Home stretch

    In 5 days, I will reach the end of this project. These last 10 weeks have been one silly experience that I honestly really enjoyed. Post production for the opening is in it's final stages and I'm in the process of creating the CCR. I had been waiting for this project since the beginning of the year and now being in the final stages, I'm really proud of what Tai and I made! 

    In retrospect, a lot could've been done differently. If it weren't for the circumstances, we would've loved to film sooner. It would've given us more time to film in general meaning if anything needed work or to be redone, we would've had the time to do so. The window shot at the end looked a bit clunky which is why it didn't make the final cut, so it would've been nice to have had more time to spend on it. I also would've loved to have Tai there during the second filming day. Having someone else there who was knowledgable on the story is nice since you can keep each other in check. Maybe I wouldn't have forgotten to make the awards on the paintings visible. 

    Post production can be both the fastest and slowest part for me. I can become a real perfectionist about the way every detail of the product is and sometimes i'll spend hours on the tiniest details like how saturated the red is while colorgrading or the duration of one individual clip. There were times in which i could say I was pretty much done but then I would go right back to tweak something. I think I had like 12 final products before finally settling. I decided not to include any special effects. After having done the line edit, I felt they didn't need to be done in order to convey the message, and since I'm already no longer glitching the awards on the wall, it may seem a bit out of place to include any at all. Regardless, I'm happy with the final product. 

    I'm thinking for my CCR I'll do a Podcast and a Video of some kind. I've recently been really into watching Hot Ones, a show that involves hot questions and even hotter wings. I think since it does dive deeper with the subjects it tackles and since tthe questions I have to answer ask for a deeper perspective on the opening, this type of video might suit it best.

    Only a few days to go!

Tear It To Shreds Please!

 


  I love getting criticism. Actually no, truth is, I used to suck at receiving criticisim for a real long time and I still struggle. What I do love is being able to improve my work, and that usually means, getting second opinions. I made a line edit of part 1 of the opening so I could show it to anyone that'd be willing to watch. Especially since I've decided to cope with the footage I have, I want to make sure the main message of the opening still stands. Here's some of the feedback I got.

    I showed it to my actor Wade first and he liked it! "You made it sound worse than it was." he says. Truth is, I didn't know how to feel about the first edit and I expressed this feeling to Wade before he watched it. He suggested I make the sequence of destroying the paintings a bit faster. The only problem with this, is that I'm scared the credits written on the paintings won't be legible. When I expressed this concern he brought up that I may have to sacrifice the potential impact for the sake of legibility. 

    Then I sent it to my good friend Isa (an alumni who took AICE media) and they loved it! Unlike Wade, Isa had not read my blog and was completely unaware about the goal for the opening and any planning that went into it. So I was able to get a completely raw opinion. Their two main critiques were to fix the mask a bit so Male can't be seen walking behind Wade and that the opening seemed rather final for an opening. I agree with the finality of it, but I feel with  Tai's scene which I have yet to edit, it should alleviate that problem. Fixing that mask and not murdering my computer is gonna be difficult but not impossible so I will be doing that!

    Lastly, I showed it to Sabrina, another alumni who took AICE Media and their response was not at all what I was expecting. They sent me a 3 page handwritten analysis on the opening which was SUPER HELPFUL. While they did give many pointers on technical issues that could be fixed the main points I spent the most time thinking about were the elements she asked about that I hadn't thought of initially. The shadow can be seen at the beginning of the opening which I though just helped show the artist is in the spotlight. However, Sabrina asked if there was more to that shadow, maybe an alter ego? Or maybe it's their consciousness looming over them. She also asked if the artist cutting up the paintings was a break from reality. I always thought of that part of the opening having happened in real life along with the artist hurting themselves, but we only see the paintings, because that is what the artists mind fixates on. I like Sabrina's interpretation though and it fits the message really well. The artist was so consumed with their work that they've lost their grasp on reality and have therefore, lost themselves. Lastly, Sabrina mentioned that it's interesting how the artist rips the producer credit. It subtly hints at the art worlds part to play in their downward spiral. While it did cross my mind the way the credits being torn would be shown, I didn't realize how well it tied in with the message of letting your artwork consume you, because even those around you fuel that unhealthy connection through praise or penalty.

    It's funny how decisions I gave less thought to in this production ended up working so well with the final product I'm trying to achieve, and I'll definitely be more mindful of those subtle details moving foward.

Aggravated Assault: Electric Boogaloo

     Having the footage at my disposal, I was eager to start the edit. I downloaded the song and started to edit the sequence to the beat of the music. Everything was going well until I realized one major issue: 

WHERE ARE THE AWARDS?!?!?!

