Voiceovers BLOG

Voiceovers are disembodied voices we hear throughout movies. A powerful tool in a filmmaker's arsenal.  Voice-over provides a new dimension to a story, offering benefits that visuals alone can't provide. One key benefit in filling in backstory or exposition. Imagine a complex film where understanding a character's past is crucial. A well-placed voiceover can give us flashbacks or insights into a character's motivations without interrupting the flow of the scene. Voiceovers intel the character's internal thoughts through a monologue, allowing the audience to directly interpret their feelings and emotional state. This is especially useful for portraying unreliable narrators or characters with complex inner lives. 

The Shawshank Redemption:

The voiceover in this movie sheds light on the character's emotions following the death of his comrade. The way various synchronized and ambient sounds can be heard in the background of the voiceover is what drew my attention to this voiceover. For instance, the protagonist is shown laboring with other inmates in a cemetery toward the conclusion. The voiceover is now playing, but you can just make out the faint sounds of the workers working on the grass in the background. Another instance is at the beginning when the voiceover is audible together with the background sound of the wind while a guy is seen operating an audible. The voiceover pausing during this scenario and the diegetic sound playing in between was another element that drew my attention. The voiceover paused while the men were eating, allowing you to see the character's facial expressions and hear the diegetic sound of the men joking and conversing. Since the audience is still listening to the surrounding sounds, I believe that this helps to make the voice-over feel more realistic, like you're actually inside the character's head.

My partner and I pitched the idea of a voice-over a few weeks ago to our teacher and she gave us the green light, however, alerting and warning us of her opinion. She believes voiceovers to be lazy and cliche, therefore, she opted and advised us to do a voiceover but not throughout the whole 2 minute film opening. 

Sound Effects BLOG

Moving on from the visual editing, my partner and I went on Pixabay, an online website, to collect and download the sound effects necessary for the video. Sound effects bring the visuals to life. For example, the creaking of floorboards in a horror or suspenseful movie or a loud car or plane engine in an action movie makes the scene feel believable and draws one into the world. Sound can be incredibly powerful in stirring emotions. Sometimes, the visuals just aren't enough and sound effects tied with the rhythm of the displays on the scene or separately provide extensive or additional information. Primarily, we began with the outdoor scene, looking for traffic sounds, birds chirping, and a rustic door sound combined with a chime of a bell to enhance the audial environment. We adjusted the timing for the door sounds to coincide with the rhythm and pacing of the visuals. We added a lighter bird sound at the start of the scene and followed a darker bird chirping sound at the end to shine and highlight the contrast of the heartfelt to mysterious and gim atmosphere. Inside the store, we added an airconditioner, ventilator sound, people chattering, the foley sounds of the heels walking, etc. To engage divergence in material quality, we added a creaking door sound for opening the bathroom door inside the store due to the possibility of different door weights and screw and hinge quality. 

Sadly, I could not access Pixabay through my computer to continue the editing process on one single device or electronic. I downloaded the video's final version and sent it to my partner's computer where she imported the video into capcut to begin sound editing. We added zipper sounds, wind sounds for the funeral scene, car door opening with a closing shut bang, etc. Unfortunately, we had to part halfway through the editing and we'll meet again to finalize the sound effects of the second half of the video. We will then add the voice overs of the girl talking and priest after. 

Editing BLOG

Just wanted to announce, WE ARE DONE EDITING! 

All the videos were put together, approved, and completed. We did have to make a slight change and go with plan B to conclude the film because plan A of shooting inside of the car was just... not looking too good, at least to say true amateur work. Deciding to get an outsider's perspective, my partner and I asked our families to review our process and provide feedback, including necessary changes. The majority agreed that plan B was definitely the better and more secure option. There was more fluidity and coherence in the clip sequence. Our feedback embraces additional tips for video adjustments, shortening, and lengthening here and there. Some pauses were crucial to cut out and the short scene of the close-up funeral shots reccomned to remain within 1-1:30 seconds. To enhance the intimacy and connection between the audience and the character, we settled on tightening and zooming in on certain shots to gain a greater and deeper focus on details, facial expressions, and objects. It was necessary to remove and eliminate several of the makeup scene shots because if we added all the videos wanted, we would have reached way over the 2-minute limit.

