AICE Media Studies

  Last time we focused on the audio in our film. Today we did our film review. Each member in the group was required to send our film to one person they know. We wanted to get very honest feedback so we told the people we sent our films to to be brutally honest. Then after we got all our feedback, we discussed together the things that should be changed in our film. I decided to send the film to my uncle. My uncle gave both positives and negatives. On the positive side, he said he found our plot very interesting and creative. He said that it kept him entertained. Another good thing he said was that he thought that we utilized the angles very well in the film. He said the good use of angles made it seem professional. On the downside, he said the lighting in some shots was poor and it was too dark. This is partly my fault due to the fact that I am the cameraman as i could've used certain camera settings to lighten up the shots. Another thing he said was that the background music didn&

  Due to the record organization not responding to our request to borrow their music, we had to settle for some royalty free music. One more effort of editing from me was needed for this project. I was tasked with editing the sound/ music. First, I had to find royalty free music that fit our film. It was very difficult and slightly frustrating because i could not just use any song i wanted to. Eventually i found some intense music to fit with the robbery scene. Next I had to make the music sound just right. I could not make it too loud because then you could not hear what was going in with the dialogue in the film. But i could not make it too quiet either because then the viewer would not feel the impact that the music has on the scene. So, I made it the perfect volume that it brings context to the scene but is also just background music.  

  Today my group was on the mission to find music to go with our film. Last time we filmed the first scene of our film so we have an idea of the type of music we want to use. I thought our film would go best with some background music that sounded mysterious to help express the idea of the movie. There are two different routes to obtaining the music for our film. One way is just using Royalty Free Music from YouTube. This is the easier and more simple way to go as we wouldn't need to ask for the rights of the music. The other way is if we aren't using Royalty Free Music, we would have to ask the licensing organization of the song for the permission to use it in our film. In this case,  we found a song we wanted to use in our film and we emailed the licensing organization asking for permission to use the song and explaining that our purpose for using the song was for a school filming project. Just in case the licensing organization does not respond nor give us permission to use

 One more effort of editing from me was needed for this project. I was tasked with applying filters to the film.  For many of the clips, I looked through all the filters the editing software had to offer. In most clips I wanted to use a filter that made the picture darker to show the mood in the bank robbery scenes. For some clips it was difficult to find a good filter to express what i wanted to express from the filter into the film. I think I found the right filters though. I believe i utilized them correctly as well. I also had to adjust the color grading in the film. This was a confusing and sophisticated thing I had never done before. So I went to YouTube to learn. After some practice of some other videos, I was able to color grade my film. I strived towards making certain pictures more prominent and bright in the film to bring out the energy and intensity that a action film has to offer. Overall, this was a cool new skill i learned that i am proud of now being familiar with. Now

  Now that our filming was finished, it is time to start the editing portion of the project. I was tasked with assisting in the editing of the project. I got the right editing software that i wanted to use and i was ready to go. The first thing that was done was all the clips we wanted to use were put all together in the correct order. Before putting these clips in we discussed which ones we wanted to use as a group. Then, after that, the real editing started. One of the things that was done was editing of the transitions. Certain different transitions were implemented like jump cuts to transition from one clip to another efficiently. Transitions may look small and subtle, but they play a big role in projecting certain moods to a audience. They also are important because they transition between scenes which is a challenging thing to do. I believe i utilized them correctly as well. Overall, a good start to the editing process of the project. I am excited seeing the film now being put to

 Finally on to the last scene. After lots of filming I had one more scene of camera work to go. This film session would take place at the store that would play as a bank in the film. The store was closed down for the film session. My group changed into their costumes for the film and we were almost ready to go. After preparing the first shot, filming had started. Today was more challenging than the other days as a cameraman because i was not familiar with the film site. Because of this we had to retry some of the shots several times. But after a lot of rigor and perseverance, I have filmed a short film!  I am proud of what I have created and my group members were a big help. But now, in order to put all these shots together and make this film perfection, editing is needed.

 After plans were cancelled, the next step was to film at the library. We got to the library. I set up the filming set so it would be ready to go. My group changed into their costumes for the film and we were almost ready to go. I looked over where we left off and what shots we needed to film now. I then spent a couple minutes discussing the types of angles and shots we were to use during the film. I am the groups cameraman so this was very important for me. Now we were ready to go. I got everyone into the right spot for the first shot. Then I got into my position and we started. We worked fluently and finished the scene. I also looked over the shots and redid the ones that my group members thought could use improvement. Overall, I believe I did very well today with filming the angles correctly. I think our film came out good. One more scene to film and then the editing process starts.

 My plan today was to film the next scene at the library. We were to go to Luke's house once again. Sadly at the last minute, our plans had to be cancelled. We realized that a couple of us had a meeting for sports to attend at the same time we were supposed to film. So we weren't able to film today. I still tried to make progress today so we discussed some things involving our project. One thing I talked about was the filming schedule. We agreed on a better date and time that we would all be able to film and we talked about the progress of our film too. Another thing we talked about was our situation involving music. I made adaptations to this setback and altered the film schedule to better fit everything. This is pretty disappointing but i think I will get a lot of work done next time.

Finally we get to start filming. This film session would take place at lukes house to film one of our scenes. Our group all met at the film site. We set up the filming set so it would be ready to go. My group changed into their costumes for the film and we were almost ready to go. We then spent a couple minutes discussing the types of angles and shots we were to use during the film. I am the groups cameraman so this was very important for me. Now we were ready to go. I got everyone into the right spot for the first shot. Then I got into my position and we started. We worked well together even though we made some mistakes. Sometimes I would accidentally shake the camera a little or I wouldn't really like the angle i was filming at. Other times the actors would make mistakes like stuttering over a line or going out a character. Because of this we had to retry some of the shots several times. We also looked over the shots and redid the ones we thought we could have improved on. When w

Next up for today the next task was to set up filming times. My film has several different scenes in several different locations. This makes a schedule for filming times important. The three film locations are at luke's house, at hamill tire, and at the library. So, I will need to schedule at least 3 different times for filming. It is import that i also schedule times that meet my group members needs as well. After discussion with my group members, I scheduled the filming times. Scene 1 will be filmed at the library on February 18 at 2pm. Scene 2 will be on February 19 at 12pm at the store. Scene 3 will be filmed at lukes house on February 12th at 5pm. Now that the film times are set, I am getting closer to finally filming with my group. Things are looking promising.

Last time i acquired the props for my film. Next i needed to get costume. Since i am the assigned camera man the costume will not be for me. The costumes are for my group mates. Costumes are what actors wear in a film. Costumes are used to adapt to situations in the film to make it seem more realistic. For my film i need dark and shady clothing to match the stereotype of a robber. I also need casual teenager clothes to match the stereotypes of a teenage boy. I look at several different stores for grey hoodies for my cast and masks to make them look like robbers. I was able to find what i was looking for. I am satisfied with what i found. I cant wait to start filming!

Now that I have gotten all of the research out of the way, it is time to start gathering material. The film has a action scent to it so props will be very crucial to use. Props give films a realistic image. Props are used to replace expensive or unrealistic items in a film. They are also just items that are needed for certain scenes. In this case I needed props like fake money and a bag for the money for the film. I decided that shopping for these products would be the best idea to find them. First, I looked at party city and couldn't find anything. Then, I looked at a local grocery store. I couldn't find anything there either. Ultimately i ordered the items online. They will be arriving soon. The effective utilization of props is crucial in the portrayal of film.