Week 8: Continuing CCR Creation and Adding Credits/Titles to Video

Hey all! Welcome back!! We have a lot to talk about today. First, let me just re-analyze my CCR Creation Planning that I mentioned last blog because I adjusted a few details. I know I said last time that I was going to film Friday and edit Saturday and Sunday, but after writing the script and planning out the "storyboard," I realized that the majority of time that the CCR will take up is the editing process because I have to add so many visuals and edits to make it interesting and interactive. SO, I changed the filming date to Thursday, which gives me one extra day to work on editing (Friday). Ok, let's officially begin now-GET READY, it's a lot. 

Let's start off with the editing done to the video (pretty much finished it already). The only thing I really had left to do on the video was add the titles and credits. Even though we had previously planned this factor, we had not picked out exactly which fonts we were going to use. So, it was a little more time consuming than I though it was going to be because I reviewed other film opening examples and saw how the fonts and transitions that the credits and titles are introduced is very important in setting the mood up. My partner and I got on a FaceTime call and worked for about 2 hours on finalizing this part of the video. I wanted to work face to face with my partner because I think that this part, even though it's small, does matter a lot and deserved the attention. We re-analyzed our previous ideas in a previous blog (way back), and then analyzed other examples of tragedy drama films like This is Us (similar family tragedy drama). We noticed how most of the credits were introduced very simply and the fonts were also very simple, as the focus is more on what is happening on the screen. The simplicity also helps to add a dull tone to the production. After getting a better picture of what we were looking for, we picked out the font by going through each one and picking out the one that matches the tone and genre. The rest of the process was pretty simple. I am EXTREMELY impressed with DaVinci Resolve because it was incredibly easy to add the credits to the portion we wanted it to be added in. We followed a similar process for the title (researching and going through each font), and we finally finished this part to the video. Here is the font/transition that we picked out for the credits:

Here is the font/transition that we picked out for the title:

Alright, so first thing done. Now we move on to talk about the CCR Creation. On Wednesday, I created the script and created kind of a storyboard plan while creating the script. This was not too hard to make because I had already answered the questions like I showed last blog, so I used those answers as the main basis of the script. While creating the script, I was constantly looking at another example that our teacher, Ms. Stoklosa, provided, to just make sure I was covering everything and was on the right track. Here is a glimpse of the script I created, the highlighted parts are my ideas for what will be integrated within that specific clip/sentence (that is my "storyboard" you could say):

As you can see, the basis of the script is very similar to the answers to the questions that I demonstrated on the previous blog, with a few sentences that I changed to make it more creative and interactive.

Ok, THAT'S done with. Now let's move on to the last portion of this blog, the filming of the CCR! I approached the production aspect of the CCR by printing out a copy of the script shown above. I placed my camera in an angle in my room that was good, and I started filming. I read off the script, but a lot of the times paraphrased what was on the script as well (shorter). 

After this, everything was very easy. I simply filmed me reading the entire script. Next time I will edit! I'm so close to finishinggg ahhhh!!

Until next time,

Natalia Ballinas

Week 8: CCR Creation Planning and Finishing Edits to Third Filming Portion

Hey guys! New week, new agenda! I have a lot to do this week as we are very close to being done with this project! Today I will be talking about the last edits made to the third filming portion to finish that up, and the beginning of our CCR creation. Here is a quick little agenda of what our week looks like to keep you guys updated and organized:

Blog 1: Planning and starting CCR Creation, Finishing Third Filming Portion Edits

