Official Film Opening and Creative Critical Reflection Videos

Hey there Cambridge!

My Film Opening, CCR Video One, and CCR Video Two are linked below as a file stored in Google Drive.

Film Opening:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dkK8IZ_Jd1Eg27DzcQoEtEby81UJ33uG/view?usp=sharing

Creative Critical Reflection #1: 

• Question 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
• Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQIZj2Zerd4kmHIhXwQHLYQw0FMfW8LD/view?usp=sharing

Creative Critical Reflection #2:

• Question 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
• Question 4: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ntjpebQYXOrnqVgemP_qlIgETeQptzES/view?usp=sharing

It Comes to an End

Hey there Cambridge!

The day I have finally been waiting for... to be finished with this long, very long, project.

My thoughts about this project have changed so much over the last few weeks. At first, I was lost at what my idea will be, then I hit a peak where I was super devoted and excited for this project. From there, I slowly began getting more stressed and exhausted from this project. Now, in Week 8 (the final week 🎉) I genuinely could not even pull myself to produce the creative critical reflection.

It's not like I hate this project; it just feels like three projects in one and procrastination is beginning to hit, yet I must move forward.

I really like my film opening plot, it is pretty creative and I love the shots I took. For my creative critical reflection videos, I worked with what I have, so it did not turn out exactly as I imagined, but watching the final product made me smile.

The most enjoyable part of this project for me was definitely coming back to my blog to talk about everything that I researched and how everything played out. I love research and talking in detail, and my blog posts almost acted like a journal for AICE Media.

Thanks to my friends who helped out in the production of Focus on the Past and my CCR videos. Including, Ethan (my boyfriend) who opened up his time to be an actor in my film opening and first CCR video, Marisa (my sister) who recorded videos of me filming for my blog and even stood around with me in the behind-the-scenes, and Bryan (my boyfriend's brother) who also acted in my film opening even though that scene never made it to the completed product. I am grateful they all worked with me and devoted lots of time to being here for me and my production.

Knowing that I am about to submit my film opening and creative critical reflection feels genuinely unreal. For past weeks, the idea of this being done was so far away and I never thought this day would come. 

____________________

#throwbacks 

Join me in reflecting on the production of my film opening below!

Feb 01: Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the Thriller Genre
Feb 03: Reflection from Group Meeting #1
Feb 14: Costume + Schedule Update
Feb 15: The Set/Location
Feb 21: Filming Day 1
Feb 27: Foley Sounds + Downloading my Background Music

____________________

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Post-Production of CCR Videos

Hey there Cambridge!

Now that I have filmed and moved all my videos for filming to OneDrive, I have begun the editing process for my CCR videos!

CCR VIDEO ONE - questions one, two

I first began by sorting out all my shots to groups like questions, answers, short lines, the first few shots, and the part when the waiter comes.

This is how all my files looked when I first opened all of them:

And this is how they were once organized:

This organization allowed me to feel much better about tackling all the files and led me to easily search for them when it was time to move it to my editing software.

My process would look like going to the script to check what the next line is, then searching for the file to download and move to my editing software.

I came across an issue... I did not record me saying a whole part of a paragraph. I have a video where I began to say it but then messed up and I forgot to refilm it. There is not much I can do about it now; thankfully, it was somewhat summing up or concluding what I was saying before that, so it is not that big of an issue (still not good though). I went back to my script and highlighted red anything that was never said in the CCR video, just for personal notes.

Once I added in all my shots, I played it while looking at my script to ensure everything is in my CCR. Then, I went to look for background videos or pictures to include in the video so that it is not just some talking heads. I would look back at my response to the CCR questions in the script and would use that to remind me of a moment to show in the CCR video as well. For example, I mentioned some platforms at one point and included their logos:

Finally, I almost forgot to add my sounds! I saved the background restaurant ambiance and jazz music in my document about this CCR video. For the background sounds of people talking and utensils and general restaurant sounds, I lowered the volume so my actor and I can be heard. For the jazz music though, I lowered its volume to 1% so that the noise is not too busy and only hints of it are heard. 

