Here Goes Nothing........Crushed Crush: The CCR

Joy! I have finally finished my project and am presenting in this blog post my Creative Critical Reflection. It is so relaxing to finally be finished with everything and to get to watch my production. It is also quite pleasing to know I have done the best I can.

Having had used my computer's Quicktime Player to record my screen to match the audio I recorded on my phone, this was an interesting experience I hope to have time to do again.

So, without further ado, my Creative Critical Reflection.

-EC

The Final Production.........Crushed Crush

AUHGA!!!!!!! Today is the day!!!! I have finally finished my AICE Media Studies AS Portfolio and I couldn't be more excited to show everyone as well as proud of my accomplishment! Thank you so much for everyone who has read this far and I hope everyone enjoys my video.

The following is the hyperlink to my film introduction: Crushed Crush.

-EC

State of Mind: Sane......In-Sane

Yowza! This project is much bigger than anticipated by anyone. I am so thankful for everyone who has given feedback and hope that people like what I offer at the end of the blog. 

Since I last blogged, I have finished editing my video, the visual part and most of the auditory part at least. I finally figured out the perfect combination between color grading and the filters provided by iMovie. I detached the sound each video had and played a low loop of the natural background noises that I took from my first film set with Laerke. I also began to write the narration and what it will say. What I have come up with so far is this: 

"There are few things in life that you never truly forget. Moments or feelings that linger with you until your last breath.

Your first crush is something you never forget. They are something that draws you and defines you. Your first crush is unexplainable, unreasonable, yet, completely sane. The way they make you feel; how you need to be close to them yet too close is scary.

Still, no matter how scary it is, you can’t help but draw nearer, closer. Look for more, search for more. You build up the strength to do it and then you go up and talk to her. You’re smooth, you’re charming, you’re funny, your brave. And things seem to be going well.

You even got her phone number. But, when you call, “Tu tu tuit……the number you have called is no longer available. Goodbye!” the whole world stops."

I'm aligning the audio with the film as soon as I finish composing it, but my only problem is that I don't think I have enough narration yet. I am going to finish writing the narration tonight and I will blog throughout the weekend about my final touches and about beginning my director's commentary. As I head off to a night of long, fun work and dedication, I wish everyone else a different kind of fun. Goodnight! 

-EC

Due Date Approaching.......Film: In Editing; Please Check Back Later

Jaja! So, editing is harder than usual for this project. I have run into some complications but I am working on them to fix them. Meanwhile, the only actual item left to do is to film a 15 second clip that I decided to replace from the previous video, the one I am currently editing, at school. This tiny clip will make my film much more interesting, while at the same time it will change the whole direction of the film. 

So the films official, non-changing name is "Crushed Crush". I'm going to add a break in the introduction, a break that will make clear that the wrong phone number was give to the guy and that he is quite upset, before narrating and visually making a cliffhanger ending that should hook for the remainder of a the film. The next thing I have to do is to insert it and record the narration. Since I am recording the final last essential clip, I am hoping to finish editing the cuts and transitions by tonight so that I can add the voice over tomorrow. 

The one major thing that is a huge challenge for me is the filters. Since I am colorblind and have protanopia, the color blindness prevents me from fully seeing the way that the film looks to others. While the scene looks great and marvelous for me, when I ask for opinions, people either tell me it's too yellow or too blue. This small detail has me rather lost on what to do because having less than a week to pick a filter, I have to find the perfect lense to show my film which is rather impossible with my little eye tweak. 

As I get ready to finish the actual project, I am terrified of the final outcome and am super worried about the color but I am fully confident in the film that I have produced. I'll blog again as soon as any updates happen but thank you so much for reading this roller coaster so far!

-EC

Panick Attacks Are Good.......Right?

Plop. So, yesterday I had a grand time filming, and, once I got home, beginnning to edit. Today, I had an even more fantastic time freaking out and going through some scary palpitations! 

I was sitting in my study hall earlier this morning, contemplating about how the project was turning out, when, all of a sudden, my idea, the new idea that I had already filmed, became less of a fulfilled dream and more of a dreadful nightmare. I began to worry about the video not really expressing any pure technique that we had  learned to use throughout the year. I excused myself to the bathroom, but I didn't actually go. I paced around. One. Two. Three. Four. Finally, I calmed down. Well, technically, I calmed down after I decided to throw away the whole video previously recorded and decided that I wanted to record a whole new video. I also realized I would have to record that very same afternoon. 

