And last but not least...

MY CCR!!!! It has been a long journey, but I am glad it is coming to an end. Peace out AICE Media Studies AS 2021-2022, or until our exam at least - or class tomorrow....

Anyhow, my CCR wouldn't upload here so here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/hVEpU7dxvd4

FINAL BIRTHDAY BLUES

 Wow. Here it is. The end.

These last few months of preparation, learning, working, planning, editing, and filming are finally over.

Honestly, I am so proud of my group and myself. We have worked so hard and I am amazed at what we have accomplished in these last few weeks. From creating a whole new film idea from scratch to fully executing it, we did it.

So, without further ado, here it is: our baby.

https://youtu.be/N1NLhQW-R5U

CCR Script

 Well, after 2,051 words. I finished my script. Wow. Now, to record and edit. But that's a problem for me in about an hour. Without further ado, here is my beautiful baby ... I mean script.

I am worried about the length but I had so much to say!! Hopefully filming and editing go smoothly and I will update you all with my finished CCR and opening!! Bye!

Almost there!!

    I am so excited about my CCR idea. I was working on my intro today (maybe to procrastinate writing the script...) and it is even better than I could have imagined. Also, it allowed me to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop which I never even considered using before which was interesting. And well, a lot of YouTube tutorials and Google searches later, I made my introduction. It is supposed to be based on the WatchMojo introduction except instead, it is WatchMorris. The color scheme is really pretty and I am very satisfied with how it came out.

    However, time is quickly running out. I plan on filming my entire project tomorrow (Saturday, April 2nd) but time is of the essence. I am attending an AICE review from 8:30-12:45 but luckily it is offered online so I will do it from home and possibly multitask to finish other homework if necessary. Then, from 2:00-3:30 I have practice. And then at 5:00 we are going to Miami to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. So, my day is packed. As they would say in Good Luck Charlie, well, good luck, Charlie. 

Also, the title was a Princess and the Frog reference if you didn't catch that.

Oh, one last thing. If you have no idea what I am referring to when I say WatchMojo, please check out these links:

WatchMojo Intro

WatchMojo Sample Video

CCR idea??

    I love the first idea with my entire heart. But due to the time constraint, I don't think it is realistic. I am still really excited about the WatchMojo-inspired one and I have a pretty clear image of my goal for this one as well. I want to recreate the WatchMojo logo (shown below) but make it apply to my project and myself. 

    Over quarantine, I was really obsessed with watching those types of videos out of extreme boredom. Also, I think one of the sounds was a TikTok trend. Yes, it was. Here is a link to a video. The sound is their iconic introduction sound which I also want to recreate. 

My only fear is that people will not understand what I am trying to recreate. I just have to do it really well and make it very clear what I am trying to do. 

Here is my schedule:

Wednesday-brainstorm ideas

Thursday-choose idea

Friday-write script

Saturday-film

Sunday-edit

I hope this is realistic enough and I can finish on time but in the worst case scenario, I could: 

A. Begin editing the same day I film

OR

B. Use Monday to finish editing

Planning 2.0

    Oh my gosh. This whole entire production will be over on Monday. MONDAY. We finally finished editing and I am so incredibly proud of us. After two months of creating this entire thing from scratch, we have worked our butts off to finish.

    But of course, you are never really done with anything ever. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration however I still have to make my creative critical reflection or CCR. It is so important that my video is creative because not only is that a very large part of the score, but personally, I pride myself on creativity in all aspects of my life - including my schoolwork. I have watched a few examples of past CCRs but I want my idea to be totally unique. I have two main ideas.

    1. An awards interview-type video. It would begin with our film winning an Oscar which is unique to my experience because, at the very beginning of this whole process, I joked with my group and Ms. Stoklosa (our teacher) about how amazing our project will be. I told them we are already nominated for an Oscar and we haven't even begun filming because it is just that perfect. Anyways, back to the idea. So it would begin with a clip of me winning an award for the film and standing up to give a speech but I am choking back tears when I say, this is okay as I have a video prepared instead. I go through and answer all the questions using visual elements on Canva, except the question about distribution. I would wake up and realize it was all a dream and this was my small film instead. After this, I would discuss the distribution in a realistic sense. 

