AICE Media Studies

Link to Critical Reflection document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wv02iU8XPnwHerS8Ixp43KrYaRQxN8sKNJueMmSktoc/edit?usp=sharing   1.         How do your products represent social groups or issues? All the products of this project represent the social issue of substance abuse, specifically alcohol abuse. Today, alcohol use has become so widespread and normalized that many people forget the multitude of negative effects that come with it. This is a problem that affects people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds, and causes so much pain to both the users themselves and those around them.  I wanted to help bring awareness to this problem through the film “Echoes of Awakening,” which portrays a character who suffered from a drunk driving accident. To truly share the depth of the severity of this issue, the film uniquely makes it so that the audience does not know that the character Jack was in an accident until the very end of the film. The fi...

Hey everyone! The product is all finished, so I wanted to give you all the information about the film. Below I included the website, postcard, and the actual film posted to YouTube. It has been so much fun creating and producing "Echoes of Awakening," and I can't wait for you all to see the product of all our hard work! Thank you for supporting me through this journey, and I hope you enjoy! Website:    https://exantusmarvin28.wixsite.com/echoesofawakening Postcard:  https://www.canva.com/design/DAF_NmWluIk/5yRNb5x1Os-vpGYC3hE4ZQ/view?utm_content=DAF_NmWluIk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=701517aDz_4

    Hi everyone! The film has gone through its last few edits and I’m here to tell you all about it. The first thing I did was add some edits to the intro. At first it was too long because the group had filmed some extra shots on another day and added it into the film. I liked the new scenes, but some establishing shots were too long. So, I played those parts through, and when I wanted to cut the clip short, I would split the footage at that point. This allowed me to delete the extra footage that I didn’t want to include.      With that fixed, I moved on to finding a filter that would match the intro. For the film, we have high intensity, gloomy music playing in the intro to create a humerus contrast with the happiness of the radio playing and actor dancing that comes later. It creates this shock for the audience because from the intro you would think something sinister is going to happen, but then you see this happy setting of a man cooking dinner for his...

    Hey guys! Time to fill you in on the next part of the editing process. I was in charge of most of the final edits that needed to be added to the film. The first thing I did was fix the speed of some parts of the film. For example, for the portion where the character first started getting flashbacks, I wanted to add some effects to make the footage seem distorted. This would help emphasize the idea that there was something wrong with the character's reality. To do this, I first edited the portion of the footage where there was a dutch angle. What I did was slow down that footage, and then I played around with some extra effects. I thought I had found the perfect effect, where the colors of the video blurred together, but then I realized I could not use it because it was only available to CapCut subscribers. So, I instead used a filter called "edge glow," which still gave the scene that warped aesthetic.      The next thing I did was use a fade out filter at d...

     Hey guys! So after finishing the first round of edits for the film, I decided to get some outside opinions. I showed my mother and father the film and asked them to give me their honest feedback. Since my gorupmates and I have been working on this film from the beginning and are so familiar with it, it's hard for us to be unbiased. Personally, I feel like I've essentially become numb to the film as I've seen it over and over again. Not to say that I think the film is boring in any way! I just feel that it is hard for any one of us to really provide a valuable analysis of the film at this point in the production process.      It never hurts to have a fresh set of eyes, so I showed my parents the film. They first started with giving me the positive feedback. They said they really liked the clear storyline, the plot twist at the end, and they thought that the overall filming was well done. However, they did point out that the lighting in the hospital scen...

    Hey guys! I'm here to give some updates on what's happened recently. After filming all of the scenes for the film, I ran into some troubles. First, I struggled to upload the iPhone videos to my laptop to begin the editing process. I first tried to send myself the videos so that I could access them from my computer and transfer them into my editing software. However, when I opened up all of the footage on my laptop, it seemed like the videos' quality were reduced. I tried resending myself the videos through email but that didn't help much. I even tried to export the videos in higher quality, but no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work. I couldn't leave the footage in that state, so I did some research.     I found that this issue can occur when transferring footage of certain length, and there were a few other factors that were contributing to the problem. So, I followed the advice of some online articles and decided to upload the videos into my iCloud fro...

    Hey  everyone! It's the moment we've all been waiting for, the filming finale! In this blog I'm going to tell you everything I did to film the final car scene. The first thing I had to do was research! My vision for this scene was to film a car crash that shows why the character was in a coma in the first place. However, there were some obvious limitations to this plan. This included the fact that I didn't exactly have the money, equipment, or knowledge to safely execute a real car scene. Since this scene is so vital for the plot of the film, I knew I needed a way to overcome these obstacles.      I started with some basic research on google. I was able to find YouTube videos showing how to create a car crash scene with no damage! I learned that I can actually create a car crash scene with some simple editing techniques. All I had to do was experiment with some craft angles!     So, when my group met next, I knew what I needed to do. I planned...

    Hey guys! I'm back to update you all on the rest of the filming for that first day. I had to finish filming all of the scenes during that filming session, all except for the car scene. That scene will come later. I started off with filming a dutch angle that showcases the confusion of the character. I actually found this to be a bit challenging because whenever I tried to rotate the camera, the shot came out shaky. After a few trials, I came up with a solution. I decided to use the tripod I had brought with me, and since the part that attaches to the camera rotates, I was able to get a clear shot.      Next, I had to film a few medium shots, close ups, and an extreme close up. I had to get some medium shots of the two actors, and of the plant and tv props. Next, I needed to get an extreme close-up of the actor. After a few takes of us laughing, I was able to get the perfect extreme-close up shot. I directed the actor to look confused, and then rub his eyes, ...

