The Final Product

 I can't believe I'm done with this project!! Down below is the film opening and CCR's!

Film Opening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1TcO_SbcpQ

CCR #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6l_niewfsg

CCR #2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94grUM8NKtM

I guess this is a goodbye!!

(I know my CCR's are corny😓)

Post-Production

       I already knew this part was going to drain me... Before I could start editing, I had to upload my videos to my laptop and this process took FOREVER! Once I got it uploaded, I put one of my videos into Premiere Pro and..... I didn't know how to remove the background.... I looked up some ways but it just didn't work because I am stupid.

    Since I don't have a green screen, I just used my beige closet door as a back ground. Sadly, my dress was also beige in some areas so.. if you haven't guessed it already... the program captured my dress as the background. I didn't want to spend any more time on Premiere Pro so I switched to CapCut.

    CapCut is an editing app that is easily accessible on my phone. I didn't have to look up any tutorials as I am familiar with this app... please no questions. However, it did the same exact thing. I am so stupid. Why would I wear the same color as the background. It didn't even cross my mind. Fortunately, but also unfortunately, CapCut was able to remove the background... but you have to pay for the AI background remover. Here's the fortunate part, you can view what the video looks like with the premium tools but you just can't download the video. So, what I will do is screen record! I just hope the quality is as good😥

    It isn't perfect but it will work . Since it is spring break, I decided to wear my hair natural (curly) instead of straightening it. So, I filmed with curly hair... The background remover isn't perfect...See the problem.. I quite literally have some of the original background as an outline of my hair😔 I wish the background remover was perfect but it isn't. This is going on my list of "Reasons why I straighten my hair!"

   Before I add the photo, I just wanted to say that I make the ugliest faces when I talk... like I spent more than enough time trying to find a perfect shot from my CCR to screen shot and upload to this blog. 

The "best I could get" background remover

     Now for the actual editing, everything went smoothly. I tried to add pictures that would match what I was saying, although I do wish I said more, and on both CCR's, I imported clips from the actual film opening. I think I used to tell myself that I like editing... but I really don't. Please please please, I never want to edit again.

    Oh yea... I forgot... During my first CCR, the green screen kept going in and out during all of the "walking in place" clips. That's embarrassing, but I honestly don't know if I can fix it since CapCut ain't all that. Additionally, I added a logo that says "Maiya the Explorer" that I will keep on the bottom right corner of the screen during my first CCR. I copied the logo from the original Dora show and used Canva to put it all together. I also used Canva to edit the background as I couldn't find the perfect background online. 

*Sigh*..

Canva (aka the best app)

CCR Production

    Since I have my ideas for my CCR's, I have to start thinking about how I'm going to film them. Both idea in my CCR's require editing a background. I've done this before but the quality wasn't so good...

    This week is a very busy week. I have to film my CCR's, edit them, edit my film opening, and so much more. Okay lowkey, I keep telling myself I'm going to film today... but I might not. NOT because I'm lazy (yes I am) but because I have so many other things on my plate. 

    What I know so far is that I am going to be filming in front of my closet. It's not the best place to film but I don't have anywhere else. For the award CCR, I will be wearing a floral dress that I wore to my brothers graduation and formal makeup (What is formal makeup..) Now for the Dora CCR, uh I don't have her wardrobe.. I have her purple backpack though! 

    I should of been practicing my lines the day before so... since I don't have my lines engraved in my mind, this process is going to take even longer. Sigh. I think I want to film my (I don't want to film any) award CCR first. This CCR has NO breaks. All I am doing in this video is yapping. I think I am going to print the script on a little card so it helps me and it will also go with the idea of the whole award winning as a lot of people have a little script of what they are going to say.

    For Dora, I'm a little scared. I have to find the perfect background pictures for each scene. I might have to use my favorite app, Canva, for this project.

Update

    It is 3/19 and I have not filmed anything... Trust me, it was not because I was lazy, I have been busy all after school. I will be starting tomorrow as I am busy after school today. 

    I lied.. it's 3/21 and I just finished filming both CCR's.

Filming

    Okay, so the first CCR I filmed was the award show one (The last 2 questions) and lets just say that I'm glad it's over. Before I started filming, I had to shift some things in my room around as I think I threw away my tripod a long time ago... I thought I wasn't going to find the right angle as I needed to stack many things on top of each other so I could place my phone, but I got it to work in like five minutes. Since I was "winning" an award, I needed an award! I looked around my room and I found this plastic hand that holds my bracelets, so I used that. (After I filmed, the "award" was barely in the shot😔) Since this CCR was a speech, I needed to say everything in one take. Maybe I should've studied my lines a lot more... 

