Thursday, March 28, 2024

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

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

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

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

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

Sunday, March 24, 2024

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





















Saturday, March 23, 2024

Filming Done

     HALLELUJAH (and yes I had to look up how that was spelt) I'M FINALLY DONE FILMING. After weeks and weeks of planning it all led up to this moment and I'm finally done . . . but there were problems . . . lots of them.



    The problems started the night before, where I went to check my equipment (which was pretty much just my tripod as I was borrowing the rest of the equipment from my best friend and the actor of Chip), and guess what, MY TRIPOD LEGS BROKE. At this point it was like 2:00 A.M. and my parents were asleep, so I had to scramble to find a tripod in time. Luckily my friend Zach offered to lend me his and all I had to do was stop at his house the morning of. The only problem was, that my mom couldn't drive since she had surgery the day before and I didn't know how to schedule stops through Uber (since we were planning on Ubering to where we were filming).

    The next day roles by and another problem arose. I WAS OUT OF EGG BITES meaning I couldn't eat my favorite breakfast, oh and also the main actor who was meant to meet at my house wasn't answering his phone and it was passed the time he was meant to be there. At 10:30 (a half hour after he was meant to be there) he finally called me back and told me that he thought it was 9:30 and not 10:30. After that I waited another 30 minutes to finally get ready to leave, but since we were so behind, we no longer had time to Uber and we didn't have time to stop to get the tripod. Instead my mom drove us and I was forced to spend $90 on a tripod at Best Buy on the way to where we were filming, and since we were so late, we got stuck in Fort Lauderdale traffic making it take us an hour to get there instead of the normal half hour. The second we got there I was presented with even more bad news, my Dad, the actor for Dr. Williams had to be in a meeting all day and only had a 20 minute break (meaning I only had 20 minutes to film all of his scenes) and the actor of Chip had to leave at 4:30 (at this point its was 12:30 once we got situated) meaning we had to leave at 4:00, but this part shouldn't have been too big of an issue.

    After a very quick lunch me and Chip's actor went down to film the hallway we were planning on filming the hallway scene when security stops us and say we couldn't film there EVEN THOUGH WE HAD ALREADY TALKED TO SOMEONE WHO SAID WE COULD, and they went and called the building owner (which it took 30 minutes to get a hold of her) and she said no, forcing me to film in only the top three floors of the building, which doesn't seem like a problem, BUT THERE WASNT A SINGLE GOOD PLACE TO FILM IT but I made do and moved on to film the next few scenes (all of which I was rushed for since everywhere I filmed the people there gave me a time limit). Than we got to the elevator scene AND SECURITY F**ING MESSED ME UP AGAIN. They told me I couldn't film in the elevators, so I had to sneak one last take on the way down, but it wasn't how I wanted it.

    Even though I'm complaining a lot, I'm still proud of myself as I learned to adapt to tough situations and overall I think it may come out really well.

    I'll talk to you guys next time, and comment any editing techniques that you think would be cool for me to use (ESPECIALLY YOU ARMESTO).

   -The Producer

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

CCR TIME

     So the other day my teacher taught us the final part of the movie intro project, the CCR, and let me just say, IT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN. I've already had so many ideas cross my mind on what to film. So pretty much the CCR is just a reflection of the entire movie intro and the process of creating it. In it, you have to answer four question through the use of two media products, and I'm so pumped to do it. Let's go over my ideas.

    The first idea I have is a video where I interview myself. I really like this idea as it would require me to not only use advanced camera techniques, but also stand out as a creative idea. In my freshman year of high school, I took a class called Television Production 1, and we had a similar project (linked here) where we had to interview ourselves. I used a time travel idea and I think that would work really well in this situation as I can have my past self asking my current self the questions to help them figure out what to do for their movie intro.

