PROJECT

Hey! Here are the links to my portfolio project, Wake Up!! Hope you enjoy it!!

Trailers: HERE

Print Component: HERE

Social Media Component: HERE

This project was so fun to make, and I am so happy that I get to share it with everyone. I hope this project makes you appreciate things more and that it has an impact on people who watch it. Whatever impact means. Next, I will upload my critical reflection.

final reflective thoughts

Hey!! This is really bittersweet. I loved writing blogs this year. Creating something that was genuinely important and meaningful to me made the blog writing experience so much better and more enjoyable. I didn't mind it last year but didn't love it. I have improved so much in all aspects of research, planning, production, and post-production, and I am genuinely very proud of my project and the growth I've undergone. This project was stressful at times when I didn't know if I would be able to pull it together, but everything worked out in the end. I am really happy that I got to tell a story that is personal to me, and I am also really grateful that I got to do it alongside three of my closest friends.

Being able to create this project while experiencing the emotions that I was trying to portray on screen is crazy. This almost served as an outlet for me to remind myself that fears can be dealt with and overcome, and I need to wake up and appreciate things more. My next two blogs will be the link to my project components and my creative reflection. It has been such a privilege to take this class and be enlightened by its content and learning experiences. Aice Media will always have a special place in my heart.

end/reflection

Hey, so today I finished my trailers and my social media. YAYAYAYAYA! I feel a big weight off my shoulders, and now all I have to do is write my critical reflection. Before I do so, though, I want to explain how I edited the end of my second trailer with the fire. So basically, I searched it up, and I found a YouTube tutorial that explained how to change the opacity of an image. With that, I overlapped both images and faded the fire into the image using the "fade in" transition. Here it is:

I also did a Q&A on my Instagram. I made scrapbook arrangements that are supposed to look like a diary, and I made them as if they were in Blake's diary as an interactive thing with my followers. I captioned the post "A glimpse inside Blake's diary." I also uploaded my trailers and posted some of my thumbnails. With all of my components done, it is time for me to write my critical reflection. I wrote a critical reflection for my midterm grade, so I'm going to reference that really quick before I start writing this one. I also took notes in December about the critical reflection, so I'm going to find those as well.

I referenced my notes and realized that in my planning, I was missing a few things that I needed to include, like specific productions I viewed and ways I could've developed my brand better, so I added that to my Google document. I had forgotten a lot of the things that I had to do, like including multimedia in my reflection and that it was 800-1000 words so I'm glad I referenced these handy dandy notes!! 

Now I will write away and update you later!!

Hey, so it is Sunday (the next day). I am 500 words into my essay, but it is 10:39 PM, and I am really tired. I have until Wednesday to finish my critical reflection, so I will be okay. Again, I already planned out my whole essay, so I should be able to finish the rest very easily. See you soon for my last few blog posts!! (why am I sad)

so close

Hey, I'm having writer's block, but for editing because of the audio. Audio is so important, and I have discussed this before on my blog. I am just having trouble finding music that fits my trailer. So far, I used a copyright-free bell sound effect from Youtube to mimic the school bell and establish the setting, and I found a good song on Artlist to use for the very beginning but I am having trouble figuring out the rest. I am going to update you later. So I filmed the fire shot today. My dad has a blowtorch, and I had some paper bags, so (under adult supervision) I put paper bags in my dad's barbecue, and I lit it on fire with the blow torch. Here is a picture of me doing so:

I don't know how but I am going to find a way to overlap this over the shot of Blake crying but we’ll figure it out.

I FINISHED MY FIRST TRAILER YAY!!! After an hour of searching on Artlist, I found a song called “Himalaya” by Modern Aquatic (it’s copyright free) and “Birthday” by Mika Sade (also copyright free) and I edited the songs by fading different parts of each song together to make the music sound cohesive  and match the visuals. I started editing my second trailer and it’s going well. I plan to finish my second trailer today and write my critical reflection tomorrow.  Today and tomorrow I want to finish posting all of my social media content, and then that’s a wrap! I am thinking of doing a Q&A on my Instagram Story and answer some questions about my film to build anticipation. I am thinking of making another teaser for my Instagram, and adding some more pictures and then posting my trailers. I will see you soon!!

editing

Hey! So I edited my first trailer visually, and I started to edit the beginning with audio, and I like how it is turning out. I’ve been using CapCut to edit because I feel the most comfortable with that software. Here are some pictures from my editing: 

I've filmed all of my remaining shots except the one with fire, which I am filming today, and one of Bea in a graduation gown, which I am doing tomorrow. Since I didn't have those shots while editing, I just used a random clip to fill it in and estimated the amount of time the shot would last. 

