BLOG 33: DAY TWO ON SET

BLOG 33: DAY TWO ON SET

Hey, beautiful💗, welcome back to my blog!

    Today's blog will be about our second day of shooting. I will walk you through the content that was being filmed that day as well as any challenges we encounter. With that being said, let's get MOVING!!!🏃🏻‍♀️💨

    As the winter break ended, we wanted to find the earliest no-school date to shoot as both me and Miss Little #2 have to work on the weekend. Fortunately, Martin Luther King Day was right around the corner. Seeing this open opportunity, we all decided to film on this day as it's on a weekday instead of a weekend. However, Little Miss Barbie is booked that day and couldn't attend our shooting, but don't worry😉, we handled everything perfectly. Furthermore, we decided to keep our filming location the same, Little Miss Cleongy's house, as we wanted to REPLICATE the same setting as flawlessly as possible so the audience couldn't tell the interruption in time. Learning from our past mistake, we planned to start a bit later as all of us can't wake up on our alarm!😁 

    While editing the video, we realized we didn't emphasize Gigi's despair enough to convey it to the audience; hence, we decided to go back to add more scenes. Take a guess of what it can be😁DING DING DING, time's up!! If you were thinking about a crying scene, then you're CORRECT. My team all agreed that a crying scene would be the most straightforward way to get the message across. However, it doesn't sound as simple as it is; since Little Miss Cleongy doesn't have an eyedropper (weird🙄), I have to be the waterman, who runs lap after lap (between the bathroom and the filming location) to get water (it was TEDIOUS). Not stopping there, Little Miss Cleongy also happens to not have a dropper; I have to manually use my nail to place the water drops every time😭. It was a LONG journey, but it was worth it😚. I just can't wait to show you the final result!!!

Extra BTS picture for my lovies!! 

BLOG 32: REPRESENTATION REFLECTION

 BLOG 32: REPRESENTATION REFLECTION

Hey, sunshines☀️, welcome back to my blog!

    Today I will talk about representation within my film opener. For those who don't know the definition of representation, representation refers to the portrayal of an individual, group, place, or event. I will ELABORATE on how well my team portrayed the character, if any stereotypes are included. With that being, let's get started with today's content!!🌞

    As I mentioned MULTIPLE times before, our lovely main character is Gigi, a teenage girl who will be a young adult soon. It's pretty obvious which age range we're trying to portray. Personally, I don't think our illustration of teenagers is a stereotype; we purposely avoid pursuing an image that everyone would think about a teenager. Instead, we opted for more of a subculture, Y2K lovers; you won't see this aesthetic in every teenager; nonetheless, it still takes up a good portion of the total population. With this strategy, we were able to make our opener more UNIQUE while remaining relevant. For Gigi, we purposely didn't add any typical teenager traits to her character, as we wanted Little Miss Cleongy to fully express herself. Since we are all teenagers who are about to be 18, letting us freely express ourselves would create a fair representation. Simply go with the flow rather than artificializing the personality. 

    We challenged representation with our film by going for a less well-known side of teenager. Instead of focusing on the typical narrative of rebellion, high school drama, or coming-of-age romances, we chose to portray the quieter aspect, which often gets OVERLOOKED by other people. Of course, with no acting experience, we did rely on editing to bring out more emotion. Since there is a dramatic emotion change around the middle of the opener, we wanted to incorporate visual elements such as color filters to reflect Gigi's psychological states. Let me tell you, it did make a big DIFFERENCE. In addition to the color changes, we also changed the sound to a sadder, moodier sound to truly bring out the desperation. If you don't trust me, just wait for the final product!!😉

BLOG 31: LOCATION SELECTION GUIDE

BLOG 31: LOCATION SELECTION GUIDE

Hey, sweeties🍭, welcome back to my blog!

