CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION !

gifs used from: "GIPHY | Search All the GIFs & Make Your Own Animated GIF." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

opening / closing music: music: Rain by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

FINAL PROJECT !

HERE IT IS!!! THE OFFICIAL OPENING TO "BORDERLINE" 

I hope you guys enjoy watching the opening to Borderline at least a fraction of the amount I enjoyed producing it!!! This has been such an impactful learning experience and for that I am immensely grateful. I explored areas I never gave a second glance to before and, most importantly, I developed a new hobby that I hope to further develop. I plan to continue creating films and, although this is the end of this journey, it's the beginning of many more to come so until next time!!!

The End of a Beautiful Journey

end end/ noun 1. a final part of something, especially a period of time, an activity, or a story.

Ok so this is the end. I'm not gonna lie, it is a bittersweet feeling. In the past 6 weeks, I have grown attached to my blog and to my entire project in general being that I put so much work into it. Yesterday, I dedicated a good 6 hours to my critical reflection. I decided to make it using iMovie, which allowed me to incorporate a bunch of ideas all wrapped into one Creative Critical Reflection.  I love how it came out, with the visuals and the audio.  Check it out on Sunday!!!!!!!! 

Gotta Get That Juice

un·con·ven·tion·al ˌənkənˈven(t)SH(ə)n(ə)l/ adjective not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed.

So for my critical reflection, I know what I do not want to do after looking through a couple of examples provided to us by my media studies teacher. I do not want to make a PowerPoint or Prezi. I feel like these two platforms lack the establishment of a personal connection among myself and my audience, an aspect that is essential to me.  Also, I do not want to be talking in a monotone voice while viewers stare at minimal text on a black screen. While the tone of my voice may become difficult to control, I want to make my commentary engaging and entertaining, providing my own personal voice as opposed to merely stating the technical process of filming.  I do like the screen share idea as it allows presenters to further delve into their production, however, I would ideally like to think of a communication method less ordinary and more creative. Hm, my creative juices better start flowing......

Panic! At The Disco

pan·ic panik/noun1.sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior.

No, my post does not have to do with the band Panic! At the Disco; it only has to do with the first word (yes, including the exclamation point) In a state of severe panic last night, I created an entire Google Doc including methods to add some liveliness to our scenes based on my research.  Not only did I merely list methods, but I even wrote a whole new script in preparation for yet another day of re-filming. Here it is:

Little did I know, while I was doing this Cheyenne was editing our original footage, smoothening out the scenes and fixing the audio issues.  She showed me this in class today and the film definitely looks infinitely better. While I do wish I knew of this before I planned an entire solution (when I should have been studying for my physics test), I am extremely relieved that everything has worked out. sidenote: iMovie should really update and become a Google Drive type of thing in which multiple individuals can edit simultaneously since having the project all on one laptop has been our biggest conflict over the past 6 weeks.  This being said.......our film is finally completed!!!! There are several things I wish I could do improve in the film, however, given our time limitations, I am not completely disappointed with our product.  We definitely underestimated the filming aspect and only allotted ourselves one night to film which definitely was not enough (we reshot Saturday so make that two nights). Regardless, the past 6 weeks definitely zoomed by and I am still in disbelief that it is already over......not so fast, still got to do that critical reflection!!!!!

"22 Ways to Make a Boring Scene Interesting - Tuesday Photo Tips."Assignment Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Sad Face Emoji

bore·dom ˈbôrdəm/noun the state of feeling bored.

The title of this blog is directly analogous to my current state of mind. So last night, we re-filmed all of our dialogue scenes and I wish I could say I loved them. On the bright side, they are usable and the dialogue came out as planned.  We were originally worried that lighting would be an issue, being that we filmed Saturday during the day while our film is set at night.  With the use of a few curtains and the lack of sunlight in the room we picked, we were able to create the illusion that is was, in fact,  nighttime.  Another potential issue we had thought of was the acting.  Our last filming fiasco left us with a deep-rooted of, well, bad acting. Luckily, our new actress embodied the character of Lindsay perfectly, being that she was not too far out of her comfort zone; sassy and go-with-the-flow (is there a proper adjective for that? who knows my brain is beyond fried right now). The bigger issue, however, is that the scenes just seem unimportant and, well, boring.  Unable to figure out methods to incorporate movement into the shots, not a lot of variety is prevalent.  The camera movement/angles are limited to pans and two-person shots, making the scenes extremely dry and BORING. Cheyenne and I are super stressed out and don't really know if we will have enough time to re-film, and even if we did, we don't know how we would add some excitement to the scenes.  These scenes are supposed to be juxtaposed with the intense intruder scenes, (and they definitely are the opposite of the riveting intruder scenes) but this needs to be done in a more visually appealing method. The more I watch our film, the less I like it.  Perhaps this is due to my hostile self-criticism. I am going to have some people look it over and give me their honest opinions, but the fact that I do not even want to show people our "final" project is not a very good sign. Needless to say, I am super stressed and fear that my goal of loving our product will not be achieved.

