Planning for A Level

So now that I have completed the AS portion of my media studies portfolio, I have begun detailing and planning my A portion of the project. I am not completely sure what the subject of my short film will be, as it originally was going to be related to my film opening, but I have set deadlines for myself on when to have certain things done. I will be done filming within a few days and will then spend my time working on editing, while also creating a poster and the short film's website (I will most likely be using weebly for this). After that, I will finally work on the critical reflection.

Editing (the process + reflections)

Today I finally finished editing my film opening. 

For me, this was definitely the hardest part about the entire process because I am not very proficient in editing and it takes me a really long time to get simple things done. I was scared something completely insane would happen like I would lose all of my video or I wouldn't be able to arrange them like I wanted.

When I first began editing earlier this week, I ran into the problem that no computer in my house had editing software, so I had to borrow my dad's laptop. I began editing on iMovie and I started by making a rough edit where I put all the clips I had filmed in order. 

After that, I proceeded to cut them so that they would flow well and added opening credits and the title. 

The hardest part of my editing process was that I had to subtitle my entire opening. Because it is supposed to be a Venezuelan foreign film, all the audio/dialogue was in Spanish. It took me a good few hours to find a font that resembled conventional subtitles (if you're curious, Gill Sans in Bold Italic with a black outline does the trick) and it also was quite the task to time them properly with what the actors were saying. 

I added the background music I got permission to use from Rhye, rerecorded the audio for one of the actors and then added some transitions. 

I came into editing expecting lots of gridlock between me and technology, and even though there were certain setbacks it was overall a really awesome learning process. I feel like all the practice I had with iMovie and editing in general for the film opening will benefit me for my short film. 

Having to rely on myself to edit showed me that I can definitely do it and that it's actually very gratifying and enjoyable once you get the hang of it. I look forward to other editing endeavors in the future :-)

Permission to use song is granted!

Today was awesome because I got permission to use the song "One Of Those Summer Days" by the group Rhye in my film opening.

I began emailing the manager of the band right when this project began but they finally got back to me with the okay today. I explained in an email that it would be used for educational purposes and that no profit whatsoever would be made off of the opening and so they were okay with it.

This is great because I really envisioned the first 30 seconds of the song as a nice background music for the initial establishing shots of my opening, and now I can edit them into my film!

Filming Establishing Shots

Today I finally filmed some establishing shots for the very beginning of my film. These will be the first shots that appear in the opening and they are the visual that juxtapose the radio excerpts I recorded.

I biked around my town and took shots that emphasized the perfection and intense planning that goes into the town such as perfect gardens, paved roads, etc.

I still need to get a few more shots in order to have enough footage but it was a good start today and now these are the only shots I have left to film so I can fully focus on editing the final opening.

Filming Margarita's Mom side of the phone conversation

Today I filmed the other side of the phone conversation. Previously I had filmed the main character which my cousin played for me and who is the character that moves to the United States and has the job of finding the medication that her mother in Venezuela needs but is unable to get ahold of.

My cousin who plays Margarita the protagonist has a phone call with her mother who lives in Venezuela as she moves into her new home. Initially when I visualized the movie, there would only be audio of the mother's side of the conversation but in order to make it more visually appealing with shot counter shots, I asked my mother if she could play the mother in my movie.

We filmed the scene with a yellow wall in my house in order to add warmth and a nice color to the scene, and I placed a Virgin Mary in the shot in order to show a symbol of Catholicism that is often associated with Latin American countries. This could potentially create a distinction between the United States and Venezuela. I also asked my mother to dress as most typically Latin American as she could. The background of the mother's scene is purposefully a closed off shot in order to convey the idea that living in Venezuela restricts the people, while Margarita speaks on a porch outside conveying that she is free now and can choose her own destiny.

Recording the Radio Excerpts

Today was the first full day of Spring Break so I had time to ask my dad to be the "radio host" delivering the small excerpts of news that play as the credits roll. I printed out the paper for him and we recorded each one separately so that I could edit them and make the cuts between them more abrupt in order to achieve a radio feel.

Now that this is done, I can begin the editing between the establishing shots I took of my town in the United States which will be the dominant visual element and contrast it with the audio element that will represent Venezuela.

Radio Excerpts

Today I finished writing the radio excerpts that are going to play at the very beginning of my film opening. They were inspired off of recent Venezuelan news I researched on online newspapers and radio such as El Nacional or a radio program that I listen to by Cesar Miguel Rondon. Some specific examples include police brutality, scarcity of food, etc. These radio excerpts will play at the beginning of the movie as establishing shots of where the main character are being shown on the screen to juxtapose the perfection of where she lives now to the mess of a country she left behind.

This audio tactic had two purposes for my opening: to add context and establish conflict while also being a way to make my film fit the foreign film category better. Since I could not actually film in Venezuela and there wasn't any similar setting that could appear to be Venezuela, I decided to make my opening about a woman who moves to the United States but in order to connect that with a Venezuelan theme the audio element will take the place of Venezuela. It also contextualizes her situation because since the movie opening leaves you questioning whether or not she will be able to find medicine for her mother in Venezuela who is unable to find it in their country, there needs to be some sort of explanation of the extent of the problems her country is experiencing.

Of course, the radio excerpts will be subtitled in order to remain comprehensible to English speakers while being a foreign film.