Peer Review Blog

      This Tuesday we did peer reviews of our movies to this date. While we were able to put together a 1:39 video, we did not have time to add the titles. So we are confident we can be at around the correct time with the title scenes added. We graded a group who did their project on cannibal couple. The couple doesn’t get along well, other than when they’re eating. Overall their video was good. They had good titles, and good shots.          There were some issues where some scenes needed to be shorter. The lighting also wasn’t great at times, because some titles blended into the background. Also, my group had trouble finding the exact story while watching, and were confused. However we were able to eventually figure it out. While we were doing that our’s was getting reviewed. One of our peers watched our video, and liked it. His main criticisms were that we didn’t have titles, the story was a little hard to follow, and the camera was a little shaky at times.

     

 We are going to take these criticisms to make our final video as good as it can be. We are going to reshoot soon. I definitely agree with those issues he had as well. Another thing we need to make sure we do while reshooting is making sure we have a greater variety of camera angles. In the video we have now we only incorporate a few editing techniques and angles, and we need more. I think with these criticisms we have what we need to make a great final project.

Editing the Final Project

     This week, we had another recording session for our film. After this we were much happier with our ability to make a final product. For example, we got an actual adult to act as the parent in our film. I also got clips around the house so I could use it to set the tone in our film. When I sifted through the clips I noticed that we had to scrap alot of them. Jake helped out with this but we had enough to stretch our movie to 2 minutes. 

      The first thing I did when editing was put everything in order and delete the clips I wouldn't use. I then begin adding effects like color correction to set the mood. I then cut clips and made them chronological to the movie idea. After that I added opaque clips on top of others for effect, made pans, and other small things to make it look better as a whole.

      This first editing session took me about 4 hours total. However there is much more to do. A list of things I need to do are: add and design titles, find good sound effects, make final desicion on music, add a little bit of voice acting, and finally revise edits and make them look better. After I do that I will show it to other people. I will do this so I can ask for their opinion on what trey think the movie would be about. We need to make that as obvious as possible. I am very motivated to finish this editing and make the best movie possible. My teammates have been very cooperative and I am excited for their opinions on it. Hopefully we can make a really good final project that blows everyone away. 

Filming Introspective

Looking back at the filming experience from this past weekend, I think it could’ve gone smoother. For one thing, our group mate Tim was not able to make it. This is because he had a sudden change of plan. Another issue was we had a time frame and not a clear view on the films idea. Because we were only able to film for one weekend it didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would. We also had some really bad scenes, and now looking at it we will have to reshoot.

     For example, in the picture below we have our group mate Carter who was acting as a police officer. This was supposed to be a big plot point. However, we cut out the trial scenes from our storyboard as we had nowhere to film. So the police character didn't really make sense for the movie. This phenomenon happened alot of times because of the scenes we changed from the storyboard. That is something to learn; to stick to the original plan. 

   This weekend I think we can bounce back on path. We plan to film on Saturday, and me edit on Sunday. This will work but it may be rushed. However, nobody is to blame but our poor planning. I think we all know what we have to change. I hope that we can change it for the better. While we may change our storyboard, after filming again we will be able to finally make a good film.

Filming the Final Project

      This weekend was the first recording session for our final project. My group members picked me up at 12 pm Saturday. They had already recorded scenes that they needed without me. I decided I would bring props like, sunglasses, figurines, keys, and other things. These were used during the filming process the entire time so it was worth it. We started filming right away wasting no time. However we think we could have done some things better. Because of this we may reshoot many scenes. 

      For example, we had Jake dress in kid like clothing to signify when he was younger. However it looks quite idiotic because you can see his face and that he's the same age. A way around this is to reshoot all of the scenes from the kid in their POV. That way you don't see Jakes face. We were also missing a group member Tim. Tim would have helped greatly in the process. If he is here with us next time we film it will greatly benefit our scenes. 

     We spent about 5 hours filming at Jakes house on Saturday. We did spend some time going to target to try and find any extra props we might have needed. We ended up not buying anything though. I am happy with how alot of scenes turned out. However I am equally unhappy with other scenes. I think we can do better and won't rest for mediocre

Pre Filming Blog

Before we film this weekend we planned some things we want to get done. The first is making sure we take all safety precautions. This is important to make sure nobody gets hurt. Another thing is making sure everyone can film at the same time. After speaking with my group members it seemed like they could all film in the afternoon but not the morning. Jake will get the camera tommorow and bring it home with him. He is doing this because we will film around his house.

      We also have started to research types of strategies similar plots in movies have used in their intros. This will make filming go faster and give us more inspiration. Filming will probably have one set of scenes on Saturday and the others on Sunday. An example of this is day and night scenes. I am excited to film and bring our creation to life. Our groups storyboard will be recreated. However we may have to change some things on it. After looking at the storyboard again I hope that we don't have to change to much.

       I think we will have a good time filming and wont run into issues. We have prepared alot and are ready to go at any time. I also have thought of any ideas on how to make the editing fit into the film. That will probably be my biggest contribution. 

Carter researching common thriller openings. 

Planning Blog: Storyboard

        This is our storyboard for our final project for AICE Media Studies. This contains a thoroughly detailed summary of each scene showing what's suppose to happen in this scene. Accompanied with drawings of each events that happens in each scene. It shows the props, Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and all of the angles and edits in the scene. Gives each and every one of these in detail showing what is happening to the sound or where it's coming from. Or by showing what the props are and what happens to them. It also goes over the specific types of edits that are needed to be used and how to. This storyboard will be used as our guide when we are making our video. With its great amount of detail even showing the settings of each location it will make our jobs incredibly easy. Without this storyboard, we'd be incredibly unorganized and during recording that would be a great problem. It will be a great help.

Planning Blog: Title Design

  
      This is the plan for the Title Design I have so far. We will follow this plan as closely as possible but I will most likely add some changes. In my opinion, I cannot decide how to make them without having seen a finished short film first. However, I think these ideas will be able to stand up well. As shown I haven't gone super crazy with the ideas. I am also using the classic text you would see in a thriller. One of the few things we will need to alter is the Font spacing, as I haven't figured out what I want it to look like for sure yet. I am also unsure if I will stick to one font the entire time or have 2 or 3. I think the ones I chose at the end will make it in though. I am excited to see the final result and how the titles work in the film.