Planning my second CCR #30

Hey Hey! 

Welcome back to meee blog! Last blog I introduced the bright idea I had regarding my first CCR. However, I don’t recall ever telling you guys what a CCR is or what’s its purpose. 

So, what is a CCR? 

CCR stands for Creative Critical Reflection. It’s a format that requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of media through creative and critical analysis.

What’s its purpose? 

It aims assess a student’s ability to analyze media products, understand the conventions and representations used, and critically evaluate their impact. 

Now that we know more about CCRS’S let’s skip all this boring stuff and let’s brainstorm my next idea! 

To be honest, I was struggling a little with my next idea as I felt as though my first idea was top tier and nothing can top that. Ms. Ortiz showcased many exemplar CCR’S from previous years and I find it VERY difficult to not steal their amazing ideas. However, what I can do is use some of their CCR’S as inspo. I saw a lot of people incorporate interviews for their CCR being it’s the easiest and most efficient way to answer the questions. Now, is it the most creative (definitely not) however, I felt like my first CCR idea was pretty creative and I haven’t seen it done yet (so maybe its not a crime to be less creative for my second CCR). 

So what’s my idea? 

As I mentioned up above my idea is to incorporate an 

Planning my first CCR #29

Hi there! 

Welcome back to another blog. For today’s blog I wanted to brainstorm with you guys and discuss my upcoming plans for my first CCR. In case some of you were not aware, I need to have both of my CCR’S and my film completed by march 31. The pressure is on! That said I thought it fit to finally begin planning my CCR’S so i’m not stressed with the pressure of finishing everything by the due date. 

What do I need for this CCR? 

Well, before I begin making any video plans I want to help myself out and make a checklist of all the things I will NEED for this first CCR. 

- Two out of the 4 questions need to be answered. Question 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how doe it represent social groups or issues? Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text? Question 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project? Question 4: How did you integrate technologies in this project?

- Include my name, film title, and candidate number at the start of the presentation. 

- Voiceover to answer my questions (MUST) 

- Music that I used for my film

- Any music that fits my genre (so drama)(preferably instrumental)

- Production stills from the film process

What have I brainstormed thus far you may ask? 

Considering that my 2 minute film is a drama piece that revolves around the theme of mental health I had the best idea yet! Unfortunately, I am chronically on TikTok so, for those of you how share that same problem you may have come across “The Jubal Show”. 

Long story short, they’re a radio show where listeners spill the craziest and most scandalous secrets. That said, I thought what better thing to do then a voiceover of a british man calling me from a radio show to inform me that I won the best film award. He will then proceed to interview me on my film promoting me to answer one of the two questions from above. I’m considering answering questions one and two being that they are lengthier and I feel as though I’ll be able to answer them more throughly while in an interview setting. 

That’s all for today I hope you guys enjoyed my first idea, stay tuned to hear what I have planned for the next CCR! 

Color Grading #28

Hi there! 

Welcome back to another blog. For today’s blog we’ll be discussing what color grading is and how I implemented color grading in our film. While researching, I discovered the many impacts a simple color can have on the audiences perception on the film. 

So what’s color grading exactly? 

Color grading is the post-production process of adjusting colors and tones in video or film to achieve a specific aesthetic or emotional effect, which can significantly impact how an audience perceives the context and story. With this comes many techniques: Color balance is used to adjust the balance of colors to create a natural look, Saturation is used to increase/ decrease the intensity of colors, Contrast is used to adjust the difference between light and dark areas, Hue is used for changing the color itself and lastly,  Lighting is used for adjusting the overall brightness and shadows. 

How it affects the audience? 

Color grading evokes specific emotions and creates strong emotional connection with the audience. For example, desaturated colors can create a sense of unease or coldness while warm colors can evoke feelings of comfort or joy. Not to mention, color grading helps to establish the overall tone and atmosphere of a film or video. For example, a horror film would typically use dark, desaturated colors to create a sense of dread while fantasy film would typically use vibrant, saturated colors to elevate the sense of happiness. 

Where we implemented color grading: 

During this shot of Ethan the audience can visually see a darker room and depict that he may be going through deep, dark feelings of sadness. That was our goal! We wanted the slim light of the phone to reflect the lack of happiness Ethans experiencing. 

Red is often times associated with addiction (symbolizing the intensity of cravings, withdrawal, and the cycle of addiction), pain (it can evoke emotional or physical suffering, including the self-destructive nature of addiction) and temptation (mirroring how substances can lure people in with short-term relief/ distraction) which are all in correlation with substance abuse. With more saturated colors we were able to showcase the realities a teen with a strong addiction to substance abuse. 

Overall, I hope with all that I know now about color grading I will be able to showcase a film that’ll captivate and move the audience using a variety of colors to emotionally appeal to them. 

The time has come! #27

You read the title right! The time has finally come to start filming. Our goal for this upcoming week is to begin filming our assigned 30 seconds. I'm honestly excited but still a bit tense at the thought of editing all of this at the end. Although I am a little confident in my editing abilities, 2-minutes for a film is still pretty LENGHTY.  

