BLOG 45: CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

BLOG 45: CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

Hey, honeybun🍯, welcome back to my blog!

    I know you didn't expect my GRAND comeback😏; but that's not matter. The important thing is I MISS you all so much, it have been 2 weeks and its truly driving me crazy. To the point where I had to HOP out of my bed to make one last blog. That's why I AM here!! However, not to keep you for long, today's blog will be about a reflection, or you could say "Creative Critical Reflection" to get that fancy vibe🍷. This will be my formal reflection on my filming journey...and before you get started🤚🏻, I KNOW I posted a separate reflection blog. BUT!! This is the one that counts so let me COOK🔥👩‍🍳. With that being said, let's all WITNESS my beautiful "Creative Critical Reflection."👏🏻💐

Click on this photo for the BIG surprise😏🌹

BLOG 44: THE GRAND FINALE

BLOG 44: THE GRAND FINALE

Hey, beautifuls💎, welcome back to my blog!

    Today is THE DAY you've been waiting for. To make things short, I'll express some final words and then embed the video here. With that being said, let's START today's blog!!😁💐

    First off, I just want to say that this has been a long journey, so I want to thank everyone for joining me today (Yes!! Give yourself a round of applause👏🏻👏🏻). Throughout my time in AICE Media Studies, I've learned so many things; effectively planning might be the most SIGNIFICANT skill I've learned so far😁. Other than that, I've been exposed to materials that I never knew before, like mise-en-scène, storyboarding, etc., and I truly appreciated the fun time that came along with the new experiences. After 44 blogs, I can confidently say that I am now at the intermediate level and no longer the "beginner." Now, I've learned how to brainstorm efficiently as well as film in the right way. Now, I am no longer a noob. Now, I can take pride in my production skills. It was a GREAT time to have you along my side throughout this challenging chapter. Again, thank you!!🙏🏻🙏🏻

   It's been an interesting and fun experience, trying out different techniques, angles, and camera movements. Creating this project for sure resulted in many arguments, but we all managed to persevere through and produce a product that completely EXCEEDED my expectations. We did face many difficulties; however, I believe we all did our BEST and created a project we can be proud of. If you were to ask me, "Was it difficult?" or "Do you see yourself doing this again?". The answer will always be YES. So, without further ado, let's take a look at this magnificent project you've been waiting for:

BLOG 43: NEW CHAPTER

BLOG 43: NEW CHAPTER

Hey, lilies💐, welcome back to my blog!

    In today's blog, I will talk about the future project I'm doing after finishing the film opener. I will elaborate in details, so trust me, I'll make it easy for you to understand😉. With that being said, let's BEGIN with today's blog!!

    So, my next big project is a case study of a movie (BOOOO!! boringg). Now, I haven't decided on which movie to focus on yet, but I have to DIG up every single detail—like dissecting a frog in biology class, but way LESS gross! 😂 I have to research EVERYTHING from the storyline to the cinematography, the character development, and how the film appeals to its audience. Just imagine we're now tiny humans who will be going inside the director's head and EXPLORING why they made certain choices. All of this effort is simply to help me ACE the writing component of my AICE Media Studies (Yes! I’m well aware that it’s rhymed😏) as they won't let me use any outside sources😭😭.

    To put it simply, I must become a movie detective (one of the Holmes😤). I have to be able to analyze scenes, dialogues, camera angles, lighting, and even the background music and piece it together to understand how the technical elements contribute to the overall narrative. To make it even SIMPLER (for my slow girlies out there😉) just think of it like putting together a puzzle, where every little piece is ESSENTIAL to complete the whole picture. So!! My goal is to memorize every detail by the end of this chapter (like EVERYTHING) so I can use them as evidence to write a solid argument for my component 1. Bloods and tears are needed for the grades!🫡

BLOG 42: PATH TO PERFECTION

BLOG 42: PATH TO PERFECTION

Hey, pookies🐻‍❄️, welcome back to my blog!

    Today's blog will be more toned down than usual. I will conduct a DEEP reflection on the process of making this short film opener. This will include any improvement I could've made as well as the things I'm REALLY satisfied about. With that being said, let's START this discussion!! 🥸 

    Looking back on making this short film opener, there are a few things I WOULD like to change. The biggest thing that bugged me the most was the time management; that was a BIG one. We often found ourselves in a rush, especially when it came to editing. I wish I could've planned a better schedule so I and Little Miss #2 don't have to STRESS out when it comes to editing time. Additionally, I think trying out more camera movements and angles can make our project more APPEALING. I also think spending more time planning each shot in details could make a BIG difference in the end.

    On the other hand, there are many other things that I'm really PROUD of. First of all, our team chemistry is phenomenal. Everyone gave their best (I truly appreciate that😁) and it SHOWED in the final product. Next, I took great pride in the editing part. Especially the special effects, such as the smoke effect, it turned out to be way BETTER than I imagined; it DEFINITELY added an amazing touch. The sound design was also another highlight. Even though it took some time, the final audio mix MATCHED perfectly with the visuals; it definitely made the film more engaging. Now looking back, this wonderful result made the whole bumpy journey worth it.😉

BLOG 41: CREW IMPRESSIONS

BLOG 41: CREW IMPRESSIONS

Hey, honey buns🍯🐝, welcome back to my blog!

