The Final Products

 My Film Opening: Film Opening

CCR #1: CCR 1
CCR #2: CCR 2

Is this the end?

 Hi for the 2nd last time blog. Today I will be recapping all of the memorable moments from the 2 months of thinking, writing, production, and editing. 

Although I absolutely love filming and editing, I am so thankful the stress is now over.

Ever since I heard about the film opening project I knew I wanted it to be about cars. All school year I was thinking about how I could do it or how should I do it.

Eventually the project was actually introduced to us and everyone was gathering into partners (but me) (I got excluded) 

Its okay though because I knew no one in our class would want to do what I accomplished. I had enough confidence in myself to know that I can successfully complete the film opening project alone and make it a banger. I couldn't let myself down right?

Yeah I lowkey did.. or did I? It took me awhile to find the right music and editing structure for my film. I constantly was taking out music, and adding new music in along with changing where each scene was placed. Eventually I found a sound and structure I was happy with (the one you will see) and I like it. 

Overall, I am very happy with what I have achieved over these 2 months, but something feels wrong with my film and I cant exactly think of what. I shared my project to other and they all give me feedback of how its amazing and stuff, so I guess I shouldn't change anything.

Oh and btw all the audio i used is legal from epidemic sounds because I have a account!

This is what the final timeline in premiere pro looks like if anyone is curious... 

Well blog, its been a pleasure. Goodbye

Reflecting on the project about reflecting

 Hi for the 3rd last time blog.

Filming my CCR's was surprisingly really fun! I originally thought of the CCR as an extra annoying step to complete this project but i was wrong.

This is what the prisoner CCR looks like

Its very cool i like

The 2nd one ended up being like a vlog. The "fan boy" got into my car and we drove around the neighborhood as he asked me questions from the CCR. It ended up looking nice and its a fun creative twist I think.

CCR Productions!

 This is the end of the road chat.

Production for my 2 CCR Videos has just begun!

The first video I wanted to pretend to be a street racer that was caught and being interrogated by the police to continue the theme of my film opening. So in order to do this, I just called up my friend Daniel to ask if I can pick up his prisoner costume from Halloween. He said sure! This is what it looks like.

This looks cool lol. I like where this is going.

Now I will go film inside my messy garage to get the type of set design im looking for, BRB.

Now lets quickly produce my 2nd CCR video. I am gonna incorporate the main vehicle used in the film opening to continue to match the theme! (Im so talented right) Im going to have my brother pretend to be a fan boy and ask me questions as I pass by, this is gonna be fun. 

The super duper cool car in the film opening ---->

CCR Production ideas!!

 Hi blog! 

I have no idea what to think yet! 

I GOT A  IDEA

I just learned that this doesn't have to be a professional video :D

For Part one of my CCR I want me to wear a prisoner outfit that would resemble the aftermath of what happens in my film Midnight. I can have a police officer interrogate me which will keep my CCR entertaining and also creative that keeps within the theme of my production!

Ok thanks for reading bye

CCR Script 4

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

I used allottt of technologies especially different software and hardware.  To shoot my film alone, I used four different cameras that are all perfect for difference scenarios. I integrated GoPro's and DJI products to all of the action high speed shots as they are assessable for special mounts to get the angles that I wanted. But for software, I didn't use as high variety as I did with hardware's but I used the different software's for what they were best with. Premiere Pro of course is the main source of software used to edit this entire production. It has almost everything I could need to edit this project. I also used After Effects to create the credit graphics because it has wide Varity of effects to make the credits look cool!

CCR Script #3

 How did your skills develop through out this project...


My skills developed allot. I came out of my shell big time. I was once a very introverted creator where I was to nervous to even film in public haha. Now with this being my first major production I went all out. I met so many people and had to reach out to people I was scared too such as the police department. I was developed my communication skills as well as my confidence to get this stuff filmed. I also developed a ability to set up shots super fast as many opportunities flew by extremely fast and I had to capture it. So yeah I would definitely say my skills had developed in a very good way. 