I really love this idea and I think it depicts my personality and who I am really well.

    2. This option is a little more basic but would be a lot easier for me to do. I would do a YouTube video. I would imitate the WatchMojo introduction and talk with references like they do in their videos. I really like this style as it is really effective for getting information across. It also is funny and interesting so I would enjoy doing that option as well.

I am unsure which one I should do and need to decide ASAP because the clock is ticking. Well, that is all for today, stay tuned for which option I end up choosing!!

Editing

    Since all three of us are not in the same location due to spring break, we have divided up the film into three parts and each group member is responsible for editing their assigned piece. I was assigned the first third which includes the various establishing shots of the main character, Berkley's, room, her sleeping, and her birthday alarm going off. 

    In order to edit this in the best way I can and use my resources most efficiently, I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro 2022. I am very familiar with this program as I have been using it since 2018 for projects in film 1 and 2 in middle school. I did not use this program last year because I was not in any film-related classes and did not have access to it so I had to watch some YouTube tutorials and look up some instructions but I am back and better than ever. Down below you can see a screenshot of my screen while I was editing the clip. I have done the audio and cut the clips together but I want to mess around with the colors a little and possibly include that as well.

That's all for now, stay tuned!!

The moment of truth

    Now, the moment you have all been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is finally here. The process of animating our title for our film. 

1. Previously, we decided on the title, font, and overall idea of how we want our title to look. 

2. After about a million revisions and changes, here is the series of progressions leading up to our final animation. 

(Also, you will notice we added a sound effect of someone blowing out candles as the title fades off to add to the birthday candle effect.)

3. The final version will be revealed in our final edited film so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!!

4. Here is a look at just how many individual slides it took to make this short animation:

Choices choices choices...

    Who ever would have thought something that seems so unimportant would give us this much grief?? Now I am sure you are wondering, what could she possibly be talking about and I will tell you. The credit fonts! We have four pages of fonts we are considering using, and honestly, each are nice. We want a font that looks like a fancier, upgraded version of a 16-year-old girl's handwriting from 2005. 

    The only accurate description for this humongous list is a visual headache. So many options where do we even begin? They all technically fit the criteria so we decided to each put our 2 favorites on another page to narrow it down more and ended up with this:

    Now, I am sure you are wondering if there are 3 people in our group and we each put our two favorites, how are there only four options. Great question. Paulina and I did our favorites first and then when Daniela went to do it she said we had already included her favorites, making this decision a little easier. Now, we talked via iMessage (our savior during Spring Break due to differences in location) and narrowed it down further. We decided in order to do that we need to truly see how it will look on screen so we added a part on the bottom for the name as well. We changed the font for that to make it stand out and more clear to look at as well. 

    This was a lot more realistic and made our decision a little easier. We talked and talked and talked and finally narrowed it down to options 2 and 4. But now we really have a problem - we love both. 

    So, to combat this, we made the picture above and asked various friends and family members to vote for their favorite. As the votes rolled in, it was so close to even that we were worried it would end up a split vote, however, in the end, we got 5 votes for option 1 and 7 votes for option 2 - resulting in a victory for option 2. Honestly, I am very happy with this choice and I can not wait to see it in our film. Stay tuned for some insight about the editing process and more!

Outstanding Outfit Ogling

    This is what we had "Berkley" AKA Daniela wear when filming. I am going to break it down piece by piece but before I get into that I want to add a disclaimer. In my post regarding props I stated how we were going to use butterfly clips to really reach that 2000s-esque vibe we trying to create, however, I forgot them at home when we were filming! But I think the outfit was still really good overall.

