Its finally time after 9 whole weeks here is the moment of truth my film opening is officially done!!! Its a surreal feeling here it issss :)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14645Ca7NoYxZMu946yQGu3Om0mKIwsc3/view
CCR IS HERE TOOO:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kfFsimxxTmNPhUDe-X5pSXqjBfsIHr1O/view?usp=sharing
How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?
The technologies that I used to create my film include blogger where I tracked all my progress and ideas from the start. I edited the film on adobe premiere and used YouTube videos to figure out how to edit things I wasn’t sure how to do. For sound effects I looked on YouTube for non-copyrighted sound effects (not done editing so when I am list sources here) The camera I used was a Sony a7 lll. I have this because my mom is a photographer and had a lot of the materials I needed to film.
My production skills definitely improved throughout this whole process and I am so grateful. Since I did this project alone I learnt how to single-handedly be a director, producer, editor, and even actor. And boy is it hard. I have so much respect for everyone in the industry. I feel like everything I learnt this year I was able to apply it into my work and it definitely shows. All the camera shot, angles, movements, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing that I did had a specific purpose and reason. The whole process helped me better understand why things are done the way they are.
For this part of my CCR I wanted to do a challenge where I pop balloons and inside the ballon’s are the questions 3 & 4. And with every question comes a challenge. Example: eating hot wings…each question would have a different challenge. 
Since I am not represented by a big company my product would first be distributed at small film festivals. This can help me network and hopefully find someone in the business that can help me further in my distribution process. The first film festival I can apply to is one in my school called the “lighting film festival” although this is county wide…it still helps me put my film out there and to the eyes of others. The end goal is obviously to have my movie on the big streaming platforms like hulu, HBO, amazon. But I realize there’s a longggg time coming for that, but i’m patient because I believe my film is worth it and somebody will hopefully realize that. Maybe after the festivals I can try to put my film on YouTube. Of course I will also be posting on all my socials and do trends to promote the film and hopefully find the right person to help distribute my film. I can also pay content creators to talk about my film but that’s more on the marketing side.
For questions 1 & 2 my idea was to play poker while answering the questions since it relates to my film and in the 1st question i’m talking about the problems that gambling can bring.
How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
What is addiction? Addiction is when someone relies on something so heavily they feel as if they can’t live without it. You can be addicted to anything some are basic things that won’t harm you like coffee, sugar, work, etc. But theres also the addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. It’s something that can ruin the life of the addict and the family. It turns their whole life around relying on the substance to practically live. And it’s not even something they choose for themselves because addiction can be genetically transmitted. My film opening “Getting” represents any type of addiction or addicts. Many people have stereotypes on how addicts behave or look and how they go about their day to day life. But my film opening challenges those thoughts and ideas by showing the truth. Not all addicts quit for the same reason. Not all addicts are homeless. And not all addicts are bad people. Yes they struggle. Yes they make mistakes. But people often forget that it’s their first time living too. Being accepting and welcoming is one of the best things we can do as humans. Addiction is a big issue all around the world. Gambling though is the addiction with the highest rates of suicide. I hope that any addicts that watch my film will realize the dangers of the path that they are continuing on and hopefully are able to change for the better. Even though there are ups and downs in the process of recovery at the end seeing your family and friends happy and relived is the end goal.
Today I started editing my film opening. When I was first retrieving the files I freaked out because I couldn’t find the laundromat clips. Then I remembered they were two different SD cards…lol
So today what I did was sort the clips figure out what I needed or didn’t need and put everything in order of the story line. Tomorrow I need to cut everything down to get the 2 minutes. I also need to find sound effects for the casino and laundromat. I need sounds of washing machines circulating, people playing games, a heartbeat.
I also need to figure out if the song is legible I asked my mom she said she needed look for a while. I’m going to ask my friends today. But I feel like if I need to ask then that’s a problem in itself.
To be continued tomorrow 😓
So for the title my idea was to call it GETTING or THE GET. I have a reason. She is getting better (recovery from her addiction) or getting money (going back to the casino) it kind of leave the beginning of the story into the interpretation of the viewer.
The placement can either be at the very end when i’m walking out of the laundromat and it appears when I walk away. So kind of like i’m leaving a trail…
Or
I can also do it in one of the shots I have where I put the camera inside the washing machine and the camera is covered until I start taking clothes out. So the title is covered at first and slowly revealed as I start taking everything out. I feel like both could be cool. Maybe i’ll try both out and see how I feel.
As for the font I found this at the very beginning of my film project and I still really like it. It’s these letters but in poker card form and it really fits the theme of my film opening. Only thing is I’m not so sure if it’ll be legible. I’m going to ask around and see what people think and then i’ll decide if I should use it or shouldn’t.
