Week 10 Post # 19

Creative Critical Reflection

CCR #1

CCR #2

Week 10 Post #18

 Twisted Truths ( Film Opening):

Twisted Truths 

Week 10 Post #20

 Reflection:

Hi blog... So here's the end of it. Im honestly sad it's gonna be so weird not updating you guys three tunes a week about my project. But I am really happy that I was able to complete it and I really hope you guys enjoy it I genuinely worked hard on this. I had a great time creating this and I am happy to share it with you guys.

Goodbye blog :)

Week 9 Post #17

 CCR Plans:    

Hi blog! So today I will be sharing with you guys my planning process for my CCR. So for my first video I plan to do the Wired Automatic Interview which is basically answering questions from the top searched on google about the person being interviewed. In my case it will be about my film Twisted Truths. 

Here are some examples:

So I will print out the search bar of google and then write down the questions myself. I will then cut out a thin piece of paper to cover the questions and then I will peel it off. I really wish there was a template of this on Canva or something and I can print it out but sadly I could not find one so I will have to make it myself.

My next medium for my CCR will be a powerpoint presentation with a VoiceOver. 

Here is what I plan on saying:

• How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues? 

• So its basically about a group of teenagers on an average boat day where they drink and party you know have fun like normal kids do. But the story takes a turn where one of the kids takes drugs and they overdose since they had mixed it with alcohol. So instead of calling the cops they decide to overthrow his body because they did not want to get caught with alcohol. So you can say this is a teen crime thriller movie. However I wanted to challenge the media conventions by adding the more psychological implications of the act. It could explore the guilt, paranoia, and ethical dilemmas faced by the teenagers involved, adding layers of complexity to the storyline. Instead of the film portraying the teens as either heroes or villains, they are depicted as morally ambiguous individuals who are forced to confront their own biases and prejudices as they grapple with the consequences of their actions. And you know these kids are privileged. They have boats, go to private schools, and live on the water. So I think the fact that they decided to hide their best friends body instead of going to the cops despite the consequences, I feel it represents a metaphor for larger social issues such as being privileged. For example, the decision to hide the body could be driven by the teenagers' fear of facing consequences due to their privileged backgrounds, highlighting the unequal treatment of individuals based on their social status. 

 

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

• I hope my film will engage with audiences by building tension from the moment the teenagers decide to hide the body, creating a sense of unease and uncertainty about whether they'll get caught. Also my film could explore the moral dilemmas faced by the teenagers as they grapple with the consequences of their actions. By delving into questions of guilt, responsibility, and the value of human life, the film could provoke thought and discussion among audiences about what they would do in a similar situation. Lastly my film could serve as a commentary on teenage culture, exploring themes such as peer pressure, underage drinking, and the consequences of irresponsible behavior. By shining a light on these issues, the film could spark conversations and encourage reflection among audiences, particularly young viewers. 

 

• How did your production skills develop throughout this project? 

-  Pre-Production:  During the pre-production phase, I refined my skills in conceptualizing ideas, scriptwriting, storyboarding, and planning. As I worked on my film opening, I learned to articulate my vision more effectively, break down scenes, and plan shots strategically to convey my story. I honestly did not know how much time and effort is put in production until I started creating films.Directing Skills: Directing involves working with actors, framing shots, and guiding the overall creative vision of the film. Throughout the project, I developed my ability to communicate with my vision to my actors, give effective direction for performances, and make creative decisions on set to bring my story to life. At first it was difficult trying to get my actors to understand my vision and to cooperate with me. But after this movie I definitely learned how to communicate more clearly and to be more patient.Cinematography Skills: Crafting visually compelling scenes requires an understanding of lighting, composition, camera movement, and shot selection. As I  shot my film opening, I refined my skills in framing shots, adjusting camera settings, and using lighting techniques to enhance mood and atmosphere. Both halfs of my film required different lighting and a different mood, so I had to learn how to create these moods by filming a certain way and I saw what a difference it made just by the pacing, lighting, color, and camera movement.Sound Design Skills: Sound is a crucial element of filmmaking that often goes overlooked in my opinion . Throughout the project, I developed my skills in recording and editing sound, and music to enhance the atmosphere and emotion of my film opening. Towards the end of the opening of my film I added a dramatic soundtrack. It truly made such a difference and it made the tone so much more suspenseful and I truly learned the importance of sound especially in that very moment when I embedded the sound into the scene.  In the montage I feel the sound really made the energy full of good vibes which is exactly what I had envisioned the scene to look like and the sound truly tied it together.Editing Skills: Now this is where it got tricky. Editing is where the magic of filmmaking truly comes together. I learned to assemble footage, create pacing and rhythm, and make creative decisions in post-production. Throughout the project, I developed my skills in editing software, learned about different editing techniques, and gain an understanding of how editing can shape the narrative and emotional impact of my film. In my opinion editing was the most difficult to do. Editing is one of the most important things in production and I learned how to use the software correctly and learn different techniques to get the best product.Problem-Solving Skills: This for me was the most crucial learning experience. No film production goes perfectly according to plan, and I for sure encountered these challenges along the way. The accident truly changed so many things in my project and it forced me to think outside the box and look for new possibilities  to create my film. Throughout the project, I developed my ability to think on my  feet, troubleshoot technical issues, and find creative solutions to overcome obstacles and bring my vision to life. I am so grateful I was able to find a way around my dilemma and I am also so grateful for my cast who allowed me to create this wonderful piece.

