The Marathon Continues

Today, my teacher had set up an online class meeting to discuss all of our progress on our projects and relay us important information. What I had taken away from this meeting was that despite the pandemic and uncertainty of it all, there still will be a final assessment and to continue working on our projects despite whatever obstacles may arise. She continued to give us more information about how online learning will go from now on and to keep pushing forward in our work and to not let the online barrier push us back any further. This was a major reassurance to know that all of our hard work and perseverance through the entire portfolio project will be deserving at the end and will count for something. Additionally, there was a bit more pressure put upon us when she introduced the possibility that this portfolio project could by itself be our entire grade rather than just a portion of it that it used to be. Despite this I feel confident in me and my group's end product result; the only other deciding factor will be my Creative Critical Reflection in which I give an in-depth analysis about the entire project production process at large. I am excited to really delve into the depths of the hard work my team and I have accomplished together, but at the same time have been procrastinating writing it. Will give you all an update as to how I get this next milestone done (hopefully) very soon!

Brave New World

The time has come. It is the first day of distant learning. Up until this point and even today, most of my peers and I really had no idea how or if the transition to online learning would realistically work. It kinda felt like we were all left in the dark, however my teachers had sent numerous messages to me about how their classes would run and had already put up assignments for me to complete which really cleared up a lot of confusion. And how this day ended up all in all was: hectic.

(For me at least)

The online learning model has pulled back the strict and scheduled regimen that us students had to follow on regular school days and given us both the blessing and burden of organizing our own schedules. This wasn't necessarily the easiest thing for me to adjust to as I now wake up five hours later than I normally would for school and as soon as I do I have to jump into a meeting and begin my online assignments, which at this point (the starting point) seem to already be piling on top of one another. This experience really opened my eyes just in the course of a single day that I really need to discipline myself and organize my time for each subject and assignment or else it would be game over. So basically:

Current To Do List

As of right now, I have yet been able to return to Austin's house to continue editing with him and we still are not done. From my last post, the list of needs still hold true and here they are with their progress in bullet format:

• Add Credits-We have established our roles for credits and the order in which they will be presented in the opening, but have yet to edit them into the piece.
• Find Music-We have yet to find a definite song for use, but Katherine has been searching the past  few days for some strong candidates. It will be something suspenseful that can effectively convey the character's inner feelings and is something to be decided upon by all of us in the near future.
• Establish Font-For the font that we are to use for the credits and title card, we all agreed upon a font that would be very clean and sharp to be reminiscent of a font that would be used on a computer or mobile device. This helps to establish the tone for the film and Austin will be experimenting with different types of fonts and will let us know as to which ones will be strong contenders.

I am glad to have a sort of grocery list of tasks to accomplish for our film opening, especially since filming is not on there which relieves a lot of stress off my plate. Seeing it all written down with the progress we have made, does put a smile on my face...

*I hope the reference is understood.*

Progress on Editing

So, in terms of being able to meet up and edit, the times in which both Austin and I are able to have become few and far between due to the pandemic and increase in the practice of social distancing, isolation, and parents being more strict on my whereabouts. However, I was able to sneak in a visit to his house where we had established to be our location for editing. This is due to Austin having not only the most optimal computer and hardware, but also having the best editing software (Adobe Premier 2019). When I went to his house, I was able to complete the entirety of line editing for the opening before I had to leave. 

This puts us in a great track to complete everything on time with the rest of editing comprising of more or less what I like to call: "the seasoning." This includes the credits, what font to use, syncing up recorded audio, and the music and sound effects.

 And yes. That is our workplace.

How to Film a Mirror

During the filming process, there were a variety of techniques we had to implement in order to create our opening. One of the most unique and helpful happened when Austin and I had to film Katherine in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies for a scene. The only issue arises when the camera we were filming with and myself would show up in the reflection; therefore, ruining the shot. So we had to think on our feet and improvise how to overcome this obstacle, and that is exactly what we did.

I came up with the idea to have Katherine screen record her phone while taking pictures of herself in the mirror in various poses, so that while filming Katherine will just have to match the movement of herself in the video. This allows us to film herself and her phone in the mirror taking pictures without having the camera in the video which is exactly the shots that we needed.

We Filmed!

The long awaited day has come and we delivered as promised! We finished the filming phase of our project. We began at around 10:30 in the morning and took us until around 2:30 in the afternoon to wrap everything up. I would say it took longer than I expected but I had a feeling it would take at least three hours, considering how specific we would all be with shots and mis-en-scene. We began with all of the set design mainly set up from the day before thanks to Katherine and began filming right away after some quick debriefing between me and my team. It went by pretty smoothly considering our planned storyboards, script, and order of events that we have established over the past weeks.

I am incredibly satisfied with what we have filmed and the fact we finally overcame this milestone. Now, it's on to editing!

Updated Set Design

Both this Tuesday and today were meant for us to gather props and other elements to complete our set design; however, due to the increasing need for social distancing and worry amid the COVID-19 outbreak, our parents have confined us to staying home. With this barrier, we had to think on our feet and work with what we had. Luckily, we were able to find posters, drwings, and other nice decor for us to use. Since we are filming at Katherine's house and had researched what our mis-en-scene elements would be, she took the liberty of preparing her room for the day of filming.

The mess (Madness)

The classy side (Beauty)

The two sides of her room are exactly what we envisioned. The contrast between the two serve to exemplify our character's struggle between the fake perfect self she chooses to have seen by the world and her inner self which she chooses to keep hidden and cluttered away; in other words, the beauty behind the madness. When Katherine sent us these pictures of the set design, I was so happy and pleased as to how it turned out and the fact that it was completed ahead of time. All this and more when I get back after filming!