    Today I will reveal the story behind our filming site location. This SPECIAL eposide includes the factors that influence our choice as well as our dramatic scouting process. With that being said, let's PLAY today's eposide!!🎥🎞️

    At first, when the filming location problem got mentioned, the members were extremely active in volunteering their place, but only a few played out. Due to a transportation shortage, we can't choose somebody's house that's too FAR from the majority of the members' houses. With that, mine and Little Miss #2's house immediately dropped out of the potential list. Now, only Little Miss Cleongy and Little Miss Barbie are standing; Little Miss Cleongy's house is not bad; however, Little Miss Barbie stated that she already has the PERFECT setup (from her mom's birthday). Hence, we just discard the other's option and go with Little Miss Barbie's. While doing a storyboard, we decided it's best to film in front of a window since we don't have proper lighting equipment. Little Miss Barbie, however, placed her vanity against the wall, which doesn't supply as much light. Fortunately, Little Miss Cleongy happened to have her vanity by the window, so we decided to film at Little Miss Cleongy's instead. (THANK GODDDD! it worked out at the end😤)

    We were able to get the permissions to film right away. All thanks to Little Miss Cleongy's parents, we had a SEAMLESS shooting; her mom even cooked lunch for us😋. Overall, we're extremely satisfied with the filming location; Little Miss Cleongy's room's aesthetic truly brings out the uniqueness we're pursuing. The scenery is an EXACT representation of the subculture that we're trying to portray. It was a flawless decision to choose Little Miss Cleongy's house; however, if we were to have a higher budget, I would prefer to go for a more professional setting (HUSHH!! don't tell her that🤫.)

BLOG 30: STORYBOARD REIMAGINED

BLOG 30: STORYBOARD REIMAGINED

Hey, flowers🌸, welcome back to my blog!

    Today's blog will be about the updated storyboard, which reflects any new scenes as well as edits that got added. I will describe some changes that we made and the reasons behind them. With that being said, let's BEGIN today's content!!

    First off, the first scene we added was scene #1. At first, we only planned to do a close-up of the calendar followed by a cut straight to the next scene, but while shooting, we figured the transition would be to SUDDEN for the first few seconds. So we decided to use pan to create a more continuous feeling. Next, we added in scene #12, this scene got suggested by Little Miss Barbie. During shooting, we realized the angles we planned don't have much emotional impact so we went into an URGENT meeting. Everybody was stressing, pulling each hair strand until Little Miss Barbie came forward with the camera size transition. She suggested we start with a full shot then slowly dolly out into a wide shot. With this, we were able to EMPHASIZE on Gigi's loneliness by making her seem SMALLER compared to the size of her room. 

   

    Following that, we also added in scence #13. Similar to scene #12, we decided to add this in SOLELY because we wanted to evoke more emotion. We use a static shot with the addition of a close-up; these conbine further emphasize Gigi's facial expression. Lastly, we added in scene #15-17, these scenes happen when Gigi walks down the stairs. These weren't a part of the ORIGINAL storyboard; we decided to include mid-shooting, as jumping straight from the bedroom to the kitchen just makes it feel like there's a BIG gap. Hence, we included the addition scenes to provide the continuous, which makes the whole journey more REALISTIC. 

Updated Project Storyboard

BLOG 29: GROUP HARMONY

BLOG 29: GROUP HARMONY

Hey, girlies🍬, welcome back to my blog!

    Today I will spill some TEA about our team's current situation. This will include our group dynamics as well as how well we've been working together. With that being said, let's keep this short and start with our MAIN COURSE!!😋

   

    Group dynamics refer to the process when team members interact with each other. This is an ESSENTIAL component, as it determines how well the team performs to produce a final product. In my team, everything has been going well since we are all on pace with our individual tasks. This personal duty was assigned based on our outstanding skills, aiming to minimize the time while optimizing the quality. Nonetheless, there were still some challenges that we encountered along the way; the beginning was a smooth sail until recently; this is when the team's communication went downhill. One specific member (I will not name any one😉) is not very responsive compared to before; she claims that she has purposely muted the group chat simply because we texted too much🙄. However, after a group confrontation, she has changed for the better. 

