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.

Script First Draft

 Before beginning our script we wanted to make sure we were doing it right so I did a bit of research.

https://www.quora.com/When-filming-a-movie-are-scenes-shot-in-script-order-or-do-they-bounce-around-If-its-the-latter-is-it-harder-for-the-actors-to-maintain-continuity 

Black widow Transcript

I wanted to look at some samples before beginning it because I had some doubts on the structure and the placement of certain scenes in our film. The image on the left I used to answer a question I had on how the script should be ordered. The image on the right I used as a sample script to see how detailed the script had to be and how much information was too much. My partner Victoria helped me a lot with what descriptions to give in the paragraphs at the end.

We decided to begin our script on notes because when we had to transfer to the correct format we would be forced to review the entire thing again. We spent a lot of time preparing all the shots and angles before so that we would know the order and tone of each line of dialogue or the contexts of each scene. My partner Victoria and I were able to work on the entire thing together in person and in the end we were very happy with how it turned out becase while we were creating it we came up with some more interesting shots to do for the ending of the first scene. Our opening doesn’t use an excessive amount of dialogue because most of the story will be shown instead with Doran’s reactions and framing of specific actions. I am so excited to work with the cast soon and I am confident that we will finish most of the filming by this weekend! YAYYYY 

Character Analysis

The final characters are: Doran, Fidelia, Sage, Salvia, and Miriam

Doran 

Doran is age 17. He will be played by Sebastian Lotero. Doran is the first experiment which makes him number one. He is the guinea pig and learns to outsmart the system to survive and to escape. He eventually does escape but he forgets all of this when he is hurt and gets amnesia. He has a kind heart and a caring soul that came from his farther. He also has resilience and strength he doesn’t know he has yet. A character similar to him is Percy Jackson because he also did not know about his farther and is the leader that knows the least about everything.

Wardrobe: In the first scene he will wear a white shirt because only the upper part of his body is shown and because white symbolizes innocence and purity. During the office scene he will wear a white dress up shirt, very plain, and very basic because his adopted family cannot afford something more expensive.

 

Miriam

Miriam is age 16 in the office and 10 in the files. She will be play by Isabella Di Lauro and Victoria Di Lauro. Miriam is the second experiment and unlike Doran she does not escape. Instead, she is confined even more than Doran was and has rougher experiments on her because after Doran escaped the company wanted to make sure she wouldn’t either. She’s angry at the world and is aggressive, but overly protective of her family and the people she cares about. To me she is like Annabeth in Percy Jackson because she should be the real leader, but knows that Doran has to be the leader. 

Wardrobe: in the files, she will wear her white to illustrate her purity before being tested on. Later in the office scene, she will be wearing a black coat with a maroon shirt on underneath. Her dark color scheme represents her strength, determination and impact. The dark red represents her rebelliousness and bold  personality.

Sage and Salvia

Sage and Sylvia are twins that only appear in the files at age 9. They will be played by Andrea Bolaños. They are the third and fourth experiments That are wise and all knowing and brave.They do not appear in the office scene Because they’re simply not involved in what is happening. They are the in between character the neutrals and don’t really fall to either extreme. 

Wardrobe: Their wardrobe is just white again, for the same reasons as the others, and because they’re only in the files. 

Fidelia

Fidelia is age 14 in the office and age 8 in the files. She will be played by Noah Oshins and Ayden Oshins. Fidelia is immensely loyal to all her older siblings because she is the youngest. She’s Also, the comedic relief because she’s always trying to get the approval of her siblings in that way. When anyone needs to be protected it’s her. 

Wardrobe: in the files just like her other siblings, she will also wear white. In the office, she will wear blue under her white coat, because blue represents loyalty and faith. White represents youthfulness and purity. 

Final Filming schedule

Filming 

This Sunday we will begin our filming at 10 AM. We were originally going to film over this past weekend, but there were few complications in peoples personal life. BUT We have told everyone to block off this Sunday because we will begin filming in the office at 10 in the morning. By 2 o’clock We will leave the office and film the entire files scene at my house. AHHH I’m excited.

Props

To make the scene, even more believable that the characters are in an office, we will bring files with papers in them and coffee mugs to make them look like they’ve been working for a while. The office is pretty empty in the scene, but these little things could help elevate the realness of it. We will also bring a computer that Doran will be working on.

