The Music

 Hi all! We are nearing the end of week seven. That's crazy to think about! 

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I looked back at the audio I used last year for my portfolio project to see if I could possibly use it again. 

Audio from portfolio project last year

After re-listening to it, I didn't love it and I decided to look for more options. Riley shared with me this website called artlist.io which has a lot of royalty-free music and sound effects we can use in our trailers. I searched sci-fi and listened to some of the songs that came up until I found one that I thought would work the best. I liked the song called "The Void" by Stephen Keech and I am thinking about using it. 

I am gonna edit it into the trailer and ask a few of my classmates their opinions to see if it's a good fit. I also looked up some sound effects I could use. I also searched for sounds of a camera shuttering, a clock ticking, and time travel. These were the three I liked the best and will most likely be using. 

Old cameras shuttering sound

Clock ticking sound

Back in time sound

I am going to edit the music and these sound effects in now. Wish me luck! Bye for now. 

The Editing:

Hi everyone! I am currently writing this at 36,000 feet high in the sky, I am on my way to New York City. 

Since my last posting, I am almost done editing the trailer. I just have to add some final touches to the clips and add in the credits and release date of the film. I am not sure if I want to put the credits and release date at the beginning or end of the trailer. I’ll do both and see what looks better. Surprisingly it was much easier to edit than I thought it would be. I finally see Riley and I’s vision for our project coming alive. 

When editing the last few clips, where Olivia (Abby) is transported into the 2020 COVID-19 alternate timeline I tested out the iMovie filters to use to make the footage differentiate from the rest of the clips. After testing out a few of them, I decided on the filter named Camo. Here’s what it looks like in the trailer so far: 

Moving on, it is time to start thinking about audio. Since I did a sci-fi movie trailer last year for the portfolio project I have already used and researched music that I think could work in this trailer too. I would have to go back to my audio files from last year, implement them in the trailer, and see what works best. I also want to include some sound effects, possibly the sound of a camera shuttering, a clock ticking, and maybe some Foley as well. I will test all of this out soon and update you all on how it goes and what sounds I decide to utilize. 

See you soon!

Week Seven: Let the editing commence!

Hey everyone, it is officially week seven of the project! The difficult part of this week is that is also spring break. 

As I mentioned in another posting, I will be going on vacation to New York City from this Thursday to Sunday. So I have started editing now! I have officially decided to use iMovie to edit and Riley will do the same. I am more comfortable editing on the iMovie app on my phone rather than using my laptop. 

I texted Riley to make sure we know which clips each of us should be editing.  To create the two trailers, Riley and I are dividing and conquering to ensure that the trailers have different aspects and qualities to them. Although they will utilize the same clips we are using different editing techniques. Riley is using text graphics to differentiate from my trailer. We are both taking creative liberty on our trailers to make them different from one another. 

I will continue editing for the rest of the week and keep updating on how the progress goes. See you in the Big Apple aka New York City. 

End of Week Six

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but we need to start editing this week.

It's a hectic week and a half ahead, but starting the editing progress is crucial. Now that spring break has officially started, it's time to get down to business. Although my upcoming week is somewhat packed, I'll definitely carve out time for editing. I'll be away in New York from Thursday to Sunday, but I'm bringing my laptop to edit during the journey.

As I said previously, I will use iMovie to edit. Riley and I will definitely be splitting up the editing and each edit one of the trailers. To start prepping, I researched some specific iMovie techniques I can use in my trailer. Here's what I discovered:

One technique I can use is "cutting on action." This means transitioning from one shot to another at the exact moment something happens in the scene, like a character opening or closing a door. It keeps the trailer engaging and makes the action flow smoothly. Another handy tool is the "split screen" feature, which can show multiple scenes simultaneously. This can be great for highlighting different elements of the story or creating suspense by showing two events happening at once. Experimenting with these techniques can add excitement to my trailer.

Adding special effects can also take my sci-fi trailer to the next level. iMovie offers a range of effects like "Green Screen" and "Lens Flare" that can enhance the futuristic vibe of the trailer. With Green Screen, I can place my actors in any environment imaginable. Lens Flare adds a cinematic touch, making my scenes look more dynamic and polished. iMovie has a library of sound effects and music tracks that I can use to create atmosphere and build tension in my trailer.

