Creative Critical Reflection

 And, of course, here are my CCR productions!

Video 1:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/194JE2XdljW4M_Mg9akrDbVJlHZeW49VV/view?usp=sharing 

Video 2:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nEFdPlO-6pppWdHDviFdZNtm5MCoS2GD/view?usp=sharing

Film Opening

 The day has finally arrived! Here is my film opening in all its glory. I hope you enjoy it! :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h1QItEx0qZ0Qog-vwG6kOmPM_5QTal2A/view?usp=sharing 

The End

     The day is finally here! Everything is completed, and wow, what a journey it has been. I've learned so much from this project, like how important it is to create a schedule and work in a timely manner and how to adapt to changes. My actors being unavailable to shoot, not being able to upload my videos onto my computer, and a picture frame not detaching from the wall have all taught me how to adapt and succeed no matter what the circumstance. I was able to surpass these challenges and even challenge myself to be involved in all of the stages of creating a movie (or at least the first 2 minutes of it). I learned so much about the hardware involved in filming, what the best sound for scenes are, how to edit, and how to implement so many different ideas into an organized project.

    I'm honestly really glad that I chose to do this portfolio project individually, because it was a journey that I could only have shared with myself. I have learned so much about my own working habits and my stylistic preferences. I'm also extremely happy that I was able to perfectly portray the idea that was in my mind and share it with everyone. Mental health, especially regarding teenagers, is a topic that I'm passionate about, and I'm grateful to have had this experience and to have been able to share the importance of this to others. And now if I ever need to add text onto a video with complete creative freedom, I know just the place to go. #ILoveCanva

    Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Are We There Yet?

    During the filming of the last CCR video, I realized it’d be difficult to recreate a whole sales pitch setting, so I opted for the next best thing! A sales pitch during quarantine! I thought it’d be both funny and convenient for myself to transform the last two questions into a sales pitch during 2020. At the very start of the video I place text that described the location and date of the “zoom meeting.” With that little tweak, filming has been 100% completed! It’s crazy to think that this is the end of what has been a long chapter. I have already edited most of it together as well, taking advantage of some free time I had during the day, so I’m almost completely finished with the entire project! 

    With the end of this project, sadly comes the end of high school. Now that we’re entering April, it’ll be a whirlwind of events and exams until graduation. Reflecting back on this project, it couldn’t have been a better way to close off my time at high school. It’s been a project that I’ve had to dedicate a lot of time and energy into, as well as a way I’ve been  able to demonstrate everything that I’ve learned. I think I’ve modeled the character Alejandro and the goals for the target audience after what I expect to see in media myself. Just like in a coming-of-age movie, life is filled with frightening and fast changes, constantly throwing obstacles your way, and I thought it was important to be able to showcase that.

    I’m so glad that I’ve been able to adapt and curate the project into a physical demonstration of my hard work. From having to find the right font and figuring out how to apply it to tweaking the storyline slightly because a soccer picture was attached too tightly to the wall, this project has been a whirlwind of emotions. Now that I went through all the stress of editing the film opening and not knowing which software was the right one for me, I feel like a professional when it comes to editing the CCRs. Luckily the editing doesn’t require as much flourish as the film opening did, but I’m becoming extremely satisfied with how they are turning out.

Close to the End...

     Filming for the first videos has been completed! It went pretty smoothly, and I had to refer back to my script a lot, but I really like how the actual "acting" videos provide a break for both the viewers and for myself to add a sense of entertainment. I have to edit it now and add some pictures onto the scenes, but I want to film the second round of videos to get all the filming done before I have to sit down and edit them all. I filmed every part of my script, but I’m thinking to take the audio of some sections and use it as a voiceover over images so that it’s not just me talking the whole time. As per mise-en-scene elements, I filmed it in my home office which already had some props and set design that gave off the academia mood, and I used a notebook that looked a little bit aged. For the second set of videos, the most important mise-en-scene element will be a semi-professional outfit to portray the tone of a sales pitch.