    In today's blog, I will disclose each member's impressions when they first saw the project. Since me and Little #2 are already in charge of the editing, we knew how it's going to turn out all along, so I will only include Little Miss Barbie's and Little Miss Cleongy's. Nonetheless, these are exclusive, one-in-a-lifetime reactions that you DON'T want to miss out on. With that being said, let's BEGIN today's show!!🎪🎠

    The moment Little Miss Barbie watched the final version, her eyes immediately lit up. Her facial expression at that time is PHENOMENAL; her mouth was wide open to the point you could FIT a whole egg inside.🤣. I would say she gave a more dramatic reaction among the two; the way she gasped and clapped her hands is way more intense than what I expected. She couldn't stop talking about the flawless transitions and the awesome smoke effect at the end. Being the drama queen she is, Little Miss Barbie instantly grasped my hand and declared how this opener is Oscar-worthy. To be honest, her excitement was INFECTIOUS; it made me and Little Miss #2 EXTREMELY proud of our hard work.

    Little Miss Cleongy, on the other hand, put on her director's hat and gave a more thoughtful review. All she gave us was a nod and a statement, "The storytelling and camera work are on point." While she doesn't show her excitement as extreme as Little Miss Barbie, she constantly gives out comments on what she likes. Let me tell you, when I say "constantly," it MEANS constantly; that girl seems like she doesn't want to shut her mouth🤣. She kept expressing how she LOVED the dolly-out shots and the tracking scenes. She keeps pulling out all of the technical terms she learned in class and ABUSING them (this girl doesn't know when to stop😭). Nevertheless, her comments had us all giggle gaggle and that's what matters.

BLOG 40: CINEMATIC MOTIONS

BLOG 40: CINEMATIC MOTIONS

Hey, sunshines🌞, welcome back to my blog!

    Today's blog is about camera movements that were utilized in my short film opener. Similar to other camer movement posts, I will ANALYZE the movement, which includes the purpose behind it as well as how it is suitable for the corresponding situation. With that being said, let's BEGIN today's blog!!!😁

    After a good few days of debating, we all think it's BEST to begin this opener with a close-up of the calendar with Gigi's birthday marking. This was used to give the audiences some clues and provide a subtle foreshadowing to the incoming content. Immediately after that, we utilized a pan combo with a zoom out to create a CONTINUOUS flow while introducing Gigi. The camera follows Gigi as she sits down, giving the film a steady, uninterrupted quality that SIGNIFICANTLY enhances the unity of scene organization. Furthermore, we HEAVILY use static shots toward the middle of the opener. As we planned to let the editing shine, we didn't want to add any unnecessary camera movement that could potentially distract the audiences from our excellent edits. For the title sequences portion, we used quick cuts (montage edits) between each movement to create an exciting mood that PERFECTLY reflects Gigi's eagerness to begin her coming-of-age party.

    As the film progresses into the main plot, we use more COMPLEX movements to convey the intricate emotions Gigi's feeling. Right after Gigi's dad announced his absence, we decided to use a dolly-out, changing the camera size from full to wide shot. This helps to emphasize the feeling of loneliness; in addition, we immediately paired it with a static shot right after to FURTHER highlight Gigi's despair emotional state as she expressed her frustration/disappointment while exiting the room. To fully capture Gigi's movement, we utilized a pan movement to display all the movement while keeping the chaos to a minimum; with this, we were able to emphasize Gigi's sadness rather than anger. Finally, to top things off, we used a steadicam to ACCURATELY track Gigi's path into the kitchen. This allowed for a more realistic feeling, which significantly enhanced visual storytelling.

BLOG 39: CUT & TRIM PT.3

BLOG 39: CUT & TRIM PT.3

Hey, lovely💞, welcome back to my blog!

    Today blog will be about the final day of editing. If you're a frequent reader, you would know that this is the third day already. It's tiring at this point, but I will push through and fill you in with the tea. With that being said, let's DIVE into today's content!!🌊🤿

    On the third day of editing, I and Little Miss #2 had officially turned into zombies. The only THING we could feel was tiredness; however, the urge to finish this project MOTIVATED us to keep moving. We understand that the result will be worth all the efforts we put in for this project; hence, we dedicated our last breath on this final day. Similar to other editing days, we assigned the ending and the sound area as part of the checklist that needed to be finished on the third day. The first thing that we did was add a hand-made (by me 😚) illustration of white smoke on a gray background to use as a base for our opener title. It truly has been an error and trials to find the SUITABLE background color. At first, I decided to go for a peachy color, the same color as Gigi's jacket, but it turns out to be too dark. Next, I went with a lighter shade of pink, but it looked too artificial so I at last chose a gray background to MIMIC the real smoke. Moving on, it's now time for the title's color; after some deliberation, we decided to use the same color with the cake's decoration, chocolate brown. To finally complete this area, we added a slight shadow to truly make the title stand out from the smoky background.

   

    Now looking back, we truly underestimate the DIFFICULTY of adding the soundtracks. At first, we decided to leave the sound for last, as we all thought "extract, insert" were all we had to do. However, the reality SLAPPED our faces real hard; as the sound editing process took us an additional 4-5 hours. We keep going back and forth to get the sounds to flow to each other seamlessly. We thought starting the opener with the song might be too sudden so we used a bird chirp sound effect for the first 12 seconds to SET the atmosphere and then added in the official soundtracks. For each transition, we have to manually decrease and then increase the sound to ensure a smoother transition. Another significant sound is Gigi's dad's voiceover. When these diegetic sounds are about to begin, we decided to MUTE all background sounds to enhance the DRAMATIC atmosphere of Gigi dad's sudden notice.