Group Meeting and Technical issues.

     Today, we met in groups once again to discuss and get feedback on our projects. It went very well! I told my group about my plan to do a director's commentary and a voice-over presentation, and they all liked it. We were even able to help one of my group members work through her idea for how she should approach a twist that appears in her opening. Overall, a very productive meeting I'd say.

Now as mentioned in the post's title, the technical issues. This morning I went to go open Premier Pro and the app just crashed and wouldn't respond no matter what I tried. The program ended up closing out and I decided to just come back to it later as I figured the internet was just bad. Well, after meeting with my group, I decided to open up Premier Pro to start putting the credits and film tittle on my film. Once I opened the program though, I realized I had lost a good portion of what I have done over the past few days. My stomach literally dropped when I first saw it because I didn't know JUST how much I lost.

  

    Thankfully, while I did lose quite a bit of work, it isn't anything that I can't easily re-do, especially now that I have a better grasp on Premier Pro. Moral of the story, always make sure to consistently hit save while editing and before closing out programs!

CCR Plan

     While I’m still in the process of my project, it's time to start planning what I will do for my CCR. I will do a voice-over presentation and a director's cut to answer the four questions. For the presentation, I plan on covering the questions of how "Short Story Lover" engages with audiences and how it will the distributed, and how it represents social groups and issues and challenges conventions. When it comes to the director's cut, I plan on covering how integrated technologies into my project, and how my production skills will develop throughout the project. 

    I decided to split up the questions like this because I feel like it will be the most effective way for me to tackle the questions, especially through the presentation and director's cut. This next week is going to be one wild ride as I finish out editing and create my CCR, but I am very confident in myself that this is going to end up being an awesome project.

Editing: Still Getting the Hang of Things

     Picture this: I'm sitting on my laptop finally figuring out how to put together the shots I got last week (the tutorials definitely helped, but I over estimated just how easy this would be even with tutorials). All is going smoothly. Then I realize I'm missing two or three shots in my files panel. No worries, I'll just find them in my documents. The only issue is, they aren't there. Not a big deal though, as I know for a fact that I put them up on my google drive. Luckily, the shots were in my drive, but this little incident made me realize I need to keep better track of my files and where I do or don't put them. 

    Besides that, however, editing has actually become a bit fun. I never thought of myself as someone who would like editing as I tend to get very impatient quickly, but I'm actually enjoying this part of the project a lot. I don't want to speak too soon as I'm still just beginning this, but who would've thought the one part of this project that I was worried about the most would turn out to be the one I find most enjoyable. 

Editing: Baby Steps

  Today I begin what is personally the most intimidating aspect of this project: editing. Aside from editing a few videos for fun on iMovie, I haven't done much editing at all. I don't know what I'm really doing, so this will be an extensive learning process for me (I guess that's the whole point of this course, haha). 

    I've done the beginning steps of what I have to do like downloading Premier Pro. I had to download it on my sister's computer since my computer is too slow to run it, it can barely run Google Drive half the time. Now that I'm able to work on a faster computer, it's probably best that I don't go straight into editing blind. I found a few tutorials on YouTube to help me get a bit familiar with Premier Pro before I start anything. 

    The video above was really helpful in that it just helped me familiarize myself with the software and know the basics of what everything does so that I wouldn't feel as overwhelmed going into editing. While I'm sure it doesn't cover every single feature that is available to me on Premier Pro, it does show me the basics like how to actually edit my clips together, how to use transitions and effects, how to edit sound, and even how to keep my files organized.

   This next video I also found extremely helpful, as it gives plenty of tricks and tips on how to make Premier Pro work a little better if you don't have the best computer out there. Now that I'm working on my sister's laptop, even just opening the app is a lot easier, but I wanted to make sure the computer and the app work as well as possible, so that the editing process may go as smoothly as possible. 

Filming: Day 2

 And just like that, filming for "Short Story Lover" has come to a close! Everything went fairly smoothly, and I'm excited to start the editing process! Big thanks to Ace who helped me get the shots I needed today.

