It's Done!

             I'm done! I cannot believe it. It doesn't feel like it's been as long as it has been. This project has definitely changed me as a student, content creator, and consumer of media. I feel much more prepared for other portfolio or long projects I'm going to have in the future. Also, my view on media production has changed so much. I respected film-making before, obviously, but wow. I now know what it is like to create something, so I know how labor-inducing it is. 

            Honestly, I'm much more proud of it than I thought I was going to be. I did my absolute best, and I know it is reflected in my opening and my CCR.

            So without further ado... here they are!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KZhp5UVyuU7jZfdgn944iU6M0KlDo1gu/view?usp=sharing 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FxRXLl8ESSoVZzgaG3ABYNiWf2s029N-/view?usp=sharing

As always, thanks for reading,

Michelle :D

Beginning My CCR

             While the CCR lesson is still fresh in my mind, I want to get my ideas down before I forget anything. I'm very passionate about the representation subject, meaning I'm most excited to answer  "How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?" I already have many ideas about Andrea's age, her latin origins, and religion, and how all of these elements have a role in the story. 

            As for how to present my CCR creatively, I'm not sure. I think my mom has a green cloth I could use as a green screen, but that level of editing may still be too advanced for me. I could do some parts as an interview with myself, and set up different camera angles to record me as the interviewer and interviewee. I could also use memes throughout it, or make a Power Point presentation with my research to edit onto the screen. 

            Hopefully I'll be able to execute my ideas as well as I possibly can. 

Thanks for reading, 

Michelle

Final Editing Report

            When I finished editing last time, my runtime was 3:16, meaning I had to make a lot of space on the cutting room floor. I rewatched the opening to see if there were any clips I could simply cut or make shorter. Then, I compared my storyboard to the opening to see if any shots or clips could simply be reduced or substituted by other existing ones with the same purpose. 

            I cut the first close up of the pregnancy test because the OTS shot right before it shows what Andrea is staring at and the relationship between her and the test without needing the focus the CS gives it. Besides, it’s much more impactful to have the first CS of the test be when it is positive and Andrea is reacting to it. 

            I also reduced the clip where she was checking that all the stalls were empty. It took up too much time and ultimately, a person can quickly scan if there are other people in a bathroom. You can still see she checks the last 3 stalls, though. 

            Additionally, I cut the clip of her pacing around the bathroom. It was too long, and it only showed what had already been established: she was nervous and trying to convince herself it would be negative. 

            I also cut the whip pan transition, and the clip where she puts her glasses back on after washing her face. The movements she does right before are still there, so it can be inferred she puts them back on before the next shot. 

            Finally, I shaved off a few seconds from the beginning of clips here and there, which made the cuts and transitions a little quicker than they were before. 

            The final runtime is 2:10. After the overtime issue was resolved, I did the credits. I figured out why the color adjustments weren’t working; it was because the font had to be in bold. The font for the texts is the same one I had chosen (Fira Sans), but it is in bold, so it looks a little different. 

            I looked at this website to look at the order of opening title credits for movies. I changed the order a little, since I’ve always envisioned the title of the movie at the end. 

And with that, I have finished my film opening. Now all that’s left is my CCR.  :)

-Michelle

References:

“How You Should Structure Your Film Credits (Free Template): Evercast Blog.” RSS, 

https://www.evercast.us/blog/film-credits. 

Editing Progress Part 2!

            Continuing to edit has been… interesting. First of all, it has been a hassle to put the credits, even though I expected this part to be the most simple. For some reason, the text isn’t changing to the color I want it to be. I want it to be white so you can see it more, but it won’t change from black. I originally thought black would be best and most simple, but it’s difficult to position it where you can see it well. 

            I even had to watch this video to make sure I was doing it correctly: 

            I also tried with other fonts to see if it was just an issue with the font I had chosen (Fira Sans). It wasn’t. 

            For now, I’ve been continuing to edit and leaving the credits for last. I think I’ll be able to position them with the black font in a way that’s visible, as I already have done with the “Starring” credit. 

            Another difficulty was trying to edit out a sound clip that doesn’t fit. It’s right at the end of a shot, and it was hard to mitigate. I managed to do it by splitting the shot from its audio, and splitting the audio multiple times to eradicate the sound. Once I did that, I duplicated the sound clips that worked and put them over the part where the weird sound was. Then, I lowered the volume of the last three sound clips. I think I managed to do this pretty well. 

            I finished editing the clips together, now I have to cut some of them (I'm a minute over two) and put the credits.

Until my next post,

Michelle

References:

Timmer, Eric. “IMovie Tutorial - How to Change Title Text Color.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 June 

2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb5wVaknngU. 

Editing Progress!

             As I begin and move through the process of editing, I've begun to realize just how well prepared I was for this moment. The sound perspective project I did for AICE Media Studies a couple of months ago has especially well-prepared me for this step in the process of crafting my film opening. 

            So far, one of the most difficult parts to edit has been the transition between the first video clip to the second. I had to crop the first one a little bit so that the audio transition would be as smooth as possible. 

            Additionally, the cut transitions between these clips (a midshot, a close up of the test, an over the shoulder showing the test, CS of the test again, and then back to a MS) has been difficult to make clean. I think the close ups of the test work well together, but if the transitions between all these shots are so choppy, then I may have to remove one of them. The choppiness is also due to the difference in audio between all the clips, so I must take out the audio from some of them, and duplicate the audio I'd like to use, to make it as uniform as possible. 

            Something I unexpectedly love is this whip pan transition I didn't even plan for. I may edit it differently in the final cut, just in case it doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the movie, but I think it's nice to have something different. 

 

            I'm not going to lie, I was very nervous about editing because it would mean I would have to watch my work back, as well as make crucial decisions for the opening. But it has honestly been fun to do and I can't wait to progress further. 

Thanks for reading,

Michelle

Production Logos

            I spent some time designing a production logo to incorporate at the beginning of my film opening. At first, I produced one on Pages, but I didn't love it. It seemed very basic, and didn't have any pizzazz. Here is what it looked like:

            Then, I met with a group of students that showed their own logos they designed. They told me they had created theirs on Canva, which inspired me to remake my own.

            I came up with the following options:

            After asking my teacher and classmates for advice on which one looked best, the consensus was Dynamic Pictures. They recommended I make the background ombre instead. The navy blue I'm using represents a classic look, very mature and simple, which fits the tone of the movie.

        Here is what the final product looks like.  I'll be editing this clip into my film opening:   

Until my next blog post,

Michelle

Editing Preparation and Decisions

            Before I begin to edit all the clips together, it was necessary that I cleared some elements up and made some impactful decisions. 

            I've started going through all the videos I recorded to select the best takes. Before deciding which ones I will and won’t use, I added them all to an album. Instead of deleting the takes I’m not going to use, I’m simply removing them from the album just in case I want to refer to them later, or end up deciding to utilize them. 

            As for which editing program I’m going to use, I was stuck between DaVinci Resolve and iMovie. I think DaVinci has more options, but I’m much more familiar with iMovie. The editing is going to be very straightforward, seeing as most (if not all) of the transitions are cuts, which means iMovie would work fine. Relating to the text (the title and credits I’m going to include in the opening), I looked through all the options both programs have for titles, which helped me choose which program I will use.

            I’ve decided on using iMovie for the exact reasons I listed above. I’m familiar with it, and I like the straightforward title transitions available on the program. 

            After making these decisions and cleaning up the videos I have to choose from, I’m prepared to start editing soon. 

As always, thanks for reading,

Michelle