Group Meetings #2

     So, today we had group meetings in our AICE Media Studies class. What's different about these group meetings is the fact that we all grouped up with other people––all with different projects–– and from there we gave each other constructive criticism and how everyone else's project was going so far. However, what differed from the last group meeting is the fact that before, we only were in the planning stage of our film opening, meaning we didn't have any footage, post-production, or a final script. All of our scripts were drafts riddled with a tang of trial and error. However, this time we showed our classmates the footage we had, as well as the post-production process, since we needed to finish editing and turn this project in as soon as possible.

Left to Right
Grace, Me, Sebastian, Justin, Oriana

        I was seated with Grace, Sebastian, Justin, and Oriana! I fear I don't have links to all their blogs, but I definitely recognized Justin's familiar face from our last group meeting. Overall, I received some pretty decent feedback: the mise-en-scène for my project was pretty good, and everything turned out super well! In addition, I did receive a slight bit of criticism on the camera quality, so my team and I went to refilm said scene, as it was only a minor part of the film opening, and despite being a small part, we wanted to get a perfect product out of this. With post-production, I got some tips on my color grading and how to improve it. My group agreed that color grading with a yellow-green tint was a good idea to capture the sense of dread present throughout the film opening, and Grace helped me out a little bit with my Premiere Pro issues.

    As for feedback for my group... It was great! I can't remember every detail of their projects since I'm typing up this blog after school, but I remembered Justin's Scream-inspired idea about a murderer. It's pretty developed, but I gave him feedback on the lighting and mise-en-scène of his film opening. Grace's opening was pretty chill, I remember helping her out with Premiere Pro. As for Sebastian, he didn't really talk much... but it's fine! I know his partner from my last group meeting, and their project is really creative. They tweaked some parts that made filming easier, though! As for Oriana, she's working with the CBTV kids and their project is really awesome! It's about a planet collision (if I remember correctly) and honestly I had nothing to criticize... it was awesome!

    

Oh... there's more..?

     Everyday I'd traverse throughout the Canvas course for AICE Media Studies AS, and when I looking at the blog postings we should be writing about, and I always scrolled down to the bottom, near where "WEEK SIX" was at, see "research for your CCR" and I'd think to myself, "that's in such a long time! I'll focus on it when I actually have to get to it!" Oh... was I wrong and sooooo naïve. Apparently there's more filming. I am so, very tired, and the light at the end of the tunnel here is the fact that this is due in a little over two weeks. But that's also the reason I'm panicking. TWO WEEKS!!! That's NO time at all. But. I will prevail, as per usual.

    After looking over my CCR notes, I've been thinking... brainstorming, even. The first question is asking me "how does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?" To that, I had no idea (initially), but I got in the zone and came up with something: sketch comedy. However, let me reiterate... I did not invent sketch comedy, but I will be making and writing a skit for my CCR, cause I just love sketch comedy. I will be mostly taking inspiration from sketch comedy channels such as Smosh, Tomska, and especially SNL, since I watched those channels the most when I was a wee lad.

The type of microphone stand I'm envisioning

    However, I also plan to add in my own twist. I love watching stand-up comedy and watch it turn out really bad... it's actually hilarious. I intend to play a comedian in my CCR, talking and making jokes out of the question being asked of me and inserting laugh tracks, cricket noises, etc. You get the point. Props I'm thinking of including is a microphone stand, hopefully some curtains, and a sore attempt at a spotlight. At this point, I might even just ask to rent out a whole comedy venue. 

Lighting I want – dim, emotional, playful, even

    I want the energy of this whole comedy skit to give Panic! at the Disco's concert when they were live in Denver 2006. Something playful, stupid, and the type of thing where you don't know what's coming next. I love the whole entire aesthetic of Panic! at the Disco, so there's no denying that said aesthetic consisting of burlesque, victorian, mixed themes isn't gonna be incorporated into my CCR. Overall, I'd like to think of this post as my vision board.

Premiere Pro I change my mind... I love you.

     Finally, for once. My Premiere Pro is finally up and working and it feels like angels came down from heaven and personally blessed me (thank you Grace). Seeing Premiere Pro load up without crashing is like the modern-day equivalent of seeing Jesus rise on the third day. So... you KNOW exactly what I got to doing: editing.

