Hi for the last time! Attached to this post, my very last blog post, is my creative critical reflection or CCR. I just wanted to highlight my part in this project and how I viewed my project and the impact it made. I also want to express that I'm so proud of the final product. It's been an incredible journey and an extremely difficult one as well. I never expected it to be this challenging in all honesty, but it feels so much more rewarding now that the project is actually completed. I did actually enjoy this project, even though it was extremely difficult for me, because we were able to be creative with it and put to use all the skills we've acquired in this course. If I could give past-me a piece of advice though, it would be to plan better and schedule our time better too, because I think that was our ultimate downfall as a group. Despite these difficulties however, we were able to pull through and deliver to you a project that we are all really proud of. I hope you enjoyed seeing our progress, our successes, our failures, and now our finished product.
Here's the link to my Creative Critical Reflection:
https://youtu.be/YpV4swPO44c
--Blogger Buitano (for the last time)
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Film Intro: Final Product
Hi again! This is the moment we, "we" meaning you and I, have been waiting for... the final product!!! Finally, finally, finally, we have finished and are ready to show you what we've created. As you know, it's been a bumpy road from start to finish, but the important thing is that we are finished. I can't believe we actually got to the point where we are done with this project, but I'm so happy we finally have. We switched plots four times, filmed three times (3 different ideas), and in between all that indecisiveness we finally were able to settle upon one plot and stick with it start to finish. We planned it, filmed it, and edited it, and are now able to step away and see it as a finished product. It was a struggle, and don't take that lightly, it truly was a struggle, but I'm really proud with what my group has accomplished and created, and I hope you are too. Enjoy!
Here's the link to our movie Mother, Oh Mine:
https://youtu.be/vecAkrKE4dE
--Blogger Buitano
Here's the link to our movie Mother, Oh Mine:
https://youtu.be/vecAkrKE4dE
--Blogger Buitano
Sound
Hey! So for our movie intro, some sounds that were crucial in order for our plot to flow, so we had to record them separately for them to be louder. Our intro is mainly focusing on dialogue being presented by Katerina Wu while she's sitting on a chair, self-recording her confession tape. We input a black screen before cutting to her intro of the video and that's were we inserted these sounds. We recorded her footsteps to the chair, the light switch turning on, her sitting on the chair, and the camcorder powering on. For some of these sounds we used Foley. For example for Bella sitting in the chair, Nico actually also pushed a pillow into a desk and for the camcorder powering on we used the light buzz that takes place when you turn on a Polaroid. For the other sounds though, we just rerecorded them to focus solely on that sound. We recorded Bella walking to the chair and focused the microphone by her feet and for the light switch we recorded Nico's hand pulling on the string to turn the lights on.
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| Nico pulling the light string. |
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| Bella walking to her chair. |
Just thought I'd share with you exactly how we got our sound to be obvious and clear in our film intro! Stay tuned for the final product!
--Blogger Buitano
Finally Finished Filming
It's a little late in the game, but we finally finished filming this week. We actually took one day to finish the script and film the whole video. I just want to describe the process to you so you can see the struggles we went through.
Bella, who was the main actress for our film, and I picked out her outfit. She wore a denim shirt and black leggings, something that a normal teenager would wear. But we made her have a messy ponytail and dark makeup to give her a deranged look to her. We then finished writing the script with the help of Isabella's brother Alexander Tolkov. We then filmed the video and had to set up the background how we wanted it to be and set up the camera so that she was centered in the camera. We set up the background to show sewing tools and mannequins which foreshadows that the main character sews clothes that resembles her mom's style in order to be more like her. We also stacked books on a stool in order to have Bella take up the majority of the shot and to have the camera and her eye level. We then adjusted the lighting so that it was more low-key in order to show that the movie would contain a heavy and dark theme.
