Creative Critical Reflection

 Last but not least, here is my CCR

-The Producer

Film Opening

     After putting blood sweat and tears, here is the final project.

-The Producer

Farwell my friends

     Well it's finally that time. We've reached the end of a fabulous journey. I'd like to say that the media portfolio project was the friends we made along the way and I've befriended all of you. Looking back I believe that my project may not have been the best one ever created, yet I truly believe that I put in my best effort and grew as a filmmaker. If I were to change anything it would be the scheduling of where and when I was filming, as I had to rush a lot of scenes making them sloppy. On top of that, I wish I wrote a little more script because I don't like how it ended. Also, I truly wish I got a few establishing shots of the building I filmed in, as 1 it was visually appealing, and 2 it would have removed the need for black screen in the beginning. Lastly, I wish I worked in a group. Although working independently allowed me to grow a lot as a filmmaker, I believe I would have been a lot more efficient as a group.

    For one of the last times, I'll see you all next time.

-The Producer

CCR FILMING COMPLETE

     Zachy Wachy, oh how you suck at acting. I finished my CCR filming today with my bestie and OMG CAN ZACH NOT REMEMBER LINES. My parts were 4 times as long as his yet it took around the same time to get through both of our parts. But lets recap how it went

2 future besties in one pic

    Zach got to my house today at around 3:30, but my parents refused to go upstairs until my room was clean . . . and let's just say that my room was the messiest it has ever been. So even though he got there at 3:30 we finally got set up and began filming at 4:30. While I was cleaning I did get his opinion on my project and he gave me a few good pieces of advice that I won't tell you guys because they are spoilers for the final project being released in a few days. After we began, we filmed all of his parts first AND HE COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING AND STUTTERING. Most of the laughs may have been caused by me BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT I'M SO UNBELIEVABLY UNEQUIVOCALLY FUNNY. After I filmed my parts and it was going by really quickly, until I got to the part "Yea, I just want to say that overall this project has taught me so many lessons about the filmmaking process and how difficult it is to develop a story. I had to spend nine weeks developing just two minutes of a film while in the big leagues crews have to produce several hours of film. This project has put me into a real filming environment and I’ve learned all about the process of creating a film. In the future, I’d probably work even harder in the planning phase in order to make the filming run even smoother, and I’d love to improve on my camera techniques as I feel like I can still grow so much more in the art of filmmaking through them. Lastly, I’d suggest that everyone listening to this podcast, to put yourself in this production experience as it’s extremely eye opening and inspiring." OMG THIS PART TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET DONE. I literally plan on making a blooper reel from today's mess-ups and most of them are going to be parts from that one paragraph.

    After we finished my part, we went out to my neighborhood park and filmed his first part of his CCR, which took a while too (not because of him messing up but because EVERYONE NEARBY WAS GETTING IN THE WAY, but I guess that's what happens when your filming in public). After today, I'm really excited for you guys to see my final CCRs as I think they're hilarious.

    5 days until they're due

- The Producer

1/2 of the CCR done

     I FILMED THE FIRST PART OF THE CCR. Today I randomly decided that I wanted to film the interview yourself part of the CCR out of nowhere, and THANK GOD FOR MY FRIEND SOFIA. I decided I wanted to film today at around 4:30 (so I wasn't planning on filming today until late), but I realized I had no one to help me film, so I made a few calls looking for someone to help me and incomes my savior Sofia. Luckily she wasn't doing anything so she came over to help at 5:30. 

Sofia rn (literal superhero)

    Other than a few dumb errors by me (like positioning myself on the wrong third TWICE causing me to have to reshoot), it went really smoothly. I am so glad I asked Sofia for help since she is extremely talented at filming (as shown by one of her projects linked here). I love this video so much and I cry pretty much any time I watch it. SOFIA IS SO TALENTED.

    The only real problem I had is that I kept messing up the lines and I accidentally dropped my computer in dirt which took like a half hour to clean off. Now all I have to do is film the other half which I have planned for tomorrow with one of my friends Zach and editing the CCR AND THEN IM DONE.

Until next time

-The Producer

Script for CCR done

 Sooooooooooo, this is going to be a shorter post. I've now finished my script for my CCR, and I just wanted to show you guys it and get some feedback in the comments.