    I am not posting this blog until I say this.... MY STORAGE WAS FULL!! When I went to check the footage after I filmed, it said "Storage full." I started to fill with rage. I went to look at the clip to see where it ended off and oh my gosh... At the end of my script, it says "Thank you so much again for this award." THE CLIP ENDED AT "Thank you so much aga-" Two seconds... two seconds was all I need. I wasn't going to submit my footage like that so I went to reshoot it. It took some time but I finally got it!

    Now for the next CCR! This one, I was less stressed about since it didn't have to do one continuous line. I started filming my first line and when I went to check the clip, I realized that I was missing the purple backpack!! How could I. Thankfully it was only the first clip without it! So many lines that I had to reshoot... I was getting irritated. Additionally, Dora speaks Spanish in some of her lines... I don't speak Spanish.. so I hope I didn't mess up those lines! Not too too much happened with this CCR, I mean, I was just praying that someone wasn't going to walk into my room as I was filming😹. But yea, I'm just glad I'm done with filming... I mean... I was procrastinating it a lottttt. (Also praying that I don't have to reshoot any scenes)

Award Show Outfit

Dora Outfit

Horrible Filming Setup

Before I end this blog, can I get a round of applause for the dress😍😍

Okay byeee (Time to go edit😖)

Just What I Needed

    So you thought this was a goodbye huh.. well I wish it was. I was just about to start editing and as I was looking for my video... I couldn't find it. Turns out, as my storage was getting full while filming my Dora CCR, I accidently deleted my first filmed CCR. Yup... Even deleted it from "recently deleted" So, with nothing else to do, I had to reshoot it. After SO MANY takes later, I got it. And... it isn't as perfect as the first one😔Welp... I think you just got a preview of my life! So bye now! I will be crying on my bed :)

Reflection

    We could've done better... This sounds bad but I'm not the biggest fan of my project. I love the therapy idea (I thought of it) but I don't like the time loop. My group and I just kept generating ideas for the therapy scene and we landed on the time loop. I had mixed feelings about this in the beginning, but now I know if I don't like it. 

    I wanted to do a horror genre, and I know it is very common for the project, but I think it's fun. With this time loop, our film opening falls under Sci-fi. We have no horror components so not even one second of the clip would be part of that genre. Don't get me wrong, I like Sci-fi. It's just, in a lot of movies, you don't really show the "climax" in the first two minutes. Additionally, my group and I didn't even discuss what would happen throughout the rest of the film, so I guess that's why we cramped a lot in the beginning. 

    Filming was alright. I mean not much really occurred and we didn't have to go back to Grace's house and film. Both Max and I had to send in a short audio clip to Grace, as something occurred during editing, but it wasn't that big of a deal. One major problem I had while filming though, was laughing. I could not stop laughing and my group members were so mad at me. At least I wasn't the only one cause Max kept messing up his lines. Other than filming at Grace's house, we had to film at this local plaza to shoot a few scenes. I think this plaza was abandoned as there were no cars and it was dirty. An issue we ran into was being able to see Grace's reflection in the very dirty reflective windows. Max and Rachel had to go hide and Grace had to stand in the right spot and film in the right angle in order for Grace to not be seen in the back. It worked, however, you could see somewhat of her reflection on the car window. Like I said, filming was alright but editing...

    Okay where do I start. Grace was the first one to start editing. She was in charge of putting the clips together and covering up some mistakes. Rachel was in charge of the sound/ Foley. Luckily for her, she didn't have to import them herself. She just sent them to Grace. Grace then sent her finished product to the group chat. There was an issue. Grace put some violin music in the background and it didn't sound good with the film. Max liked it. I hated it. We went back and forth and back and forth and thank the lords, we decided to get rid of the music. So now the project went to Max. He was in charge of the credits. Everything was going fine as he didn't really say anything in the group chat, but then he sent his final results... I had comments. We knew we wanted to have the credits look like it was on the wall instead of floating on the screen, so that's what Max did and it looked good. Until, there was a scene where the camera had moved. I don't know how to describe it, but in the beginning, you could see like 1/100000 of the credits. I thought it was a mistake. Then the camera moved and you could see the rest of the credit. It may be just me, but I hated it. I told him about it and he made slight changes but still kept it. Oh well... I guess we can't win in everything. Now, he sent it to me. I am in charge of lighting. I started it and..... I have no idea what I'm doing. Thankfully, Premiere Pro gave me options for lighting and I tweaked it just a little. And then.. when I played the film back... the audio was all messed up. I tried and tried to fix it but nothing worked. I had to delete everything. On the bright side, I wasn't even close to finishing. I started over and this time, I locked the audio so it stays in place. Once again, thankfully, Premiere Pro has lighting options, so I just used those. But.. I'm not done and my group is rushing me. I've been so busy after school but trust... I won't let them down. 