Blog 2: Adding credits and title to video, Continuing to work on CCR Creation

Blog 3: Finish CCR Creation

First up, let's talk about the editing process that we finished today. So, the last edits to this final filming portion where mostly to add the sounds. I added the sounds that I had mentioned in the last blog (both from Royalty Free Music). However, like I had mentioned before, in one of the clips where Claire is entering the car, we filmed it with the music. We decided to keep it this way instead of adding the same music sound because the clip seems more natural. For example, if we were to add the sound, you wouldn't really hear how the music kind of mutes as the door closes. Even though the sound quality might be slightly better, it was not worth losing that natural appeal. Next, we filmed a quick clip that we had forgotten to film previously where Claire looks back as she is walking out the front door and sees her parents laying on the bed (absent from her life). The reason this clip took longer to film than expected was because it included my parents as the primary actors and they are on a different schedule that I need to find time to film. However, we got it out of the way, and edited it in the correct placement in the video. Additionally, like we did for the editing process in the first filming portion, we added a filter that helps to portray the clip with less lighting, and a duller setting. This helps to portray how the parents are very absent in Claire's life, adding meaning to the purpose of our film opening and film in general. 

Well, that was it for the editing, now what remains to finish up our video is to add the credits and title and then we are DONEE!!! Now that we're done with that, let's move on to the CCR Planning. 

Before we get into creating the CCR, I want to provide a short agenda on how we are going to tackle this CCR Creation. This will help you guys stay informed on my process and will also help me keep myself organized.

Tuesday: Begin CCR Creation-Answer Questions on Google Doc

Wednesday: Transform Answers to Questions into Script

Thursday: Plan out Video (Storyboard kind of thing)

Friday: Film Video

Saturday: Edit 

Sunday: Edit and finish

This is how my week looks like as per the CCR Creation scheduling. Like you can see, today I answered the four questions on a google doc. Here is a glimpse of my work from today:

Well, that's it folks! Next time we will be talking about the credits and titles that we added to our video (pretty much finishes our video up), as well as the continued work for the CCR Creation! Until next timeeee!!

Your fav,

Natalia Ballinas

Week 7: Start Third Filming Portion and Film Reflection

Hey guys! Today I will be talking about the start of our editing process for the last and longest filming portion, and also give a long-awaited film reflection for the last filming portion (where Claire is 18 years old and moving out). Without further ado, let's begin.

So for today, our editing process is similar to yesterday (just longer because there are more clips). We started off by cutting the clips to the appropriate length so that they flow correctly. Next, we edit sound. For this filming portion, there are two primary sound edits that we have to make. The first involves the first song while Claire is still in her bedroom, and the second involves the second song when Claire is in the car, leaving with her friend. Both of these songs are in the same genre (rock) because it helps to establish the mood for Claire's older self that we want to exhibit. We got both of these songs from Royalty Free Music because, just like the last filming portion, we emailed a company and asked if we could use songs by famous groups like Metallica, but they did not respond. So, we used this website which is the same as good! The two songs we picked are Power Grab and Power of Balance. After editing this into the appropriate clips in our video, we were done with the music aspect (was an easy process because we had recently done it with the last filming portion). However, when filming the clip where the second song is supposed to go (in the car), we actually played the music in the car because we wanted to compare which option sounded better. We are still debating these two ideas because they both have disadvantages and advantages, but will resolve it after we are done editing the full video (after next blog), because we want to see how both options hears in relation to the whole, complete video. 

quick glimpse at our editing work for today:

That was all the editing we did today. Next time we will be finishing the editing for this third filming portion. This will include adding some lighting filters to the part where the parents are shown (similar to the first editing portion), and other details that we will finish. Now let's move on to the longly awaited filming reflection! HA!

This third filming portion was definitely the funnest to produce for me. I really enjoyed it because it involved more creative shots than the other scenes. We did not encounter any major problems while shooting these clips, but we changed a few things or added other things to make our video better. For example, when shooting the outside portion of this filming section, we added some clips like a shot of the tires as they are about to move, or the shifter as they shift towards the "go" position. This helped add the appeal that the car was leaving faster and not coming back, also adding a rebellious appeal to the video, which we really wanted to show in this last filming portion. Overall, it was a great production and it worked out very nicely. Here are some examples of the special shots we added:

clip 

Well, that's a wrap for today's work! Next time we will be finishing up the third editing portion! 

