Distribution Research

    HIII! Now that the due date is coming close I need to finalize the ideas with the film. One of the things for the CCR is the ways on planning on distributing the film. This is one of the questions so I think it's a good idea to get my thoughts together and plan out for this questions.

Vimeo

    One platform that could be very useful for a small film making to distribute their film is Vimeo. Vimeo is a posting sharing, and services platform provider based in NewYork. Vimeo Is a platform where I am able to post my film and have it out in the world for anyone to access. Millions of films have already been published there. Vimeo is best for allowing my film to be accessed globally. 

Youtube

    Youtube is an online video sharing and social media platform that is owned by Google. Youtube is a huge platform with billions of videos. There are thousands of films available on Youtube by big producers.  My film could become available next to films like Ghostbusters and Twilight. Youtube is one of the largest platforms which would allow for a potentially large amount of viewers. 

Film Festivals

    One last way I could distribute my film is at small local film festivals. It would give my film a chance to reach people who are also making films or are interested in small productions. Many film makers have become successful through film festivals and have won many awards. This is something I could do if I so choose. 

CCR Inspo!

     Hiiii! I've been thinking a lot recently about the creative critical reflection as it's a HUGE part of the AICE exam. I was watching one of my favorite podcasts Hot Mess by Alix Earle and I got the idea of using that as my incorporation for one of the 2 types of media products.    

    The podcast is very causal which is one of the reasons it's so popular. Viewers feel like they're talking to a friend and getting to know Alix on a personal level. Alix is relaxed in the videos and just shows her personality. I feel like this is something I could do for one of my CCR. 

Here is the episode of Hot Mess that I was watching when I got the idea:)

For my CCR I could answer 2/4 of the questions on my own podcast similar to Alix's. I would have to come up with a name though... I could be sitting in my room like she does. I wouldn't clean it or get ready to film so it would feel intimate. I would talk as if i'm talking to a friend and not to a camera screen. I could insert clips of what i'm speaking about every once in a while to add in visual interest. 

I really like this idea because I really like this podcast, but I don't know if doing this would give me the best grade. BUT, I am going to work hard to try and make it work because of how much I like the idea. I now have to work on actually answering the questions and coming up with another idea...

Target Audience

     HIIIII! I realized that I never really got the chance to define my target audience so I figured i'd take this time on break to do it. :) Typically, a romantic comedy film's target audience is females and the age depends on the movie and it's rating. (Some romantic comedy's are rated R, so they wouldn't have a teenage target audience.) Three's Company is based on a high school love triangle, so the target audience would mainly be towards females ages 12-22. Here is an example of what a typical member of my target audience would be:

 As a secondary target males within the same age range of 12-22 would be the target as there is a male protagonist and male aspects throughout the film, although the female aspects would be more dominant.

HELP ME!!!!!

 Heyy! I am sooo stressed. I feel like I am so behind and I have absolutely no time to re-film. I definitely need to re-film the male part as it's awful omg. But this is due April 2nd and I don't get back from my cruise until the 31st and I won't have any wifi. I would need to film literally  the day I get back. I also have my creative critical reflection to do! OMG! and that week I have 2 lacrosse games. I'm so overwhelmed. I feel like I need to get on this but I don't even know where to start. I did to much planning and not enough of actually doing and now I'm screwed. 

I think I am going to need to film literally the second I get back from my trip. I will have to cut out the developing setting portion of the film opening as I just don't have time to film for it. If I do great, but I really don't think I will. AHHHHH!!! I am going to try and get all the voice overs and edit the video while i'm on my cruise but I really don't know how much I am going to be able to get done. I also am going to try and write my script for the CCR.  OYYYEE I'm so stressed about this I don't think I'm going to be able to get any of this done in time!!! Helpppppppp. 

Anyways, I really hope I can get this all figured out. I'm sure it'll be fine but I am just really stressed and scared. This will definitely be on my mind ALL of break. 

Sound Search

     Heyyy! As I continue editing my film opening, I realized I need to start collecting sounds. I texted Lily and Lucy their voice overs and asked them to get them to me within the next week. I need them to sound very different so. viewers can understand that the voice overs are two different people. I told likely to have a deeper less excited voice as she played Ivy and Lucy to have a peppy/excited voice as she played Zoe.

I need to find the sound that will play over the entirety of the film. I searched up "copy right free music" and the website "uppbeat" showed up. I scrolled for a while listening to a bunch of different songs until I saw that AI can generate you a playlist. You had to type in a description of your video/film and then it would generate a playlist. I did this a few times with different things as the description. The one that worked the best was "teeange rom com film opening." At first I was describing my film but I wasn't getting the results I wanted until I typed that. From there I listened to a few sounds and I think I found my one! Here is the song on YouTube :)

Honestly, I may change the music if when I add it to the video, it doesn't match. I hope it goes well but if not I guess I will have to go on the hunt for another song.