    First: makeup. We went with a basic but pretty makeup look with eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. The thought behind this light but effective look gives the impression that she really thought about her appearance and makes it clear her image is important to her. 

    The low-rise jeans are a staple from the early 2000s and every teen owned a wardrobe full of them. Paired with Uggs which were also a fan favorite in this time period. Plus, her shirt is pink which subtly hints towards Berkley's favorite color and her vibe. She also is wearing a beaded necklace as jewelry which is a common activity teenagers did with their friends. It also ties the outfit together and shows every aspect of the personality of the character. Overall we were very pleased with how the outfit depicted our character and we feel it captured the essence of Berkley successfully. Thanks for reading! I will update you all this week when we start (and finish) editing!!

What's next??

     So a few things have changed since the last time my group established a schedule so it is time for a new plan. Today is the last day we have in class before Spring break and Paulina will not be coming back before our project is due. I made this cute little calendar on Canva to visualize what we have to get done and when.

    First, I made a to-do list to see just how much we need to finish this week. Then, I took a break because we have a ton to get done over break. Subtract the CCR since we will begin that after the break but that is everything we have to do over break. It really is not too much because we stayed on a good schedule from the beginning of our project, luckily. 

    Next, I made this editing schedule that we do not have to follow too strictly as long as it all gets done by March 29th. 

    I think overall as long as we stick to the schedules, work together, and really focus on communication since we won't see each other in school every other day like we used to, then we will be successful in completing our project by the deadline. We will be editing using Adobe Premiere Pro because we all have access to it and the features on it can be really beneficial to our project. Although we cannot share one project on Premiere, we will divide the clips into three and each group member will be responsible for one section to make sure it is fairly divided. Also, Daniela has been working on the title animation for the last few days which I will show in an upcoming post once it is finalized. Okay, that is all for now, talk later!!

Group discussion

    So today we met in groups to discuss the progress we have made so far with various individuals' projects. My project is further down the line than I had realized in relation to other people in my class but we had to speed up production due to the fact that Paulina will not be here during spring break nor the week after so our filming has to be done by March 17th. Since we already filmed our project (if you haven't read my post 'Filming Day 1 (FOR REAL)'  definitely head over and do that now!!), there was not too much feedback we needed help with.

    Above is a picture of everyone in my group, they were all so sweet and helpful. I loved hearing about their ideas and helping them make their project better!! The main piece of advice that was very beneficial was in regards to our title. We originally were going to make the letters melt off the screen like a candle but we were afraid that would be too cheesy or cliche. However, after a group consensus, we came to the agreement that it would be cute for our opening. Over spring break we will work on editing our opening, the distribution/production company logos, and the title animation. We were also considering animating the beginning of our film however due to the time restraint we have, I cannot foresee that occurring. I am so excited to edit and I will update you all soon!! That is all for now!

Filming Day 1 (FOR REAL!)

 The day finally came!! It is two weeks later than originally planned but like they say, it is better late than never. Rather than spoiling too much of our film, I took some funny behind-the-scenes pictures of some failures and successes we encountered as we filmed. 

    We wanted to film from two angles but make sure we avoided continuity errors so Paulina hid behind a tree and filmed and we may have looked ridiculous - but it worked. Believe it or not, she is actually standing in the same spot in both of those pictures. 

    Daniela's dog,  Max, was looking for his big break. In every scene we filmed, he was there. The only way he would ever move was for a bribe - a banana. While filming, we managed to go through two bananas and filmed with a dog next to us for a majority of the scenes. We even had to refilm a scene because Max's tail was in the bottom wagging back and forth. Above is a video of us feeding Max a banana except I had to speed it up because the file was too large and that messed up the sound but it is okay. 

    In Danny's room, there was a sign that we could not take down that said in neon pink letters "Danny". So, we decided that Berkley's full name will be Berkley Daniela "Danny" Morgan. Now, Danny can be her nickname and we avoid the issue of a new name. 

