Tuesday, 25 March 2025

Links

 

Film Opening Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gbgmee9dVc3-aIHddiGrMplYrMH035Pr/view


CCR1 Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XFQfPzHgrTL6rH-bER0ibDX-AwFjK_lm/view?usp=sharing

CCR2 Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CU4ITNpERu396r7WNxTJc3diqCFsl21K/view?usp=sharing

Sunday, 23 March 2025

Final Reflection

 March 23, 2025

My Final Thoughtsss

This project has been such a fun and valuable experience. I have learned SO much from planning and problem-solving to editing and everything in between. It was way more time-consuming than I expected, but in the end, I am really proud of what my group and I created.

Of course, it was not always easy. One of the biggest challenges was the bathroom scene. We had to refilm it OVER and OVER and OVER again, which got frustrating, but it also taught me that sometimes you just have to be patient and keep trying. The whole process was a mix of fun and stress, and we had to push through a lot, especially when it came to editing.

Thankfully, Christian helped us figure out Adobe Premiere, which made things a lot easier. Editing took way longer than we thought. Since we planned everything so carefully, we assumed we would be done super fast, but that was not the case at all. Planning took a whole month because we had to do research, watch other films, and make sure we actually knew what we were doing before filming. Then filming itself took longer than expected, especially with all the refilming. At first, we could not figure out why the bathroom scene clips were so overexposed. Later, we realized the camera settings were wrong, but once we fixed it, the shots turned out great.

We spent hours editing, whether it was at my community clubhouse or at home. None of us had much experience with editing before, so we had to learn everything from scratch. It took a ton of time and patience, but in the end, we picked up so many new skills. Even though the whole process was long and sometimes exhausting, we honestly had a great time. Not only did we create something we are proud of, but we also built a stronger friendship along the way. We spent so many hours together, and in between all the stress, there were a lot of laughs and memories. It is kind of funny how that ended up reflecting what our film is about.

Looking back, I would not change anything. This project challenged us in so many ways, but it also gave us something we can look at and say, “We did that.” It was stressful, fun, frustrating, and exciting all at the same time!

Saturday, 22 March 2025

CCR Post Production

 March 22, 2025

Editinggg My CCRsss

Heyyy Cambridge!!!! Today I started editing my CCRs. I wanted them to have a YouTube-style feel, so I kept things casual and found some vlog-like copyright-free music on YouTube.

CCR 1 took much longer to edit since it was originally an hour-long video. I had to trim and cut it down to about four minutes, which was time-consuming but overall I really enjoyed the process. I also created a logo for Christian’s YouTube channel to make it look like he had interviewed other celebrities not just me.

CCR 2 was much easier to edit. All the clips we took turned out exactly how we wanted. They were short and to the point so there wasn’t much to cut out. I mainly added transitions and overlays to some clips which wasn’t too difficult.

In the end, I think both videos turned out pretty well. Each one took me about an hour to edit since I wanted to make sure everything looked just right.



Friday, 21 March 2025

CCR production

 March 19 & 20, 2025

CCR Production

Heyyyy Cambridge!!! Today we are filming my first CCR! We had to change the script because unfortunately, Sienna could not make it, and she was the one playing Piper. So I came up with a new idea. Instead of the original plan, we are doing an interview while painting. Every two minutes, we switch who is painting, making it a more fun and creative way to answer the questions. Here is the updated script!



INTERVIEWER: Hey everyone! Welcome back to the channel! Today, we’ve got something super exciting for you. I’m here with the amazing producer of the movie One Last Time! We will be painting while I ask some questions about the film. We’ll switch paintings every two minutes, so let’s see how this turns out.

ME: Yeah, this should be fun. Let’s do it!

INTERVIEWER: Alright, first question. How does your film use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social groups or issues?

ME: One Last Time sticks to a lot of coming-of-age movie elements like nostalgia, friendship, and that mix of excitement and uncertainty about the future. We focused on Piper’s emotions from the start, which is super common, but instead of just showing happy moments, we also highlighted Piper’s struggles with change. A lot of movies skip over that part.

INTERVIEWER: So you wanted it to feel more real?

ME: Yeah. Growing up isn’t always exciting. It can be scary too. We wanted to show that side of it. That’s where representation comes in. We wanted Piper’s story to feel real for people who might not be totally thrilled about moving on to the next chapter of their lives.

INTERVIEWER: How did you figure out your target audience?

ME: We looked at similar films like Eighth Grade and Lady Bird to see who watched them. Most coming-of-age movies attract teens and young adults because they’re super relatable. So we made sure our story, visuals, and music would connect with them.

INTERVIEWER: How did you make sure it would actually engage them?

ME: A lot of it comes down to the overall vibe. We focused on natural settings and a realistic atmosphere to make it feel authentic. Music and fashion were huge too! We wanted everything to feel like something teens today would actually connect with.

INTERVIEWER: And where would people watch it?

ME: YouTube! That’s where most of our audience is, and it’s the easiest way to reach people. If we wanted to take it further, we could also submit it to film festivals.

INTERVIEWER: Makes sense. Okay, final switch!

[They swap paintings one last time and hold them up, reacting to the results.]

INTERVIEWER: And that’s a wrap! We finished the interview and somehow made some... art?

