Final by Numbers

     Hey hey, blog. I am ending the process of how I started it with "Final by Numbers" tying back to the original title of my first project blog "Film by Numbers" When I began this process I had no idea what I was going to make. Now "Can You Help Me?" is my final product. It turned out a thousand times better compared to what I thought but that may just be because I have zero faith in myself. 

    I am in love with my film future but for now here is "Can You Help Me?" created by Julie Bruzon and Grace Decker

Link: https://youtu.be/Z6Vi_blTZK8

Moving Foward:

    As the Spaceship Earth ride at EPCOT once said, "This just in looks like it's going to be a great big beautiful tomorrow. The end, or should I say the beginning of [my] future."

    Bye bye, blog (for now). Stream "my future" by Billie Eilish after reading this blog as it is what I feel while writing this. 

CCR

     The day has come, t minus zero days until the project is due.  It is Monday, April 4th, 2022 meaning my Cambridge Portfolio Project for AICE Media Studies AS is due. I do not know how to feel. I was going to upload my CCR yesterday but as I attempted to record for I would say a good 6 hours. 7pm-1am. I realized I needed to go to bed and try again the next day. So that's what I did I woke up today and it only took me a good two hours today to get a version I was somewhat proud of.

    I remember why I decided to be behind the camera for "Can You Help Me?" while filming my CCR. I am really not meant for the camera as I begin to panic the second I start to mess up. I have never recorded on Zoom before so this was a bit of a risk. We are going to pretend a portion of my head is not out of the frame!

    I think my Creative Critical Reflection is me. It is a fast pace panicked-filled reflection/me in video form wearing my signature red lipstick which ties back to the blood aspect of our opener. 

CCR:

Link:

https://youtu.be/Q-4WFjsVfho 

Moving Foward:

    "Can You Help Me?" will be shared here next!

It's Not The Same Anymore

     Hey, blog today is Saturday oh my goodness. T minus two days until my entire project will be submitted. Today's blog is a reflection as I prepare to shoot my CCR tomorrow. 

    I recommend you listen to "It'S Not The Same Anymore" by Rex Orange County either before, while, or after reading this blog as it is what I feel while writing this. 

Important Announcements:

    I figured out how to get the font from font space and I am very proud of myself since it was my tired self's struggle yesterday.

Font In

    Yesterday in my blog I stated I needed to "Get the production company intro from Julie. It is done she just keeps forgetting to send it to me but that is okay." I was in the wrong as she had sent it to me and I just completely missed it. So the production company intro is in!

1:30 AM Update

    Our opener is done I'm so happy that this part of the process is over so my focus can shift to my CCR

Final

Reflection:

    I want to use this portion of my blog as the area for my thoughts on my journey with "Can You Help Me?" When I first heard about the Creative Portfolio Project at the very beginning of the year I was super excited, then the day came when we were told to begin working on the project and my excitement switched to panic. I was super worried that I would be unable to complete it in time but well based on how things are going it will be on time. 

What I Would Change:

    If I had to redo my project completely I would likely not work with a partner. I have realized it is not easy scheduling-wise. This was Julie and my main problem as we both are busy people with very different schedules. I think working on my own time would be easier. 

    Next timed video project one of my first steps will be to plan out exactly how long each clip will be so I am able to use all clips we shoot. If we would have done this with "Can You Help Me" we could have developed the setting more. 

    Somewhat jokingly I would also try to either find $500 or convince Asthmatic Kitty Records to use "Fourth of July" One day I will be involved in a project using this song just wait and see.

Overall:

    I am super proud of Julie and me for how the opener turned out to be. I am proud of myself for the amount of research I did, for learning new editing techniques, for learning how to direct, and for the amount of heart and soul I put into this

CCR Update

     I have decided to stick with my idea of recording my CCR like a rant to my psychologist. I am going to make it like it is my first appointment with a new psychologist so it makes sense why I am with a psychologist who ignores me. It will also be a virtual appointment that I will record by using zoom. The zoom will allow me to share my screen to show what I am speaking about.

Zoom Grace

CCR Breakdown:

    In my Creative Critical Reflection, I will be focusing on answering four questions.

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

2. How does your product engage with audiences and how it would be distributed as a real media text?

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

4. How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - in this project?

Script:

     I do not want to share my CCR script until tomorrow when I officially publish the CCR.