    Despite everything, the team performance was top-notch. Everyone did their part flawlessly even without being reminded of their responsibility. This is the reason why I PREFER grouping over doing it solo. Groups offer way more advantages; with groups, the members can contribute their ideas and solutions that can help if we were to face any challenges. Additionally, having members means we can achieve a better result since they might be more efficient in departments that others' are lacking. If I were to do this project again, I would still choose working in groups. 

BLOG 28: THE INSPIRATION HUB

BLOG 28: THE INSPIRATION HUB

Hey, gorgeous🌺 , welcome back to my blog! 

    It's just HIT me how I never really discussed the inspiration I got to create our film opener. So to make it up for my LOVELY readers, I will dedicate this blog to the origin of this imagination. With that being said, let's get STARTED!!🙌🏻🙌🏻

    This started all the way back to the summer break of my junior year. Similar to all other teenagers, I did get tired of doing nothing so I decided to take a tour on Netflix to find movies to watch (to spare sometimes, you know😉). Some kind of fate decided to display "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" as my first suggestion. Getting curious by this TEMPTING title, I begin to watch this movie and then completely the other's parts in the series, all in one day!! (YES! I was that addicted.) Rather than its attractive casts (well, it does play a TINY part😚), the story line is what made me stick with the whole series. Since the movie is a coming-of-age theme, it follows Lara's personal growth from youth to young adult. Watching these, I could deeply resonate with her development, from the basic teenager's struggles to the peer pressure. It truly reflects the unspoken complication I struggle with. 

    Admiring the deep connection this series has with their teenage audiences. I got inspired to create a film opener about a coming-of-age theme that can also capture the audience's heart. However, since I don't want my project to be flagged as plagiarism, I wanted to try a different approach, something that's MORE emotional, such as family relationships, unlike the boy and girl romance theme that "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" pursues. Even though family relationships are not as popular as the romance trope with teenagers (my intended audience), I feel like this is an unspoken struggle that every one of us has been through. So hopefully, through this challenging theme, I can evoke that one inner emotion that people are trying to admit.

BLOG 27: CINEMATIC LIGHTCRAFT

BLOG 27: CINEMATIC LIGHTCRAFT

Hey, besties⭐, welcome back to my blog! 

    Today we will discuss the lighting usage in our film opener. This will include the types of lighting we used and, of course, the reasons behind it. However, to keep things more entertaining, we will add a little SPICE🌶️ into today's blog. With this being said, let's START!!🥅

    This project started with a rough path, as in the beginning we planned to borrow the equipment from a professional. However, due to multiple schedule conflicts among the members, we ultimately ended with an early shooting date, which prevented us from securing the lighting equipment. Nonetheless, we PERSEVERED through and found an alternate route (thanks to Little Miss Barbie's idea.) My team decided to stick with natural lighting for the film, however we will edit the color to achieve a BETTER psychological effect. The beginning of our project starts out with a high-key lighting with warm colors; this was carefully selected to reflect the main character's joy and excitement. Due to equipment's shortage, we have to achieve the high-key lighting with 100% natural lighting. We firgured it's best to film our project at noon and in front of a window to capture as much light as possible. 

    To prevent the opener from being boring 🥲, we completely changed the mood of the second half of the opener. This time we decided to go for low-key lighting with more cool hues. We achieved this lighting by changing the setting from bedroom to kitchen, which didn't have much direct sunlight compared to the first setting. With less light supply, more shadows were created, evoking a gloomier atmosphere. The changes perfectly reflect Gigi's mood, just like we wanted it to be; additionally, the cool hues' inclusion further brings out the sorrow mood Gigi's expressing. Unfortunately, we didn't include any 3-point lighting due to the lack of lighting equipment. However, if we were to have the equipment, I would prefer to add more 3-point lighting and rely LESS on natural light to enhance the cinematic quality. 

BLOG 26: CUT & TRIM PT.1

BLOG 26: CUT & TRIM PT.1

Hey, cuties💗, welcome back to my blog! 