    Moving onto the last two questions, I started the Canva presentation to be able to add in images that mimic a slideshow. I know I have praised it before, but Canva truly has been my life saver this entire project. So, don’t worry - Canva will definitely be mentioned in my CCR! I found a presentation template through Canva’s template slide that was already modeled for a “pitch.” It’s by the creator Rayya Studio, and I kept the images and the style for the most part, but I added in my own information as well as changed the color scheme slightly to my own preferences. 



    Now it’s time to do my last filming (EVER!!) for this project. It’s definitely bittersweet but I’m so glad with how everything has been turning out and where I am now because of this project. I have learned about my own timing and hard work in a depth that I never could have imagined. It was also nice to show what I have learned and to be able to reflect on it. I’ll report back when I’m entering the editing stage! I can’t believe this is almost the end! Ahhhh!!!

CCR Progress

    All four scripts for their respective questions have been completed! The first two questions are the longest scripts and will be answered through the Harry Potter idea. I also started to compile media photos in an album that I could show on the screen as well as sources that I can cite. Most of the sources are from my research process and have already been mentioned in past blogs. For the remaining questions, I have also begun to start on my Canva project, but I mainly wanted to make sure I had everything ready to begin filming the first two videos. I already know the perfect location to film the starter scenes too! The office in my house has a dark and mysterious look (due to the dark wood and academia vibes) so I’m hoping it aids in the mood that I’m going for.

    For the effect of being transported inside the flashback, I think I’m going to add the silvertone filter at 50% to give the scenes a dreamy look. The reason I’m only applying 50% of the filter is because I think the full black and white look would make the scenes boring. In writing my scripts and having to reflect back on my work, I’m honestly very proud of myself. It was nice to be able to create a project that reflects on the media industry’s conventions and to use what I’ve learned in class and through research in a real-life situation. Specifically in regards to the first question, I also had to reflect back on my process and explain why I chose to challenge the tradition of the lighthearted and comedic coming-of-age genre in grouping it with the drama genre. I got to state my reasoning of wanting to show real teenage emotions and portraying the struggles that many people could relate to in a realistic manner. Mental health is a topic that I strongly advocate for and it was nice to tie in my own values and interests for a project that has become such a prominent task in my life.

    So, now it’s time to film! This must be what it feels like to film the last episode of a series. However, after the filming, comes the editing, and the editing process is never over! Yes, this is my attempt at transitioning back to the editing of my film opening. After showing my film opening to my friend who had taken AICE Media Studies previously as well as to my parents, I listened to their commentary and the film opening is finally complete. I’m glad I got to get their advice on the project because it helped to have extra pairs of eyes, and for the most part, their critiques were to shorten or lengthen certain scenes by a few seconds to help with the flow. They mainly critiqued the length of a few scenes during the very start (scenes of the objects along with credits), so I managed to shorten a few of them while still following the rhythm of the sound. Everything came out so well and I’m so happy with the end results!! Now onto the CCR to finally be done with this project! 

Starting my CCR...

     Now that I've finished my film opening, it's time to get started on my CCR. After my teacher had explained the general instructions for the CCR and showed us a few samples, I began to wonder how I can showcase my creativity while also answering the questions. Right from the start, I knew that I wanted to implement a presentation from Canva in some way, because as I've mentioned, I love Canva. I believe that through Canva, I'd be able to make a few slides that are both visually engaging and will contribute some media and graphs/text to my CCR. Since the CCRs will be in a video format and I will most likely have to create two separate videos (2 questions per video), I wanted to think of another idea as well. Thinking about what to do as my teacher was showing us some samples, it hit me. Harry Potter! No, I won't do a quidditch theme CCR, but there's a scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where Harry writes questions into a notebook and the magical notebook answers back with a flashback. I thought this could be a very cool idea and add an entertaining aspect to the project. I would most likely answer the first two questions, as they require more thought and depth, through this method.


