Creative Critical Reflection

 Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy my creative critical reflections as I look back on this process!

CCR Part 1- A Painting Vlog

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

CCR Part 2- Get Ready With Me

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

CCR Part 3- A Podcast

 How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

CCR Part 4- A Presentation

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

 

Production- Final Film Brief

 Final Film Opening

Title- Lost in His Light

By-Inaya Aldayani

We finally did it! This is the finished product, I hope you guys enjoy!

Production - Titles

   Hey guys! I'm so happy to say that this is the last step in production, the titles! In my previous blog posts, you might have seen how I picked fonts out on DaFont.com, but as I am using IMovie for this film, I unfortunately cannot import any of those fonts into the software. To try to work my way around this, I thought of using Canva, a designing app which has many fonts that may be similar to what I wanted to originally use. Since the title slide is on a black screen, I can easily put the font over a black background on Canva and import it into IMovie.

  When I did this I saw that it also offered another type of font called "EB Garamond" which was really similar to the font I originally wanted. While doing this I also came across animation for the letters called "Clarify" that I really liked and was similar to IMovie's text animation called "Focus" which is what I originally wanted to use. So, I went ahead and screen recorded the animation and the letters so I can put it into IMovie as its own video. Once I did this I wanted the letters to fade out so I put a black screen after the video and used the "Dissolve" transition to made the letters fade out before the second scene started.

  I ended up really liking how this came out and was happy with my title card's result. As for the other opening credits, I just ended up using a font that IMovie offered within the software since I wanted to put the text over the shots I took in scene 2. I chose the font "Cochin" in bold, and placed the credits over two different shots that were longer in scene 2. I used the "Standard" animation for it where it fades in and out.

It's finally safe to say that I am done! To make sure everything looks right I'll be going over the film opening to see if everything sounds right. See you guys in the next blog where the final product will be!

Production- Editing Scene 1

   Now that I'm done filming, I can focus only on editing this last scene and later make final touches to make sure everything is in place. I'm excited to edit this as we are coming closer to the last steps of production! Now, as this is the last scene and had around 20 seconds left until the 2 minute mark I am aware that I may have to cut down both of my other scenes in some sort of way so that my opening does not become too lengthy.

  To start, just like my other scenes, I first went ahead and picked out what clips I wanted to use, put them in order, then cut them down to the duration I wanted. After doing this, with all the clips I put it and originally had in mind, my opening became a little bit lengthy, so unfortunately I had to remove two shots I had taken so that there was room for the title slide.  I also sadly had to remove a the first clip of my third scene to make more room as well. This led me to edit the two other scenes to adapt.

  Next, I imported the "Deep Cinematic Emotional Ambient" sound that I had saved from Pixabay to make sure the shots fit the song accordingly to its pace and raised its volume. I wanted some sound from the shots to come through to make it more nostalgic so I turned down the sound a little bit more most of the shots except the one where the main character has dialogue. I didn't end up using the other sound effects I had saved as I liked it better without it.

  Adding on, I quickly recorded the monologue that I had written in my script on my phone with a microphone which I had storyboard and added it over accordingly to that.

  As for the look of the shots, I wanted to take advantage of the filters again on IMovie so I used the vintage filter on IMovie for the two first clips of the film opening as their colors were a bit cooler then the rest of the shots. I did this to make it more cohesive and deep.

  Now that I'm done editing I can focus on my title card and the opening credits which will be my last and final step of my production!

Production- Filming Scene 1

 Hey everyone!

Today I finally was able to film the first scene as the weather finally let up after the constant raining. It was sunny and there was a slight breeze, giving me exactly the environment I wanted to film in. So, here's a run through of how filming scene 1 went!

Overall Shots and Movements

  In scene one I used a mix of slight random and other types of movements such as zoom ins, zoom outs paired with full shots, medium full shots, long shots and close ups to give more of an introspective feel to the opening as I was using a digital camera to film. I used also used static movement and two shots to slow the pace and tracking movements to immerse the audience into the scene.

Angles

  Paired with my shots I used a variety of angles such as eye level, shoulder level and high angles while using two shots to show multiple actions and perspectives to create a deeper emotional mood.