CCR 1- Interview yourself

Cody 1 eating on couch

Poof, incomes Cody 2 in different outfit

Past- “Cool I made it”

Now- “what the heck who are you”

Past- “Chill out, I’m you from the past”

Now-  “What?!?!”

Past- “I’m you from the past”

Now- “I get that, but from when, and why are you here”

Past- “From about (checks watch) 9 weeks ago, and I’m here because I need help for my Movie Intro”

Now- “Oh that, what do you need help with”

Past- “Well, I’ve been stuck on genre and representation, so can you address how our project uses or challenges conventions and how it represents social groups or issues.”

Now- “First of all, the genre I decided to use was comedy, as that’s the genre I align with the most, which normally utilizes techniques such as camera movements and relatable characters to develop the comedic aspect of the film.”

Past- “I know that but how did you utilize these aspects in your film”

Now- “One convention I used that’s common in comedy was breaking the fourth wall between the character and the viewers. This trait which is shown by films such as Deadpool and Ferris Beulers Day Off, not only allowed for a more immersive experience with the audience, but also showed that Chip was ‘aware’ of being in a show.”

Past- “Okay, what else”

Now- “As mentioned before, many comedies use relatable characters, and I challenged this convention by using someone who has a mental disorder which isnt relateable as to many people. By doing this I was able to create a unique piece that isnt very similar to many other comedies. On top of that, I didnt use as many camera movements to enhance my comedy as I wanted the dialague to be funny on its own.

Past- “Oh thats cool”

Now- “How did we end up outside”

Past- “Oh, don’t worry about that. What about representation?”

Now- “well as you and I both know, I made Chip a schizophrenic which is a disability that is normally portrayed in a negative light through the use of genres like horor, and I wanted to challenge this representation by putting a unique and more positive light on the illness. Also, my piece represents older generations as wise and mature through the use of Doctor Williams, a medical expert who helps Chip learn who he truly is later on in the piece.”

Past- “Doctor Williams, Okay” 

Now- “Where did you get that notebook”

Past- “Nevermind that, my last question is how did you integrate different technologies in this project”

Now- “Well obviously I used basic equipment like a camera which I borrowed from Chip’s actor Drew, a rhode mic to collect audio, a pair of headphones to hear that audio, and a tripod that I had to spend 80 dollars to get because mine broke the night before, but I also used different online and software technologies too. One of the most useful tools I used was YouTube, since it allowed for easy and quick research on things like developing characters, and aspects of comedies. I also used a website called Celtx to help in my script writing, which allowed me to be significantly more prepared for when I filmed, and adobe premiere to help me finalize the project allowing it to be what it is today”.

Past- “All of that for one project, that’s crazy”

Now- “Why do I suddenly feel nautious”

Past- “Oh thats because I caused a rift in the space time continuum, thats why we teleported outside and how I got the notebook.”

Now- “You are an idiot how could you do tha-”

CCR 2- Podcast

Zach- “Hello and welcome to everyones favorite podcast Behind the Scenes, and today we have a very special guest for you all, please welcome the one and only Cody Weintraub.”

Cody appears on chair- “What the heck! How did I get here?!”

Zach- “Cody, thank you so much for joining us on this fine evening”

Cody- “You’re welcome I guess”

Zach- “So Cody, what is it like to finally be done with your movie intro”

Cody- “It’s great, I’ve been extremely stressed about it for a while now and I’m glad to be done.”

Zach- “That’s wonderful, but I gotta ask the question everyone is wondering, how does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?”

Cody- “Is that the question everyones asking?”

Zach- “Yeas obviously”

Cody- “Well first of all, when deciding on who my target audience was, I had to look in the genre I was filming, and well, after researching a bit I learned that there are thousands of different target audiences I could’ve used since comedies can go any direction, because of that I decided to have a teenage target audience since I’m dealing with a serious topic like schizophrenia and younger audiences may be confused or scared. Also, since I’m a male, I have a larger understanding for a males sense of humor and decided to make them my target audience.”

Zach- “Can’t allow those kids to know of schizophrenics”

Cody- “Um not really but once I decided on my target audience I had to implement different choices to display them. The most notable of which is the main character being a teenager just like the audience. Originally I actually planned on having the main character be a middle aged man, but after deciding on my target audience, I changed Chip’s character to make him more relatable to the audience. On top of that, I also gave Chip a degree of conflict with his parents which many teenagers can relate to.”

