CCR Production

 Heyy yalllll, we are finally in the middle of  creating both of my CCR's!! Oh yeaaaaa. So, how I decided to handle this was actually filming allll the footage for both of my CCR's in one day. Not because I procrastinated, literally because I need all the time in the world for editing otherwise it'll drive me crazy. My friend Veronica came over to my house which is where we did all the filming. She is also the co-host in my podcast, so I thought it was just easier to ask if she could film my other one. 

CCR#1: So, my first one is a podcast. We literally recorded this in my bed before I had to go to work and we used microphones in order to enhance the sound. Oh my lord, I didn't realize how hard it was to make people in my house quiet, until I listened back to the audio and heard my mom coughing in the background, like the audacity. 

CCR#2: Number 2 is my video inspired my Vogue house tours. filming this one, took a whileeeee. I kept messing up my lines and there were multiple times where I hear " Oops, I forgot to press record". However, we did learn throughout how to play with lightening, in order to get it perfect. We found that turning on the flash in darker spots of my house, actually lit me up pretty well, however at moment it was sorta freaky cause my eyes would start glowing red. 

Ultimately, I had a really fun time filming with my bestie. We messed around and had fun, so it was really good experience. Now time for editing, yay... ( I'm gonna cry).

Planning for CCR#4

 Oh my gosh, we are finallyyy on the last question of the CCR. This is very bittersweet, but we made it, and just gotta push through to the end. So question 4 out of 4 asks " How did you integrate technologies, software, hardware, and online, into your project"? Question is 4 is being answered along with question 3, and that CCR is inspired by Vogues house tours. So let's get on with the script!

Script:

Cameraman: Wow Addison, learning about how you improved has been really interesting.

Addison: Well thank you, ive spent a lot of time working hard and learning new things, so hopefully my film reflects that.

Cameraman: I bet it will, one more question before I leave you, what type of tech did you use in your film?

Addison: Well, that question has multiple answers, you see, there isn't just one type of technology there is multiple.

Cameraman: Oh really? what kinds?

Addison: Well first there is Software, that would be the platforms I used for editing and post production. Hardware, which is the physical tools I used for filming. Finally, online, which is the resources, references, and sharing platforms I used.

Cameraman: Oh! I didn't realize there were multiple types of tech.

Addison: Yea, there is, now to answer your question. For software, our editor used Adobe Premiere pro, where she had the resources to enhance the lighting and add special sounds bites in order to keep the tension buling throughout the film. We found sounds on Pixabay, because horror relies heavily on the sound effect. The heels clicking, to the squeeking of the cart, created more of an unsettling tone.

For hardware, we used an Iphone 15 to collect all of our footage. We used the iphones built in stabilization in order to keep the shots smooth. Although it's not a fancy camera, we focused on the composition and movement to enhance the tension within the film.

Finally online, I used platforms such as Youtube in order to do research on psychological horror films. I found out how proffesional film makers use technology in order to increase the tension throughout a film. This is also the platform I plan to post my whole film on. Ultimately, I have used technology in every stage of creating of production. It wasn't about just using the tools, but using them right in order to get my point across to the audience.

Cameraman: Well thank you so much for sharing all of that with me, that was all very interesting.

Addison: You're very welcome, it was a pleasure talking to you.

Cameraman: Thank you for your time, have a good rest of your day.

Addison: Thank you! you too

Door closes...

Planning for CCR#3

 Ahhhh, CCR #3 is crazyyyy. That means my CCR's are halfway done meaning the project is almost overrrr. I have very mixed emotions about it being over, I'm happy, I'm sad. I don't know, what I do know though is I am ready from break, sooo let's get on with this CCR. So my second CCR is going to answer questions 3 and 4, and I want to do something inspired by Vogues house tour while answering the question. This post however is going to be answering question 3, " How did your production skills develop throughout this project."

 Script: 

Cameraman: (knocks on front door)

Addison: Um hi, can I help you?

Cameraman: Oh! are you Addison Whitney?

Addison: Uh yea I am, but who are you?

Cameraman: I'm with Rogues House Tours, and viewerd really want to see where you live, could we have a tour?

Addison: Oh! sure, come in.

Cameraman: Ooo very nice house, so I hear you have a new film coming out.

Addison: Thank you! and yes I do have a new film coming out, it's called "Till Death Do Us Part".

Cameraman: That's cool, personally, have you noticed any skill improvement while working on this project compared to others?

Addison: Yes! definitely! This is the first project I have actually developed from scratch. My job as the producer tought me how important it is to keep things organzized and stick to the schedule. From finding locations to film, to deciding which shots to include in which scenes was a difficult task. However I think my favorite part of it all was deciding on the mise-en-scene. We even got to create a fake body. Me and my director wanted to make sure we had every little detail down to a T. 

Cameraman: Man that sounds like a lot of work, all I do is hold a camera and talk to people.