Filming: Day 1

     Today was day 1 of 2 of filming for "Short Story Lover", and it went great! I was able to get every clip I needed of Roman, played by my incredible friend Nacho. We did hit a few bumps in terms of the picture that was supposed to go on the nightstand because we had originally planned to use a picture we took at school together, but when it printed and we put it in the frame Nacho's face was almost entirely cut off!

    Luckily, Nacho had a portable printer that we could use, so we took another picture and placed it on his nightstand for the film, and the second photo actually turned out a lot better than the first in my opinion!

    Once the photo dilemma was resolved, we were able to shoot without any issues. Here are two of my favorite shots that we got today.

Film Week!

     The week of filming is upon us! I film Roman's scenes on Thursday after school at my friend Nacho's house (Nacho will be playing Roman), and Ceciia's scenes will be filmed on Friday at my house.

    I had originally intended on setting up the room and decorations for Cecilia's scene between Thursday night and Friday morning, but my mom had told me and my sister to clean our room today, and I decided to take the opportunity and start setting up now since my room is freshly clean! I have to thank my little sister Mari for helping me set up a lot of the find decorations I'm using, she has great taste when it comes to decorating and helped me realize the exact look that I was looking for. All that is missing are the fairy lights which I will add on Friday when I am able to go out and get batteries for them.

{my sister trying to help me figure out where to put a jewelry box}

{me cleaning the desk mirror}

{the end result, plus me and my sister in the desk mirror :)}

   As you can see from the pictures some of the items got moved around a bit while we tried to figure out what looked best, but I think the end result is the perfect look I'm going for. I truthfully could have still waited till Thursday, or even tomorrow to begin setting up the decorations, but I am so excited to film this project that I couldn't wait! 

The Screenplay

    I am being completely honest when I say I have never thought of myself as someone who is very good at writing dialogue. And while I know the screenplay for "Short Story Lover" isn't anything over complicated or out of this world, I can't help but feel proud of myself for what I've created so far. The screenplay itself ended up being just over two pages (and by just over I mean the last page has one line on it).

 FADE IN:

INT. CECILIA’S BEDROOM - DAY

We see some flowers in a green vase as the camera pans over a cluttered, yet organized, dresser.

CECILIA, a 17-year-old aspiring writer is sitting on her bed, typing away at yet another short story. 

CECILIA

(hitting the delete button repeatedly)

Hmm. No that’s not right.

CUT TO:

INT. ROMAN'S BEDROOM - DAY

We see a hand playing the guitar. We zoom out and see ROMAN, a blonde 17-year-old, sitting on his bed trying to get the chords right to a song. 

ROMAN stands and checks himself out in the mirror then flops back onto his bed. He looks over at a framed picture of him and CECILIA, smiling, he reaches for his phone.

INT. CECILIA'S BEDROOM - DAY

A phone buzzes on the dresser.

CECILIA

(picks up the phone)

Hi, Roman!

INTERCUT ROMAN/CECILIA

ROMAN

Hey Ceci, what’re you doing?

CECILIA

Oh you know, the usual

ROMAN

Writing again?

CECILIA (V.O.)

Mhm, yup.

ROMAN

Yeah? What’re you writing about this time? Another Romance?

CECILIA (V.O.)

(playful)

That is information for me to know, and you do not.

ROMAN

Right, my bad. 

ROMAN looks over at the picture on his nightstand

ROMAN (CONT’D)

(a bit nervous)

Hey so I was wondering if you wanted to, maybe go out tomorrow night?

CECILIA

(distracted)

Uh, yea sure.

ROMAN

(excited)

Okay cool, I was thinking we could go get some food and then maybe go see a movie!

CECILIA

Yeah, sounds fun.

ROMAN

Perfect, what time do you want me to-

CECILIA

(cutting ROMAN off and oblivious to what is happening)

Ooh, you know who’s been dying to go to the movies lately? Isa and Audrey. I’ll let them know about tomorrow, sounds good?

ROMAN

(disappointed but trying not to show it)

Uh yea, sounds good.

ROMAN hangs up the phone defeated and tosses it onto his bed.