    We also did not have any filming supplies besides our phones. We thought we had tripods at home from previous projects but they were nowhere to be found and we were going to borrow a stabilizer but we forgot to ask so we ended up attempting to make our own tripod. We used an old paper towel roll and scissors and followed a YouTube tutorial. It ended up being a massive fail and we relied on handheld shots. Overall, the handheld shots gave us a more realistic and relatable feel so it did work out in the end. We are very pleased with how our footage came out and we learned a lot of important lessons. Thanks for reading and I will update you all soon!!

Script

 

    We finally, finally, FINALLY,  finished our script. There is not a lot of audio as our excerpt mainly relies upon visual elements to show the story. 

    We begin with establishing shots showing the room of Berkley. Her calendar is shown as the very first clip. The day is Friday the 13th and it is her birthday. This alludes to the day of March 13, 2020, the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. The date of Friday the 13th is a date associated with bad luck and misfortune, mentioned in a horror movie titled Friday the 13th. Then, shots of her awards, desk, and other parts of her room are shown to establish a little more about who Berkley is, before she is even shown.

    Then, she wakes up to an alarm playing the Happy Birthday song. She turns off the alarm and is shown going to the bathroom to get ready. Not many sounds are here aside from the occasional grunt and groan. She rifles through her clothing to find a special outfit for her birthday. She tries many outfits which do not fit her aesthetic until she finally lands on "the one". Her phone is buzzing off the hook however she ignores it as she focuses on getting ready. She is finally ready and leaves her room, turning back to grab her phone which she has forgotten. Berkley leaves and goes outside, dropping her phone. This repeated loss of her phone leads to the assumption that something bad will be associated with the phone which is shown in the next clip. Berkley finally turns on her phone when she receives a message telling her to turn on the news. 

Production and Distribution Company

    Who is making this film (besides me, Daniela, and Pauliana of course)? Someone has to produce it like the many, many distribution and production companies from the film, The Princess Diaries. When we were designing the logos we had a few requirements we had to be careful to make sure they were there. 

These include:

- must be simple enough to create an animation

- must fit the tone of our film

- must fit the time period (early 2000s)

- cannot be too similar to our film

- must be visually appealing

    These are the four options we have come up with. Smaller films typically do not have quite an excessive list of production and distribution companies as the film The Princess Diaries has. We will use one to two of these options as our production and distribution companies. The one I have the most vision for is definitely the top left, Starlight films. However, all can be animated to look really cool. I am very excited to share the image in my head with you all once we animate this, it is going to be beautiful. These all have interesting visions of what we could do so stay tuned to see which one(s) we choose!!

    If you have any suggestions for changes or other input (which one you like the best, which need to go, etc.), feel free to leave it in the comments below. I will update you all soon!

Our title and font and a bajillion other things

     Okay, we have established our title is "Birthday Blues" (and if you don't know this please check out the post titled "OUR TITLE"). Now, the important part - font and color!! 

A few things to keep in mind:

- It has to look good with a video behind it (our film)

- It should match our color scheme (mainly pinks)

- It should match the mood of the film (eerie happy birthday)

These are a few prototypes we have come up with:

    The last one definitely fits the idea of what we are trying to portray but the only concern is the pink may not show as clear as we want. Luckily, we have the same thing in black and we could always go back and just change the color again to fit the film. We have a candle as the "I" in birthday blues to fit with the theme of birthday and the fading letters representing the fading happiness Berkley experiences throughout the film. We will finalize the title when we are editing and will update then but for now, this is our title!! I hope you like it and if you have any recommendations, concerns, or questions leave them in the comments below! Talk soon!!

VLOG #1

    I made my first vlog today! Hope you all enjoy it!!

    Also,  be sure to listen to What If I Love You if you have not already!! It will be heard in most of our opening so it is very important!! Big thanks go out once again to Gatlin for letting us feature her song in our film!! Have a wonderful day and talk soon!!