    They are barely visible in some of these shots, let alone the main painting. Theres there, but how in gods green earth is the audience going to be able to interpret it as an award and not some random object hanging off the painting. Yeah it's that bad, they don't even look like ribbons. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

    These paintings have been through enough violence for me to just give up now. I have two options: scrap the painting footage and refilm or cope. Refilming is tricky. It would likely mean remaking a lot of the paintings that were torn, which will be time consuming. On top of that, remember the filming schedule? So that's changed slightly, On top of getting kicked out of a parking lot for filming and having to reschedule times and days with certain actors, things haven't exactly gone to plan with wades short film. So being able to find a time that he's available to redo scenes would be a bit difficult especially since theres less than two weeks left for this project. 

I'll have to to keep you updated on this

Aggravated Assault: Part 1

     Today is the day I filmed the rest of the opening and guess what,  I got it done in one day! This means I have the remainder of spring break left to edit! I checked the footage and everything looks good so refilming is not necessary, at least for now. No one was hurt in the making of this opening but it sure does look like they were.

    Filming was hectic at first. I asked my friend Male and my sibling Quinn to be the hands putting paint on Cam. Call time was at 5 and by then my room was almost completely decorated (thanks to my lovely mother who helped out) and I had already set up the black backdrop and the spotlight. Male arrived first and I gave her the rundown of everything she'd be doing and Wade arrived second with the equipment. We set up the camera on the Ronin and I did a few test runs making sure I could get a smooth push in (especially since the Ronin is real heavy and can only account for so much shakyness). After that I called my sibling from they're room and we did a test run where they'd turn on the spot light and both Male and Quinn would pretend to come in and put paint on Wade as I walked in. Wade suggested we come up with a counting system to make sure everyone knew they're cues. Quinn would turn on the light and I counted to ten as I walked closer to wade. At 5 both Quinn and Male would run in with paint on their hands, At 9 male would crawl behind Wade. At 10 Male would pretend to snap his neck. Time was ticking as we did these practice runs and eventually male had to leave so we just had to go for it. The practice runs proved to be successful since the shot was almost perfect!

    We said our goodbyes to Male and Wade and I began to film the second scene in my room. Remember the wide angle lens I talked about? Well that came in clutch because it achieved the exact effect I was looking for. I tried to move fast since it was already 8pm so I set a finishing time to 11pm. Wade (being very skilled at lighting) was nice enough to help me light each shot which helped a lot in creating a dull look. The assault on the paintings had begun and it hurt my soul with every slash and rip, especially after I had spent so long working on them but anything for the shot right? Man it was brutal. I also painted all of the credits on the paintings except for two that I'll add in post. 

    Then it was time for the blood. Since my floors are hardwood, I preferred not to get too much of it soaked in there, and since I needed a shot of blood pooling on the floor, wade and I took it upon ourselves to put seran wrap all over the floor as a safety measure. For the shot of wade kicking a painting, I made sure the seran wrap was visible to avoid any continuity errors. Then, I got to putting blood on Wade. At one point he wanted to taste it (It's not corn syrup it's party city fake blood from 2 halloweens ago). Yeah, maybe not the best idea. Anyways, I poured blood on his hands to get the shot of him wiping blood on his forehead, then a shot of his bloodied hands, and then the fun part! I got to pour a lot of it on his head. It was quite messy and got everywhere, even on me, so handling the very expensive Becon equipment was a challenge to say the least. Thankfully nothing broke (not counting my poor, precious paintings). Then I had to get a shot of wade laying on the ground with the pool of blood coming from his head. I'm sure he had a fun time keeping a side of his face in fake blood for the minute or so it took to get the shot.

    

And that was a wrap! Clean-up was quite the mess and a half and half a roll of paper towels was sacrified by drowning but we managed to not get a single speck on the white bedshee- PSYCH! It got on the white bedsheets (just a smidge but still disappointing). You're telling me I poured blood on Wade (who was right next to the bed), I poured blood on the ground next to the bed, and the first speck of blood falls on the bed during cleaning? Flawed but ok. Anyways, I backed up all the footage after Wade left and cleaned up the remainder of the equipment wrapping up the 2nd and final filming day!

Rest In Peace My Beloved Paintings.

Collaborating

     My main actor, Alex (some people call him wade) also has an AICE media project he's filming over spring break! While this may seem bad since this could mean he's busy and can no longer help out, we struck a deal. We'll both act for each others projects and help each other film! We'll also share the equipment from Becon so we're not fighting for the same stuff.

    We came up with a schedule that fits our needs for filming. I'm thinking of pulling a Skills USA and doing it all in one day but that depends on how long the first shot takes since it's the most elaborate. So, on the schedule, I split up filming into two days just to be safe. Wade is making a short film so naturally it's more elaborate and requires more filming time which is why the shedule has more filming days for him. I feel this schedule will keep up fairly organized that way we can get everything done for our respective projects. 

    Side note, I was talking to Wade about my opening to get some advise and he some interesting things. He mentioned how easy it is to get caught up in making the opening without having thought about how the rest of the story would play out. Now, while I have a vague idea, I had never delved too deep into it. So I took today to do so. I had quite a while to think about it on the plane ride and I figured, the film could follow Layla's story moving foward in time, and Cam's story moving backwards in time, that way the parallels between both of them become even more apparent as we follow they're stories. I feel it will also create suspense for the audience given that their prior knowledge of Cam's end will make them fear for Layla's fate.