Editing the intro

This is a screenshot of me finally editing my project after being blessed by Creative Cloud. So far, I want to make sure that the first 15 seconds of my project are flawless, because those 15 seconds will set the precedent and overall tone for the film opening, which is absolutely vital considering that this mood will fester throughout the opening through the mise-en-scène, so things like: lighting, filters, environment, costume design, etc. 

Editing Frenzy!

     So... now that my team and I actually have salvageable film... it's time to do something with said film! And by "do something" I mean... edit. Personally, I enjoy editing, maybe because I've just been so used to it after doing it on-and-off for the past 5 years, just not on Adobe Premiere... but! I will prevail, as per usual. The overall editing process was pretty simple compared to what I'm used to; it only consists of putting the film clips into the workspace and cutting them down to your preferred length –– at least that's the very basic. I, in addition, added a dramatic, yellowish tint to the scene.

    Now... there were some technical difficulties with Premiere Pro. My school account would quite literally not let me open Premiere Pro, so I had to improvise and use good old After Effects to get my point across in terms of editing –– at least until my Premiere Pro can finally get fixed. 

    Currently, After Effects is glitching and not letting me take a screenshot of my work, meaning I will have to edit this blog and the next one about editing until I can get it fixed.

Film Day

     Today was a great filming day; however, our schedule was tight. We were filming in Joaquin's old house and had to finish before the buyers bought it. The actual scene we were filming didn't happen until about 30-45 seconds into our film opening, but this was urgent, as the house's sale was about to become finalized, so we prioritized it before anything else. We got the hardest parts of production done today, and I'm proud of our group.

    Throughout the day, we focused mostly on the mise-en-scène: props, set-up, costume design, all that jazz. It was actually really fun! We traversed the beautiful and diverse streets of our suburban city looking at different stores for props. We explored 7/11, Dollar Tree, and Goodwill. Usually, whenever I go to Goodwill, I don't really strike gold, but lady luck was on my side today and we did, in fact, strike gold. We found exactly what we were looking for: a clock radio from the late 1990's – early 2000's, a gorgeous and intricate picture frame, and a pretty analog clock. 

Picture of the clock radio and cute clock I bought!
Couldn't picture the picture frame, since Alejandro has it

Morning Meeting

     So... as our project has progressed, my group and I have decided that the classtime we get to work on our project is simply not enough... so, to fix that, we're starting to dedicate morning meetings to our project, whether it be at a cafè or at someone's house. We had all initially agreed to go to a local Panera Bread and finish what we had to do there. We dedicated most of our time there to polishing the overall plan and vision we had for our film opening. 

    Here is a link to the Google Docs we used to plan everything out to the minute details. It's basically the text version of our storyboard, which you can imagine just by reading the Doc. It consists of different shots, angles, and compositions, as well as the reasonings for those specific angles, and a lot more, such as the characters, props, etc.

Font Madness

    As the deadline for our portfolio project creeps forward, we're in a pickle. My group and I have yet to start filming due to timing constraints within my group. We've all been busy, weekends and weekdays. Well, now it's time to pick up our slack and get filming, but before anything, we need planning.

    My group and I had a very heated debate (sarcasm) a while ago about what font to use for our film opening, especially considering that fonts make up a good chunk of the film's tone set. I argued that we ought to use a simplistic font, because we're not trying to have our viewers use their eyes for the first 15 seconds of the opening, but rather, their ears since most things will be auditory. Alejandro agreed with me and suggested that we should use a typewriter font, to give a sense of the unknown, because the viewers will be walking into something they don't know about. However, Joaquin was on a whole different page. He suggested we use a graffiti style font, but using a graffiti style font would throw off the tone of the film, giving it a messy, rebellious vibe, when, in reality, our film is supposed to fill the viewer with a sense of dread and hopelessness (this is me exaggerating, but you get the point). 

    Overall, we all agreed to use the typewriter font called "Miriam Fixed" which was what Alejandro had initially suggested.

The different fonts we all had in mind for the title: "MEEK"