Final Project

 Enjoy my final project!

Creative Critical Refelction

Here is my creative critical reflection!

Key moments

    One of the changes we did to the film opening was editing the lighting by changing the saturation. The lighting started off very bright to reflect the bliss calm in Berkley's life before the pandemic. When she gets the warning of said pandemic the lighting drastically changes to be very dark to mirror her strong emotions of confusion and distress. This last-minute editing effect was done to add a layer of symbolism and meaning to the project and further portray the emotions of the main character.

    The editing process of the final project was also a key moment as we were not able to be physically together as would be ideal. There were some difficulties with sending each other our edited portion and having it be of high quality; but in the end, after trying serval different platforms to upload the videos, we made it work. Additionally, my CCR was not exactly as I had envisioned it, I had to shift locations from my aunt's house to my grandma's house as there were fewer people and less noise. Still, I had to work around her limited schedule as she did not want to leave me at her house alone and I could not move any furniture as I had planned. Unfortunately, my sister who had agreed to interview me got a stomach virus which meant I had to quickly change my plan for my CCR. 

More of the CCR script

    I have finally finished my CCR script answering questions three and four as well as including a final statement (see below). As I said previously I do want my creative critical reflection to be more serious with some sitting down and talking straight to the camera I still want it to be creative and not bore the audience to death. I'm not sure exactly how I will film it but I plan to incorporate my sister in the process as my cameraman potentially walking around my cousin's house with me as I talk.

    She might also ask me the four questions though if as an interviewer, cameraman, or passerby I am still unsure. For the wardrobe I am considering changing into multiple outfits or wearing a consistent, more formal attire thought. I also plan to incorporate bloopers, behind the scenes, and videos of topics discussed in the CCR and planned out in my script; such themes include the goggle folder and or shared canva files.

CCR Script (part 2):

Question 3: How did your production skills develop through this project?

We did a lot of research prior to properly starting our film opening; this included two case studies of Clueless and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Aside from the genre research, there was also research on the setting, the early 2000s. 

After we landed on the title “Birthday Blues” we also researched more into the phenomena.

I toke charge of drawing out the storyboard to set up the plot; we also wrote a brief plot summary and eventually a script to break down each scene. To keep ourselves organized, we made a schedule that included filming dates, editing dates, and other to-dos. 

The constant evaluation and organizing kept my team on track for not only the deadline but also keeping up with every step and component of the project such as incorporating a production company.

When filming, both Berkley and I were each behind a camera to take the most advantage of our time given that Dani was acting. There was quite a lot of reshooting as Berkley and often got into each other's shots. A great deal of time was spent posting ourselves and Dani in such a way that we could film several shots at a time without interfering with one another in the shot whether it be through a mirror or in the corner of a scene.

Working in a team brought more skills and perspectives into the film opening. Editing is not a skill I am exceptionally great at but I do know the basics. When it came to editing our project we split it up; my scene did not require as much editing as others like Berkley’s with the need to add credits. I chose to focus on switching between two cuts of the same scene without losing continuity as a means of enhancing my editing as it was within my skill set and I knew it would add to the scenes. Dani handled most of the special effects like editing the title since she had the most experience. However, it was still a learning process for us all and there were several instances where we turned to our groupchat and helped one another resolve our issues such as learning how to make our title ‘melt’ down. Working with a team also allowed us to venture into ideas outside of our comfort level such as editing emergency text alerts. 

When we came up with ideas like editing our title to look as if it was blowing out, we often only had a vision and evolved our product along the way as we acquired new skills. We were always coming up with new ideas for the title and actively tweaking it. A lack of knowledge or skill never stopped us and we were able to learn, persevere in the face of uncertainty, and grow as producers. 

Question 4: How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - in this project?

To produce the film opening, we firstly used our iPhones to film in conjunction with natural lighting times according to the shots. For the fonts of the credits, warning text message, and title font, canva was used. 

To animate the title procreate was used for editing after we had established the font from canva. Dani had to rewrite the title from scratch tens of times to get the full animation of all the letters, melting, and blowing out effect down within the limits of procreate and to assure it ran smoothly. 

Every document we made whether it be research charts, font options, or to-do lists was shared with all the team members. We had a google folder where we kept a script, schedule, research, plot overview, and organized unedited. What we made on canva being a mood board, to-do list, fonts, credits, and text was shared through our emails on the website.

To edit we used a combination of iMovie for the simple editing portions and adobe premiere for the rest like the credits and title. Such platforms were comfortable for my team as in past media projects we had used them. 

Our group chat in iMessage was our main form of communication aside from when we met in person. Through the group chat, we were able to quickly communicate and share our opinions regarding the project’s aesthetic decisions like fonts. It came to be especially helpful during the spring break and the week after as I was out of the country in Mexico on said dates and still needed to keep in touch with my teammates. 

To document the entire process I heavily used blogger and was on it almost every day. At the start I found it to be slightly confusing to manage our find my way around the tools but with time and the help of my teammates I learned. I had an issue where not all my blog posts were showing up on my blog and with help, I was able to change the theme and fix the issue. Once I got the hang of it, blogger allowed me to share my thoughts behind artistic choices made in the film opening in an accessible and easy-to-digest format.

Final Statement:

My team put a lot of thought, planning, and effort into the film opening. We were constantly working around challenges as a collective. Consistent communication even in the face of a physical absence on my behalf or weeks allowed us to create a piece that we can all be proud of.

This project taught me the importance of compromising and being open to the new ideas of others. There were times when the font we choose as a group was not my first pick but without the challenging of perspectives that arise in a group, the film opening would not have come out as phenomenal as it did.

If I could do this project again I would have us all be physically present for its entirety and have more in-person meetings to dedicate to the project rather than conversing over text message. I would also improve the editing by making it more gradual and the shift in scenes and saturation be more noticeable after the opening instead o during.

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed!