CCR Cubed!

     If this project was the New York Marathon, this is the point where you see that 24 mile marker and quietly say to yourself, "You are almost there," over the cheering of the crowds from the sidelines. You want to give up, but it would be only in vain at this point. You just have to keep going to see that finish line, and then when it's all over, that's when you can finally crash.

    Okay, but in all seriousness, today we are going to talk about the third question for the CCR. Ah, yes, what fun. So, what we must take is how my production skills have developed throughout this project. Should be cake.

    For this question, I know exactly what I need to talk about. First, I'm just going to yap for a hot minute and then I'll add the final draft. 

    Development was a key part of this project. At the start, I really had no idea of how as I was going to do this project. It felt extremely overwhelming, even though class throughout the year has been preparing me for this very moment. Even though I was not starting at the baseline, there was this thick, tall wall standing in front of me preventing me from greatness. 

    That is when it starts to click. 

    When I first began to feel confident was when we wrote the script. The script allowed me to see the shots, hear the sounds and feel how it was all coming together. Before the script, it was just a jumbling of ideas that were not cohesive in any way, shape, or form. Boom! The script. Now, this is just the beginning of my growth with this project, as now I realized how one could visualize the elements of production with just a great idea. 

    The next step in my production development was throughout the actual filming. Not to sound pompous or anything, but as the director of the film, I feel like I really developed my director's eye. The shots would just come to me, expanding from thin air. Yes, I would follow the storyboard and some of the shot we planned, but as we kept on filming, I would have epiphanies. 

    Some of my favorite shots came to me in the moment, and that was after seeing how the character develops through the opening scene. Just look at this shot and tell me if you would believe this is improvised.

    

    I know I've yapped about this shot for way too many blog posts, but I couldn't care less. Every time I show this clip, a butterfly gets its wings. 

    The only way that this shot even came to fruition was because we had shot so much that day that I was able to be so confident in my blocking skills. You could probably even tell if you go through all the footage that throughout the day I became more and more confident in my skills. The first shots of the day barely had any movement and were lowkey stagnant, but then when we were filming the outside scenes at the end of the day, I started getting more creative and giving myself more freedom with the shots. 

    Another thing that I can see some development with is my overall editing skill, and you can definitely see this in the difference between the first edit versus the fourth edit. Yes, fourth edit. When I tell you that the first edit was the most stagnant video that I have ever made in my life, not kidding. 

    But, by my fourth time going through the edit, I finally made something that I was proud of that had dimension and was engaging to watch. And yes I had previous experience editing, but never something of this scale and of this length. But, after hours and hours (and hours) I finally got it. Got how to make an engaging product. 

    Actually, I lied at the beginning. I am not going to show the script (right now), but basically what I wrote the script above, but trust I will include it the next post, as I almost have my idea solidified. But, you will just have ti wait (teehee). 

And now for the movie quote of the day...

"Talking pictures, that means I'm out of a job. At last I can start suffering and write that symphony." - Cosmo Brown, Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Chapter.... Two

    To anyone who understands the reference in the title of this blog post: I love you. And to those who don't, maybe you need to lock in on Seinfeld, and don't worry I will still love you, but I will be weary. Anyway, today we are going to be yapping about the CCR. Ah yes, I can hear the cheers from the crowd. 

    To be more specific, question two of the CCR, centering around target audience and distribution tactics. Alright, simple enough.

Target Audience

    As you all know, our film is a science fiction/drama, which means that the target audience can get pretty wide. But we can narrow that down a whole lot. 

    The baseline targwt audience for science fiction is really all compassing with no real preference for who can watch it. Drama is a bit more relegated to an older audience, and by that I mostly mean teenagers. With that in mind, we must consider the the content of my film. It follows a young adult woman who goes to therapy. Ding, ding, ding. This is what is going to shrink our audience.

    Not saying that men are not going to want to watch this movie, but the fact that is is a young female protagonist does make our once wide audience much more narrow. This will bring in a lot more women, especially those in the same age range as the protagonist, that being 18-24 year olds. But I do not want to really limit myself to women, so I say that men will still come to see the film, especially those within that same range, but those older people become obsolete. 

    Some other sci-fi/drama films that fall into this target audience are Palm Springs (2020), Dune (2022), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) are all sci-fi dramas that are all geared towards a younger audience of science fiction enjoyers. 

    One thing that all of these films have in common is a young(ish) protagonist that is going through young people problems. Well, not exactly young people problems but they have the equivalent reaction to their situations as young people would: brash and stupid. 

    Take for instance Paul Atreides from Dune.

    You see this guy? Would you guess by looking at him that he is the Muad'dib, AKA the flipping Messiah. Never. 

    Or maybe you would, but at least I wouldn't. But at the start of the movie, this little guy is nothing but a daddy's boy who really cannot make a single thought for himself. But by the end of the movie, he is super cool guy who can fight bad guys. 

