CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

Here is the link to the CCR#1

Here is the link to CCR#2 

Backup links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Xup0i7-nw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zx1-5cCP2E

 HERE IT ISSS.... FILM OPENING

I am sorry for the scary thumbnail...

Here is the link just incase that video does not work!

 WOW finally crossing the finish line..

The last day has finally come. Honestly, it is kind of bittersweet. Surprisingly I actually enjoyed posting on this blog and keeping whoever is reading this updated. This blog allowed me to express my every thought without limitations which was refreshing for once. This project has taught me how to delegate my time, better by procrastination habits, and ultimately gave me a peek into the film industry. 

I began this journey, scrambling for an idea to pop up in my head. The stress of finding a concept that would work well enough to impress or satisfy Ms. Stoklosa was enough stress to last me the rest of the testing season. I researched countless romantic comedies to aid in my character development and overall film. The filming process for this opening was a bumpy road but we managed in the end. From our location being changed the day before filming, to our group member not showing up, somehow we ended up creating one heck of a project,

 

Looking back to the beginning of the year, I have grown so much in this class. I knew so little about the media world and never imagined having such an interest in it by the end. I am debating on taking the A level next year and am leaning more towards the possibility. I took this course to get a credit out of the way for the AICE diploma and somehow without me realizing it, it quickly became the only class I did not mind listening to lecture in. Media studies intrigues me and I could see myself having a career in the media world. I am thankful to Mrs. Stoklosa for giving us this opportunity to experience a taste of what making a film is like and for her passion when teaching us. Every time I step into class I feel that she enjoys teaching us and so for that, it is the one class I do not complain about going to.

This is my official signing-out blog. Typically I would say, " I will keep you posted blog", but those words can no longer be said. Hopefully, I am back next year but until then, I'll see you later blog.

Finally done filming people who can't stop laughing...

Hey blog, WOW I am finally done filming my first 2 questions of the CCR. Yes, it was fun to do this with my best friend but wow was it annoying. My friend Gaby was playing the talk show host so initially I told her to be loud and have a lot of personality but this is difficult for Gaby because she is shy and a little anti-social. so the whole process was honestly hilarious to film. Gaby is very unserious so every time we had to act like a host and co-host she would start dying laughing. We drove around Weston Regional Park that way it was a little easier for her to focus and drive. As the host she asked me a variety of questions that pertained to questions 3 and 4.

 To add elements of the carpool karaoke concept we took song breaks during the interview to add to to the genre characteristics. We then drove to McDonald's and ate some food to make the video feel more personal and down to Earth. I wanted the vibe of the video to be laid back and entertaining.  When I watched the original carpool karaoke videos I always felt that I could relate to the celebrities as they had their guards down and did not care about how they were perceived and were just being honest.

Here is a little snippet of the millions of takes that we took. We kept dying laughing so it was really difficult to focus but once the sun started to set we knew we needed to get serious. In the clips, the lighting changes multiple times to adhere to the sun setting. I hope that it is not too big of a problem when editing but either way it should be fine. Tomorrow or the day after I am going to film the second video and edit them both. I am still brainstorming on what my second video should be because I want it to be creative but I am not sure what yet. Anyway that's all I have for today's blog! Goodnight..

 

 SIKE Not at the finish line there is another project...

Hye blog it's Kat!! Sooo right no I am brainstorming creative ideas for my CCR. Originally when I heard Mrs. Stoklosa say creative ideas, I immediately thought PODCAST. I am not the biggest podcast fan but I do enjoy a few. Tana Mongeau and Brooke Scolfield have a podcast that my friends and I enjoy and I got my best friend tickets to their live podcast show. So actually last week we drove to Orlando and saw their podcast live. It was amazing and I was inspired to do my CCR inspired by their podcast. But, after sharing my idea with other people in the class I gathered that many other people are also doing a podcast. So I had another idea that I thought was really cool and different. A few years ago when YouTube was the craze, I used to love watching James Cordon's carpool Karaoke videos. I thought that I would be able to make my own take on the concept.