Lighting

  Unlike the other two scenes, I used natural lighting and shadows that came from the sun as it took place outdoors and I wanted to capture the sunset to play off of the title, "Lost in His Light". I really liked how this turned out when filming. Since I wasn't in control of how much Sun there was I had to turn down the exposure a bit to capture the shadows I wanted in the two shots.

  In result, I think my filming process went pretty well as I was able to capture a lot of the vision I had in my mood board with the sunset scene. The shots were a success as I got to capture that nostalgic feel with the use of my Kodak camera. Filming was definitely more simple here compared to filming the other scenes.

  As there wasn't many downsides, one stressful and big factor was that I was on a timed schedule. The sunset was at 7:33 and I started filming at 6:50 leaving me with only about 45 minutes to film with the Sun. So to not miss this opportunity, I decided to film all the shots with the Sun first then go to the nearby park to film the two shots at the beginning since the Sun isn't visible there. This caused me to think and work fast which was a little troubling.

Production-Editing Scene 3

   Today I'll be editing scene 3 of my film opening after filming! I'll be editing it to make sure I have the shots I want and to make sure they all work well together, because otherwise I'll still have time to refilm shots. For this scene I'm aiming to keep it around thirty seconds, but it may go a little over due to the scenes with dialogue.

  To start editing this scene, I started out by importing everything into IMovie and then cutting it to the desired duration. For most of the shots where she's making food I wanted to keep it short as possible while still having a relatively slower pace so I can fit that 30 seconds mark. After cutting it down I unfortunately had 21 seconds left to use on my first scene.

  For this scene, to keep it cohesive I used direct cuts in between shots and to keep a continuous flow. I also cut them in a way so that it only captures the main characters actions and nothing in between.

  As I used practical lighting, the ceiling lights were more white then warm so I took steps to change it. As this lighting was a lot more whiter and brighter then I aimed for I used IMovie's built in filters to make it warmer. I specifically chose the "Western" filter as it was a little warmer and made colors deeper. Using the slider I made everything at level 40 of that filter. It made it more cohesive with scene 2 and also gave a more home like, cozy atmosphere.

  Moving on, as planned, I used Pixabay's sound effect of the television playing so that it makes the scene feel more real. I only ended up using the television sound as my shots were able to capture the sound of the props used. I made sure to turn the sound to a lower volume as its purpose is more so for background noise.

  Lastly, since I recorded the main character's dad voice separately, I overlayed the recording over the two long takes of the shots and moved them each over tot he parts of the shots where the main character stops talking. This way it can look like that the dad is on the phone and also make sure that his dialogue is heard.

  After editing, I'm hoping I don't have to make any further changes after filming scene 1 but if I do then I will re-edit some of these clips accordingly. If I could allocate more time for this scene I think the results would be better, but due to the time given I have kept it this length. But after editing so far I would say I am mostly satisfied with how it turned out. 

Production-Filming Scene 3

  Hey guys! Today we'll be going through the process of filming scene 3. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to film scene 1 as it has been rainy and very cloudy. But today I filmed the last scene which takes place in the kitchen. To film this scene, and to keep it cohesive I used my phone and stabilizer once again.

Overall Shots Used

  In the third scene, I used many still shots to give focus to the certain aspects of the food the main character was making to show representation of a common part of south asian culture. I also lets the audience hear the diegetic sound of the bread touching the pan and the spoon being used. It slows the pace and plays into the little dialogue used in scene 2.

Angles

   As for angles, I utilized shots that are overhead to capture the main character setting up for dinner and to give a full view of the action taking place. When it came to the main character I used eye level and shoulder angles to capture the conversation she has with her father on the phone. As this scene is supposed to show the main character also feeling a little bit uncomfortable, I used low angles, and a dutch angle towards the end to instill that while using close ups.

Lighting

  And this scene is a continuation from scene 2 which takes place at night, I used the practical lighting of the ceiling lights in the kitchen. I didn't mind these lights, but while filming they were very bright which had its ups and downs. 

  As for things that went well through filming, I would say I really liked how the overhead and static shots captured the food being made as well as the tea. Originally in my story board I hadn't used overheads, but I ended up using them when I came into some hurdles during the process which I'll get to. I also think the types of shots I used were perfect as they set focus on the objects and how the main character was feeling.