Zach- “Well that answers the target audience part of the question, but what about your distribution methods?”

Cody- “That’s a tricky question since my production has a low amount of funding. Because of that, I can’t do what most large scale movies do and put it on a streaming service or in the movie theatures. Instead, I’ve decided to heavily use social media specifically YouTube and Instagram, to not only advertise the movie, but also distribute my film as well. This also helps me reach my target audience, as the largest users of social media are teenagers. On top of that, I also plan on submitting my film to local and national film festivals like the All American Film Festival and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth in order to gain a larger viewership of my piece throughout America.”

Zach- “I hope your plans go well.”

Cody- “Thank you so much Zach that means a lot.”

Zach- “Of course. My next question is how did your production skills develop throughout this project?”

Cody- “Well first of all my process of filmmaking evolved significantly. Before this project i spent a lot less time in the planning stage, and because of that my films constantly turned out sloppy and poor quality. This project taught me to slow down and plan each and every detail of my film. This is shown specifically by Mis-en-scene elements, something that I had never considered in the past but in this project I did thorough research on some of the costumes and props. Prior to this project, I didnt research genre, which made my productions worse. 

Zach- “Well what about in the filming process?”

Cody- “Due to some of the problems that came up while filming, like security kicking me out of where I was filming even though I had permission, I was forced to be creative with how I shot certain things making me more adaptable. In the past, if something small went wrong I would often get stuck and stressed, but here I learned that the director controls whats shown on screen, so you can manipulate your environment no matter whats going on to get what you want.”

Zach- “So compared to where you started how would you say you are now?”

Cody- “Now I think I’m a significantly better filmmaker, as I learned many lessons whether it was the easy way or the hard way, and have learned to plan more, problem solve, be adaptable, creative and organized, and much much more.”

Zach- “Do you have any final statements about your project for the viewers?”

Cody- “Yea, I just want to say that overall this project has taught me so many lessons about the filmmaking process and how difficult it is to develop a story. I had to spend nine weeks developing just two minutes of an film while in the big leagues crews have to produce several hours of film. This project has put me into a real filming environment and I’ve learned all about the process of creating a film. In the future, I’d probably work even harder in the planning phase in order to make the filming run even smoother, and I’d love to improve on my camera techniques as I feel like I can still grow so much more in the art of filmmaking through them. Lastly, I’d suggest that everyone listening to this podcast, to put yourself in this production experience as it’s extremely eye opening and inspiring.”

Zach- “Well you heard the man, and Cody thank you so much for coming on”

Cody- “Thank you for having me”

Zach “and we’ll see you next time.”

    Once again please tell me what you guys think in the comments down below.

   - The Producer

EDIT TIME

     AHHHHHHHH I LOVE EDITING. The complex process of piecing together all of your work to make a satisfying final product. The sounds of a bell constantly playing in my ear, the sight of the beautiful composition I put together. The result of hours and hours of work. It relaxes me as it takes over my entire being sending shivers to my core. Editing is my one true love. BUT MY COMPUTER ISN'T. My computer is sooooooooo freaking slow. It took me an hour alone to download all of my footage EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ALREADY ON MY COMPUTER. Why did I have to redownload it? We'll never know, but it sucked. And once I finally began editing, it constantly froze, but even with all of that I was able to push through and now I'm nearly finished.

Lowkey me rn

    I was having trouble with a few choices. The first of which was deciding on what clips I should use (since I had gotten several takes of each). The next was whether I wanted there to be bells when each graphic changes before the video started playing (where the credits and title is) but I decided against it and instead chose to put music in that part which gets interrupted by a bell once the video starts. But this leads me to my next difficult choice. What songs should I use? I've already decided on the one at the beginning but still have no clue what I want to do for the end (Oh btw I decided to have one song at the beginning and one at the end), and I've been struggling to choose which song to use.

The amount of tabs I have open just for music choices (these are the ones I kinda like)

    I'm going to link all of the songs below, please tell me which ones you like the most in the comments below for my project. I'm looking for a cool feeling ending for my intro.

- The Producer