Here is the link in case the video does not work, this is an example of the idea with Adele.

Tomorrow I am planning on filming with my best friend. She will be the show host and I will be the guest star. Hopefully all goes according to plan and I will keep you posted blog!

ALMOST AT THE FINISH LINE!!!!

Hey blog it's Kat, so we are officially done filming our opening scene! A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders but not fully...still have to film this stupid CCR. UGHHHHH. Aside from that, filming went great. I picked up Chloe from her house and we went to Ales's house. As the first official day of spring break, we did not want to spend its entirety filming for school so we made sure to get right to work . We had multiple cardboard boxes with realistic college apartment necessities like pillows, blankets, and college decor. 

To make the unpacking process more realistic we incorporated many clips of Chloe unpacking her clothes and decor. We decided to give her a pink wardrobe because we learned in a previous lesson that the color pink represents a form of innocence and love. 

We also decided to include trophies and pictures of Chloe to represent her academic success and add more characteristics to her personality. The photo collage shown here is to tell our audience that Chloe has a busy lifestyle filled with friends. She is very organized and has her life put together. This was the inspiration for the scene an this was the final outcome.

As you can see we chose to have our credits in a yellow font because it represents happiness and joyfulness. It adds an uplifting mood and the thin, fluid cursive adds a sense of femininity. As for our title, I had the idea to have Chloe lift up a box and our title appear on the ground. It appears right at the end of the scene with the phrase " Knock on Love". This title hints to the audience what the film is going to pertain to. Here are some images to show how the title appears.

Here is the behind-the-scenes of our actor Chloe and I filming. As you can see here we were done with the filming process. I hope it loads because it is a really funny video.

We then did what any other normal people would do and went to celebrate finishing this opening with some Chick-Fa-le!

 Planning opening scene

Hey, blog it's Kat, so my group and I are brainstorming what we want our opening scene to be. When we were filming, Ale and I had the idea of making a montage of Miami Beach since our actors are supposed to be attending the University of Miami. I am planning on spending a lot of time at the beach during spring break so capturing those shots will not be difficult for me. We have been looking through multiple websites of un-copywritten music to try and find the perfect upbeat song to go with our opening. Here is the site that we have been browsing and that has had the best options. The song itself shouldn't be too upbeat but the perfect balance between calm and uplifting. The opening scene will be comprised of different clips of Chloe unpacking her boxes and designing her apartment. We have also purchased a UM flag to make it obvious to our audiences the connection between the two actors. We are planning on inserting a shot of Chloe putting up the merchandise in the opening scene.

The beginning of this scene from the series "Private Practice", begins with a short montage of the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. I want our montage to resemble some elements of this clip. It will count as an establishing shot and aid in giving viewers a more accurate mental image of the setting.

We will be shooting this scene in Ales's apartment because it will be more convenient for everyone to meet up in Weston instead of Miami again, and we also have more freedom in being able to move things around for the shots. At first, we were going to have Ale be our actor for the opening scene because Chloe is leaving for Aruba, but there is one tiny issue in that, Chloe is ginger while Ale has dark brunette hair. So if we followed through with that idea, all the shots would need to be extremely close-up or close-up shots to hide the obvious difference. So ultimately, Chloe has agreed to meet us at Ales for a few quick shots. Anyway, that's all the news I have for now, and like always I will keep you posted Blog!

 WE FILMED!!!!

So this past weekend my group and I filmed. Well, 2/3 of my group filmed. One of my group members didn't show up to film but she is going to help with the editing instead, which for me is my least favorite part so I don't mind. I was having lunch with my grandpa in Doral and coincidentally the apartment was only ten minutes away from the restaurant. Ale and I showed up pretty early to begin filming but Justin had to wait to get his car so they showed up about an hour and a half after we did. Because they are the stars we could not begin until they got there.