    Today I will fill you in with our editing process; this will include the video effects and transitions that we used as well as any problems we encountered while editing. With that being said, let's JUMP into today's content!!🦘🦘

    If you are my regular blog readers, you will know the holy grail that I've been praising. But if you were to miss it, let's me reintroduce it to you. Ladies and gentlemen, CapCut, my ABSOLUTE savor, the one who accompanied me through out every project, my companion through this bumpy journey. I know I said this before but CapCut is the BEST free editing software out there. It offers a wide range of features that are more than enough to edit a decent project, and if you happen to have a bit extra spare money, try considering their subscript. Only with a few dollars, you now have unlocked all professional features; all ADVANCED features are now compressed in a portable app (to make things clear, I am NOT sponsored😁).

    For video transition, we wanted to keep it minimal with as little complex transition as possible. We utilize straight cuts for the majority of our film to OPTIMIZE the natural flow of the movie. As I learned through past students' projects, complex transitions without proper professional editing skill can greatly bring down the opener's cinametic quality; hence, we all agreed to opt for a safer pathway.

    Nonetheless, to make things more interesting, I came up with an idea to incorporate a fade to black in the ending of the film opener. Since fading to black is not a common way to end a film opener, I hope our BOLD decision can make our project stand out. As stated in the previous blog, Little Miss #2 is the main editor of this project, and I'm in charge of assisting her. While working our way toward the end, we encountered our first and only challenge, since there's a MAJOR mood shift in the middle of the film. We wanted to gradually change the color from a warm hue to more of a cool tone; YES!! The problem is gradually (this is the KEY). We knew how to change the color through the video effect but we never learned how to do it gradually. Without hesitation, we went straight to YouTube and after the longest 5 minutes of my life, we eventually learned to slowly change the color. That's it!! Problem solved. The moral of the story is, if you ever get stuck, reach out to YouTube👍🏻.

Little help from our manager!!🥰🥰

BLOG 25: OPENING CREDITS VISUAL

BLOG 25: OPENING CREDITS VISUAL

Hey, sunshine🌞, welcome back to my blog! 

    Today's blog will mainly focus on the title sequence for our film opener. I will walk you through our brainstorming process, which includes our choice of font, colors, styles, as well as the titles. However, to make things easier for you guys, I will include visual aids to help you visualize it better😉. With that being said, let's DIVE straight into today's content!!🌊

Make-up scene title sequence

    The title sequence has been finalized early on in the project, along with the film opener's idea. The process was straight forward, as we know the vibe we're trying to achieve. The first idea that got brought up is to corpoprate the title sequence with the make-up scenes, where Gigi's getting ready for her humble coming-up-age party. Since we wanted to achieve a Hollywood CINAMETIC effect, we were thinking to do something that was different than anyone else. Little Miss Barbie and Little Miss #2 suggested doing close-up shots of the make-up products, then adding in the titles as the products being closed or open. Personally, I think this is a CLEVER idea, as I haven't seen any student utilize it (ORIGINAL😝). 

Stair scene title sequence

    Despite that, we are still open to more ideas. Little Miss Cleongy then came up with an idea where we would add the titles toward the middle, specifically when Gigi walks down to the kitchen room. Little Miss Cleongy thinks it's a decent idea as we plan to capture multiple angles of this movement so adding the title would make it feel more NATURAL since it will flow with the action. Lastly, I suggested something even simpler; I wanted to add the title sequence as soon as the opener started (just like how others movies are). Unfortunately, this idea got rejected immediately since the others said it "doen't fit the standard."🥲

We chose the one on the right

    After carefully weighting the pros and cons of each option, we finally decided to go with the title sequence that happens at the transition to the kitchen simply because we all agreed that this option is the most INNOVATIVE; it fits Hollywood's standard perfectly😁. Furthermore, we thought this unique title sequence might appeal to some graders and help us secure some extra points😉. Besides, as an effort to match with the Y2K vibe, we chose to go for a retro font (such as  vintage signature) with some brighter color to ISOLATE the words from the dark background. For title, we wanted to keep it simple with a maximum of 2 roles for each member (but preferably 1 for each member). At this moment, we have Little Miss Barbie as the film director, Little Miss #2 as editor, Little Miss Cleongy for creative director, and myself as co-editor and camera operator.