Your fav, 

Natalia Ballinas

Week 7: Editing Second Filming Portion

Hey guys! Today we will be talking about our editing for the second filming portion. This portion is teenager Claire (15 years old) as she is transitioning to her older, darker self. To remind you, it still involves some signs of hope like school papers on her desk, but there are other signs that foreshadow a dark future. For this filming portion, our editing process required slightly a bit more detail than the last, but was overall not too long. The longest filming portion will be the third filming portion as it has the longest clips and is where we will include the title and other extra details, so I'm glad that we left 2 days for that editing process. No more talking, let's get to it!

First off, we shortened the clips so that they properly fit the video and flow (like in our editing of the first filming portion). This was quick and easy. Next, we tackled the sound. In this filming portion, there are several sound factors that we need to incorporate from outside (internet and made up). In this part of the video, Claire is listening to sad music during most of the scene, so we had to research the sound for this. Like we said before (last week when we were talking about sound), we emailed a company because we wanted rights to use a song by Sam Smith in this part of our video. However, they never got back to us, so we decided that it will be easier and the same as effective to use a song from online that is already copyright free and available to use legally. For this part, we researched several websites but finalized on the song titled, "Ballero" from storyblocks.com. I added this to our video in the portion that it required, and tada! Done! 

Quick Glimpse of our video editing with the sound being integrated:

Next, we created some sound effects that were needed in our video like a parent calling from a distance and parents arguing from a distance. We thought about this hard as we were not sure whether it would be better to find this sound effect online or make our own. However, there wasn't much available online, and we also concluded that because the sound is supposed to be heard from a distance, it will be very complicated to find a sound that we approve as this part of our sound effect has to be very specific. So, we made our own. This wasn't hard to make because my parents know how to yell at me (JK HAHA!), but my parents actually did take a major role in the making of this sound effect as they were the main producers. I recorded it through voice memos on the iPhone, uploaded it to the computer, and vuala! Done! 

That pretty much sums up the editing for our second filming portion. The lighting did not have to be manipulated with much because the entirety of this scene is in Claire's room, so the lighting that we filmed the clips with was appropriate for the mood we want to give off. Well, that's a wrap for today. Join me next time where we will be talking about our editing process for our third filming portion and a film reflection for our production of this third filming portion (I promised this a while ago but I've had so much to write about I've forgotten! But no more waiting anymore!)

As always,

Natalia Ballinas

Research Links:

https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/ballero-346680330.html

Week 7: Editing of First Filming Portion

Hey guyssss!!! It's been a while but welcome backkkkk!!! I'm so excited for these next two weeks because we are going to be putting all our clips together and finally making our video come to life!!! I cannot wait to see the end product, I'm sooooo excited to edit!!! Ok, enough with the excitement and let's get to the editing. 

So, for this first filming portion editing we basically put all the clips together and did some minimal editing. This first filming portion is quite small and the most normal of them all (in terms of lighting and things like that), because Claire is kind of normal in this stage of her lifetime.  However, let's dive into our editing process.

First off, we cut the clips and adjusted them to make them flow and fit perfectly throughout this opening scene. Like we've said before, we are editing through DaVinci Resolve, and it is a great program that is very easy to manipulate.

After adjusting the clips, we added the parents fighting clip that we left towards later (yesterday) to film. This part of the clip involved my parents fighting in a clip so I needed to wait for when they were both present and had time to do this short clip. We added this clip into the appropriate section of our video, and adjusted its length so that it fits well. 

After doing this, we added sound. The main sound portion for this first filming portion was the parents fighting sounds and the narration. My parents actually (fake) fought with words in the clip that I filmed because we could not find appropriate sound effects online. Additionally, as per the narration, we wrote down a script and then recorded me on Voice Memos on the iPhone saying this script. It was a quick and easy process, especially because DaVinci Resolve worked great in adding sound (better than iMovie). 