Here is my final timeline after all that editing:

CCR VIDEO TWO - questions three, four

Yay! Almost done! I began editing the same way I did with CCR Video 1, opening all the files and reorganizing them. This time, I organized the videos into extra shots I took and shots of current me (which I even reordered into the order they should appear). I recorded younger me's lines in one video, so I never put it into a group.

Before

After

To begin editing, I first moved the video of younger me saying all her lines. I split the video between each of her lines, so the timeline ended up looking like this:

So, it is like I have a base for where current me's lines should go.

Eventually, I noticed how I forgot to record another part of a paragraph (I do not know why I keep doing that). It was easy to bypass this time since I can just put a voice recording of me saying it over a shot of younger me listening to my answer. Thankfully, I am able to do this since I got extra shots of her listening on the phone.

Once I added in the lines from both younger and current me and rewatched the product to make sure all lines are said, I once again looked through the script to find images to show in my CCR video. Questions 3 and 4 are more reflective, so there were many images I could bring in.

My line, "After I truly understood the thriller genre..." reminded me of the blog post I wrote to gain a deeper understanding of the thriller genre, so I decided to screenshot the blog post to include in my CCR video. So this...

Turned into this...

I continued adding in pictures throughout my entire video. Images of my storyboard and magazine ended up in the final product. Check out some images I already collected in my previous blog posts (CCR3, CCR4) to include in this CCR video.

Reflection

I feel so relieved knowing I finished editing everything. I feel like the shots I got were not totally the best and the background at the restaurant was not the best either, but I worked with what I have to make some good CCR videos. Now, I just need to make sure I am all set to share my final film opening and CCR videos! 

Yours Truly, 
Macie 💗

Production of CCR Videos

Hey there Cambridge!

I finally finished filming my CCR videos!!

The obstacles came immediately. Filming was supposed to begin on Monday, but I was so stressed and burnt out that I literally could not even try to do any work Monday after school. So, I decided to film Tuesday, but my sister did not want me using her room anymore, especially since she needed it to get ready for an important event. I had to find a new location space, which became my room as long as I move my closet, desk, and nightstand out of the way. Finally, Wednesday I was finally able to begin filming. By this point, production has been delayed twice, and I genuinely do not feel like filming anymore, but I know I have to continue. My schedule I created for my CCR production looks a lot different now.

On Monday, when I was setting up to film CCR Vid 1, I realize I forgot about the menu prop. I found a menu template online to print twice and use as a prop.

Later, on Wednesday, when preparing for CCR Video 1, I realized the set did not look much like a restaurant, so I taped on images of food onto the walls.

When filming CCR Video 2, I did not like the dark, poor lighting in my room. I used the main light in my room (ceiling light) and placed a lamp in front of me for much better lighting. This time, I used my phone to film which led to a good five messages saying I ran out of storage. Each time it happened, I had to airdrop the videos to my iPad, delete the videos off my phone, and restart my phone in order for me to continue recording. This was not an issue when filming Video 1 since I used my actor's phone to film that day, and his phone has lots of storage space. I would place the camera on a ladder, my makeshift tripod, to get a steady shot when filming.

Behind-the-Scenes Videos:

CCR 1 Behind-the-Scenes: https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:e9536931-53a4-4ef4-bd29-7fd93f7ad03b?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

CCR 2 Behind-the-Scenes:

Citations:

Korinek, R. (2022, July 19). Black and white food photography like you’ve never seen before! Two Loves Studio. https://twolovesstudio.com/blog/black-and-white-food-photography/

Lim, H. (2023, June 29). 50 Creative Restaurant Food & Drinks Menu Design Ideas. Hongkiat. https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/beautifully-designed-food-menus/

Victor. (2015, February 3). FOOD. Pinterest. https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/403775922817096866/

Pngtree. (n.d.). Italian food photography black and white background and picture [Stock image]. https://pngtree.com/freepng/italian-food-photography-black-and-white-background-and-picture_8692795.html

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

CCR Production Ideas

Hey there Cambridge!

