AICE Media Studies

Hello this is my creative critical reflection. I uploaded 3 separate videos including the questions. I would have uploaded these videos as a whole, but I could not because the video was too large to be embedded into this blog. I hope you enjoy.  

This project took a lot of time and effort. I worked very hard on this project. I am very excited to present my final task. I hope you enjoy.

In my last blog, I described how much editing I done so far. One of the biggest problems I had when editing was the length. My final task was entirely way too long. Although I did shorten some of the clips on my phone before uploading them into the editing software my video was still over 2 minutes. Even after doing the short little cutting in iMovie my movie was 5 minutes and 45 seconds long in total and I had to find a way to shorten this all down to two minutes. Initially I tried shortening all my titles and try to keep everything else. But this wasn't enough my video was still too long. Next I began removing a few of my scenes and titles that I felt didn't have to be included. When I say I "removed my titles" I didn't actually remove them I just decided to put the titles at the start of my scene. I removed backgrounds for instance the ones on the dresser because some of them were pointless. Cutting my video down to 2:00 minutes was extremely difficult. I ended...

 Last blog I finished filming practically all the scenes for my film. The only thing I was missing was the picture for the background for one of my titles. I wasn't able to do this last week because I did not have access to a printer at the time. But this weekend I was able to go a library and print the picture out to fit the picture frame. This week I did a lot of editing using this website called "clip champ". I added music to my video but I felt like it was too loud during the parts where there were dialogue in some scenes.  I didn't want to decrease the volume of my music for the whole video only for when the scenes actually started. I'm thinking about probably just cutting the music off after the last title slide I feel like it would flow a little better. I'm still indecisive at the moment but for now I'm keeping the music playing the entire time.  My final task was too long at first so I tried to shorten some of my titles. I felt like that was the be...

In my last blog I stated that I finished filming scenes 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Filming these scenes were pretty challenging but I was successful in filming. However I did not know the obstacles that awaited for me ahead. When filming scene 5 it was really hard to go from filming on the phone holder to filming by hand. Trying to record while driving is pretty difficult because holding the camera still is almost impossible. It took and extremely long time to film these car scenes, I took so many retakes. We were driving through our neighborhood for around 15 minutes total trying to get things right. For scene 6, where Ashlynn picked Rena up from school, Ashlynn was originally going to be seated in the passenger side as she did in the previous scene (scene 5). But I soon noticed that it didn't make sense for two sisters to have a conversation while one is in the passenger of an Uber and one is sitting in the backseat alone. I believed this did not make sense because if one sister had th...

Recently I filmed scenes 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. For scene 7, I used my sister's phone for this since my phone was being used to record. In order to get the phone to ring I had one of my other sisters use my mom's phone to call my sister's phone and just changed her contact name to "Rena's school". In scene 7 when Ashlynn walks over to Rena's room I decided to have it filmed as a pan rather than having Ashlynn just walk pasts the camera. In scene 8, I showed Rena from a high angle laying in bed. Getting a high angle of her was a little difficult I had to bring a chair into the room to achieve the high angle. In this scene I tried my best to make it look like a shot reverse shot when Rena and Ashlynn were talking. Filming scene 9 was difficult because I had to record scene 9 multiple times to get it right. Because after recording I kept watching the videos I had just recorded to see if the voiceovers would fit correctly. I had my other sister stand on the side...

 In my last blog I mentioned the difficulties I faced when filming scenes 1-5. Despite these challenges I successfully filmed scenes 1 through  4. However, I was unable to film scene 5 due to many complications. For example, when trying to film in the car it was extremely hard for the person in the passenger seat to film and not appear in the frame. So I thought that I should probably just use my uncle's phone holder he keeps on the windshield  of car to replace having the passenger film. This method would only be effective if I drove without a passenger. But I'm only 17 with a learner's license and my permit requires me to be accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old in the passenger seat. I also felt that driving without a passenger while trying to film would be extremely distracting and dangerous. I say it would be distracting because I'd have to stop filming multiple times to get the shots I wanted to include. These were problems I also faced ...

In my previous blog I got a majority of the props I need for my film. I was only missing a picture fame and I finally got it over the weekend. So let's rewind to last week, when I filmed scenes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Scenes 1 through 4 Ashlynn, the older sister, only wore one costume. On the other hand Rena, the younger sister, changed costumes in scene 3. Filming the first scene went pretty smoothly overall. Scene 2 took a long time to record because we had to restart multiple times to reshoot. In scene 2, my sister and I often had to refer back to the script. Scenes 3 and 4 were pretty easy to film and didn't take too many tries. One of the biggest problems I faced while filming was trying to avoid the director from being seen in the mirror or showing the camera. My sister who helped me with directing also had this problem where it was hard to avoid being seen in the mirror. Like for the title slide background with me in it, it was supposed to be a over the shoulder shot. But this w...