After the set up, we began to film. It took us around two hours to film since we wanted to have one solid scene with no cuts of Bella talking to the camera. She had to memorize her lines and then we had to make it flow and get it perfect in one take. After she got it perfect around 2 or 3 times we finished filming and went to the editing process which didn't take too long. Nico put the two videos together and we had our video. We know which font we want, what our title is, so we have our texts down too, along with our sound effects and foley sounds, the only thing that is left is the background music. We have the filter of the recording in progress, so after the music is added in, our intro will be completely done.
--Blogger Buitano
Bella, who was the main actress for our film, and I picked out her outfit. She wore a denim shirt and black leggings, something that a normal teenager would wear. But we made her have a messy ponytail and dark makeup to give her a deranged look to her. We then finished writing the script with the help of Isabella's brother Alexander Tolkov. We then filmed the video and had to set up the background how we wanted it to be and set up the camera so that she was centered in the camera. We set up the background to show sewing tools and mannequins which foreshadows that the main character sews clothes that resembles her mom's style in order to be more like her. We also stacked books on a stool in order to have Bella take up the majority of the shot and to have the camera and her eye level. We then adjusted the lighting so that it was more low-key in order to show that the movie would contain a heavy and dark theme.
After the set up, we began to film. It took us around two hours to film since we wanted to have one solid scene with no cuts of Bella talking to the camera. She had to memorize her lines and then we had to make it flow and get it perfect in one take. After she got it perfect around 2 or 3 times we finished filming and went to the editing process which didn't take too long. Nico put the two videos together and we had our video. We know which font we want, what our title is, so we have our texts down too, along with our sound effects and foley sounds, the only thing that is left is the background music. We have the filter of the recording in progress, so after the music is added in, our intro will be completely done.
--Blogger Buitano
Target Audience
Hey! I just wanted to blog about this in case I haven't specified it in my previous blog. It's the target audience of thriller films. The general target audience of thrillers is adults. This is because some ideas common in thriller films are too intellectually demanding for a younger audience and it might be more difficult for them to grasp the idea of the film. Thrillers have several sub-genres though and each sub-genre has it's own specific target audience. Our film, would be classified as a suspense, horror, and action thriller. These sub-genres are aimed towards mature teenagers and young adults. These sub-genres are more exciting so they attract a younger audience because they're more enticing and they're also less intellectually demanding so this fits a younger audience better. Thrillers also usually target men more than women, but for our film we are aiming for both genders.
--Blogger Buitano
Productions, Panorama. "Target Audience - Thriller Films." Prezi.com. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2017
--Blogger Buitano
Productions, Panorama. "Target Audience - Thriller Films." Prezi.com. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2017
Here we go again...
So, first off, I just want to apologize for being so inactive recently, I've been getting together with my group the past five days straight so I haven't really had time to blog. We've been working extremely hard to complete the project and make sure it's good and the way we want it. We changed almost everything at the last minute, which put a lot of stress on us, but I think it ended up being for the best because we were way more satisfied with our changes than our original ideas.
So... We changed the plot again, and made it to be about a girl, Katerina Wu, who always feels one-upped by her mom. She resents her mom for always over shadowing her, yet is obsessed with her because she wants to be more like her and eventually better than her. The film opens with her confession tape admitting to the murder of her mom. Then after the opening, the film would go back to highlight moments of her childhood that led to this hatred of her mom. We'd then go to her teenage years and focus on them mainly to understand how Katerina felt going through her insecurities and then focus on an event that made her feel as though murdering her mom was the only way to solve all her issues. The movie would focus on that event that led up to the murder and then what happens to Katerina after the murder and after the submission of the confession tape.
This is the script Katerina Wu, which was played by Bella, read in the intro:
A seedling can not grow in the shadow of the tree from which it fell. It needs a chance to see the light. (Pause) I felt...overshadowed. I felt as though I never had any opportunity to grow with my mother around. If I ran a mile, she ran a marathon. She always had to one up me. I knew that with her around...I would never be able to progress. So, I murdered her. I ripped the piano wire out of the baby grand in our loft, walked into her room in the dead of night, and strangled her. As I did it, there was a feeling of relief in seeing the life pour out of her eyes. It was as if the life that she was loosing was being given to me. I am not ashamed or devastated by the murder. I am proud, for now this little seedling can reach towards the sun and show the world the fruits of its tireless labor. If you wish to find the body, it is in a brush in the Everglades. My name is Katerina Wu. You can find me at 2565 Eagle Point Dr. I'll be waiting for you.