This week i’m really nervous because i’m taking the SAT so i’ve been head on studying so on Saturday after the SAT i’ll start editing.
First things first a match cut is a transition used to seamlessly transition to another location or a scene.
It can be graphic which is when the shape of an object matches the two shots. This for example is one of mine- when the washing machine transitions to the eye. The shape of them are the same (circular.) For this specific match cut when I filmed them I made sure both were centered and stable shots so it would be easier for me to edit.
There is also an action/ movement match cut. This is my other two. When the action moves into the following scene. In my case this is when she inserts the cash, and when she presses the button.
There are a lot of other match cuts like sound, color, idea, and direction. I will only be using the ones above for my film opening.
The important thing with match cuts it’s making sure they are in same angle, centered, and stable shots. Which are all things I did so i’m really hoping i’m successful with it.
When we got there it was packed which wasn’t good because we sometimes had to wait for people to clear the area which would take a while, and then another person would appear. Which was a bit annoying.
Also since in the casino I had to use cash instead of a coin my cash transition wasn’t through the washing machine but instead through an ATM that exchanged our cash for coins. I really hope it works out because I grabbed the wrong SD card so we couldn’t even compare the shots to each other.
So many people were watching me film and laughing so you might see them in the background of my film opening so…keep an eye out for that!!!
To make the pregnant belly we used a bowl but since you could see the ridges we covered it with a towel. It looked a lot better than the picture here.
When we filmed the pregnancy scene I was so embarrassed because there were so many people watching, but it came out so realistic im so excited to start editing. If I do a good job I really think it’ll come out amazing!!
I also changed my outfit a bit. Instead of wearing skinny jeans I wore sweatpants because it was easier to fake the pregnant belly this way. I put a lot of powder on my face to make myself look whiter and I put on really clumpy blue mascara. I’m not sure why I did this but it just felt like her. She also had a really messy bun which brought the outfit together.
Me and my mom had a lot of fun filming since this is how we bond :)
So the Hard Rock was a great choice other than the fact they didn’t have coin slots…still upset about it. Other than that the lighting was a lot better than I thought and it wasn’t that packed. Were there a lot of people. Yes. But it was filmable you know… I got all the shots I wanted and it was very successful I would say.We also saw my mom’s friend and the casino and asked him if we could film his screen and he said yes. So when i edit i’m going to put them together so it looks like i’m playing when i’m actually not. I took clips of facial expressions and me pressing buttons to help it appear realistic. Now I need to start editing and see how I do everything else at the laundromat.
Here’s a sneak peek of the clips
Basically I got everything together and packed it up in the car. I asked my mom to film for me because she a professional videographer and photographer, and I want the best quality for my film opening. So we were on our way.
We went to the 1st filming location which was the casino. We went to the hard rock hotel. We started looking around for a machine that had a coin slot but they were almost ALL with card. Until we found one with cash. This means that my coin transition is going to have to change to a cash transition, and i’m not sure if there is cash laundromats.
We continued filming and I was nervous since I can’t play the games. BUT all the games shown are my mom playing and me recording. So nothing illegal going on here :).
I got all the shots I wanted and to get the eye transition shot I ducked down to get a bright light in my eye since a lot of the games weren’t as bright as I thought.
We wrapped up filming at the casino and were in the way to the laundromat when my dad called up telling us he broke his knee. So we had to go back home and take him to the hospital.
The laundromat will have to be left for another day which might be a blessing in disguise since I have to look for another laundromat that accepts cash. I definitely learnt I have to do more research on filming locations before we actually go out.
CASINO
Hard Rock:
This one is a great option it’s huge, meaning there will be many slot machines and places to film. I zoomed in on the pictures they had online and it seems like they have games with a coin slot. But it might be packed and hard to film with so many people. This one is also really brightly lit which is not what I wanted.
CASINO @ DANIA BEACH:
I’ve driven past this one on the way to the beach and it’s always packed, but it seems pretty big. The thing I like about it is the lighting is dark and the lights they have are colored lights, which is the vision I had in my head.
GULFSTREAM CASINO :
This one is a lot smaller than the others. And less well known so it might be easier to film, and I like the lighting here, it’s dimmed so most of the lighting depends on the games.
LAUNDROMATS
COIN LAUNDRY 24/7:
This laundromat is perfect. It accepts coins. It fits the vibe. It’s 24/7 so I can go at whatever time. And it has 4/5 starts. I LOVE IT 😍
I think what i’m going to do is go to the hard rock, because my mom also knows her way around it and it has a lot of benefits and then go to the laundromat. Location scouting ✅
Hey bloggg so today I started getting everything together since i’m filming this weekend…crazy I feel like we just started.
