Project links

 Film opening

CCR Q's 1 and 2

CCR Q's 3 and 4

Final reflection (30)

     Overall, this project has had its ups and downs but came out good in the end. I am sure this is similar to many other people as many of us went into this project having little background on production, it was a rocky start for many of us. However, with the help of our teacher, classmates, research, trial and error- I got it done. I am actually kinda proud of the final product. It wasn't as big as I initially dreamed up, but turned out better than I thought it would. 

    During the planning I had all these huge ideas and visions. While during the production, I started getting hit with reality and even my watered down ideas seemed like too much even. Although, being with 3 other people in a group helped motivate me. We had a group chat that we would all help each other finding sound, dates to film, deciding costumes, who makes which props, and more. This project was long, hard, and very time consuming.

     I have never tackled such a big project before that takes course over such a long period of time. I'm glad I now have this experience and had the opportunity to overcome a new hard task. I am usually a procratinator when it comes to long projects. Im the type of person that likes to sit down and get everything done as soon as possible and then forget about it. Having to pace myself, set out a schedule for the blog posts, and schedule filming process as well as post production was a heavy weight put on myself.

I beleive if I were to do something like this again, or re film- I would do things differently and of course better. Even so, I would not chose to do this project again if i'm being honest. As I now have more knowledge and experience, I have found it is not my choice of hobby. Now, I can explore new h=things, and opportunities and possibly even take on my newfound experience and knowledge and build it onto something else. 

CCR post-production (29)

 After the scripting, planning, and filming of my CCR's, now it's time to edit! I actually really enjoy this part, I love making everything come together in the way I want to. I can make all the micro and macro changes and have everything as I pictured in my head. I have been using adobe premiere pro and imovie to edit my CCR as well as my film. Making all final touches to each. 

    I really loved sifting through all of the clips to find the perfect one. This led me to look over a lot of the bloopers and get a good laugh in, while working on editing. The CCR was overall fairly easy to film, as I was only dependent on one other person (that I had as a voice actor) for one of the CCR's, as well as having my brother film a bit for my diary entry CCR- and that's it. Everything else I did completely on my own. I got to voiceover on my own time, edit on my own time, and research by myself.

    Here I am working on transitions. The way teh clip fades or cuts away to another can affect the scene as a whole. There are many transitions I can chose from, yet i've found it the best to stick with regular cut instead of a fade, as it is easier on the eye. I am also not very experiences with editing so I believe the best choice for myself is to make it simple and clean.

    

    In this screenshot, I am editing the speed of each clip. Some clips I talk a bit fast but only at some points. So two or three words mesh together. In this case, I split the clip at the beginning and end of the phrase I spoke too fast over and slow just those words down a tiny bit so that it is barely noticable but nwo clearer to hear what I am saying. Even though I took multiple "just in case" takes of each clip i filmed- I still found little flaws in each one. Maybe I am just picky with my own work, but fixing these small details makes me feel better. 

    Other clips are more simple to slow down. For example, some clips of my friend voicing over are very fast as she speaks fast. This leave sit hard to understand exactly each word she says. Knowing my friend isn't the best voice actor as she has little to no experience with filming or script reading, she dod the best she could and was one of my only options. Working with what clips I have, I figured I can slow down the clips that she talks fast just a little bit so it is more clear. This feature has helped me a lot in editing.

CCR production (28)

 Heyyy so today I finished up filming for my CCR's and it was so much work but so much fun! I had to film one of my CCR's at my barn with my friend helping me. As one of my CCR's is my own take on an "interview" type of video. It took us 2 whole hours to film it and I had to bring a script. We were outside so I couldnt bring my computer so I brought a printed script. We had to use random walks from keeping it from blowing away! Heres the script we went off of for my CCR based on questions 3 and 4:

"How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?" 

Horse: “Hey you!” 

Uhhhh what hello? 

Horse: “Over here!” 

Ahhh! Why... are you talking?!?! 

Horse:“Doesn't matter. I have important questions to ask you!” 

-shocked- 

Horse:“I heard you created a film! Ive never watched films before, only heard about the other humans talking about them. Can you pleeeaseee tell me about yours?” 

uhhh sure but what do I get out of this? 

Horse: Ill give you.....and apple! 

-laughs- okay... you know what. Sure. 
 

    Our genre is a coming of age, .  

Horse: “whats that?” 

Basically, in our film we suggest character growth, from childhood to adulthood by introducing an "innocent" character to adult beverages and more mischevious friends that are into doing illegal things.  

Horse: “WHAT. What illegal things do they do?” 

lunderage drinking which expose Sammy to more mature decisions. Yet, like any teen she just wants to fit in. Giving into peer pressure. This film can be relatable as she tries to get out of her new bad habits throughout the film as she dicovers who she wants to be. 

Horse: “what are her friends like?” 
 

    We incorporated dialogue to represent the relationships between the three girls. As this is another key aspect of coming of age films. You will mostly see Vicky and Sophia talking, as they are the two friends that encourage Sammy to drink. This helps display their loud and controlling personalities as they project their inner conflicts onto Sammy. 

We made sure to focus on body language as well, inmost scene you will see Sammy covering herself with her arms or have her head down, while Vicky and Sophia are very loud with open body language and very expressive faces. Sammy is internally battling what is right and what is wrong as she hangs out with these new friends. This also is a representation of personal growth.  

Horse: “ooo this is so interesting tell me more!” 

-laughs- We weren't able to actually show the personal growth or have a hopeful ending like traditional coming of age film because we can fit that all into an opening scene. But we do have her personal growth planned for the films overall plot of finding herself identity after her mom passed away. 
 