Besides editing, I also revised my print component. While speaking to my teacher about the component, I realized that most streaming services don't include a tagline in their thumbnail, so I decided to take that out of the thumbnail, and here is my revised print component:

I feel like now these four are more realistic and fit the conventions of a streaming service way better. I also really like how the four thumbnails are so different from each other and show a different aspect of the movie in each one. It's also important to note that streaming services pick which thumbnail to use based on their audience member, or in other words, they cater each thumbnail to fit the likes of the audience. I think the first two thumbnails would be used to cater to an audience who likes upbeat movies, especially coming-of-age films, and the last two would be used to cater to an audience who likes more personal and intimate movies. The four provide a good representation of the film and can be used to capture a range of audience members. 

Anyways, I am going to keep editing to have everything done by this Sunday. See you soon!

critical reflection/other stuff

Hello! So, today, I did a lot of filming with my three friends, and we got a lot done. Now the only shots I have to film are at my school, and then I am done with filming!! I will try to start editing what I already have because I have the majority of the shots I need for both trailers. In my last blog post about my critical reflection, I planned all of my responses to each question, and all of the research that I have done throughout my project on genre conventions, movie posters, coming-of-age films, and trailers will be used in my essay so the only thing I can really do besides actually writing the essay (which I can't do because I haven't finished production or post production) is plan the structure of my essay.

I think I want to start my essay by talking about my film and who and what it represents which would answer the questions: How do your products represent social groups or issues? Then, I would go on to discuss how my products engage with the audience or groups of people they represent, which would answer the question: How do your products engage with the audience? and then I would talk about the branding of my products which would answer this question: How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’? Finally, I would discuss the research that went into my products and how the research contributed to all of the other aspects I discussed throughout the essay, answering the final question: How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

With my structure and ideas all written out, I really don't know what else I can do to plan for my critical reflection. But, I do know that I can show you some stuff that I filmed today. So here are some shots that I took:

These are some of my favorite shots from today. I am going to start editing today so that hopefully by the end of spring break, the only thing I have to do is film some of the voiceovers for the trailers, finish filming the shots at school, and add in the clips that I film. Next week I will update you on my filming and my editing!! See you soon!

other components!

Hey! So recently, I have been updating my social media page, and I created these two little teasers that are supposed to imitate the short vlogs that the girls make in the film. I am going to add them to Google Drive and link them here so you can see them. I took copyright-free music from the website Artlist. Here is what my social media page looks like so far: 

I have a total of 11 posts so far, and I add to them every day. One thing that I did today was make some story highlights. One of them is behind-the-scenes pictures that I took, one is just the two vlogs I have up so far, and the last is the countdown I posted. I think highlights are a great way to get people to engage with your account and see things that you already posted on your story. My profile picture right now is temporary because I want to make it my poster, but I haven't made it yet. 

Speaking of the print component, I did some research on what I need to include on a movie poster, and here is what I found. I had no idea what a "billing block" was before, but now I know that I need to include one. I also know that I need to include a title, a striking image, a tagline (optional), the release date, and any important credits. That is if I want my film to be theatrically released, which I just decided as of 1 minute ago that I would prefer to have my film released on streaming platforms. Here is one of the posters that I have made so far. In the lesson we had about print, my teacher said that we should include multiple thumbnails, so I am thinking of making three or four thumbnails. Here is my first one:

I am going to try to make another one:

And another one:

And another one:

OKAYYY!!! I am super happy with how these turned out. I used Canva to make all of these posters, and let me explain why I chose these pictures. So the first two are supposed to show the more fun and romanticized part of the film with bright colors and a striking image, while the other two thumbnails emphasize the personal and intimate parts of the movie with just Blake and her struggles. One thing I am super proud of is that on the last poster, I had writing on the journal in the original picture, but I thought it would be a good idea to erase the writing with the erasing brush on Canva and add the tagline in the journal. I think this a cool and creative way to incorporate the tagline. I also think that all 4 posters are unique and creative in their own way, and they do a good job of creating intrigue. 

In my next blog, I will further discuss my creative critical reflection. See you soon!

more production!

Hello! As I mentioned in my last blog post, I filmed some stuff with my friend the other day, and I am very happy with how it turned out. Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures: 

I have a skylight lamp in my room that makes it look like this:

I also have a salt lamp that looks like this:

So when I put them together, it creates this really cool pinkish. bluish light. I had my friend sit near the salt lamp in some of the shots to represent the inner fire that I wanted to utilize in the end of my second trailer as when she sits next to the lamp, it looks like she is being lit by fire in a way. This all will make more sense when I show you some of the shots that I took so let me do that now:

So the first picture is what I'm talking about when I say that she looks like she is being lit by the fire as there is a red reflection of light on her, and I wanted that to represent the inner fire, as I mentioned before. The second shot has more blue tones to it, which represents her sadness. The third shot is of Blake looking through baby pictures, and the fourth shot is one of the many shots I took of Blake writing in her journal.

I also took some cool pictures that I could use for my social media for my print component or both!

