CCR and Portfolio Project Links

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tswffPtlnws4YnntWRBHvrUrt32JxK19/view?usp=sharing

https://youtu.be/dVKyC8FWD6I

film opening: https://youtu.be/uxR0iLxqNJM

CCR #4

 Like CCR question #3 question number 4 is a fairly easy question to answer. I'm glad that it's split up this way because it makes you think and give a critical answer, while the other two question are meant for you to relax and feel less stressed about the CCR'S. Knowing that at least two of the questions are easy makes me feel way better about creating the CCR's rather than if they were all hard. It gives me enthusiasm to get things done and create a good project.

                    What Hardware Technology did you use while producing the product?

        For the filming aspect of the film I depended on the use of my phone. I don't have an actual camera or anything fancy so I had to rely on recording with my phone. For the lighting I was recording outside for most of my project and when I didn't record outside I would use the lighting from inside my house or the sunlight creeping in through my blinds. I utilized the use of my computer because it was the main reason for why my project was done.  My laptop was the sole reason why all of my blogs were done and made and the reason why I was able to create my soundtrack and edit my clips together. So during the production part my phone was the main use of technology and during the post production it was my laptop. I didn't use any tripods or any special tools just because I didn't have access to them or when I did it was too late.

            What Software Technology did you use while producing the product?

     For my planning tools I used my phone to create a schedule online and put my plans on a calendar to remember what to do and when to do it. I also used my phone to search up locations where I could film my project. I searched up golf courses near me and Bonaventure golf course was the first one to pop up and was the closest by me. For the editing tools I used adobe cloud because it is one of the easier editing tools and I have access to it so I might as well use it. I also used iMovie for a little bit but it wasn’t nearly as good as using adobe. On top of all the editing tools I used  a bunch sound effect apps and also the use of some Foley sounds to create my soundtrack. I’m so glad to be in the generation I am and have access to so much because if I didn’t my project would be in shambles.

CCR #3

 The next question to answer in my CCR is question number 3. This question is a whole lot easier than questions 1 and 2. In this question I need to reflect on my process and how I evolved throughout the production. So now that I have realized that question 3 and 4 are easier than questions 1 and 2 I am most likely going to pair question 1 and 3 together and question 2 and 4 together.

                        How did you evolve throughout the production process?

        At first I was struggling a lot, I didn't want to do my work, I thought it was annoying and too time consuming. As each week passed the blog posts felt easier and more doable. I was flying through these blog posts now. Then the blog posts felt harder to do and I would procrastinate and my schedule would be all over the place and I just couldn't take it, I had to do something. So I decided on doing my blogs earlier on in the week, I did this one time and then stopped because the workload with my other classes and these blogs were stressing me out. At first this project had me very upset but it's not like I could do anything because this is my final and I need to do good on it to pass the class. So I decided to suck it up and just do my work. I thought the blogs were hard and then I got to the actual production and then editing. This was horrendous, I was stressing even more than before because I needed to do so much more work and put in so much time and effort. I'm not usually the type of person to put so much effort into something and I usually procrastinate so I was surprised that I had even done most of my work on time. So I went from being a procrastinator early on in the year to a person who actually does their work and gets things done.

                 

 What were some things that helped you during this project?

In relation to the year some previous project that helped me during this project was the sound project and the one word film project. The sound project played a very big role in my portfolio project because it gave me background knowledge and experience in creating a soundtrack for my portfolio project. When I had originally done the sound project I hated it. It took me so long to do and adobe was planning on my downfall because I wasn't able to export it to send to my partner. I hated doing the sound project, it might've been my least favorite project this year. However, I am now glad that I had done it because it let me have an advantage towards creating the soundtrack for my portfolio project. Also the one word film helped out as well because it allowed me to put different shots together in a way that allowed a story to be made. Then I added over some music in relation to the film to create the mood. During this project I learned how to be a better actor and edit my shots together. I'm glad for the previous experience with projects because without it I would not have been able to get through this project.

CCR #2

 Hello again blog, welcome back to week seven of my portfolio project. This post is dedicated to the second CCR question. Since the first two questions are both pretty hard and long so maybe I'll split them apart from each other or keep them together. CCR question #2 is about target audience and how my film engages with my film, or portfolio project. 

        How did you arrive at your target audience and how do your production choices and content work to engage your audience?

        In order to figure out my target audience I needed to do some background research on sports comedy films. After my research I discovered that sports comedy films are meant to attract a wide rage of people, from kids to adults. Sports comedies have such a wide range because they mix goofy humor with exciting game moments. This type of movie genre also resonates with an audience who may not care about the sport art but just enjoy a funny, underdog story. Considering all of these details I decided to create my film based off of a target audience of sports lovers, mostly between the ages of 13-50 who enjoy funny and exciting scenes. I know that this is a wide range but I did this because I know that films like this are usually watched with family, so in order to make it enjoyable for everyone it must have a wider range. This film engages with the lower age range of 13-24 because the main character is driven by his want for money and all young people want is to be rich nowadays. This film also resonates with the older age range of 25-50 because of the sport golf. Most people usually take up golf when their older, not many young people typically play golf. The average age of a golfer is 43.5 years, so I chose to do golf as my sport for my film because it can reach out to a variety of people.