We decided to do what any other people would do, which was order food. We spent a while exploring the Uber Eats app until we decided on some arepas and smoothies. The funniest part of the day was Ale directing our lost Uber Eats driver in the parking lot for 20 minutes while doing laps around the vicinity to find her. 

Finally, our actors arrived and we began filming. It was difficult to focus at times since we were all good friends but we did it. We had a tight schedule because Ales's dad's friend was letting us have the apartment while he was out for the day so we knew we needed to stop messing around. We moved things around the apartment and borrowed some props so we made sure to leave enough time to put everything back. We did most of the clips except the montage of her unpacking in the beginning and clips of Miami Beach. Those will be much easier scenes to film and we will have plenty of time in spring break.  We started filming at 2 and left the apartment at 6:30 ish. 

Here is a behind-the-scenes photo of Ale and Chloe arguing about her hairstyle. This image gives you a better mental image of the apartment set up.

 Another Project.......

CCR (Creative Critical Reflection)

Last week Mrs. Stoklosa introduced to us the CCR. To be honest I was expecting a few hundred words reflecting on our experience through our project. But wow I was so wrong. I am pretty stressed about this project because we only have three weeks left to finish everything and now I have to add to making TWO whole new videos to my to-do list. I have been brainstorming ideas about this project and I think my goal is to have the whole CCR done by the end of spring break that way I have ample time to film and edit my videos. Its too stressful to leave for when we get back. By that time I will be in testing mode and won't want to worry about scheduling. Here are the notes we took in class to give you a guideline about what we learned.

 
Purpose:

Reflect: Reflect on planning production and final product

Respond to questions: Elaborate response to all four questions 

Express Peronslaity: A creative presentation during which your unique approach should be on display.

• Create a MINIMUM of two products

-Presentation with voice-over-Talk show

-Podcast

-Develop creative ways to respond to prompts

Question#1:

-How does your product use or challenge conventions...

-Start by discussing genre conventions or discuss why you challenge( Our rom-com does not challenge)

-Next, discuss representation. Remember, representation refers to the choices made in how individuals, groups, and event are illustrated within a production.

 
Question#2:

How does your product engage with audiences...

-Discuss how you arrived at your target audience 

-Production choices (content, audio)

-Discuss how to plan and make your film available to audiences

-Response should address realistic options for an amateur filmmaker

 
Question#3:

How did your production skills develop...

-Reflect on how you evolved throughout production

-Discuss how you began research and production( what did you have to change and adapt)

-End with reflection on where you started and where you ended

Question#4:

-How did you integrate technologies...

-Discuss any technologies you used

-Discuss hardware (camera, lighting, and mics

-Software ( planning tools, blog website, Seltics,)

- Discuss HOW you used the technologies

- Obstacles?

-Solve problems?

-Did you need to learn?

TIPS: Create a script, be as creative as you can, incorporate plenty of creative research. 10 minutes MAX to answer all questions. DO NOT BE A TALKING HEAD.

Wardrobe/ Mise-en-scene

My group members and I have been debating about what we want our actors to wear. We have established that Justin is going to be portrayed as a jock/frat college student while Chloe is more of a studious, more conservative girl. Personally, I believe that Justin should be shirtless wearing just basketball shorts because that is what I think a college kid would be wearing if we were just hanging out in his apartment. For Chloe, we don't want her to be too stuck up and nerdy so we are thinking of her wearing some straight leged jeans with NO rips, and a Cardigan but a little off the shoulder if possible to make it more college student-like. For reference, this is what Chloe and Justin look like. We had them give up a picture of themselves so whoever is reading this blog can have a mental image of who they are continuing to read about.

