Calling Card: Editing Process Cambridge Project

Editing Process

The editing was done by me as my partner Marat and I agreed that he would be the main actor and I would be the editor. I decided to plan out my approach to the editing of the opening in a couple of steps. First, I would skim through all of the shots we took and select the ones that we would use. Second, I would upload the shots I selected to the computer and upload it into ClipChamp to see how long the unedited footage is. Sure enough when I input all of the unedited footage it far exceeded the time limit we were given. This lead to the third step which was to see which shots and clips could be shortened so that it fits the required limit. After completing the previous steps we reviewed what we had so far and consequently we realized two things. One, being that we were missing some of the shots necessary to transition in the opening and some of the dialogue which made it feel weird and wrong. To solve this we will have to retake some of the shots and record the ones that we had missed on Monday. The other thing being that the lighting for some of the shots weren’t how we wanted them to be. To fix this I had to tweak the settings for the brightness to make it either darker to make it more ominous or brighter to make it more clear. I also added in a special effect for one of the shots after deciding that it would be a nice addition to it.

Sound 

After finishing up with the visual component of the opening I immediately went to search for the necessary sounds and sound effects for our opening with Marat. We searched for the sounds using resources that were provided by my teacher Mrs. Stoklosa which were BenSound and Pixabay. On BenSound we was able to find the background music for the antagonist’s scene which was called Vanishing Hope by Foepound. The music perfectly reflected the eerie and creepy vibe that we wanted to portray with Shade. On Pixabay we were able to find some of the necessary sound effects for the opening such as a door opening and closing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find some of the sound effects necessary or the background music that would be used for the scene with the protagonists. As a result, we decided to make the sounds ourselves using Foley sounds during our second filming session on Monday.

Credits

After finishing up the audio component of the opening I got to work on the credits for our production. I looked for inspiration from previous projects about how they included it and what roles did they include in the actual credits. After I decided on the text and where the credits would appear I decided to ask for help from my mom as I didn’t really know anything about fonts. She said that the font that I was originally using (Comic Sans) was terrible and went on to recommend several other fonts that looked 10x better than what I was originally using such as Rakkas, Anton, Yeseva 1, and Krona 1. She also provided me with possible revisions such as changing the color of the title credits, moving some of the credits so they aren’t covering the opening, and shrinking/enlarging them to have more or less impact. 

Conclusion

While it did take a while I am quite happy with how the opening is turning out and I cannot wait to see what the finished product looks like. Hopefully, we will be have all of the shots and sounds that we are missing and be finished by the end of next week.

Calling Card: Filming Process Cambridge

Calling Card Production Process

We originally went over to a friend's house to film our opening but we were unable to return to that house as he was busy for the entire week. As a result, we were forced to improvise by making some changes at the last second. We switched the filming location to be at my house and to bring along a different more available person to help us film and record our process. When my partner and Lucas (The available friend) showed up at my house we immediately went into action and started planning how were we going to film all the necessary shots with this different environment. We pulled up our storyboard and visualized where we would place all the furniture, props, camera angles, etc. Fortunately, we were able to gather up all of the props that we had missed during our first shooting such as the calling card, the ramen cups, the newspaper, and the half-empty water bottles. After setting up all of the scenes we started filming.

Protagonists Scene

We were originally planning on finishing up on the shots for the antagonist's scene but we decided that it would be better to wait until it was dark out so that we could properly have our dim low-key lighting as in my house there are two large window/doors that let in sunlight. As a result, we started filming the protagonists first and quickly realized that we needed to evaluate the type of relationship between Matthew and Oliver. We showcase Matthew and Oliver with a quick and small conversation about Matthew's girlfriend and displayed part of Oliver's character by showing him worrying about Matthew's lifestyle and obsession with the case. We displayed Matthew's character by showing him in his messy environment and clearly restless nights of working on the case, we also focused on him complaining about the fact that they had spent so much time and effort and were still no closer to figuring out the identity of Shade. We then took various different shots and variations based off our storyboard and remove shots that we considered impossible to do at the time. 

During the filming for this scene we encountered a problem early on with the realization that my partner Marat had worn the wrong costume for Matthew which caused us to redo all of the previous shots. Fortunately, it was still pretty early on so we didn't lose as much as we could've. In fact thanks to my father we actually improved on the costume design by having him wear an old F1 (Formula 1) jacket to add on references and details to pop culture outside the film. It is also very important to mention that we took several breaks every now and then to refresh our minds and to create some of the props necessary like adding the images to the newspaper and eating out the ramen so we could use the empty cups. After messing around a bit we decided to focus and concentrate for the rest of filming process. 

