SOOOO today was just focused on this project. 

I went to my friend Lucia's house to help her film her CCR, which was sort of like a podcast. This took us around 3 hours actually because lines kept messing up, background noise, ETC. 

Here's a picture of our setup!

Considering the fact we did it in her room with a broken microphone, I actually thought it looked really good.

Anyways after, I went home and filmed my second CCR. I actually took SOOOO much shorter than the first one (because I actually had a script)! I've decided to upload both CCR's AND the opening tomorrow as my blog post since they will definitely be done by then.

Super short blog but it's just a little summary of progress from today!

Fonts

 So when editing, the font of our title and credits are obviously important to Andreina and I so we decided to do some research. We had seen openings and new the font couldn't be "runny" like in a horror film, since the "murder" would just be implied. We wanted something blunt, something that didn't take away from the credits but stood out enough to set the tone.

Here were our top picks:

Bebas

Madina

Magnolia Script

Muday

Honestly, Bebas is the one Andreina and I are leaning towards the most. It is blunt, professional, and even though the target audience is teens to young adults, it sets the tone that this film will be serious. I'll be looking for a similar font when editing, which is going really well! 

More updates tomorrow!

 EDITING!!!
So I've spent a lot of time today editing both my CCR and the opening. I tried to upload the unedited version here just for a peek at what it looks like but it won't load for some reason? It might be my Wifi because SO bad all day, but I NEED to figure this out by Sunday so I can upload my CCR's and the opening. Tomorrow I'm filming my last CCR and editing since I'm basically done editing everything else. 

Working on this project has been so fun, I got to work with my friends, play around, and learn new software and hardware programs! Honestly I feel like eventually it did get frustrating doing soooooo many retakes but looking back at it, it was fun. Even though this project did cause me a some stress, I honestly feel like it was such an important part of this class!

Anyways, tomorrow I'll (try to) upload my finished CCR and the opening! I already have my prop for my second CCR but unfortunately I've had family visiting and the house is rarely quiet. They are leaving tomorrow and even though I'm sad to see them go, this lets me finish my second CCR. 

Bye blog!!!

 ALL filming is finally finished for the opening!!!

The original storyboard was changed a little to make it the script, but when Andreina and I were filming, a lot of things did not translate well on paper. We also decided not to have the police scene at all, just to show how alone Aurora truly is in her situation and had a "phone call" to show that the case was officially closing. The aspect of something Adaliah wears that will later be seen on Aurora was also unfortunately cut out, aa A: our actor is out of town, and B: the mourning mood of Aurora could be passed another way. 

We brought our actor Alex to the park, where we filmed one of our final scenes where she looks at a picture of her and Adaliah as children. We did her makeup on spot but decided to leave out any tear marks as it would be unnoticeable in the lighting.

The scene with Aurora and her mom was also tweaked a little; instead of her mom coming into the room, we had a phone call where Aurora would be mad the case is closing, and ending the scene with her saying "Fine, I'll find out myself." The cliffhanger we left off at truly encapsulates the fact that this is only an opening, giving absolutely no closure to the main conflict. 

This project was truly so fun filming, as our entire group had lots of laughs and retakes throughout!

Andreina says she'll be sending the videos to me as soon as she figures out how to do it on the camera, and I'll begin editing both the CCR and the opening!

My first CCR filming is finally finished!!! Andreina and me got together to film our talk show CCR's, we had filmed mine first since hers was supposed to be a late night talk show. We actually decided that the host's would have a totally different look than what we actually look like, so we drew mustaches on each other! I only needed help with this CCR since it required 2 people and my other CCR will just be an individual film where I address "hate comments" which are actually the questions in disguise. Today, I only answered 2/4 questions, and my other CCR will have the other 2.

Here's a blooper!

As you can see from the frustration, this was one of many takes.

From the research for this CCR, one of the questions required a response on the engagement with audiences with content. I knew that mental health was a big issue in teens, ESPECIALLY in the most recent generations, which is part of the reason me and Andreina chose our target audience to be teens through young adults.

I obviously mentioned an important statistic I found which would also back up the clothing choice we chose in the opening.

Tomorrow will officially be our last day of filming for the opening, with the only scene left being the one with Alex's mom. Then, I'll immediately get to editing and will definitely be filming my second CCR by the end of this week.

