Group Blog

 Today, I finalized my group. My group consists of three people: Tekla, Dominic, and I. We decided to keep our group down to three people. It will be easier to schedule times and places to meet up since we live within 1 mile of each other. This is extremely beneficial to us. In addition to this, we met in 9th grade, and we automatically clicked. Over the course of our friendship, we've learned that we are compatible with each other, and we are all hard-working and driven. We don't get mad at each other when something doesn't work out. Instead, we find a solution to the problem that we encountered and continue moving forward. We have worked on various projects prior to this. Therefore, we know each other's work ethics. We are thrilled to be working together and can't wait. Luckily, we have also been hanging out during the pandemic. We are constantly at each other's houses, but not seeing many other people. We are all excited to begin this project. Because of this, we already started brainstorming ideas for our project. We are still unsure of the plot of our short film. We are collaborating and trying to figure out the short film plot. We are excited to continue working on our project. The three of us are all really close friends and are excited to start this project.  

Welcome Back Blog

 Good afternoon! I'm excited to be in this class again. Last year I learned a lot and enjoyed my time doing so. The class I took last year was AICE Media Studies AS Level. The final project is a short film that is approximately 5 minutes long. I am extremely excited to start this project. I have been brainstorming different plots and themes. The short film can range from horror to action to comedy. Because of the Coronavirus, it will be difficult to work together in a group. I have absolutely no idea what my group and I are planning to do. As well as filming the short film, I started to think about the website, postcard, and blogs. All of these are important aspects of the class and must be well thought out. The rates are still high where I live, therefore it is hard to find places to film. Luckily, my best friend is in the class with me, and we've been seeing each other throughout quarantine. We've decided to keep our group down to two people. We know that we work efficiently as a team. In addition to this, we don't want to see many other people because of the virus, so we are trying to limit our group numbers. Overall I am extremely excited to be taking AICE Media Studies A level. I've learned so much in AS level. Now I can further my education in media studies. I will continue blogging my journey throughout this process.

Audiences and Institutions Practice Essay

Answer ONE question from this section. Refer to specific examples from ONE media area chosen from film 
4. Discuss the impact of funding on media products. [50] 
Different companies have various amounts of money that they choose to spend on a film. This can impact how the film is made and distributed, and what technologies are used.Films from larger companies like Disney or Universal can spend more money on special effects, but smaller film companies or student films may not be able to afford various technologies. 
My group and I didn’t have access to various technologies. We used a camera to film, a tripod to put the camera on, and an O ring light for lighting. We didn’t have funding for our project, so our opening sequence would fall under a C grade movie. We didn’t have money to put into our film, so we couldn’t use aerial or crane shots. However, we used a high angle instead. In addition to this, we mainly filmed at eye level because it was the most convenient for us. In the editing process, we used a software that was provided by our teachers. Our film didn’t have any special effects or animations. Because we didn't have funding, our film wasn’t as high-tech as it could’ve been. 
 Producing a film is extremely costly. To begin with, film cannot be reused. If a production company shoots a scene for an entire day, and they don’t like the takes, then all the resources consumed throughout the day were a waste. Films are also typically too expensive for a studio to authorize. This means that larger companies have the upper hand when it comes to creating and producing large films. The live-action Beauty and the Beast film cost upwards of 300 million dollars. This movie used lavish Mise-en-scene. The costumes, makeup, and locations had incredible detail, the lighting fit each scene, and the actors fit their characters. Disney had to create the costumes, pay the actors, edit, film, produce, and distribute this film. Most film studios or student films would not be able to do this because of their budget. 
Another costly movie was Jurassic World. This film was distributed by Universal Studios and produced by Frank Marshall. Universal Studios is a globally well-known company that distributes movies. In this movie, some of the dinosaurs were built. This is costly because each individual species of dinosaur used in the movie had to be created. In addition to this, special effects were used to make the dinosaurs look more realistic and move. There were many action scenes used in the movie, along with special effects. The special effects were crucial in the movie because it makes the movie more thrilling for the audience. Every take was complimented by a well thought out camera angle or movement. Jurassic World cost roughly $185 million to create and distribute. Smaller companies or studios would not be able to spend this money on one film. If the budget for this film was not that high, then the Dinosaurs and sets may have looked unrealistic.  
Lastly, Fantastic Beasts was also a cost heavy film. This film was distributed by Warner Bros Productions, and produced by J.K Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram. Warner Bros is recognized around the world and is one of the most powerful film distributing companies. This film had lots of special effects. This movie is based off the Harry Potter series, so this movie features magic and numerous mythical creatures. Many of the animals used were puppets, and some were strictly edited into the film after filming. It takes a lot of money to create these animals and to use special effects. This movie was distributed in November 2016. Because of this, newer and more expensive technology was used to create this. The movie cost roughly $180 million. This is partially because of all the special effects, and technologies used to create this film. 

