Critical Reflection

The products made represent the social issue of teenage friendship. The film shows the development of two teenage girls who go on to become friends over a shared experience. They become bonded through an adventure, which is the treasure hunt. The film follows how they go from complete strangers with awkward conversation to friends who find treasure together. In our present life, teenagers are addicted to their phones and their whole lives are on them. In the film, once the characters go on the adventure they never look at their phones, they are not important. The concept of teenagers has evolved and changed significantly over time, this film shows how this change doesn't exist in every situation. Sam and Riley first meet with Riley listening to music with her headphones on. During the film, Riley's headphones stay on her neck and Sam's phone stays in her back pocket. They don't use technology which is something teenagers always do nowadays, and this film shows that making actual experiences is a good thing and leads to a positive outlook on life (with the message of the film). Teenage friendships are a complicated concept to understand and the film reflects on a simple friendship that grows naturally through the two characters going on a treasure hunt together. Developing a friendship right in front of the audience's eyes is representing teenage friendship as a social issue and shows it to them in a way that the audience can go on to truly appreciate it.

The focus of the film is the message of it. Instead of only saying "don't hesitate on life so you don't miss opportunities", the film shows it. There are two storylines of the film and the second one truly emphasizes the message and makes the audience actually think about it. Instead of the audience learning what the treasure is, the film goes back to the first scene but this time with an alternate ending. This alternate ending conveys the message of the film, and just in case the audience missed the message it is clearly stated. The film focusing on the message is what brands it as "not just another adventure movie". There are plenty of adventure movies, but not as many movies with a deep meaning. The deep meaning of the film is what brands it as something to watch and something significant. The specific elements showing this message in the film is the final shot saying the message along with the two storylines and build up to the treasure. The two storylines are what convey the message allowing for the film to be branding. The build up to the treasure during the treasure hunt leads the audience to having to question the film when the treasure is not revealed but instead the film "restarts". In reality, the film doesn't restart but it goes on to give an alternate ending. That is when the message is shown and leads to the film being branded for having a deep meaning.

The film that my group produced is meant to convey a message of don’t hesitate in life. By giving a message, it connects with the audience and makes them reflect upon their own life. The film itself has two different storylines, both starting the same but ending very differently. This difference is the theme, by not hesitating in life it sends you on adventures and leads you to fully living life. By holding back in life, you miss the opportunities. Since Sam made it on the elevator, she went on an adventure with Riley and went on a treasure hunt. However, when Sam missed the elevator, the two of them never met and the adventure never happened. This is how the message of the film is delivered and how the audience gets to fully connect with the film. After watching the film, it inspires the audience to live life by not hesitating and taking the opportunities presented to them. It's a short and simple message, but has a lasting impact. Many people live life without actually living life and the theme of the film is to live life. All of the other products connect through with the audience by attempting to attract them to the movie. They are there to advertise the movie and gather an audience to be able to see the movie and then go on to connect with it. Overall, all of the products connect with the audience by spreading the message of not hesitating on life.

The research done about genres and short films allowed for the movie to be made more effortlessly. It gave ideas for the short film and helped to understand how a short film is different than a long movie (besides the length). The film was able to utilize conventions to emphasize the buildup to the treasure during the treasure hunt. Some things utilized was shots showing distance, which established the new location and difficulty of the treasure hunt. This is something that the research had helped with, using small details in production make a large difference in the final product. Another focus of production was mis-en-scene and ensuring that it remained consistent when intended to. The research into the genre of adventure showed that mis-en-scene is important as it helps to establish the adventure along with the emotion of the audience. The research done into short films showed the difference between them and longer films, but also examples of short films and what they used in terms of camera angles/shots, mis-en-scene, sound, and editing techniques. This research went into planning for the film, deciding what camera angles/shots to use but also how the short film should be structured. It is not intended to be structured as a condensed film, but rather have a shorter story. It doesn't have many as many characters or as many storylines. There were only two characters and only two storylines. The research done at the beginning of preparation went directly into the film itself.

The Short Film Package

Short Film Package for Chance Encounter

Website
Website Link:

https://chanceencounterthe.wixsite.com/chanceencounter

Website Screenshot:

Postcard

Postcard Link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXdr5jsx3zRFfPJ45ehYERiqL_5vhXNQLfiLBWyCsbs/edit

Postcard:

Short Film

Short Film Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q5HLcv8uvs

Short Film:

The Last Hoorah of Production

Good morning my lovely readers, today marks the end of production. The movie has been filmed, edited, and reviewed. Filming took four days and five locations. Editing took several days and many hours. The review was actually the short part, it only took about a day.

It was a tiring process, to be blunt. I have to say though, it was very educational for my movie knowledge. Now I can appreciate films a little bit better. 

To get back on track, the main things I learned during filming were to come prepared. Not knowing your lines just wastes time and is selfish to the other people. That being said, I did not memorize my lines all that much. Yes, but I memorized them very quickly. Preparedness is also having props. My group had to scramble a little to get our props together, it was mostly because of the poster, seashell, and tickets (the big props).

When it comes to editing, I learned to always think ahead. When doing research, start gathering ideas. "I liked that establishing shot" so use that same angle for your own movie. It could even be, "will this be heard during editing" and "will this need to be refilmed". Just simple thoughts like those, help you in the future.

The film review was definitely crucial. It gave great suggestions from an outside perspective.