Finally, our last editing step in this first filming portion was the lighting adjustment. Because in this first editing clip Claire is supposed to be the brightest and happiest of all the 3 stages of her lifetime, their wasn't that much lighting adjustments to make because the lighting in the video was bright enough and was the tone we wanted it to give off. However, we did apply some lighting adjustments in the parents fighting clip that is integrated within this first filming portion scene because we wanted the lighting to appear more dull than the rest of the scene. So, we played around with some filters available on DaVinci Resolve. We also decided to explore some more and looked at Clideo for some more video filters. This website had great filters that helped us demonstrate the duller aspect we wanted to give off in our video. Here is a before and after picture of how the clip changed after applying the filter:

With filter:

Without filter:

Well, that's a wrap for today! Join me next time where I will be editing the second filming portion!!! I literally cannot wait for next time this is coming along sooooo wellllll AHHH!!! 

As always,

Natalia Ballinas

Week 6: Last Filming Portion Reflection, Transition to Editing Process

Hey guys! Today we will be talking about our transition to editing process. This will include how we will tackle this objective, and we will provide some insight on our editing scheduling that will keep us organized throughout this process. I will also give a short reflection on our filming experience for our last filming portion. 

Let's get started. So for our editing process, like we've said before, we will be using DaVinchi Resolve. I have already downloaded it on my computer and have added the clips for our video. We are going to dedicate 2 weeks (Weeks 7 and 8) to solely editing (will also work on CC creation in between). Here is a glimpse of our schedule:

As you can see, for the first week we will focus on nearly finishing the editing (transitions and sound) for the whole video. The second week will focus more on adding the appropriate credits in the necessary places, as well as the title, and any last details we want to add. In between the last week we will also leave time to work on our CCR creation. It seems like a lot of work, but we are confident that we can do it if we stay on schedule.  

Now that we've got that covered, let's talk about our filming! This past weekend we completed our last filming portion and it went great! It was the longest filming portion because it included the most clips (when Claire is 18 years old), so it took a little longer than the previous 2 filming portions. However, it was very fun to do because we had to use a variety of props. For example, we used an old cigarette pack and put it in the car door, and we made the room seem very dark by closing the windows and having some lights on the floor give a mysterious appeal to the room (without these lights we wouldn't be able to see much). This part of the filming also required the most actors as we needed someone to play Claire's friend. It also required getting a rusty car and having Claire's friend drive it a little. I honestly loved being creative throughout our entire production process and I am glad that it all worked out :)). 

Join us next time where we will be starting the editing!!! It's going to be super fun because you guys will see a lot more of the project now :))). Wohoo, let's do this!!

Your fav,

Natalia Ballinas

Week 6: Sound Emailing (Copyright) and More Sound Research

Hey guys! Welcome back! Today we will be talking about our process for getting access (legally) to use the music/songs that we want to use in our video. 

In our music video, we are going to have 2 primary songs. The first song is a sad song, and this is the song that we will need to get access. We will get the crazy rock song that is also in our music video from a database that is copyright free. The main reason for this is because sad songs are harder to distinguish if not well known, while the angry, rock style is easy to distinguish through loud drums and other instruments that help to portray this mood. However, if the company does not reach back on time, we will have an appropriate sad song available through the copyright free database as well. 

Ok so let's move on to the process. I started off my research by simply looking up how to gain access to well-known songs. I found an article published by Copyright Alliance titled, "How To Get Permission To Use A Song," and it explains how you don't need to necessarily email the music producer to gain access to the specific song, because many songs are part of SESAC, a music rights organization from the US that let's you request permission directly from the SESAC website (faster an easier). The article included the links for both finding if the song is part of SESAC, and the link for requesting access to the specific song. However, I quickly realized that the process might take a while, as SESAC is a large copyright company that has a lot of business. I still emailed them though and I received a message that they will respond within 24 hours. 

However, if we do not have success through this database, we know another database that is copyright free which will also work.  

