Project Reflection

 After hours and hours of filming, editing, and researching, my project is FINALLY done! This took quite a while to make, and I was very proud of how it came out. I was nervous when my partner was out sick for a week and we couldn't film, but thankfully, everything worked out.

I think we could have improved on utilizing more motion in our shots, as most of them are still, and focusing on one thing. I do feel like it was important to stay like this though, to capture the depressing atmosphere of the beginning of the film. Also, I wish we had proper equipment and lighting, so we could have made an even more powerful film. Regardless, I'm glad it came out well with minimal equipment.

I was surprised how much music can enhance a film, the sad, somber instrumental music when he covered up his bruises really demonstrated how he felt on the inside, but wanted to keep it locked away in his heart. Also, the sound effects worked great with our shots, and enhanced the film even more.

Overall, there is room for growth in the future, but I'm very satisfied with how it came out.

I hope you enjoy it, Cambridge!

CCR Post-Production

 The post production was pretty straightforward, as I used final cut pro for the editing.

For the first one, I downloaded a royalty-free instrumental song from google, and overlayed that with the film. I also added images, that appeared and disappeared as I was talking. This was very easy, and only needed me to put images for the timeline. I took screenshots from my project, to discuss specific scenes.


For the second one, I didn't add music, to keep the eerie atmosphere of a principal's office. We filmed it in 2 takes, so I had to combine them in editing. Once again, all I needed to do was to add images over the timeline, and was very simple and quick.

Finished Project!

 Here are the links to my project:

Movie: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fJZQGuDFIFABo2c6wOrYyPH2pabS8sAF/view?usp=sharing


CCR #1: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UIkQutYgTDjXfnR166SUKT5WvF07lgVW/view?usp=sharing


CCR #2:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cn4m8erBdSG0RkC3BoPvr5sblnOqOFQQ/view?usp=sharing

CCR Production

 I had to shoot both of my CCRs, or creative critical reflections.

The first one, was simply shot in my room, using my Dad's laptop camera to record me. This was simple enough to film, but, took a couple of takes. For this CCR, I focused on questions #1 and #2. 
I answered:
How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues? How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

I discussed how the introduction challenges the typical stereotype of a high-school bully, and how the bruises on his arm immediately raise questions, and wants the viewer to keep watching. Also in this video, I talked about it could be distributed through film festivals, and social media platforms, such as you tube and TikTok.

For the second CCR,  I focused on questions #3 and #4.

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

 How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

I discussed how the use of a storyboard was very helpful for the production, and how it helped us outline the project. We also experimented with different camera angles and lighting to make the scenes more engaging and powerful. Additionally, I had to learn how to use Final Cut Pro, a new editing software I have never used before. It was a big learning curve, but with the help of google, the editing went smoothly. For this one, I was the bully being interviewed by a school principal, played by my dad.

Part of the script.

Research for CCR Question 4

 The software utilized the most has been by far Adobe Premiere Pro. This is the editing software I have used for everything, including arranging clips, editing the color, adding sound effects, editing the sound effects, and adding music. For example, in the scene of me waking up, it was a bit too bright and exciting, so I dimmed it down and added a cool colors filter, to show the agony of him waking up.

We unfortunately never had access to a professional camera, so we made use of what we had, and utilized my iPhone 15 to film. It has a high quality camera, however, so it worked perfectly. Since we were using a phone, and not a camera on a tripod, we used a phone stabilizer to shoot some of our shots. This made the film a lot smoother, and looks much nicer then the handheld film.

To document everything, I used what your reading on right now, google blogger! This allowed me to neatly document everything I have done on this project, including documenting research, filming, editing, and other projects. By writing blogs, it allows me to reflect on the project myself, and makes me come up with new improvements. I also utilized YouTube to look up videos on editing, such as the color filters, and to access movie clips, which provided us with ideas.

Research for CCR Question #3

When we began to plan, we made a story board, scouted potential filming locations, and made a list of all the shots we need. This was vital for our development of our film, and allowed us to plan the emotional connection to film elements. The hardest part of this, for me, was to come up with an idea in the first place. The overabundance of ideas made it very difficult to make just one. The shot list allowed us to check off shots as we shot them.