    So, knowing that I want to tackle these first two questions with the inspiration from the Harry Potter scene, I think I'm going to first film scenes of myself writing the questions into a notebook, and rather than the notebook writing back, there will be an effect to transition into the explanations of the questions. I don't want to be talking to the camera the entire time, so maybe I'll add some acting scenes of confusion as well as media examples for more of a visually engaging video. As these will be longer answers, I'll have to create a script and practice more ahead of time to have seamless answers. I'm going to also create a script for the second set of questions, but I don't have to practice as much since I'm planning to do it in a presentation format.
    In order to make the presentation videos more entertaining, I want to make it more like I'm pitching an important project to a company. I think this aspect of acting and embodying a character will make the video more entertaining, and it will make more sense with the formal templates that are available on Canva. I think it's also amusing that the two videos are very contrasting, one being about whimsical magic and the other being about a serious business pitch. This will show two sides to my creativity and will hopefully appeal to different aspects of viewership, seeking both logic and fun. Since I have my ideas down, the next steps are to create my scripts, create the Canva slides, and gather the materials I need. It's crazy to think that I'll soon be completely done with this project... Can't wait to see how everything turns out!

A Whole (Old) World

    Right when I had finished editing most of my project, specifically the scenes with actors, it was time to add in the sound at the beginning and I, of course, ran into an uh oh. I had found the perfect sound to use from bulletproofbear.com, a website that my teacher had referred as it offers royalty free music. In the website’s search engine it says you are able to search for moods, so I looked up “moody” and after listening to different options, I liked the audio labeled Urban Island by Gregory Scott Reeves! So, thank you Mr. Gregory! I liked it even better when I slowed it down slightly for a slower vibe. However, once I had to add the audio onto the scenes (especially to be able to tweak the length of some of the clips to sound better with the song), I couldn’t find the option to add my own sound on Adobe Premiere Rush. It was at this moment that all my frustrations exploded, and I neglected all my intentions to learn a new software and I took my entire project to iMovie. iMovie has never let me down. Why didn’t I just use iMovie from the first place? Why is my loyalty so feeble? UGH!!!!!!!


    Well, enough of the drama. After moving my project to iMovie, I was able to add in the music and edited the lengths of each credit scene to some of the beats of the music. Watching it back, I’m so happy with how everything is turning out, and I’m loving how the font (Montserrat) appears. I chose for the text to be light blue to go with the overall mood of the opening film and what the movie is supposed to represent. Not only is blue a representation of sadness which can allude to Alejandro’s grief, but the blue also matches well with his graduation gown that is later shown. I also edited the song to end when Alejandro is tapping on his phone, transforming the sound into a diegetic one and then leading into the playing of the voicemail. 


    Placing everything together, I’m soooo happy with how it’s looking and I think it’s finally done! I’m going to look at it again with a pair of fresh eyes later on to ensure that I didn’t miss anything or that something is edited wrongly. I also want to show it to my family members to hear their feedback while I still have some time to fix anything. Looking back on my process, I have definitely learned a lot and have grown as a person in both the context of a content creator and a student. I was (mostly) able to use my time wisely and put what I’ve learned into practice. Though I went through some obstacles, I’m glad I was able to find other solutions that ended up benefitting the overall final look of the opening. Something I forgot to mention, was that I had to cut the detail about the main character playing soccer because it was difficult to get symbols like pictures or trophies to demonstrate his soccer career. The picture I had also shown before () was stuck to the wall and it was the only printed team picture that my family or even the actor’s family had. I didn’t want to print a picture using my own printer because I knew it would’ve looked out of place, and also who prints their own team picture on regular copy paper to hang in their room? To defeat this obstacle, like I had to surpass many others, I decided to work around it and just make do with what I had. Without even knowing that I had initially planned to include that detail, the opening still appears to be seamless. But for the most part, YAY! The film opening is complete!



Fonts and Credits

     So, after continuing to edit my opening film, I have run into an uh oh. Curious as to what types of fonts the software I'm using offers, I realized that, though it has a various amount of font options, it only allows the text to be in a determined spot on the frame. I was really unhappy by this because it really messed up with the look that I had envisioned for all the shots. I also didn't want to get ahead of myself by looking at different fonts on Google because I knew that once I found a way to implement a text in the spot I desire, that software is going to have a limited amount of fonts to use, too. However, not to get married to the idea, but I already envision the text to be a thin yet strict/boxy shape wise, which will hopefully be a pretty easy font to find.