  The hurdles that I mentioned ended up changing some of the direction and plan I originally had for my story board. When I went to film some of the shots of making food like putting bread in the toaster, I ended up not liking the visual so I changed it from this to those overhead shots. I also had trouble with filming the scene where she is talking on the phone as I had to time the notifications at the perfect time as well as making sure my actor is leaving enough room for dialogue for the main character's dad to talk on the phone which I was planning to record separately.

Production- Editing Scene 2

 To continue in my production of my film opening without problems further in, I began to edit and put my shots together to get a good idea of how long the scene will be in total. This way, I can allocate more time for my two other scenes to fit in the 2 minute time frame.

  I began with placing them in order to my liking and then one by one, changed the duration according to the shot. In the beginning I placed close static full shots of objects around the room, and edited those according to the music that I would be using. Therefore I added in the music to do this.  Each static shot ended up each being around a second. I purposely did this as so the pace can be established.

  Then, to slower the pace a bit, a pan to the left to introduced the main character and break up the static sequence from before. Here on out I chronologically ordered the shots as they capture the main characters actions. And so now, the pace was relatively more slower but still upbeat and a little fast to sync with the music.

  Through the use of the music, I was also able to cut the music in a certain shot when another character spoke, capturing a similar feeling of "being brought back to reality". The constant use of music and a sudden pause reflects the deep infatuation the main character has and then being caught off guard.

  Another way I edited sound was by extracting the original audio of the shots where the main character receives a text message and uses her phone. By extracting the audio I was able to raise the volume of the sounds the phone made to further immerse the audience into what the main character is doing on her phone as she is texting the love interest Noah.

  Throughout it all, I used direct cuts between each shot to stay on pace, no fade ins or fade outs. This also made actions of the main character go hand in hand with each other in each shot.

After editing everything on IMovie , the scene came out to 52 seconds leaving me with about 1minute and 8 seconds left to use for my other scenes. With this in mind, I have a some concern that I may have to shorten my second and first scene accordingly or just capture shorter shots in general. But despite this, my editing went well and my song choices and sound was successful in going well with my shots.

Overall , the outcome and process of editing this scene was an enjoyable experience as I got to see my shots come together to create the starting of my film. 

Production- Filming Scene 2

 Hey Guys!

On today's blog I'll be going through the process of filming scene 2. Originally, I had wanted to film in order but due to weather conditions, I have not been able to film outside for scene 1. So to make use of time I filmed scene 2 as it takes place indoors! Going into this process, I had been prepared as I had done my storyboard and script, but along the way I tweaked some parts to make it come together better then I had planned.

Overall Shots Used

To start my film opening, I used many static, close up, over the shoulder, and full shots to give insight into the main character and direct the audiences attention to these elements. For example, I was able to capture props/room decor like the "Pakistan" post card and the net of stuffed animals in this way.

Angles

As for angles, I utilized shots that are eye level, high angle and even low angle. The main use of these angles were to portray importance to the object it was focused on as well making the main characters actions purposeful.

Lighting

In this filming process, I used practical lighting such as two lamps, a sunset lamp and a regular lamp. The use of this, created a realistic and calm environment and was easy to work and adapt to.

 To start, I'll talk about what things that were successful and what I'm happy with. So in my storyboard my vision for this scene was to make sure it embodied the atmosphere of a teen's room. I wanted the room to have character and feel lively. A big part that made this happen was the room I chose as well as the sunset lamp and wood lamp I had, making the room dim, cozy and colorful. Through all my filming the quality of my phone was excellent and high quality. The shots that I drew out in my storyboard also worked great and were doable with my stabilizer. As this scene also included very minimal dialogue, the message that Zara, the main character had a secret relationship was clearly hinted at in the props used like the phone and her actions with it.

Moving on, here are some things that I wish turned out better and that I have some concern about. So, despite the stabilizer giving me more stable mobility, many of my static shots for the beginning of the scene when showing parts of the room came out a little shaky. While filming, I also had to improvise and add 3 shots when Zara was on the bed to create a better flow for the narrative and scene itself. Without the addition of these shots the scene would have looked somewhat short and rushed. 

These are the three shots I added:

Production- Title Fonts

Before I start filming I also wanted to make sure I not only have my sound figured out but what font I will be using for my production company, title card and opening credits for director. When looking for fonts I found a free font website called ''DaFont.com" which let me look through a variety of fonts. To adhere to the romantic drama genre's conventions, the font I will be using is Apple Garamond since it is a serif font and conveys deep, more serious and introspective emotions.