• How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project? 

  -I used my iPhone 14Pro to film everything in my opening. I wanted to buy a camera for myself for this film and also because I wanted one myself , but sadly I was not able too. I also used softwares like Davinci Resolve, Canva, and Capcut to develop my opening.

•  

 

Week 8 Post #16

Credits and Font:

Director: Dahlia Benitez

Producer: Dahlia Benitez 

Cast: Dahlia Benitez, Ashley Hall, Brianna Barroso, Lucas Linares, Michael Seckinger, Frankie Maio, 

Cinematographer: Dahlia Benitez and Michael Seckinger

 

For the font of my opening credits I was hoping to use this:

The title sequence in Stranger things is really nice and appropriate for the show. It completely sets the tone for the whole series, which is in part why I feel that title sequence and typeface is important to it’s success.

For my title I was planning on doing bold skinny letters look to create that mysterious look.

With this title for Cabin Fever I really like how the letters disintegrate and since my film opens on the water and we throw Stephens body into the water I think it would be a good idea to make that water affect and it also adds suspense. However I tried to get the water effect when editing and I was not able to sadly so instead I used an ''echo effect''.

Week 8 Post #15

Title:

Hi blog!  Today I am going to be sharing with you guys the process of putting together my title. First let me list down the parts. 

First I will research typical opening title for teen/thriller films. I think really striking typography in movie titles and their title sequences plays a fairly large role in film. Opening titles are an opportunity for directors to set the mood for the whole film. Which in my case I hope to have a font that will create a thrilling feeling yet not dramatic 

I found this website called VideoMaker and it has given some tips they stated on how to create a good title sequence:

• Steer clear of hard-to-read or cursive typefaces. To ensure that your titles can be read, make sure they remain on the screen for a minimum of three seconds. In order to make sure that your titles stay in frame, don't forget to employ your title safe guides. When selecting your font and background colors, bear in mind the overall tone you want to create for the movie and apply color theory.

• Since the first ten minutes of the movie are devoted to your opening title sequence, bear in mind that viewers are more likely to turn off the video if they don't find it appealing. A poor title sequence also turns off viewers and casts a negative light on the rest of the movie.

• Remember that your titles are one of the first things your audience will notice about your movie, whether it's your seventh or first. While you want it to stand out, you also want your titles to be cohesive with the film. 

How I am going to use my credits is I will add them on the bottom corner in the beginning of my film. And for my title scene it is going to be of the sky.Then a tilt down to the tree where the missing child flyer is pasted and where I will snatch it and throw it on the ground

 Missing child flyer (I created with canva):

Week 8 Post #14

 Editing 

Hi blog! So today I have started my editing process and I am so excited to see how this fully turns out. I am going to be using DaVinci Resolve because when I searched up the best editing softwares that was the best one so I decided to use that. If I am being honest it is pretty complicated I had to search up some YouTube videos on how to work it and there is just so much information and editing tools its hard to understand what does what. I am also having trouble with finding how to do certain things for example fading audios and scenes, adjust sound, and add effects. The video that helped me with fading scenes and audio is pasted here. 

Other than that I think the app itself is really cool, like I said there is a lot of options to choose from and work with and so far I like how it is turning out. I have finished adding most of my scenes and audios, all I need to import is the scene of the missing flyer being put on a tree and my title. I then have to add my credits. However I will be using Canva instead to import the text boxes.

Editing Outline:

Week 7 Post #13

Post Filming

Hi blog!! So I have finished filming and now I am going to share with you how it went!! First I am going to start off with the dilemmas I had to face while filming. 

1st. My friend Kelsey who was supposed to play Morgan was not in town because sadly her cousin was diagnosed with Lyme disease so she had to go visit her in North Carolina where she lives. Thankfully both Ashley (played Katy) and Brianna (played Amber) were able to replace her for the scenes she had lines. 

2. Since now I am not filming during my fort Lauderdale friends spring break my friend Lucas who was originally going to play Stephen is in town so I was able to give him back his role. So since I had changed Michael to Stephen I gave him the role of James.

3. Obviously Michael's boat is broken because of the accident so we could not use his boat. Instead our other friend Frankie offered to use his boat instead. But the day I came to film, his engine would not turn on so we could not use his boat. Since  Brianna has a deck,  Frankie would have came over to her house on the boat and we would leave off the desk ( which is what we normally did). So since his boat did not work that day we decided to film on Brianna's boat. However it is her parents boat so we were not allowed to take it out. So we had to film on parked boat. I was pretty upset about this I really wanted to film on Frankie's boat but it came out alright in my opinion. Cleary I feel it would have came out better if we were actually on a moving boat but it is what is is. The universe really does not want me going out on a boat again hahaha. It's definitely a sign.