After we knew how to gain access to the songs, we minimized our list to our top 2 songs, in order to focus on getting permission from these 2 songs. One of the songs is part of SESAC, while the other is not (copyright free database). We will use whichever gives us permission first, as we know that both songs would work well in our project. Here are our top 2 songs:

interscope records

1. Sam Smith- Stay With Me

2. David Fesliyan- Goodbye, My Friend

We also found a great copyright free database for the rock song in our video. The link is here for this database: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/royalty-free-music/metal-rock

As per the link for the sad song database, the link is here: https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/downloads-c/sad-music/1

That pretty much sums up our work for today. I am satisfied with our work today because we not only learned something new, but we also figured out which songs we are going to be using and are on the verge of finishing our project!!!

Join me next time when I will be talking about our editing process transition, as well as give an insight on our film reflection from our final filming portion that we completed this past weekend!

Until next time :))),

Natalia Ballinas 

Research Links:

https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/how-to-get-permission-to-use-a-song/

https://www.sesac.com/repertory/search

Week 6: Group Discussion and New Ideas

Hey guys, welcome backk!! It's been a minute since we've talked. Today I will be describing the group discussions that my partner got feedback from last class. I was absent (excused) on the day of the group discussion, so I was unable to participate. However, I am looking forward to looking into the feedback that my partner has shared with me. I think that it is so crucial to get feedback from others and build on that feedback because it truly helps us grow in every way possible!

So, let's dive into the feedback. We do not have many problems with our project as of right now, so Bianca told me that she did not share a lot of our current conflicts, and rather instead shared our planning (what we are currently doing), as well as a summary of our plot (to give some context). She shared how we just finished filming, and we are moving on to planning the fonts, sounds, and transitions, before getting into the actual editing. The group really liked our fonts that we are thinking of integrating into our project, and they also suggested looking into the sound research soon (as sound copyright requests may take a while). We took this into consideration and we will be planning the sound research portion of our project first thing next time. 

Today wasn't much, but I am excited to get back next time and talk about all the sound research we did as well as clarifying which songs we will use in our video. 

As always,

Natalia Ballinas

Week Five: Set Design, Props, Lighting, Costume Design Planning and Shot List for Third Filming Portion

Hey guys! New day, new ideas, more progress, yay! Today I am going to go over planning for the set design, props, costume design, and lighting for the third and final film portion, as well as the shot list for it. 

Let's start with the costume design, set design, and props. For this last filming portion, Claire is in the darkest stage, as she has reached age 18 and is leaving her house. She will be dressed in all black clothing, with a black beanie. She will have thick mascara and a noticeable lipstick. This will help to demonstrate how she is dark, yet rebellious at the same time. The bed sheets will be a dark gray or black, along with the pillows. There will be nothing much hanging on the walls, demonstrating how she has truly given up in trying to make her household experience better. Her desk will be messy, with thrown change and old school papers showing her messy lifestyle, yet pretty empty as she is leaving her house on that specific day. This will also help to highlight how she is not trying much in school compared to the previous filming portion where she had an orderly notebook beside her desk, and how she is leaving behind school along. Her room will be rather empty, with only some old frames laying around her room to portray how she is leaving behind her family (through the portraits). 

This is an example of how Claire's costume design will look:

As Claire walks out of her room and into the living room, the living room will be even messier than the last time we saw the living room (in the first filming portion). There will be thrown pillows on the floor, a messy table with old papers and old food, and Claire's parents will be the center of attention with them being pretty much passed out. As Claire gets out of her house and into her friend's car, the first thing we see of the car is the trunk. The trunk will have a lot of trash (fast food bags), just dirty in general symbolizing how Claire is up for some trouble. Additionally, as she opens the car door, the side of the car door will have a pack of old cigarettes, and the car will look messy on the inside as well with trash. 

Let's talk about the lighting. The previous filming portion was significantly dark, but this final portion will show how she is the darkest she has ever been. There will be minimal lighting with the window completely closed and her door closed as well, trying to block out anyone in her household. 

Now that we've gone over that, let's move on to the shot list for the third filming portion:

1. Mid shot pan from calendar to Claire laying on her bed 

2. Long shot showing Claire getting up from her bed and going to her desk

3. mid shot of Claire turning the speaker volume down and getting marker to go to calendar

4. Over the shoulder shot of Claire scratching off the date on the calendar and circling the date titled “18th bday, Move out!!”