Now that I have planned the script for both my CCR videos, it is time to make a detailed plan and schedule for production as we are now getting into WEEK EIGHT of my portfolio project, meaning this project is coming to an end.

As you have seen in my previous blogs, I have been collecting my script and a basic note on the context, mise-en-scene, and audio for my videos in a document (linked below).

• CCR Video for Q1-2 - Google Docs
• CCR Video for Q3-4 - Google Docs

This blog will go deeper into the production process (what exactly to wear, where exactly will I film) to make a clear projection for how production will be like.

CCR VIDEO ONE

The dinner restaurant will be at my house, placing a table and two chairs against a wall (in my sister's room since that will allow for the most space and room to film this video). There will be a dark tablecloth on the table, as well as plates and silverware wrapped in cloth. I will use fake candles (on table) and my LED lamp (not on camera) to foster a dim-lit, romantic atmosphere.

I will wear the outfit pictured below (a), and my actor will wear a dark red polo and blue jeans. The waiter will wear a white, long sleeve top and long, black pants (b).

a

b

CCR VIDEO TWO

Younger me will be sitting in bed (c) and current me will be sitting on the living room couch (d).

c

d

Younger me will wear the pink top pictured below (e) and jeans, while current me wears the white top (f) and jeans.

e

f

Scheduling: 

Monday 3/9: Film CCR video one

Tuesday 3/10: Edit CCR video one

Wednesday 3/11: Film CCR video two

Thursday 3/12: Edit CCR video two

Reflection:

This detailed plan gave me a much clearer idea for how this week will look. I feel much calmer knowing I planned production, although this sounds like a whole other project to complete. The outfits that I described are saved in my closet, so I do not lose them, while I notified my actor to take care of his outfit for Monday's filming day. Just like for my film opening, I will be using my actor's phone to film.

CCR #4 Research/Planning

Hey there Cambridge!

It is time to research and plan out my script for CCR #4!

Question: How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - in this project?

Answer: Using Canva, I created the cover and two article pages for my magazine. Then I used my phone camera to take images of my actor, Ethan, in the middle of preserving his life. My led lamp made the room look blue and like Ethan was actually frozen. I moved these images to an app called Peachy to smooth out any wrinkles and impurities in the photo, so that it looks more unrealistic. That is when I finally completed the image and placed it in Canva to finish off my magazine. I printed the pages with the colored printer I have at home and glued it onto a LifeExtension magazine.

 To film, I used my actor's iPhone camera since my phone has barely any storage and I did not have access to a professional camera to film with. Once I airdropped all my videos from his phone to my iPad, I moved the videos to my OneDrive folder to begin the post-production process, where I edited my film opening using Adobe Express. I also used the graphic design tool Canva to create my production company logo.

Using my actor's iPhone was much more beneficial than using my phone camera. His iPhone seems to have much better video quality than mine, and I did not need to worry about my phone storage. An obstacle I often faced while post-production was my editing software. Since I was using it online, it would frequently slow down and say I have editing issues, which must have been because the internet. I have never used a professional editing software before, but Adobe Express's simplified look made editing an easy process.

Idea: This question is a part of CCR video two, where I am on a call with myself from the beginning of this school year.

Script: The script below is the full, complete script for CCR #3-4's video.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SXWCbGwn1NFC7JxvNdLwCIWbk5KCkoIhzVn96wbme24/edit?usp=sharing

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

CCR #3 Research/Planning

Hey there Cambridge!

It is time to research and plan out my script for CCR #3!

Question: 

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Answer: 

This whole process for creating my film opening was definitely super long, it took eight weeks. At first, I had no idea what I will do for it. The more I researched and the more I planned my project, the more I could see it coming together. I was originally interested in the thriller and satire genre, and I took time to look into its genre conventions. I really liked the tension and suspense built in thriller films, so it seemed like an easy decision for me to choose thrillers. After I truly understood the thriller genre, I had to create an idea. I made a one sentence madlib and filled in each blank with the first word that came to my head. That is how I got my baseline idea of doing something regarding a magazine and life preservation.