First I picked out my outfits… for the casino i’m going to wear these black jorts that I own and a black tank top, I don’t want to wear a colorful outfit since I want the lights in the casino to be the color.
I also got the outfit for the laundromat which is just a purple cami with some skinny jeans, and crocs.
For the pregnant belly I wanted to get one of those fake silicon bellies from amazon but it was way to expensive. Instead i’m going to use a balloon and use a wrap to flatten it out and make it look realistic. I already tried it today and it honestly wasn’t terrible. It will also only be shown far away and for a couple seconds.
I cleared out my closet which took forever by the way and found some clothes I need to give away so i’m taking that to the laundromat to be the clothes I need to “clean.” I already have a blue laundry basket which i’m going to take.
Today I also tried out some makeup looks i’m going to do on the day of shooting. For the casino i’m adding some eye bags with makeup and just a kind of simple messy makeup look to make it seem like she’s been there for a while.
And for the laundromat i’m not going to wear any makeup but i’m putting oil in my hair so that way it seems like she’s kind of all over the place and not organized.
I also found location and equipment but i’ll be sharing that next time. Bye blog!!!
Hey blog!!! Today we’re talking about audio and here’s my idea. I don’t want any dialogue…is that crazy??? I have a reason. I feel like audio will take away from the moment and intensity of the scene. What I want to do is focus a lot on the sounds of her surroundings.
For example when i film in the casino I want to get the sounds of all the slot machines, people walking around, laughing, talking. What i’m going to do for this is bring a mic and find these sounds and film the separately and add them all together in editing.
As for the Laundromat what I wanted to do for one
of the scenes was add an intense heartbeat and everything else would quite down. Then someone
around her would cough and she would snap out of it. Doing this will help the audience see the anxiety that thinking of the casino brings her and help them understand how bad her addiction is.
I of course also want to get sounds of the washing machines circulating and to do this I will do the same process that I would at the casino.
Here’s the mic i’m going to use.
I’m backkkkk! So today I want to talk about my main character. Her imagine is extremely important because i’m not thinking about adding any dialogue in my film opening (I have a reason) butttt that’s for later in the week.
My character’s personality has to be very strong and her posture must demonstrate that. The way she walks can also show that she has to walk strong and confident. This is because she is strong, she is trying her best to not go back to the casino and her walk should also prove that. Her facial expressions though should not demonstrate her confidence instead her sadness in a way. She won’t be completely frowning but a slight hint of it can show the internal struggle. Kind of like this: 😕
On the other hand, when she’s at the casino her facial expression will be blank more zombie like. 😶 This is to show she doesn’t care what’s around her she’s addicted and that’s it.
As for makeup and hair. I want to base my character a bit of Fiona Gallagher from shameless so they have a similar vibe. This means that she will have a little bit of makeup on but it looks like it was done in a rush. She’s also just in a laundromat so she doesn’t have to be crazy put together. For the hair I was thinking a messy bun to show her messy state of mind and how everything can explode in just one second.
In the casino she’ll have no makeup to show she doesn’t care what she looks like and who she sees she just wants to play and that’s all that’s important to her. Her hair will be let down and wavy messy curls this demonstrates how she feels free in the casino and like she is herself.
The outfits will be very basic for the laundromat I was thinking of her wearing a grey shirt stained with food and some jeans. Something really basic can show how she just wants to blend in with the rest of the world, not be recognized and maybe even just hide away from everything. Even her problems…
In the casino she’ll wear something a bitttt different but not crazy. She can wear a red or black shirt. (The color of poker cards) And a skirt or a nice pair of pants. This shows the difference and how maybe even though she was addicted she was happier and dressing like herself.
Casino:
Laundromat:
Today I filmed my CCR
I actually am really proud of it the first two questions where answered while I played solitaire and there was a reason… addicted to gambling playing solitaire.. get it solitaire a game you play alone because she is lonely in her recovery!!! This whole process has really shown me so much about how much work everything takes and that everything has a purpose.
The second question was answered by saying I was addicted to saying like and that every time I said it i’d have to eat spicy noodles. That one was really funny and I think it really got the point across.
The scripts were really helpful too… now I shall finish editing the CRR wish me luck.
For my props I don’t plan on having many. Most of the props I need are accessible at the location of filming. For instance, the slot machine, washing machine, chair. What I do need to bring myself if a laundry basket. And it’s a pivotal prop in the story.
Props are so important to tell a story and can tell a lot. Some props are so famous you can see and recognize what film it’s from. Example the lightsabers and star wars. For my film opening it’s nothing cool like that. Just a simple old blue laundry basket. But its significance is key to tell my story.