Today, I made a list of the items I needed to get for my final tasks. When making this list I made an adjustment to the mother's costume where I switched the hat out for a veil instead. I'm now going for a dead married couple look now. This is to symbolize the parent's unity even after death. After making my list I googled where I would be able to find these things. I found that Party City had most of the items I needed and I figured that I would get the rest another time or later on. So I went to Party city to buy the props and costumes I will need for my final tasks.  The first thing I looked for when I got there was a black plastic hat for the dad's costume. I was originally going to buy a fake beard but I only saw brown beards and I wanted black facial hair. So I just bought a fake mustache instead because they had them in the color black. Then I found a white veil for the costumes for the mother but I was looking for black. So I asked an employee if they had any ve...

In my last blog I explained that I added 6 boxes to my storyboard. I did this because I felt like my opening sequence needed more. I was also keeping my genre in my mind to determine how whether my original storyboard was scary enough. But in my opinion it was not and so I added a few more storyboard boxes that I feel like will make my opening sequence scarier. In the additional boxes I included elements seen in horror movies like ghosts, candles, lowkey lighting. For the costumes Rena, the younger sister, will where a regular shirt and shorts in the title slide. Ashlynn will wear a regular t-shirt and jeans in the opening scene. Then in the first scene Ashlynn will be wearing the same outfit she wore in the title. In this scene Rena will wear be wearing a red collared button shirt and khaki pants at first. This outfit in the second scene will resemble a school uniform. Then when the camera switches back to her she will be putting on her mothers shirt on top of hers. Then at the of the...

I originally created a storyboard that consisted of 60 boxes along with 1-2 sentences describing what would happen in the scene. This is so that when I film I can refer back to this storyboard so I have a guideline as to what I need to film. I recently made changes to my original storyboard where I added 6 boxes to my storyboard, only one scene though. This new scene would require me to get another prop, like 2 to 4 candles. Preferably the ones that are lit by batteries instead of using a lighter for safety precautions. I also think that I may need two more actors to play the mother and father in the last scene. If I do find actors to play the mother and father I will also ask them to do the voiceovers for me as well. I'm pretty sure I will be able to find someone to play the role of the mother but it'll be a little  hard to find some to play the father role. But if I don't find anyone to play the role of the father I'll just play the role of the father myself and have ...

I was supposed to record scenes 5 and 6 this weekend but due to the weather I was unable to.  It was raining all day on Saturday, so I did not record the scene that day because the roads were slippery and I was prioritizing my safety. Then on Sunday, my parents weren't available to film from the passenger seat that day. And my permit requires me to be accompanied by a driver who is at least 21 years old in the passenger seat while driving. So I hope that I'll be able to film scenes 5 and 6 some time this week, maybe Thursday or Saturday I'm not quite sure yet. I'm just trying to get these two specific scenes filmed as soon as I possibly can be I do believe that they'll be the most difficult to film. I was also trying to film scene 7 on Friday but I couldn't because I needed to move the couch to in front of the tv. But I couldn't because the living room space was pretty crowded with just large boxes so I decided to hold off on filming that scene until this sp...

For my first storyboard box I needed a solid black background. First I took a video on my phone while holding my phone down to my pants for a few seconds so I could get a short video of a black screen. When editing this part I had to mute the sound of the video so that when I choose my music I can include the sound without it overlapping. For my second title box I had to create a background where there's light shining into the camera. My original plan to achieve this was to use  lightbulb as my light. However, this was not successful because every time I tried to put my camera up to the light and record there would be vertical black lines that would appear on my screen and move horizontally. Even when I tried to backup a little from the light so that the lines wouldn't appear I was still unable to achieve the look I was going for. Like every time I would back up just enough for the black lines to disappear I was still able to see the light bulb itself and I didn't want that...