--Blogger Buitano
So... We changed the plot again, and made it to be about a girl, Katerina Wu, who always feels one-upped by her mom. She resents her mom for always over shadowing her, yet is obsessed with her because she wants to be more like her and eventually better than her. The film opens with her confession tape admitting to the murder of her mom. Then after the opening, the film would go back to highlight moments of her childhood that led to this hatred of her mom. We'd then go to her teenage years and focus on them mainly to understand how Katerina felt going through her insecurities and then focus on an event that made her feel as though murdering her mom was the only way to solve all her issues. The movie would focus on that event that led up to the murder and then what happens to Katerina after the murder and after the submission of the confession tape.
This is the script Katerina Wu, which was played by Bella, read in the intro:
A seedling can not grow in the shadow of the tree from which it fell. It needs a chance to see the light. (Pause) I felt...overshadowed. I felt as though I never had any opportunity to grow with my mother around. If I ran a mile, she ran a marathon. She always had to one up me. I knew that with her around...I would never be able to progress. So, I murdered her. I ripped the piano wire out of the baby grand in our loft, walked into her room in the dead of night, and strangled her. As I did it, there was a feeling of relief in seeing the life pour out of her eyes. It was as if the life that she was loosing was being given to me. I am not ashamed or devastated by the murder. I am proud, for now this little seedling can reach towards the sun and show the world the fruits of its tireless labor. If you wish to find the body, it is in a brush in the Everglades. My name is Katerina Wu. You can find me at 2565 Eagle Point Dr. I'll be waiting for you.
--Blogger Buitano
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Giving Credit To Where Credit Is Due
Hi, again! Right now I'm tracing our steps back to our film idea. We originally had a very different idea as you well know by now. The idea we have now and are actually sticking with was inspired by my classmate and a Chinese myth. My classmate is the one who brought the idea to me and told me about this myth she'd heard of and I decided to do research on it.
The legend is called the Red String of Fate, and according to it, the gods supposedly tie an invisible red string around peoples' ankles, or fingers (Japanese version), that are destined to meet each other. It's similar to the idea of soulmates a lot of people in the U.S. believe in, only with a more fantastical element involving a string physically tying them together.
We're taking from this as inspiration, but we aren't following the legend exactly or discussing it. The string in the legend is never cut, but in our film intro it will be shown cut. We also aren't following it exactly because we just want the main idea from it, that peoples' fates are tied together when they are destined to meet.
That's all I wanted to share with you guys, just how our idea actually accumulated and came together and how this Chines legend inspired my group's plot. Stay tuned for more, we'll be finishing filming soon, yay!
-Blogger Buitano
Unknown. "Search." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Mar. 2017. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.
The legend is called the Red String of Fate, and according to it, the gods supposedly tie an invisible red string around peoples' ankles, or fingers (Japanese version), that are destined to meet each other. It's similar to the idea of soulmates a lot of people in the U.S. believe in, only with a more fantastical element involving a string physically tying them together.
 |
| https://i0.wp.com/static.tumblr.com/f43438cf0017ef98bdf5bbc5017582dd/gxolnap/LC5mo8om5/tumblr_static_tumblr_m8prp9mmr21rdhzyqo1_500.gif |
We're taking from this as inspiration, but we aren't following the legend exactly or discussing it. The string in the legend is never cut, but in our film intro it will be shown cut. We also aren't following it exactly because we just want the main idea from it, that peoples' fates are tied together when they are destined to meet.
That's all I wanted to share with you guys, just how our idea actually accumulated and came together and how this Chines legend inspired my group's plot. Stay tuned for more, we'll be finishing filming soon, yay!
-Blogger Buitano
Unknown. "Search." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Mar. 2017. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Filming... Finally!
Hi! So today, guess what?! We filmed today!!!! Finally!
