CR for Short Film

 

• How do your products represent social groups or issues?

The products that I've created all try to represent social groups in some form. When it comes to the social media, teenagers and older adults are mostly targeted here. Teens tend to use Instagram and Twitter while adults primarily use Facebook. Each respective site is catered to represent those age groups more specifically. The film is welcome for anyone to enjoy but not recommended for kids. In terms of the film it is meant to attract lovers of the thriller genre together. Thrillers are suspenseful so we had the intent of targeting people who enjoyed that so we did that through music choice, props, and the story. However, we wanted to also try and attract people who may be interested in societal issues. This leads to how the film represents the issue of stalking and the sense of unease it creates. In the film a girl moves into a new place and starts getting creepy letters from someone. She suspects it's her neighbor due to how he presents himself but it ends up being someone from her past. Sadly, this idea of a stalker being obsessed with someone and making them feel uneasy is very real in our society. It can leave the victim with a sense of constant paranoia. We wanted to try and bring awareness to this issue seeing that many people of both genders could relate to it. This is an issue that can happen anywhere and to anyone so we wanted to attempt to depict how it could look like. 

• How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

Along with the film the other elements of my production include social medias, a website, and a postcard. All of them had to come together in some form. A central part of our film is someone leaving mysterious letters in the protagonists mailbox. This lead us to make each social media page, the website, and the postcard use a similar photo of a letter in the mailbox to create a sense of uniform. This photo acts as a symbol for our film which the audience will now associate it with. The social media accounts are used to give insight to the audience about updates about the film. The website acts as a central hub. It contains a mini about section talking about the film and contains links to each social media account. The website connects everything together so that all the information is in one place. The postcard is yet another form of advertising. On the front is the name of the film, dates and times for showings of the film at it's location. On the back our the names for each social media account and our website. Each side contains the mailbox theme as a photo. All of these come together to advertise our film and try to create an identity for our audience. It gives our film a sense of professionalism and helps us build our reputation.

• How do your products engage with the audience?

When it comes to making these products, engaging with the audience is crucial. You want the viewer to feel interested in what you're showing them. That is why the thriller genre was chosen for my film. Thrillers tend to be suspenseful and usually have the audience wondering what will happen next. It keeps them hooked to the screen the whole time. Our film also tackles a stalker storyline and this uneasy feeling which the audience may feel connected to and bring awareness to. The interactive website engages with the audience since they are able to locate all that's needed to know about the film under one hub. It gives the audience access to all the social media sites through links which they can use to find our what's happening. Through the social media accounts of the film the audience is able to get live updates of the film. By following the accounts they can get brand new updates on the behind the scenes or information in general. Social media accounts such as Instagram and Twitter allow for people to like and comment so this allows for the audience to directly have some impact on the film. They're able to tell us what they like and dislike so far and it allows for them to show their support. Them following us on the social medias and seeing those updates allows them to feel involved since they've been through the journey with us. The YouTube site allows for distribution of the film. It's a streaming website so they are able to watch and enjoy from where they feel comfortable. Social media is what allows the creator and the audience to have some form of interaction. Finally, the postcard gives the audience times and a location which lets them know it's been completed and they can go watch it in person soon. 

• How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

Prior to making a film, the genre you'll be making it apart of has to be considered. When my group and I came up with our pitch we had an idea of three genres we could take it into. Those being thriller, horror, and action. While we watched movies from each genre we realized thrillers created a good amount of suspense and that was the route we could go on. When it comes to the genre there are some conventions you will use from it and some you'll challenge. It was decided that we would stick with the music typically seen in thrillers. They tend to have eerie and gloomy music choices and that's the type we researched and put into our film. Thrillers focus a grand amount of time on sound to create suspense and that is why the music was chosen that way. They also create suspense through prop choice. The props add that extra bit of flare to a thriller so that allowed us to carefully decide what props could amplify the suspense. The letters being our main prop which held all the mystery behind them. Thrillers tend to use dim lighting and be more in the night time. We deferred from that and decided to have the film take place in the day. In a thriller the night and low lighting enhances their suspense but for us it made more sense to have it in the day due to the story we were making. When it comes to the other products they followed their respective conventions. The website had information about the movie and links to each social media like a typical movie website. The social media accounts provided updates and behind the scenes just how a film's social media team would. The postcard advertised viewings for the film like their typical intent which is to get the audience to go to one of those showings.

Short Film Package

 Short film package 

UNEASY

Link to short film: https://youtu.be/Vaal_oD7OC0

Link to website: https://mediastudiesbkl.wixsite.com/website

Post card 

Editing

         Editing has now occurred. The editing process tends to be quite a time consuming part of the whole process of making the film. Seeing the final product in the ends makes it all worth the hassle. We had to go through so much footage in order to commence editing. Together we decided which were the best clips to use. To decide that we considered the angles and shots. We wanted to make sure we chose the ones that looked the beta and flowing into each other cleanly. After what footage would be used was decide it was time to actually start editing.  The editing platform that was used was iMovie. My group and I have had experience with this software which is why we chose to use it. It is where we felt most comfortable to make the best product. Next up was placing the clips in order. Once the clips were placed the realization came that there was about 7 minutes worth of footage in the moment. Extended footage was expected so after that it was cut down to 5 minutes. After that it was time to add in the transitions between each clip. Consider what transitions would be used toon some time but it was figured out. There was a lot of background noise mostly due to all the planes flying over during filming. Thankfully, Brooke did the best she could to try and mute it out. All that is really left is putting the music in which should be done soon. Can’t wait for everyone to see the final product!

