Creative Critical Reflection

 Here is my CCR!! I hope you enjoy it. You might need some reflective glasses LOL. That was a joke!

Surprise!!!

 Here is my film opening! I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for the journey!

 Welp, this is it. All this way and I've learned so much in what feels like a short span of time. Throughout the duration of this project, I've learned how I work as an individual and how I do under pressure. I thoroughly enjoyed taking on this challenge as some aspects were out of my comfort zone. As stated before, I was so incredibly nervous to edit my project since I did not feel very confident with this part of the project. However, I did what I had to do in order to maximize my knowledge. I also loved the fact that many of my friends took this class so we were all able to bond of the difficulties and greatness of our project. We were able to rant when we ran into a problem and help each other resolve this problem. Overall, I am thankful that I was able to finish this project, and it is a big relief. I know that there are some parts of my project that could be improved, but I am very proud of myself for what I have been able to do. Thank you so much for coming with me along my journey, I really appreciate it!!

ANEESA OUT!!! *image a super cool mic drop here*

So many buttons to click

 You read the title right. Why are there so many buttons that have individual functions on these editing apps. My enthusiasm has plateaued but I am still overwhelmingly excited to take my editing to a new level. With multiple facetime calls to show me how to do something, and different YouTube videos, I have been able to edit my project. I still have some finishing touches that I want to add, but that will not take too much time. I will add some sound  overlaps, and add my specific foley sounds. I feel amazing knowing that I was able to learn so much in so little time and I am now playing around with the different tools. I'll insert some clips of me editing and the process. I know that since this is my first actual long term editing project, I will not be a pro and cannot expect perfection, but It sure doesn't hurt to take what you've learned and apply it to your work. I have been able to take all that I have learned these past couple of months whether it's the shot composition, transitions, coloring, sounds, or effects. All of these miniscule things help build what eventually is the production. Post-production has been very fun especially when I get my groove on. I love playing music while editing, I get to be in my own space. I am still on the search for copyright free music. I will update you all soon. Have a great rest of your day!! Much love. 

I actually did end up adding too many clips which then made my project at a whooping 4 minutes. We have two minutes to create an opening. Which means I will have to shave off two minutes of content. I think I will be able to do it. I actually do have to do it since I have to remain within the time frame. I

Big debate....who will win??

 I have been doing a lot of thinking, as I usually do. I am not very experienced when it comes to editing, so I have gotten some input on the best apps to use. Mrs.Stoklosa provided us with some background information and different links to various editing software. The different contenders are Adobe, IMovie, or DaVinci. I have heard a lot of good things about Adobe so I may go with that. 

These are the big ones! I will end up going with premiere, as I have access to this program and all of its features. With the different editing tools I need, this will be the best app for me. I have worked with IMovie in the past, but found that it was not my favorite app to use. Premiere is very intricate and has a lot of different tools that are available to me. Thankfully, I have some amazingly gifted friends who have worked with premiere. 

    

When I started editing today, I was utterly lost and confused. Fun fact: I wasn't sure how to import the specific clips into the timeline to be edited. However, connections are always going to help you. My friends Sebastian and Mia are both experienced with Premiere and were able to show me the ins and outs. I did watch a few tutorials but found that with the help of my friends, I was able to learn much more in a shorter amount of time. Shoutout to those brilliant people, I will forever be thankful for their help and gratitude. I can't wait to see their projects! 

Filming Day!!

    Today is/was filming day! This has been a long-waited for day and I was so excited to embark upon this journey. I had been preparing these past couple of weeks for editing as I understand just how much it can be.. I've taken tips and tricks from previous students on how to make this process easier and more enjoyable. I already had the location set and the different places I wanted to film, I just needed to start! Today was the day that I would actually film my ideas and turn my storyboard into the real thing. I was a bit nervous as I wasn't sure how I would be able to capture certain shots, but I was able to overcome some of these obstacles.

    Slight update, I still have not heard back from the artists, "Almost Monday" so I will resort to YouTube Library for more copyright free music! I wanted to update you guys since I know my last blog was talking about how I still haven't heard from them, which is okay.

    I did have a set back with my project, an unfortunate one. One of my actors was unable to be there for filming day. This threw me for a LOOP! What was I supposed to do on filming day when one of my actors could not be there to act their role?? I had already written out each shot and already had the main characters established. I tried not to freak out, as I knew that this would not set me back. With the assistance of my sister, I was able to solve the problem. I would now be the replacement for the actor who was originally supposed to play the creepy man. I was thinking about the various shots I wanted to get, and realized that I would still be able to capture each moment as long as I could wisely record at specific angles. 

    I had my actors, (my sister and her amazing friend) and it was AMAZING!! They were very hard-working and were able to give me an outsiders input, which opened my eyes a lot to the production of the opening. Some shots I thought would be captivating, but might not have translated across the screen. I had so much fun filming and directing. We also got our steps in considering the fact that we were walking around the UM campus, which requires a considerable amount of walking. I love walking and UM has a beautiful campus so I was able to work on my project in the nature and throughout the campus.

    Filming has taught me a lot about the different possibilities available to me and all that I can do at the convenience of my phone, which sounds insane. I'm rambling once again!! But yes, filming was amazing and I look forward to editing. I want to expand my horizons with media and the different options I have to create something at the touch of my finger. I did not run into many problems when it came to recording, and I actually got to meet a lot of new, cool people. I am very social, which I found helped me a lot with my filming because I was able to ask people if they wanted to be in my opening. I started off my approach to each person I wanted in my film by telling them the premise of my intro. I know many people do not consent to being filmed without knowing what the purpose is, which I totally understand. I clarified to each person that this was for a project! I got great responses from people and they were very willing to be in my film. Funny enough, I was also asked to be featured in another groups project. However, their project was not school related. 

All in all, I had so much fun and I look forward to editing! I never thought I would have so much fun in a process that could be deemed as stressful. 

Here are some pictures of my amazing actors!!! I'm so thankful for their help and their availability! 

Collabs and more!

     I have a couple of updates for you all. Today was a very productive day for me! I was able to do some more genre research on some specific technology uses. I think that as an amateur artist, I need as many resources, guidance, and instructions on different techniques that I can use. However, the most important thing that I did was help Julie! Julie is another amazing student in AICE Media. I had the honor of working as the lead of her film intro. At first, we were thinking about being partners for this project but I overall decided to work independently. However, we still have helped each other greatly and have been able to offer assistance and support to one another which I think is amazing. Since I am the lead for her film, I had the ability to work in her project and help her film for her specific project. On her day of filming, she told me exactly what to wear and she also sent me her drafts which helped me a LOT. Because she sent me her ideas, I was able to understand her story and what exactly I would be doing within her film to make it as good as I can with my role.

    Working with Julie also opened my eyes to the many different possibilities I can use to capture the different shots. As I've stated a million times, I want there to be a blue tint to signify the shift in mood. For Julie, she used small LED lights to get the vibrant change in color for each of her shots. I thought this was a brilliant idea. However, I think that since I need to film during the day, I will not be able to use a LED light simply because science does not work that way. I cannot use a light since it will not show up well on camera and would blend in. However, props to her for being able to utilize a home accessory for the well being of her project. 

    Instead of using the LED light I have found an app that will let me add a blue ting over each video without the shot looking tacky or misplaced. Premiere is an amazing and credible app that I will be able to use to my liking. I know many students who are using this editing app to complete their projects. I was looking through their website and they have so much to offer for all of their users. 

 I also decided to learn more about the app so that I am not as stressed when it is time to edit. Here is the video I watched! :)

"Premiere Pro Tutorial for Beginners 2022 - Everything You NEED to KNOW!"