    The pipeline from weak barely adult to cool, brave still barely adult is real, and that is the same pipeline that Alice has in our film. 

    In our film opening, we do our darnedest to make Alice seem like that depressing young adult who has some serious trauma, but throughout the film the audience will get to experience that pipeline of her being sad and depressing to less sad and more cool. 

    This right here is what really reels in that target audience and what we really went off of when creating the film and its opening. Also, I am just really glad to bring Paul Atreides into the conversation

Distribution Techniques

    Since we are not a big budget studio will bajillions of lackeys, we do not have to luxury of all their resources, but that does not make distribution an impossible task.

    I guess we would be considered an indie production, so you know what that means: film festivals. Ah yes, we've got Cannes or TIFF or Sundance. Sure, these are long shots, but it is worth a try. It is actually super easy to submit a film to these festivals, but getting chosen might be a whole other battle. 

    For Cannes Film Festival in france, these are basically all the requirements to submit a feature film, and the rest can be read here. There are proabbly even easier (and less pretentious) film festivals to submit to that are in the US. Sundance Film Festival is based in the United States and seems pretty simple to follow it regulations that can be found on its website. 

    I think I am seeing why a lot of indie films are submitted to film festivals, as they allow for people who are deep in the business to see all of these unknown filmmakers.

    Another way that we could get our film out to audiences is very simple: YouTube. A lot of indie filmmakers resort to putting their first feature films on YouTube as an easy and quick way to get people to watch it. Of course this must be paired with some serious marketing to get people to actually see it, but for a distribution technique it is pretty solid. 

    As an option that probably won't really get us anywhere but might be worth a shot is to pitch it to some studios, and maybe (but probably not) they could distribute it on their streaming platform. This is probably a terrible idea, but can't hurt to put it out there. 

    Okay, did I have fun researching all of this stuff? I would never admit it. But I must say, looking at all the film festival stuff was kind of fun. Anyway, I think all of this information could be good to include in CCR for the second question. Maybe not all of it, as I would be yapping for way too long, but I think we got some good work done. 

And now for the movie quote of the day...

"[talking about Paddington 2] I cried through the entire thing. It made me want to be a better man." - Javier Gutierrez, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

    

We yap... we yap... (the interlude)

     So, today we did the second group meeting (hooray), and we had some great discussions, especially about the CCR. Really, we just yapped a lot about ideas that we possibly have for our reflections.

    So, here is the squad from today, a great group of people with some great projects. We started out the discussion with sharing our progress on our projects. Everyone seemed to be moving along pretty well with the project.

    But, it seems like I might be the most ahead as we have basically finished editing (or at least putting all of the clips together and the sounds). Some of the other members were still filming their project, but all had at least half of it done. 

    One of our members even showed us what she had of her project that was edited and wow. i was truly blown away by how professional it looks. But, it's always those darn CBTV kids (non-derogatory) who have the best project. I guess I'm just jealous but whatever, I can be just as good. It's all in good fun...

    But the bulk of are conversation were around the CCR. This was a really great for me to discuss some of my ideas and then hear what other people are doing. Some really interesting (and somewhat odd) ideas were thrown out.

    One person in my group is looking to make one of their media products for the CCR a kind of stand up comedy bit. I thought that was a pretty unique and fun take for their portion of the project. Another one of the group members was going to do an interview style video that answers the "moat Googled questions" about themselves, inspired by the Wired Autocomplete Interview. 

    

    Listening to all of these peoples ideas really got me thinking about mine. With only a two weeks left in the project, I really got to decided on how I am going to present my CCR. And I do NOT want to be boring. There is not a single bone of boring in my body, so just expect great things.

    Next, I am going to be super locked in on the CCR, so be expecting some more posts about how that is going. Just to give an update on the project, you all will be pleased to know that we have moved on the the third phase of editing, the credits! Yes, all the sound design was put in and we finished that element, and now Max finally has his time to shine. I'll be sure to keep you all posted on his progress. 

And now for the movie quote of the day...

"I'll try to be a real grandma from now on." - Soonja, Minari (2020)

    

Guess what?

     I can't hear your guesses, because this is a blog post (yes I stole that from Wicked). Also, I have literally baited you ALL because nothing interesting is happening. Okay, maybe a little is going on. STATUS UPDATE TIME. 

    With there being about two weeks left in the project, we are seriously locking in. Or at least I am. As I said in an earlier post, my team and I have devised a system for how we are going to edit the project. Right now, we are still in the editing phase, that being of putting all the clips in order with the correct timing. But, I am glad to say that we are almost done with that phase! Yes, it's true, I have almost secured that aspect of the opening.

    Now, Rachel has been compiling all of the sounds that we will use in the project and has been putting them in our Google Drive. When all of the sounds have been compiled, I will put all of them in. Such a fun task.