To preview how it would look like, I typed the title to see if it gave the impression I wanted and it did! From these different variations of the font, I really liked the second and third one as it was more bold, and caught my attention.

Moving on, due to the choice that I'm going to have the production company name and director credit in the start of the second scene, I want to make it discreet but still noticeable. With this, I also want to make it cohesive with my title card so I went ahead with the font Calm Serif.

Here is a preview of both and how they would appear on screen:

Production Company:

Director:

Now that I have my font choices decided, I can download and import these fonts into my editing software as I will be prepared. This way all I have to worry about is making transitions and editing timings!

Production- Background Track and Sound Effects

  As I prepare for filming, I wanted to get started on deciding what music and sound I want to play in the starting and throughout the background of my film opening. As shown in my storyboards, I plan to incorporate non diegetic sound in the first and second scene, as the first scene depicts a nostalgic mood and the second a more light, playful mood. As for the third scene I plan to use diegetic sound to capture the family and South Asian culture oriented environment. To make sure I don't get copyrighted I will also be making sure I use sites and sounds that can be used freely. 

Scene 1 :

  For scene one, I decided to choose Pixabay as the website I will be getting my free music from. From here, I am able to easily download the sound of my liking. On Pixabay I looked for song choices that were slow, instrumental and were mainly driven by the sound of the piano. After looking through dozens of choices I came to like these three. To make finding them easy, I have made a "Film Opening" folder so that I can come back to them when I need to. Out of the three the one I am leaning the closest to is the sound titled- "Deep Cinematic Emotional Ambient" by RomanSenykMusic. I favor this one as the pace is soft and also will provide a good basis for my title card, since I want the title to be on beat with the piano.

  Another factor I need to take into account is sound effects. As I will be creating my film opening outside and with my Kodak digital camera, I might want to add in subtle sounds of nature that aren't picked up by the camera. This can include the sound of birds, trees, wind, ducks and more. So on Pixabay I too looked for these sound effects to have in handy in case I want to add to the ambience.

As you can see to the same library I added sound effects of a swing, sounds by the lake, soft laughing and a water splash.

Link to Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/

Scene 2:

For scene two, I will have an entirely different approach as it will take place inside a room with other types of props. As I also want to adhere to a romantic drama's conventions, based off my research, when introducing the main character a dance/synth pop which is more fast paced is used to showcase parts of the setting which the character is in. This way information is given indirectly to the audience. In my case using this type of music will also be more suiting to my main character as she is a teen. It also conveys a sense of love to the audience.

When trying to look for a sound that suited this scene it was much harder, and I didn't find many options on Pixabay. So looking to other resources, I used Youtube and searched up, "love pop synth songs which are royalty free", and a video came up with multiple sound choices in one. From this video, I came to like "Did I Make You Wait" by Staffan Carlen. It was fast paced and was a nice song to introduce the main character and give insight to her and her feelings. It provoked happy, upbeat emotions.

Link to Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai-lcy5DJt8&list=RDAi-lcy5DJt8&start_radio=1&rv=Ai-lcy5DJt8

 

As for sound effects, I looked for effects that matched up with the actions of my main character-Zara. In this scene, she sketches out "Noah", and uses her phone to text him. Therefore I may want to use sounds of "pencil/pen scratching", text notifications and typing on the keyboard. To find these, I used Pixabay once again and this time created a new folder called "Scene 2".

Scene 3:

  In scene three, I do not plan to have any background music, but I will be using sound effects from Pixabay such as the "Servant Bell Ring 2" and other household sound effects that take place in a kitchen. On Pixabay I even found background television sounds that sound like people speaking in Urdu, which play into the narrative of growing up in a South Asian household. I may not use all sound effects, but if I do need any, I can use this folder which I named Scene 3.

Now that I have all my sound effects and my tracks decided, the editing process will be much more faster and efficient. Throughout this whole process, I strived to find tracks that were similar to those used in the film openings I analyzed and used for reference so that my conventions are met. These tracks will be a big part in creating mood and sound effects will help make it feel more real. I'm excited to see how this works out!

Production- Camera Choice Finalization

 Hey guys!