Overall, funding is crucial when it comes to the film industry. The budget can determine what grade a movie will be. Grade A movies are films such as Fantastic Beasts, Beauty and the Beast, and Jurassic World. Grade C movies don’t have a large budget and are typically made by a small studio or a student film. Funding allows films to use various types of technology, and special effects. However, if there isn’t any funding, then the film will not be as high quality. Therefore, funding is crucial to films and the film industry. 

Creative Critical Reflection and Final Project

Basis of what I said in the reflection:
1. My opening sequence followed a lot of the same conventions as other opening sequences.
For example, there were titles that gave credit to individuals who worked
on this project. This is shown in all opening sequences. My group and I watched
opening sequences from similar genres to get inspiration for our opening sequences.
Our opening sequence was a thriller, so we looked at opening sequences that were
thriller, action, and horror. We did this because our opening sequence includes all of
these things. Our opening sequence also includes diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.
Some diegetic sounds that were used were doors closing, and people talking. Some
non-diegetic sounds that were used were music and voice-overs. These properties are
crucial in opening sequences because it helps to develop the plot. On the contrary, we also challenged conventions. Most opening sequences don’t include action scenes. However, my group's opening sequence was action-filled and high impact. A lot happened throughout the two minutes, and there was a cliffhanger like ending to it. It makes the audience engaged, and want to continue watching. The opening sequence can represent people who like thrilling or action-filled movies. It can also represent people of all ages who watch movies. Other than that, it doesn’t represent many social groups. Thrilling movies normally don’t have any issues. However, my group’s opening sequence’s theme is things aren’t always as perfect as they seem. This is because the story takes place in a utopia, in which if you get a red dot on your wrist, you get sent away. The government was hiding this piece of information, so their society wasn’t as perfect as it appeared.
2. My product engages with audiences in many ways. To begin with, it appeals to many audiences. Thriller movies and opening sequences are suitable for the majority of ages. This allows people to watch and enjoy what is happening in the piece of film. These types of movies can bring people together since it is a common interest. This can allow people to gather and discuss topics such as thriller or action movies along with their opening sequences. This opening sequence would most likely be distributed in movie theatres. The opening sequence is attached to the movie itself, and movies are first played in movie theatres. It can also be distributed on platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and other apps that stream movies. Once again, this is because the opening sequence is attached to the movie itself.

 3. Overall, my production skills have significantly improved. This project helped me with time management. My group only had one day to film our entire opening sequence. Because of this, we had planned our entire schedule with breaks, time to film, and other crucial details. If my group and I had not planned out our day, the filming process would be stressful, and we most likely wouldn’t be able to finish. My group and I also learned a lot about lighting. In our opening sequence, the lighting fluctuates depending on the location of the scene. For example, all of the “flash forward” scenes had lighting from lamps while the present tense scenes required white light from my O ring light. This was important because lighting can change the mood of the piece of film. In addition to time management and lighting, my editing has significantly improved. This was the first project where I had to change the lighting. I looked through all the filters and found one that best fit my description. This filter dimmed the colors and added a yellow undertone. This made the scenes seem unreal. This was important for our flashforward scenes because then the audience can easily distinguish what was the present tense and what was the future tense. Throughout the editing process, I learned how to insert titles, and adjust their lengths. This was a cool feature because there were many different text options. My group and I decided to use red and green fonts because the name of our movie is Red Dot. However, the green also corresponds with the plot. The text was outlined in black, so it would be easier to read. The titles were also placed in different spots depending on what scene was currently playing. All of our titles lasted 3-4 seconds. This allowed the audience to read and take in the information that was being displayed.
4.  My group and I Incorporated many different types of technology, software, and hardware into our final project. To begin with, we used a camera. For this project, my group and I did not use a school camera because Kaitlyn had her own. Because we didn't check out a school camera, we didn’t get a tripod or a memory card. Kaitlyn’s camera was newer and easier to use. With previous projects, the school cameras would always die, or there would be some sort of problem that we encountered. We didn’t want to risk more problems so we used Kaitlyn’s camera. For editing, we did not use pinnacle studios. I wasn’t at school the week we had to edit, so I edited it from my laptop at home. I used an editing software called iMovie. I edited the entire opening sequence on this program. I imported all of the shots, and then chose the takes that I wanted to use. I then added the filters on the flash-forward scenes and inserted the titles. In addition to this, we also used upbeat music. We searched for uncopyrighted music on YouTube and ensured that the music was free for the public to use. We then inserted the music into the opening sequence at the correct time. We also used an O ring light. This mechanism is a stand with an attachable light in the shape of an O +SHOW O RING LIGHT+ ELABORATE! Overall, we used many types of technologies, software, and hardware in this project.

