Critical Reflection!!

My critical reflection!

Hope you enjoyed my film opening process... I know I did.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6pJCycRVVW-TlpyaDF2Y3lkUEU/view

HERE IT IS!!!

Here is my movie film opening, Filed Away. Hope you enjoy it

Last Post!

I'm so excited that this is my last blog post!! My group members and I are finishing the final edits we have to make to the opening and then we’re done! The opening is turning out so good and I'm so excited to see the final copy!

The opening has incorporated everything I would want the film to represent and honestly, those hours of filming is really paying off. We had to record some extra material on Friday because some of the film we wanted to use was too shaky or blurry, and now it looks better than ever.

The only thing I have left to do is the CCR and then I'm 100% done!

It's so funny to think that an idea I was so hesitant to agree on turned out to be so good and something I'm proud of. I really thought it was going to be impossible to film some of the footage, but looking at it now, I'm glad we took the risk. There were a lot of ups and downs during this filming process. Each one of us during the process had that one moment where we were just stressed to the max and we didn't want to move on with the idea anymore. At the end of the day though, I'm glad I got to film with these 3 other girls.

I think we all balanced each other out and when one of us got overwhelmed, the group was there to help. The next time I post, I'll be posting the finished version of the opening and my CCR.

Thank you for keep up with my blog. I'll be posting the final product soon.

Bye!

Title

 Hello! So I think I left the last blog kind of abrupt with the title so I wanted to use this blog to elaborate and talk about the title and the process more.

The title is a really important for any film, really. My group members and I thought about over 20 options for a title. I came up with the idea of “Paper file” and another member elaborated more on it, thinking of the name “filed away.” The idea of the file has been a recurring symbol is the film opening and in the “film.”

We first thought of the symbol to show how anyone in the court is a report on paper, not an actual person. It is seen throughout the opening and the “interrogator” looks at it when directing the protagonists’ crimes and lifestyle. We wanted the file’s symbol to be clear.

Also, the film opening has a simple setting of an interrogation room, so the use of the symbol had to be clear through actions and dialogue. We worked for days on our script and even while recording, we had to make some last minute changes because our main interrogator was getting frustrated and overwhelmed so we had to change it up a bit. Even when we encountered problems though, we made it work.

Lastly, I've been trying to finish my CCR using premiere and editing it to make it more interesting and enjoyable. I've recorded it about 5 times now, but I keep messing up and I don't like how it’s turning out. I should fix my script or elaborate more.  It's getting hard though to add more things to the script I made and still have it be under 12 minutes. But yeahhh, that's all for now.

Until then, keep watching!

Editing!!

Hi everyone! So on Monday my group members and I started editing. One of our members is literally a goddess when it comes down to editing so she’s been helping us out a lot. We are all working together in choosing the scene with the best shots to add it to our final product. Since we retook the same scene using different shots, Points of views, angles, etc., we have so many to choose from

I think we only have to finish the opening scene, like fix it up a little, and add the title and we’re set. I really like the way this movie opening is coming out.

Also, my group members and I chose a title today! After a heated debate, we decided to go with…..

FILED AWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We decided to go with this title because 1) it adds mystery to the rest of the film. For example, the audience, after watching the film opening would be asking “What’s with the file?” “What does it represent?” “What does that cop mean by the last line?” which we would all, hypothetically, answer in the rest of the film. Also, 2) it is very symbolic, comparing the file to the person he is on paper and not in real life. The title takes into account our meaning, the symbol we constructed for the film, and the mystery we wanted to embrace.

Tomorrow in class, we’re gonna finish editing and watch the final product.

OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! I started writing my script for the CCR. I think this is the most intimidating part. It’s like an unofficial interview. I’m gonna try to make it as interesting as possible, so I’ve been trying to make my script more lively and I’m going to edit in some special effect things and side comments. Hopefully, it will turn out like I want it to.

That’s all for now, but I’ll let you know how the editing goes tomorrow. Bye!!!

Until then, keep watching!

Filming!!!

Hello! I’m so so so happy because my group and I finished filming!! It was amazing and I bet when we finish editing the movie, we’ll be happy with all the footage we got.

We had to film in two separate locations. One of the locations is supposed to be the “bad neighborhood” Enrique lives in.  We found this abandoned shack that looked broken down enough to look like a bad house.

These scenes consisted of the Interrogator arresting Enrique and reading his Miranda Rights. We purposefully ended the scene where the Interrogator says “...be held against you in a court of law,” to emphasize the fact that we are criticizing the court and its execution of the laws.

We literally spend around 2 hours filming this scene because we wanted to get the right angles, movements, noises (we recorded on voice memo the leaves crunching as he walks, the car door shutting, the handcuffs being put on,etc). It was hard work but after finally being content, we moved to the other location (aka Maria’s garage).

Meet are actors!!! (Jose aka Enrique, and Mark aka Mark the Interrogator)

We set up the scene to make it look like an interrogation. The table, light, chairs, and (even though we do not see it in the picture), a little window panel frame to make it look like we’re looking into an interrogation room.

The whole 6.5 hours was filled with laughs, stress, intensity and a whole bunch of repetition of the same scene at least four times. At one point, Mark started to feel sick and he had to go home, so Kaelin stepped in for him. It actually ran smoothly and the transition worked well.

Since there is not a whole lot going on, dialogue was our strong suit as well as the performance given by our actors. They got really into it, and Jose even hurt himself a little with the handcuffs when he slammed his hands down on the table.

Overall, the whole filming process was amazing and I couldn’t ask for a better day. Now, to edit and post the final production.

WOO!!!! I’ll be back!

Until then, keep watching!

Modifications?

Hi!! I’m currently in Orlando on an admitted student’s tour so I haven’t really been online all day. However, I just recently sat down and looked over the script and I decided that to make it more realistic, I should add more jargon. Also, I've noticed that our script showed be ore tense and focus more on the injustice of the system. Also, we have to fix the ending (still... our other group member hasn't replied back yet).

I looked up movies and TV shows, like CSI ,  Castle , and Salt . All these three examples, besides having appropriate jargon, helped me develop an idea as to how to direct our actors and how we want them to act. Of course the Castle scene was wayyyyyyyyy too intense for our liking, but the tension helped me get an idea of what shots, and camera work I can do to increase that intensity. We can incorporate zooms to the actor in order to capture the attention of the Enrique's facial expressions. Also, the score of the music - slower music- can also increase the intensity of a scene, so we should start looking at that more, and start focusing on getting any music approved.

I made comments on the script for my teammates to look at and see if we should go about making those changes. We film tomorrow and I’m really excited to start. I got to go but I’ll post soon!

Until then, keep watching!

References:

CSI [Video file]. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7oozQ1lzeE

Roe, B. (Director). (2011). Castle [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=tBek6hbWpSA

Noyce, P. (Director). (2010). Salt [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWhTO1eejj0