5. Close up shot of Claire’s happy face then she hears beep so she changes her face to one that looks like “oh I gotta go”

6. Long shot of Claire getting her luggage and bags that are already near her door and opening her door 

7. Jump cut of her walking out of the passageway towards the front door of the house

8. Close up of Claire as she looks back at the living room with a sad face, kind of doubting that she’s leaving

9. POV shot of parents laying around, lazy and drunk

10. Close up shot of Claire’s face demonstrating frustration and not doubting herself leaving

11. Mid shot of Claire opening the door and walking out

12. Jump cut to opening the trunk of her friends car

13. Close up of Claire putting her baggage in the trunk 

14. Close up of Claire closing trunk

15. Long shot showing Claire walking towards the main door of the car

16. Jump cut of Claire opening the door of the car showing how their are cigarettes on side of the door

17. Mid shot of Claire buckling her seatbelt

18. Mid shot of Claire telling her friend “Oh finally I’m out of this hellhole”

As you can tell, this is the longest filming portion, but I think it is the most exciting one!! I can't wait for this portion to be over because I want to start editing and seeing just how awesome this film opening video is going to be AHHHH!!!

Next time I'll be talking about our transition to editing, as well as sound research for this third filming portion! 

Your fav,

Natalia Ballinas

Week Five: Sound Research and Film Reflection for Second Filming Portion

Hi all, today we are going to talk about the sound that we are planning to use for the second portion of the filming that we did this past weekend, as well as a short reflection on our experience for it. 

Let's start with the sound research. We want this first song that is playing in Claire's ears to be a sad song, as this teenage portion of her life is full of sadness, and it turns into anger as she enters into adulthood. We have a list of songs that we are thinking of using which each portray a sad, melancholy tone that properly matches the mood we want her to give off:

1. "Sober" by Demi Lovato

2. "Moon River" by Frank Ocean

3. "Can't We Pretend" by Sorcha Richerdson

4. "Growing Pains" by Alessia Cara

5. "Head Above Water" by Avril Lavigne

6. "Lie To Me" by 5 Seconds of Summer

7. "Ashes" by Celine Dion

8. "Bitter" by Chappell Roan

9. "Self-Destructive Mind" by Ninet

10. "The Broken-Hearts Club" by Gnash

All of these songs were created around 2018 (the current year in this specific scene). They all have similar slow tunes with depressed lyrics. These choices were found from the article titled, "The Saddest Songs to Come Out in 2018," published by Popsugar. This article gave a list of 50 songs, and we listened to a short part of each song and came up with our top 10 list. We will continue to listen to these songs carefully throughout the week to pick our top 3, which we will reveal soon, and then finally will get our top choice right before the beginning of Week 7 (editing starts). 

Now that we're done with sound, let's shift towards our filming experience this weekend! Overall, it went great! We didn't find any major difficulties, although we did film the clips a couple of time with different lighting. For some videos, we closed the window completely and compared it when the window was open. Here is an example of our comparison:

We are still analyzing both options, but think that the closed window is better because it makes the video seem dark, but not extremely dark and leaves a lot of room for growth for the next filming portion (ultimate darkness).

Well, that about sums it up for today! Next time we will look into the costume design, props, set design, and other planning factors for our third and last filming portion, as well as create the shot list for our last filming portion!! It's coming along!!!

As always,

Natalia Ballinas

Research Link:

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/photo-gallery/44684533/embed/45490087/Broken-Hearts-Club-Gnash

Week Five: Titles and Fonts

Hey guys, welcome back!! New week, new excitement!! Today we are going to talk about the font choices that we researched for our credits and title in our opening scene, as well as the positioning of them. 