The laundry basket is what hides her pregnant belly the whole first minute and 50 seconds. When she moves the laundry basket out of the way it reveals her pregnancy. The laundry basket will help me tell the story, because the audience will not suspect the plot twist at the end. It helps them better understand why she’s quitting gambling. For her baby. The laundry basket being there all the way helping me tell the story.
My other props of course will be used to tell the story but this one shapes the rest of the movie. Reveals reason for the chaos.
Today in class I finished my story board…although i’m not the best artist it makes sense to me and when the time comes to film it’s definitely going to help me be much more organized. I wrote down the angles, shots, editing techniques, and sounds i’ll be using in certain scenes. I’ll insert it below! 👇
Basically the first shot will be of a girl in a laundromat putting her clothes in the wash these scences i want to be in a grayish tone but I want her to be the center of attention and stand out so shell probably wear something more colorful. Then you will see a closeup of her inserting a coin into the washing mashing, and it will switch into a casino, specifically putting a coin into a slot machine. This will be done with a mesh cut and there will be three of these. The shot will widen out and show the same girl sitting on the casino chair.
It will then transition back to the laundromat where the woman will appear stressed, sweaty, and nervous. Then as she goes to turn the washing machine on it will mesh cut back into the casino of her playing a game and pulling the lever. Again when it goes back to the laundromat she tries to shake the thoughts away starts the washing machine and sits down.
The ending shows the audience why she is trying to quit her gambling addiction. The match cuts between the laundromat and casino are to demonstrate how hard it is for her to do daily tasks without going back to the memories of the casino or wanting to go back. The rest of the film would be about her overcoming the addiction and maybe even falling back into old habits. I was thinking of calling the film “Falling” or “Getting” ill explain why in another blog post :) I really want the diffrence between both settings to be noticeable.. these are the vibes im going for.
Today we had our first group meeting where we were all able to discuss our project ideas and gain feed back from everyone.
Psychological drama - wakes up naked and everything is a mess, hears big bang on the door, sees excited guy, breakup - Guy is a drug addict and a loser, based a little bit on Breaking Bad
Little confused on the plot
These are the notes my group took on his project. I thought the idea was good, but a bit basic. I was asking questions about location, and what would the main point of the story be, since his group wasn’t sure what would happen after the first intro scene. I think the scene is do-able, but I imagined the scene in a trailer or something of that sort, so im not how they’re going to make it seem that way.
Next I went:
Gambler trying to get over her addiction - starts with her putting clothes in at laundromat, puts in coin, and it’s a flashback to her putting a coin in the slot machine. Suffering from withdrawal symptoms from gambling, everyday things are hard for her. She’s pregnant and that’s the reason she wants to quit, drama
Idea for the title: “Getting” but she’s unsure about the name
Since im working alone on my project I received a lot of good advice and feedback from my
group. First they were worried about the filming locations, they made a good point, this week
im planning on calling multiple laundromats to see if ill be able to film there. They also asked
me what im going to do for audio, but I don’t believe im going to use many lines if any in my
film opening. I also have my own personal mics to use in that case.
Then went Maiya:
Time loop - sci-fi - This girl is in therapy and it’s confusing - Starts at the end of the session, girl leaves, takes her meds, realizes she only has one left, takes it, goes through her car and gets in it. She realizes she’s back in therapy and realizes she’s in the middle of a time loop
She should play with colors more, but she wants the colors to be neutral
I thought her idea was a bittttt disney channel esque. I also think they need to think a lot more about what they are putting in their film opening, what we discussed was really
repetitive and boring. It also felt way to long to be able to do in 2 minutes. A lot of plot developing has to be thought for her group in my opinion…
Davis was next:
Drama/coming of age - two people talking in a cafe because one is moving away and they talk about it, start looking at places to move into, universities, etc.
Not using specific colors
They meet at the beginning and in the end, they find themselves back together and the movie title could be “See you again” or something like that
This project was really simplistic, There isn’t much i can say on this project since its not that detailed, but I think its something that if the script is done well can come out really well.
Finally Christian went:
Theme - Coming of age
Group of teenagers who always go out whenever they want and vlog everything, the day before they leave to college, they all meet up at someone’s house and someone runs late and they’re vlogging, they finally get to the house. They start talking and they look at the vlogs they have together as the camera zooms in, cuts to everything they did together (i.e. parties, hanging out, having fun, doing dumb shit, etc.) this makes the motivated and they go out again one last time and it’s them saying goodbye and going off to college
My group members didn’t seem to like this one that much, but I thought it was really fun. It seems like one of those 2000’s movies, and if the shots and acting are done well it can look really realistic. Its also relatable since a lot of us are in out last year of high school and have to seperate from friends.
