Second Group Meeting...

  Monday, March 27, 2023

Hey guys,

Today I met with a new group of students to collaborate and discuss more where we are with our projects. We were able to share where we are with our groups and ask each other any questions as this is the last week for us to work on our projects and finalize everything. I truly felt the two group meetings I have had with different classmates have given me the ability to ask anything I was unsure about and have honestly prevented me from running into more problems as I was able to use other students' feedback to help guide me along the way. 

Mya, Nico, Taylor, and Miguel were able to all pitch in and answer my questions about the CCRs requirements which I will be working on this entire week and over the weekend. I still was unsure of the requirements of it since I missed that unit when it was taught by our teacher, so I needed some clarification on specific things to prevent missing any important information and to prevent running into additional issues. 

Of course, it is realistic to say that every group had its struggles and ran into a few obstacles. It would not make sense to say the project flowed perfectly. Since my partner and I did run into a few obstacles throughout the entirety of the 8 weeks working on the project, and had some trouble meeting up to edit together, it was a bit delayed, however, we were able to work over the weekend to pretty much finalize everything and to work individually doing the best we can on opposite sides of the project. The only thing left to do is include the credits such as director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, and major acts which were one of the questions I had asked my group today during our meeting to ensure I do not leave any key things out.

In order to really combat struggles when working on a lengthy project, communication is key. Without the patience my partner and I had with each other, we would not have been able to finish this project. We both have very busy lives and so many different responsibilities, but as a group and with communication we were able to adjust our schedules to be able to work things out and combat the obstacles together, as a team.

Thankfully, we just have to edit the credits to our project opening and work on our CCR and then we could finally say we are finished!!

1 week left

Stay tuned...

The Struggle Is Real...

 Sunday, March 26, 2023

Hey guys, 

Today my partner and I pretty much finished editing the entire film opening!! It was a long process but now that we figured out how to overcome obstacles and used google to help us navigate through Premiere Pro, we were able to do it and figure out how to fix our mistakes!! We only made about 65 mistakes, but that's okay! It is a part of the process and it was really fun to be able to edit together and figure this out as a team.

So we began by editing the clips, finalizing the order, and adjusting the speed to some of them as some went by way too quickly and others were way too slow. When we did that, we um... accidentally deleted the entire project which was in one word scary! We released it on auto-save thankfully and were able to access the project. Scariest 5 minutes of our lives...

For example, the shot below when Carinne (me) was opening the closet door was too quick at a speed of 100% so we edited it to 80% to make it a tiny bit slower. 

We realized that some of the sounds we made when filming just were out of place and did not sound right so we went on google and decided to look up royalty-free sounds to prevent using any sounds that were protected or not able for public use. See below :) We added in sounds such as heartbeats, footsteps, and opening and closing doors.

Additionally, we layered several sounds to ensure that the flow of the project and the sounds were synchronized and were all edited to make sense with each movement and clip we inserted into the film.

Through Canva, we have been trying to find the best font to match the theme of our film. We came up with the film name "American Nightmare" !! We felt it makes the most sense since Carinne is having a nightmare in the opening and since she was coming from another country as an exchange student, we felt it made the most sense!!

Here are some more photos from today :)))

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We are working on the portion of the credits now...

Saturday...

 Saturday, March 25, 2023

Hey guys, 

I just got back from touring some schools so it has been a pretty crazy week. This post is going to be short and sweet and in tomorrow's post, I am going to walk you guys through the entire editing process and exactly what my partner and I did and how we approached it. It took a long time to arrange all of the footage into one clip and move clips around to flow throughout the opening. 

Now, we have to cut down some of the clips to make them less lengthy and long which will help us ensure we meet the requirement of the necessary length required for our assigned opening. The video will be done being edited tomorrow and then my partner and I are going to do our CCR this week!!

Since the footage was all over the place, we put them in the order that matched our storyboard and now we will trim them tomorrow and add effects/soundtracks to create a sense of horror and fear in our target audience. Thankfully, everything was sorted out we now are ready to finish this project and begin the other portion of our project :))

 We will have everything turned in by April 3 and since my partner and I filmed early we truly were able to have a lot of time to edit and plan. Anyways, tomorrow's post will be lengthy and will contain a lot of awesome information, so stay tuned for that. See you guys bright and early tomorrow!!