    Overall, I'm fine with this project. I don't think anything is wrong with the production or editing, I'm just not fond of the idea of the film opening. I don't have any prediction of the grade for this project but I just hope I won't be disappointed. For a previous project, I worked with the same exact group as this project. We did really really good on the previous project, so if we don't do as we expect... then I'm not sure what I'll think. Once I'm finish editing, I hope the final product will open my eyes and I can see how much of a good job my group and I did.

#TaintedRootsSigningOut

.

CCR #2 Script

     Okay, maybe I'm not soooo creative (That hurts to say)  :( 

    Since my last CCR was a lot, I'm going to tone it down just a little and do something "basic" I'm going to do an award speech. Now, I'm 100% positive that someone has already thought of this but I seriously cannot think of anything else.

Script

[Maiya] Wow. I can barely believe I'm here, receiving this award... It's truly an honor.

First of all, I want to thank all the people who made Regression possible. It's about a teenager stuck in a time loop of therapy, and honestly, making this film was like being stuck in a time loop myself sometimes.

I did not know a lot about shooting or editing before I began this project. But working on it actually improved my skills in planning, shooting, directing, and editing. I figured out how to take one location, the therapist's office, and make it interesting each time it recycled there. I changed camera angles and pace so it would not become boring while watching, despite the fact that the same thing was repeating itself repeatedly.

Moving on to the technological part, we actually used a phone to film and as a prop. Since it being my first film, I didn't have all of the proper equipment so I had to use what I had. Additionally, we showed Alice, the main character, looking at a clock and because of this, it makes it clear that, that clock is important. 

For editing, my team and I used Adobe Premiere Pro. This program was and still is a life savior. It made the loop look so smooth. But I have to give all the credits to our main editor Grace. My team was able to share all of our footage with each other, thanks to Google Drive and it kept everything organized, so I'm really thankful for that.

So yeah, growing as a filmmaker from this project was huge for me, and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Thank you so much again for this award! I will treasure it until the end of time.

Reflection

    Okay wait... I think I like this more than my other CCR. But I won't get into too much of that.  I made this script shorter because I am not sure how much time my other CCR is going to take up in the limit. However, usually during speeches, the one talking shows emotion through out, and takes their time so that's why I didn't make it as long.

CCR Question # 3 Planning

    Sigh...when my group and I started this project, I had little to no clue what I was doing. However, I knew I wanted to make a cool film opening... I just didn't have the right equipment and stuff (skills...😞)Yeah. I needed help. Grace was pretty much just hitting record and I was pretty much hoping for the best. BUT since finishing this film, I've definitely think I've improved. I actually learned things from being on set.

    I knew I had to plan. I couldn't just wing it. I had to think about the shots, the lighting, the composition of things, and how to make every shot count. Because my film was a time loop, I had to think of things that could be slightly different to try to make each loop stand out, even though it was depicting the same. This helps the audience KNOW that it wasn't a mistake in editing. Continuity...That was certainly something to take into account. I couldn't have Alice with her phone in one hand one minute and the other the next; it took real attention. Editing, though, was a completely different story. Thankfully Grace was the one to edit most of the components though😜

    I had the basics down, but this assignment forced me to reach beyond my means. Even though I wasn't the one to edit the clips together, I learned from Grace the many techniques you can include in a film. She spent far too much time making tiny edits that no one will ever even see, but my group and I saw, and that's improvement, right? Overall, we moved from simply randomly filming stuff to actually thinking like an editor/director, and I feel far more confident now. I really like filming (being the actress) and behind the scenes work.

    When Max is done editing the credits, he is going to send it to me so I could edit the lighting. So, I've never actually edit lighting before hahaha.... But I'm not going to let my group down! I already found a YouTube account which I hope (it better) will lead me through this process :) 

https://www.youtube.com/@adobemadesimple

    Welp, I might as well start praying. I mean, I think lighting makes a huge difference in films but I don't think I'm the right person for this job.

CCR #1 script

     I’ve been thinking… and thinking… and thinking… of an idea for my CCR and I finally got one. Dora the Explorer randomly popped into my head and I thought of some things I could add. So, because I can’t think of anything else, I’ll go with this idea.

Script

[Maiya] Hola, Soy Maiya! What’s your name…. I like that name! Today, we're  going to be going through the making to the movie Regression.