    “Wow that's super detailed. You guys really thought out the whole plot then. Well, as you said its a coming of age film, arnt there friend groups that are usually represented?” 

    Yes of course! Those would be social groups. Our product represents social groups by presenting the contrast between the deviant girls Vicky and Sophia and the innocent girl Sammy.  

“How do you know which ones are the bad influence?” 

There is a strong distinction between the two, as the characters Vicky and Sophia partake in rebellious behavior like acquiring alcohol. This is their social group; they are friends because they both do the same illegal activities.  

“isn't Sammy a good kid though? Why would she associate with these bad influences?” 

Sammy, who is trying to find friends anywhere is just trying to fit in. This is where the social issue comes in. Sammy wants so badly to fit in, even though these behaviors Vicky and Sophia display are the opposite of what Sammy would usually participate in.   

 

“So what happens to sammy?” 

The characters Vicky and Sophia clearly have a bad influence on Sammy, but Sammy ends up complying because of wanting to be a part of this social group.  

“But how far will she go to fit in? What happens next? What will she do?” 

Thats what youll have to find out when you watch the film 

 

Question #2 

“How does your project engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?” 

“Do you have any other questions?” 

Horse: “yeah how does you film actually engage the audience? Why are humans so fixated on these films, especially yours?” 

My project engages with audiences by having a relatable teenage experience. As it is a coming-of-age film, we included underage drinking and peer pressure.  

Horse: Oh really? Can you explain that more? Humans are so odd to me. 

Both of these themes are very relatable to not only teens going through it, but also adults that remember their teen years. Either way, our film scene will raise awareness to how manipulative some “friends” can be and how the people you surround yourself can affect your behavior.  

Horse: “Where did you record this? And why” 

The setting being at a pool/park area creates a warm and inviting feel. It being sunny out and in a setting of fun- makes the audience feel how Sammy does. It can be confusing when you're invited to do something bad, but the surrounding contrast the bad and gives off a welcoming mood.  

Horse: Why does a park give off that vibe? 

A playground is where innocent children play, and the two girls convincing her to drink are not scary looking or wearing dark colors. They too, seem very welcoming. This gives insight to the characters inner battle between right and wrong, which is a very relatable and engaging topic for other teen viewers as well as adults, who can relate back to their teen years and reflect.  

Horse: “where do these humans watch your film?” 

I would distribute my media in theatres after heavily promoting it on social media. Once it gains attention I have plans to get it distributed on vimeo and even YouTube for easy access. Make sure to check it out! 

 

-end scene-

As well as I filmed my voiceover for my other CCR based on questions 1 and 2 of a a journal entry. Here is my script for that one:

Journal/ diary 

 

Voiceover- inner thoughts 

Behind the lens 

 

Entry 1 – march 13 2025 

-writing in jounral over shoulder shot sketching out storyboard 

-close journal, front cover says title of film zoom in 

-clip of opening film  

Voiceover  

“dear diary, creating an opening scene was something I have never done before, but thanks to my media studies class- this was something I got to explore and experiment with this year. With many bumps in the road like” 

-insert clip of beach being dark 

“Like our location of filming becoming too dark and all filming that day going to waste” 

“Turned into a great bonding experience with my group” 

-inset photo of us at the beach 

“We had to get creative, switch locations, and backtrack. But we made it work.” 

“We started off with storyboarding” 

Storyboarding is when you plan out each desired scene as a drawing. This helps you turn your visuals into relaity and plan for hwo you will put each scene together as well as the overall plot 

-insert clips of story board and script 

“I found that I developed a specific liking to the storyboarding process as I love to draw and create. Even though this isn't exactly what we ended up filming, as a rough draft it was great to go from.’’ 

“I'm proud of my newfound love for the pre-filming process.” 

“I also learned that i enjoy acting, at the same time I also learned I'm not that good at it.” 

“I didn't realize how many times we would have to retake the same clip to get it right” 

-insert clips of us saying “no again”- 

“I found it surprising that filming was my least favorite part. I think this is because it becomes stressful very easily when we all can't meet up to film at the same times and our filming days kept getting pushed back” 

-insert clip of me at the beach's saying “we are so cooked” 

“We really thought we were going to get super behind, but we powered through and finished filming after having to change locations. “ 

“Then, we got to editing, which I personally really enjoyed. Editing is quiet, on my own, and whenever I want. There is no set day or location I have to be at to edit, it's a flexible schedule for the pre and post filming. I believe this is why i figured out my production skills have improved the most on the storyboarding and editing portions of producing a opening scene” 

“I got to play around with coloring, especially for the black and white coloring to indicate a flashback” 

-insert coloring change 

 

Entry 2 

March 14 2025 

Dear Diary,  

Looking back on my project, I have now realized how much technology I was newly exposed to and did so well with! I wasn't used to all of it, but I ended up doing pretty well. 

For starters, we used my canon camera to film our project as well as the use of a tripod to steady the camera. 

-insert photo of camera set up 

 This allowed us to avoid any shaky shots as many of our shots are not intended to look handheld. For software, we used iMovie and adobe premiere pro to edit our shots together as well as make transitions. We did some coloring in the photo's app in the editing section which was very easy and convenient. Especially since most of our editing just required some lighting adjustments and one scene turning black and white. 

-end scene-

I used voice memos to do the voiceover as well as mini microphones to get better audio in both of my CCR's

I put together some of the bloopers from my filming at the barn!

    It was a lot of fun filming! I also had to memorize my lines on the spot. Even though I wrote the script myself, I still had to memorize word for word for the camera and I didn't expect it to be as hard as it was. Here is a blooper of my messing up my lines!