    My reasoning for what I'm looking for in the font is that I don't want the text to necessarily look feminine (meaning to have a flowy or curvy sense) but I also don't want the text to be bold, the thinness symbolizing Alejandro's very own hesitation of stepping out into the world. For the title of the film, specifically, I want the letters to be slightly separated from each other to emphasize the feelings of loneliness and awkwardness that my character feels throughout the movie. I'm thinking for it to look kind of like the title slide of the film Submarine. A font that already represents the image I have in my head is the font Montserrat. I was hoping that whatever software I found had a font similar to this one.

    The reason fonts are so important in a film, especially at the very start, is because it helps create a mood and atmosphere when the audience is still being introduced to everything. It very easily gives away the aesthetic of the movie and in what artistic sense the movie is going to be presented. That's why I owe my LIFE to Canva, the software that made it possible to add text to my videos in the manner I desired with an abundance of fonts to choose from! Canva is a software that makes it extremely easy to present information and design templates in a creative manner. I already knew I loved it to death, but now I love it even more when this message popped up on my screen. Words cannot describe my excitement, and I immediately began to add the credit scenes and titles to my scenes before adding them back to the complete project in Adobe Premiere Rush. I still have a few finishing touches to do regarding the sound, but I'm so happy with how everything is turning out. Nearing the end of creating the opening film, I have begun to start thinking on ways to present my CCR. So, definitely stay tuned for that!


Me vs. My Computer

     So, I can safely say that Adobe Premier Pro is nothing like iMovie. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I decided to take my editing skills to the next level and tackle a new software program, but it took a while to get used to it. I, first, had to transport all my videos onto my computer via Google Drive. This required going through them and I quicky edited some of the clips where it was easier to use my fingers to zoom in or change the orientation. When exporting the clips onto Google Drive, I also took the liberty of labeling them in an efficient manner to help the progress go more smoothly. I, of course, labeled the video with the subject or scene that appeared, but I also labeled my preference over repeated clips in order to remember which one I liked seeing on my phone better. The reason I didn't just go ahead and delete all the clips that I didn't think I was going to use was because I wanted to make sure that I had all the footage available in case I run into any problems.

    After I organized all my footage, I had to import them into a new project on Adobe Premiere Pro. This is where I started to get confused because where iMovie had a plus option to add new media and a single screen to work with, Adobe Premiere Pro looked like THIS (↓). It took a lot of exploring and clicking random symbols to finally find the place where I could import my videos. And it was at this moment that my computer decided it didn't like me. Every time I tried to download a video from my Google Drive onto my computer, it wouldn't take the file in a video format. I struggled for about 30 minutes with my mom's help, and I finally decided to give up. No matter which method I would try (emailing, Dropbox), my computer was unable to show me some love and download the videos in their original formats. That's when I had to part with my dreams of using Adobe Premier Pro, but I still didn't want to use iMovie because I knew it only had a limited amount of fonts and editing techniques. Looking for an answer and trying to see what I could maybe accomplish on my iPad, I found a software called Adobe Premier Rush: Edit Video.

    
    It seemed that Adobe Premiere Rush was a simpler and beginner version of Adobe Premiere Pro. I was glad to have found it because now I could still discover a new software program that offers more techniques and skills while also using something that's more to my level. It also proved to be extremely beneficial for importing my media since all of my videos were already on my iCloud. Once I downloaded the APP, I immediately got started on editing the film opening. I, FINALLY, imported my videos onto the software and began to separate the audio from the clips and deleted the audios. I still need to explore different music that I could implement into the scenes, but I do know that I don't want my own footsteps or breathing to be heard. After the long process of putting everything together, my scenes seem to be looking good! The next step is to find the right font and add in the credits to their appropriate scenes. Without any text, the clips of the objects look pretty bare and it's hard to tell how long they have to be without knowing what it will all look like. The scenes of the actors, however, are all edited in and I now need to work on adding any background sounds and the voicemail! I'm so happy with how everything is turning out and being able to see my project closer to the finish line gives me a lot of relief and excitement! Now, I have to work on finding the correct font so that I'll be able to complete the finishing touches on my film opening!


