Scheduling

 

Due to spring break, it messed up part of our editing schedule. I was still able to put in the clips, as mentioned in my previous post, but more work must be done. I want to try to finish it next week, probably by at least Thursday, as the CCR still needs to be completed. 

This is a shorter post, but it will clear up why our pace has slowed. Spring break, end of quarter, all of that got in the way of actually finishing it up. But with communication on both ends, we plan to finish it soon. 

I am still playing around on the software, Adobe Premiere Pro, testing out filters and effects. I am weary to put it on the actual project, so I used a few clips from the footage and put that into a separate project. 

Leaving the two-week window for editing in our original schedule really helped. By getting our filming done early, we could compensate for any lost time due to the break. This really helped our project, as we can still be on track even though we went through the difficulties of our schedule conflicts.

Editing!!

 This week my partner and I got to editing. With her leaving on Tuesday, we had to crunch time. I had already uploaded the footage to a google drive and sorted out what we liked and didn’t like.

We still kept the extra footage, just in case we needed it for later. But the footage we liked? Put in a separate drive. This made it easier to download when we had to upload to Abode Premiere Pro. I cleared up some room on my PC so space would not be an issue for downloading the Adobe software that our school is allowing us to use! 

If I didn’t have Adobe, we would have edited on something simple like CapCut. 

Anyways, we put the footage in, which sadly was all out of order. We kept checking our storyboard to see the sequences we filmed and made. We did not bother cutting down anything just yet, just sorting out everything once again.

This is where we currently what we have:

Little Update

 Saturday, March 18, 2023

So haven’t posted in a bit, huh? 

This week has been… a lot to say the least. I had a really bad start to the week and it only continued with failing a test. I could not find the energy to post anything this week, being upset over my failures and helping my grandparents moved in. It meant less time for starting the editing process. We went away for the weekend away, which also left less time to work on the project.

This week, yes actually this week, we will start. It’s our spring break, so we know we have time to work on it. We are planning on Monday, but it might have to be a few days of editing regardless. We will have to talk about it later, but it will come together.

Spring Break Soon…

 March 12, 2023

With spring break soon, we will have to work around our schedule. Luckily with the time we allocated for this, we will remain on track.

This Tuesday, we will begin editing.

We will be using Adobe Premiere Pro. We are still in the works of where to edit it, in terms of whose house, but that is a minor issue. The task of editing is something that will probably be among the most difficult. I have experience only with CapCut, but using Adobe Premiere Pro I know I have more control over the final look of the film at my fingertips rather than what basic CapCut offers (there is now “CapCut Pro” which I do not want to pay a subscription for if I do not enjoy it).

Editing this week is vital because of spring break next week. I won’t be home for the weekend, and I’m not sure how busy my partner will be over our break, It will be easier to finish (or get a head start) on editing as there is not much time left until the project is due (plus final exams coming up too).

The reason the production post is not out yet is simply due to how long I want it to be. I had to split it into parts (Part One being the equipment). I want to go until depth with the process rather than brief details. I apologize for how long it is taken for this post.

 This past week had been very busy for me, as just this Wednesday I turned 17, so completing these posts have been difficult. I hope to have a more constant posting schedule, rather than just random times in the day.

But… I can only learn from this. So cheers to a new week and the eventual break from school helping me get through the school days !!! 

Getting our Equipment

 Equipment

March 10, 2023

Before we started production, I knew I did not just want to film on my phone. Sometimes the phone can be grainy, and I wanted more of a professional look to my film. 

In our group meetings two weeks ago, I learned about this place called BECON TV, which allows students from the county to borrow film equipment from them. I messaged them on Instagram and was able to book certain dates to use their equipment! I picked out a camera, a microphone and a tripod. I did not take into account lighting until much later.

So last Friday, March 3, I asked my Dad if he could drive me to their location. I could have driven on my own, but I figured the equipment would be too heavy to carry alone. So we headed down to their studio! As we got there, we were greeted and taken back to get the equipment. 

The camera we got was very nice (I was a little scared to use it at first to not break it since it was super expensive). It was an XC-10 Camera by Canon. I was given a lesson on how to use it, as well as how to adjust certain features to get the kind of shot I wanted. While I could have used auto and not cared, it was so interesting to hear how the depth-of-field could be adjusted for the likeness of my film. 