(Walking)

[Maiya] Oh no! There's a broken bridge! How will we get across? Oh look there’s a sign! Let's read it together.

“ Talk about how the product uses Sci-fi conventions.”

[Maiya] Great question! Regression is about is girl stick in a time loop. Can you say time loop? Good job!

[Maiya] Time loops are a classic part of science fiction because they play with time in mysterious ways! That's what makes Regression fit into the sci-ft genre. Oh look! The bridge is fixed! Vamonos!

(Walking)

 [Maiya] Oh no! There are two paths! Which way should we go?... Hmm... let's check the map! (Pulls out an imaginary map) Oh! We have to answer another question before we can move forward! 

(Sign appears: "How does the film represent social groups or issues?") 

[Maiya] Regression represents people who struggle with mental health. Alice feels lost and disconnected, and the time loop represents how some people feel stuck in the same emotions. Can you say mental health? Great job!

[Maiya] The film also shows how therapy isn't always easy-sometimes, it's hard to open up. But talking about mental health is important! 

[Maiya] Yay! We chose the right path! Let's keep going! (Walking) 

[Maiya] Oh no! There's a river blocking our way! How will we get across? Look! A talking fish! Maybe it can help! 

[Talking fish] How does the film engage audiences and how would it be distributed?

 [Maiya] Good question, Mr. Fish! Regression keeps audiences engaged by making them feel just as confused as Alice! Every time she loops back, the audience experiences the same frustration and mystery.

[Maiya] For distribution, this film would be perfect at film festivals to get mainly sci-fi fans, but many others to enjoy and increase the popularity of the film.

[Maiya] Yay! The fish helped us cross the river! We're almost there! (Walking) 

[Maiya] We did it! Thanks for helping me explore Regression! Adiós, amigos!

Filming/Editing

I really don't want to film and edit this... I'm going to get embarrassed of myself and my editing skills are trash. Hopefully (please please please) it works out!

Group Meeting #2

     Today, we just had another group meeting. In the beginning, no one really talked but a small conversation started to form. Throughout this group meeting we really didn't talk about much even though we should have. There were six of us at firs but one went home not even 5 minutes in. I didn't really talk about my project as I'm assuming my group are all friends. The girl who sat next to me had asked me a few questions and I answered. She didn't really seem interested though. I will try to describe everyone's project but it will be hard since I was sitting all the way at the end of the group and everyone was almost whispering. (P.S. I don't know anyone's name...)

First person

    This first person, the one who sat next to me, is doing a coming of age. It's about a girl who just came home from a graduation dinner and at home, everyone surprised her. She starts to get sad and goes to the bathroom. Her friend then sends her a collage of their high school memories. The main character calls her friend and says "Let's do this one more time." 

    I think this idea is fun and cute but I didn't tell her that. I was shy. As she was explaining the story, I thought it would be longer than two minutes. I still do. She isn't finished filming so there is no final results, but I'm thinking the film opening may be a little rushed. 

Second person

    I truly apologize. I could not hear a single word she said. To be fair, when everyone was explaining their project, it didn't seem as if they were explaining it to me, just the others closer to them. 

    All I know about this project is that there is this guy walking and he sees a "help wanted" sign. He goes to the place the flyer had said and the place is haunted. That is all I know... I do think this story is interesting and I can't wait to see it when I view everyone's project.

OH MY GOSH! So, I'm actually typing this blog post in class, AS we are in the group meeting (we finished) and I just asked this girl in my group about her project and she said "There's this 'help wanted sign'"... So, I actually mixed two projects together...

SO! The second person's project is about a haunted house.. and that's all I know.

Third person

    OKAY! Now this is the "help wanted sign" girl. So, I kind of got confused when she was talking. I swear it's not me, everyone talks so quiet. But, her story is a rom-com. Basically, this guy sees a "help wanted" sign 😓 and he goes to the location of the flyer and he sees this beautiful girl. Don't hate me but... that's all I know. 

    The whole film is about the guy and girl love journey?.?... I hope. But, I think it's cute... I just don't think that whole falling in love part would be in the first two minutes of a film.

Forth person.

    I have no clue. Thankfully, this person gave her blog post in the beginning, so now I can look over it and figure out what her idea was.

OH MY GOSH... So I actually don't have that persons' blog post and I don't know their name... Apparently the blog URL I had was the "Help wanted" sign idea. Maybe this is a sign that I need help...Well, I don't have a fourth person.. so I guess this is a goodbye.

Please help me.