The filming went smoothly, and we were able to film most of them easily, and in my room. Some of the shots were missing the emotional feel we wanted, so this was easily fixed by adding the blue filter in Premiere Pro. The largest obstacle however, was that my partner was out sick for the week, and in vital time, when we needed to film the remaining shots in school. Thankfully, he returned and we filmed them.



The portfolio project made me realize how crucial fast problem solving can be, and how planning is vital for success. Having a layout pre-made is very helpful, but being able to  make choices to improve the introduction is important. This project opened my eyes to how much work film writers go through, and that they need to be appreciated more.

 

Research for Question #2 for CCR

Our project is a thought-provoking film that argues against the classic stereotype of high school bullies by diving into his hidden true personality, and factors that cause this. This introduction engages audience with the film by utilizing subtle storytelling to grab the viewers attention. For example, when the bully hides bruises under the hoodie, it sparks curiosity from the audience, and causes them to be emotionally invested. This with the contrast of how he acts in school, it also makes the audience feel empathy for the bully, and causes them to consider why he acts like how he is. Our production choices, including atmospheric lighting and dark clothing. 

Our target audience is teenagers and young adults, who's ages are 13-21. These ages could most likely relate to the themes of bullying in our film. These people are sometimes in these situations, and may reflect on the film. To distribute this, we could utilize platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. We also can enter our film into film festivals, such as the Lighting Film Festival at my school, Cypress Bay. This will help us gain recognition for our production.

Group Meeting

In class, we had another group meeting. The goal of this was to discuss overall progress on our productions, and also to share ideas about our CCR, or Creative Critical Reflection. This meeting was very helpful, as it allowed for everyone to gather feedback about their projects, and how to improve it.


For example, one of the group meeting members had a title that was hard to read. The white text color of the letters matched with the white colored car in the background, making it difficult to see. With our teamwork and the help of the internet, we figured out lowering the exposure of the clip made the title much more readable.

They also helped me come up with ideas for one of my CCRs. I wanted it to tie into my film, and we came up with an idea. It would be me in the principal office, getting questioned by the principal. He will ask me questions along the lines of "How is your film related to the genre?" and questions related to the CCR. This creates an interesting and creative video. Now, I'm not certain I will do this, but it is a very good idea.

Research for Question #1 Of CCR

 When I was creating this film, I wanted to challenge the traditional stereotype of a high-school bully by showing the reasons why he acts like how he is. When the film opens with him reluctantly getting out of bed and specifically choosing a long-sleeved hoodie to cover bruises, this immediately signals to the audience that there are problems, and that he could have factors effecting his personality. This is similar to the film Mean Creek, where a bully is confronted by a bunch of teenagers, and they uncover the truth about his life.

In this film, I wanted to show how a person's environment can shape their actions, and change how a person acts. This is very evident in our film. At school, he appears confident, but at home, he is scared, and frightened of his parents and abuse. By making this contrast, it shows how he is coping with his true pain, and how it isn't him truly wanting to inflict pain. This film encourages viewers to think twice about how someone acts, as you don't know what challenges they face.

Editing-Color

 We want to use cool colors in specific scenes, to reflect his personality on the inside. This reflects how he is truly sad, and shows in the movie.

We wanted to use it in the car scene, and it took a second to figure out how to do it. I first wanted to try to use Adobe's integrated filters, but none of them matched what I needed to use. I then tried to use a website called Clideo, to give it a cool filter. This didnt't work AT ALL, and created something that looked like it was from a sci-fi movie.

After that, I went back to Premiere Pro, and looked around in the color filters. I discovered a tab called Lumetri Color, which happened to be exactly what I needed. By simply moving the slider to the blue part, I was able to capture the exact effect I wanted. This was easy, and was perfect!

Editing- Audio

 I began editing our project, and started experimenting with audio.


With the clock scene, we wanted it to get louder the closer the shot got, and that's exactly what I did. I first tried to use an effect in Premiere Pro called constant gain, which worked, but it only allowed me to fade in the clip partially, not in the effect that I wanted. I turned to YouTube and watched a tutorial from Adobe Masters, which was concise and helpful. He demonstrated how to use key frames instead, which allowed for way more control, and created the effect I needed.