This is the link to the music that my group and I used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gBTKiVqprE

Reflection of the Opening Sequence

Overall, I learned many things throughout this project. One of the major things this project has helped me with is my time management skills. My group and I had to film our entire opening sequence in one day. Therefore, we had to make a detailed plan to ensure that we would stay on schedule. This made the filming process less stressful. Luckily, Kaitlyn and I stayed focused, and we filmed sooner than we anticipated. This project also helped me learn how to deal with high amounts of stress and pressure. The most stressful parts of this project were the storyboard and filming. My group and I took a long time discussing, and drawing out each box. We were on a time crunch to do this, and there were only two of us. But we managed our stress and drew. We also decided to put the lighting, angles, and location of each of the shots. This was extremely helpful when it came to the filming process. This is because we already knew everything that we needed to know before filming. Therefore, it made the filming process less rigorous. In addition to this, my editing skills have significantly improved. In this project, I had to insert numerous titles as well as their lengths. This was the first project where I had to do this, but it was a crucial piece. I also had to adjust the lighting for certain scenes. Lighting can change the mood of the film, so it was important that we did it. Overall, I learned many things in this project and I'm grateful that I had the chance to do it.

Re-editing

School was canceled because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Because of this, Kaitlyn and I couldn't meet up to re-edit together. Therefore, I re-edited since it was originally done on the computer. I reviewed the shots that we individually took. I then determined which to put into the opening sequence.
I put in a 10-second video with a black screen and no audio at the beginning. Kaitlyn and I felt the need to put a backstory to the plot so it would be more understandable for the audience. We wrote, "In a utopian society, each individual receives a red or green dot on their 16th birthday. If the individual gets red, they will be sent to a special facility. However, if the individual gets green, they get to stay with their family."
The next new scene we selected was the establishing shot. We forgot to insert a clip of Kailtytn's backyard in the original clip. Therefore we inserted another. The establishing shot was about 4 seconds long. I didn't have to edit anything for this take.
I re-inserted some clips, so I could use the original audio. This was helpful because now the audience could hear everything above the music. I had to put filters over some of the new flashforward scenes. I also had to insert some titles, and properly space them out. Overall, the re-editing process took about 90 minutes.

Problems We Encountered:COVID-19

Recently, a deadly virus called Coronavirus spread across the globe. People became scared and were told to practice social distancing. Some states were put on lockdown, meaning that they can only leave their houses to get food and go on walks. Because of this, I was unable to meet up with my group.
 Kaitlyn and I then called each other and started to make a plan. To begin with, we discussed what scenes we needed to refilm or add. We decided on a few scenes and filmed individually. We couldn't meet up because of COVID-19.
Therefore, we couldn't refilm as many scenes as we would've liked. However, we understand how dangerous this virus is, and valued our family's safety, as well as our own. Because we weren't together, we also couldn't edit together. Kaitlyn sent me her new shots, and I saved them to my computer.
We didn't change too much in the editing process. I trimmed a few videos and replaced old takes with the new ones. I then called Kaitlyn again, and we discussed the opening scene. Our plot is a little confusing, so we wanted to set the beginning of the plot with words.

This has been done in many major movies such as The Hunger Games. We decided on the wording, and I inserted the video into the beginning. The re-filming and re-editing process was difficult because we could not leave our houses. However, we did as much as we could do.