Addison: Yea it is, speaking of the camera. I also realized making sure you have enough footage is crucial. Just to make sure you have the perfect clip for the scene. I also got to learn a tiny bit of editing, hearing each little sound from heels clicking to doors slamming. Made me notice how important those tiny details actually are, and how wrong a scene can look if it's missing.

Cameraman: Wow, it seems like you learned a lot all from this one project.

Addison: I definitely did

Cut to next scene...

Planning for CCR#2

 Hey queenss, so this blog is actually a continuation from one I did last week. Remember how I talked about having to do a CCR for my project? Well, for CCR number one (which is a podcast), I am answering 2 out of the 4 questions. I already wrote the script for my answer to question 1 in the blog last week, sooo if you havent seen it you might wanna do that, orr this might be a little confusing. Anwayyyy question 2 asks " How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?" 

Script:

End Commercial Break...

Veronica: So Addison, I have to know more about this project.

Addison: Okay girl, what would you like to know?

Veronica: Well first of all, how is your film engaging, like is it going to make me fall asleep?

Addison: Haha, no girl, it shouldn't wanna make you fall asleep. My film is set at golden hour, in order to create a tense and spooky feeling for the audience. From the very beginning the audience should begin to feel uneasy, as if they suspecting a jump scare. Throughout my film, suspense is the golden ticket to keeping the audience hooked. I want the audience to feel that instant creepy vibes and engage with the mystery that builds throughout. Which is why I decided to film at night, to build up the tension and spook factor.

Veronica: Okay yea, my timbers are shivered. You put a lot of thought into getting the audience to feel spooked.

Addison: Yea, that's kind of the point of a psychological horror, if your not feeling a little bit uneasy or scared, something is wrong.

Veronica: True, okay another question, how are you going to make your film known to people? You're not exactly a professional film maker.

Addison: Wow, rude, but your right I'm not. However, lucky for me social media exist. I am able to put my work on platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo, where people can go and watch on their own free will. For marketing purposes, I can put little bits of the film on platforms like TikTok or Instagram, and this will get people excited for the film. There are also small film festivals which allow smaller creators to share their work. One of them located close to me is called Film Gate Festival Miami. They except films in any genre and welcome anyone. It is a non profit organization for local creators to express their work.

Veronica: Oooo that cool, is there any festivals that are more horror oreinted?

Addison: Yes! there is.  Another option that is more specific to horror films is the Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest in south carolina. It is South Carolina's first and largest film festival, and they are always interested in looking for fresh talent. Competitors have the chance to win a " Crimmy" ( which is similar to an oscar) in over twenty different categories. 

Veronica: Wow! I had no idea there were festivals specifically for horror. I think I am going to have to book a trip to South Carolina now.

Addison: Well that seems interesting, I say we make it a girls trip.

Veronica: YES! I can bring face mask and pop corn. OO and we can have cute matching outfits while we watch the horror films!

Addison: Okay vero, if thats what you want.

Veronica: It is, and you're coming. Anways, thank yall for listening to us yap, she's Addison.

Addison: And shes Veronica.

Veronica & Addison: And we're the demure duo!!

Music Fade Out...

Group Meeting P2

 Heyyy, sooo earlier this week we had our second group meeting in class!! Honestly, it was really nice to hear how far people have come with their projects and to hear other peoples ideas. As well as getting those recommendations on how I can further improve my project. Hearing from our instructor is good, but there is only so much she can do. So being able to get feedback from my peers allows for a different set of eyes and ideas. Anywayyyyy on to the group meeting reflection!

Lucia: Her film is about amber alerts, which I think is super cool. So lucia showed us her editing, which she is very proud of. She showed us multiple clips of her project, and asked on our opinions. On one of the main climax scenes, we mentioned how it was a little too dark, and it was hard to make out the charactes facial expressions. I recommended considering re-shooting, just so she can add some more lighting to it.

Me: I shared to my group how our editing is going and showed them my opening title. They mentioned how my title slide was a built difficult to read and I should tweak it a bit. The recs I got was to consider choosing a different font for the title or making it more bold so it's easier to read.

Sara: Her film is about how a girl comes to the states and has all these good memories and has accomplished a lot, but her life wasn't always like that. Her film is primarily in Spanish, we told her that it was a great idea, but to add English subtitles at the bottom so a wide variety of people could understand. She also shared to us the editing platform she is using, it is called Davinci Resolve. I personally found this helpful since I don't like editing, and she said it was quite simple to figure it out.

Isabella: Her film is about two bestfriends trying to complete a school bucket list. She was showing us her footage and she actually noticed that she wasn't going to have enough footage to reach the time limit, which is obviously an issue. We told her that she would have to add more scenes to her film, and we recommened developing the story more.