That's it for now! See you next week for my editing process.

Filming, Once Again!

I've been saying for a while that we need to finish filming, and we finally did it!

Last night I met up with Riley, Abby, and Josh and we figured out which scenes needed to be redone. Luckily we only had to fix three scenes in the first trailer. In one of the scenes, Jenna and Abby look at the camera together, and Josh walks up behind them mysteriously. Unfortunately, Jenna couldn't make it last night, and we couldn't schedule another day, so we had to cut her out of that scene. It shouldn't affect the storyline too much. Since we're making trailers instead of a full film, we can use short clips and combine them easily. We also shared some behind-the-scenes stuff on social media.

From the Shutter Instagram story

Here's a photo of us reshooting last night:

The first time we filmed this scene, it was daytime and didn't look scary or sci-fi/fantasy-like enough. Josh also had to change his clothes because he was wearing a bright bathing suit the first time we filmed, so this time he wore dark sweatpants and a black hoodie. Abby wore the same outfit as before, but it doesn't matter because this scene happens on a different day in the trailer. We also redid the car chase scene at night, which made it look more dramatic and exciting, than it did before.

Car chase scene

That's it for now, see you in my next posting!

The Start of Week Six:

Hello everyone! It is officially week six. It's time to start locking down on all our components. 

As I mentioned last week, after rewatching Josh's scenes we shot, we were not satisfied with them. We have now set a date for that to re-film these scenes. We're meeting up tomorrow night to re-film three scenes again.

Since spring break is coming this week, we had to decide on a reshooting day quickly. Unfortunately, our actress Jenna who plays Maddie is not available tomorrow night. It's tough to find a time when everyone can make it, so Jenna won't be in the scenes we are redoing. It's not a big deal because she was only in one scene, and it's easy to take her out of it. I'm relieved we sorted this out so we can start editing both trailers sometime next week. We also officially decided to use iMovie for editing because it's easier for Riley and me to use.

Instagram page

I also wanted to include this post to showcase the latest update on our Instagram. I used a still shot from one of our scenes, so our followers can get an idea of what is to come of the content of the trailers. The shot is of the "vintage" camera with a picture of Maddie (Jenna), with the camera lying on the floor. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation and mystery to the audience.

That's all for now! I'll be back to discuss the concluding day of filming and potential trailer elements.

Thinking about Editing

It is about that time... thinking about editing. 

Hi everyone! It is the last day of week five. About to head into week six! Exciting but nerve-racking. 

Anyway, I have typically resorted to using iMovie for editing because I find it easy to use, but I think Adobe Premiere Pro might give us a better final result. So, I will have to research more into Adobe Premiere and learn how to navigate it.

We have to reshoot some scenes, mainly the ones with Bennett (Josh) because he plays the main bad guy. It's tricky though to start editing without all the scenes in place. We need to find a day for reshooting, but it's hard because everyone has such busy and different schedules.

Josh is only in a few scenes for the first trailer. These scenes are crucial, so we need to decide when to reshoot them. In the second trailer, Josh is in just one scene, so we might start editing that trailer first. It's a scene where his character, Bennett, gets an envelope with a camera inside, which explains where the camera comes from.

Right now, Riley and I have all the footage from filming in a shared album. Our next step is to organize the footage into separate albums for each trailer. This will make editing much easier. We also talked about some clips that might be used in both trailers. I'll write more about this and other trailer details in a later post.

The next steps are organizing the footage, editing the second trailer, and finishing the reshoots. Check back next week!

Print Component Research

Hi everyone! Sick of me yet? I am back with another posting for this week. This post will be on thinking about the print component of our project. 

On Monday, we had a lesson on the print component of the portfolio project and I learned a lot about the key art poster. Here are some notes I gathered from the lesson: 

Film Promo- Poster

• Choices dictated by the distribution plan

• Main key art for marketing 

• Theatrical release 

• title 

• key art 

• production credits 

• tagline 

• Streaming release 

• multiple thumbnails w/key art

• title 

• few production credits

Following this lesson, I was excited to get started on the poster. Riley and I won't start working on it until week seven of the project, so for now we are just doing research and brainstorming. Since we're planning a streaming release rather than a theatrical one, I looked at thumbnails from a Netflix original movie, The Adam Project. 