Now after our previous project which was our Music video campaign, I decided to retire from my acting career. I really committed to being the lead singer of a rock band and it was enough for one lifetime. So I thought. But of course, we need a girlfriend for Justin for our plot twist. I would say I am not a shy person and am very social so being filmed isn't the worst thing ever I am just not the biggest fan of it. Also, with Justin being one of my closest friends it really feels wrong playing his girlfriend. I decided I am going to wear black to represent the more scandalous girlfriend to juxtapose Chloe's character. I'm also thinking of wearing a darker lip shade and pairing it with eyeliner to get the obvious difference across. Chloe will also be wearing light makeup to highlight her innocence. We decided on a ponytail for her hair because it ties in with the nerd vibe. Here is a picture of me for reference.

Saturday we are filming for our project in the apartment in Miami so I will keep you posted on how that goes. Hopefully, all goes well because it is going to be a very long and stressful day. Bye blog goodnight!

 I LOVE BASKETBALL!!!

Hey Blog, little update... Justin's tournament got CANCELLED. THANK GOD. I am way less stressed now because we can avoid having to recast or wait until the break to begin filming. Justin is the perfect person for our film opening because he and Chloe and been best friends for years so they feel comfortable together, resulting in an overall smoother process. I am usually pretty busy on the weekends so I needed to to make sure my schedule was cleared. Originally we agreed on Sunday because I normally just go to church but other than that it is a chill day. Buttttt this Sunday, a club I am an ambassador for, NAC, is hosting a club Olympics and I need to attend. So unfortunately I had to cancel my beach plans for Saturday to film but it will be worth the weight being lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully, we do not have any more scheduling conflicts but if we do...I'll keep you posted!

 I hate basketball....

So we have another issue... Our male lead Justin has a basketball tournament this week. Justin is very committed to his basketball career so there is no way he would miss it. AND to make things even better Chloe and I have a dance competition the week after on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I know what you may be thinking, but no we cannot film during the week because Justin has practice right after school every day and Chloe and I have dance practice 5 days a week for multiple hours. So our immediate thought was that we might have to film during the break but that is way too stressful. So I pitched to Ale that we should go down to Miami this weekend just us girls and film the scenes without Justin. That way we can begin editing and have a portion of it done. So during the break, we can go to her aunt's apartment just for Justin's shots. So that's all the news that's all for now but I officially hate basketball. I hate watching it on TV with my dad and I hate it even more now. 

SO 

  

 Filming/ Editing schedule 

3/11-3/17: Begin filming 3/15

( Use the weekend for anything else we may have missed or need to re-film)

3/18-3/24: Editing week

3/18: Start cutting unwanted clips and putting them in order

3/20: Start working on editing the lighting and mise-en-scene elements)

3/22: Edit credits and title graphics into opening, as well as linking music and other foleys needed

3/25-3/31: Collect group feedback on editing and make necessary changes

My group and I want to have optimal time to edit our video and have as much as we need to get as much footage as we can get. Yes, more footage will make a longer editing process but it will improve the overall outcome. We want to have time to experiment with inserting different clips to see what fits best. So if we stick to this editing schedule it should work out great. We do not have much of a filming schedule because our location is in Ales's aunt's apartment in Miami. Considering that most of us just got our licenses I'd say it's gonna be pretty hard and inconvenient to drive down to Miami every weekend. So we are planning to film everything in one productive day. Wish us luck, and I'll keep you posted like always.. Literally.

 Storyboard

 Hey blog it's Kat. So this week my group and I created our story board. it is a rough draft of the shots we are going to incorporate in our film opening. We are not artists so let's please not judge the drawings thank you!

 

The storyboard accurately portrays the vibe we are going for in our Rom-com. It shows Chloe struggling to get into the wrong apartment and then Justin opening the door and reaching down for the key at the same time as her. Our drawings don't display the passionate emotions that will be seen but it gives you a little taste of it. LOL. Obviously, we might have to make some changes because we may run into some staging issues but hopefully all goes according to plan.

 Filming Location/ Brainstorming/ Update

Hey blog it's Kat! Sooo we have 1000%  decided on the apartment idea. One of our main concerns was finding possible filming locations but one of my group members Ale, has an Aunt who has an apartment in Miami. She gave us permission to use her apartment and film there. That solved a big issue but we also ran into a problem with the filming equipment. CBTV will not let us borrow filming equipment unless we know how to properly use it.... Don't get me wrong I know how to use a camera but they have advanced equipment that none of us have ever used. So we gonna go around asking our friends if they have a simpler camera that we can borrow.

