Film Opening

 Film Opening "Mirage": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR_e_TmTf9w

This is my film opening that I've been working for the past few weeks.

Creative Critical Reflection

Here are my CCR 1 and CCR 2 posted on YouTube.

CCR 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX6418qORzY

In this CCR I had a friend of mine come to my house and act as a reported from the University of Florida and interview me about my new film mirage.

CCR 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d6iQrS-4bI

In this CCR I acted as a youtuber and let fans send me videos about their questions relating to my film Mirage, I responded to their questions in a video.

Final Video Reflection

 The last step to finish the project is the reflection, the reflection is 4 questions that we are supposed to answer in a creative way. I started the first and second question of the reflection I just need to edit it. My idea behind the first video was to have one of my friends come to my house and play the role of a journalist from UF. My friend will interview me in different parts of the house like someone would in real life. During filming of the video, we encountered some problems such as wind, loud noises, and the script.

We were able to solve these problems by using our quick thinking skills in the spot. The wind during production was a problem because it would blow the script while also adding noise to the film. I decided to move the scenes where I was outside the backyard until later so the wind would pass. The loud noises weren't really unstoppable so we had to deal with planes and noisy neighbors. The way I was reading the script was in a way that was very  close to the camera, what ended up happening in one of my clips was that the paper was obstructing the view of the camera, and had to be filmed again. 

For my second reflection video I will be answering question 3 and 4. Question 3 and 4 were left for last because they were shorter than the first 2. Since the total video has to be from 7-10 minutes I planned that if I do a little over 5 minutes (5;20) in the first video I could do 3 to 4 minutes and that would be more than sufficient for the videos (8 to 9 mins).

 Since the second video is shorter, I decided I could make a fake podcast with one of my friends. Since the film "Mirage" will be seen by many an interviewer will probably invite me to his show. Since I know this idea is pretty basic I decided that the podcast will take place in the everglades that way the video can be more entraining. The video will start with me and the interviewer in a boat and will end when I finish asking the questions. 

Editing

 After we finished recording, we knew most of the editing involved with the video, but what impressed me the most was how easy it was to add the background music. We used Upbeat, a website that allows you to install 3 free background music choices from a vast selection. For the editing, we decided to use ClipChamp. Mariano and I have used ClipChamp in the past because of how simple the editing process is. 

After installing ClipChamp, you will receive a free tutorial on all the buttons and different actions you can add to the video being edited. A problem we ran into while editing was that since there were only 3 available downloads on Upbeat to use the sound, we couldn't download and add them to the video. A simple solution Mariano devised was to put the sound on the website while we played the video. As mentioned in past blogs, the main technique that I use during the process of editing and filming is to put myself in the audience's POV. 

I used the audience's POV while editing to see how the editing choices affected my feelings toward the film. For our opening, we used 3 different background music sounds that matched the film. The first sound we used was a calm, unsettling sound that helped the audience understand that the film would be horror and build tension. While this scene was going on, we thought it was a great idea to add the credits because there weren't any important events taking place, just the introduction of Frank.

For the second sound included, we used a calmer but still unsettling background music. During the scene, the undiscovered shapeshifter walks up to Frank and stares at him nonthreateningly. By adding this sound, the audience could tell that the dog wasn't normal and could be the monster that was previously stalking Frank. 

Lastly, the 3rd sound had to be heavy, scary, and jumpscare-type because during the scene, the shapeshifter reaches out to Frank to grab him, but Frank quickly runs away. Blending the sounds together was a difficult part of editing the background music. Without blending in the sounds, the film would look choppy and unappealing. To approach this problem, I had the idea to match the sounds with the scenes taking place by managing the fading of the sound and volume. 

UpBeat

ClipChamp

Recording

Last Tuesday, Mariano and I went out to record since we had all the shots and storyline organized. We decided to wait until nighttime for a scarier setting. Some issues we encountered while recording were camera quality, chasing scenes, and the number of helpers. I believe that if we had a third person while recording, the video could have been more successful. 

The first part of the recording was filmed at Mariano's house. His dad helped us record the first shot since Mariano and I were in the shot. Zach Simpson is a friend who has also helped us during part of the filming. I decided that Zach could be a good assistant because he has taken the class in the past and had a dog we could use for filming. In the opening Zach's dog was used to introduce the shapeshifter, his dog didn't give us many problems and we manipulated his movements with treats. 

Since it was nighttime while we were recording, the camera quality was a little blurry. To counter this problem, we decided to add light from a phone flashlight. This problem gave us a good idea: lower the lighting so the dog "shapeshifter" could look more menacing. A technique that really helped me during the recording was to put myself in the audience's spot. This way, I can tell what feelings the audience is experiencing.

Lastly, we made so many changes to the original plot of the story due to the reality check. Our original idea for the introduction of the shapeshifter would of been to show a dog with poor lighting convert into a human but after 7 tries we decided it would be better if we introduced him a different way. One of the problems I didn't see coming was my imagination vs. reality. When I was planning for the opening, I had so many great ideas, such as introducing the shapeshifter, but they all came down once I started recording them in real life. This problem did critical damage to our original idea of the opening, but it we countered by walking around the neighborhood and thinking of new ideas. Walking around the neighborhood helped me come up with new ideas because I could put myself in the setting Frank is in and let my imagination run wild.
 

Schedule

For the recording process, my partner and I are going to start next Monday because since none of us are going anywhere for spring break we have the whole week to record. Before you look at me like a dummy for pushing the project more, I need to explain how I will tackle this part of the project.  For the recording process we will start Monday and end Wednesday, I don't think it will take us 3 days to record but just incase something comes up we have an extra day. Luckily my partner and I both have access to cars, this will help because we wont need to wait for our parents to take us or pick us up from filming locations. 

The editing of our project will be completed Thursday. For the editing process of the project I will go to my partner's house and collectively finish it. For the shape shifter's transformation to look realistic we will need to add effects that hide him but aren't too noticeable. This is a problem we have encountered but my partner is currently looking for a solution since he is better at editing than I am. 

 For sound, most of the opening will be quiet because it represents Frank's life until the shape shifter appears which will result in the music being louder to match the scene. I will also implement eerie sounds so the audience believes that the shapeshifter will appear. I will use the sound techniques i learned in the past to make the audience feel anxious while watching.

 

Preparation for ending reflections

 Today in class I learned that I really want my opening to be a thriller coming of age, this is because I can relate more to the main character “Frank” both of us being teens. The final reflections are hard because they need to be in someway creative. I would say I'm a creative person because I came up with an idea immediately. My idea would be to have someone  come up to me as a paparazzi asking me the questions I need to answer. 

Another idea I came up with would be to go to the everglades and act like a nature researcher. I will relate my movie about the shape shifter to the evolution and change in animals. I will also include part of the video on a boat while on the way to the Everglades. This idea is very creative since I haven’t heard any ideas like that from my peers. 

A problem I came across with is that me and my teammate pushed the recording process of the project too much. A good way of seeing this mistake would be that while we were pushing it back we were also planning how we are going to record and what shots to use, making it easier for us to complete the process faster. The places we plan to record in are behind the library, my partners house, and the street. We will use extreme close ups many times throughout the opening to really show the fear that Frank is experiencing.