Compare video editing Tool Plans and pricing | adobe. (n.d.). https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/compare-plans.html 

Completed Filming Process

    Today was my last day of filming and it has been a success! Luckily, my star actor was able to portray the emotions well and pay attention to my stage directions. I took multiple takes of all the shots to ensure that I would have a satisfactory collection of clips and I even recreated some of the shots of the objects in the room because there was a different lighting (a special thanks to the Sun for constantly being in motion and constantly changing what my scenes look like). First, when the actors arrives, I told them to change into their costumes (the formal attire) and told them about the overall plot of the idea. I thought it was good for them to understand where the story was going in order for them to better play the part. It was extremely beneficial for my main actor to have been in the same position as Alejandro, a teenager who is about to graduate, because he was able to embody the anxious persona well and move across the room with weight and anxiety. 


    Next, I began to work through the scenes in order, especially since I didn't want our natural light source showing up at different intensities and angles in sequential scenes. We started to film our scenes and I was sure to keep looking at my shot list for reference because I wanted to ensure a variety of shot types in the opening. I also let the actor take his own creative liberty and asked him to make movements that felt comfortable and natural. This is what also led to the changing of some scenes like instead of Alejandro sitting on the bed, he sits on the chair. My actor thought sitting on the chair would flow easier and after seeing a few practice movements I agreed to give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did, because I liked what we were able to film utilizing the chair rather than the bed which had a boring backdrop. Thankfully, both of the actors already know each other well (one being my dad, and the other being my boyfriend), so they were comfortable filming with each other and accepted each other's suggestions. I filmed my dad's scenes after all of the scenes with Alejandro because of a timing issue, but I actually like how their disconnection can be seen through them never appearing in the frame together.

    When I was filming, I was also sure to create a lingering moment for my movie's title to appear. It's exciting to think that I am now moving on to the editing phase and need to look deeper into fonts and sounds. I already have some ideas for a font (something thin and dainty yet masculine) that I'm excited to look out for and implement. In class, we also began to learn about the Creative Critical Reflection and what the entails for the future of this project. I'm excited to see where this is going! For now, I need to focus on editing and begin to finalize my film opening portion for this project. I've edited projects before, but mainly through the use of my phone and the software iMovie, but I'm interested in figuring out how to use Adobe Premier Pro in order to have a better range of tools accessible. Wish me luck!

Note: Finally, it works to embed my own video! Prepare for more sneak peeks soon!

Filming Progress

    Filming has officially commenced! I, first, wanted to capture the shots of the objects placed around the room. My hands are not the steadiest in the world (God knows I could never be a brain surgeon), so after taking a few practice shots of items around the room, I knew I would've needed the help of some filming tools. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a camera stabilizer from my teacher and the rest of the shots appeared much better. Some movement is still detectable, but I wanted to hold the camera rather than use a tripod because I wanted to give the scenes a sense of natural movement as there is already a lack of excitement and movement in the scenes, being shots of only the items. I wanted to go for a homey and realistic feeling, like as if the scenes were being witnessed by the audiences own eyes. I was inspired by the memories captured by the character Yang from the film After Yang, and I wanted to create that same feeling of tranquility. 


    For the most part, I'm really satisfied with how everything looks. I'm taking multiple shots of an item/area at different angles, lengths, and focuses. My phone has a setting on the video mode called "Cinematic" where it takes the video at different focus pulls. This is a cool feature because I'm able to focus on different things by activating what's called the "AF Tracking Lock." I'm hoping this will give my film a more sophisticated look with more dimension as not all of the scenes will be constantly in deep focus. I'm also content with how the lighting is going. I was worried that it wouldn't look bright enough since I was just using the natural light source from the window in the room, but I think it actually gives it a more organic look rather than a bright or harsh overhead light.


    The next scenes to be filmed are with the actual actors! In terms of costume and makeup design, the main character will be well-groomed (his hair neatly done) and in the action of putting on dress pants and a dress shirt. Graduates typically wear formal clothing since the day marks an important achievement. It's not extremely formal where the men wear suit jackets or tuxedos, especially since the graduation gown acts as a jacket anyways, but it's still a pretty formal event where everyone tries their best to look good. That's what makes the opening and Alejandro's actions in it even more impactful because he's running late to his own graduation, clearly not showing must interest in hurrying or getting there on time. This is extremely telling of Alejandro's view of and interactions with the world that the audience will encounter later on in the film. The father character will also be dressed formally, except unlike Alejandro, he'll be wearing the suit jacket for a more mature look.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Right?