4. The effect of us having to film on a parked boat is that I would have to change my ending. I would not be able to film my friends dragging Stephens body onto that tree I was a talking about while I sit on the boat. I was really upset about this because I felt that it was such a good idea and would make my opening look really cool. Also I really wanted to try the rule of thirds technique but it is okay. We were able to come up with an idea. Which was to pretend to throw Stephen overboard. When we filmed this scene I kinda messed up with my acting. I was supposed to act emotionless because of shock but I did not know how to act that way without making me look weird on camera. I feel that my viewers would not understand what I was trying to go for. Although, I did try to pursue this by drinking the fake alcohol unthoughtfully to ''numb the pain'' or '' run away from reality''. I thought it was a good idea because in the beginning of the opening I had hesitated drinking and wasn't too fond of it until my friends convinced me too. So the fact I drank it on my own the way I did showed how I changed after knowing what happened with Stephen and the horrible thing we did by dumping his body into the water so we would not get in trouble for underage drinking.  

5. The last issue I had was to actually get my friends to really participate in the film thoughtfully. They agreed to do it and they had told me how excited they were to film this with me but once they realized how much work it was they started acting lazy and did not want to film anymore. Its is okay because I was able to get everything to work out and get the shots I needed. I will thank Brianna and Micael though, because they were really the only ones who were into it and helped me to get the others to stop being lazy lol. But this was the least of my problems compared to the rest of the problems I had. I just wanted to let you guys know how filming really went for me. 

Other than all of that I genuinely had a fun time filming and I am glad I was able to work everything out.

Here are some pictures/videos of behind the scenes: 

Here is what I used to put the ''drugs'' below Stephens nose. 

Quick cute selfie of Brianna(Amber) while Michael(James) tries to decide how he can pretend to throw Lucas (Stephens) body overboard.

Group selfie of my cast!! Green shorts - James ( played by Michael) , blue shorts - Stephen (played by Lucas) , black bathing suit - Amber ( played by Brianna) , purple bathing suit - Katy (played by Ashley). Marco who is played by Frankie is not in this picture. 

 click here for blooper 

Since there are some scenes I could not film for myself, I had my friends film the clips that I was in. I taught them how to set up the camera, how to move it, and how I wanted to frame. I got about four pictures of me teaching one of my friends how to film off of my phone but it sadly got deleted off of one of my friends phone so I can't show you guys :(. 

My next blog I'll discuss about my title and show you guys my vision. My next blog after that I'll share my editing process. 

Week 7 Post #12

 Title

Hi blog! So today I will be discussing how I will come up with my title. I am thinking of something eerie that gives some foreshadowing. I am going to research some movies with titles. 

These are some movies with titles I am going to be inspired by:

   

The Sixth Sense is a psychological horror movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan which is about Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, who starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm settle with his wife who is having difficulties. In this movie there is a plot twist which is something I would do in my movie and the title foreshadows this twist in the movie. I plan to do the same so this is why the title, The Sixth Sense is something I am inspired by. 

This is a show called The Unspoken Truth that I have never seen but I have found while researching. Its title really spoke to me and I feel that event this title could correspond with my movie. I really love how the title is suspenseful and thrilling. It makes me wonder '' What is the truth in this show?'' '' What is the dilemma?'' and "What is unspoken?''. I definitely think I will consider the word ''truth'' in my movie since obviously there is a lie going to be told in the ''rest of the movie'' and having a suspenseful word before the word ''truth'' in my title could be very intriguing in my opinion.

The Lie  is a movie about a father and daughter who are on their way to dance camp and the daughter sees  her best friend by the side of the road. So they stop to offer the friend a lift, but something disastrous occurs. I really enjoyed this movie but the reason I chose this movie as something I am inspired by is because I like how the title is straightforward and blunt. It goes straight to the point of what the major issue is in the movie. There is also a plot twist and there is multiple lies being told in the movie. Like I said previously, if my opening was a full movie there would be a lie being told so the title ''The Lie'' is something that will help me come up with my title as my film relates to this film. 

So after thinking and thinking... I have decided on ''Twisted Truths'' . I said before that I want to include the word ''truth'' and how I wanted an unsetting adjective before ''truth''. I was thinking of ''Hidden Truths'' but it did not sit right with me. It didn't feel like the right title. After a while I thought of twisted as the movie is twisted itself so I put together ''Twisted Truths''. I think its great and it will foreshadow the plot twist that would've happened if my opening was a real movie. I was thinking if it was a real movie maybe Anastasia could have been behind the overdose but I am not sure. I think that would be a good plot twist though, and would correspond with the title. 

After this blog post I will start filming and finish that same day since my friends live in Fort Lauderdale and I cannot go back and forth like that. But I am so excited to start and I am going to tell you guys all about it!!