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 💗