CCR Ideas

 CCR PRODUCTION IDEAS-

- The final posting for my CCR inspiration for filming as well as designing and creating my CCR.

PLANS FOR CCR#1-

- For my first CCR, i plan to answer the first two questions but i decided to make it correlate with our film. Since my dad is acting as Officer Garcia in the film, i wanted to incorporate some sort of police scene, so I decided to go with an integration scene where i act a a "witness" to Raven's murder while my dad questions me as his acting role. From there it will smoothly transfer the conversation to the CCR questions. I have prepared a script showcasing how it will all turn out to be. While i am being questioned, i will include photos and videos from my film, and techniques to keep the audience engaged. I also made the script a little funny and serious as well to have diversity. 

SCRIPT-

OFFICER (my dad)- "Hello Ms. Gonzalez. So, you're a witness to what happened with Raven. Her murder, can you walk me through what you know?"

ME- "I saw Avery and Raven together earlier during school, since we had class together. They seemed happy, just talking. But later in the day something happened and everything just became tense. I knew they were having a picnic later as they were gong to celebrate Avery's 18th birthday. But i got curious and decided to go to the same park, but i sat far. A few hours in i went to the bathroom but suddenly i heard a scream, and... when i came out i- i saw Raven's body on the floor and Avery was there, kneeling over her with blood on her hands."

OFFICER-  (skeptical)- "And what do you think truly happened?"

ME- (hesitates) "well i think Avery was being set up. She would never hurt Raven, yes they may have their ups and downs but they never throw hands, like ever."

OFFICER- "Hmm, okay then, thank you for your honesty. Now, you mentioned you all had class together, whaat exactly did you girls do there?"

ME- "Well, the class we were all together in is called Media studies and we were actually working on a project about film Openings... and honestly, now that i think about it my film kind of represents both Raven and Avery in a way."

OFFICER- "How so?"

ME- "Well the film opening i'm working on is called Static and it s a psychological thriller. Now, let's just say Avery and Raven are the characters in my production. Avery s accused of murdering her best friend: Raven. And throughout the film we explore themes of perception versus reality, as well as the struggle of being a teenager along with insanity. It also explores lots of genre conventions."

ME- Oh my god. Did my film just predict current events..?! I think i might be psychic. Cool!"

OFFCER- (officer raises his eyebrow giving a face of "seriously"?/ big side eye)

ME- (look at him and immediately squabble) "No, not cool, definitely  not cool... yeah."

OFFICER-  "Anyways, how does your film even play a part with genre conventions? "

ME- "We used traditional mystery and horror elements to build tension and eeriness within our film. If you've ever watched Vertigo or Se7en, then it's that level of suspense! Not only that but we also use various techniques into the atmosphere like tight close ups and fast paced cuts to draw the attention to the audience watching. Including representation as well as representing teens was quit a topic within this film!"

OFFICER- "And how did you accomplish representation, as well as portraying teens?"

ME- "We challenged stereotypes! More specifically, teen stereotypes. Let me dig deeper here, Avery's not rebellious or extroverted at all; she's complex, dealing with her own struggles. We wanted to show that introverted teens, especially girls, have their own qualities and complexities. Avery's introverted, and it's actually kinda creepy how quiet she is."

OFFICER- "Interesting... How do you see your film connecting with audiences?"

Me- "It's for teens! so we use thriller elements to immerse them. As they feel the tension rising from the film they themselves start to question what's real. The goal is to have the audience be immersed within the story as they imagine themselves in Avery's position as well as the events that are taking place. With the help of several elements like pacing, visual aspect, and effects within our film, it delivers a sense of mystery, anxiety and eeriness, which correlates with our goal to capture the attention of our targeted audience."

OFFICER- "Well thats- "

ME- "OH! and we also have a great distribution plan! We are planning to distribute on A24, which is an independent entertainment company that focuses on creative freedom! We chose this company because it offers and accepts interests in smaller producers and directors which help us with our upcoming film. They use their various marketing and distribution techniques to capture the wanted attention towards our film which makes it a highly reliable source to distribute our production as well as the most suitable within our interests and goals thats can be achieved through A24!"