This idea was originally about a truck driver who finds a magazine from 1979 that had undergone life preservation, but then I realized there is no way I can find a truck to film with, so I changed it to a janitor at a furniture warehouse. Then, finally, since I had access to a garage with auto repair items, it became a janitor of an auto repair shop. My plot had undergone so much change, like with that and also when I changed the magazine to be from 2001, just so I can make a successful production. 

Once I had my idea, I storyboarded and wrote a script. Eventually, I got to see my drawings come to life when I began filming. I learned how important mise-en-scene is, especially costume design as it depicts someone's character and is how the audience makes an impression of them. Even though I already had a storyboard, I got ideas while filming for taking an extra, different shot of the same moment since it may work better than I originally planned. Like, when I took a high angle of the janitor sweeping, that was unplanned, but I figured it may work better than just a regular long shot. I did in fact end up using the high angle instead. So, this process also taught me how important it is to remain creative and keep your mind open for new ideas.

Of course, this process began before I began my film opening and was simply learning and applying what I learned in my AICE media class, with projects like our music video project and when we had to create a detailed soundscape with no video. My portfolio project tested me on what I learned, while also being a great way for me to truly understand what a production process feels like. 

Along the way, there were so many challenges, like how I was so confused when getting a music license from Epidemic Sound, but it all made me rethink the process that goes into movies. I was only filming the first two minutes to a film, imagine filming an hour-long film! I can see so much growth whenever I look back at my first blogs, when I was just blogging about projects I was doing in AICE Media. My past experiences in this class, and my process through my own production, set me up to think more about any film.

In the beginning, I was so stressed and lost with how my film opening will turn out, but in the end it all worked out and it turned out to be a big learning experience for me.

Idea: 

As you may recall, I planned to do a video where I am at the nail salon, and I am reflecting on my portfolio project with my nail technician. That idea, though, brings up some questions, like where will the set be and who will be my nail tech. My sister has nail tools since her hobby is creating nail designs. However, she looks a bit too much like me (twins) for the audience to differentiate us as nail tech and client more distinctly. She could wear no makeup, and I could do my makeup differently maybe. Either way, I have no clue as to where the nail salon would be located. Nowadays, you can just go to someone's nail practice in their garage, but my garage has no space for that. Overall, I really think that this whole spa day video is just not working out. Before officially sticking to this idea, I would like to consider at least one more idea.

Inspired by the current social media trend of asking little you questions about how much has changed and if future them reached their goals, I could make my CCR video about younger me (maybe from the beginning of the school year) asking about how my film opening turned out. CCR Q3-4 sound pretty reflective, so answering younger me's questions makes sense here. Having a twin works out here, instead of acting as both younger and current me, I could ask my sister to act the younger version of me (in the case younger and current me are reuniting, not calling each other).

After reflecting and thinking out this new idea, answering younger me's questions about my portfolio project works well for my second CCR video (Q3-4). It could be current and me from the beginning of the school year on a phone call or us reuniting in person and sitting down to talk (although, that looks more like a podcast so probably not that one).

Script: 

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

CCR #2 Research/Planning

Hey there Cambridge!

It is time to research and plan out my script for CCR #2!

Question: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Answer: My audience is 15-50 year old males and females who love suspense, excitement, being scared, and who love films with plot twists and surprises. Usually, the target audience for thriller films is known to be a mature adult, but more young adults nowadays are exposed to violence and thrillers. For that reason, and since my film has no violence, the age range is much lowered to 15 years old and continues up to around 50 years old as that is a common age group interested in the thriller genre. Of course, my audience watches thrillers because they want to watch a nail-biting, suspenseful film. My film does not target any certain gender as it does not do anything super girly or boyish; I wanted to attract both boy and girl viewers to have a more diverse audience.

The beginning of my film, where the conflict is not explicitly shown, makes the audience work harder to figure out the issue. Since the setting is in a regular place, an auto repair shop, I purposefully chose suspenseful music so that the audience gets the feeling that something bad is about to happen. This is meant to give the audience the suspense and mystery they are looking for in a thriller.