The final shot was the heart necklace hanging off the tree. We desired a creative perspective as the concluding shot because it instills curiosity, confusion, and intriguement. All the editing for the filming was done on I Movie, a platform both my partner and I feel comfortable working with. The next step is to add the credits distributed around the scene and prolonged throughout the whole 2 minutes. Additionally, we will need to start working on the sound effects and adding the voiceovers of the young girl speaking and the priest reciting the prayer. 

Here's a picture of my partner and I grinding! Getting the work done! Since we haven't worked much during school hours due to her absence and misguiding of time management, we met up after school to finalize the editing and continue commencing on the sound effects and credits. The editing process was shockingly simple. I assumed it would be very challenging and tedious because of my amateur and limited experience in previous editing. However, with time and additional exterior feedback, it turned out to be pretty successful and my partner and I are content. 

Editing part 1 BLOG

The editing Stage has ARRIVED! Whos excited?! possibly a little nervous, me and editing aren't great friends... But we shall try and make it work! 

Camila, my partner, sent all the short clips of the filming from her phone to my computer. Signal was a pain and not on our side so that took a while. However, once the loading was completed, I arranged the videos in chronological order on my computer's desktop. Starting with Imovie to test my skills, I began inserting the videos regardless of length. Looking over the various videos, my partner and I began eliminating clips since there was definitely overshooting and 2 minutes is a limited time. Cutting the extended time and unnecessary additions to each video, there still remains a major need to reduce and shorten certain clips. Working with a lot of short clips rather than elongated shots, my partner and I have to ensure there is fluidity and consistency throughout the production and film rather than a collection of 1-4 second videos. 

Looking over the ending and final clips, there definitely needs either a reshoot or having to go with our plan B option where the character avoids the car throws the heart necklace in the bushes outside the 7-Eleven, and walks off. I will continue to discuss this with my partner because I haven't been able to look at the plan B selection of pictures. Fortunately, I have been able to incorporate the funeral scenes alternating between the shots, however, there is still a need to compress and diminish the timely length. 

Creative Critical Reflection Notes BLOG

A quick break from the execution and progress to completing the 2-minute film opening, I will take advantage of my partners' short absence to discuss a major section of finalizing the AICE exam: The CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION. 25 out of 50, the cumulative points of the creative critical reflection consist of half the total grade! To say the least, this is serious. The purpose of the creative critical reflection is to contemplate and deliberate on the production progress, including planning, production outline, and final completion. Additionally, responding to the required question and articulating elaborative in-depth accurate answers while expressing personality and creativity are the basic necessities to successfully concluding the project. Providing with examples or ideas to expand, previous students have made presentations with voiceovers, enhanced podcasts, talk host shows where a subject interviews the director, etc. to discuss responses to questions, utilizing contextual sounds and maintaining continuous engagement. 

There are 4 questions CRUCIAL to answer. 

1. "How does product challenge genre conventions and represent social groups or issues?" This question is intended to express the conflicts and compelling situations and genres presented in the film opening. It is very important to include credible and accurate information from sources and cite their accountability. Contemplating and defining why or why not a topic is challenging conventions through in telling on representation including individuals, groups, events, and issues as illustrated within production.

2. "How does your product engage with the audience and how would it be distributed?" This question discusses the direct target audience and how to reach and allocate such a specific group of individuals. Additionally, elaborating on how to make the film available as a method of distribution has to be realistic. Most likely this would include streaming services or online platforms such as YouTube.

3. "How does your production skill develop throughout this project?" This third question is more simple and specific since I will reflect on the process of storyboarding, research, and approaches. Furthermore, I will dictate all the challenges and drawbacks from start to end and solutions. Initial struggles and future growth.

4. "How did you integrate technologies, software, hardware, and online in this project?" Being straight to the point, I will point out all the equipment used in fabricating the 2-minute film opening, including my phone and online platforms such as my blog. Additonal lighting, tripod, microphones, etc. will be answered in this question. Discussing on questions such as "How did you use such technologies to help solve problems?" and "What new techniques did you learn?". 