ROMAN

(talking to his reflection)

Well, you tried.

Full Story Board

  The full story board is finally here! As I have mentioned I'm not the best artist, but what matters is that I can understand what is going on, and it will help me while I am filming.

   

     I had finished the story board at the very end of last week, and was planning to post the full thing on my blog, however, everytime I looked it over to post it, I felt like something was missing. Originally, the opening ended with Roman looking disappointed that Cecilia was going to invite some of their other friends to join them. However, I felt that is was too abrupt, and the scene needed a proper ending. That's when I thought  to add two more shots of Roman hanging up the phone and tossing it on his bed, and then giving himself some words of encouragement while looking in the mirror. With this, I think the scene would feel more complete.

    

    While doing the storyboard I realized there was a lot of repetitive back and forth, and I wanted to show more of Roman's reaction to what Cecilia is saying over the phone. I remembered how in a lot of movies when people are on the phone you can sometimes hear one person over the phone while still seeing the other and I thought that would be a cool thing to do for my opening. 

Posters

 This week has felt hectic already and it's only Tuesday! Nevertheless, the show must go on, and I need to ensure I'm progressing on my project. Today I emailed my dad some poster designs I found on Pinterest to print that I can use for Roman's room. These posters are decorations for Roman's room and are meant to provide a more personalized atmosphere by accentuating Roman's love of music.

    I also wanted to know what decorations were already available at Nacho's house, Nacho is the guy who is playing Roman, and in whose room I am filming Roman's parts of the opening. I texted him and asked what he had already up in his room, and he sent me a picture. A lot of the decoration thankfully already fits the aesthetic I am trying to go for Roman's room which is awesome and so helpful.

                                     

  

This post will likely be the last I make about props (I know there have been quite a few), and during the remainder of this week, I will finish off my screenplay, and do some research on editing videos using Adobe.

Props: Cecilia's Room Decor

    Today I got the chance to go out with my dad and buy a few things for my film opening. While I already have some of the decorations for Cecilia's room, I wanted to make sure I'm able to create the look I want for the space. We ordered the flowers I mentioned in one of my previous posts, and they're meant to get arrive sometime this week. Once that was ordered, we went to Five Below and were able to find a few things to help create the right ambiance I'm looking for. It's important to me that everything looks just right, especially each character's room as a person's room reflects and showcases so much of their personality and what they like. I want Cecilia's room to feel cozy and lived in, she really enjoys things like plants and books, and candles so I want to make sure to have those elements in the room.

   As for what I bought today, while I already have some fairy lights at home, I decided to get a few more just in case the ones I have don't work, or I just felt like the room could use some more lights. I got a small pink pot that I thought would look very cute with some pens in it since Cecilia is a writer after all. I also got a basket that I plan on decorating with some fake vines and a candle and plan I bought, and finally a golden floral-looking mirror for the wall. 

    I pretty much have all the decorations I want for Cecilia's room, save for a salt lamp my friend is letting me use, and some fake plants my dad said I could borrow from his kitchen which I think will tie together the whole set. As for Roman's room, I'm in the process of picking posters to print out to put up. 

    During this upcoming week, the plan is to finish the screenplay for the opening, pick and print out posters for Roman's room, and do a bit of research on editing on Adobe. That's all for now!

Story Boarding and Planning Detour

     Story Board

    Over the past few days, I've been trying my best to work on my storyboard for the opening. I must admit that I'm not the best artist and while I know storyboards don't have to look perfect, this has been discouraging me from working on it as much as I would have liked because I kept getting frustrated relatively easily that I wasn't able to draw exactly what I wanted. Even still, I pushed through and managed to finish most of the storyboarding. For now, here are the first six shots I plan to do for the very beginning of my opening. 

Planning Detour

    Originally, I had scheduled the majority of my filming to take place over next weekend, March 11th and 12th, however, I was told that I would be out of town on those days. Thank goodness I found out this far ahead because now, I plan on filming throughout the week after, March 13th-17th, and spending my spare moments that weekend researching how to properly edit a video using adobe since I have never had to edit an entire 2-minute film before.