Pepperjack or Swiss?

tech·ni·cal·i·ty teknəˈkalədē/ noun the specific details or terms belonging to a particular field.

So Chey and I went over all the footage we had today in order to start the process of elimination.  Going into the process, we both felt very defeated, expecting to have little to no substantial footage to work with. Much to my surprise, every single intruder scene we filmed came out well!!!  All we need to redo are the scenes in which the two teenage girls are talking.  In order to further amplify our progress, we fixed all the sound issues and finalized the editing of the intruder scenes so we have more than half of our scene finalized. Speaking of sound, we also added a little suspenseful tune to the background of our intense scenes.  At first we could not stop laughing because the music was so overwhelming and seemed like a cheesy (hence, my post title) scary movie production element; however, after manipulating the tune, we were able to add a new dimension to our scene that further intensifies the aura of the scene.

I also created some credits and I love how they came out. Messing around with the fonts, I paired together "Chalkduster" and "Courier New" (this process has made me a font title expert) and love the feel it entails. I also added some transitions and threw in the color red to further deepen our theme. (Yes, I am aware that some of the titles are not up for long enough. do not fret, this will be fixed) I am so so excited to see our final product because the footage we have now looks so good!!!

Stuck Up White Girl Names

per·son·al·i·ty pərsəˈnalədē/ noun the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Ok so today Cheyenne and I re-scripted.  Last night, I did some research as to how exactly to write a script because I am not exactly a scriptwriter (unless planning out conversations in my daydreams count) . This source was very helpful just as a foundation to build upon. It presented the full format of a script and we followed it excitedly, feeling very professional. As we were going through the process, one of the major setbacks we came across was staying away from cliches. We want our scene to be anything but cliche and stereotypical.  This is a bit difficult being that our scene is two teenage girls doing a project while they have an unknown visitor alongside them under the same roof and teenage girls are the epitome of cliche. I suggested we actually create the characters prior to scripting so we have a good foundation and can add dimension to the scene, as opposed to merely having filler dialogue.  The reason we hadn't done this initially is that we wanted focus to be placed onto the intruder; the two girls are just an accessory and are not the main focus of the film.  This approach did not go very well as our dialogue scenes resulted to be very irrelevant and stilted.  Another method of preventing the scene from being overtly familiar is by making the two girls opposites who were paired together for a project as opposed to best friends. Naming the characters was our way of giving them personality and really making them come alive.  One of the girls is very focused while the other is your typical stuck up white girl. So, introducing for the very first time on the big screen; Grace and Lindsay.

"How to Write a Screenplay: Script Example & Screenwriting Tips." How to Write a Screenplay: Script Example & Screenwriting Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

Poppin' Pills

clue klo͞o/ noun a piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime or solving of a mystery

I forgot to mention something super exciting!!!! Remember how we were struggling to find an object to be utilized as the "clue"? The object on which the death symbol was to be placed on? Well lo and behold, we found one......a pill bottle.  Whilst frantically searching around for an object that is  intriguing, but not too out of the ordinary, we came across this magnificent piece.  A pill bottle effectively foreshadows the ending of our film...shhhh...while simultaneously creating enough suspense to draw the viewer in.  Chey and I both were very pleased with our unexpected choice and we hope it excites the viewers as much as us :) 

Make Sure You Lock the Doors

co·or·di·nate  kōˈôrdəˌnāt/ verb bring the different elements of (a complex activity or organization) into a relationship that will ensure efficiency or harmony.