ME: (laughing) Yeah, I think I’ll stick to filmmaking.



Filming was honestly really fun. I haven’t started editing yet, but I did create a little logo for Christian’s so-called YouTube channel using Canva. We went to Dollar Tree to buy canvases, and I already had some paint. Since there were a lot of kids at the park, we made sure to ask the questions only when the background was quiet. It was a last-minute idea, but we made it work. Neither of us is good
at painting, so the final results were pretty funny!











We filmed my second CCR today, March 20th, with a walkthrough of the set where we shot One Last Time. It took way longer than expected because we did not have our lines memorized. After every clip, we had to stop and learn what to say next, which made the process kind of stressful but also really funny. Christian struggled to remember his first few lines, and we could not stop laughing. In the end, it took about 2-3 hours to film a 3-minute video, which felt insane. I printed out our research and we went to different locations where we originally filmed our opening, making it feel like a true set walkthrough. The video was simple, but I really like how it turned out.



Saturday, 15 March 2025

Group meeting #2

 March 15, 2025

How our second group meeting went...

A few days ago, we had our second group meeting, and we mostly focused on our CCRs because none of us really knew what we wanted to do. We also went through our blog posts and gave feedback on what needed fixing, which turned out to be really helpful. I initially thought about doing a food review or a baking CCR, based on some of the suggestions from my group, but after watching a few interviews at home, I realized I wanted to go in a different direction. I came up with the idea of drawing random questions from a box while interviewing the main lead of our film opening. I also went back to my blog posts, made a few changes, and improved how they looked and some of my writing Overall, the meeting was super helpful, and it was great to talk to some classmates outside of my usual friends.




Thursday, 13 March 2025

CCR #4

 March 13, 2025

Script for CCR #4

[Scene 4: Walking past the camera we used, my computer, and my iPad.]

Me (talking to the camera):
"We used a lot of tech for this project. Our main camera was the Sony A6400, which gave us great footage. We also used a few iPhones, including the iPhone 13 and iPhone 15 Pro Max, for some of the memory shots. Since we didn’t have professional lighting, we just used the iPhone flashlight for darker scenes.

For editing, we used Adobe Premiere Pro. It was kind of tricky at first, but we watched a ton of tutorials, and eventually, it became easier."

[Scene 5: Showing hardware or gear.]

Christian (talking to the camera):
"We kept it pretty simple with the gear. The Sony A6400 was our main camera, and we used iPhones for the memory shots. For lighting, we used the iPhone flashlight, and our microphones were basic but did the job. We didn't use fancy tripods or dollies. Everything was handheld, which worked out better than we expected."

[Scene 6: Close-up of camera gear.]

Sienna (talking to the camera):
"Since everything was handheld, we were surprised the shots turned out stable. As we said, the Sony A6400 was the main camera, and we used the interchangeable SEL18135 lens. As for lighting, we had to cover the lights in the bathroom with a towel and we used the iPhone flashlight for like 2 of our scenes."

[Scene 7: Walking past your editing station.]

Me (talking to the camera):
"We did all the editing in Adobe Premiere Pro. It was hard at first, but once we got the hang of it. We also organized our days of finishing locations, shooting, editing, and doing everything by the deadlines on my notebook and a calendar. This really helped us stay on track and make sure everything got done on time."

[Scene: Standing in front of the editing setup or a filming location.]

Me (talking to the camera): "Looking back at this whole process, I can see how much I’ve learned. From planning and filming to editing and problem-solving, every step taught me something new. We had to adapt, figure things out as we went, and make the most of what we had. In the end, everything came together, and I’m really proud of what we created."

Wednesday, 12 March 2025

CCR #3

 March 12, 2025

Script for CCR #3

Concept: In this CCR, I’ll be talking about my film project and how my production skills improved along the way. I’ll walk through the whole process. From the research and planning to filming and editing. I’ll also explain the tech we used, like cameras, lighting, and editing software, and how we adapted as we went. The goal is to keep it casual and real while sharing what I learned throughout the project.


[Scene 1: Walking through our set.]

Me (talking to the camera):
"At the start, we were all still figuring things out. We didn’t have much experience, so we learned along the way and made adjustments as needed. But by the end, our skills improved a lot. We got way better at handling the camera. At first, we were nervous about shooting handheld, but it actually turned out looking pretty good. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked out."

[Scene 2: Walking past our printed out research.]

Christian (talking to the camera):
"We started by choosing the Coming-of-Age genre. We watched films like Stand By Me, Juno, and Eighth Grade to see how their openings worked. After that, we went started brainstorming. We came up with the plot, wrote the script, and made a storyboard. We also sorted out the details like locations, filming dates, and music."

[Scene 3: Walking around a filming location.]

Sienna (talking to the camera):
"During filming, we had to adapt a lot. When we were filming in the car, Christian had to stick his camera out of the window to get the right angle. It was a bit risky, but it worked. We also had to get creative, like when we didn’t have proper lights, we used an iPhone flashlight to light the scene. We had to figure things out on the spot and make changes as we went."

Links

  Film Opening Link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gbgmee9dVc3-aIHddiGrMplYrMH035Pr/view CCR1 Link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XFQfPz...