Naming our opening

 Me and Andreina are working on our opening's title. I researched mystery movies and notices a common pattern, a lot of them are only 1 or 2 words. 

We also wanted to have some symbolism in the title, and wanted to symbolize on how Aurora kept fighting for Adaliah. We also took into consideration the symbolic meaning of a semicolon, meaning a battle against depression and mental health. Our idea is about putting a single word and then the semicolon as a title. Ex. here; or left;.

I searched up gone synonyms, which none of the words really worked for our title. However, I saw the word "end" and thought that using it before a semicolon may mean that even though Adaliah's story is done, Aurora's isn't. 

Looking through synonyms for end, I also came across remnant, which honestly sound good to us for the title:

-end;

-remnant;

-remains;

Honestly, we liked remains the most, so I decided to keep searching through the web of synonyms and look up similar words to "remains". The synonyms for remains were way too vulgar for us to use as a title and not make it sound like a thriller/ horror genre. 

Like using corpse, body, cadaver, or carcass would shape the intro into an entirely different mood than we want, we want sorrow and mourning, and using titles like that would steer our genre off. Also, remains can be interpreted in several ways that ALSO apply to the plot. Aurora is hanging on to what remains of Adaliah, Adaliah's death, and that Aurora barely has anything that remains of Adaliah. The semicolon is meant to symbolize both the mental health issues in the opening but also the fact Aurora continues fighting for her best friend's justice. 

We really like this title, and all the symbolism behind it.

HEY

Today me, Andreina, and our actors finally finished MOST scenes. Basically, our actor Alex's mom was still out of town and we couldn't film the scene she was in. Also, when filming, some of the storyboard original ideas had to be changed and tweaked so it would be more convenient for everyone and flow together.

Right now, we have 2 major scenes left. One scene at the library which we will film after school. With the scene that Alex's mom is in, we will be filming on Tuesday after school since everyone is available there. Andreina told me that she'll send me the footage either today or tomorrow, and we can start editing during class or after school together!

For my CCR's, I'll need to start filming my first one while editing the opening, since editing isn't something that I really need to leave the house for.

Here are some cute BTS photos and a video!

I actually a lot of fun filming today because making the "bruise" on our actor was so chaotic and my entire group got a laugh out of it! When we stopped at the mall, we even got a little carried away and bought some drinks.

Also for spring break, I'll be focusing mainly on these projects because I have NO school to keep me distracted with homework or other projects! I'm definitely going to be working on my second CCR idea so I can film over break, and edit in the last few days so everything will be finished by that time.

Until next time!

 CCR IDEAS

So when my teacher gave us a lesson on CCR's I already had an idea i THOUGHT was really creative. She had mentioned that her previous students had used trending interview styles and used those to do their CCR's, so I thought about what was currently trending. I realized that I have been seeing a lot of 'get ready with me' videos, where someone is just doing a basic thing (like makeup) and talking about other things meanwhile. I knew I could easily edit in some graphics and go in my bathroom, which would be a wonderful filming area for me. 

My original idea was me doing a 'do my makeup with me for my interview' where I would answer some questions. The second media product would be the actual interview, where I would answer the other questions. However, when I asked my teacher about the idea, she said that MANY other students had done this, and done it HORRIBLY. Honestly, I wasn't surprised that lots of other people had done it, but I didn't expect them all to be done bad! She said that I would probably be a talking head, and that the focus would be my actions in the video, not my responses to the questions. Honestly, I see the problems with it now

So for my second idea, I was thinking of doing a 'suggestion box' approach, where there would be paper in a box, I shake it, and it would be a hate comment or a simple question. To choose my specific question to answer, I was thinking of sticking my hand in the box off-camera, and picking up the piece of paper which is not in the box, making it look like I reached in the box to pick it out. With this, I can have all sorts of freedom with graphics or other things I could do, such as pointing to a part of the screen, where a graphic would pop up.

My other idea is still in the making, maybe I could make a paparazzi interview where I walk around while answering questions. This one's still a ROUGH draft so it'll probably change. 

Anyways, tomorrow will (hopefully) be our last filming day, where we can finish all the scenes!

 Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

So basically the script was finished days ago and we JUST began filming today. We decided to do most the house scenes at first since it's all in one area, too. However, our actor Alex's mom is out of town for the next couple of days so we have to postpone that part of the story. On Sunday we'll be filming all the scenes outside of the house, which is only a few. Here's some behind the scene shots!!

As you can see, our filming site looks pretty upper class. Since we obviously can't trash her house, I've decided that editing in coloring will be something we have to depend on. I was thinking about using extremely warm and grey tones, to make the scene feel smaller as well as a little ickier.

As you can also see, we decided to use a professional camera for this one, as the extra details may make the opening feel more realistic. For the opening flashback scene, Andreina actually provided a digital camera, to give it that extra depth. 

Next filming time is Sunday, which we will most likely finish filming! I may start editing before Sunday just to see how it looks, but I will definitely be reviewing footage to see if we have to refilm. Bye blog!

 STORYBOARD!!!

SO I've finished the whole storyboard. Honestly the story itself should fit around 2 minutes and ends on an unfinished conflict, so that makes it clear its only an opening. I've just sent them over to Andreina and now I'm waiting for her response! Obviously this storyboard is ONLY if the police actually let us film in there, there's still an alternate scene if they don't just in case! I'm a little scared because I feel like some of the opening might not reach 2 minutes, but if not I can always add more scenes that would build up the plot or characters.

Before next weekend, I plan to make a mood board of all the characters on Pinterest and make a document describing their outfits, their dialogues, how they'll speak, and personalities. When the time comes to film, the script and the document with character information can be printed and given to our actors! For Aurora's mom, we'll definitely be using Alex's (our actor) mom. 

Here's a run through of the storyboards:

I feel like the scenes in Alex's bedroom will be the longest, maybe something like 45 seconds overall since it has the most dialogue, but if the opening is too short, we can always add more scenes to the very beginning to create more of a relationship between them two or add scenes after Aurora leaves the police station!

Locations of filming:

Most scenes are actually right in Alex's house! That means a lot of our filming can be done on 1 day in 1 location. 

Bye blog!

 STORYBOARDING!!! This blog will be fairly short because I'll just be showing progress and my plan for tomorrow.

So I've storyboarded a good amount of the story so far and established exactly where we would film. Surprisingly, all the locations are either nearby or directly in Alex's house, SO convenient! The locations are written on a notecard + which scenes have the same locations. Once I finish the storyboard, I'll review with Andreina and then we'll start the script! A lot of the dialogue is written in the storyboard already so it shouldn't take long.

:List of locations to film

Storyboards:

I tried to incorporate the length that the scenes should be in the beginning, but as you can see it kind of got harder to predict by the second page, as some scenes could take longer than others. Even so, since it's kind of unpredictable, I could have the time stamps off and throw my whole project off. 

Tomorrow, I plan on finishing the rest of the storyboard so me and Andreina can just quickly go through it, revise it if necessary, and write the script. By LATEST the script should be done by Wednesday, which then we can start filming over next weekend. Since a lot of the locations are close together, it should only take a couple days and then we can get on to editing! But that's thinking too far ahead and not considering any difficulties we could possibly run into. 

Storyboard update tomorrow!

 Okay since Andreina is gone basically this entire weekend, I've decided to start, and maybe try to finish the script.

We almost have everything done before we staet filming, going through our actors' closets to choose their outfits. I've also decided that over the weekend, I'll start storyboarding our main scenes just so we can have an overall idea on what the opening will look like. The sheriff's office is pretty close and we only need to film 1 scene there, which if they say no I already have an alternative scene. This scene will probably go something like Aurora in her house when her mom gets home on the phone, hangs up the phone, and tells her that the police have basically closed the case. If the police do let us film our scene, all we need one of them to do is say something along the lines of "Sorry, but there's really nothing we can do. But hey kid, if you buy me something maybe I can work extra hard." I included that last line to make sure the viewers know that the police there are unprofessional and badly hired. 

We already know that we will be filming in Andreina's street since the houses there are somewhat close together, plus the gaps are covered with trees and bushes. However, I know that we cannot use establishing shots or shots that show a lot of the setting, as the cars are nice-looking and will ruin the setting we are trying to make. We will also be doing tight and personal shots in the sheriff's office itself, as the place is presentable, clean, and is filled with people who look of high to middle class citizens. 