Cheyenne and I met today and we are on the same exact page (thank God). I was a bit worried that we would come across some disagreements regarding the changes we need to make to our film, but we both had the same viewpoints.  Ultimately, we decided to write a substantial script (as opposed to our previous plan of improvising).  Hopefully, we will get this done tonight, leaving us with enough time to re-film.  Honestly, I do feel a bit overwhelmed as the due date is slowly approaching and we are quickly approaching the borderline (ha ha get it). This weekend is my birthday weekend but I am postponing the festivities so that I can work productively on this project and get some effective footage so we can progress to further editing (talk about dedication), 

One of the primary issues we are facing is that we want to refrain from making the dialogue in our scene filler dialogue, but as of right now, this seems to be inevitable.  Ideally, the focus of Borderline should be the intruder; who she is, what she wants, why she wants it, etc.  Our fear is that if we add further dimension to our characters, focus may be shifted from the intruder to the two girls, so our original plan was to make dialogue as limited as possible.  This video gave me a few tips and tricks as far as scripting goes; however, I fear that it may become too cliche and unnatural.  One of the cringe-worthy lines in our original footage was "Yes, I locked all the doors".  Looking back, both Cheyenne and I completely hated ourselves for even including such a horrific line in our film.  Here it is for your amusement: 

"What to Do (& Not Do) When Writing Suspense into Your Screenplay." No Film School. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Love/Hate

dis·ap·point·ment disəˈpointmənt/ noun the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

The project which I seemed to love the day we filmed now seems to be extremely lacking.  Luckily, there is a substantial amount of time to mend the issues prevalent.  Issue 1: scripting.  The scenes of the two teenage girls talking seems very stilted and, well, unnecessary.  The content is merely included as a filler, resulting from a lack of dialogue development.  Due to our limited time on filming day, the script was prominently improvised and this definitely shows.  Ultimately, I would like to re-film this entire sequence and add something with much more depth and relevance.  

As far as the intruder scenes go, I think they are very effective, aside from a few external sounds that take away from the scene.  Overall, though, the ambiance created directly matches my vision, through the lighting, shaky camera movement, and sounds of planes passing, wind howling, and crickets chirping.  Here is my favorite shot: 

I am going to bring up my concerns with Cheyenne tomorrow. Hopefully, we are on the same page with everything.  Redoing a whole sequence will require a great deal of time and effort, however, I do believe it is inevitable in order to create a project we can have pride in. 

Chop Chop!

me·tic·u·lous məˈtikyələs/ adjective showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise

While filming entails excitement and joy, editing requires unwavering attention to every single detail, regardless of it's seemingly minuscule importance.  For this project, iMovie has been my most treasured friend.  Lacking a professional camera, everything has been filmed on none other than my iPhone.  This is extremely convenient being that I am able to edit Borderline regardless of where I am; however, certain features are unavailable, thus hindering my capability of editing easily overlooked aspects.  Hacks for iMovie have been useful, but still has not allowed to me create a production I am overwhelmingly proud of.  The positive part is that we have made a great deal of progress as most of our footage has been obtained, leaving our primary focus on editing.  

"How To: IMovie for IOS Basics." IPhone Hacks 1 IPhone IPad IOS Blog. N.p., 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

Shhhhhh

frus·trate frəstrāt/ verb; to cause (someone) to feel upset or annoyed, typically as a result of being unable to change or achieve something.

Sound.  A blessing and a curse.  In the past, I have put together a couple major productions, however, sound has rarely been a priority in them being that one was a silent film and the other a music video.  This has made it difficult and, frankly, annoying to have to deal with the aspect now.  Visually, our film came out extremely appealing and something I am very proud of. On the other hand, the audio is very choppy and does not flow very well.  I have done some research in hopes of finding specific sounds that we can layer into the film in order to add the feel of suspense we are seeking.  I found this website for free sound effects we can utilize to amplify certain sounds.  We will also be incorporating some folly sounds, such as the door closing.
Suspense films incorporate several layering when it comes to sound.  In order to gain further insight on this, I researched the epitome of suspense movies, Hitchcock, allowing me to incorporate some of his ideas into our film. We did make limited progress on the issue of sound the night we filmed; Youtube Audio Library.  A suggestion made by a classmate during a very helpful meeting last Wednesday, Youtube Audio Library provides a wide variety of copyright-free sounds we can incorporate into our film. Cheyenne and I found 2 songs that add to our suspenseful scene as well as the juxtaposing nonchalant scene involving two girls ignorantly working on a project; here they are.




