Creative Critical Reflection Question 3 - Research

 Question #3

 How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

For this question, I feel like my production skills dramatically improved throughout this project.

Process

I started alone and was completely lost. My teacher provided a guideline for us, but I never had to do anything like this. Immediately I started planning. I knew I wanted to make a suspense/horror movie that was related to law enforcement. I researched, created a storyboard, and casted my film. 

What happened

During filming, it was a bit chaotic. Some obstacles I encountered was waiting till dark to film. Since I wanted to have my film set during night, some actors weren't always available to film. I had to create a group chat and create polls to gather information about when everyone was free to film. Another obstacle I encountered was the editing process. I used Premiere Pro. I used it before but not for 2 minute long films. I also had to incorporate sounds and make my own sounds. I feel like my editing skills improved a lot after this project.

Creative Critical Reflection Question 2 - Research and Script

 For my critical reflection questions, I was thinking of doing something sports related. A possibility would be to do a post-game analysis, where the game would be the two-minute intro.

First Take YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn3nHXu50t5wkud7Iv0LFazfV8dja6dc3&si=VCCuI5FGZMNtWyab

In First Take, the host, Skip Bayless, goes on air and analyzes athletes performances. He gives criticism to athletes, often in a rough manner. I'm not sure criticizing my project would be a good idea right before Cambridge is about to grade it, but I could have an athlete (actor) come on and interview the athlete. I would ask him "How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media test?"

For what my answer would be, I did some writing:

Group meeting 2

Miguel

Yuri: Has mental problem. Yuri gets mad at lead singer and goes back and kills his bandmates. Hit to death with a vase. Ends up getting caught at the end.

Recording in his friends Carlos's house (garage or backyard).

Title: Unplugged

Credits: M & J presents: "unplugged"

CCR: Doesn't have a set idea yet. Sofia suggested a cooking idea

Miguel is filming today and this weekend. Although he did mention it was a little late, the group assured him that he would have enough time to finish filming, editing, and complete his CCR. For his plot, Yuri is the main character in a band and he has mental issues. From what I understood, Yuri gets mad at the lead singer and the rest of the band for kicking him out of the band. Since Yuri has anger issues, he gets mad and kills everyone with a vase, but gets caught at the end. The title is "Unplugged".

Sofia

Sofia was still filming, but she was trying to get ahead of her CCR. She was thinking of doing a cooking POV video, but the group recommended that she do something else because it is not related to media. Eventually, she ended up going with an interview style film where she pauses her movie and explains her process through recording different scenes. 

Roman

I have my filming done, but I needed help with ideas for my CCR. Some group members recommended that I do something government related. I was thinking of doing a podcast. As of now, that is the direction that I am heading in.

Renn

Renn is doing a western-style movie. She has her filming done and she is in the middle of working on editing. For her CCR, she has an idea of going on a bike and recording herself answering questions. For this idea, I think she is on the right approach by moving around and not just staying still, but I think this is a little similar to the talking head. 

Picture

Day 3

 Day Three of Filming

Today I recorded the scene of getting arrested. First, I had to get angles of the cop car used. This was me trying to get the right shot:

I used low angles a lot when filming this scene. This was to show the cop meant business and was a brutal character.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b6djnd1Pvc4-pIzw8G7R5gKg

For filming today, it was important to keep continuity. That is why I wore the same outfit. It is also important to have the costume design correct. That is why I had my actor dress as a cop. The actor is also a part of the local sheriffs office program and junior rotc. He knew exactly what to do in these situations.

Today we were able to film and get this scene down. Now there is only a couple shots we have to film before editing. 

 Day 2

This day, I started with the dialogue. Before shooting, I realized it was going to be necessary to have a script. After getting the script down, I was able to finally film. 

This day, we filmed the criminal doing a deal with the spy. When the spy leaves the scene to go get "something" from the back, the criminal is taken under arrest and knocked out. 

This is the footage gathered.

The plan was to make the criminal seem like a higher up. This is why we shot it outside with the dim lighting and with the lake in the background.

This weekend, I plan to get more shots in and be near the end of filming so I can begin editing next week.

First Day of Filming

Filming Day 1

 The first day of filming came with its ups and downs. While I was able to shoot a lot of film, there were some problems that arose.

The Rundown

Problems: 

1. By far, the biggest problem was having to clear space in my garage. My family are hoarders. They keep everything and put it somewhere out of sight even if they never use it. We had a lot of stuff in the garage. Bikes, rugs, decorations, trophies, tools/equipment, literally anything you could think of, it would be in my garage. This took a WHILEEE. 

2. My friends are crazy. While filming the project, we had fake weapons. I guess the "fake" part didn't go through their heads, because they took it upon themselves to go Call of Duty mode. To make it worse, my other friends showed up out of nowhere and chaos erupted.

This is the link of the video we shot: https://share.icloud.com/photos/064mVWecN4oP9VbIA1ROb5-VQ

The good stuff:

1. I was very productive. We were able to get a lot of filming done with the two of us. We were able to shoot multiple scenes with the lighting that we wanted.

2. My dad found a powerful flashlight at his work. This worked great for the backlighting we wanted to incorporate. We found a stable and safe way to attach the flashlight to the ceiling, creating the illusion that there was a dim overhead light. This light was focused on the criminal. 

Overall, this was a productive day. I was able to film for a while and get the beginning scenes done. I look forward to film more parts of my movie over the weekend.

Getting the Lighting Right

 Final Planning Before Filming

This week, I begin production. Excited, yet nervous at the same time. This juxtaposition of feelings puts me in a tight spot deciding how I should take care of my lighting. In my storyboard I drew a tall lamp pointing down at the criminal. However, I now realize that this is a bit unpractical due to things like cost and lighting issues. Rather than that, I will opt for a large flashlight that will be aimed at the camera and the criminal's face. I have access to multiple flashlights used in criminal operations because of my dad and my significant other's dad. They both work for law enforcement. My dad works for ATF and my girlfriend's dad is a police officer. 

In the room where I am filming, there is a dim light that still allows people to see while being dark enough to create an ominous mood for my film. It also has a window to the side with I will cover up to make the lighting even darker and make the room seem more claustrophobic.

When the focus is on the interrogator, I want to use back lighting. I want to make the character seem intimidating and large with power. I want to dramatize the scene and add more mystery.

Color Hues

Hues are colors that create an effect for the viewers. I want to have little color to show the cold environment and the toughness of the interrogator. This will elicit some of the emotions out of the viewers. I want the level of saturation to be low.

Other than that, I believe I am ready to start production. I have my mise-en-scene elements ready to go, as well as my setting and my cast.