  On our last blog I started practicing using the different cameras I have available such as the Nikon and Kodak. But today I'll be practicing with my phone and then aim to record three shots that capture the same setting with similar modes and see what works the best for what scenes. This will be crucial as I can start finalizing what equipment I use for what scenes so I can begin filming!

  So as I went outside today I used my phone to record the same landscape area I did with my cameras. Here are my results:

  After these results of outside I found it didn't give me that same nostalgic "teen" vibe that I got from the Kodack. It doesn't give the same texture and quality that the camera gives me which I don't want to be perfect to almost showcase the imperfection of the secret relationship they have. But through this I thought that it would be a better contender for the second and third scenes as the camera was very clear and easy to use. Therefore, I went ahead and took some shots indoors where I would be filming the second scene- the bedroom, and the third- the kitchen. While the Nikon did offer good results, the camera was harder to work with as sometimes the sound would be unreliable and it was an older camera.

When filming these shots, I wanted to test the focus and quality. To test it I practiced some ''static shots" and close ups of decor on the wall and pictures. On the IPhone 15 Pro, I set the camera to have a quality of 4k, SDR mode and a frame rate of 30. My iPhone offers HDR and SDR , but I went with SDR since the contrast is lower and softer, overall less harsh.

These are the static shots:

  From this, I decided to use my iPhone to film indoor scenes 2 and 3 while my first scene will be shot with my Kodack camera. Now that I have established this, I can begin filming and get the basis of my film in the making. While I was shooting these static shots though, I did find that my hand was shaky. And so moving forward I'm going to get a stand to make this easier, this way the emotions of characters and dialogue isn't interfered with.

See you in the next one!

Production-Practice 1

 What's up guys!

Today, I have officially started my production process of my film. In order to film in the most effective and efficient way possible I wanted to test out and be able to understand how my cameras work better. When initially deciding my equipment, I went with my Kodack Pixpro 45, my Iphone 15 and the Nikon D5100. For the opening, my first scene is outside and so my lighting, is much more dependent on factors that I can't always control. For this scene, to capture the feeling of nostalgia, I wanted to use the Kodack to make it feel more personal. As most of my shots in this scene are directly in front of the sun since I want to showcase the sunset, I needed to see how my camera would interpret the lighting and see what I can do to stabilize it. 

When I first used the camera to record, the lighting and exposure would be a little unreliable as the recording would get really light or really dark depending on what I'm shooting. This can be seen in the following clip:

Using the Kodack I also wanted to learn how to utilize focus in my camera so that subjects and people can be prominent and seem important to the audience. I first tried out the focus features on my Nikon which are available on most cameras. Each types of focus has a different purpose of when to use it. 

Focus Types:

AF-A: Automatic so it adapts to shot automatically.

AF-S- When the shot is static and stationary

AF-C : For shots that are continuously moving

My Nikon camera is on the more advanced side so through practice I can get a good idea of how comfortable I am with filming as it can get more complicated. If it does become too difficult, I can always turn to back options like my Iphone as I've had experience with it and its overall more simpler.

Here's a clip of me testing out the center focus of the Nikon D5100:

  Overall through this practice and process, I was able to learn a key factor in the technical elements of filmmaking. I do think I need some more practice though to make my decision on what I want to utilize. After some more practice I think a great way to decide would be through capturing the same shot with a different camera to compare.

Recce Report

 Welcome back! 

On today's blog I'll be finalizing my locations for my film brief so I can therefore start practicing and playing around with my camera to see how my intended shots workout. A recce report is essential as it allows us as filmmakers to understand potential risks and problems we may run into while filming. This allows us to be prepared and understand what equipment we're using and when. In my film brief i'll be utilizing three locations all in the same neighborhood. One at one of the neighborhood swings/parks, one near the community lake and one at a house in the same community. This will allow my film to b cohesive and also make transportation much easier overall.

Recce Reports

Here are the reports:

Takeaways

 After completing these reports, you can see how all my locations are somewhat cohesive and depict the setting of a suburban city in Florida. Through creating my report, I was able to recognize and think about what I must bring with me as I film. For instance, in two areas where I film there will be no power outlets, so I will have to rely on batteries and make sure my equipment is charged in advance. As for indoor areas this is less of a problem as I will have power outlets available for any sort of lighting I need to use. As two of my locations are outside I will also have to plan my film timings accordingly to utilize natural light and be prepared for any type of tropical weather.

Until next time!