Antagonist

We switched from filming the protagonists to the antagonists because it was starting to turn dark outside. Before getting into it we were worried that getting the lighting right as had little to no experience with lighting. However, fortunately enough my father had a portable light that came with adjustable brightness which helped us a lot as we were able to effectively control the amount of light we would use in our scenes even with all of the lights turned off.

The filming of the antagonist went better than we expected even when one of my dogs would bark at random moments. We also had a time limit as my mom selflessly took my other two dogs who were extremely loud and talkative to a park so that we could film without any worries. (My dogs are very friendly to strangers :) Afterwards, we wrapped up filming for the day as it was getting very late and planned to come back on Monday to finish up all of the shots and retake any that we found unsatisfactory.

Conclusion 

Even though it was pretty bumpy, we still got a lot of work done with us almost finishing up filming in just one day. However, we still do need some extra shots for the protagonists' scene and we need to do some retakes for the dialogue as the friend who we had play as Oliver was sort of bad at acting and couldn't articulate specific sentences so that took a pretty long time to finish that section up.

Overall, I think that our day was very productive even though we could've been more efficient with our time and I hope that we can finish up filming on Monday and fully edit the opening.

CCR Research Question #1

Calling Card: CCR Question #1

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

First, I want to discuss what type of format I am going to do for my first two questions. When I was in the 2nd Group meeting with my group I received inspiration from one of the other members who said they were going to do a gameshow where the punishment was that they had to eat spicy food. This made me think about other popular gameshows and as a result I decided to do my answers in a Jeopardy like format. It's entertaining and is relatively simple to do and can be done with the help of my partner Marat who can act as the game host. I can use a buzzer and choose a section (For example, CCR #1 for 200 and answer the question when it appears on the screen.)

Our film opening revolves around two protagonists that are working together to defeat the antagonist who is called Shade. Our product definitely uses the typical conventions of films in the mystery genre. However, while our opening does utilize the typical conventions and tropes we still wanted to make it feel more original.  

We did by including a trope that isn't as common as the main one but is still very well-known. We added a deuteragonist or the second protagonist, who goes by the name of Oliver, that will work together with Matthew, who is the first or main protagonist of the story. We want to make it clear that they are seen as close or that they have known each other for a long time. 

We represent social groups by challenging the "Lone Wolf" stereotype with characters like Batman, Sherlock Holmes, and Doctor Who being some of the more iconic representations of the archetype. They are all depicted as characters that are isolated, cold, intelligent, and sometimes even believing they are superior to other characters as a result of their skill. We are challenging this stereotype by portraying a more healthy and friendly bond between Oliver and Matthew. This will be similar to Sherlock's relationship with Doctor Watson while still being different as neither of the characters will believe they are superior or that they are geniuses to make them seem more humble and relatable. We will also represent different ethnic backgrounds to make their connection between them feel even greater as they endeavor to solve the case together. 

An issue we also represent is the real problem of obsessions with things like work. We show with Matthew clear signs of an unhealthy lifestyle as he is obsessed with the case to the point that he is neglecting himself. There are plenty of people out there who are the exact same way and we decided to people about the harm that way of life can do to you. However, we also challenge it by showing that Matthew still has some semblance of a life as he has a girlfriend/wife to signify that even though it may seem impossible to get out of the cycle there's always a way to turn your life around.

Other tropes and conventions that we will follow the trope of a "phantom thief" by having Shade represent the stereotype of being a thief that seemingly is able to get in and out of a heist like a ghost. We also represent social issues like the fear of the unknown using Shade as the incarnation of that.  It is a serious fear and issue that we are going to try to represent with Shade.

 

Group Meeting #2 Review

Group Meeting #2

On Monday, my teacher divided our class again into groups. It had the same goals as the previous meeting but with the inclusion of details about the actual production and what their plans were for the CCR. I was originally placed with people I know like my partner Marat and Sebastien, (I didn't get the names of the rest) but was moved to another group as I was not supposed to be with my partner for this meeting. As a result I joined late and two members had already gone being Julia and Meliyah. The group went in the same order as listed below [(With the exception of Julia and Meliyah, who went before I was there)(They're placed at the bottom.]