Okay, so the filming day started with getting our actors situated. I texted them what they had to wear and bring with them. That consisted of a mainly white outfit for the scene of them in the field after the car accident. It was a white outfit to have an angelic feel to the scene and make it seem more of a trance than a reality. Then I told them to also bring a change of clothes so that we could film scenes that would be part of the montage showing the couple's relationship. We then went to Markham Park and found a meadow-like path.
We began filming after tying the red string around both of the actors's ring fingers. Gabriel Torres, our main character, and his on-screen and off-screen girlfriend, Gabriela Marcano, are the main people participating in our film and their scenes are what we filmed. We filmed Gabe waking up confused in the meadow by himself, then him getting up and following the string to find Gaby. They eventually meet halfway and that's when she grabs on to his arms and shows him what they are meant to be to each other. The montage will play, which we also filmed yesterday, and then she backs away from him. We then filmed her touching his arm saying, "Come find me," and her hand slowly sliding off of his. After that we filmed her disappearing and him being left alone in the field.
That pretty much sums up our day of filming. We still have to film the car crash that Gabe is in and then the end of our intro, which is him waking up in a hospital, and then were done. After filming we need to edit and we might need to go back and create some Foley sounds but we'll determine that after we finish editing. It's a slow process, but I finally feel like we are getting somewhere, so stay tuned, our movie intro will be ready before you know it!
--Blogger Buitano
Okay, so the filming day started with getting our actors situated. I texted them what they had to wear and bring with them. That consisted of a mainly white outfit for the scene of them in the field after the car accident. It was a white outfit to have an angelic feel to the scene and make it seem more of a trance than a reality. Then I told them to also bring a change of clothes so that we could film scenes that would be part of the montage showing the couple's relationship. We then went to Markham Park and found a meadow-like path.
We began filming after tying the red string around both of the actors's ring fingers. Gabriel Torres, our main character, and his on-screen and off-screen girlfriend, Gabriela Marcano, are the main people participating in our film and their scenes are what we filmed. We filmed Gabe waking up confused in the meadow by himself, then him getting up and following the string to find Gaby. They eventually meet halfway and that's when she grabs on to his arms and shows him what they are meant to be to each other. The montage will play, which we also filmed yesterday, and then she backs away from him. We then filmed her touching his arm saying, "Come find me," and her hand slowly sliding off of his. After that we filmed her disappearing and him being left alone in the field.
That pretty much sums up our day of filming. We still have to film the car crash that Gabe is in and then the end of our intro, which is him waking up in a hospital, and then were done. After filming we need to edit and we might need to go back and create some Foley sounds but we'll determine that after we finish editing. It's a slow process, but I finally feel like we are getting somewhere, so stay tuned, our movie intro will be ready before you know it!
--Blogger Buitano
Saturday, April 1, 2017
New Plot, Who Dis?
OKAY!! I'm so excited about this! We finally, finally came up with a good plot that we all like and agree on!
Here it is, this is our plot, and we also included the genres this specific plot would consist of and some shots that we need for our intro.
There is a group of people in a car, laughing, talking, listening to music, having fun.
Here it is, this is our plot, and we also included the genres this specific plot would consist of and some shots that we need for our intro.
There is a group of people in a car, laughing, talking, listening to music, having fun.
All of a sudden, the driver loses control and there is a loud smash and bang (Foley and sound effects).
There is smoke and you just hear a ringing and metal clanging.
The car crashed into a tree in the woods. There’s smoke coming from the hood of the car, there’s blood and mud all over the hood of the car to show the destruction of the car.
The main character wakes up in a hospital gown, all alone. (Next to a pond)
He sees that now has a red string attached to his ring finger.
He looks confused (close up).
Gets up, calls out to see if anyone is there and there is no response. He is completely alone.
Turns his head around the corner and walks to walks towards the string to find where it leads to, and he hears a faint laugh in the background.
He walks into a corridor and discovers the laugh belongs to a young and beautiful girl who has the end of the string tied to her ring finger.
They walk to each other, she laughs and says she’s been waiting for him.