The Rom-Com series "Emily in Paris", uses a similar concept in their first episode. It isn't their opening but it is used to introduce a new character.

For some reason I can't watch the video, hopefully, you can but just in case here is a link for the meet-cute. The scene makes the tension between the characters obvious and hints to the audience that there will be more to their story in the future. Our female lead Chloe will be looking for her apartment and mistake it for our male lead Justin's apartment. We chose the apartment as our meeting spot because we believe it meets the criteria of a "film opening". It doesn't overshare to our audience, but it allows them to infer or wonder about what is supposed to happen next. We want our viewers to leave watching our opening, feeling that they need to see what happens next with the two neighbors. That intriguing suspense is the feeling we want to portray.

 Scheduling

Week five 3/4-3/10:

This week my group and I will create our story board and begin to create a shot list. We will also begin to research possible filming locations. With our film opening idea, we need an empty bedroom or living space which may be difficult to find.

Week six 3/11-3/17: 

We will begin working on the summary/analysis of any necessary research, summary/analysis of mise-en-scene elements (costume, setting, props, etc.), and documentation of the filming process.

Week seven 3/18-3/24:

We will continue filming and begin to edit the clips we have done. We will record the documentation of the filming process, documentation of the editing process, research into necessary techniques, research, and/or summary of the response to the CCR question. By this week I would like to be completely finished filming and only focus on editing. 

Week eight 3/26-3/31:

Create Creative Critical Reflection projects, and begin to rap up any loose ends of editing we have left to do.

Week nine 4/1-4/2:

project reflection, final project link, CCR links, and be relieved that this project has been submitted!!

I WILL follow this schedule and will be strict on myself to not procrastinate and be responsible with my time management.

 Group Meetings 

Hey bloggg it's Kat. So earlier today in class we had our group meetings to discuss our portfolio projects. Originally, I thought we were going to be seated with our whole group then paired with one or two more and go from there, but we were all separated. Honestly, I liked this much better because we got to receive feedback from everyone in the class as well as hear more opinions. My group and I sat in a circle kind of like a Socratic seminar vibe and all took turns pitching our ideas and sharing our blog post. I really enjoyed giving other people feedback because it allowed me to be more creative which is refreshing at times. Once it was my turn, I pitched both the ideas I mentioned in my previous post and I got an anticipated reaction. I went into detail about how Ale's parents met and they thought it was a very romantic concept and honestly wanted to see it as an entire film. But, when I pitched them the apartment idea, they seemed to favor it more just because it fit the theme of our project a little bit more. They said it would be more clear and more Rom-com instead of a deep romance.

I got a lot of feedback that will definitely alter the outcome of my project. One girl suggested that I could combine some aspects of the apartment idea with the beach idea. For example, after he compliments her eyes and flirts with her, a few seconds later his girlfriend comes back from getting ice cream or something along those lines. It adds the shock element that I like so much from the second idea.

I also shared my concerns with the group about filming equipment and my fear of the camera quality looking unprofessional. One of the girls in my group works for CBTV and she suggested reaching out to Cypress Bay shortcuts, which I believe was the name. She said that the teacher who runs it would lend me any equipment I need for my film and if I told him my film theme and location he would give me the equipment best fit for that scene. That would solve my concerns about the beach idea and it would elevate the apartment complex tremendously.

Overall, this group meeting inspired me to think about so many other things I was not thinking about. I hope we get to do another one in a few weeks because I value the opinions of my peers. It is easier to share my opinions with them and it gets the wheels in my head moving.

Alright blog I am exhausted so I am going to sleep and will update you tomorrow!!!! Goodnighttttt

( Here are some inspo pics on what I am describing)

WERE SCRAPPING THE IDEA..

