Critical Creative Reflection

    All right, now that I have finished my blog posts and film opening, it is time for my Critical Creative Reflection (CCR). In my CCR, I will be reflecting on my journey creating my final opening in a variety of ways.

Question 1 - How does your project use or challenge conventions and how does it represent groups or issues?

Question 2 - How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Question 3 - How did your media production skills develop throughout this project?

Question 4 - How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - in this project?

    I used several online technologies throughout the opening stages of my project. For the storyboard, I used the website Storyboard That because it was really simple to use and to provide pretty clear visuals to follow. Next, I used the website Writers Duet. It was really simple to use and it formatted everything so clearly. I also used Blogger to write my blog posts and to upload this CCR. Finally, I used Google to conduct research and access these other sites.

    Next, for hardware, I used my phone to film and my computer to access both software and online technology. There was no learning curve with either of these technologies as I was familiar with both devices.

    Finally, for the software, I used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my film opening. While using this software, I had to learn how to use features such as creating voice overs and altering the volume of audios. The main feature I used throughout the project was the cut feature. I did this to add subtle tension to my scenes. However, as this was my first time using Premiere Pro, there are still several effects I hoped to incorporate but simply did not know how to.

Final Reflection

    Now that I have finished my project I am so glad I took this course because I learned so much about how to produce media of various types, especially film. I hope to carry these skills with me in whatever future creative endeavors I may have. Thank you so much for accompanying me throughout this process. It's been fun and for the final time: 

    Farewell!

FINAL POST - Film Opener Brief

 S.C.R.I.P.T.E.D. Opening

    Here it is: my final product.

POST-CREATION - Final Notes

 My Final Words

    I just want to thank all you readers who have stuck with me in my journey so far. It is finally time to make the big reveal! While this film opening might not be getting an Oscar nomination anytime soon, I am still really proud of how much I have learned and grown in this process. I hope you all are, too. This was a great experience and I hope to take these skills further as I go on in life. 

    You all read as I carefully constructed Emma's story and the world of this dystopian thriller. I want to note that I did make a few last minute changes that I thought would look better before exporting the final project. However, My biggest hope is that you enjoy this film opening just as much as I do. This is the moment you have been waiting for. 

    My next blog post will be my last one and it will include my film opening for "S.C.R.I.P.T.E.D." Once again, Thank you all so, so, so much for sticking with me and for the last time:

    Farewell!

EDITING - Additional Audios

 Adding Some Audio

    In my last blog post, I added the podcast (the Daily Script) to my film opening. To wrap up the creation of my project, I will be adding. the rest of the audio for this opening. I cannot wait to see how the final product looks!

Soundtrack

*PIC*

    For the soundtrack, I included the song "Internet Girl" by KATSEYE during the montage. I thought this would be a good idea since the montage was meant to highlight her identity as an influencer. I couldn't access this using Spotify, so I took a screen recording instead. Then I extracted the audio and deleted the actual recording to obtain this audio.

Sound Effects

*PIC*

    I used an Adobe-derived sound effect for the sound of the alarm. However, all other sound effects were either diegetic noise or separately pre-recorded by me. I recorded these sounds on my phone's recording app, saved the audios to my files, and then imported them into the project. This did not cause me much trouble.

Reflection

    Even though it was a bit of a hassle to produce many of the sounds in the opening, I think that I did a pretty good job with the resources I had available to me. However, I came into a lot of issues with aligning my audios with my script. I did end up altering the order of the some of the script. I believe this is for the best as it still flows smoothly without any awkward overlap of noise. In my next blog post, I will simply be giving my final thoughts on my project since I have now finished.

    Until then, farewell!

EDITING - Podcast

Adding the Podcast

    In my last blog post, I added the opening credits. Today, in this blog post, I will be adding the podcast to my film opening. The podcast is a major part of the second scene, so I will take extra care as I incorporate it into my film opener today.

Podcast

    Since I have already produced and edited the podcast episode itself, the only thing for me to really do is add it into the film opening. I did this by using the audio files feature to import the media. However, what I like about this clip is that I was able to cut a few seconds off the podcast. This was necessary because there is a point where the podcast fades out to highlight the voice-over.

    During this step I also had to align the voice-over properly so that it started where it was meant to. This took me quite some time because I had an idea for the timing of the voice-over to start the beat after the podcast's sound faded. I thought of this when I initially recorded my voice-over and incorporated it. My biggest challenge was aligning the two audios in just the right way, but all it took was some patience and eventually I got it.

Reflection

    Even though I had a few minor setbacks, the editing process for today went very smoothly. I think this entire process of learning to create a major film project requires a lot of patience and adaptability. I truly believe I have grown in those areas a lot more, especially because I tend to struggle with both of those qualities. In my next blog post, I will be adding the final audios to my film opening and end my work on this project.

    Until then, farewell!

EDITING - Title and Credits

Adding Opening Credits

    In my last blog post, I finished editing my raw footage to make up the base of my film opening. In this blog post I will be adding the opening credits to my film opening.

Title

    For the title, I wanted to stick to the conventions of a dystopian thriller by using harsher, darker colors for my title. Since I know red is generally considered a harsh color, as it often symbolizes intensity, passion, or aggression, I decided to try a shade of red. I ended up using the custom color feature to create a darker shade of red for the title. I also used the font style "STENCIL STD" for the title because it looked similar to the font of a "TOP SECRET" stamp to me. I thought this would relate to the plot, so I decided to use it. I considered using a dark tan background for the title to make it seem like the text was on a file and I ultimately decided to do so.

Credits

    For the credits, I used the font "Times New Roman." I did this because this font is common in formal or official papers. I hoped to give the impression that the cast members were written inside the file and that S.C.R.I.P.T.E.D. was the file name in a way. For this same reason, I made sure the credits were in white text to really give off the formal paper feel I was going for while also being visible.

Reflection

    I believe my choices exuded the sense of uniformity, fear, and mystery I hoped it would. These choices were made with a deeper meaning in mind, however. I hoped to hint at the constant government surveillance, presence, and oppression with the opening titles. I think the case-file feel to my credits allows the audience to understand the gravity of the conditions within the digesis slightly more. In my next blog post, I will add the podcast to my film opening.

    Until then, farewell!

EDITING - Scene 2

 Setting the 2nd Scene Straight

    In my last blog post, I edited the shots for the part of the second scene where Emma makes her bed. In this blog post, I will be incorporating the rest of the shots and editing to finish the visual portion of the film.

Process

    Once again, I used a process similar to the one I used to edit scene one. I began by importing the necessary media and ordering the clips in the way I envisioned. For scene two, I did not alter the run time of any of my shots much. This is because I was aiming to have scene two have a slightly longer duration of about one minute and 25 seconds. This way my film opening has a total runtime about 2 minutes.

Challenges

    The challenge I faced was what to do with the S.C.R.I.P.T.E.D. Act notification. Because I couldn't get any shots of it that would actually flow with the rest of the opening, I decided to see if I could overlap it with the text later on by making it more opaque. Luckily, I was able to make the image more opaque; however, I may still remove it all together later on.

Reflection

    Despite my challenges and uncertainty throughout this step, I was still able to finish what is basically the visual portion of my film opening. I am so excited to be done with this step. I am only a few steps away from completing my film opening completely! In my next post I will be adding the title and credits to my film opening.

    Until then, farewell!