Update on Editing Process

     Heyyy. What a relief that I am finally done filming. Thank god! I realized that the film opening has to be 2 minutes and not 3 so I do have enough footage. I'm not sure why but when I started to edit I only had around 2 minutes and I started to freak out but then realized I was on track cause it has to be a MAX of 2 minutes. Not much to update on i'm kind of just starting to put the clips together. I need to collect the voice overs from Lily and Lucy so I can start to edit that into the video. I want to re-film with the male protagonist because I don't like the way his clips came out at all. 

Here are a few screenshots from the clips that i've started to put together. Again, the visual interest isn't really there but it's a simple film opening that fits the romantic comedy genre. 

I need to look for sounds to layer into the film like the car running, car door opening and closing, and most importantly the music i'm using!!!!! I hear YouTube sounds are really good copy-right free sounds so I am going to check those out soon. I've been super busy with lacrosse recently so only having to worry about editing now feels so nice. I know I need to get started on the creative critical reflection soon though. With break starting in a few days I know these deadlines are going to creep up on me...

Filming Success!!!

     YAYYYYY! Today was a huge success. I think I got a good amount of footage and I just started to put the clips together. I'm a little concerned as there isn't much of a variety of shots as it's a fairly simple opening. I hope this is understood when being graded... Anyway, my issue with Troy as I found a replacement last minute with my friend Mason. So thankful he was able to step in last minute. We shot for about an hour. Here are some pictures.

I didn't have access to a tripod so I tried to make the best of my situation by using the car as a stabilizer at some points and just tired to hold the camera as still as I could. I won't be using any sound at all from the videos so audio wasn't a concern for me.

Now I need to start editing, film for developing setting, collect sounds and the music I will be using. I plan on trying to do most of this within this week, but I don't know if i'll be able to film to develop setting in the next 2 weeks. This week it's the last week of the quarter so I have to study a lot for upcoming tests and I have 3 lacrosse games. The week after i'll be away for spring break!!! The goal is to have everything else done though. I also need to figure out the order for the credits! Oye, I feel so behind. AND I HAVE THE CCR!!! At least I got a good portion out of the way. 

Fit Check!!!

     Heyyyy! Filming in t-minus 10 hours!!! AHHHHH. It's sooooo close. I just wanted to come on and show you guys the costuming that Zoe (lucy) and Ivy (lily) will be wearing. I also got my friend mason to come joining us to help with the behind the scenes. I'm superrrr excited and we'll be up and at it bright and early! (10:30)

Zoe's Costume

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Ivy's Costume

Trouble in Paradise!!!

     OMG! I have some semi-good news and some bad news. I'll start with the good news. I finalized with Lily and Lucy that we will be filming late Saturday morning. What a relief. Now for the bad news. First thing is I was going to be having Lucy's character Zoe as the driver but unfortunately she didn't pass her drivers test so she doesn't have her license, but Lily does. So I will have to re-do the screen play and story a little to accommodate that issue. Also, Drew is away for a week at a film competition in California, so I won't be able to film with him. But, he's never in a shot with the girls so I can film with him on another day. Just a little annoyed that I pretty much have to re-write the entire story but whatever. 

Heres the new screen play. 

Guess What I Learned in Class Today...

     HIIIIIIIII! What's up? Today I showed up to class and was wondering what I could blog about. I'm waiting on starting to film and honestly it's stressing me out. I feel like I am super behind and if I don't film soon i'll become so overwhelmed and have so much to do in such a short period of time. Today we got into class and honestly just added on to the stress in the back of my brain. But, it also helped me put together the things I need to make sure I incorporate so I have everything done. Anyways, the lesson we did today was all about the creative critical reflection, and let me tell you it was a handful. 

Here are my notes :)

The creative critical reflection is 20/50 points which is 40% of the project. That's actually insane! The whole point of this is to reflect on the project by answering the 4 questions all while showing my personality. How the heck am I suppose to show my personality, i'm so camera shy... We need to do 2 types of media productions. One of the types I was thinking of a talk show interview style or maybe a game show. I feel like a game show could be cool but I don't really know how it'd work, but it could be cool and is definitely creative. My other form could be more basic and structured just to make sure I cover all my bases. I realized I never really defined my target audience so stay tuned a blog post about that ;) I am also going to have to make a script but that shouldn't be too hard. I need a script to kinda just put my thoughts together you know. I also want to try and get all my sources together and maybe do some more research on representation and genre conventions, but I think I have a good about to be honest. 

 

I took a lot of little notes on the side of my paper kinda telling me like what I did for my project in terms of what the question is asking this will help me in the long run when i'm writing out the script for my creative critical reflection. Another big part is making sure my reflection is engaging. I can do this by incorporating clips from my film/research and adding background music/sound effects. I'm feeling pretty confident about this part of the project as i'm usually pretty good at answering questions and reflecting on my process. My teacher really helped to explain it in class and answer all questions which made me feel a lot more comfortable with this. She also showed examples which showed me what I want to do and not want to do as well as what I should and shouldn't do. 