What I wanted to was the following: A guy, Franco, and a girl, Lyla, meet, and, although they find each other attractive, the girl is shy and decided to walk away. The main male character, decides to follow her and to try and make a move. As he sits opposite from her, he smoothly slides over across the bench and puts his arm around her, asking her out on a date. Lyla, agreeing to go get a bite to eat with Franco, walks with him and they leave after what an implied date is. I got inspiration from the dance cover video for the song Chivalry is Dead. The name of the film will be, "Follow Me, Love" and the genre will still be a realistic fiction. 

Immediately, I felt immense guilt for Laerke, who had spent the previous afternoon filming with me for a video that would never be officially showed to anyone. After apologizing to her, I decided that I needed to find two people who would make a good pair to film with. With Laerke working that day and me feeling guilty enough already about wasting one afternoon, I had to find other actors to fill the role. I immediately thought of two friends who would potentially be amazing for the part. Morgan has a background in acting and modeling and she know my other friend, Nico, who the playful, friendly relationship that they have would provide for a fun atmosphere that would make an appealing film. 

I texted both of them and Nico immediately replied that he could, the only thing is that he would need a ride. Morgan, on the other hand, had to pull a few strings with her mom, but, after a couple of nerve-wrecking hours, the final reply was "Yes". Leaving school together, Morgan and I headed to her house to drop off her car and over to pick up Nico who had left school early due to having Junior privilege. From Nico's house, we headed straight to Weston Town Center. I had them act everything, and, although the playful atmosphere definitely made things interesting and made concentration a bit more difficult to maintain, the final product looked rather well. The cuts were very clean and the setting was perfect for a voice over. So after we finished filming and got something to eat, I drove them both home and then went home myself. Now, as I sit here about to begin editing, I bid you farewell and hope that you wish me good luck!

-EC

References:

DJIcon. "Ian Eastwood Choreography Feat. Megan Batoon | "Chivalry Is Dead" - Trevor Wesley." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfR7qc0WVs&t=139s>

Finally Filming.....I Guess

Ouch. You know when an idea looks so good and all of sudden it turns into a real life project and it sucks? Yeah. That was me today. As I started to film, everything went horribly wrong. The camera looked weird; my purposefully semi-disorganized room looked empty; the video was boring; the sound would;t be enough to save this footage. Below is the video recording of my failure:

So, as I sat down to think about what I was going to do to fix it, I decided that I need to change my film. Instead of having a one-take roll of my room followed by a tiny nightmare, most of the movie opening was going to be the dream. 

I made the dream so that the couple is having fun at the park and then, at the end, the guy collapses and the girl wakes up from her dream. Then, the boyfriend, alive, walks in and she requests that if instead they can go do something else; a car ride is suggested and the couple get in the car. Finally, the movie opening ends when a song that the guy sings his girlfriend a short little song composed by the dream boyfriend, a song that he shouldn't know, leaving you to wander if she witnessed the future or if it was just an actual dream.

The twist on the film, the factor that will make it different, is that the couple are famous bloggers who blog videos about each other and their daily lives. Most of the short movie introduction is taken from their perspectives and is seen as if one was reading a blog.

Now that I have all the footage, all I have left to do is edit. So, as I finish writing this blog post, I'm off to do that. Thank you for reading. Wish me luck!

-EC 

Count Down: T-Minus........2 Days.

Naaaaaaah. I'm terrified of Sunday, scared of how everything will turn out. Ideas are always so great in one's head but how they come out in reality is a scary thought that affects how the whole project goes down. I've been very excited about the new idea that I have had and how it will transform into something beautiful, yet there's always a chance that the film will be too short or that the idea wont play out well on film. 

I think my idea will turn out well. Last time I went to work, I left and directly went to A.C. Moore to look for something that could be used as a trolley. I finally found something but I wasn't convinced about the item. So, instead of buying the semi-useful "trolley", I decided that I would rather use the selfie stick I had already at home. 

I bought the pictures as well that very same day, the pictures that I decided would be layed out around the room and that would be used to write the credits. The pictures I picked out very carefully and I decided on ones that either had my whole group of friends, Laerke, my younger brother, and I, or Laerke and I, Laerke by herself, or me by myself. 

These are the selected pictures.

SO, having chosen the pictures, the only thing left to do is to actually film. As I get ready to press the red record button, I'm scared things wont go my way but hopeful that everything resolves itself.