OFFICER- (flabbergasted) "Well alright then, thank you for your time Ms. Gonzalez, you may wait outside until I receive any further news."

ME- "Thank you Officer! Oh and, please look into what i've said about Avery."

OFFICER- (nods) "Of course."

PLANS FOR CCR#2-

- For my second CCR i decided to make an interview scene where i am interviewed and i talk about thee last 2 CCR questions. Since i am the director of the film, my interviewer who's is again, my dad, is going to interview the "director" of Static: me. I also prepared a script showcasing how i answer these questions in a very engaging way for the audience as well as including videos and photos representing our film. 

SCRIPT-

INTERVIEWER (my dad)- Good afternoon and welcome back to "Behind the Screen," where we dive into the minds of rising talent in film! I am your host, Ricardo Gonzalez, and joining us today is Emma Gonzalez, the talented director of the new thriller production, Static! Emma, thanks for joining us today! (clapping in the background)

ME- Thanks for having me!

INTERVIEWER-  Well lets diver right in shall we? So, Emma lets start with your journey! How and where did you learn to have such high production skills that helped develop your project!?

ME-  Well my journey started as i came into a class called AICE Media Studies. I had already had a foundation, a basic knowledge of film from middle school Film and the start of my high school years. But this class took me to the next level. I explore various types of editing techniques and Mise-en-Scene as well s sound and theory, which completely changed my perspective on film as well as educating me more on the work that is put on just one single production or scene.

INTERVIEWER- Thats amazing to hear! What was the highlight of the project for you?

ME- A highlight for me was the creative freedom was incredible, as i got to express myself in my work like i never could before! Yet it was not only me working on this amazing product of our film, but my team consisted of Jade Baynes and Carolina Rabachute. Without them, Static would never have been so successful! From scripting to set design, filming and post production for editing, my team and I worked together to create our film masterpiece!

INTERVIEWER- What a great collaboration! Now Please tell us how did you integrate technologies like software and hardware.

ME- We used blogs to track progress and stay organized with planning our production. We also used Canva Pro, which helped us design ideas for posters and promoting content. This app helped us create our poster for our film: Static as well as taking inspiration to help creating our company logo! To produce and film we used my Nikon D7 which is my personal camera. Adobe Premier Pro was our go-to for editing, and the tools gave us that cinematic look we wanted to achieve!

INTERVIEWER- Wow! That's incredible! Were there any difficulties or challenges among the way?

ME- Oh my goodness! Well Technical difficulties are inevitable, right? We had some footage issues and software glitches, but teamwork made it work! Within this project we all gained so much experience as we worked together towards our production with our logo's and different way to showcase our production. This project showcased the tools we needed to achieve the final production product which was a whole adventure!

INTERVIEWER- Hahaha! Well, Static turned out to be such a big hit! What's next for you Emma?

ME- I plan to have more production to come hopefully! This project showed me how much i love bringing ideas to life and how much i love to work with my team!

INTERVIEWER- That's wonderful! We'll keep an eye out! Thank you so much for your time today, we all wish you luck with your manny achievements to come! Emma Gonzalez everyone! (crowd clapping in the background)

ME- Thank you so much for having me!

CCR Research Question #4

 QUESTION #4-

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

TECHNOLOGIES-

- We integrated various aspects of technology when using our blog posts to schedule and write, step by step the procedure of our production progress. It not only forced us to use it as a research but it also helped us regulate our time and plan in a more organized structure to keep up with our research and what was necessary to have within our project. We were set to document every little detail into our blogs which also helped us look back if we were missing anything since we had it all documented. 

- Other than using our blog posts, we also used Canva Pro, which helped us design ideas for posters and promoting content. This app helped us create our poster for our film: Static as well as taking inspiration to help creating our company logo. To produce and film we used my Nikon D7 which is my personal camera. My Nikon D7 has two lenses, one small for more zoom and one a little bigger/longer to capture more than just a zoom, but wide shots and mid shots were possible. I know how to handle this camera since I was very little because it was originally my sister's, so she taught me how to use it and then she gave it to me. So I tried my best when it came to this project to deliver the most cinematic looks I could achieve using this camera.