He asks her what she means by this, but she cuts him off by grabbing his hands.
A montage of moments with the pair starts to play. It shows them laughing together going on dates, sleeping together, crying together, etc.
He goes back to “reality” once the montage ends and she says, “see?”
He can’t find anything to say beside semi-nod
She comes close to him, her face completely changes from her light-hearted and laughing self to being serious and even worried and whispers (in a stressed and urgent tone), “Come find me.”
She fades away and the end of his string does too.
He, from the montage and from just being with her, knows he’s supposed to love her and be with her, he just doesn’t know how.
Now that he’s left alone, he just closes his eyes and wakes up in the car, his head. (Here we will match his reality with his dream sequence).
Shallow focus will be used to show some movement in the back of the car to show that everyone is okay, while still solely focusing on the main character.
He’s dazy from the accident but manages to get up, and when his eyes refocus he looks around to see if he's okay.
While doing this, he notices he has the red string tied to his ring finger, confirming that although he met this girl in his dream sequence what he felt was real and he has a sense of urgency to go find her (she might be in danger, because of the way she said “Come find me” to him) but passes out.
He reawakens in the hospital and still has the red string attached to his finger.
He gets up fast and immediately begins running.
Genre: Drama, Romance, and Thriller
Target audience: teens to young adults
Montage:
-sleeping together (cuddling)
-singing together in a car
-picnic
-eating dinner
-holding hands
-watching tv
-playing with dogs
We're Lost...
Hello! Welcome back! So, to sum up this week for you because I haven't blogged recently, it's been crazy. We've made so much progress and changed so much of our project. We basically started all over, but we're starting to catch up now so I'm feeling better about time, but I still feel under pressure for the CCR part of this project. We have a completely new plot, new story board, and actually started filming with our actors this week. This is how it began:
So on Wednesday, we met with our small groups, new groups this time, and discussed our projects. We all opened up our blog posts, described them to the group members, then we told the other members about our plot, and then asked for suggestions. We helped one of our members with her edits and shots since she didn't know which ones would be best for her video. We also helped edit their plots and create a better and more solid story along with creating creative shots they could use.
All of the group members went and then I was left. I pitched my group's idea to them and their response was exactly like mine. They weren't huge fans of the plot, just like me I wasn't so confident in it. They thought it was too confusing and too long and also felt that the intro was trying to be suspenseful and entice the audience but it failed and was boring instead. I took their advice and what they suggested was to start from scratch instead of fixing and rebuilding this idea. We had been trying repeatedly to do a thriller with some suspense and mystery involving water but, being realistic, I noticed that that was too much of a challenge to film in open water.
They later gave me new ideas and inspiration that I took and developed more and pitched to my group. It led to a huge discussion with my group and we got into a little fight about it because we were all working as individuals and then coming together instead of as a group. We talked it out and agreed to start working better together, and it actually worked, stay tuned!
--Blogger Buitano
So on Wednesday, we met with our small groups, new groups this time, and discussed our projects. We all opened up our blog posts, described them to the group members, then we told the other members about our plot, and then asked for suggestions. We helped one of our members with her edits and shots since she didn't know which ones would be best for her video. We also helped edit their plots and create a better and more solid story along with creating creative shots they could use.
All of the group members went and then I was left. I pitched my group's idea to them and their response was exactly like mine. They weren't huge fans of the plot, just like me I wasn't so confident in it. They thought it was too confusing and too long and also felt that the intro was trying to be suspenseful and entice the audience but it failed and was boring instead. I took their advice and what they suggested was to start from scratch instead of fixing and rebuilding this idea. We had been trying repeatedly to do a thriller with some suspense and mystery involving water but, being realistic, I noticed that that was too much of a challenge to film in open water.
They later gave me new ideas and inspiration that I took and developed more and pitched to my group. It led to a huge discussion with my group and we got into a little fight about it because we were all working as individuals and then coming together instead of as a group. We talked it out and agreed to start working better together, and it actually worked, stay tuned!
--Blogger Buitano
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