Group Members and Production Feedback

Sebastien - Genre: Thriller 

I already knew about what his story was about as he explained it in the first meeting. He explained some of his struggles as one of the people that was supposed to work with canceled on him. Another struggle that they had was that they originally planned to film at Regional Park but due to it being completely filled out they changed locations to a church parking lot. I didn't get to hear all of the feedback as I was switched midway through.

 Julia - Genre: Drama/Suspense 

Julia's story is about a girl whose sister was murdered and she is seeking revenge against her sister's killer. There wasn't really any feedback as her outline appeared solid to myself and the rest.

Meliyah - Genre: Psychological Thriller/Drama/Suspense

Meliyah's story is about two sisters with one having passed away and it will be centered with the older sister reminiscing about the younger one that passed away. She also said that one of their scenes will be taking place at the beach. She didn't really have any issues and was instead really efficient as she was able to work with her partner to film correctly at the beach and not use a tripod to film.

Tarynn - Genre: Science Fiction

Tarynn's story is about a disease that wipes out most of humanity and shows the main character surviving alone and foraging for food. Her plot and plan was very good to the point of impressing everyone at the table. She did come across a problem as one of her main actors had to cancel on her and as a result had to change her initial plan of having two sisters be the main characters to just having one.

Caesar - Genre: Thriller

Caesar's story is about two people that are lying on their couch doing nothing but watching tv when suddenly an emergency alarm appears on their screen stating that something unknown has entered the area and to be cautious. His group has already figured out how they will accomplish everything as a result they don't have any notable issues yet.

Ella - Genre: Teenage Drama

Ella's story is about a teenage girl that is being neglected by her parents (Mom ignores her and Dad isn't home.) She is going to be portrayed as very clumsy as they attempt to celebrate her own lonely birthday party. She didn't really have any issues except for the fact that she is filming by herself and states that it is a lot harder than she thought.

Andres(Me) - I received a tip on how to fix the lighting for my film opening. I do not remember who exactly it was but someone showed me that there is a feature in the photos app where you can adjust the brightness for photos and videos which made my job ten times easier.

Emmanuel (Never got his blog link) - Genre: Coming of Age

Emmanuel's story is about a rebellious kid that was rejected by his parents and is sneaking out the house to meet up with some "fake friends" who are trying to convince him to do some bad things (Drugs, tobacco, etc.) He has his entire outline practically done and all that's left for him is to get the correct casting and create the required stunts for the opening. 

Summary

Overall, there wasn't a lot of tips that were given to each but a lot of positive feedback was given instead. Everyone here has properly planned out their opening even if they haven't started filming it yet. I firmly believe that everyone in this group did a great job and will be getting a good score for this project. 

 

Calling Card Production Process: Setting up the Scenes Cambridge Project

 Setting up the scenes blog post 

We finally began filming yesterday and it was chaotic to say the least. We arrived at our filming location which was a friend’s house, but got distracted by some minor details and by each other. Although, we did eventually push through it and get some work done and planned how we were going to move all of the furniture to free up space and set up the scenes. 

After deciding on the exact layout of our setting, we started filming, but quickly ran into some issues. We were missing some of the props we needed for the scenes which caused us to push the rest of the filming back to the next day, but this gave us the time to collect the missing props. 

The images shown below are photos highlighting our movement process.

We will come back to this post later on and add more photos and videos of us setting up the scenes for the protagonists. Until then I hope you have a good day. :)

Calling Card: Production Issues and Obstacles Cambridge Project

1st and 2nd day Filming Issues and Obstacles

After we set up our scene which you'll see in the next blogpost we ran into a multitude of problems for the planning aspect of our production. We recognized some of the problems as we looked at our planned storyboard for our outline of opening and realized that some of our planned shots wouldn't be possible. Some of the shots weren't possible because either we didn't have the props or the layout simply wouldn't work. For example, we were planning to use a shot revolving around a mirror but the angle and position the mirror in made that impossible. Another example, is for the protagonists scene as we lacked a lot of the props necessary to make up the dirty room aesthetic. It even began to get dark outside since we started filming late in the afternoon. 

We also didn't accomplish as much as we had hoped because we were beginning to interact and work with each other in a new environment. After all of these factors we decided to consider this as the testing day and postponed more of the filming for the next available day.