- The camera also allows easy accessibility as it has a strap that I could attach to my shoulders which makes it more moveable and easy to get different angles. For our editing process, I utilized Adobe Premier Pro which helps tremendously when transferring all the footage smoothly. Since I have much experience when it comes to editing and I am really familiar with this software, it just made the process go even faster. Adobe has an abundant amount of accessibilities such as lumetri color, sound and contrast with some of the footage which help visualize the product of our film to a much more professional extent. 

STRUGGLES-

- Of course when there is technology, sometimes you get technical difficulties... which definitely happened during our editing process, but nevertheless we keep on going. Many issues with software, footage. and even mistakes on my part or my teammates happen but in the end we fix these problems and figure out a solution together. Within this project we all gained much experience as we worked together towards our production with our logo's and different way to showcase our production. This project showcased the tools we needed to achieve the final production product which was a whole adventure!

CCR Research Question #3

 QUESTION #3-

- How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

DEVELOPEMENT-

- Coming into AICE media studies I had some experience of camera techniques, editing, and some film concepts because i was in Film 7-8th grade during middle school as well as participating in CBTV (Cypress bay television) in high school. Yet when i started AICE Media, i realized that there is so much more to film than just the production itself. Throughout the year, this class has taught me various new techniques and theories that help me understand the broader perspective on media all together. 

-We learned various techniques which I had no clue about before like Mise-en-Scene, and the importance of it, as well as editing techniques, sound, theory and representation which we used on various assignments like our Music Project or our Foley Sound Project. With much feedback from my teacher as well as meetings with the class helped me grow and learn how to use correct form and learn from my mistakes which helped when i was offered a new perspective of my work. 

REFLECTION-

- I got to learn how to be imaginative and creative, to finally be able to express myself within these projects. With this being our final project,  I feel like I was prepared well because now I can deeply focus on the small details and planning of our production. From developing a script, storyboard and drawing a set design to filming day in the set with the makeup and costume design ready to post production with editing and camera techniques. I have been able to identify key details as well as analyzing theory and different various factors that help me grow and learn in the process.

- While working on this project, I am really grateful and happy with the concept my team an i have been able to out together during the course off 8 weeks, as well as incorporating all the techniques we have learned so far. I highly enjoyed all the moments we had from planning, to filming to even having some bloopers (which were so funny) all the behind the scenes just make me want to go back and start again because of how much fun it was to experience this with my team Jade and Carolina. We al worked so well together and I feel that we all had our own creative spark that was put into this project with our researching and media. 

BLOG OF PREVIOUS PROJECTS/ PICTURES-

Multimedia Mise-en-scene Project

Story Board 

Sound Project

CCR Research Question #2

 QUESTION #2-

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

ENGAGING-

- Our film engages with a specific target audience, which are teenagers from the ages 14-18 yrs old. Since our film incorporates a teenage girl: Avery Dawson, struggling as she is facing the extreme consequences and hardships of being accused of murder as well as being sent to prison. Since our film is mostly targeted to teens, we used thriller and mystery techniques to capture the interest within our audience. 

-The goal is to have the audience be immersed within the story as they imagine themselves in Avery's position as well as the events that are taking place. It makes the viewer deeply think and realize what they would do if they were put in the same situation, also questioning what would happen next. With the help of several elements like pacing, visual aspect, and effects within our film, it delivers a sense of mystery, anxiety and eeriness, which correlates with our goal to capture the attention of our targeted audience.

DISTRIBUTION-

- For our distribution process we plan to distribute through A24, which is an independent entertainment company that focuses on creative freedom which include various great films like: Eternity, Hereditary and Uncut Gems. We chose this company because it offers and accepts interests in smaller producers and directors which help us with our upcoming film. They are mostly drawn to talent and creativity where the films have a meaning or story that work together as they were set in the process behind the scenes.