    Having this figured out helps a lot with solidifying some of the choices I've made for the opening. It adds a bit more context to the first time we see each character. We first see Cam's end, then we see Layla's beginning. This also helps in solidifying Cam as a main character which will make it easier when deciding on opening titles.

Spring Break? More Like Spring Work!

     It's the day right before I go home from a long, arduous and emotionally draining trip. It's just hit me that I still have work to do! Heres the To Do List: Finish paintings, rearrange/mise-en-scene-ing my room for the part of the opening I like to call Cam's Demise. Set up a void scene. Check out equipment, figure out a spotlight, figure out blood, and figure out hands. 

    Finishing the paintings shouldn’t be terrible. I have my mother who has graciously offered to help and we plan to have a painting day on Tuesday the day after get back! I estimated to need about 30 paintings to fill up the walls of my room. Not a terrible amount since i already have 7 made including the main one from tai’s shoot. Also one wall will house only one painting and the back wall is the main one that needs to be covered. I’m glad I chose a abstract style though cause making 20+ paintings that i’d have to worry about details for would’ve been it’s own kind of hell. 

    Rearranging my room and turning it into an art studio is probably gonna be the hardest part. I plan to take out some of the cabinets and the keyboard I have so that there’s a bit more space. I’ll also likely have to change my bedsheets to something a bit less. . . pink. I also have to find a way to put up all the paintings without damaging my wall. My art supplies can be used as props to set out on the floor and tabletops. In order to not damage the hardwood floors I’ll probably find a tarp that I can set on the floor. This I feel will fit in as though the artist has something to protect the floor from paint spillage. 

    Setting up a void won’t be too hard. I’d like to thank my father for doing photography as a side hustle and having a black backdrop I can use! I might have to mask some of the surroundings in editing to keep it black since the backdrop isn’t as large as it could be, but that shouldn’t be a major issue. For the spotlight, I plan to use a cob light with a cone that will direct the light a bit more, but I also plan to ask Jim (the guy from Becon who's letting me borrow the equipment) if he knows of any better options for it.

    For the blood I’ll probably have to make it. I know a recipe that only requires corn syrup and food dye so that the blood is somewhat viscous, especially since I want it to flow slower for more flexibility when filming. 

    I know for the hands I'll need two pairs minimum, more would be great but more difficult to deal with especially since I have to make sure the bodies of the people aren't shown. This whole take needs to be a one shot too so a whole lot of coordination needs to go into it to make sure the hands come it at the right moment as I push in with the camera.

    I'm hoping that nothing goes wrong that cannot be managed at least. I've spent too long preparing for these moments.

Making a Trip Useful

    So this TV trip has been quite. . . interesting, to say the least. Ok being honest it's been terrible. Which is why I didn't expect to gain much usefulness from it. During one of my off days (I wasn't competeing in any competition that day but other teams from my program were) I decided to go to some of the workshops that the competition hosts organized. Most of the workshops I went to had a lot of industry proffessionals with probably a lot of interesting things to say, but they only really touched on basics I learned 4 years ago. That was until I went to the very last one for the day, titled "Film Aesthetics" 

    Having been through 2 somewhat useless workshops, I decided to hold my expectations low for this one. It started off with the presenter talking about some concepts I already knew (he mentioned the typical things you'd expect with mise-en-scene like lighting, color, set design, etc.). But then it started to get interesting. I never really though of how camera lenses can effect the audiences perception of a shot. I always went with what I thought looked good and was convenient. For example, I knew if I was shooting in low light, I needed a prime, (usually 50mm lens) since I can open up the aperture a whole lot to let light into the camera. However, I didn't often think about the effects of lens distortion on the audiences perpective. 

    The presenter asked for two volunteers from the audience to get a close-up of a person sitting in the front row. He mentioned that the lens was a wide lens (around 24mm-35mm). The close-up, ended up distorting the subjects face, making it appear a bit longer and more blown out. Then, he asked for two more volunteers, (I was one of them :) to switch out the lense for a 50mm. which is normally considered the lens that emulates standard human vision. Then we had to use it to get the same close-up of the subject. The presenter mentioned that the wider lens required that the camera be closer to the subject. To the audience, this distortion makes the audience feel as though they are uncomfortably close to the subject. It feels more intimate, or intrusive depending on the context. Meanwhile the more zoomed in lens required that the camera be placed farther from the subject to achieve the same close-up. In tern, the audience will feel like they're at a conversational and comfortable distance from the subject. 

    Now I already knew I wanted to use a wide lens for a shot or two, since I want to show the whole room. But now this gives it's use a whole new meaning. By having the camera be forced to move uncomfortably close to Cam, it'll make the artist feel uncomfortable. Which will give the opening a more unsettling tone (which is what I want given it's a psychological thriller). So now I have a a better idea of how to make the use of this lens, and other lenses more purposeful. 

Thank you workshop, for making my trip a bit more bearable.