My film will be posted on YouTube, and clips of it on Instagram to target teenagers and FaceBook to target adults. As an amateur filmmaker, I can premier my film at my school's lightning film festival or even submit my movie to Filmhub to potentially have my film distributed by them, in order to promote reach.

Idea: From my CCR #1 blog post, this will be a part of the first date video. This question will be the second one the guy asks. I will be playing the girl, and my boyfriend will act as the guy.

Script: Check below for the FULL, COMPLETED script for CCR #1 + #2

Citation: 

• Thye, L. L. (2017, June 22). Crime thrillers are like the Pied Piper to the young and the impressionable of the society. Encyclopedia of Opinions. https://encyclopedia-of-opinion.org/a/young-audience
  
• Piolo. (2025b, March 17). The target audience for thriller films: Who enjoys thrillers? | AMPLIFY XL. AMPLIFY XL. https://amplifyxl.com/target-audience-for-thriller-films/
  
• Walla indoors restaurant kitchenware Dutch Zuilen 2017.wav. (2019, March 17). [Video]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/hz37/
  
• Romantic Love Jazz. (2025, July 29). [Video]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/music/smooth-jazz-romantic-love-jazz-348895/

This document linked here...

• Outlines the context of my first Creative Critical Reflection video
• Describes its mise-en-scene
• Links the sounds to be playing in the background
• Includes my full script for my first Creative Critical Reflection video

Using a Fake Tinder Profile Generator, I created this Tinder profile card. The guy will use it to bring up Focus on the Past, as it is mentioned in the description of 'my' profile.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

CCR ideas + CCR 1 Research/Planning + Update in Schedule

Hey there Cambridge!

Now that I finished creating my film opening, I have two weeks left to do the CCRs. This post is divided into 3 sections: CCR ideas, CCR #1 planning, and my schedule.

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CCR IDEAS

I have been aware this post was coming soon. So, over the past few days, I have come up with a list of ideas to present my answers for the CCRs. They are written below with a brief description:

- Continue my Film: Continue the spies' (from my film) role into my CCR video. Someone finds the spy (me) ready to ask the CCR questions, but has to do so while spying on a life preservation participant.

- First Date: On a first date but the date asks questions about the CCR.

- Spa/Nail Salon: The nail technician asks me about my film opening (asking CCR qs) during my appointment.

- Jeopardy: The contestant (me) gets CCR questions to answer.

- Reacting to old YouTube videos: This is common among YouTubers that have been filming for 5+ years. The YouTuber (me) could be looking back at old YouTube videos (vlogs from filming days) and answering questions (CCR) about it. Click here for inspiration.

- Who's the Imposter: Inspired by Jubilee's videos, there will be 4-5 contestants all claiming to be the director of Focus on the Past and they need to figure out who the real director is based on their CCR answer. 

- Answering the Web's Most Searched Questions: Popular interview format where celebrities search their name and see what search results are suggested. I can do this with my movie title and CCR questions following after. Click here for inspiration.

I think I will go for the first date and spa day idea.

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CCR #1

Question: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Answer: Focus on the Past has many thriller genre conventions, such as high and low angles, close-ups, rapid tempos, and fast-paced editing. It also challenges the thriller genre conventions, such as how the setting is in a not-so-scary place (an auto-repair shop and janitor's house), scary orchestral music while just simply sweeping, and by only giving clues (close-ups of words in the magazine) as to what the janitor is concerned about. I chose to challenge the genre conventions of having a creepy, isolated setting, utilize intimidating music in a normal situation, and not reveal the conflict immediately, so that I can foreshadow tension and fear and make the audience try harder to figure out why the janitor is feeling so concerned. Ultimately, it aids in building the suspense and tension I am aiming for. This film represents how bigger powers and institutions control the youth as the janitor entered this procedure at 17-18 years, and how this control can be negative to the youth, just like how the procedure limits memory and weakens brainpower. My film basically critiques how those with lots of influence can prey on or abuse young lives.