    My next idea also stems from an assignment I was given before. This idea would be based on a Man on the Streets (linked here), which is pretty much where someone goes out and asks a stranger a random question. For this idea, I would have my friend film an intro saying that he is going to find out about peoples passions, and have him go up to me and ask me about my passion. I would respond with filmmaking and he would then proceed to ask what my latest project is and all about it. I believe that this is also a unique idea, and also aligns with something that I'm used to as I've made several of these projects. On top of that, I believe it is a great way to get the information across.

    The next idea up is a directors interview as shown by the video below.

   My idea is exactly like the video. I would have someone interviewing me asking me the questions I need to answer. While this isn't necessarily a unique idea, it is a great way to get the information across. On top of that, I believe doing this would seem a lot more professional than my other ideas.
    
    My last idea is a podcast. This would be similar to the directors interview but be a lot less formal. I like this idea, as I've worked on several podcasts before for competitions, so it would be something I'm used to. On top of that, I believe it would be a great chance to add short comedic moments throughout the piece while not being to informal.

    Please tell me what you guys think of my ideas in the comments below and I'll keep you all updated on my choices

-The Producer


Friday, March 15, 2024

Update on life

 Soooooo . . . just to keep everyone updated on my life, I flew up to Long Beach yesterday, and let's just say a lot has already happened. After having to wake up at one in the morning to fly out here, the trip started off well. We started off in Paramount Studios, which I found extremely useful for this project. It actually gave me a few ideas in which I can use for this project. First of all, I realized that everything in movies is fake, so I don't need my setting to be absolutely perfect as I can manipulate the camera to make it seem perfect. I also learned about how in real movies, they film in sound studios instead of actual locations so that they can control the sound. Unfortunately I don't have the money for a sound studio, but instead, I'll start brainstorming ways in which I can control the sound of my environment. I also learned different ways to trick viewers, which can overall help me control my audience with my production. Lastly, but unrelated to the movie opening, I learned that majority of buildings in films are fake, which I found cool.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Exploring Mise-en-Scène in the Intro of Our Movie

Today, I decided to look into the aspects of the film that most viewers may not notice. Mis-En-Scene

First off, I found this cool video that teaches on mis-en-scene


lets get into it

Reception Area

In the first area, I want to capture the pure office like workspace as this is one of the most important parts. I want to have props like regular office supplies, a bell, a clock, and much much more.

Elevator

To capture the pure elevator vibes, it's important to have darker lighting. This can add a more realistic feeling to the area.

Halls

As our character steps out into the halls, there should be a boring environment. Plain white walls, along with a lack of posters, regular lighting, and little action in the background can allow me to capture this. Once again, I'm looking for a boring environment to make Chip seem to stand out even more

Office

Finally, we have Dr. Williams' office space that should be very professional with the possibility of a few pictures of himself. My idea for this area is to have piles of papers to capture his busy and uptight personality, along with potential certificates and pictures to capture his professionalism.

Overall, I can't wait to see how this turns out!!!

Until next time,

-The Producer

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Script almost finalized

 So I've been working for hours and I just thought that it was important for me to share my script with you guys to give yall an update. It's almost done, but I just have to write the ending, unfortunately, ever since Doomsday, I haven't been able to bring myself to write the script, otherwise, I would get stressed out. I'm trying my best to push through though, and I'll make one of the best projects Cambridge has ever seen.

    I've been writing a lot more and have been pushing through my writers block, and instead I feel like I've been doing well. I have so many ideas in my head but its just too hard to put them all on paper. I think I'm going to swap to storyboard as I'm a visual person, and I think it will work out better for me, but I will finish the screenplay first.

-The Producer


Thursday, March 7, 2024

Doomsday

 


No, no, no no, no, no, no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOO. I am literally about to cry. As you guys know I was set up to film this Sunday when everything came crashing down today. Suddenly, out of nowhere, without warning, my dad told me today that we cant film as he will be in a meeting, so that means that not only am I not able to use him as an actor, but I also can't film in his office.