Me and Andreina have already considered how realistic it is to ACTUALLY film a funeral shot, because we can't just go to a graveyard and film a random person's grave for a project, or even get a casket. So for this scene we will most likely indicate a funeral that already happened. How I see it is basically the opening begins with the two-shot montage, the abrupt black screen and title, then Aurora sitting alone on a bench in a park with a black dress, smudged makeup, and a picture of them two together. This will bring the funeral and mourning effect WITHOUT the actual use of one. 

Tomorrow or Sunday, I will begin scripting and storyboarding. I think I'll run into problems when I consider how realistic me and Andreina's ideas are for filming, but for now since I have not gone into actual detail of each scene, we should be able to film all the scenes just fine. Even if we won't be able to, I know we can just make an alternative scene with creativity and maybe the help of a few peers.

Hopefully Andreina and I can finish this script ASAP so we can film, which won't take long considering we will have an exact idea of what to film and how, and then spend the rest of the time being able to edit, ask others what they think, and even make some foley.

Bye for now!

 Character Backgrounds

Andreina and I have thought about the background information of the characters that will will subtly hint to during the opening. 

Since we already established that the setting would take place in a low-income city, we thought it would also make sense to have Adalia's home life be rough, which is the main reason for her being targeted. Because of the home life, Adalia will also be a timid character, not knowing how to fight back or stand up for herself. She will dress much like any other teenage girl since she is constantly trying to fit in with everyone else and not stand out. However, since she gets bullied, her outfits will change drastically throughout the opening to her wearing much baggier clothing. 

Aurora's neighborhood, which is different from Adalia's, has houses much closer together. Because of this, the community bonds and family bonds are much better. 

Similar to this

Since they are also close, we plan to have Adalia always persist on going to Aurora's home, saying things like Aurora's family is like her second family, her neighbors are much nicer, and she feels safe there, hinting she does anything to avoid going home. Aurora's attire will be similar to Adalia's to show their closeness even though their personalities contrast.

Example of Aurora's style of clothing                                     Example of Adalia's early style of clothing

                                                     

Example of Adalia's later style

For specific details, Adalia will always be wearing a certain necklace, which we will make sure to include shots of in the opening, and will later be worn by Aurora. We also included that Adalia begins wearing a certain hoodie often, which Aurora will also be seen wearing in a later scene. We OBVIOUSLY will not show Aurora physically getting it, but she will just be shown wearing it later on.

 New progress report! 

Me and Andreina settled on names that we like, FINALLY!

Basically we knew we wanted names that had some sort of meaning, even though no one would care to search them up, it would've been a cute detail to put in. In class, we searched up girl names that symbolized death. There were multiple names that were cute, but overall to used. We really wanted a name that would be simple, a little uncommon, and have a meaning of loss. We narrowed it down to around 3 names but eventually chose "Adalia" since it was a name that we could envision our actor having.

Obviously, this character will be the one that passes.

For our other character, we either wanted to have a normal name, or also a symbolic one. On one side, having a "normal" name with no meaning could mean that Adalia's name would symbolize the both, showing that the plot really focuses on her, but having the other character's name also symbolize something could shape some of her personality and show that she's more than just Adalia's friend. 

Me and Andreina went to search names that symbolized hope, perseverance, willpower, or an overall strong meaning meant to show how persistent the character is. We saw the name "Aurora", saw that it meant dawn and the light of a new beginning, and knew we wanted to use that one. I also felt like their names being somewhat similar could give extra feeling that the characters were extremely close, like family but not by blood. 

For other side characters, their names will have no significance and probably just be simple to focus the audience on the main characters. However, we've decided that everyone in the opening's styles will be different based on relationships and personalities. For example, Aurora's style will be completely different from Adalia's, but her style will be similar to her other friends. Adalia's mom and grandma will have similar styles and personalities, but will differ from Aurora's mom and grandma. 

However, since Adalia's a special character, her style will have a meaning behind it. I was planning that Adalia and Aurora's characteristics and mannerisms could be somewhat similar to show their closeness and have Adalia's change slowly but enough for the audience, and Aurora, to see. 

Until next time!