CCR Question #1 Research

     Where did the time go... It's already March and we're talking about the final inclusions for the project. We have to create two creative critical reflections that reflect the project we made. I already know the first question I am going to answer. 

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

    I already knew that I wanted to create either a horror or a drama film before I even researched about them in my blog post. But the story my group and I came up with... isn't any of those genre, it's SCI-FI.

    I now get why it falls under this genre. It's a time loop. 

Out of 60 science fiction conventions, time loop is the 19th. I think this could be something I could mention in my CCR.

    For the second part of the question, my group and I already know that the social issue is mental health. This was our first idea and I'm glad that we stuck to it.

    The second part of the question asks how our chosen genre represent social issues. To answer this, the time loop builds on the characters mental health. Alice didn't want to be in therapy in the first place, but she ends up coming back involuntarily. It is only getting worse for her. After each time loop, she is filled with more rage but also confusion and sadness. She is stuck in one of the places she truly hates. 

    When filming my CCR, I will definitely go more in depth with this question and its subtopics (I think that's what it is called...) I know I already have a filming idea for the CCR but it is a reference to something that many will probably not understand😞. But anyway, I hope I fit these CCR's into my very non busy schedule, but the due date is hunting me down and it will catch up.

Resources

https://nofilmschool.com/science-fiction-genre

https://helpfulprofessor.com/social-issues-examples/

No Music This Time

     Who doesn’t love music. I mean there’s so many options to choose from, how could you not find something you like. I could listen to music 24/7. But maybe not in the film opening. 

    Grace had finished editing the main parts of the project and…. I wasn’t a fan. You can probably guess what I didn’t like. Well, it was the music. Grace put, I think, violin music/ sounds and I just didn’t think it fit right in this scenario. From my perspective, it sounded more like a film trailer, rather than a film opening. I wasn’t going to let it go, so I told Grace. She didn’t mind removing it, but Max did. He really liked the music in the background. 

    Of course there were other things I commented on, like the sound effects and the black screen at the end, but my group seemed to agree. But back to the sound, we didn’t know what to do. Keep the music, or get rid of it. This is mainly it for the music disagreement, but I think we will talk more about it. But I’m not done. 

    For this project, I am in charge of lighting. Like mentioned previously, I have no clue on how to do this. I found this video on YouTube that talks a little bit about some lighting techniques. 

https://youtu.be/pdjNBAMaA0c?si=jJ-qGOmBQej_9q3P

There isn’t much of it so it will keep looking.

    Okay, I found two videos but I realized that they were from the same creator so I will link his page so that I could keep going back to him.

https://youtube.com/@adobemadesimple?si=9YdGuLKv1reksory

    His account is names “Adobe Made Simple, so IT BETTER BE SIMPLE. I can’t wait to start editing so hopefully Max and Grace finish in time. 

    I know this blog post is short so I will copy Grace and add a quote from a movie. Now, I told her that she should put this quote but she didn’t want to, so I will be putting it into mine.

“Just because my dreams are different than yours, doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.”  - Meg March, Little Woman (2019)

That’s a wrap!

     Okay, now that filming is over, it is time for editing. My group and I already decided what each person is contributing to the project. Grace is in charge of putting each clip together, that means in the right order and making sure the timing is right. Rachel is in charge of sound, Max is putting in all of the credits, and I am in charge of lighting.

    I have no idea how to do lighting. I did not tell my group that but I WILL NOW fail them. I will do my research to create the best lighting you have ever seen. 

    Grace has already started editing the clips together and I’m so excited. I’m also kind of embarrassed as I’m mainly going to see my face. I already saw one clip and I look U.G.L.Y. Hopefully no one pauses the video on my face😊. Back to the point, Grace had majority of the editing done. She showed a Timelapse of her editing and oh my gosh , my group and I were dying laughing. Some of the faces she made were so funny (NOT BULLING, she also thought it was funny.) We had her send those videos to us so we could include them in the blog posting and you will see them later in this post. 

    Even though I’m editing the lighting, and that’s the last of our edits, I decided to help Max out and look for some fonts that we could maybe try out for the credits. Nothing was perfect. I looked and looked but nothing stood out. I gave up. I found one but I’m not sure if Max is going to use it. I’ll leave it up to him… 

My group and I sometimes (a lot of times) get off topic and start yapping about random things. For example, Stranger Things (the best show ever created), Five Nights at Freddy’s, and so much more. But this time, we were talking about the CCR. I will talk more about that in another blog post but all I wanted to say was that Max came up with the craziest ideas ever and we couldn’t stop laughing. I hope he follows along with it though so I can have a good laugh.

Timelapse of editing