I knew that when you see small pictures representing shows or movies on streaming platforms, they don't always just use the main poster image. Sometimes they use a picture from an actual scene in the show or movie. For example, the thumbnails from scenes in The Adam Project. I think these pictures really capture the essence of the movie and make people want to watch it.

This is the poster for the show Manifest. It has a tagline, title, and where you can watch it. I like how these posters focus more on the main picture than the title. Now we just need to pick the right picture to use for our poster.

Bye for now!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Hi everyone! It is officially week five. Time is flying by!

Yesterday, Riley and I were able to start filming. We contacted our actors last week and asked them what day and time would work best for them to meet with us and start the production process. 

We decided to meet on Sunday, March 10th at 10:30 am at Riley's house. Our actor Josh, who plays Bennett, had to be somewhere by 1 pm, so we made sure to film all his scenes first. Luckily, we were able to film all of Josh's scenes at Riley's house. 

Filming Josh (Bennett) in Riley's front yard

After Josh left, we continued filming Olivia's (Abby) and Maddie's (Jenna) scenes. We used Riley's house as the main filming location. We filmed in her home office, living room, bedroom and porch. Also while we were filming, our classmate, Lauren, was working on a short documentary for her film portfolio project and wanted to include behind-the-scenes of our filming. She followed us around all day with her camera and interviewed both Riley and myself.

Filming in Riley's office

Lauren's camera filming Riley filming a scene

After filming most of the scenes at Riley's house, we decided to film in a setting with more people and more of more city-like atmosphere so we drove over to Weston Town Center.  It was here where we filmed, the last few scenes. Don't mind our actresses wearing masks-you will understand the meaning behind it soon!

Filming in new location

More filming 

We were able to get all our filming done in one day! The rest of the week Riley and I will sort and look through all the footage and see which clips work best for each trailer. See you in my next posting. 

Storyboarding Part 2

As I said in my previous posting, I am not an artist - so I made my storyboarding in written form. 

For the storyboard for my second trailer, I used text graphics and the types of shots, angles, and editing we want to use in our production. Here is what I came up with (subject to change):

“Discover the power to alter reality. Shutter - coming soon.”

Scene 1: Montage - Olivia captures ordinary moments with the camera, revealing alternate versions of

reality

(fade in between each “moment”)

Text Graphic - "Unveiling the consequences of altering timelines."

Scene 2: Clip - Olivia accidentally alters a significant event, leading to unexpected consequences

Text Graphic - "Changing the past can rewrite the future."

Scene 3: Quick Cuts - Scenes of parallel timelines converging, causing chaos

Text Graphic - "Worlds collide, destinies intertwined."

Scene 4: Fast-paced Clips - Olivia desperately tries to fix the timeline, facing challenges and dangers

Text Graphic - "Every choice has a ripple effect."

Scene 5:

Emotional Scene - Olivia’s relationships are strained as friends and family are affected by

timeline alterations

Text Graphic - "How far would you go to undo the past?"

Scene 6: Intense Clips - Olivia confronts the consequences head-on, battling against the unruly

timelines

Text Graphic - "The Shutter demands its price."

Scene 7: Mysterious Clip - A hint at a larger mystery surrounding the origin of the Shutter

Text Graphic - "The true power of the Shutter yet to be revealed."

Scene 8: Fade Out - Title card: "Shutter."

Text Graphic - "In theaters soon."u

Going to start filming at the end of this week, stay tuned for more!

Storyboarding Part 1

It's now time to start storyboarding! 

Since I am not the best drawer, I decided to document my storyboard by typing it out. Here is what I came up with for my first trailer (subject to change):

Title: Shutter

Scene 1: Introduction

Fade in from black.

We open with a typical high school hallway bustling with students. Our protagonist, Olivia, is seen navigating through the crowd, carrying a vintage-looking box. The school bell rings.

Scene 2: The Discovery

Cut to Olivia in a dark closet in her house, exploring old family belongings.

Olivia stumbles upon an ancient camera, tucked away in a dusty corner. The camera is adorned with strange symbols and looks out of place in the modern setting.