Let's dive into this new week!! So to start off this part of our planning, we began by researching. I started off by looking at the article titled, "50 Brilliant Movie Opening Credit Sequences," published by Den of Geek. This article talks about the importance that credit scenes and the fonts that go with them have in the film, as it introduces the tone of the film, helps to develop an interest in viewers, and helps in the overall sophistication of the production. This article gives various examples of films that have credits in their opening scenes. One particular example that caught my attention was "Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)." This example caught my attention because it starts off highlighting an internal conflict, similar to our story. This film is about a female character, Bridget, who decides to take control of her life and begins to keep a diary. It is an internal conflict between Bridget as she is trying to rearrange her life. Similarly, not only is our film a character vs self-conflict as our character is trying to forget about her anxiety and PTSD from past experiences but it is also told in the first person, just like in Bridget Jones' Diary. These two stories are very similar; therefore, it is a great example that I can use to develop what I want my fonts and credits to look like because it is evoking a similar tone/mood. Here are some of the fonts that are used in the credits and the title of Bridget Jones' Diary.

I liked how the difference in fonts are used in the credits because it creates a more dramatic approach as the cursive style lettering is more personal than the basic block lettering. I also really love and think that it is great how the title is a completely different font from the credits because it creates attention on the title, which in this case is very important (same as our film). Like I've mentioned before, our title is "Don't Look Back," and it carries an important characteristic that our main character is constantly thinking of, which ultimately leads to her downfall.

After getting a clear picture of how we want our fonts to look, we researched more fonts through Creative's Market article titled, "A Collection of Movie Fonts To Add A Cinematic Touch." This helped us to get more ideas on the fonts that we want to use (after knowing what type we are looking for). 

Ok, now that we got this covered, let's talk about the positioning of the credits. After looking at some examples from Den of Geek's article, we decided that we want our credits to appear in a soft way, which helps to place more emphasis on what is going on VS the credits. Although we want the credits to have a part in the opening scene by helping to set the tone, we do not want it to take over the focus as the actions happening in our opening scene are important in the development and purpose of our film. For example, in contrast, in the opening scene of "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2," the credits are introduced through the transition of colors in the letters which helps to put the credits as the main center of focus. This works for this film because the background is full of extremely long shots that are helping to set the setting of the story (and the mood), but viewers' overall attention is not necessary towards the purpose of the story. Here is an example of how the credits were introduced in Twilight:

Alright, THAT was a lot. However, our video really seems like it is coming alooongggg!! Next time we will be talking about the sound choices that we are planning to have in the second portion of our film opening video, as well as a reflection on the filming that we did this weekend! Until next time!!

As always, 

Natalia Ballinas

Research Links:

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/50-brilliant-movie-opening-credits-sequences/

https://creativemarket.com/blog/movie-fonts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Jones%27s_Diary

Week Four: Shot List, Costume, Set Design, Lighting, Props Planning for Second Portion of Filming

Welcome back guys!! It's been a minute since I last talked to you all, mostly because we've been so busy with planning these last few days!! Today we will be going over the shot list, costume design, set design, props, and lighting planning that we will be doing in the second portion of our filming. The second portion of our filming, as per the schedule we made, is going on this weekend (tomorrow in fact)!!! I can't wait to film and see how our film is coming along ahhh!!

Ok so let's get into it. First I'm going to share the shot list for our second filming portion:

1. Close up shot of calendar which shows the different years, pan to a mid-shot of Claire sitting on her bed listening to music  

2. Long shot of Claire walking to her desk 

3. POV shot of desk (shows what Claire is looking at)

4. Mid shot of Claire at her desk, confused as to if someone called her so she takes off her headphones but hears nothing so puts them back on

5. POV shot of desk to show her finishing what she was searching up (what age can you leave your house legally?)

6. Mid shot of Claire, again, taking off her headphones this time hearing her mom through her headphones screaming in the distance 

7. POV shot of Claire angrily tapping the enter button to search up what she was looking for (more angry than past after encounter with mom and reminder of parents fighting)