        Discuss how you plan to make your film available to audience?

   My response to this question must be realistic in the eyes of an amateur film maker. So that means I can't talk releasing it in theaters worldwide or somewhere popular. So first things first, after creating the film I would upload the finished product to YouTube because YouTube has massive global reach and it's easy to use. Also, this would be beneficial for an amateur filmmaker like me because YouTube offers free distribution and since I'm just an amateur I don't have the resources needed to pay for expenses such as distribution. In order to promote my film I would use social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, or even Facebook to reach out to people interested in my film. In addition to social media I would put up flyers everywhere in my local area to insure people notice and look into my film.

Group Meeting #2 Summary

     Hey there blog. Today I'm going to talk about what I did today in class. So I walk into class not knowing what were doing, because I didn't check the syllabus, but as the class starts my teacher lets the class know that we will be put into groups for a group meeting. I was pretty excited because this meant I was going to be able to discuss and share my project with my classmates. This also meant that I could get feedback and constructive criticism. This group meeting made me feel good about myself because I could see that I was doing well with my time management and schedule for my portfolio project. In my I had my classmates Bella, Keyla, Santiago and Benjamin.

    Keyla started off the group presentation by introducing us to her project. Her project is a psychological horror about a girl in the mid 19th century who was lobotomized. Keyla plans on using filters for her film to give the effect of being old as well as the mise en scene of her costume design of an old dress. Her idea is pretty cool and well thought out, although she was a little behind I think her project will be good.

     After Keyla talked Benjamin had went. Benjamin talked about how his film was about football players getting ready for the season. He already had the name if his title and I thought it was pretty good, he came up with the title “OFFSEASON”. His film would be about a football player and his teammates routine during the offseason of football. He already recorded and shot his film, but the group suggested that he make it so that the film is cross cutting. They suggested this to make it seem as if the football players have an alike routine but different perspective on things. I liked this idea and I think he should follow through with it. 

     The next one to present or talk about their project was Bella. Bella is working with a group, she was the only one in our group meeting to be working with partners on the portfolio project. Bella and her group decided to do a horror film, I hadn’t gotten the information in what type of horror but it’s something in the genre. Her film is about this girl who invites guys over to her house for a first date. But after each date she  doesn’t end liking the guy because they aren’t perfect enough for her. This idea was pretty cool as well but they had filmed so much and the limit is only 2 minutes so they had needed to condense their film a lot. I also liked how they created fake blood, it looked pretty real but the red filter they used didn’t really pair nicely with the fake blood.

   After Bella went then it was my turn to talk about my project. I told the group the genre of my project and what the plot was about. After I had explained it to them they seemed a bit confused but then i broke it down and they understood it. The group tried to give me an idea for a title but I didn’t really like it too much. However they did like the idea of putting my title on a golfball, so that was pretty good. Overall i’m glad I was able to share my ideas and get feedback.

   The last person to go was Santiago, he was nervous at first that’s why he hadn’t presented earlier but once he started talking it’s like he couldn’t stop. Santiago was creating a thriller film. His character was kidnapped and handcuffed. He showed us some of the shots he edited and some other setting shots. Also on his blog he happened to show us the makeup that he used to create his bruises and cuts. I was amazed at this because it looked to good and real. Santiago had said his mom did the makeup, he also noticed that she doesn’t really do makeup like this other than when she has done it on prior Halloweens. I was amazed at how good it looked and how cool Santiago’s filmed turned out.

   Overall this group meeting was really good because it was a time to reflect on what’s been done and make some changes and it’s just a fun time to be able to talk about each others projects because everyone gets so happy.

CCR #1

        Hello again Blog, today I'm talking about CCR question number one. What does CCR mean?, well it stands for creative critical reflection and it's the last part of my portfolio project. For the CCR I must create two media products, each of them must contain two CCR questions for a total of four questions being answered. Now I'm not entirely sure how I would like to split up the questions or what type of media product I want to create but I'm considering doing a director's commentary.

    CCR #1 is about discussing genre conventions. It's best to let the audience know beforehand what a genre a convention is when making your video. As stated by StudioBinder a genre convention refers to the recurring elements, themes, character types, plot points, and settings that are commonly found within a specific genre. After I let the audience know what a genre convention is, I must discuss what genre conventions I chose to challenge or if I chose not to challenge any I must discuss why. I don't want to spoil whether I've stuck to the genre conventions of sports comedy or not, but I can say that I'm excited to talk about it. I feel that answering these questions is going to be a whole lot better than creating the film just because I get to take you through my thought process and explain my decisions.

      After discussing whether or not I included the genre conventions of sports comedy I must end with a discussion of representation. Representation refers to the choices made in how individuals, groups, events and issues are illustrated within a production. I feel like this is going to be a little harder for me to describe but still able to be done.