"FOLEY." FOLEY. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
"The Sound of Hitchcock: How the Director Used Sound to Create Atmosphere & Suspense in His Films." Open Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
"Tags." Freesound.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
"Youtube Audio Library." Audio Library. Youtube, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

Thank You Ski Gear !

im·pro·viseˈimprəˌvīz/ verb create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation



Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. What can I say, spring break intervened as I went a full-blown college tour with my family; stressful times.  Anyways, the first day of spring break, an exciting thing occurred.....we filmed!!! In this post, I'll focus on the costume choice and props.  Our film consists of three characters; two friends and an intruder. The appearance of the friends is very typical and ordinary, jeans and a t shirt.  The intruder, however, required a much more layered outfit. Planning to film the day of, my partner and I did not have much time to plan out every single detail.  Several things regarding the technicalities were "winged".  After gathering at my house, the location of our film, we realized that an intruder required more than just a tshirt and jeans.  This realization led us to my winter closet (don't ask me why a native Floridian has a winter closet).  Ski gear filled the hangers as we pulled anything black and intruder-like. After much sifting, our outfit had finally come together; a black ski jacket, black pants, gloves, and, of course, a ski mask.  Gearing into this heavy attire, Maria, our intruder, felt like she was going to pass out due to the excruciating heat Florida didn't fail to provide.

After shooting the outdoor intruder scenes, we realized a prop was missing for the next sequence; a mugshot set.  Chalk tape and a pin board I had came in handy for this process as the wall of my guest room transformed into a jail-like setting.

Witchcraft

sym·bol (ˈsimbəl/) noun; a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract

As you may recall, a symbol is a prominent aspect of our plot-line.  Establishing we want this symbol to represent the intruder who is in a depressive, suicidal state, we searched for signs symbolizing death.  We sought something simple, yet effective.  After tiring out Google, we finally came across the perfect symbol.  The symbol in the chart labelled death depicts a stick-figure like illustration depicting a faceless square in place of customary facial features.  This lack of emotion elicits the very vibe we are going for; detached and lonely.  Describing the intruder, the symbol perfectly embodies the character and evokes curiosity through it's simple, yet powerful message.












"The Magick of Candles." HubPages. HubPages, 7 July 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. <http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/TOOLS-OF-THE-CRAFT-CANDLES>.

Liger

Fuse {fyooz} verb; to unite or blend into a whole, as if by melting together.

As I mentioned previously, we are indulging in the genre of mystery, regardless of our original desire to go the dramatic, coming of age route.  Although I love our mysterious storyline, I couldn't help but feel I was missing out by not creating a coming of age drama which teens could relate to.  Communicating this to Cheyenne, I discovered she felt the same sense of loss.  After another brainstorming session, we decided to fuse both genres together and create something suspenseful, yet simultaneously inspiring.  We did so by expanding on our already-developed story line by shifting the focus of the plot towards the journey of the students who come together in order to achieve a mutual goal as opposed to the suspenseful aspect of the film.  Unaware of the technicalities involved in fusing genres, I did some research and came across an article that reassured me this hybrid genre would be detrimental, and could alternately result in something unique and intriguing.

sidenote: a liger is a hybrid between a tiger and a lion, thus, the title of this post.


Gant, Charles. "How Mixing and Matching Film Genres Can Pay." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Lightbulbs Everywhere

suc·cess (səkˈses/) noun; the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Ok the title of this post made me imagine a lightbulb actually going over someone's head whenever they got an idea, could you imagine? Anyways, back on track. So I think we came up with a really good idea today which can develop into something awesome.  Our theoretical film is potentially going to begin with a girl getting a mugshot. Cliche right? Wrong. This mugshot will actually be fake and set in a teenage girl's bedroom as part of a school project.  After each flash of the camera, the scene will cut to an intruder breaking into the house.  Through quick shots switching back and forth between the girl's room and the intruder, the scene will entail a feel of suspense and thrill.  The juxtaposition between the two settings will further solidify this riveting mood.  As far as screenplay, we did not get any further, but we did expand upon the story.

mystery aesthetic we are going for 

An overall synopsis is that the intruder is (spoiler alert) a girl as opposed to the commonly assumed, dominant male. She enters inconspicuously, places an object onto the table, and exits without a sound.  This is odd considering intruders customarily take things as opposed to leaving things. The mysterious object will be something usual, such as a key, but a symbol will be attached creating curiosity.  The next day at school, *insert cool female teen name*, will approach *insert cool female teen's friend's name* and ask if she left the object at her house.  After realizing that the object belongs to nobody who had entered the house, the girls are intrigued.  They also discover that their other friends received an alternate object with the same symbol on it.  Word gets around and it becomes known that a majority of the other students in their school received the same thing throughout the week and the students come together in an attempt to find an answer to all the questions in the air.