Idea: For my first CCR video (questions 1 and 2), I plan on doing the first date idea, my boyfriend and I can be the actors. The girl would arrive to the first date at a dinner, and the guy will bring up how he noticed I mentioned my film on my Tinder page. That will lead him to ask questions about my film (CCR Q#1-2).

Script: The script will go something like...

Setting is a dim-lit dinner restaurant. The girl arrives and the guy is already at the table.

Girl: [Arrives] Hi

Guy: Hello. It's nice to meet you!

Girl: It's nice to meet you too!

[Awkward silence]

Guy: So! I saw on your Tinder profile that you directed Focus on the Past.

Girl: Oh, yea I did.

Guy: I was just wondering about it as I am a HUGE thriller fan and film buff, how does your film use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Girl: [Answers with my answer I wrote above]

Guy: WOW well that's awesome. I watched it so long ago, but now that I am here with you, I feel like watching it all over again.

... The video continues to CCR Q2.

Citation: Whitaker, M. (2025, April 14). The Role of Cinematic Techniques in Creating Tension in Thrillers • imaginarycinema.com. WordPress. https://imaginarycinema.com/the-role-of-cinematic-techniques-in-creating-tension-in-thrillers/#what-types-of-camera-angles-are-most-effective-in-building-suspense

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SCHEDULE

I am super proud I stuck to the schedule! Since my previous schedule was pretty vague for the final two weeks, here is an updated version:

Weeks 1-6: ✅

Week 7 (3/2-3/8):

    Research CCRs

    Plan production

    Possibly start filming?

Week 8 (3/9-3/15):

    Film CCRs

    Edit CCRs

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Yours Truly, 
Macie 💗

Editing Day 2 - Adding Audio

Hey there Cambridge!

As you may recall, I have already edited my shots together (check out Editing Day 1 - Shots). Now that I created my foley sounds and downloaded my background music, it is time to add in the audio.

Music:

SoundA - The Carrion by Rachel Sandy

SoundB - Warning Signal by Max Anson

My first obstacle occurred the second I started adding in audio. I was uploading SoundA and it would not let me since it was a wav file. A YouTube video I found online (linked here) gave me an easy solution to convert both audio files to mp3 format easily and in a few seconds. After I downloaded my new mp3 files, I was able to upload them to Adobe Express.

With SoundA, I was debating over whether the audience should hear the music or sweeping first. The music will set the tone of my film opening immediately, but the sweeping will bring more mystery as the audience hears the audio play before they can see the first shot (the first few seconds is my production company's logo followed by the first shot). I went with starting with the sweeping sound.

After I settled where SoundA will begin, I uploaded SoundB. It begins when the janitor is about to grab the magazine. This sound requires me to do more editing. There are random bolts of beats, and I am adjusting the length of my shots to appear at each beat. Check out a video of me doing that below:

Adjusting my shots to start at the beats was super difficult, if I messed that up with a single beat somewhere in the beginning of the audio, I would need to re-adjust every shot following it all over again. Unfortunately, I had to redo it many times.

Foley:

Sweeping

Grabbing magazine

My foley sounds were much easier to work with. I recorded the sweeping sound in one audio file for multiple shots, so I just had to find where exactly the recording is supposed to start in my film opening and then the rest worked itself out. The magazine sound was super, super short, and I simply had to find where the janitor grabs the magazine, and the audio fit right in.

Reflection:

Adding in audio was not too bad. Adjusting the shots to match the music definitely was the most annoying part. The audio switching from SoundA to SoundB is pretty choppy and I am still trying to think of a way to fix that. In the end, I had enough time to add in the beginning of the next scene in the janitor's house, when he is calling the life preservation company. I uploaded a sound of a phone ringing over the shot by recording the ringing from my phone as I called my actor. Similar to the beginning of my film opening, this sound is heard before you can actually see the shot (ringing fades in during the black screen presenting my title).

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Foley Sounds + Downloading my Background Music

Hey there Cambridge!

Before I can edit in my sounds, I would like to collect all my foley sounds first. Below is a list of sounds I need to create, as well as how I plan to recreate them.