Other obstacles occurred when we actually filming some of the shots for the opening. Our first obstacle was the issue with the lighting. We really struggled get the correct lighting for our shots for a long period of time. This was because it was pretty dark outside and we wanted to film a darker scene but due to no natural light coming in we couldn't see anything. We overcame this obstacle by having one of our friends hold a flashlight/use their phone at a high angle to get the lighting just right to portray the creepy and mysterious feeling for the antagonist.

Another issue was how cramped the shooting space for the scene was as the hallways in the house were very narrow which made it hard to shoot and walk in. Marat fixed this problem by suggesting to opening the bathroom door in the hallway to create some additional space so I could record him. Overall, our start was pretty bad. but we had high hopes for the next day. 

Unfortunately, our hopes were sent down the drain as we got the news that we wouldn't be able to go to our friend's house to film. This completely ruined our plans of getting the filming done by this week. There is an upside though as this gives us more time to gather any required props. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have our filming process done so we can focus on the editing aspect of our project.

Creating the Logo: Cambridge Portfolio Project

 Creating the Logo

For this week, me and my teammate had to come up with a production company name and create a logo for our film opening. After getting inspiration from other logos from popular companies we decided on the name of our company. The name of our production is "Viper Studios", and there really isn't any symbolic meaning behind. We just wanted to appeal to the mystery genre of our opening and we simply wanted our logo to reflect that. In addition, we created our logo reflect our name inside of it with the snake being the form of an S to stand for Studios.

Here is our finished product:

Logo Creation Process

We came into the creation process for our logo with zero knowledge on how to create and publish a viable logo. After researching a few major brands like Marvel and Warner Bros. we display our production process below in stages. We used Canva for the creation of this logo.

Our first task was to create a base to place our logo in. We decided to create it using simple shades of purple with the plan of including black in the logo later on. We do this to emphasize the color scheme of the Calling Cards the antagonist will use in the film opening. We are able to strengthen our image as a production company that does mystery movies.

After that, we had to add in the actual logo for our company. We decided on a snake because it can be used to represent any letter or shape that we wanted and because they looked cool. We created the logo using Canva's generate image function and we added an eye because it was created without one and we wanted it to appear more realistic and because without it, it looked like a worm.

Then, we added the final touches to the snake as we changed the eye color to green to have a more contrasting and interesting color design. Moreover, the snake looks like an S which concretes our studio name as mentioned earlier. We were very proud of what we had done but still felt that some aspects were missing.

Finally, we finished the logo changing the background to black to contrast our white text for the company name and to add more reinforcement and symbolism to the Calling Cards as it was their signature colors. We also messed around with the colors and sizes to make sure it all matched perfectly.

Calling Card: Fixing the Screenplay Cambridge Project

 Rewriting the Screenplay and Script

In a previous blog post I submitted a script that was incomplete and deemed it unsuitable for my film opening. After properly reviewing it, I realized that the script lacked realistic and effective dialogue alongside the lack of actions shown. As a result, I decided to create a new one from scratch with inspiration from iconic and professional screenplays within the industry. 

I researched several iconic screenplays and their corresponding films, including Forrest Gump, Aliens, and Pulp Fiction with the screenplays being shown alongside their movies down below. These scripts provide good examples for how dialogue, actions, and pacing are used to develop the characters and provide a good narrative image.

I analyzed these examples through a website called Script Reader Pro (Link at the bottom) and with it I was able to revise my script with better dialogue among other elements. In comparison to the professional scripts which demonstrated how dialogue should reveal characters and their relationships, while describing their visual actions clearly, mine were terrible. 

Using these newfound insights, I rewrote my screenplay to include the scene descriptions and make the dialogue feel more natural and realistic. This better explains the relationships between the protagonists and adds even more details onto the film. At this current stage, only Scene 2 (The Protagonists' Scene) is included, as Scene 1 (The Antagonist's Scene) doesn't contain any dialogue and primarily relies on the visual storytelling aspect. I won’t say that my screenplay is perfect as I neglected to add in descriptions for the scene but I believe it to be just fine for the opening.

Revised Script

Forest Gump (1994)

Aliens (1986)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Forest Gump (1994)

Aliens (1986)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/screenplay-example/

Calling Card: Audio

Research

When we were planning our film opening, we realized that we needed to think about the audio of our scenes and how they would affect the viewers. At first, we were originally planning on creating most of our foley sounds ourselves (Sounds that are made using household objects) and then search for other sounds we needed using the resources provided by our teacher. However, we realized that we needed to research the other types of sound design as well, especially the types used in mystery and action films.