Ending: I will create a final statement reflecting the project as a whole. What have I learned? What would I do differently? Improvements for next time? It is recommended to write a script and avoid having a "talking head"! It is key I add and edit clips from my proper film opening as examples and external videos from researched film openings at the beginning of my production. Plus, finalizing the creative critical reflection, and adding a rolling credit of all the researched sources is a great idea! The creative critical reflection is a maximum of ten minutes where I answer the 4 questions and subject with two different executed media examples. I was thinking of doing a casual daily vlog combined with me answering the question and I also like the idea of a talk show host and making it comedic. 

Filming part 2

All done recording! Meeting up at my house, my partner and I completed the funeral scene filming! We had a bit of a scare at first because we were unable to allocate our most important Mi-en-scene prop, the heart necklace. We went back to our previous filming location and looked in all the bags and drawers of the house only to find it inside my laundry room. We took a picture of our actress with the heart necklace on and created a poster on canva to utilize as a memorial and remembrance frame and design. We printed the poster in 8 by 10 in Walgreens to achieve a glossy and large representation. 

Going outside to achieve natural lighting and wind, my partner and I arranged fake flowers, a structured vase as an urn, an easel to hold the poster, a bible, and a rosary to establish the content and setting of the plot. We asked my dad to play the role of a priest with a combination of close-up shots. He wore a full navy blue button-up outfit and we put a strap of paper in between his collar to enhance the look and intention of his position and profession. One of our close-up shots consisted of "the priest" holding the bible and rosary around his hands. We hope such elements form and demonstrate context, mood, and habit.

The filming was pretty simple. We collected a bunch of shots just in case during editing we need a variety of shots. The following step is to begin editing! I will go over the videos we have collected and select the preferred ones. We will start looking into Adobe Premiere or Imovie. Succeding to the editing, we will record the actress's voice for the voice over and monitor and evaluate then details of timing, length, and writing content. 

Filming Part 1 Blog #12

The day has arrived to finally begin filming the 2-minute project film opening! FINALLY! 

At 10:30 am, Camila, Sienna Morel (Actress), and I met at our designated gas station filming location. Unfortunately, we couldn't film for legal and corporate reasons and had to redirect and decide a new filming location. Instead of arriving in panic mode, which is a common occurrence, I proposed to film at 7-Eleven. Thank god, after asking the man at the cashier, we were given permission to shoot footage outside the 7-Eleven, amongst the store isles, and inside the isles. For precaution, my partner and I thought it best to over record, and collect a variety of videos to later select the best and reduce the chances of having to reshoot after editing.  Starting exterior, we captured a long shot of the gas station as a title slide for introduction, and then the character walks into the store with a variation of close-up door handle shots, medium, and long shots. Inside the gas station store, we recorded the character making her way up, down, and around the corner, in between the isles from behind and in front. 

Following, although there were visions that were unsuccessfully executed, my partner and I found solutions and different perspectives. For example, in the bathroom scene, we had previously planned to cut the character's hair and dye it, however, due to limited time and achieving clear performance, we were resolute on converting her transformation by utilizing a wig and making it a prop or physical feature in the film. Although we had brought scissors, shampoo, and flour to complete the hair dye mix, and a towel for drying, my partner and I were still unsure how to avoid a fake look and make it the most realistic as possible. We shot the makeup and outfit transformation scene with a divergence of closeups, mid shots, over-the-shoulder shots, etc. To make the scene more interpersonal and isolated, we shot the character from behind, looking at herself in the mirror. We aim to gather these clips and shorten then to make a faster pace rhythm in the film opening, and ensure there's sufficient time for the following scene. In case of poor or limited timing, we created two endings for the 2-minute film opening. We filmed the character leaving the gas station, throwing the heart necklace into the bushes. Then we shot getting into a car and driving away, throwing the necklace from the window. There was nothing more stressful than this moment. Every time we went to start recording and moving the car, it felt like every person who existed decided to race the car and drive down the road. A true struggle. When the necklace was thrown out of the window, we had to immediately stop the car and run to pick it up from the ground. A true anxious moment, but ultimately, a success!

The next step is to begin filming the funeral scene and the voice-over. Most likely, the filming and recording will take place over the weekend to begin editing next week and remain on track with our planned schedule. Everything seems to be in control and effectiveness is in execution. Here are some photos to laugh at!