Sweeping - sweeping with a broom

Grabbing a magazine (swiping it up from the ground) - slide the magazine across a surface

I do not need to record any following foley sounds since I want the audience to focus on the music, not footsteps or anything else in the background. The scene at the janitor's house will not make it in my film opening, due to the time limit. However, the first few seconds of it (when the janitor is calling the life preservation company) might fit in. We will see after I add in all my sounds if I need to record audio of a phone ringing for that scene.

For now, lets just focus on the foley sounds. 

The most difficult sound to recreate was the sweeping sounds. The way my actor swept the broom was different each time and I had to pay close attention to his movements to mimic it properly. It took me maybe nine to ten tries. Grabbing the magazine sound was much easier, it took me around three tries. I simply just swiped it across the edge of my kitchen counter to recreate the sound.

Watch me record them in the video linked below!

https://new.express.adobe.com/publishedV2/urn:aaid:sc:US:ae1403d4-e7c0-43a6-a7ba-5e6ef5dd9aec?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other

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Downloading the audio I already planned in my Audio blog was such a hassle. I had to pay $6.99 for the music license for the two audios, which was fine with me. That price is not bad at all and the two background music audios were PERFECT for my film opening. When I went to pay, it would not take my card and it was so annoying until I realized that they do not take that card network, so I switched to my other and it worked. Then the next obstacle came. I went to finally download the sound, and it would not let me. After struggling and searching why and being on the verge of emailing Epidemic Sound for help, I realized it would let me download as .wav (I was downloading as .mp3 before).

Anyways, that was a hassle.

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Reflection:

I felt like creating these sounds was troubling with all the rerecording, and downloading the background music was obstacles after obstacles. So glad I can finally finish editing now! See you in the next blog!

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Editing Day 1 - Shots

Hey there Cambridge!

I am finally beginning to edit my film opening! This post will focus on me editing the shots on Adobe Express, while the next editing post will be about editing with sound. First, I had to pull out my storyboard so I can remember the order of the shots and the videos I need to find.

Adding my shots:

A few minutes in, I have already added the first three shots into my film opening. Here is the timeline a few minutes in...

The first challenge I came across was when I went to upload the video for my fourth shot, but there were three videos it could have been. I had to go back to my iPad and find the correct video. As you can see, I selected the second version, but after looking at the videos, it was actually the third one. That makes sense since the most recent is definitely the shot I like the best.

After adding all the shots, hear is the full timeline. When I put in the music, I will need to adjust the time each shot shows to match the beats in the music. For now, though, it is around 2 minutes 4 seconds. I tried to adjust the shots towards the end to what I think it should be (~1 sec), which I think should be fine for now until I add the music.

Since I am literally at the edge of my time limit for the film opening, I am not sure if I will get to include any scene from Filming Day 1 (scene at janitor's house). We will see how it goes, but I would love to be able to so then my film opening does not stop at the title.

Darkening some shots:

I did not like how bright the shots in the garage were, it should be darkened to fit the not so bright nor cheery tone. The video below is a screen recording of my screen as I darkened some shots to an intensity of 15. Any higher made it look like a dark film was covering the screen… it didn’t look good. I darkened any shot that was not an extreme close up of the magazine, although I ended the video below a bit early, so it is not too long.

Title and Credits:

I have always imagined the font to be white, sans-serif, and bold. I found a very generic font called "Source Sans Pro". There were some textures I could add to my letters too, so I opted for this rough one. The white text on a white background did not make the title stand out though. Even when I added a hazy black effect to the letters, it still blended in. I realized having the shot fade to black would work well here and would even make the title stand out. Although for some reason, every time the shot faded to black, the text was dull and kind of grey. I was not sure why and I could not fix it, so I added the title again as another text to fade in while the shot fades out. That's when I realized I can fix the issue by adding a black page after this final shot, so it fades into black.

I added an animation for each letter to fade in at random moments. This animation was perfect to add mystery and confusion as to what order the title is appearing on screen.

The font though is super generic... So, I went to find a new one. Here are the ones I tried out. I went with the Inknut Antiqua font (last image) and made "Past" bigger so the audience can also focus on "past" 😉. I know I said I wanted to do sans-serif and something bold, but this font just fit perfectly with my film.