I was given a shotgun microphone as well, since we did not have dialogue in our film. That was a VP83F Shotgun mic. We needed it for the sound elements, such as footsteps and cellphone sounds (ex. getting a text). It plugged right into the camera, so I did borrow a headset. The one I had at home is wireless, so it would not exactly work.

Finally, I was suggested to borrow a bicolor light. It had a brightness setting, as well as how warm or cool the lighting should be. We used the cool lighting in the dorm room, as it is relatively dark compared to the other locations we filmed in. 

This the equipment we received:

While using a phone to film could have been easier and less time consuming, the quality of our footage looks much more high quality and to the standard we want it in! Next week (March 13-16) we start editing! So in the meantime, we'll be reviewing which scenes we want to keep and which ones to use as backup. We have already set up a google drive so we could share it.

CCR Lesson Review !

 CCR Lesson

March 9, 2023

Last week in class, we covered the CCR.

My teacher broke down each question. The first details genre, and how it used or challenges conventions. I have already completed research for it in a previous post. The second question on distribution also uses that same research, though introducing how my production will be distributed to its target audience. 

The third and fourth are more difficult.

The third question asks how did your skills develop. That question alone will take a while. I came in knowing little to none about filming and the production process, so there will be a lot of discuss. Finally, the fourth question asks about technologies. Again, I will have listed the equipment I used in a future post (keep an eye out!), so it will be easy to discuss.

 

These are just some of the notes I made in class about how to address each question!

Luckily with filming this past weekend (sneak peak at a post this week), my partner and I will be able to complete the CCR pretty early on, cause editing may not take too long.

We are still planning a date for editing. I may not able to this week since I am incredibly busy with birthdays (mine and my mom's!) as well as my grandparents moving down here. So... lots of stress this week!!! But I know we will be able to get it done soon, just maybe after this week ends.

We watched a few examples of the CCR in class, and I even went home and watched a few myself. There were a few simple ones, like one being a parody of Vogue's 72 questions, and another just being a simple presentation. There were some stand-outs though, as one of them was even in a plane! It felt more memorable than the other ones, which made me think of cool locations I can do.

I already have a plan for some of my questions. For the questions concerning genre and distribution, I think I want to complete it in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. The reason I'm planning this so far in advance, before we even finished filming right now, is because of Spring Break. I want a unique location, and Disney World is the most different I can get with my locations. 

For the question concerning genre, The Tower of Terror may be a perfect backdrop for discussing the conventions of horror, since it is based off Twilight Zone. While it is not entirely similar, The Tower of Terror being much more paranormal than a slasher, it still is apart of the wide-range of horror.

Ex. The Tower of Terror in Walt Disney World

With distribution, there is so many places to choose from! Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, Echo Lake? So many choices! But... Hollywood Boulevard may be my best choice. Now replaced by Mickey's Runaway Railway, I want to film in front of the Chinese Theatre. I want to incorporate humor, but I still have to complete my script.

Ex. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway in Walt Disney World

The other two questions may have to be done at home, especially with the images I will need to include. The first two, the genre and distribution, may only need a few pictures, hence why I would like that background. This will not be needed to be done for another week or two, but it is something to think about.

Making a Mask

 Mask Design

As our filming date comes closer, it means less time to finish our costume designs! Thankfully, this is the only item that needs to be made (I had a prop weapon at home from an old Halloween costume).

On Monday, I ordered a paper full-face mask as well as some paint. When it arrived that Tuesday, I was just staring at it, my mind blank as to what to add. There was so many things to add, but what would fit our aesthetic?

I had such an array of paint colors so the sky was the limit. 

I immediately looked at black. I used the plate to put the paint on, in case I wanted to mix colors. My original plan was to paint it black when add a design over it. However, when I was painting the base coat of black, I loved the streaks of paint. It looked frayed at the sides and looked really cool. I kept the features under the thick coat of black but kept the ends messy. With the hood for the costume, I felt like it would look really cool and threatening.

As soon as I was done, I excitedly sent it to my partner for their opinion. She really liked it! I was debating making another version, just in case something were to happen, but I decided against it due to time constraints. Last night, I had a lot to study for, so I had only a small interval of time to really finish this. Plus with family in town moving in? Not a lot of free time.

This Friday, March 3, I have to pick up the equipment at BECON TV. As much as I say this, it is so weird that filming is tomorrow. It was only two weeks ago when we were clueless for an idea and now we're filming! 

I'm so excited to create this film opening. With the final part of the costume done, I feel more confident in how this will turn out!