- A24 doesn't just only help with talent and creativity but it also promotes our film to a younger target audience which captures the attention and interest in younger generations. They use their various marketing and distribution techniques to capture the wanted attention towards our film which makes it a highly reliable source to distribute our production as well as the most suitable within our interests and goals thats can be achieved through A24.

ANSWER-

- While making the script for my CCR, I decided to organize myself first and review the questions and see how I would answer them. I will take the answers I have written in my blog and rephrase them a little bit, to fit the "vibe" of my video as well as simplify some of the information since I don't want it to be so boring, instead I want it to be engaging and fun to experience and watch. I want to focus on examples, while using lots of references to support my explanation, as well as how it all ties back to our final production: Static. 

- My first CCR will include the first and second question, and the idea is to incorporate in some way our film into my CCR. So i decided to start off with an interrogation scene, having my dad help me as he acts as the police officer (my dad plays Officer Garcia throughout the opening, which is perfect). I would be acting as a "witness" of the murder and i want it to be very dramatic to keep the audience engaged ass well and not get very bored. 

SCRIPT-

OFFICER (my dad)- "Hello Ms. Gonzalez. So, you're a witness to what happened with Raven. Her murder, can you walk me through what you know?"

ME- "I saw Avery and Raven together earlier during school, since we had class together. They seemed happy, just talking. But later in the day something happened and everything just became tense. I knew they were having a picnic later as they were gong to celebrate Avery's 18th birthday. But i got curious and decided to go to the same park, but i sat far. A few hours in i went to the bathroom but suddenly i heard a scream, and... when i came out i- i saw Raven's body on the floor and Avery was there, kneeling over her with blood on her hands."

OFFICER-  (skeptical)- "And what do you think truly happened?"

ME- (hesitates) "well i think Avery was being set up. She would never hurt Raven, yes they may have their ups and downs but they never throw hands, like ever."

OFFICER- "Hmm, okay then, thank you for your honesty. Now, you mentioned you all had class together, whaat exactly did you girls do there?"

ME- "Well, the class we were all together in is called Media studies and we were actually working on a project about film Openings... and honestly, now that i think about it my film kind of represents both Raven and Avery in a way."

OFFICER- "How so?"

ME- "Well the film opening i'm working on is called Static and it s a psychological thriller. Now, let's just say Avery and Raven are the characters in my production. Avery s accused of murdering her best friend: Raven. And throughout the film we explore themes of perception versus reality, as well as the struggle of being a teenager along with insanity. It also explores lots of genre conventions."

ME- Oh my god. Did my film just predict current events..?! I think i might be psychic. Cool!"

OFFCER- (officer raises his eyebrow giving a face of "seriously"?/ big side eye)

ME- (look at him and immediately squabble) "No, not cool, definitely  not cool... yeah."

OFFICER-  "Anyways, how does your film even play a part with genre conventions? "

ME- "We used traditional mystery and horror elements to build tension and eeriness within our film. If you've ever watched Vertigo or Se7en, then it's that level of suspense! Not only that but we also use various techniques into the atmosphere like tight close ups and fast paced cuts to draw the attention to the audience watching. Including representation as well as representing teens was quit a topic within this film!"

OFFICER- "And how did you accomplish representation, as well as portraying teens?"

ME- "We challenged stereotypes! More specifically, teen stereotypes. Let me dig deeper here, Avery's not rebellious or extroverted at all; she's complex, dealing with her own struggles. We wanted to show that introverted teens, especially girls, have their own qualities and complexities. Avery's introverted, and it's actually kinda creepy how quiet she is."

OFFICER- "Interesting... How do you see your film connecting with audiences?"

Me- "It's for teens! so we use thriller elements to immerse them. As they feel the tension rising from the film they themselves start to question what's real. The goal is to have the audience be immersed within the story as they imagine themselves in Avery's position as well as the events that are taking place. With the help of several elements like pacing, visual aspect, and effects within our film, it delivers a sense of mystery, anxiety and eeriness, which correlates with our goal to capture the attention of our targeted audience."