I am still super stressed about getting the filming done but once I get over that hump I think it'll be smooth sailing. I want to hang out with my friends and stuff over the weekend but at the end of the day school comes first and i'll be a lot happier if I just get this done. Count down till spring break and no stress. 2 weeks and 6.5 more school days. Thank god!

Filming Location

 Heyyyy! I've just been finalizing the plans for where and when I am going to be filming. I've settled on late afternoon next Saturday, which is the last Saturday before break so it will allow me to have enough time to make edits and not worry while still being able to enjoy my break. 

There will be the shots of fort Lauderdale beach to open the film for 30 seconds. 

This is going to help develop the vibe that we are in south Florida and the type of kids that would live around here. I want to make it fun and upbeat to help set the teenage-vibe for the rest of the film.

The next spot will obviously be in inside of a car and outside of a house. We will be using my house. 

It is nothing special just a plain house.  For the car we will be using either a BMW X5 or the KIA K5. It all depends on who is willing to let their car be used in the film (lol.) But either one will do and match the vibe. If I had to guess it'd be the K5. 

Lastly, the shopping center we will be using is small but has a few well known places. It has a chipotle and tanning place which are hot spots for all these characters to be at. I think this is the best place to do it at. This location isn't set in stone as I want to receive a few other opinions as to where I should film. Other than that I think i'm pretty much ready to start filming. I'm super excited to get to work and can't wait to see my ideas finally come to life!!!

Screen Play

     Heyyyy and welcome back! I have been trying to figure out how to write a screen play and where to write it. My friend Alex who is also in AICE media helped me out by pointing my to the Celtx website. It's honestly great. It formats everything for me so I also really have to worry about the content. We took some notes in class about screen-play which also helped me to understand what's really suppose to be said. Here are my notes: (I know my handwriting could use some work...)

                               

The lesson in class really helped to clear up some confusion and get me focused on exactly what I need to write about. My screenplay isn't at it's best and I know that. I plan on asking classmates and friends on advice on what I could improve on as I just don't know where I am going wrong. Anyways here it is:

Casting

     Hey guys! I've been really busy recently with lacrosse as we've had games almost everyday, so I havn't had time to put a lot of my ideas and progress on paper but I wanted to give an update on the progress i've made. Most importantly i've come up with some character names! The more feminine girl will be named Zoe, and the gothic girl will be named Ivy. The boys' name will be Troy. The name for the film will be "Three's Company" (I really like this.)

Meet the Cast!

Zoe (Lucy)

Ivy (Lily)

Troy (Drew)

    I'm really excited to work with my friends on this, fingers crossed that there will be no scheduling conflicts and I can start and finish shooting soon and it one day. The 2 girls playing Zoe and Ivy (Lucy and Lily) are not really good with film, but the boy who is playing Troy (Drew) is really good with filming/editing so it will be nice to have him on 'set' as a helping hand. He could be a big help while editing as well if I ever needed guidence on how to do something. He's my family friend so I definitely see him a lot, if I ever needed help. 

    I ran the film by the three and they all seem open to it. Lucy and Lily feel slightly awkward about being on camera but they're willing to do it to help me out. (lol) I am hoping to shoot this weekend but weather isn't looking to good, but if not this weekend, next weekend for sure. I need to get shooting before break so I can edit and not worry while i'm on vacation. 

    As for right now, I need to finish up my screen play. This is something i'm struggling a little with as I have never had to do it before. It's definitely a learning curve but it'll be helpful when shooting and editing. All of these little tedious steps will just make my life a whole lot easier when putting the film together. 

Shots List

 Hiiiii! I just developed the list of shots in order of when they'll be shown on screen in order to help organize myself when shooting. This may change if I decide to change the beginning to the split-screen idea. I am still thinking of character names (I know this is an issue) but I am going to get started on the screenplay soon. Hopefully this week. Anyway, heres my shots list :)

    Long shot Palm Trees

    Medium shot Palm Trees

    Close up Palm Trees

    Dutch Tilt Palm Trees

    Long shot Pool/backyard

    Medium shot Pool/backyard

    Dutch Tilt Pool/backyard

    Pan from sky to car

    Close up preppy girl in car

    Long shot gothic girl walking out of her house (possible jump cuts)

    Close up car door handle

    Over the shoulder gothic girl entering car

    2 shot of girls singing in car

    Tight close up of preppy girl

    Tight close up of gothic girl (eye line match)

    Close up gothic girl facing foward

    Long shot of front wind shield of car

    Long shot of male walking (slow motion)

    Close up of preppy girl (looks over)

    Close up of gothic girl (looks over)

    2 shot of girls in shock (looking at each other/around)

    Long shot of car pulling into spot

    Close up gothic preppy girl in car

    Long shot of preppy girl getting out of car and closing door

    2 Shot of girls walking

    Long shot of male walking (slow motion/eye line match)

    Medium shot of gothic girl starring/walking (looks over) 

    2 Shot of girls walking into store (gothic girl looks at friend)