it looks.

This is the first font that I thought could possibly work, but I just feel like it’s too rustic for what we’re going for. I don’t know…

The second font that I found is this one:

    I think this one is definitely more what I saw on my head when I saw the title card but I don’t know if it’s too plain. I’m definitely gonna ask my partner her opinions on this but honestly I prefer this one. 

I feel like it just looks more modern and since it takes place in the future, it just makes sense.

    Another thing I added was a typing effect because I definitely want there to be one but again I am in between two effects.

One of them has a line at the end to make it seem like somebody is typing and the other doesn’t. I think the line makes it more obvious that someone is typing, so I probably will end up going with that one. The only thing I don’t like is the thickness of it, so if I really can’t find another one, I think this one would work perfectly fine too. 

Looking back and comparing both, I think one gives the tone of a rustic vintage typewriter, and the other gives a computer vibe which is what I’m going for since the film takes place in the not so distant future. I also want it to look like a computer because that’s the most important prop in our opening. 

    I’m also going to locate the text aligned to the left side because when you start typing on a computer it automatically starts typing on the left since we read left to right. I’m going to double check with my partner to see if she likes it but I like the tone that this text creates. The simplicity of it leaves room for mystery in the story, and there is a lot of unanswered questions that some characters have.