OFFICER- "Well thats- "

ME- "OH! and we also have a great distribution plan! We are planning to distribute on A24, which is an independent entertainment company that focuses on creative freedom! We chose this company because it offers and accepts interests in smaller producers and directors which help us with our upcoming film. They use their various marketing and distribution techniques to capture the wanted attention towards our film which makes it a highly reliable source to distribute our production as well as the most suitable within our interests and goals thats can be achieved through A24!"

OFFICER- (flabbergasted) "Well alright then, thank you for your time Ms. Gonzalez, you may wait outside until I receive any further news."

ME- "Thank you Officer! Oh an, please look into what i've said about Avery."

OFFICER- (nods) "Of course."

CCR Research Question #1

 QUESTION #1-

- How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

CONVENTIONS-

- To answer the question above we have to split the question into smaller parts, so lets start with conventions. There are multiple types of conventions like:

• Form conventions

• Traditional conventions

• Story conventions

• Genre conventions

• Cultural conventions

- Now, for our film: Static, we use the traditional conventions that include mystery and the use of psychological horror. ur goal was to establish shots that develop the mysterious as well as eerie elements that contribute towards our introduction in our production. My team and I viewed various previous blogs and researched about horror, mystery, and psychological horror films. Which all held the exact format and tension that helps our own film stick out into the necessary conventions of these genres. Yet our goal was never to go beyond the traditional conventions of this framework, instead our goal was it connect certain pieces that are used to highlight the genre in a better way, as well as incorporating the techniques within our story and sequences. 

- A way to show our incorporation of this convention in our film was when we took inspiration from one of Hitchcock's films "Vertigo". Famously known for its eery and uncomfortable shots as various tight close ups are seen and the tension of the atmosphere is almost unbearable during the opening. Many of these techniques we wanted to incorporate within our own footage to display the certain conventions and work throughout the process of development in our production.

REPRESENTATION-

- For our films representation we chose to challenge the normal social groups of teenage representation. In media, teenagers are typically perceived as dramatic or troublemakers as well as very rebellious  Yet this can lead to be very misunderstanding.  Our film Static challenges the stereotypical conventions that introduces a teen girl: Avery Dawson, who is our main character. She is portrayed as a introverted character who mostly spends her time socially with her best friend Raven or at home. Media in todays day and age, teens are mostly portrayed socially with things that revolve around alcohol, drugs, parties or even various illegal actives since we are viewed as rebellious and misfits. We built static to revolve and challenge this in a non stereotypical way of introducing our character as the shy girl yet it continues to be tied into an unexpected twist into murder against her best friend Raven. This highlights not only that introverted teens but especially female characters have challenges as well as with the gender normality that lies within media. 

Production Process Editing Day #2

 EDITING DAY #2

- Now for day 2 of editing, before I jumped back into editing I decided to watch more tutorials but now on the audio. They help me see the professional level on tips and various references that help me visualize how to correctly edit or place to make it more visual appealing for and audience. As well as placing effects and different fonts with the texts and credits while envisioning it during the editing. For me it is really important to focus on the technique of the editing process and taking time to reflect and learn rather than just jumping to conclusions and just starting the editing abruptly.  With the music tutorials I learned to align my music better instead of just adding into the timeline, I prefer to know exactly when its the right time to use a specific part of the audio to make it more realistic to the audience. 

- I don't want the audio to be too predictable with the clips or the timing from one clip to another to be too predictable either. I did a lot of research for the audio section, since I had an idea in my head yet I couldn't really find the right song, yet later I realized that our film shouldn't have much of music. Our music should be more of the eery silence that contributes to our genre well, since silence sometimes can be the best type of "music." There have been many times in past projects where I made the clips too predictable with the audio and our teacher recommended to have less of that to make it more appealing and more engaging to watch. Even though I am still learning, I am excited to see how our film with turn out.

VIDEOS-