CCR

Here is my CCR (Creative Critical Reflections)!!

Final Task

Welcome back my lovely readers, I have finally finished and am able to share my final task with you all. I loved working on this film and have learned so much. Each of the stages were incredibly helpful. It seems so long ago that I started this project. I'm both happy and sad to see it completed. I'm happy that it is finished, successfully. However, I'm sad that it's over since it was so much fun. Well, here's the video!

The Final Stretch

Hello to my lovely readers, today I need to update you all about the editing. The editing process has been very nice and smooth for the most part. As I have already mentioned, Jade did more of the editing. I mostly gave suggestions.

One of my main focuses was the title designs. I suggested to have all the title designs that contain the names of the actors be in the corner. It is important for the title designs not to interfere with the scene going on. The rest of the title designs will be kept in the center as they are more significant and I want them to have a bigger focus.

Another focus was to make sure the quality of each shot was good. Since Jade and I filmed the scenes on separate devices, it was important how I sent her the scenes of Cassandra. If I had texted Jade all of the scenes, the quality would have been messed up and not good. Instead, I emailed them to her which kept all of the scenes at a good quality.

Throughout editing, I was frequently checking my notebook which details all the information about the storyboard. The information being the description of the shot, the costume, props, setting, and title design. I was more focusing on the description of the shot and title design. I wanted to make sure the film matched the original plan. Not that the film is a perfect copy of the plan, but it is a very close resemblance. 

From editing I was able to get a better understanding of what should be done in the filming stage and what should be done in the editing phase. Also, before filming I learned to visualize the film in terms of where the actors or objects should be in the screen. For example, if they should be in the center, off to the side, or something else. Obviously there are so many different things I learn after each step in the film process that would help me in the future.

Changes After The Film Review

Welcome back my lovely readers, today was the day my partner and I made the changes to our film. The changes Jade and I made focused on music, title designs, and transitions. Those were the suggestions given to us by a mutual friend when they watched the film.

The music was the most difficult part to edit in the film changes. Having to adjust the volume and fade the music both in and out was what proved to be the hardest. The music now goes with the film much better and flows perfectly.

The title designs were changed to be more distinct. They got changed to what I originally planned. However, they still fit the theme. When I say they got changed, the format got changed. The format being text style and color, not the order or titles. The title designs are now prevalent, without distracting from the scenes happening.

The transitions were a big focus in the editing process. Jade and I wanted the clips to flow from one to another. However, Jade and I wanted them to be distinct. The transitions were mostly dissolves as this is what fit our idea best. Not every transition is a dissolve, more of the transitions that occur between shots in the same scene.

The changes made after the film review were able to improve the film. Asking someone who doesn't know much about the process behind a film was very helpful. The changes made were not something Jade or I had intended to change prior to the film review.

Editing the Film

Welcome back my lovely readers, let me tell you all about editing. The editing was primarily done by Jade as it was her part in the film. However, I still contributed with ideas and advice. In the editing phase, the original plan needed to be modified as it would no longer work. For example, shots 2 and 6 could not get the effect that Jade and I had wanted.

Essentially, the editing process had a few tasks to be completed. First, the clips used in the film needed to be chosen and added in order. Some shots had multiple videos taken, this meant that Jade would need to select which video would be best to use in the film. The next step was to add the title designs. The title designs have already been decided before filming, all that needed to happen was to decide where in the shot they will be inserted and actually insert them. Including the music is the next step. A song has already been chosen so it needs to be inserted and cut as the song is longer than the film. The final step would be going through each shot and making adjustments needed. This could be cropping the video, adjusting the color through effects, and anything else that might be necessary.

Once all the clips were added in sequential order, the film was too long. While filming I filmed each shot longer than needed to make sure it would work. Most of the shots were shortened from 7-9 seconds to 4-6 seconds to make the film fit the required length.

Some of the suggestions I made were to make the fade to black more dramatic than it originally was. The fade to black needed to be gradual as it had a title design and is where the music would increase in volume.

Adding in the music was the most difficult part, controlling the volume and adjusting it took time. For instance, Jade and I made a plan as to how high or low the volume will be throughout each scene. It is important to highlight the music but not distract from the scenes happening.

The Film Review

Hello to my lovely readers, I had my film review today. If any of you are wondering what that is, allow me to explain. A film review is showing someone your film and having said person give suggestions to improve your film. The person you use needs to be someone who is unbiased and won't say it looks amazing when it doesn't. 

For my film review, it was hard to choose the person to ask to watch it. Before I tell you that, let me update you on the current status of the film. The film is still in the editing phase. All of the shots have been filmed, therefore the film is in the following stage. It is mostly done but there are some more things to work out. Ideally, after changes from the film review are made, we will be ready to finish the film. 

About who my partner and I asked to review our film we had multiple options. We could ask a friend, a parent, or a sibling. The sibling option would not work as my brother already takes this class. The parent option was not ideal, either. Therefore, we thought asking a friend would be best. 

We asked a friend who gave us a few suggestions. The first suggestion was to slowly fade the music in and slowly fade it out. Also, to make the music slightly louder in the shots without dialogue. Another suggestion we received was to make some of the titles more distinct. We got some other suggestions which we are taking into careful consideration and I will update you all once those changes have been made.