CCR Script #2

 How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text...

That's a great question, and honestly, I wanted to give the audience a very real feel to something that actually happens. The target audience of car enthusiast will be thrilled with the story that they will find, not exactly close to home, but a passion they can relate to. I know this from my personal experience when going to the movie's to watch a new racing movie or fast and furious movie (when they were good). But besides the target audience, to the people watching the movie in curiosity on what the movie is about, I believe they will not be disappointed. Like i said before, this movie has a very real feel and that alone will connect and engage the audience to what they're seeing. But besides that, for distribution we would distribute the film to all theaters in the United States and we may distribute to some countries across the world. I am choosing to distribute this production this way as the film attracts many people with the concept of the curiosity of something that's real. Street Racing is relatable and realistic throughout other parts of the world.

CCR Idea time.

 Hello there blog. 

Its time to switch it up and talk about my CCR's relating to my production. I want to make a video in the end a sports commentary with me and someone else discussing the questions prompted, but that a later thing.

Right now the first question ask: "How does my product use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social groups or issues?"

Alright. If you ask anyone what they think of street racers, 99/100 times they have a dislike for them, and it makes sense. They can create chaos, fear, and anxiety to others on the road. Police have been equipping themselves with new vehicles and technology to fight against these drivers causing chaos to public roadways. My film, Mid-night follows those conventions almost perfectly with the new reporter telling the story of what the public and police feel about them.

Anyways, till next time blog!

Figuring out the correct way to structure the film opening

 Welcome back blog!

I got a little lost when trying to plan out how I wanted to structure my story and credits. Based off of what I have seen from sample projects, almost everyone just shows the credits as the story progresses which is the typical best way to do it. However, if you remember from my first blog post, I wanted to style my film opening like the one from Black Widow.

What do I do to structure it like black widow? 

I re-watched that film opening multiple times again. I took notes on what I discovered and I really like what they did. They opened up with the story, studio credits, and title. After that you are shown a short montage of the kids being transferred around. At the mid-point, that's where almost all of the credits come into play and the ending being more story and related topics. I am going to take inspiration from that and incorporate it into my film opening.

Utilizing transitions in editing

 Hi Blog! 

I noticed something didn't feel quite right with how the credits and actual video were flowing so I needed tot change something. I went to YouTube and found free transitions! These transitions are so amazing I personally love them.

What difference does it make besides looks?

Well, it does make the overall film look allot cooler, but I believe it brings allot more attention to the actual credits with the sound effects and flashing lights. If you think about it, no one cares to look at names just popping up, but if you make it look more appealing it fits right into the story and visually more pleasing to watch. 

Check out this snippet from my production 

Update on production progress

 Hi Blog! I have worked on my production in editing allot recently and I love how its turning out. I got access to Epidemic Sounds and it was amazing to find sound effects for my film to make it even better. The timeline in premiere pro is getting huge with audios and transitions! Here's a sneak peak:

Editing the Police scene!

 Hey blog!

I imported my footage into premier pro and made the line edit for it. IT LOOKS SICK. I am super happy with how this looks. Because this scene is filmed in a different location than the actual car meet, I am keeping the shots nice and close to only show what is going on and not the background. Here is some shots from the line edit!

          

  

Production Day 2: The Race track

 Over the weekend I was at the race track taking photos for a friend. While I was there I thought to myself that I may want to shoot videos of the cars as well just in case I decide to implement it into my film. Getting shots here was much more difficult because I was against he fence and kind of far away from the action. Getting a variety of shots was also difficult because of that. Overall I am satisfied with what I go from the race track and I hope I find a place to edit them in if needed. 

Production Day 1: The Police

 It has begun!

First day of filming I had a officer film multiple shots with me and a couple of drivers to simulate a scene where a cop is chasing the main character. We began with using the drone to get a overhead shot of everything going on. 

After that I used my DLSR camera to get shots of the cop running after the character to stop him.