Here they are:

I think these would work more for my social media because I want my movie poster to feature all of the three girls and not just Blake, as the movie centers around all three of them with a focus on Blake at times. Anyways I think this is all for now. In my next blog post, I will probably discuss my print and social media component. See you soon!

reflection

Hello!!! I am back! Two days ago, I filmed some cool stuff with my friend who is playing Blake, but I will touch on that more in my next blog post. Today, I am going to talk about my critical reflection. Here is what I know about the critical reflection essay:

-It is an evaluative essay

-It should be around 1000 words

-It should answer 4 key questions:

1. How do your products represent social groups or issues?
2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
3. How do your products engage with the audience?
4. How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

-It doesn't have to be in the order of the questions

This being said, I already have an idea of the things I would talk about in each of the questions so I am going to write bullet points for each question covering what I would like to discuss

How do your products represent social groups or issues?
-My products represent young adults and teenagers

-Touches on the process of maturity and growing up

-Discusses idea of big changes in life

-Touches the idea of perception vs. reality

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

-The idea of the vlog that is being filmed throughout the film is something that I used to market the film in my social media

-I use cooler tones and filters throughout my trailers and posts on Instagram to create a nostalgic feeling and tie back to the idea of growing up

-Wake up being the name of the film and utilized throughout the marketing (countdown, vlogs)

How do your products engage with the audience?

-Everyone experiences the feeling of leaving childhood behind, and the themes in this movie are very relatable to all audiences

-The target audience is young adults. By having the movie surround young adults, this makes it more engaging

-Marketing utilizes short vlog clips serving as a teaser for the film, which is something that engages young audiences as vlogs are a popular form of storytelling

-Countdown on Instagram (wake up in 5, 4...) is engaging and intriguing for the audience because it seems like marketing is speaking directly to them

-The second trailer utilizes text like "We all just want to feel secure", " We all grow up eventually", and "Will you embrace it or fight it?" to speak directly to the audience and have them feel personally connected to the product

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

-Research on genre and its conventions helped me shape my film and characters

-Research on marketing (mix of fictional and promotional), coming of age films

-Research on movie posters and what they look like for coming-of-age films, theatrical release vs. streaming

-I wanted my products to use conventions of other coming-of-age films and this research allowed me to do so

-Conventions I followed (taken from my initial research on coming-of-age films): Emphasizes the internal thoughts of the characters as opposed to just focusing on external action, centered around teenagers, centered around major life changes and milestones, includes dramatic elements and often inject elements such as comedy and music, highlights the awkwardness and uncertainty of youth, is a slice of life narratives and highly personal story. As for other conventions that I picked up, some coming-of-age trailers use text to directly speak to the audience, most movie posters feature the protagonists and main characters as the films center around them, and most coming-of-age trailers are romanticized and dreamlike (not realistic) 

I just made a google document called "Critical Reflection" and I put these four questions and the planning I did for them. Here is a picture:

I think I did a good amount of planning, and I have a good idea of what I want to say in my reflection. I will continue to work on my reflection as I get further into my production and post-production process. See you soon!

back from the dead!

Hello! It's been a long long time. Last week I was out of town on a drama field trip so I could not blog because I was so busy. Luckily, I spoke to my teacher ahead of time and got an extension on my blog posts this week so I am in good shape. 

While I was on this field trip, although I wasn't able to blog, I was able to film some really cool stuff. Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures:

And here are some of the cool shots that I got:

These clips are going to be used throughout the trailers as part of the content for the vlogs. I am going to use some of the new content that I got to update my social media page, and I am going to continue to search for music for my trailers using the websites: Bullet Proof Bear, PixaBay, and Artlist. I have been looking for music for quite a bit and I have some options but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet so I will continue to search until I do. Today I am filming some shots in my house with the actress who plays Blake, as there are a lot of shots where she is alone, writing in her diary, looking out of her window, lying down, etc. I will see you soon!!

revison...

Hey! Let's just say that I am not happy with my social media and it needs some revision. One of the main critiques that I received during my group meeting was that my social media did not represent my genre very well, this is something that I have thought about and come to agree with. I think that my social media is a little bit too abstract for the genre and style that I am going for, which is why I am going to try a more mainstream and common marketing approach while also combining both the fictional and marketing aspect of my trailers. 

SOOO basically what I did was I made a new countdown and I basically redid my entire Instagram page and here are the posts I made which I think are a lot more fitting for my film and genre.

Here they are. I am very happy with how they turned out and Im starting to like my page a lot more. I also picked a profile picture. Here it is:

Anyways my Instagram has gone though a tremendous glow up and I am very happy about it. I am going to create a little beach vlog to post next on my social media. Here is what my page looks like. I didnt mention this before but I posted a short video (a teaser almost) of two of my friends dancing and singing at a party and then I faded both the audio and visuals to black and wrote: Wake up coming soon. So that is the video that you see there. 

Anyways I am super happy with how this is turning out and I will see you later this week for some stuff on production and my critical reflection!