Current Script

Moving Foward:

    While yes, I was hoping to shoot my CCR today that did not work out and that is okay. I wanted to make sure I had a set script and also that my opener was for sure ready to be posted here Monday night. I will film and edit my CCR tomorrow. Wish me luck!

    As Rex Orange County once sang "I should be happy of course" my project is coming to an end but I will miss it, especially my blog. I really want to continue blogging over the summer as I dive deeper into the film world. But, I am unsure if this blog is the place for it. One way or another I will be becoming a blogger this summer and I hope you stick around with me for that part of my life along with the future of my AICE Media Studies journey as I am hoping to take A level next year.  This was way long, I apologize bye.

The Struggle Is Real

    Hey, blog today is Friday t minus three days until my entire project will be submitted. I am scared to say the least! 

Updates: 

    Today I had planned to go to school and share my version of the project with Julie and she would share hers.  Julie did not edit a version (due to her busy schedule) so I would not have been able to compare but thought I could show her mine and she could make changes. Instead, I woke up today feeling terrible and basically broke down the moment I woke up, so to better myself I decided to stay home from school and ended up sleeping the majority of the day. While yes, I wish my anxiety and depression would not have decided to make an appearance on April Fools. I am glad my breakdown happened today and not Saturday or Sunday or Monday.

Music:

    On Thursday I called my brother to discuss music. He sent me a copy of his original work and there was a part in it I just knew had to be Patti's alarm tone. I asked him if he could make a sped-up version of it and he did! I absolutely love how the music, in the end, ties back to the alarm tone. I also had him make a few changes to the music so that the slowed-down alarm tone part is playing while the blood is oozing out of the faucet. I believe this adds to the intensity of the moment. 

The text I sent to ask for the alarm tone

    I made sure to gain the rights from Tyler for his pieces.

The email from Tyler granting me the rights

Editing:

    I have finished editing and got two opinions on it! I of course shared it with Julie who told me that she thinks the mumbling of the unnamed patient should be quieter as it is a little distracting and that the cut between the unnamed patient saying "I feel like I'm" "drowning" was too drastic. I agree with both of these statements so I made the changes. 

Opinions:
    I wanted to see what others thought of the opener. The question I had for the two people I wanted an opinion from was which version was best. The one where the sound of the music cut before Meredith showed up in the mirror or the one where there was no cut.

    I got my opinions from Tai, my friend who is in TV Production and won multiple awards at STN this year. I knew she would give great advice since she loves production. The other person I got my opinion from was my friend Berkley Morris who is currently in the AICE Media Studies AS level class. Her film is very different from mine so I knew she would be great to get advice from.

    Both of the advice-givers agreed that the version with no cut was better so this is the version we are using. They also both believed it was great so yay!

Current Problem:

    I do not know where my Apple clipboard is. I have never used a font website before. Julie found the "Meltdown MF" font on font space so now I am struggling to figure out how to get the font into the opener. 

No Comment

    I will figure this out somehow. I asked Julie but my brain just can not process words right now.

To Be Done:

    Figure out how to put font into our video.

    Get the production company intro from Julie. It is done she just keeps forgetting to send it to me but that is okay.

How It's Going:

Note: I have placed where the title will go.

CCR

    I will further explain the CCR tomorrow but it is basically an in-depth reflection of my film opener. Going from pre-production to production, and post-production. 

    My current idea is that I am ranting to my psychologist. First off, I rant all the time, this would capture and show my personality part of the CCR. This can probably be noticed by the number of times I rant in my blog. Second off, since I rant so often I am very comfortable ranting so I would probably not have to refilm many times. Lastly, the idea would include that my psychologist is ignoring me similar to the unnamed patient in "Can You Help Me?" being ignored by Patti. 

    I plan to create the script and hopefully film it tomorrow and then use Sunday as my day to edit. Monday will be used as my day to recheck the opener and the CCR and to make sure my (sadly) final blog post is a great one! 

Moving Foward:

    My mom just dropped her phone and I fully jumped out of my bed while typing this, my anxiety is at its highest level I can't wait for Tuesday at twelve am. Anyways, I will figure out the intro and credits after posting this blog and then my weekend will go as I mentioned before.