8. Mid shot of Claire saying "Ugh, 4 more years to go" which pans to the calendar

Now that we got that covered, let's move on to the costume, props, and set design. In this second portion of the video, Claire is noticeably darker, yet not as dark as she will become. Therefore, we want her to show some signs of hope, yet most of it is gone. Her room will be significantly dull and the lighting will be dim. The walls will have mostly no frames, except for a few posters she has up about emo bands. The bed mattress will be a dark, dull, colorless color, and the stuffed animals on the bed from the last filming portion will be gone. On her desk, there will be nothing except for her computer and school papers. The school papers are all around her desk in a messy matter, symbolizing she does at least do her homework but has a messy life. The floor will have some dirty clothes lying around (dull-colored clothes), which will help evoke the sense that like her room, her life is a mess. This will also help viewers see how she has little motivation. Claire will be wearing black leggings and a dull-colored shirt, she will have her hair down and covering a side of her face, and wearing some dark makeup. This will help to portray character development as Claire has grown from a girly little girl into a darker teenager, who although tries to get good grades, shows how her toxic household has impacted her life.

This is a quick glimpse into what our filming will be looking like tomorrow! Can't wait for next time when we will be looking into our font/logo, as well as giving a small reflection on our filming!!

Wohoo this is coming aloooongggg

With love,

Natalia Ballinas

Week Four: Narration (sound) Research and Adding Clips to Project

Hello all!! Today we are going to look at some research that I did that will help us get a clear picture of what we are going to say/how we are going to say it in the narration part of our film opening scene. 

As we said a few blogs ago, the first section of our film opening video where Claire is shown as a 7-year old girl, will have narration in the background to narrate what is going on and introduce the film. When there is an age change, the narration stops to bring the viewer more into the film, by including sound elements that increase the severity of Claire's house situation. During the narration, the script is timed so that there are several sound elements that are heard. For example, when Claire walks in her house, she sees her parents fighting. The narration will be timed so that it stops slightly and viewers can hear the loud noise of the parents' fighting, and the slam of the door as Claire enters her bedroom and the sound is then muffled, and the narration continues. Now, the question is who will be the voice of the narrator? Will it be a narrator, a supporting character, or Claire's voice? We tackled this question by looking at the plot of our film. We realized how the whole movie is about the internal conflict that Claire has built up because of her childhood experiences, and how these inner challenges have caused her to do bad things in the world. Therefore, we concluded that the voice of the narration in the beginning of the film should be Claire's voice, because it helps to bring the viewer into her perspective on life, revealing that the conflict is within herself. For example, in the film titled, "American Beauty," is about a father who becomes disillusioned with life and searches for excitement. The main conflict in this film is character vs self, as the father is going through kind of a mid-life crisis. The film opening video from this film involves a short narration portion through the voice of the father. Similarly, we think that our film will work similarly, producing a similar effect in viewers as American Beauty does. 

Ok, so now that we have a good clear picture about who is going to narrate, let's talk about what Claire will actually say in this short narration portion of the video. We don't know the exact script as of right now, but we have an idea of what we want her to evoke. At this point in the video, Claire is young and innocent but shows some signs of frustration as she slams the door when she enters her bedroom. Therefore, we want the narration to show future tense (18-year old Claire) voice as she talks about how this was her when she was younger, frustrated and miserable at times yet hopeful for the future. Our script will be arranged to evoke this feeling of hope that she had as a child, and how her attitude now is the opposite. 

Now that we got that covered, let's talk about the editor we will be using and stuff we did on it so far. 

We had two main editor apps we were debating upon, iMovie and DaVinchi. However, we picked DaVinchi because of past experiences, where their is more variety on DaVinchi than iMovie (ex. more transitions, title background, etc.). Most of the work done on this app will be more in Weeks 7-8, when we focus on our post-production process. However, some work like adding the clips to the video on this app will be done as we obtain the clips because this will let us know how long our video is and if we need to make any adjustments. 

Here is an image of how long our video is so far (after this first portion filming):

That's all for today folks, join me next time where I will be diving into our lighting, props, set design, and costume design for our second portion of our video, as well as our shot list for our second portion of our video! Can't wait!!

As always, 

Natalia Ballinas

Research Links (American Beauty):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/plotsummary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMqwSTe5rvo