Once we finished filming the scenes with my DLSR, I attached my DJI Osmo pocket 3 to the back of my car so I could get shots of the police actively moving chasing down my car. We also attached the camera the back of my friends car who was filming the front of my car "accelerating away". Overall I am super happy with how this turned out and I cant wait to start editing it!

All the cameras being used for my film opening.

 Hi Blog. As I am just getting ready to start production, I wanted to share the different cameras that I will be using for my production.

Nikon D7500- This is my main camera that will shoot most of the film. I will use this camera with a tripod to get nice stills. I can set the f-stop super low on this camera making it really nice to use during the night and make shots in the day look beautiful. If you dont know what "f-stop" is, it basically changes how much light enters the camera (lower the number, more light enters the camera)

DJI Osmo Pocket 3- I LOVE this camera! This camera is super tiny and so easy to use. It can fit inside of my pocket making it super easy to transport. This camera shoots in 4k and has a built in gimbal which makes the shoots super smooth. With this camera being very small, I can place it in very unique areas to get really cool shots. 

DJI Mini 2 SE - This drone is super small and super easy to use. It has a built in camera that can shoot in 1080p making the quality still strong. I will be using this for shots high in the air to get unique angles of the cars.  

GoPro Hero 8 - Another super small and INDESTRUCTABLE camera. From personal experience, this camera can go through hell and back and still work like brand new. It can record in 4k and shoot underwater making it such a good action camera.

Audio!!!!

 Hi Blog! Audio is a HUGEEE part of making a great film. I would argue its much more important than visuals. So, lets talk about I am going to do about my audio.

Music!- The entire film opening will have instrumental audio that engages the viewer into the vibe of the film.

Voice Over!- I will have a "news reporter" narrating the film opening as if the opening is a breaking news story. I will do this by getting one of my friends and saying lines from a script that I have created. I will absolutely 100% use a high quality mic so the voice sounds amazing.

Car/Natural Sounds!- This is a major part of engaging the viewer into my film. I have very tiny magnetic DJI microphones that I can put onto the engine bay of a car to record the engine noise. For the natural sounds though, I have a Rhode mic that I will keep on my camera AT ALL TIMES to capture "Moments" and get very nice Nat sounds.

Stay tuned for more possible Audio techniques that I may use!

Props...

 Hi Blog, today Props will be what I yap about...

This is a HUGEEE part of my film opening as this needs to be perfect for it to be good.

I have big goals so my props are going to be difficult to get.

1. 30+ Cars all parked together: Yeahhh, lucky for me I know lots of people that would love to show up and be apart of my film so this shouldn't be to big of a issue. Using all of these cars shows the "Street Scene" and what goes on rather then just describing it.

2. Police Officer/Car: It's a little strange how I'm going to ask the police station to be in my film that highlights street racing. However, once I get them this will ELEVATE my film so much! Its a very crucial role and to have them in the film will be so cool. 

Other than those two subjects I should not have to use any props. I'll keep you guys updated though!

Film Lighting!

 Hi Blog! Today I will be discussing the lighting techniques that I will be aiming to use in my film opening.

The film opening takes place in the night time so lighting will be key. I want to go for a dark look but with aspects of bright lights to give off the vibe of a street at night. How will I do this? Easy! Filming at a actual street with a ND filter will give me the look I am looking for.

In editing to make this look even more visually pleasing I will lower the highlights and make the temperature cooler to give a cold night vibe. 

My Main Character Development

 Hi Blog! New week and more ideas have been finalized, such as the character development. 

My film opening will take place 2 years prior to the actual time frame of the movie. This is due to the events that happen in the film opening that shapes the character for the rest of the movie.

 The character is this guy who runs the "Street Scene" by winning races and being the center of car meets. He is wanted by the cops but has never had a close encounter until one night, cops get closer than ever to him which shakes him up and causes him to disappear and go into hiding from the Street Scene for the next couple years in order to keep himself out of handcuffs.