Editing Day One

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Hey guys, 

Happy Spring Break!! This week Sydney and I officially began our editing process!! I wanted to blog everything yesterday but we were really focused and had to really get as much as we could do in the spam of the 2 hours we had available yesterday together. Since it is the week of spring break and we both either have family in town or errands to run, we did the most we could yesterday. Continue reading!!

Sydney and I looked through all of the footage in the folder that we made, the folder I talked about in my previous blog posts on google drive. We ended up using Adobe Premiere! After the research, I had conducted and the time I spent trying to learn, I was able to finally do something with what I learned!! Yayyy. It took forever to put all of the clips in order on premiere pro because we wanted to ensure the clips went in the proper order of the story so that when viewers watched it they would have an idea of what they were watching and that they would become more invested in our opening. 

Below are a few screenshots of us editing our shots into Adobe Premiere Pro !! We dissected all of the footage and since we had duplicates for certain shots we chose the one that set a better tone and felt like it was in the right place. We ensured that if there were any shots we were missing, that we noted it so that we wouldn't miss important parts of the opening but the good news is that we had pretty much everything we needed to do it!!

Overall, my next post is going to be a bit more detailed with the effects we edited, and the sounds we incorporated but that was day 1 of editing with the time we had... 

Stay tuned...

Blog post for today...

 Sunday, March 19, 2023

Hey guys, 

Tomorrow is the day my partner Sydney and I are going to edit! We are going to begin editing at 11:00 am and I will be driving over there. I did some research on Adobe After Effects which will possibly be what Sydney and I will use tomorrow. 

Adobe After Effects is an editing software that allows people that are in the post-film production process to create digital effects and motion graphics. I learned that there is a free 7-day trial which would be great so we can test it out to see if we like it and in the future if I take some film courses in college I can subscribe and use it more often!

Aside from being able to create digital effects with its motion graphics, I am able to create 2D and 3D animations while importing pieces of physical media into my animations which is really really cool. Honestly, if it weren't for this project or taking Media studies I would probably have no idea at all what to do or what any of this is. So, I am so excited for tomorrow to finally be able to utilize this software and experience what it's like to actually edit what we produced.

I know this post is short and sweet and this week was a bit too chaotic, but next week most of the project will be completed as we will hopefully finish editing in the next 3 days!!

Stay tuned...

Creative business solutions | adobe creative cloud for teams. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/business/teams.html

Little obstacle...

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Hey guys, 

    So there was a bit of a change in our schedule. We encountered an obstacle, and that was finding time to edit during the last week of the quarter before it ended which was very difficult. On Top of several exams, assignments, and projects to have our grades finalized, we did not have any time to really edit throughout that week.  We have not been able to edit at all this week due to the amount of work we had to finish up and because Sydney was away for the entirety of the week,  and I wanted to wait for her since she has a bit more knowledge of how to help edit the project.

     With that being said, we are editing officially on Monday since Sydney will be back home by then and we are on spring break so we have so much time on our hands to make this project the best it could possibly be. The plan is still set on editing at her house and spending a few hours doing as much as possible as I leave out of town on the 22nd at night so we may even edit that day during the daytime before I leave. However, when I get back on the 25th, I will be able to work more on the project and we will be so close to the due date so we will be working on our CCR during that period after we edited our video together !! 

    Anyways, this blog post was short and sweet, but I just wanted to update you guys and let you know we are still excited about finishing up our project. 

    I will fill you guys in on Monday when I begin the editing process with Sydney we are so excited!!

    Stay tuned...

The Week Before Spring Break!

Monday, March 13, 2023

Hey guys, 

Happy Monday! Here is the schedule for this week and how we both plan to approach our editing process. It is subject to change as it is the last week before spring break and it is pretty hectic because the quarter is about to end and grades are being finalized as we speak! So, if it does change then I will be sure to let you all know what changed and an explanation of how my partner and I combatted it. 