I also added the audio of the parents yelling in the background of the clip where, I, the bully, am looking at the door in my room when I got home. I wanted to have sort of a muffled sound effect, replicating how it would sound behind a door. Thankfully, a copyright free sound from the YouTube channel Free Sound Effects already had the muffled effect I wanted, so that was quick and easy!

I will continue editing, as this is very time consuming.

Day 4 of Filming

 Ok, so we made a mistake.

While i was watching over the shots and making sure they were ok, I realized that our camera was very shaky in a couple of the room shots. While it wasn't that noticeable, we went back and wanted to film them again.

The first shot we re-shot was the clock scene in the beginning.

To improve this, we re-shot it to make sure it was still, and also ended the shot to be closer to the clock. This will allow for a smoother transition to my eye opening, to wake up. The circular shape of my eye will align with the clock, creating a smooth transition for a cut.

Speaking of that, we also re-shot the scene of me, waking up!

After we re shot the clock scene, we also wanted to re-shoot the scene of me waking up, just to be safe, and also to stabilize the camera. We really like how it came out, with my eye slowly opening, showing his resistance to wake up for the day.

That's all we did today!

Day 3 of Filming

Day 3 of filming! We had a short day today, only filming 3 shots, which all take place in the car ride on the way to school.

The first shot is a POV shot of me driving to school. I had my mom in the back seat recording me driving. This is where we will have the title display while i am driving. We will also tone the colors done to include more cool, dark ones, to show how he does not feel happy on his way.

The last 2 shots were a close-up of my eyes, looking sad while driving, and a medium shot of my face while driving. That's all we did today!

I know, we didn't do a lot, but we still have to film the school scenes, which we will likely do on Tuesday. Until next time!

 

Day 2 of Filming

 Here we go again! This is how our day 2 of filming went.

We had a pretty short day today, only needing to take care of the shots for when he arrives at home.

We filmed them all in the same room as before, this time focusing on the bully's fear of his parents arriving.

The shots began with the bully arriving home, nervously closing his door. These were easy and we had no difficulty with, we just wanted to truly capture his fear of his glooming doom. We also had the room slightly lighter, with only the lamp being on. This shows how his personality from school hasn't worn off yet.

After these, the only remaining ones that we filmed were me sitting on the bed, nervous about what is going to happen, and the door. For the shots of me sitting on my bed, we had one medium shot and one over the shoulder. I really liked how the over-the-shoulder one came out, and it really captured his fright of his home life.

After this, we filmed our last shots. His parents shadows getting closer, and the door swinging open. The only challenge we had was getting the shadows to show up on camera, which we were stumped on. But I figured out if we just had brighter light in the hallway, they showed up just fine.

Ok! That's everything we did for day 2. Check out my blog tomorrow for what we did on day 3!

Day 1 of Filming

We finally started filming our project, and filmed the bedroom scenes. Overall, it went pretty well, however, we had some challenges filming certain parts.


To begin, we had the shot of the alarm clock, and Parker, my partner, had the idea of cutting from the alarm clock to the bully's eye, who I am playing, to create a smooth cut. We found out that moving the camera closer to the subject creates a higher quality shot then simply zooming in. After these, we sat down and decided how to create the bruises on my arm. We could've had real bruises, but that would've hurt! We decided to take a painless approach and use my moms makeup, who she put on my arm. Thanks mom!

                                        

                                            This is how they turned out.

After this, we hit our next roadblock. The mirror shots. We struggled with not having Parker in the shot, holding the camera. We eventually figured out an angle that had him not visible, and allowed him to get the full shot.

Overall, we had a pretty successful day filming, and we will film soon to film the shots for when the bully arrives home.

Shot List

 

A shot list that is well- organized is essential for planning our movie intro. When he wakes up, we have a series of close ups when he's waking up, showing how he doesn't wanna get out of bed. We will include shots of his tired eyes, his hand grabbing the hoodie, and the bruises on his arms. This immediately creates interest from the audience. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he looks sad, letting his true feelings escape.

When he arrives at school, we utilize medium and wide shots, showing how the bully dominates the other students. After he bullies the students, we use a close-up to show how the student is un bothered, and then cuts to his weak smile, showing how the bullying is ineffective for both people. The camera style also shifts when he gets home, to include more tight shots, to demonstrate how he feels trapped in his room. The shots will demonstrate his anxiety and fear of his parents. The film ends when the door swings open, cutting to black, leaving the audience with fear, and a feeling to know what happens next.