All in all, production was very fun but difficult. Some things were harder than others, but it all worked out in the end.

Mis-en-scene

Welcome back my lovely readers, today is a day of reflection. I wanted to go over the complexity of mis-en-scene. More specifically, how my film fits into it. When I think of mis-en-scene I use the acronym CLAMPS. It makes it easier to understand and stands for costumes, lights, acting, makeup, props, and setting. Now for my movie, the costumes stay the same. Sam wears a cropped, purple tank top and jean shorts, she also has a blue jacket. Riley wears a long-sleeve flannel with long jean shorts. The lighting is all natural lights, all scenes were filmed outside with the exception of the elevator scene (the lighting is that was all lighting with the elevator, nothing was added). The acting stays the same, there are only two characters who are in every scene. I play Sam and Ashleigh plays Riley. There was no makeup, I didn't wear any for Sam and Ashleigh didn't wear any for Riley. The props get a little more complex, after all the movie is about a treasure hunt. In the first scene, the props are Sam's phone, Sam's keys, Sam's backpack, Riley's headphones, and the treasure hunt poster. In the second scene, all of Sam and Riley's things, the poster, and the seashell. In the third scene, all of Sam and Riley's things, and the tickets. In the fourth scene, all of Sam and Riley's things, and the red box. In the fifth and final scene, all of Sam and Riley's things. Now while some props only exist for one scene, many of them are in all scenes. For setting (in order of scenes) they are: parking garage and elevator, the beach, the bridge, Las Olas, and parking garage. You may be wondering why I went over all of this mis-en-scene, the reason is to show that planning out these things (which my group had done) helps not only for filming but also editing. It allows you to know what needs to be brought and worn to filming and where it takes place. For editing purposes, it makes you think about continuity and allows you to know what clips match with what scene.

Editing, Editing, Editing

Hello to my lovely readers, today I need to give you all an update about the editing. The editing process has been going great, it's much more relaxed than filming was. For the most part, Ashleigh and Britanique did most of the editing, since I was the main character in the movie. I did give some suggestions and input.

Most of the editing has been piecing the clips together and putting them in order. The other two main things have been the title designs and audio. It is important for the title designs not to distract viewers from the scenes. I thought that they should be placed in the corner at first. However, after a discussion with Ashleigh and Britanique they'll be in different spots.

Not only did clips need to be put together, but the quaility needed to be good. All of the shots were filmed on Ashleigh and Britanique's phones since they would be the ones to edit. My phone was used as a prop. Sam is on the phone for the first and last scene and then it is visibly shown in Sam's back pocket.

One of the most important things I learned about in editing is what should be done in filming to make editing easier. It's the same thing I always learn, including last year's projects. For example, making shots longer than they should be. Start the video first, then have the actors start, and then end the video. Also, making sure that there is time before the actors start moving/talking, as well as after too. This allows for the clips to be cut during editing, instead of during filming. All in all, editing has been a smooth process which makes it enjoyable.

The Film Review

Welcome back my lovely readers, today was the day my group and I made the changes to our film. The changes were on title design and music. One of my friends watched the film and gave suggestions. All of the suggestions were well thought out.

Changing music is always the most difficult. Audio is difficult to work with and adjusting the volume to have a fade becomes complex. Fading the music in and out takes a lot of editing capability. The music now subtly appears and subtly disappears, having the fade effect.

The title designs are now a little more eye catching, but still not distracting. They essentially now align with my original suggestion. My suggestion creates a theme effect for them. I wanted the title designs to have a consistent font and consistent colors. This gives it a more uniform look. When I say they got changed, the format got changed. The format having a structure makes the movie look more clean. My friend said how they were too small, and she didn't fully realize they were there.

The transitions were a big focus in the editing process. I wanted the clips to have a smooth transition, especially when they are part of the same theme. However, the group wanted them to be distinct. The transitions are now uniform. My friend mentioned how the transitions looked messy. Not every transition is exactly the same, but most of them are.

I think the changes made make the film look much better. Asking someone without any experience in making a movie (not that I'm a professional at it) was good for the film. I'm happy about the changes that got made and getting input from an outside source was essential.

A Deep Dive Into Editing

Welcome back my lovely readers, I've now plunged deeper into editing. To describe it in one word: complicated. During editing, there's always things you find that make you want to turn back time and fix during filming. My thoughts went like this: "Ugh, why did we use that shot" or "Did none of us think ahead to editing for that". They were small details, but I was still annoyed with myself. For example, making the shots a little longer or walking a little slower. They ultimately won't make a difference in the movie and anyone watching will not think of those things. But I do and it just slightly bothers me. I just want the movie to look perfect. I already know, perfecto doesn't exist but I see myself as a slight perfectionist. Okay, so now I gotta back to editing. As I was saying before, there's always things you wish to redo or refilm. Sometimes, you have to do exactly that. I think it might be helpful to start the editing even while filming is still going to know what might need to get filmed again. I don't mean at the location, I mean before the next day. I mentioned in the last blog how I pay attention to details, and of course I made some specific suggestions. One of them being, to slow down the time lapse at the beach a little. The time lapse was supposed to show the struggle Sam and Riley had, the longer the video, the more the struggle. After all, this is their first clue and shouldn't be too easy. Overall, editing doesn't totally suck as I kind of said it did.