Finally, the credits, to be presented in the following order:

1. Senior Tiger Films
2. Starring...
3. Music by...
4. Edited by...
5. Production Design by...
6. Cinematography by...
7. Produced by...
8. Written by...
9. Directed by...

The credits will fade in and out and appear slowly as the beginning of my film opening is the slowest part. I basically just put the credits anywhere it would not be in the way and left them white because I want the audience to focus on the janitor. In fact, I did not put any credits in the first 16 seconds since that is when the audience is first seeing the janitor and figuring out who this character is. I also presented my production company and logo as a separate shot before the film opening begins; I thought it would look more professional that way.

Two examples of my credits:

Reflection:

So, I was pretty desperate to watch this with the background music, so I played it over the result of Editing Day 1 and OH MY GOSH it was so good!!!! I cannot wait for Editing Day 2 so I can see the finished product!! Actually, what reminded me to darken some shots was when I played over the music and I noticed how the dark melody was not fitting with the bright shots. I feel as though Editing Day 1 went well for me. I realized I forgot to film an extreme close up on the word "preservation" in the magazine, but that was quick and simple to re-record. Luckily, I did not need to call my actor to jump into a janitor suit to film again. The worst part of editing was adding the credits and title. It took me so long to find the perfect font.

I'll see you next time when I create my foley sounds!

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗

Group Meeting #2

Hey there Cambridge!

In class today, our teacher put us into groups to have our second group discussion. This time, I worked with Selena, Santi, Camila, Isa, Andre, and Ethan. We went around and each shared our blog. We explained our plot and where we are at in production as well as ideas for our CCR. I took some notes on what we talked about, questions, and ideas shared:

Ethan's project was interesting. It is about going up to space and he is filming in stop motion! I liked looking at the pictures of his process in building the spaceship out of cardboard (on his blog). He also shared an interesting idea for the CCR, a sock puppet show. We all lit up at that idea as we all agree how creative that is.

Next, Selena talked lots about their main character and how they are slim and tall. She chose her brother for that roll, and we suggested to she do a low angle to make him seem taller. Although, I feel like 5'11 is already pretty tall. 😅

Santi's plot is about a famous doctor who releases a medicine and is announcing a negative to the medicine. Someone goes and tries to figure out what exactly is going on with that medicine. I enjoyed hearing his plot and looking at the creation of his medicine through images on his page. Our group loved to hear about his parents as actors in his film and loved how his studio turned out. I suggested using his CCR to continue his plot with his characters or interviewing his actors at the red carpet.

Moving forward, Camila spoke next. Andre suggested Camila uses wind chimes to represent calm in her film. Camila talked about use of lighting for differentiating between the present and the past (flashback). She shared clear ideas for her film opening and about her beach day filming.

Isa explained her characters and the change in tone from calm to chaos. One of the videos on her blog were not working, so I suggested why it may be (video too large, >100mb) and that she can try making it a link instead. She had a cool idea for her film opening where she will peel off stickers to reveal questions written on a board, similar to that one brand that has celebrities answer most asked questions.

At the end it became my turn to share. I described my film opening and they really liked my plot, so I decided to share how I created my own madlib to come up with the idea. I also shared that I too am not sure what I plan on doing for my CCR. My group members were interested in how I created my magazine, so I showed them images of my magazine (from my blog) and summarized my process for making it. 

Later, we talked about sound and I recommended epidemicsound.com to find thriller and suspenseful sounds since I happened to be quite successful with that website when I went to search for my sounds.

At one point, we talked about opening credits. We are still not super sure how we will present the credits in our films, but Selena had a great idea for Andre to put the credits on the screens of the technology presented in her film opening.

Picture of our group members at meeting #2

Reflection:

This was a really productive group. We asked a lot of questions on audio, the set, how they will make it happen. Some of us haven't started filming yet, but plan to this week (like on Wednesday). We all seem to be on the same point with our CCR, where we do not have a for-sure idea yet.

Yours Truly, 

Macie 💗