Filming Day 1

 Well, that title is a lie. Yes, we were supposed to begin filming yesterday, but no matter how much you plan, it is impossible to 100% stick to it. We devoted yesterday to filming as it is the only weekend for the next two weeks we would be able to film due to a DECA competition two of our group members will be attending. One of our members has unfortunately fallen ill (not Covid luckily) and because of this, we were not able to film. Agh. This is a major setback and the stress of trying to plan around this has caused me to lose a few years off my life but it is okay. We shall push on forth and succeed. 

    As absolutely horrific and cheesy as that quote is, it works. Well, I hope it does. I know if our group has one thing, it is enthusiasm. I have really never seen three teenage girls this excited about something like an early 2000s film opening but wow are we excited. Our idea has been fully created and planned by us so our enthusiasm is not unearned, but to someone on the outside looking in, it could definitely appear questionable for sure.

    Anyways, we hope to film after school sometime this week and next week to make up for today's loss. We will make our storyboard in class (which we were going to do yesterday but oh well, life goes on!) and research even more. This film will come back better than ever, just get ready. Prepare for your breath to be taken, jaw to be dropped, and please be sure to hold onto your hats, scarves, loose belongings, and small children as they will be blown away with the amazing, fantabulous, and all-around awesome film. Okay, see you all tomorrow for the next life-changing update. 

OUR TITLE

    Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the moment you have all been waiting for... WHAT IS OUR TITLE??? Well, before I announce that, some background.

    So, by this point you all should know the plot of our film is about a girl's birthday and the natural disastrous event that occurs on it, eventually changing her life. From the beginning of the film, it is very clear to the viewers that her birthday is a momentous occasion for Berkley. The disaster is very disappointing for everyone but the significance of that date has led us to name our film... drum roll please... Birthday Blues!!

    Birthday Blues is a psychology term that basically means feeling abnormally disapointed or sad on your birthday. Although as a child, birthdays are glamorized and seem like the best day of your life, as you get older, this feeling begins to fade and can be replaced with a phenomena known as 'birthday blues'.  Whether it is the feeling of being let down, scared of aging, or about a million other factors, birthday blues are very real and felt in millions of people across the world every day. Enjoy the infographic up on the left as well as the image depicting the literal feeling of birthday blues on the right.

    That's all for today! Stay tuned for our final storyboard, filming schedule, and much more to come. 

Music/Intro to Berkley

    Although copyright-free music is readily available on the Internet on resources like YouTube, BenSound, TakeTones, and much more, we decided to contact an artist named Gatlin for permission to use her song, 

What if I Love You. We feel this song not only matches our plot but the overall genre characteristics as well. It has a very upbeat and similar feeling to the overall idea regarding our project. In order to get in touch with Gatlin, we decided to contact her using Instagram. Our groupmate, Daniela (Dani) sent a direct message (DM) to her and she responded quite promptly. We received permission and look forward to using her song in our intro. Right below, in the middle, you can see a screenshot of the message we sent. On the right is the single's Apple Music cover and on the left is the song we are using within the list of songs Gatlin has released. How will we use the song? That is for us to know, and you to find out.

Who is Berkley?

    She is your typical 16 year old in 2005. She loves her friends, jewelry, and anything pink. The film will be set on the day of her 16th birthday in her bedroom. Berkley is clearly passionate regarding her birthday as she spends a seemingly excessive amount of time preparing and getting ready for her birthday. 

What does her room look like?

    Berkley's room is scattered with typical teenage features. From hair clips, neon signs, and nail polish, she truly captures the essence of an early 2000s girl. We will use reference photos from Pinterest as well as on the Internet. Filming in Daniela's bedroom, we will combine our resources and create the dream "Berkley 2005 teenage room". 

    One last thing. Okay, just kidding - two more things. Today we are completing our storyboard!! And we chose a name for our film!! So stay tuned for the storyboard reveal, name reveal, and like a gazillion more updates!!! Talk later!