Scene 3: Experimentation

Olivia takes the camera to her twin, Morgan

Olivia experiments with the camera, capturing ordinary moments. However, upon reviewing the photos, Olivia discovers strange glimpses of alternate timelines - a parallel universe. Morgan doesn’t pay any attention to Olivia and thinks she's going crazy.

Scene 4: Unveiling the Mystery

Olivia confides in a close friend, Maddie

Olivia and Maddie analyze the photos together, realizing the camera's power. They decide to now keep it a secret and explore the potential of capturing moments from different timelines.

Scene 5: Consequences

Olivia accidentally captures a moment of danger.

While experimenting, Olivia captures a moment where someone is in danger. The duo realizes that meddling with parallel timelines has consequences. They struggle with the ethical dilemma of using the camera.

Scene 6: The Arrival

A dark figure observes from a distance.

A mysterious person (Bennett), dressed in timeless attire, is shown watching Olivia and Maddie. His interest in the camera becomes apparent, setting the stage for conflicts.

Scene 7: Chase and Revelations

Bennett confronts Olivia and Maddie.

A thrilling chase ensues as Bennett tries to take the camera. During the confrontation, they reveal the camera's origin and its potential to disrupt the balance between timelines.

Scene 8: The Decision

Olivia faces a dilemma.

Faced with the choice of keeping the powerful camera or returning it to prevent potential chaos, Olivia deals with the responsibility and consequences of their actions.

Scene 9: Cliffhanger

Bennett disappears.

In a dramatic twist, Bennett vanishes, leaving behind a cryptic message hinting at larger implications for the existence of the camera. The trailer ends with a sense of urgency and anticipation for the full movie.

Scene 10

Fade out to black with the title: Shutter (with font actually shuttering)

Text on screen: "Coming Soon."

I will post the storyboard for the second trailer in my next posting, stay tuned!

Group Meeting

 Happy Monday everyone! It is officially the start of week four. 

In class today, I met with six peers and we all got to discuss our portfolio projects and where we are all at in our production processes. I enjoyed meeting with them because they all gave me helpful advice and I was able to express my ideas with others. 

I noticed that we are all struggling with time management and creating an engaging social media presence. We all came together and gave each other advice and ideas on how to maintain our time efficiently and posts that would work well with each of our social media pages. I expressed to my peers that I was feeling behind and unorganized with my project, but when they also discussed their struggles with me I felt better and that we were all in the same boat.

Some helpful suggestions they gave me for my Instagram page and in general for my project were:

- Create a meet-the-characters post 

- Take still shots of the “parallel timelines” from the ancient camera 

- Create a banner post on Instagram (like photos that connect altogether when looking at the overall feed)

- Set due dates for me and my partner to start filming and creating a script this week and next week

- Bloopers/behind-the-scenes for Instagram towards the end of the project

My group today

After our group meetings, I asked Riley about her experience, and she got some helpful feedback, especially about trailers. Her group suggested making the first trailer focus on background information. The second trailer would then be packed with details about what happens with the camera—essentially, the first one narrates how the protagonist discovers the camera, while the second explores its powers and consequences.

I'm excited about these suggestions because they can make our project better. Look out for updates on storyboarding! Bye for now!

Target Audience Research

Hi everyone! It's almost the end of week three. Time is flying by!

Our productions' target audience is teens and young adults. To find out more about how to appeal to these audiences, I decided to do some research on another sci-fi/fantasy film Donnie Darko. Here is what I analyzed: 

• Demographics:

• Appeals to young adults and teenagers (15-25 age group)

• Both males and females, but mostly males

• Psychographics:

• Individuals interested in psychological and mind-bending narratives

• Fans of dark and surreal themes

• Those who appreciate unconventional storytelling and non-linear plots

• Cultural and Social Factors:

• Appeals to those interested in 80s nostalgia

• Individuals who appreciate indie and cult films

• Interests and Hobbies:

• Fans of science fiction and time-travel genres

• Those with an interest in psychology and mental health

• Personality Traits:

• Open-minded and willing to interpret abstract themes

• Enjoys thought-provoking content

• Appreciates films that leave room for own interpretation

• Marketing and Distribution Channels:

• Effective marketing through social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter 

• Utilizes film festivals

• Engaging with online communities

I will use this collected research to ensure I employ similar strategies to engage my target audience of teens and young adults while keeping in mind the basis for these chosen strategies.