Tuesday-I plan to go over to Sydney's house tomorrow after school to begin to edit. We are both planning to go on Adobe Premiere and begin to start cutting some parts of the shots to make it flow and go in best. By organizing our shots in the folder, we are quickly able to access them and begin inputting them into our video. We will put them in the correct order and begin working on the sound component of the video. We are probably only going to edit the first few shots of the scene and truly spread it out as much as possible so that we can do it with thoughtfulness and use a lot of time. With that being that, I will walk you all through it tomorrow in my next posts!

Wednesday-Sunday- Sydney will be away so we will not be able to meet but depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow, I will do what I have to do from my end so that by the time Sydney and I meet on Monday next week (our spring break) we will be able to edit more and do what we have to do. We will continue to meet in person together and edit different portions of the video. Since we both have a very busy week, we are going to probably spend about 1 hour or 2 hours each time we meet working on a particular part of the video so that each time we meet, we will have more parts of it completed.

We plan to document the entire editing process each time we meet, and I will ensure to let you guys know exactly how we edit starting tomorrow! Sydney and I are so excited to finally be able to begin to edit and put our film together and we are more thrilled that we can take you guys along every step of the way!!

Stay tuned... this week is going to be fun!!

Planning ahead...

 Sunday, March 12, 2023

Hey guys, 

On Tuesday, March 14, Sydney and I plan to meet to begin editing. Since last week, I gathered all of the shots captured on the day we filmed, and put them into a google file we will be able to begin to edit through there. We plan to edit our film on Adobe Premiere however, I am still not familiar with it so today I plan to watch a few youtube videos on how to navigate through it so that when Sydney and I edit, we can do it better.

I took matters into my own hands and went on youtube to figure out how to use this platform. I came across a youtube account, called  Think Media with over 2 million subscribers that have videos designed for beginners like me that want to learn more about how to navigate more advanced platforms and how to edit videos in the best ways possible. I subscribed and I am going to begin to watch their videos today so that this week when my partner and I begin to edit, I will actually know what I am doing!

This weekend I was brainstorming some soundtracks that I felt would really go well with our film. Since we are creating a horror opening, I wanted something that will evoke a sense of fear in the audience. So, I thought about specific films that I had watched in the past and which ones scared me the most. One of those films in fact was Halloween or The Nightmare on Elm Street. We want to look into having a few slasher movie soundtracks. At the beginning of the school year, we did an analysis essay on the film Psycho which I felt really created suspense and curiosity since our idea is similar to that film with the assailant being covered by the audience, maybe we can incorporate sounds similar to that one.

Professional Video Editing Software | Adobe Premiere Pro. https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html.“A Nightmare on Elm Street.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/mediaindex“Psycho: Classic Horror Movies Posters, Classic Horror Movies, Horror Movie Posters.” Pinterest, 18 Jan. 2014, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/281475045434815394/.

      Professional Video Editing Software | Adobe Premiere Pro. https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html.

Creative Critical Reflection Lesson...

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Hey guys,

So last week I was absent on the day of the Creative Critical Reflection lesson that my teacher taught, so I was able to ask my partner Sydney to fill me in on important information about it and I took some notes that I think would really help me for the project.

Here is what I learned and some key takeaways that will help me approach this part of the project:

• reflect on the full project process (planning, production, filming)
• respond to 4 questions thoughtfully
• unique approach
• visuals are helpful in guiding you
• use a script!!
• citations can be directly in the video or scroll at the end
• pictures of the product can be in CCR
• 7 mins are the best
• Be specific/concise and precise 
• Ideas

Approach it in 4 different questions

1. GENRE!!! In this case, the horror genre discusses typical characteristics, why we chose Carinne (a woman) what was our point? VISUALS!!

2.How does the horror genre engage with audiences- realistic.. festivals for horrors (Halloween Horror Nights etc)

3.Production skills develop throughout the project... begin with research and planning// obstacles// how we adapted 

4.Techniques, software, (camera, microphones, ) BECON TV

Software-Planning tools, editing tools, filters

Online-Canva Blogger 

How-obstacles and how we came together to overcome and create this project with them

Great tips I learned that I will incorporate into my CCR when I create it!! 

Returning the equipment...

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Hey guys, 

So yesterday I picked up all the equipment from Sydney's house and today I will be returning it all back to the studio located in Davie, Florida. I never thought that we could borrow equipment free of charge and was so grateful that people gave students like me that needed it for this project, such an amazing opportunity to work with the equipment I never even knew existed before. 