Just as a little reminder I'll give a short overview of how we broke down the film and when we plan on filming each part. We put aside 10 seconds for our beginning/end credits leaving us with 110 seconds to work with. With that we gave each person in the group (Andres, Ethan and me) 30 seconds to deliberately represent their emotion/condition. That said, this week we’re striving to each complete our 30 seconds so that any retakes that need to be done can happen promptly. Additionally, we’ll have all the videos that we take labeled and sent to our group chat so that it can be easier for me when editing.

I still have high hopes that my sister Miley will be generous enough to take upon my role as someone who suffers from an eating disorder.

I truly believe it will be easier for me to film her rather than me filming myself. That said, I’ll keep you guys updated with how everything plays out.  

Till next time!!

Miss-en-scene #26

Hi guys! 

In today's blog we’ll be discussing the mis-en-scene of our film. This is honestly one of the fun parts of the production of a film!

                                                             (yippee so excited)

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with mise-en-scene, it's a film technique that refers to all elements in front of the camera. This includes the set, props, lighting, costumes, and actors' movement. In previous blogs I've touched base with the majority of these elements however, today I would really like to dive deeper into how we’ll be incorporating mise-en-scene into our film. As a refresher, the three main feelings/conditions we’re targeting in this film are depression, substance abuse and eating disorders.

How we’ll incorporate it:  

The lighting for one may be dim with a cooler color palette such as blues and grays. This would create a somber or isolating atmosphere that would ultimately reflect the feelings of depression and substance abuse. On the other hand, warmer lighting can be incorporated to convey feelings of hope or recovery. This warmer lighting can be used in scenes where my actor's eating disorder is starting to progressively get better. The setting is also very crucial, that said, a messy/cluttered room could symbolize a character's chaotic mind, whereas an empty or minimalistic space might suggest loneliness. In regard to costumes or makeup, darker clothing and darkness around the eyes tend to indicate depression whereas a worn-out appearance could reflect stress which someone with anxiety may feel often. Camera angles play a huge role in a film's emotional impact. For example, close-up shots on a character's face capture their internal struggle while wider shots make them seem insignificant in their environment. We plan on using a variety of close-up shots when we want the audience to hyper focus on the character's emotional expression. A wider shot could be placed in the remaining 20 seconds of our film where we'll have the characters walking through the crowded halls which will represent the reality of a struggling teenager going to school.  

Every visual element contributes with one another to help the audience understand the character's emotions without relying solely on the dialogue. Ultimately our end goal! 

Reviewing my classmates 2-minute blog #25

HELLO!

After a short period of overthinking and overanalyzing everything that could go wrong in this short film, Ms. Ortiz thankfully assigned the class a worksheet that would grant us the opportunity to reach out to other students in our class to review their overall progress in their film production.  

In the following assignment we had to ask the other groups about things that are going well/ going wrong in their production process and things they’d like to improve. Lastly, we were asked to give our insight into the different things we believe they can work better on. Which believe it or not, it allowed me to reflect on the different aspects my group and I can improve on. It was honestly comforting to know that there were other people who were just as behind as us. I was shocked that many of my peers also struggle to meet up with their group members (considering this is our biggest setback). However, I did receive some positive insight!  

One thing that I would love to start incorporating my group after talking with my classmates is having virtual calls to discuss any upcoming ideas that anyone in my group may have. This allows us to stay up to date with one another while also leaving room for positive feedback. Another thing I noticed most of the groups were doing was discussing relevant topics that can appeal to a broader audience. Their genres were mostly coming of age. This includes teens' mental health which is the same road we were heading towards. 

Stay tuned for next blog to hear about our mise-en-scene!

Audience Engagement #24

Hey there! Welcome back to another blog. 

Engaging an audience for a solid two minutes is quite the task. However, with the right approach I truly believe it's possible to create a powerful and impactful short film. My film will explore the impact of mental health on teens. I plan on keeping the audience engaged through the use of strong storytelling, relatable characters, and emotional depth. The first few seconds of any film are the most crucial therefore I'll begin with a powerful scene that captures the audience's attention. Whether this be a striking visual or an intense moment of emotion, I want my audience to feel connected right away.  

Something like that.

Teens dealing with mental health challenges should see themselves amongst these three characters (Ethan, Andres, and Ruby (me)). By creating realistic and relatable experiences, my film will make viewers feel understood. Authentic dialogue and real-life struggles will help my audience engage on a personal level. Emotions drive management. Whether it's sadness, hope, or a mix of both, I want my audience to feel something while watching. Through music, facial expressions, and visuals, I will create an emotional connection that makes my message unforgettable. Being that my film is short, every shot matters. I'll use creative angles, lighting, and colors to visually represent emotions. For example, dim lighting would reflect sadness, while brighter tones would represent hope. The way id frames each scene will keep viewers visually engaged.  

                                                  This is an example of dim lighting.

            
                                               This would be an example of brighter lighting.

The ending is just as important as the beginning. I want my audience to leave with a lasting impression, whether it's a call to action, a thought-provoking message, or a moment that lingers in their minds. A strong conclusion will ensure my film has a meaningful impact.