At the end it is discovered that all the clues led to a park, in which a girl's body is found. This girl went to their school, but was always extremely quiet and unnoticed.  It is revealed that the now deceased girl sought to be heard.  Her pain was too deep for her to change her mind about her suicide, however, she did not want to leave unnoticed.  As far as the people she gave the objects to, they were chosen based on who had talked to her.  Even a simple "What's the homework?" impacted her as she lacked any substantial relationships. 

Not totally lame, right?

image: "Pretty Little Liars." Suspense. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

From Beaches n' Romance to Mugshots n' Suicides

brain·storm (ˈbrānˌstôrm/) verb; to produce an idea or way of solving a problem by holding a spontaneous group discussion.

You know that feeling when you go to Cheesecake Factory and don't know what to order because there are too many options composed into a book-like menu? Some dishes are even opposites of each other, like the southwest salad and buffalo chicken bites, but you just can't seem to make out what type of flavor your body is craving. Ok before I delve too much into this analogy (I'm hungry, can you tell?), let me get to the point.  Today, Cheyenne and I brainstormed. (sidenote: Cheyenne is my partner with whom I am conducting this project with. I may have forgotten to include that in my last post under the assumption that everyone knows her). We created a Google Doc in the attempt of staying organized and this was the result:

As seen above, disorganization was inevitable as the flow of completely uncorrelated ideas kept flooding our minds.  Trying to determine the setting first and branch from there, we decided we wanted our film to take place at the beach, due to it's accessibility as individuals residing in South Florida.  This idea failed because all we could think of were shark attacks and surfers.  We then progressed to developing a character as a foundational basis. This failed as everything we thought of seemed to be a cliche (girl-next-door, rebelling teen, disjointed family, etc).  Eventually an idea dawned upon us, which completely differs from our coming of age desire-a mystery film. 

Genre, Genre, Genre

gen·re ˈ(jon-ra)  noun; a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by
similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Ok, my mind feels a bit less cluttered now so we are making progress. As far as genre I would love to create a coming of age drama.  I conducted some research on the given genre and found it to be the most relatable, allowing audiences, including myself, to establish a deeper connection to the characters.  Character connection is the most essential aspect of a movie in my eyes.  Even something as remote as clothing style allows audiences to see themselves within characters, enticing them to discover what this parallel individual will do throughout his or her journey. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the number 10 coming of age film according to my sources, follows an adolescent boy on his journey of self reflection and growth.  Perks initiates by introducing the protagonist through epistolary voice, in which he is writing in his journal.  Vague elements, which are later explored, are also introduced in the opening, such as "...that weird guy who spent a lot of time in the hospital...". This entices viewers to continue watching and discover what all of the unanswered questions are referring to.  I provided the opening below so you guys are able to have a clearer understanding as to what I am referring to (you're welcome).

Overall, I do feel much more prepared now that I have an idea as to where I want to go.  Tomorrow, Cheyenne and I are having a brainstorming session in class.  Who knows, I might come back wanting to do something completely different like a horror film.  I just hope we figure it out soon so that we can think of a plot line and begin the production process.  

"University of London." Nature 158.4001 (1946): 21. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
"The 50 Best Coming-of-Age Movies." News. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

video:  TheMrGmatic. "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Opening." YouTube. YouTube, 15 June 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Like a Kid In a Candy Store

anx·ious (ˈaNG(k)SHəs/) adjective; experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Let me start by introducing myself; I'm Srishti, an aspiring media studies student who is in need of a riveting movie idea. I've never been more excited for a final project before as I've never had one as open-ended as this one. Allowing students, including myself, to branch out and let their imaginations run free, this project is right up my alley. Honestly, I am not very creative, but when I do get an idea, I work efficiently towards it, putting my heart and soul into the production. Filming is a newly discovered hobby of mine and I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I do now. The next 6 weeks are going to require lots of creativity and hard work, both of which I am looking forward to.

But first, an idea. There are endless options. We could do a romance, mystery, drama, thriller, horror, comedy, etc. Personally, I'd rule out romance and comedy, in fear of it becoming a cliche. As of right now, I am leaning towards drama because there are countless different directions we could go in. I feel like a kid in a candy story (now do you get the name of this post?) with limitless options, but the ability to choose only one. I'm currently about to go conduct some research in the hopes of expediting this process. Stay tuned!!