It was a really cool experience to work with the camera and even the (shotgun stabilizer) in other words, a sound stabilizer stick which really allowed for the sound to go from a quality of five to ten in a matter of seconds which was very interesting.

For the remainder of this week, Sydney and I are going to be working on finalizing the clips we plan to edit into our film and begin editing hopefully by this weekend or by Monday of next week! We are going to look through all the google drive downloads that we downloaded onto our drive and cut certain shots that were longer than others so that we can incorporate them more easily.

Today, I spent about an hour going through all the shots and attempting to find the ones that fit best and produce the best effect. I moved it into a new folder and labeled it "Shots" as seen above to add all the new shots in there. 

There were quite a ton of shots and bloopers that we needed to get rid of to find the best shots possible. I shared the new folder with Sydney and we plan to go over to each other's house on Monday of next week to begin to edit our film!!  I really am so excited to put the film together and edit it with my partner. We hope that it will turn out amazing and that everyone will enjoy it. In the meantime, I am going to go look into some sounds I feel would set the tone of our film.

Stay tuned...

Behind the scenes...

   

 Sunday, March 5, 2023

Hey guys, 

    Sydney and I filmed our project yesterday together! We were on a bit of a time restraint but it overall went amazing and we were able to create our film. We still have to look through the footage and may need to create a few more shots to ensure the audience understands the point behind our film, but we were able to download all of the footage onto a google drive and will be returning the equipment this week either Wednesday or Thursday! 

    We pretty much followed along with our storyboard however, we did have to change up a few things due to our budget. Since we did not have a picture frame that we could shatter as a symbolic representation of the poor relationship Carinne has with her mother, we instead showed a shot of a message coming from her mother on her phone. Both were meant to serve the same purpose, but we may go to the store and try to purchase an affordable frame if needed once we begin to edit our film.  

    The good news is that we were able to utilize the dorm and dorm hallway for our film without any issues and the location really went well with our film. We still have to go through and find the best shots that we can use throughout our opening, and still edit which will take some time so we can make it as best as possible but as of now let me show you some behind-the-scenes!!

    This is my friend Ashley and she acted as the "mysterious killer" in the film. She wore the mask that Sydney painted to be completely masked and create a sense of curiosity in the audience. The black clothing creates a sense of suspense and horror.

    This show is a behind-the-scenes shot of Carinne (me) asleep and taking a nap and then the next shot below is what happens right after.

    This is the behind-the-scenes shot of Carinne (me) in this case, waking up from her nightmare frantically and in a panic.  This shot was captured to show that Carinne just experienced a nightmare and woke up in utter shock after what she just dreamed about...

    Here is some of the equipment we rented out!! The camera, the lighting, and the sound tool help the sound quality come out. It was a bit difficult to take more behind-the-scenes shots because we were limited on time and only had one person with us that was also acting in the film, but we did our best and there is so much more to come!! Anyways, this week is going to be filled with editing and planning more and more.

Stay tuned !!

Film Day!!

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Hey guys, 

    Happy Saturday!! Today is film day... I am meeting my partner Sydney at the University of Miami campus today at around 4:00 pm! We are going to film at the Mahoney-Pearson dorms where her sister lives.

    This week was a very busy week but throughout the last few days, my partner and I decided to reach out through Instagram direct message, to a local organization that allows students to borrow equipment free of no charge. At first, we were thinking about just filming without iPhones, but then we realized we wanted to make the film as best as possible with the best quality we could possibly produce, so we reached out to borrow some equipment and Sydney picked it up! This makes it easier for both of us to be able to communicate and coordinate when and who will pick up and return the equipment so we do not get too overwhelmed. 

    I will be returning the equipment probably by Wednesday next week back to the organization that allowed us to borrow their equipment. Below is an attachment of the conversation we had with the company through social media.

     Sydney designed the mask for the killer and painted it all by herself!! She did an amazing job and this will create suspense and curiosity in the audience we are targeting in our horror film opening. I got all of the other mise-en-scene elements ready and will be heading to the university in about 2 hours!! 

Stay tuned...