UGHHHHHHHHH

    Because of this, I've decided to film on another day, but there is one problem . . . IM GOING TO CALIFORNIA FOR A WEEK. I'm not saying that I'm not excited for the trip, but it aligned terribly with my schedule, so because of this, I have to readjust my schedule for the one-thousandth time.

Here is the new FINAL plan

    Week 5 and 6 (3/4-3/17)- Cry


    Week 7 (3/18-3/24)- Cry     


    Week 8 (3/
25-3/31)- Cry


    Week 9 (4/1-4/2)- Cry


Just kidding, the final plan is this


    Week 5 and 6 (3/4-3/17)- Finish writing script and create official storyboard, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PERFECT TO FILM


    Week 7 (3/18-3/24)- FILM VERY EARLY ON, Edit everything, get peer feedback      


    Week 8 (3/25-3/31)- Research information relating to CCR questions, and create critical reflection projects      


    Week 9 (4/1-4/2)- Finalize the project and post it to my blog  


Now I feel like everything is burning to the ground, but I will persevere and push through.

-The Producer

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Script Writing . . . SUCKS

 Soooooooo, I've finally started my script writing, and let me just say I HATE IT, so to help me through it, I found a good video that teaches the basics. 

After watching the video I became a lot more confident in my abilities and began the writing process. I also had a talk with my teachers and then made a few changes to my story to reflect the discussion. First off, I made it so that the intro didn't show that the main character wasn't actually in a show, she helped me realize that it is important to allow for the audience to believe that the main character is in a tv show to add plot development later in the film. On top of that I made a few changes to reflect that.

    I decided to have the main character talk directly to the camera, as I was heavily inspired by Ferris Buellers Day Off. I also added an additional scene to the plan in which the main character is talking to the camera in an elevator as it allowed me to add the perspective of another man in the elevator.

    Here is my script so far!!!

    I know its not much, but I feel like it is genuinely a strong start to allow me to finish by the end of the week for when I plan on filming. I will say though, that it is a lot more difficult to write a script than I thought it would be. Most of the time, I just stare at my screen blankly, trying to think of what to write, and nothing comes up. I'm going to try to get more done today to be more prepared for my filming on Sunday.

-The Producer



Sunday, March 3, 2024

The plan's in motion!!!!!!

    So, I've officially gotten the last few parts of the planning steps in motion and now I have official confirmations.

    First, I plan on filming this Sunday at my dad's office. As mentioned previously, my dad's office can work perfectly as a therapist's office and I think it will come out well. Next, I have a nearly finalized idea for the script that I just have to put down on paper which I plan on doing within the next couple of days. On top of that, I've finished coming up with ideas on who can act for me. The first person acting as the main actor will be my best friend, Drew, as I based much of the character of Chip off of him. Next, will be Dr. William Grey who I will try to get my dad to act, as I think he would pull it off well (although I'm afraid to ask him because I don't want him to say no). And lastly, the receptionist will be my mom, as it’s a minor role and she is one of the only adult females I'm close enough to who would play the role. Although I could probably ask my sister, she normally hates helping me with film projects. Now that I've gotten my plans straightened, I believe it's a great time to revamp the schedule.

    Week 5 and 6 (3/4-3/17)- Finish writing script and create official storyboard, begin and finish filming     


    Week 7 (3/18-3/24)- Edit everything, get peer feedback      


    Week 8 (3/25-3/31)- Research information relating to CCR questions, and create critical reflection projects      


    Week 9 (4/1-4/2)- Finalize the project and post it to my blog  


    While the schedule is still very similar to the initial one I proposed, there are a few changes that I've had to make to it. The first change was the finishing of the script and storyboard. This is only because I don't have them officially on paper although I know what I want from both of them, so they should take minimal time. The next change I made was I moved the editing a bit back. This is because I’m filming on Sunday so I might not have enough time to edit that day too. So instead, I will be editing for all of week seven which should still be plenty of time to do so.


If any changes arrive I’ll let you guys know!!!


-The Producer


Creative Critical Reflection

 Last but not least, here is my CCR -The Producer