In mystery films, sound is used to build up suspense and to immerse the viewers. To do this they typically rely on diegetic sounds (Sounds that exist within the film world, such as dialogue or footsteps) and non-diegetic sounds (Sounds that do not exist in the film world, for example background music.) The non-diegetic music in mystery films tend to be either classical or instrumental, which help to build up suspense, increase the intensity, and create a sense of danger and eeriness. 

Action films, however, mainly just use diegetic sounds such as explosions, gunshots, and quick movement. The music in action films can range from electronic to rock to pop, while many feature their own scores and songs that were made just for the film. After learning all of these different types we decided that our opening would be improved greatly if we could combine the correct music alongside the foley and diegetic sound effects.

Audio for the Antagonist:

For the antagonist, we wanted him to have his own sound motif. Many iconic villains in films have their own theme that can be easily recognized as it signifies their presence to the audience. For example, there is Darth Vader from "Star Wars", Bruce from "Jaws", or the Prowler from "Into the Spider-verse". Inspired by this, we wanted our antagonist to carry their own dark theme that makes the audience feel tense. We were considering using a music track with a violin because violins are commonly used in horror movies to develop fear and suspense which is perfect for what are trying to portray with our villain. Our plan is for the music to fade into the beginning of the scene near, and have the volume gradually increase over the duration of the scene and climax at the end.  The crescendo would heighten tension and signal the importance of the necklace.

In addition to the music, a sound effect we discussed including is the sound of him breathing heavily or abnormally similar to that of Darth Vader's mechanical breathing. However, we are weighing the pros and cons of that addition as it could add more details or feel heavily copied. For the diegetic sounds, we were planning on adding creaking floorboards as the antagonist is walking. This serves as to unnerve the viewers and increase the immersion for the viewers while suggesting that the house may be old.

Star Wars- The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)

Jaws - Theme song

The Prowler's Theme (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)

Audio for the Protagonists:

For the scenes with the protagonists, we aren't fully sure what music and feeling we want to play. We were thinking of having some subtle and mellow background music, but we believe we need to put some more thought into this. However, for the diegetic sound, we have already thought of multiple that want to use that enhance the realism. Some of these include paper crumpling, muttering of incomplete phrases, and a quiet fan just to name a few. These small details can make the environment feel very authentic and realistic.

 There is a section that involves a door, so were planning on incorporating knocking and door opening sounds effects. These sounds can build up audience engagement and suspense as people wonder who's on the other side. Even though there is very limited dialogue, the tone, pacing, and delivery can still strongly affect the audience's perception of the characters and situation.

Calling Card: Costume Design

 Research

Before finalizing the costume design choices for our characters, we decided to conduct research on the importance of costume design in film because we felt that we didn't know enough. Through this research I learned that costume design was a very important part of mise-en-scene and that it plays an important role in developing characters and in storytelling.

The costume of a character can reveal the personality, status, and even the time period the characters are in to the viewer. They can also establish a character's identity through the color scheme of the costume, for example, antagonists in mystery and thriller movies typically wear darker clothing to symbolize danger and secrecy, while protagonists usually wear brighter colors to symbolize hope and bravery. After realizing this, we approached the costume design of our characters more thoughtfully. Instead of just choosing what we thought looked cool, we focused on how their clothing would help add meaning to the story.

Costume Design for the Antagonist

For the costume design of the antagonist, we wanted him to wear mostly black clothing. The color black represents things like mystery, death, fear, power, and evil which is exactly how we want the audience to view our antagonist. We were planning on having him wear a black hoodie and long black pants like in the images below. We are still deliberating on whether the antagonist will have a mask. If we choose to have one, it will make him feel less human and more intimidating to the audience. If we choose not to have one, we will still not show his face and obscure his face.

Costume Design for the Protagonists

For the costume design of the protagonists, we wanted them to wear basic clothes like suits but that were a bit disheveled. This gives off the effect that the protagonists are very professional but that they are still very much obsessed with the case to the point of working nonstop. With the mise-en-scene of the disheveled clothes and messy room, the viewers will be able to infer that the protagonists have been prioritizing the case over their own wellbeing. An example will be shown below.