Updating Media + Site

         Now that filming has finished it’s time for our group to work towards updating the Social Media accounts and the website. Up until this point we didn’t have anything we could really upload onto those accounts. Seeing that we hadn’t filmed there wasn’t much we could post. All the accounts had a photo of a stack of letters and a short bio. Filming gave us material that we could use as part of these campaigns. All the footage that we captured gives us so many choices. While looking through that footage we’ll have to decide which parts may look good as a screen grab for an account. My group and I will have to go through each accounts and update their profile photos. The current profile photo of the stack of letters is just too plain and boring. It was a placeholder for the time until we could fine the right photo to update it with. The mailbox and letters is a central idea of the film so this will be incorporated in some form. There will most likely be at least one post on each social media handle in the comings days. It has to seems like this is an account updating it’s fans. Whether they are the same post with the same content will be decided. The website will also be updated in the coming days. We have to edit who is apart of the crew. We also must add which festivals “reviewed” the film and edit the “about” section. These are pretty easy edits and will be done shortly. Other then that small additions will be thought of. Go and check us out soon!

Reviewing Footage

       It is almost the New Year! The past few days I’ve been occupied with family. However today I was able to free up some time to meet up with my group. We all met at one location and got to work. We have a lot of footage so we knew this would be a hefty process. This is because when we filmed we made sure we shot our scenes multiple times and with multiple angles in mind. Having too much film is better then not having enough. We started off but looking at the footage for the first 3 scenes we filmed. When I say there was a lot of footage I mean there was A LOT. We did some slight editing and clipped them together in order to see how naturally they would flow with each other. This isn’t our main editing and is just a basis to decide what footage will be used. We also focused on how the audio sounded like. During filming my neighbor was working outside and there were some difficulties audio based. This means we have to keep in mind which clips have the least disturbance around them. During the reviewing of these scenes we also made sure they included the many movements, shots, and angles that could be used. With my uncle still being in town I was yet again in a time constraint. There was still a decent amount of footage to look through when I had to leave. We have decided to split the rest of the footage among each other to accelerate the process. We trust each other’s judgments so this is perfectly fine for us. Let’s go into 2021 by continuing on a roll!

Post Filming Update

         It’s now been about 5 days since we ended up filming. Since then we have looked at some footage but that is essentially it. That is because Christmas was yesterday. We wanted to give ourselves that day and the days prior so that we could prepare and enjoy time with our families. I personally spent some part of the 23rd looking over as much footage as possible. I didn’t get that far because I had to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Christmas shopping was essentially the basis of my week after filming. My family and I do most Christmas festivities on the 24th much like many hispanic families. So I spent that day with family and relaxed. The 25th was also full of bring with family and feeling cheerful that we were together. Unexpectedly, my uncle came down from Indiana to visit us. He plans on being here for the remainder of my break which puts a hole in my availability. The holiday season can be very hectic when it comes to scheduling. However, filming has been completed and as of now it does not look like we’ll need to re-film. If it is needed though, I will try my hardest to work around my uncles visitation and see if I can get a day to put focus on the short film. I think I’ll be able to and if not then I will try to make my resources available to the best of my abilities. Whether that’s through FaceTime or texting I will do the best to help my group. In the coming days we will finish reviewing the footage. Whether that’s together in person or through the phone we shall see. Afterwards editing will take full charge.

Second Half of Filming

        Once Jeffery went outside to continue the scene that involved Paige I got to work with preparing the following scene. The next scene involved the camera prop so i prepared it along with tools so it would be ready for when they were done. Once Paige, Jeffery, and Brooke finished filming their scene Jeffery and Paige changed into their next set out outfits. Once that happened we took a short break. We were on a time constraint but we didn’t want anyone to get burnt out. A rushed product isn’t always the best product. We then got back to work and our actors went to film. That scene involved Paige setting up security cameras and then Jeffery randomly intrudes and freaks her out. Since we film every scene more then once and from different angles that took around another 15 minutes. Once that was done, Paige got ready for her next scene which involved her on a phone call with a friend and then suddenly thinks she hears someone outside. Kelly and I stayed outside while that was filmed so that Paige could concentrate. Jeffery got dressed for his final scene and joined us while he waited. Once again we helped Jeffery read his likes for his final scene. Once Paige finished her scene it led right into her and Jeffery’s final scene in which she confronts him. This scene was delayed because my neighbor was making a lot of noise since he was working on something so I went and asked him if he could stop and continue in about 15 minutes. He agreed and so we finished that scene. I then went and put on a hoodie for the final scene in which I, the ex, got out from where I was hiding, plant a final letter, and walked away. Filming was then and thankfully we finished right on time. I’m really proud of how we all worked on completing this process. I’m also appreciative of Jeffery and Paige coming to film and doing so well. Next up is looking at the footage, editing, and finalizing the film!