      Having some extra time before my actors are ready and available for filming, I wanted to make sure that my audio was 100% ready. After listening back to my two samples, I made an embarassing realization (thanks to a family member) that there isn't much of a difference between either audios. So, after more analyzation I chose the audio where I liked the sound the best and that I thought would best fit the film. It's about twenty seconds long and even after playing it about once and a half times, it won't fill all of the required time. Before playing the first recording of the voicemail, I have decided to fill the silence with a diegetic song. How will it be diegetic? I thought it would be fitting for the main character Alejandro to be listening to music as he is getting ready, and as the song ends, I could input the scene of Alejandro stopping the music and playing the voicemail. The title would then appear at that moment on the wall while the first playing of the audio plays.

Voicemail Sample 

    Thinking back on one of my lessons in class, my teacher had provided a few resources for where to find copyright free music and sounds. The sites she suggested were freesound.org, bulletproofbear.com, bensound.com, and purpleplanet.com. I took the liberty of exploring these different mediums and trying to see if there was a sound that I was inclining to. Bulletproodbear and Bensound, specifically, have royalty free music rather than just sound effects, so I focused on those two. On Bensound, I have the option to peruse between different genres and I'm leaning towards either folk or indie music. While there are some sounds that I'm liking, they all seem to be instrumental and it's a small selection. I then looked at Bulletproofbear, which also seemed to have only instrumental music, but it did have a larger selection under the indie genre.

    Now, it's FINALLY time to start filming and see my ideas in action. It's frustrating to be off schedule, but I'm glad to have been able to decide on a few more set and sound designs. Going into filming, I'll have my actors work with their scripts and then move off script for dialogue scenes, and take multiple takes as I've learned that overshooting is the best method. I'll also make sure to follow my shot list but keep in mind that it's okay to take creative liberty and improvise when a better shot is needed. Next time, I'll have some sample scenes to show!

The Curtain = Filming ...and the Curtain is on Fire

     Unfortunately, filming hasn't been going how I wanted it to be going. I had planned to have most of my footage done by this time, but due to scheduling conflicts and life circumstances it has been difficult to do so. It's even more difficult that the film requires daylight to be coming through the window as it takes place in the morning because by the time I was home most days after school and other events and activities, I only had about an hour of sunlight. Luckily, the universe seems to be on my side and is giving me a helpful hand to allow me to complete my filming, and that is that the clocks are changing an hour ahead due to Daylight Savings. Hopefully, I'll be able to complete all my filming and get back on track with my schedule soon.

    Having unforeseen extra time before the start of filming, luckily, gave me some more time to perfect the props and work on the audios for the film. First, I found the perfect photograph of a young boy's soccer team (belonging to my family) that will help build the context of Alejandro's skills with soccer. I think it's important to show various aspects of the character's life and personality, like the soccer team photo and the Star Wars figurine, to increase Alejandro's relatability. Relatability is important to a coming-of-age film, and I also wanted to emphasize how Alejandro is a well-rounded category who had life going extremely well for him. This is what makes his mother's death that much harder on him because he is broken out of his "perfect" life and can't find the way back. I have also decided to definitely add some piles of clothes over the hamper to create the sense of disorder, symbolizing how Alejandro now feels about his life. I also found this old cube that belonged to my older brother which contains baby photos of him with my mother and my father. I thought a cool shot could be to show the cube at an angle where both photos can be seen, acting as another symbol of how his youth represented the perfect days of his life and how that has now been lost.


                                 

    On a good note, I was also able to record two versions of the mother's voicemail. First, I talked to the actress on how I want the tone and words to sound. Luckily the actress is my own mother and I asked for her to embody a motherly nature as if she were actually leaving a voicemail to one of her kids. After practicing a few times and going over the script, we tried a few different recordings of the scene. As only her voice is required, she was able to read from the script directly, which helped with her lack of memorization. At the start, we had only been recording the audio as a normal video to get used to it. Then we moved on to actually leaving a voicemail on a phone to be able to get the exact distortion and sound that comes from a phone call. I was sure to get a satisfactory audio from each method of recording because I'm unsure if the sound will be clear in the final product of the film.