Elias: His film is about a 16 year old who falls into trouble. He showed us his editing and mentioned he had an idea but wasn't sure what he was going to do. He wanted to use one song on one scene, and then cut to another scene with a different song. However, the songs had a different tempo and we said it might look off, so we recommended to just choose one song. But if he really wanted to do two, he had to pick two songs with very similar tempos.

Photos ->>

I am the blonde one in the photos, we're just gonna ignore what i'm doing. I hate my side profile and couldn't stop laughing. Also shoutout to the photographer!!

Editing P2

 Hey heyyy, welcome to part 2 of the editing process, my least favorite part. Literally hate this so much, screaming and crying!! Anwayyyy, enough blabbering, let's dive into the editing. So, when me and my partner were discussing which type of font we were going to use throughout our film, we decided we needed something that looks off and disturbing. We wanted everything from the camera work, allll the way down to the tiniest of details to be unsettling. So in result, we spent an unhelathy amount of time picking a singular font, seriously it was crazy.

Font

 So, when trying to find this messy and off vibe font me and my partner were in deep hunt for, we came across Nanum Brush Script. Let me tell you, this font does exactly what we hoped for. It's messy and jagged, which gives it an unstable appeal. It looks like it was handwritten in a panic and chaos, which plays perfectly into the theme of my film. 

Color Choices

 The title of our film is going to be " Till Death Do Us Part", honestly we went back and forth between a couple names, but this one just stuck with us the most. So, in the title, we decided to highlight the word Death in red, the reason for this is because the color red resembles fear and danger. Which is why we are highlighting the word Death, we want the audiences eyes to go right to it. We want them to know this is what is important and this is what is coming.

How it Relates

 The font feels personal, as if it was created in a panic. The goal isn't for it just to look creepy, we want the audience to feel the unsettling nature before the film even starts. Combined with the red on the word Death, it sets the tone for how the film is going to be. In the end, every little detail matters. Choosing the right colors and the right font can make a title way more uneasy rather than something plain and boring. Which is exactly what I wish to accomplish within my film. 

Planning for CCR#1

 Omggg, I can't believe we are finally almost to the end of the project. Time has literally flown by, and honestly, I'm kind of sad it's almost over, but, it's not over yet. The final step in our projects is creating a Creative Critical Reflection, that's a lot of words though, so for short a CCR. This is when I explain the choices I made, analyze my work, and connect how my film relates to the real world. This whole project wasn't just about making an appealing film, it's about understanding the decisions BEHIND making an appealing film. 

 Today I am going to be discussing my script for the first question of the CCR "How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues". For answering 2 out of the 4 questions, I want to create something similar to a podcast. My friend Veronica agreed to be in the podcast with me, and we are both really excited to create it. 

Script

Veronica: Hey girl!

Addison: Heyy how are you?

Veronica: Im good, so anything exciting happening in your life recently? 

Addison: Actually yes! Ive actually been working on a project for my Aice media class.

Veronica: Ooooo tell me more!

Addison: So basically it's about this women Christina, who murders her husband,  but we are not sure why.

Veronica: Oh wow! that sounds interesting. But, what makes your film different from other peoples? Why should I watch it?

Addison: Well, our film is a psychological horror, traditionally in horror films like these, they are mainly focused on the murder itself. There is a lot of intense music or intense scares, however my film builds tension more quietly. Instead of just directly showing the murder, I decided to focus more on the calmness afterward. The horror comes from how unsettling Christina and her actions are. This makes the audience feel uneasy, without using huge dramatic action. I also decided to do something differently by making the audience put pieces together. The viewers don't see the crime actually happening, just the aftermath of it. This forces them to engage with the story more, figuring out what happened instead of just being told.

Veronica: Ohh cool, it's like the audience gets to be a detective!!

Addison: Yes! exactly, they have their own little mystery to figure out.

Veronica: Well that's very fun. However, word on the street is your film also talks about deeper problems, can you clarify what this means?

Addison: Of course, so Christina isn't just a villian, but she is struggling with a mental disablility she's not even aware of having. Her wide and drastic changes of emotion, is all cause by a brain tumor she doesn't know she has. This is meant to represent how if serious medical conditions are just misdiagnosed or ignored, it can be detrimental to the patient.

It also plays into how womens feeling and emotions are sometimes not taken into full account. Luke is always there for her, but even he doesn't realize just how much she is struggling. The doctors in her life fail her by not catching the tumor sooner, and by the time they catch it, it is too late and the tumor has consumed her personality. It shows how womens issues are brushed off or ignored and not taken seriously. People make excuses such as mood swings, stress, or being on their period, instead of taking into account something could actually be medically wrong.

Veronica: Wow, that's very deep, and also very relatable. This sounds like it took you a lot of thought to come up with.

Addison: I mean yea, as a women, I think it's important that we share topics like this.

Veronica: Well that is very cool, and good for you!

Addison: Thank you

Veronica: Nowww for our sponser!

COMERCIAL BREAK...