Set

Victoria found this amazing office that we can film in on Sunday. Honestly I do not know how she did it but it looks perfect for our project. She’s also going to rent out a camera that we will use over this weekend to film. We are only able to film this Sunday because that is the only day we can use this office.

The rest of the film will be shot at my house in my living room office. My dad has a setup that look like a mini office while still looking like a room that we could use as Doran’s room. The files will also be shot at my house, and to make it look like a white room. We are going to film against a white wall and put a white bedsheet on the floor. If this doesn’t look good, we might just use paper. 

Im so excited!!!!! All of our actors have agreed to do it and blocked off the day. 

Second part of the Storyboard

    My storyboard is not the best I know I just don’t know how to draw from angles, but I will explain. In the first little box, we can see Doran at the center in a medium wide shot. He’s just doing his work and minding his business. In the next little box, which is a two shot, Fidelia is being silly and trying to make Miriam laugh. Fidelia is being loud and reckless, which annoys Miriam, so she hits her. This interaction is filmed from different angles, specifically from unnatural angles to make it seem like they are always being watched. Like a POV shot from the mug, the papers and even the computer. Doren sees this interaction and starts to think. While Miriam and Fidelia keep arguing he remembers a memory that their interaction triggered in his brain. Faint blurry flashbacks are seen after because this is the inside of Doran’s mind and the first time he remember before the age of 12. Beth is in one of the flashbacks in a low angle shot to show her power over him. The others are medium wide shots of Doran running a bit before his accident. It is an abrupt ending to the opening because we didn’t want to make it feel concluded. 

Storyboard Draft

     I decided to do a rough draft of the storyboard by myself first so that when my partner and I meet again we have somewhere to go from and not start from scratch. 

    As you can see I am not the greatest at drawing but if I explain it’ll make more sense. The first shot is a shot of a young girl, Fidelia, sitting down looking up at her villainous mother, Beth, basically answering questions she is asking. All of the shots where the girls are sitting are identical only difference is the child. All of the closeups of Doran are to show his expressions and reactions to the mysterious videos he is watching. Once Doran starts watching Miriam’s files the camera will zoom out and cut to reveal more of Doran’s face then cut to a Dutch angle of him while the music crescendos. The title will pop up saying ‘the Lost file’.

The reason for the specific angles that are high angles are because the little kids are in a vulnerable position and that angle hints that without giving too much away yet. Doran’s closeups also do not give too much away while still showing his expressions implying that whatever is happening can’t be good. The Dutch angle at the end of the scene really emphasizes the ominous tone of this scene. 

If I was working by myself I would continue but I want to discuss with my partner in depth when we meet in person again. 

After we meet tomorrow I’ll post the second part :) YAY

 

Shot list

     Okay so I’m going to put the shot list in order of how we’re gonna film and then I’ll explain what might be confusing.

Scene 1 Part 1: All in same exact house setting

Shot 1: medium high angle shot of Fidelia

Shot 2: medium high angle shot of Sage same as Fidelia

Shot 3: medium high angle shot of Miriam same as Sage

Scene 1 Part 2: Next house setting

Shot 1: Extreme Closeup shot of Doran’s eyes reflecting of screen

Shot 2: Extreme Closeup shot of Doran’s lips

Shot 3: Closeup shot of Doran’s face reacting

Shot 4: Slow zoom into computer screen

Shot 5: Dutch angle shot of doran reacting

Shot 6: Medium closeup shot of Doran reacting camera behind computer screen

Scene 2: Office

Shot 1: Establishing shot of workplace

Shot 2: Medium shot Doran is center

Shot 3: Two shot of coworkers talking

Shot 4: Medium High angle shot of Doran seeing this in between coworkers which are blurred

Shot 5: Side profile closeup of Doran thinking 

Scene 3: Flashbacks (outside)

Shot 1: Low angle shot of Beth

Shot 2: Blurred shot of Doran running

Shot 3: Young Doran standing speaking

For this scene a lot of audio will give more context

The shot list is very out of order of how the story will be shown. The First scene has two parts, because they are put together in the same scene. This is because Doran is watching the videos of scene 1: part one.