My Creative Critical Reflection

Thanks for watching!! Hope you enjoy!!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hSIvuY9YAq_0g7eYTBzu7jeujG7R0HUL/view?usp=drivesdk

My Film Opening

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hy1Uz8jOw2HdR03FyTfJTCGeIAepb99y/view?usp=drivesdk

Reflection

My overall reflection on the Portfolio Project is that although there have been multiple severe complications, I've learned to work and make the best out of what I have access to. Throughout this project there have been several issues, such as procrastinating on getting my work done, being stuck in quarantine due to Covid-19, having none or very few actors, having to deal with only one location available to film, not knowing which software to edit from, having to come up with original ideas on how to develop a story while stuck at home or having to learn how to create your own props. These have all been just a few of the complications that I’ve gone through while completing this project. On the bright side, all of this enabled me to think outside the box, be more creative and there was an extended due date to the project which gave me more time to film and time to prepare/come up with a better solution to all my complications. I think my biggest enemy/problem throughout this whole period of working on my Portfolio project was dealing with time management. I kept pushing things back as I kept telling myself I had more than enough time to complete all my work. While it was true that I had more than plenty of enough time, I took all this time for granted as I continued to work on other school work. I think my biggest weakness was that since we’re stuck in quarantine, I can get very easily distracted at home. I lacked some discipline in having all things in order as online school can be pretty flexible. However, when I did gain enough focus to complete all my work, I dedicated all the time to working on my project. When I began filming, I only gave my attention to just filming for that whole day. I would not let myself take a break until I was finished with what I was currently working on. I think I made various good decisions upon working while filming. For example, I think I benefited from grabbing the guest bedroom in my house and giving it a complete makeover. I think this was an excellent idea because if I would have filmed from my room, there might have been continuity errors if because I probably would have accidentally moved something resulting in a disruption in the film. Moreover, since my guest bedroom is completely empty, this made it easier to alter how it looks, unlike in my room where I would have had to get rid of all technological advances that did not exist in the 80’s. 

Week 9

Good news, I have been given an extra day to work on my opening film. This made me extremely relieved and happy as it was recently my birthday and I dedicated that day to spending it with my family rather than working on school work. While I did spend the day celebrating, it also held me back a day as I could have been editing my production. This brought a lot of stress on me as I also have other schoolwork to complete. This is very good as I needed as much time as possible to edit and make everything look good. This benefits me very much as I wanted to have the weekend so I could properly dedicate my time to doing all of this. Although I have not yet begun my CCR, I have looked through what is expected of me and what I need to discuss. At first I was very confused on what I needed to do for my CCR, as I did miss the lesson in which it was taught to me at school. Luckily, I have all the resources on canvas that enable me to look at specific examples of what to do and what not to do when constructing a CCR. By tonight I plan on finishing editing that way I can focus the rest of this week to making sure everything looks adequately prepared and can film in just case there is an error (such as a continuity error) in my production and can just simply re film to fix it. 

Complications

Recently, I’ve had a few complications. I uploaded all my videos onto my computer but cannot seem to figure out where I want to edit my videos. I have become very indecisive as I want my project quality/resolution to be good. I still need two more scenes to film but I think I have enough to make it to two minutes. At first I thought I was going to edit on weVideo since it was what I had been taught in class but now, I think I would rather edit on software such as iMovie because I believe the resolution and the outcome looks better and less pixelated. An issue I came across recently was that the one day I had my actors ready to film, the day outside was very rainy and provided very little sunlight. Luckily I came to a solution on how to resolve the problem. I simply used multiple lights I have lying around my house and managed to somewhat make it look like it was daylight. While this did help a lot, I had to be very careful as to not move anything and to always keep all my lighting facing the same direction at all times. The reason for this is that the shadows that would be created on my actors would be facing a certain way and I could not change that because it would alter what time of day the scene is taking place. 

The whole “look”

This week, I decorated my guest bedroom to fit the 80’s look/theme and I also took the time to put makeup on my protagonist to fit the right time period. I did some research and I quickly realized that back in the 80’s most girls wore leggings and bright colors plus their makeup was also very vibrant. I made sure to make my main actress have the complete look so the audience will immediately distinguish what time period the film opening is in. I took the time to take pictures of the guest bedroom to demonstrate how it turned out.

I included this neon sign to show that it’s a teenagers room. I also included: 

This is what the room turned out to look like. 

Afterwards, once I got my protagonist to try on multiple outfits I finally found what felt right to fit the time period. I also found hoop earrings to complete the look. I used exotic/vibrant colors for her makeup to properly concur with the overall production. 

I used both pink and blue to fit her scrunchie and her bandana. 

Furthermore, I put white shorts over her leggings because in the 80’s that was a common trend, it was also popular/very common to put your shirt over one shoulder. 

Week 8

As I continue to work on my project, I think I might have to add a few more shots as the timing I think will not make it to 2 minutes. I am currently thinking of extra scenes I could possibly add to lengthen the opening film. I talked to some fellow peers and they recommended that I gave more background information on the protagonist as to how she committed suicide and insight on her inner thoughts or emotions. I think I am going to incorporate a montage of the protagonist feeling unease and puzzled with all of her emotions, followed by a black screen. I will also search up scary high pitched music to help set the tone. I searched up for possible sounds I could find and I came across this page that depending on the mood, you can find the ideal/adequate music for the scene.The link is: https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/downloads-c/scary-horror-music/8

Moreover, I wrote on my calendar to remind myself to make sure I include to cite the source in the credits. Another link that I found that I could possible use to incorporate sound effects would be:

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?genre=horror 

I also took the time to research various types of noises that are usually found in the thriller genre.It took me to this page: https://prezi.com/-lsd76atj379/sound-in-thriller-movies/