   I will have a total of 11 titles. I will include 9 images as the backgrounds for my opening sequences. As for my first title slides I’ll have a title in front of a black screen. Then a light bulb shining bright behind my second title as the background. I will film my first scene, shown in box 12 of my storyboards, in the kitchen. I will also film some of this scene in the hallway. In my first scene Ashlin the older sister will be cooking breakfast and calling her sister’s name but there's no response from her. In the second scene Ashlyne finally finds her sister Reno in her parent's room. Then I will film my second scene in the parents bedroom. In my third scene the older sister will be shown fixing a plate for Rena. This scene will also show Rena sitting at the table watching YouTube then her getting her breakfast. In my fourth scene Ashlin will be shown grabbing her car keys and purse telling Reina it’s time to go. This scene Will also show Ashlin standing outside waiting...

Sound and Dialogue script   Scene 1 -Ashlyne: "Rena? -Rena: No response. -Ashlyne:"RENA? -Rena: No response. -Ashlyne: "Rena, where are you? Scene 2 -Ashlyne: "Rena, what are you doing? What'd I tell you about talking to yourself? And didn't I tell you to stay out of here?"                                                                                                                      -Rena-"Sorry Ashlyne. I just wanted to spend some time with Mom and Dad before going to school.  -Ashlyne: "Rena stop. Enough is enough. Mom and dad are gone. Now l...

 For my opening credits I will use a total of two fonts, Ravi Prakash. For the film title I will use the font Ravi Prakash and I will use Freckle Face for the rest of my titles.  My film title will look like this.                               The rest of my titles will look something like this.  Some of my titles will appear onto the center of the screen. While some will be in the corner if I am trying to prioritize an image during the opening sequence. The font colors I will use are black and white. I will use white colored font when the background behind the title is dark. But I will use the black font when the background behind the title is dark. When using the freckle face font I plan on increasing the tracking, so that it's easier to read. The title of this film will likely be "Emotionally Scarred". The film title will be in all caps while the other titles will only have a capitaliz...

Location: I will film at my grandma house and the road near my grandma house. I will also film inside in the car.       Participants: Nachera Fenelus is the actor who will play the older sister.  Leandra Fenelus is the actor who will play the younger sister. Nachera Fenelus will do the filming, editing and directing. I will also be the makeup artist. My sisters, Shemenda Fenelus, Farah Fenelus, and I will be on my safety team. To ensure everyone's safety involved in the making of this film I will have two of my sister's alongside throughout the entire process. My mother will also be present for the car scene to ensure my safety on the road. Due to COVID-19 I will not be filming in any public places because then I would have to film the scene with my mask on. This virus is also why I did not want too many participants involved for health safety purposes. Schedule: I will start filming on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. I plan to start filming scenes 1, 2, and 3 on thi...

The titles displayed during the opening sequence include the name of the studio and production company. Next the film displays the actor names, film title, ,music by, music supervision, casting by, costume designer, edited by, production designer, and director of photography title. The next titles shown are the produced by, executive producers, screen story by, screen play by, and directed by titles. There were tree branches like filled in outline images that were prioritized in the opening scene. Then there were grass outlined images that were also filled that were prioritized. There were are also blood dripping images. Then there were images of a spider legs but not the body of the spider. The theme colors of the opening sequence were black and red. Also none of the picture were actually like picture but were more like outlines that were filled in and surrounded by either black or red. I do not believe that these images really have a deeper meaning to them. These images in my opinion...

The titles displayed during the opening sequence include the name of the studio and production company. Next the film displays the actor names, film title, casting by, music by, music supervisor, visual effects supervisor, costume designer, edited by, production designer, and director of photography title. The next titles shown are the produced by, executive producers, story by, screenplay by, and directed by titles. Images of tape recorders were prioritized in the opening sequence considering they were shown multiple times. The picture of the Hodgsons family was also prioritized. Along with a picture of the Warrens. Images of houses side by side with a road in between the houses with people walking on the sidewalks and cars parked and driving, there were two images like this included in the opening sequence. A picture of small living room along with a desk and bookshelf is also prioritized. Along with an image of a lounge chair in a corner in front of a wall which the paint looks like...

The titles displayed during the opening sequence include the name of the studio and production company. Next the film displays the actor names, film title, casting by, music by, costume designer, edited by, production designer, and director of photography title. The next titles shown are the produced by, executive producers, written by, and directed by titles. The image of the boy sleeping in bed is prioritized. The image of a demon's face is also prioritized. Images of their living room with moving boxes is also prioritized. Then images of the stair case is prioritized.  An image of a baby's crib in a room is also shown. The image of the boy was one of the first images shown, and was prioritized probably because he's going to be victim or a main character. Then prioritizing the demon's face reveals who the villain is and that there may be people getting possessed in the movie. The image of their living room with the moving boxes is probably to give the audience an idea...