Editing

         Editing is my least favorite part of creating films. It's so time consuming and when editing you need to adjust so much. Editors have to think about so much when doing their job. For example, making sure the movie flows well, making sure to get the best takes, and controlling the pace of the film. That's all stuff I just don't want to have to deal with, but I do. I'm nervous and a little scared to see how I am with editing because in the past it's been pretty chaotic.

        For my clips of the film I plan on using IMovie. Adobe is also a very good editing platform, with access to even more than iMovie. The cool thing that I like about Adobe is that you can create your whole soundtrack and edit your clips right over top of each other. I've used the iMovie app before to do my One Word film and it turned out pretty good. During the editing then I was able to sync the clips together nicely and create a smooth film. The thing with iMovie that's so good is that even beginners to film can utilize this app and create nice videos, because you're able to easily import all your videos and photos into the app and implement them easily into a video. This app also gives you access to soundtracks and sound effect. I intend to edit my clips here and then export the final product into adobe, where my soundtrack is going to be.

                                        This is me editing my clips together

        

                           This is the features of iMovie(on top of editing the clips)

Bloopers

         During the production process of my film opening I had a lot of mess ups. At first I was mad because I messed up so much, but after looking back at them they helped me shape and create a better film opening. Messing up my lines or doing something wrong helped me to be more determined to do better. The next shot or few shots after that I put more focus and meaning behind the words and actions I was doing. 

         I also believe that the bloopers helped create a better and more fun experience for me. If i didn’t have bloopers I might’ve gone crazy because filming would’ve felt so boring and unlively. After a few shots I probably would’ve stopped and quit because I wouldn’t have had the determination to finish.

These are just a few of the many bloopers that I’ve come across but they’re also the ones I like the most. Not only has creating this film been a learning experience but it has also been a memorable experience. My brother and I have bonded so much over the creation of this project, so I’m glad that I was able to do it.

Soundtrack

    Welcome back to my blog. This time I’m going to be talking about how I’m using sound and adobe premiere to make a soundtrack of my project. I was first introduced to adobe back around December when I had to create a sound project for my class. When I had to do this assignment I was annoyed at first, but looking back I’m glad I did it because now I have experience and knowledge that I can use towards my portfolio project. The cool thing about soundtracks is that there are multiple layers within a scene. Although making a soundtrack is tedious and long, the outcome is worth it.

 Pixabay is one of the websites that I got from my teacher. This website has tons of sounds which is really helpful. I was searching up and looking through sounds that I could use for my project. I found a few but it was hard to find exactly what I wanted. It’s not as easy to find something as you think. I would search up what I wanted and something totally random would pop up instead, so if that happens on another website where I can’t find my sounds needed then I’ll just have to make Foley sounds.

BenSound is another website that my teacher introduced me to. It also has a bunch of sounds to choose from. This website is more music based though, considering its homepage showing different music genres. This website will help when I’m choosing my background music for my project. I was playing around with the sounds and created a small soundtrack like ten seconds long or so. Creating it was kind of fun but it took forever. I now know that I should not wait to the last minute to do sound because of how long it takes.

           

House Videos

            So I originally was going to film my whole film opening at the golf course, but something got messed up and I wasn’t able to go for the week because my parents had work. However, I still wanted to record so I wasn’t behind, so I decided that I was going to film half of my opening at my house. I had an idea that I was going to make my character hurrying in getting ready to go to work. Since I have to keep the opening comedic my character is going to think he’s about to be late for work so he’s trying to rush to get to work, while getting ready he’s going to fall and get hurt. Then once he gets to the golf course his boss is going to tell him that he’s late. My character Bryson is going to think it’s by a few minutes, but he’s actually late by an hour because of daylight’s saving time.

             During the creation of the filming my house scene I had a lot trouble with certain shots. There was this one in particular when Bryson walks into the room and has to grab his clothes. This shot took so long because my brother couldn’t record from the right angle so I had to move him to the right spot and show him what angle I had wanted. Also, when I would try to grab the clothes they wouldn’t come off of the hanger and then my closet would open. What’s annoying about my closet is that it’s hard to keep closed so I had to set it back up after almost every take. I had created a time-lapse of this scene. This scene helped me realize how I need to be patient and careful when creating my film opening. It also made me realize why multiple takes are needed for a single shot.

Filming

         Wow I didn't think I would say this, but filming is kind of annoying. I didn't realize how many takes a single shot requires for it to actually look good. Like the dialogue could get messed up, or my brother could interrupt me, or my parents are watching something loud. Even though it was harder than I expected, it was also fun, because I had my brother record and we shared some laughs.

    Since my brother was recording he didn't really know how to record shots. So I had to teach him how to hold the camera properly. Sometimes I would show him and he would still hold it wrong, but I could always retake a scene.

    This is a photo of some of my clips that I have recorded.

    Overall I think today went well. I discovered that filming takes time and patience, as well as determination and I was also able to get some of my filming done. This was a productive day and I hope there are more days like this to come.