CCR question #4

 Today I’ll be writing the script or the final CCR question! The question is how did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Here’s the script I created:

My production skills grew a lot while working on this project. At the beginning, I didn’t really know how much work it would take, but I learned a lot through research and practice. First, I did research on drama movies, especially ones about addiction, like Beautiful Boy. I learned that drama films need strong characters, emotional stories, and realistic acting to connect with the audience. I also researched how other filmmakers used lighting, sound, and editing to create mood and emotion.

Then I worked on planning. I made a storyboard to organize my ideas. This helped me figure out what shots I needed, like the flashbacks and the close-ups of the character’s face and the drug use. Planning made the filming easier because I already knew what I wanted to film and how it would look.

When I started filming, I faced some challenges. One problem was that I had to film by myself because my dad couldn’t help me like I originally planned. So, I had to improvise and ended up using a ring light as a tripod to hold the camera steady. Another problem was my own mistake, I thought it would be easier to film all my takes in one long video and just cut out the scene I liked later. But I realized this made editing way harder and confusing, and I could accidentally use the wrong take. So, I decided to go back and re-film those scenes the right way, one take at a time. 

Looking back, I started this project with just an idea and not a lot of experience. By the end, I learned how to plan better, film more carefully, and solve problems during production. I’m proud of how much I improved and how the final project turned out stronger than what I first imagined.

CCR question #1 script

 Im going to go ahead and start planning for my creative critical reflection. The question I’m starting with is: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

For this project, I used different types of technology to help with filming and editing. I used my phone to record all the clips and a tripod to keep the camera steady. I also used my iPad to access editing tools and make changes to my project. For editing, I had originally planned to used the website elevate.io because I had experience with it but it wasn’t working on my iPad and my laptop was broken. So, I had to find another option and ended up using Clideo.com instead. All of these tools helped me put everything together and create my film opening . 

Representation

 An important part of my film opening is to find a way to show representation. We learned all about representation in class. Here are my notes.

 My film opening shows representation by focusing on a teenager struggling with drug addiction. Addiction is a real issue many people deal with and my film shows how anyone can deal with addiction, even teenagers. It represents the stuggles addicts face and how it changes their life.

Set preparation

Today I began my production process!!!

Before I started actually filming I had to switch some things around in my room to fit my scene. 

I put trophies and medals around and took out some unnecessary items, here’s what i changed. 

Costume design

Costume design is very important in films. It shows who the character is without using words. It reflects their habits and preferences.

For Zoes costume design I want her to appear messy and worn out. She would wear a lot of dark and dull colors. She would wear a lot of hoodies and and sweatpants, she looks like she puts little to no effort into her outfits. She has smudged makeup and messy hair all the time to show her struggling.

Here is a mood board of what I was thinking:

Storyboard

 After figuring out my plot It is time to create my story board. This will help me visualize my film and help me during the actual filming process. 

Here is a photo of my storyboard, I've highlighted my shot types. 

Media theory research

 My teacher gave us a handout of different media theories and today I will be picking one to integrate into my project! 

After looking over the list I think Todorov’s Narrative Theory of Equilibrium is a good option for me. Todorov’s theory has many parts to it but for my project I will focus on the equilibrium part. It states that the audience is introduced to the characters and beginning of the story. This can be used in my opening scene because I will introduce my main character, the audience will see she's a teenager and she is a dancer. The beginning of the story is also introduced as I will show her struggling with drugs and how she's facing internal conflict.