Shot list I created.

Lighting

The lighting increases the emotional depth in this movie intro.

In the opening scenes, where the bully wakes up and gets ready for school, we can use dim lighting. By using this, it represents his internal struggle. We can include soft light shining through the curtains in his room, contrasting with the dark lighting in his room. This represents how he is in real life, tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. We could also use lighting to focus on the bruises on his arm, showing the audience a small, but very important detail. With the POV shot of him driving to school, it could be more dim, as the sun could be covered by clouds, showing his sadness.

This is something like we could go for, dark lighting, but
bright lighting from the window.

He gets to the school after, and we will use brighter lighting, copying the effects of normal hallway lights. By shifting from dark to bright lighting, it shows how much his personality really changes. There is no darkness in the hallways, showing how his classmates don't know of his true pain. When he eventually arrives back home, the lighting goes back to being dark, but a little lighter, has his public persona is wearing off. The final cut to black after the door swings open cuts to black, leaving the audience shocked and uncertain.

This use of lighting really shows how no one is aware of the bully's true pain, and the bright light symbolizes his "true self" leaking through.

Sound

The use of sound in our production plays a vital role in developing the vibe, atmosphere, and emotional depth.

In our bully's room, we can primarily use diegetic sound. For example, we will have an alarm clock going off when our character wakes up, immediately adding sound from his every day life. We can also include muffled sounds of the parents arguing, provides a clue to the audience about his tough home life, foreshadowing the later party of the film. The other use of diegetic sound will be at the end, with the banging on his door, representing the character's freight and vulnerability.

Non-diegetic sound, which is sound that is not from the character's world, will also be used in our production. A slow song can plat while he is picking out his hoodie to wear and when he is covering his bruises, showing his inner pain. While he is driving to school, in the POV shot when he is driving to school, we can shift the score to a more unsettling audio, representing how his life quickly changes around other people. 


However, silence can also be used effectively. For example, when the camera cuts to black after the door swings open, this can be used to add more meaning to our shot. This choice greatly increases the amount of shock and leaves the audience on a cliffhanger, making them eager to know what happens next. 

These sound elements all come together to create a emotionally deep film that pulls viewers in to our bully's complicated life.

A sound similar to want we want to add,
aggressive door knocking.

Set Design

 The set design for any film is crucial, as it helps communicate the character's personality and traits.


When the story begins, the bedroom will feel messy, yet personal. It has clothes all over the floor, bedsheets all messy, and the walls covered in posters, showing how he acts. The blinds are closed, with little light allowed through, creating a gloomy and dim atmosphere. The small details hint at his internal conflict, such as the hoodie with long sleeves, and the pain killer bottle left out on his dresser. The diegetic sound of his parents speaking loudly adds to the atmosphere.

When he is driving to school, we can see him transitioning his personality to his public self. While he is driving to school, it feels cramped, adding to the feeling where he feels trapped. The POV shot of the car window displaying the title, shows a dim, cloudy sky, adding to his isolation. When he arrives at school, the hallways are bright and crowded, showing the harsh contrast between his home and school environments. In the hallways, we include small details, such as students whispering about him, showing his role as a bully.

    

            

Crowded school hallway, what we can base our scenes on.

                                                

Character Bully Design

For any movie, character development and design is a necessity for films. It is vital that the audience immediately gets ideas about the character, to get them hooked on the film.

Our character originally appears as a traditional high school bully, fitting with the stereotypes and social norms of one. However, later in the film, we learn about the cause of his actions, and who he truly is as a person. When we continue watching the intro, we learn that the bully isn't a bad person, and is simply a victim of his poor home life. We learn that he simply is reflecting his internal conflicts onto others.

We will first show his home conditions, him covering up the bruises when he's getting ready for the day. He covers up the bruises to hide his true pain. When gets to school, he exerts his pain on others, in order to feel more powerful. After he does this, we see how it doesn't make him truly feel better, and it is only temporary. He seems to have regret after, and is just trying to make himself feel better.

                                Typical High school bully, from Back To The Future