Changes, Changes, Changes

Today, my group and I met up at my house to begin setting up, as well as to establish we are all on the same page by finalizing scripts, storyboards, and ideas for the film opening to begin the process of shooting tomorrow. This was the first time since my trip and the entirety of this whole Corona virus outbreak and panic that we have met up and talked, so it was nice to see they were doing well.

Since the last time we had filmed last Sunday, we decided to postpone our final filming in order to further research and plan our set design and key elements for filming, such as getting a dummy phone for Katherine to throw.

At our meeting we finished the script and all went over it. Afterwards, we began to gather items in order to start setting up in my room by going to Katherine's house as she was the one who supplied the set design last time. As we arrive to her room, we begin to bring up the idea of changing the location of filming to her house. This was because her room was completely filled with artwork, posters, and color. The way her room was organized showed the mis-en-scene of the "artsy" side of the main character we wanted to show. The only thing we would have to adjust is to create a part of her room where the "classy" and model part that she would show the online world. This was an idea that my team and I decided to follow through on for our film.

In order to adjust to this change in scenery, we decided to push back our film date (once again) to Thursday and have Tuesday and Wednesday to find decor to create the social media persona of the set design. As always, I'll keep you guys updated as to how these changes turn out :)

Case Study 2

The Quest for Perfection and Cost of Excellence

In order to gain a greater in-depth understanding for my character in "Valid", I decided to research the film "Black Swan." Black Swan follows a ballerina named "Nina" whose passion for the dance rules every facet of her life and her drive to secure the lead role reveals the dark side within. I chose this film for analysis as it deals with themes of obsession, recognition, and validation as well as the dark side effects that can follow.

Natalie Portman as "The Black Swan"

Growing Up

A key aspect of the film I wanted to delve into was the theme of growing up. This is evident in the main character and her journey. For example, her name "Nina" means "little girl" in Spanish and her mother still tucks her into bed and oversees her actions. As Nina progresses farther and farther into her quest to gain the role of the Black Swan, she begins to show signs of rebellion such as disobeying and distancing herself from her mother by going to night clubs, doing drugs, and other dangerous activities. 

Another way this is represented is with one of the supporting characters named Lily, who plays the role of the black swan and serves as a direct contrast to Nina by symbolizing adulthood and maturity. Lilly is a character who Nina sees as reckless, flirtatious, and someone who does things her way which is ironic given the name "Lily" means "pure." Her character is an embodiment of who Nina wants to be; a true "Black Swan."

Use of Mirrors

The use of mirrors in films is a great tool to visually show a character's self reflection; however, in this film it is used beyond that with the use of mirrors highlighting the internal struggles that Nina faces, serving as an exploration of who she is. The way the director shows the dehumanization that Nina's strive to be the swan queen entails is through the constant implementation of mirrors. In addition to showing great film making technique, the mirrors are riddled with symbolism as we are able to see Nina descend into madness and her transformation from dancing for the love of the art to dancing to prove others, like her mother, wrong.

Color

Colors that are commonplace throughout the film are black and white. In the beginning, Nina can only dawn the role of the white swan in the play. The white representing innocence and purity. Unlike Lily, who is not held back and rebellious, cannot take on the role of the white swan to the level Nina can because of this. However, at the end when Nina finally lets go of her innocence and the facade that she has been hiding behind her whole life, she is then able to dawn the role of the black swan which represents evil and her loss of innocence; a true contrast. 

These are all aspects of this film that I have taken away and intend to implement as inspiration into my film opening. Specifically the use of mirrors and colors were already an element my team and I had agreed upon beforehand to use, but researching how this film used it was good to see and understand. 

Thanks Corona -_- (STN Update)

Some interesting events have occurred in my life since the last time I've written here. Allow me to debrief everyone.

As mentioned before, the competition I have been preparing for since November is finally here. Student Television Network. The place where student journalists and multi-media storytellers from around the country all come together to compete and learn. I went on the plane and arrived in Washington D.C with less than 24 hours left until the convention officially began. Or at least it was supposed to until...

The Corona Virus
Source: Livescience

Long story short the convention had been cancelled because of DC Health's recommendation. While I understand the cancellation, it doesn't mean I'm happy about it especially since they had several chances to cancel it before hundreds of teams wasted their time and money to arrive; but, I digress. 

My entire TV production team (CBTV) have been pumped up, preparing, and were ready to compete and win at STN. But come Wednesday afternoon a mere one day after we arrive, we get information that nobody wanted to hear; STN has been cancelled. Hearing this news was absolutely devastating and knowing how many hours of my Saturday mornings, after school days, and time spent for meetings have been wasted didn't help either. This was a competition where I felt incredibly confident a lot of us, including myself, would have placed and won. But, I guess this confidence won't be justified until next year...

All I hope is for this outbreak to settle down, not only for the entire world's safety, but also to help make sure the rest of this filming and school year continues as normal.

The Living Storyboard

While we weren’t able to film our opening on Sunday, Austin brought up a good point and idea about how to help make our filming more efficient. He mentioned many filmmakers and directors take real draft pictures of their subjects to serve as a storyboard and when it comes time to film or even edit, it makes the process so much easier. So, thats exactly what we did since our production design was mainly finished and all of us were here. This will definitely expedite the process and centered our focus.