    Also, Max has been yapping so much about how epic his title sequence will be. My expectations have been lifted like the wings of a bird, so I am expecting big things. I just hope that he will not be blinded by the epicness of the GTA intro and make the best decision for the entirety of the project.

    There is something that I have learned from this project, and that is the importance of timing.

    I did have a first edit of the project, and you know what... I hated it. Well, it was fine, but throughout there was something off. It felt so quick and disjointed, like there was no connection between each clip, that is was just a stagnant telling of events told in fragmented sequences. 

    I'll share an example.

    This is the first edit. As you can see so clearly, the timing is just so... weird. Like, even Rachel told me that it felt fast and sort of unclear, which I totally see. At the time, I guess I did not know any better, but with this feedback, I think I made some good fixes. Here is the after.

    

    I know that it could still be better, but I think it is a major improvement from the former edit. I think putting the dialogue over the insert of the clock makes everything come more together. Also, not cutting off the clips so early just makes it seem less forced in a way. Keep in mind that we have not put any audio in or any of the voice overs so it is still very incomplete.

    But the point is, I have had some learning experiences with the editing experience. It may not be perfect, but it is good enough for now.

    After putting in the sound, I am going to do a full review session with my teach to go over everything before Max starts putting the credits in. We are at the final leg, my friends. Am I saddened that it is almost over? Not really. But, it is sad that this is my final big project of high school, and I'm glad it is such a good one.

And now for the movie quote of the day... 

"Charlotte Poughkeepsied in her pants." - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

yay, there's more things to do (AKA the CCR)

    While we are still in the thick of our edit (well not the thick but towards the end), we have to start thinking about the lovely CCR. Ah yes, the Creative Critical Reflection, what fun this will be.

    With all the anxiety of the project, I had almost forgotten about this crucial element. But it's fine, I've got some time (this is me gaslighting myself). 

    But there is no time like the present to start thinking about what to do for the CCR, and why not start from the beginning. 

Question #1

    The first question I will be tackling is about genre conventions and representation. Easy enough.  

    Let's start with genre. In our project, we use a good amount of genre conventions. One of the ones that I really felt while I was editing in the use of sound when changing location.

    It really made me think of how in Stranger Things (2016), it was a whole trademark that whenever they would switch locations, they would have this synth sound that would build up, increasing tension, but also making a segue to get to the next thing. Also, they tend todo a kind of audio match when they get to the next location. Here is an example. 

    Stranger Things (2016) Season 1 Episode 1

This is like a super specific example, but it is something I was actively thinking of while I was editing, so I think it would be good to include it in the CCR. 

    

    As for some more overall conventions, I think we have a big character convention of the troubled teen character who goes through this big scientific anomaly. This is a somewhat common occurence within science fiction films, and it appeals to a certain audience of young people (but we will svae that for question two).

    Films like Ready Player One (2018), Tomorrowland (2015) or even Back to the Future (1985) all deal with teenagers or young adults who are broody and unhappy that get put into impossible situation that all has to do with some scientific concept. We really lean into this convention because it always works having the drama of a teenage life combined with the wacky scientific aspect of whatever is going on

    This is definitely a good point of discussion for the CCR, as it is one of the main conventions that we divulge into. 

    

    Now, on the basis of representation, we touch on a pretty significant group. It is not super explicitly stated in the opening, but our main protagonist is going through some pretty major mental health struggles. It is heavily implied as hse is going to therapy, but also with her body language and reactions to the questions. 

    We also are sort of making a commentary on how mental health has been treated in the modern age. For instance, the film Smile (2022) conveys a similar message as ours, that being that epople try to pretent to care about mental health when it really is all just a front. Our character, Dr. Schultz is a perfect representation of that theme. 

    With Alice, we wanted to show her as someone who is a product of the corrupt ideas around mental health and that the time loop is a metaphor for how she feels. Her therapy is just a loop of endless questions before the loop starts, and after is truly becomes that.

    All of these would be good to talk about in the CCR. Once I have my idea for how I will present it solidified, I will get that script going and supercharge this process. I am glad to star tworking on it now because I do not want the CCR to feel like an after thought and I want as much care to be put into it as is in the rest of my portfolio. 

And now for the movie quote of the day... (but it's from a musical)

"Everybody, oh, they love a winner. So, nobody loved me." - Sally Bowles, Cabaret (1966)

Is Premiere Pro My Enemy?

    SPAWN OF SATAN! That's what premiere is. It hate me and my guts forever. I try to love it and tend for it but it just wants me to crawl into a hole and die. It reached through my screen and bashes my head into it over and over again (wow, that was a lot of personification). 

    Okay, it's not that bad. But I think sitting in front of my computer for hours on end has given me some major headaches. This is not a new thing though. My gaming days have much prepared me for this venture.