Hey blog it's Kat. SooooOOOo we changed our whole plot. Like I mentioned in my previous post, our teacher did not like our characters to be cute. At first, we were just going to change the plot but keep the beach location. One of my group members Ale, was telling me the story of how her parents met and it was literally the plot of a Rom-com. It was the cutest meeting I have ever heard, and so I had the idea to possibly recreate it. Her mom was with a group of friends on the beach and she and her best friend got separated from the group and needed a ride home. Her friend recognized a group of guys that she knew so she forced Ales's mom to go with her to talk with them. She was standing there uncomfortably until a guy reached over and took off her hat. She was caught off guard and annoyed and asked why he did that. Ales now dad, proceeds to say "Your eyes are too beautiful to keep them covered". He then goes on to give her other cheesy compliments.....so basically her parents lived a Rom-com. Now for the really crazy part. After that, the group of guys gave them a ride home and two weeks later Ales's mom walked into a bar and guess who is sitting down on a stool... Ales dad. So he asked to buy her a drink and the rest was history. 

Our main concern when filming this is our equipment and materials. We would have to film this opening around sunset and don't feel like an iPhone camera would do it justice. We would also have a tight filming window because once the sun sets it would be extremely difficult to get good shots. 

Now one of my group members suggested an alternative path. The plot is basically a young woman moving into a new apartment and she is unpacking her thing and realizes she needs to go run a few errands. When she returns from those errands she accidentally tries to open the wrong apartment. A tall young man answers the door and our lead is in shock and instantly finds hi attractive. She drops her things but then the guy's girlfriend pops out of nowhere behind him and asks, "Who is this"? It is leaving off the opening on a cliffhanger but there is still so much that can happen, therefore we believe it is a solid "opening".

So as of right now, I think we are leaning towards the apartment concept and I will continue to try and develop it. I am kind of sad the beach thing is not happening because I think that would have been a fun filming process but realistically the cinematography of this idea will turn out better.

 Hey blog it's Kat. So little update.....We're scratching the beach idea. I'm not 100% sure if it's completely scratched but our teacher Mrs. Stoklosa said she did not like our meet cute being our lead getting hit by a football, then the jock coming over to retrieve it. So my group and I started rethinking the whole concept. This genre is difficult because most Rom-coms are cringy and cliche but we don't want ours to be disgustingly cringey. So this means we ultimately need to come up with a new script. Thankfully we had a lesson on scripts today in class so I have a much better idea of what we need to incorporate. Here are some of the things I learned.

• Brainstorming: think about stories or characters that engage you 
• consider how genre can be developed
• Outline: Develop spine of production
• Create major points and characters
• Screenplay: focus on developing the story through dialogue and visuals
• Revisions: Get feedback and make revisions

• -I need to ask myself what the one thing is I want my audience to leave with 

   

• Writing Dialogue:

• Unique voice: Speaking voice
  Distinct voice
• Show don’t tell:
• Consider what is necessary
• Can you show the words instead of saying them

• Formatting:

-Dialogue: centered on page
-Character names: Name typed in all capital letters
-Character actions: important character actions in “()”
-Scene Heading: location of scene all caps left aligned
-Action: Described actions that can be seen or heard

These notes were super helpful, and I am going to use them as a guideline when making my final script! Tonight, I am going to Facetime my group after my dance class because we need to figure out our final plan. I’ll keep you posted blog!! Byee

 Script Ideas

Hey blog it's Kat. My group and I have come up with our first draft of a script. It has many kinks so it is not nearly done but I am happy with the progress. With any romcom, it is a given that it will be a little bit cringy or cliche, but we don't want our opening to be too overbearing. We want the genre to be expressed accurately, while also keeping our audience engaged and not bored.  So this is our very rough rough roughhhh draft. You can envision the concept we have in mind but we want to elevate the idea. On Tuesday I meet with my group and we are going to go over the script and continue to edit. So like always, I'll keep you posted!