2 Minutes till Curtain

     The time for filming has arrived! Real quick before I begin to assemble props and film, I wanted to create a shot list to make the process that much easier. In my past school projects, specifically for the music video where I was the camerawoman, I didn't follow any template for my shots and would try to get the shot in whichever manner I saw fit. While ensuring that the shot is aesthetically pleasing and accomplishing what I want, I also want to accurately display my knowledge of shots and compile the best shots to give my project a professional look. So, the shot list I created will hopefully prove to be useful in combining different techniques and camera angles. My shot list omits the specific shots of the inanimate objects around Alejandro's bedroom simply because those will all be fully displayed at the center of the frame and I didn't want to be repetitive.

    Below is my official shot list for my film opening. For the most part, it mainly consists of medium shots in order for the viewers to see Alejandro's movements as well as the background to know that the props previously shown were parts of his bedroom and important to his character. With the inclusion of a close up shot, my goal is to give insight on the characters' feelings and facial expressions as Alejandro is going through a lot of emotions. In shot 7 (labeled below), I had Alejandro facing away from the door and wanted to display the dad in the background in a shallow focus (Alejandro being the subject in focus) to emphasize how Alejandro feels alone and is beginning to shut out those around him. I wanted to expand on this sense of separation in shot 8 through the long shot of both characters on either side of the frame, creating a huge gap between the two. Writing down my shot list, I was also able to land on the idea of showing the title on the wall after Alejandro first puts the voicemail to record for the second time, as previously recommended by a classmate.

Shot

Scene Description

Shot Type

1

(interrupting compilation shots of props) Alejandro, with the towel hung around his neck, walks towards the desk and swipes on his phone.

  • Voicemail plays

Medium Shot (knees up)

Alejandro at the right third of screen

2

(end of compilation shots of props) Alejandro, shirt unbuttoned, spins around as the voicemail ends

Medium Shot (mid-torso up)

Alejandro centered

3

Alejandro walks towards the desk and taps on his phone again

  • Voicemail repeats

Medium Shot (waist up)

Pan to the Right as Alejandro walks

4

Alejandro continues getting ready, focus on sad expression

  • Knock is heard

Close Up

5

Alejandro lunges back to the phone to end voicemail

Medium Shot

6

Dad opens the door and peeks his head

  • “Ale, come on. You’re gonna be late.”

Medium Shot (knees up)

7

Alejandro, phone in hand, speaks over his shoulder

  • “I didn’t even answer the knock.”

Close Up

Shallow Focus

Alejandro slightly at left third

8

Dad stares at Alejandro with a sympathetic look, deep thought

Close Up

9

Alejandro moves to put on socks. Dad remains at the door

  • “At least I knocked, hm? Hurry up, everything’s in the car.”

Dad leaves

Long Shot

10

Alejandro sits on the bed for a moment and gets up, stares at thee distance

Medium Shot (knees up)

Tilts Up as Alejandro stands

11

Graduation gown hanging on closet

Eyeline Match

12

Alejandro takes a deep inhale and begins to move, camera lingers on window for a moment once Alejandro leaves frame

Close Up

    Having to gather a few last-minute props to add to the set, I first want to record at least a rough draft of this mom's voicemail to be able to film accordingly to it's timing as well as for the cast to have a realistic sense of what is going on in the scene. My own mom has been casted as the mother in the film and I'll work with her for her to convey my desired tone, but I have a lot of faith that she can do it well, especially since it won't require much acting. The main actor for Alejandro, though, will have more trouble with conveying the emotions and acting as he has no experience with acting. For this reason, I tried to include as little close-up shots as possible for the project to look more seamless. I'm really excited to start filming and it's not long before showtime!

Creative Critical Reflection

 And, of course, here are my CCR productions! Video 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/194JE2XdljW4M_Mg9akrDbVJlHZeW49VV/view?usp=sharing  V...