    But, while on the subject, let's talk about my love/hate relationship with Premiere Pro. 

    I have had a pretty familiar relationship with Premiere. I first learned how to use it last year when I joined my school's television program. As a beginner television student, we are actually required to get certified in the program, so I would say I am pretty well versed with it. Just to add some icing on the cake, I am also certified in Photoshop (I am an Adobe Certified Professional btw). 

    So, I am comfortable operating the program. But, I have never said that I am calm when I am operating it. Even before this project, I have had several crashouts over this godforsaken program. Even though I have used it for two years now, I still have never had an experience free of bumps in the road. There is always at least one issue, and with a project of this size, that number has multiplied exponentially. 

    For one, there is this one transition between two clips that I cannot seem to get right at all. Just as a preface, here are the two clips. 

    For some reason, when we were filming the first scene, my team and I thought, "Guys, let's do a whip pan right here," and then we did it and then did not complete the whip pan on the next shot. And the whip pan does not even look that good and I'm not sure the shot as a whole looks good. 

    Alas, I will persevere with my amazing editing skills. The first thing I tried to tackle was the stupid whip pan. I have two options. I could either take it out, or try to make it blend with the other clip. 

    At first, I tried the former option. When I took out the whip pan and then put the clock clip after, it made quite literally no sense. This was the start of my crashout session. Without the whip pan, you cannot tell why they are looking at the alarm clock. Maybe if I mess around with it a bit more I could tet the timing a little better, but for right now I gave up on that. 

    Then, I took the latter option. Based on a godsend youtube video (here), I used the effect that was described and I applied it to the clips. Now, it does not look terrible, but it is definitely cheesy. I kept it there for now, but I don't think my soul will let me keep it. 

   

     I am just going to leave it there until I finish the rest of the edit, and then I'll come back to it. But, the rest is going pretty well. Next blog post, I will not complain and I'll talk about what it going well with the edit. Trust, not everything about Premiere is bad. 

And now for the movie quote of the day...

"'You look tired' means 'you look old.' And 'you look rested' means 'you've had collagen.'" - Albert Goldman, The Birdcage (1996)

 

The Editing Lair of Doom

     Something about me is that I generally enjoy editing. It is usually not a chore for me or too strenuous, but somehow this project has made Premiere Pro my personal pit of flame. Okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic (I definitely am), but I have my reasons. 

    But before I delve into that, lwts talk about how my team and I are dividing up the editing process. I am what I consider the first station. I am in charge of putting all of the clips together in the correct order and getting all of the timing right. This also includes editing out any mistakes that made it into the shots by accident (spoiler alert: this is what ends me). The next station goes to Rachel. She is the sound god, and what the entails is looking at my edited segments and either find the sounds that suit it or making all the foley sounds. Then, she will send me all the sounds and I will put them in. Then I will send the file over to Max, the title monger. He has been really excited about the credits sequence from the start, so he will just be running wild with that. And then, the final cog in the wheel is Maiya, who is in charge of the stilization of the opening (which is basically just color grading). 

    Now, this seems like a solid plan doesn't it? Well, you would be right, it is. Right now, we are still in phase one of the editing process. That means that I have been hunched over a computer for several hours trying to get all of this footage in perfect order. I've even got a little time lapse of an hour of me editing, or the alternative title of me slowly going insane.

    I do not know if you notices, but there are a few frames where you can see me yelling into the camera. That is how I felt 99% of the time. Crashout core at it's finest. 

    What I was doing for the majority of this editing segement was editing out a stupid excercise bike that was in the background of one of the shots. I had noticed it during filming but it was essentially unmovable and I needed that location for the shot. "I can just edit it in post," I said. "It'll be fine," I said.

    It is fine actually, just a hell of a lot of work. So, using my serious editing expertize (and some youtube videos), I finally figured out how to use the marking tool. But, much to my chagrin, I now had to go frame by frame to edit this exercise bike out. Frame. By. Frame. 

    One does not realize how short a frame is until they have to go through it over and over again. And I am not even done editing it out. I had to move on from it because it was taking way to long and I wanted to get the rest of the project laid out. 

    Now I am going to share a before and after, but before I hear any judgement coming from anyone, just know that it isn't finished yet. I've still got some fine tuning to do.

Here is the before...

And here is the after (in progress)...

    I know that it doesn't look great, but it's what we got. And I think with some more playing around that I could get it looking alright. I just cannot have that bike in the background because it literally makes no sense. Other than that, the editing is going pretty good. It's nice seeing it all come together. I just need to mess around with some of the other scenes to get the timing right, and then all will be well.

And now for the movie quote of the day...

"I feel bad for her because she's about to cry. I can always tell when adults are about to cry." - Moonee, The Florida Project (2017)