      Hey guys! Today I'm here to update you all on the first day of filming. The day started when all of my group mates met up at the designated filming location. I made sure to bring all the props I had from home, and I remind any of my group mates who had a prop to bring theirs as well. I was the person who filmed the entire movie, while the my other teammates acted in it.      I first started with setting up the kitchen for the first scene. I placed the radio and remote on the counter, and arranged the cooking utensils and cutting board. I then set up the camera so that it could capture the actor from the waist up (medium shot). Once I showed the actor where to stand, I started filming the first shot where the actor is seen dancing to music while holding a spatula.      For the next shot, I wanted to get an arial shot of the actor cooking. To do this, I stood up on a chair in front of the table and filmed overhead while the actor cho...

    Hey everyone, time for an update! After getting all of the props for the film, I then moved on to my next task. I had to email different institutions to see if one of them had a medical centre we could film in. This was for one of the later scenes in the film, where the character wakes up and finds himself in a hospital bed. Since I wanted this scene to look as realistic as possible, I wanted to film it in a real hospital bed. The problem is, where can I find that?      I started by researching some nearby universities, thinking that their medical schools may have an area we could use. I first looked up Nova Southeastern University's med school and visited their website. At first I struggled to find a way to contact them without having to schedule an appointment first. However, after some searching, I was able to find an email for the dean of the school. I reached out to her asking if there was any way she would let us film at the school for a student projec...

      Hey everyone! Last time I told you all about my process to finding the best props. Of all the props I needed, I was able to obtain most of them for free. This is because I either had the props at home, or I borrowed from friends and family. For the remaining props, I had to shop around.      The first item I went looking for was fake blood for the car crash scene. I first checked Michaels, because I figured they would have it since they were an arts and crafts store. However, when I got there, they were out of stock! I looked online to find another store that would sell fake blood, and luckily, a Target near me had it. I made sure to check it was in stock before I headed over, and thankfully they did. I was able to find small bottles that were cheaply priced and bought 2 just in case we had to redo the scene for any reason.      The next thing on my list was clear tubes. This prop would be for the scene showing that the main character w...

       Hey guys! In preparation for filming, I first started by obtaining the props for my group. The first step was to make a list of everything I could possibly need. I figured this out by going back through our storyboard to see what I would need to get for each scene. I concluded that I needed a radio, candles, cooking utensils, flower petals, a clock, a banana, a phone, a TV and remote, a potted plant, medical tubes,  an alarm clock, fake blood, and an empty beer bottle. It's a lot of props!     However, to save  money, I am going to try to buy as few props as possible, and instead utilize a lot of items that I already have free access too. For example, the airbnb that we will be filming at will already have a TV and remote, so I will not need to bring that separately. For the radio, I already own one that also displays the time, so I will use that one item to act as both the radio and the clock that multiple scenes need. Similarly, I have ca...

 Hey guys! My group just finished a very important step in the planning process. We created a stoyboard for our film, and it's available down below. Hope you like it! Finalized Ten Page Storyboard AICE Media .pptx from YasminHarebin

   Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! The last time you read I was researching for my short film. My group and I were doing things like comparing short films to its feature film version, looking at conventions of short films in our genre we chose (mystery), and etc. Now that my group and I have done the research it’s finally the time to start planning for our short film. So, in this blog, I wanted to talk to you guys about the ideas our group came up with when it comes to the scheduling, location, backup plans, and etc, for our film! Schedule So, for the schedule of our movie, we want to have it completely done and submitted by March 13th. By, this date we will have all of our marketing, editing, and filming done. So, our group decided to start filming around mid February. By filming in mid February, this will allow our group leniency. For example, if we forget to film a certain aspect of the movie, by having a month left, it will allow us to go back and refilm. Not only th...

     Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!. I am continuing to research short films and their conventions. I am reviewing short films that follow my genre to learn about conventions I would need to use for my short film. As the genre I am using is mystery, I am going to be watching mystery short films. In this blog I am going to research the mystery short film, “Buried Treasure”. I was able to find this short film option on YouTube.       When the film opens, the music is the first thing once again that I notice. This music is different though from the last movie I reviewed. The difference was that this music got louder progressively as the opening of the short film continued. The lighting is the same though. I notice the dark lighting. The dark lighting creates a very deep shadow and puts spotlights on certain aspects. This goes back to the point convention I’ve noticed in mystery films which is having the audience very focused on the little det...

     Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! In this blog, I am going to look at the mystery short film titled, “The Last Note”. I will be researching by looking at the conventions of the mystery genre across this short mystery movie to maybe help me use those conventions in my short film.       So, let’s begin! Immediately when the movie begins the first thing I notice is the music used. The music used in this film was very dark and suspenseful and it stayed at a constant speed the entire time. I also noticed the lighting as well. The lighting was very dark, and it looked like a filter was applied in the editing process. I see that the music is playing through the whole beginning portion of the movie. I see lots of different camera editing done. I see lots of cross cutting between scenes as the talking is happening like when there is a flashback. I notice that when it does cross cutting to those flashbacks the lighting is even more dark than thro...

     The next film I decided to look at was The Vision. The film starts off with very dark lighting, much darker than the previous film I viewed. The warm saturation in combination with lighting adds a suspenseful feeling that is very typical of mystery films. The close ups of different objects in the room builds anticipation for the viewer. It makes me sit on the edge of my seat to see where the story will go. Just like the other film, The Vision utilizes closer shots to develop the mystery of plot. Another big mystery aspect that is found in this film is its use of sound. Early on, there is a combination of ambient sounds and eerie music that combine to further keep me on my toes. In fact, the lighting sounds even caught me off guard and slightly frightened me.      After being introduced to the first setting, a bedroom, and seemingly the main protagonist, the use of dialogue and props furthers the uncanny yet curious feeling in the viewer. The distresse...

     Hey everyone! The next step in our researching process is researching actual short films. Specifically, we are looking at short films in the genre we chose mystery. The first film I decided to look at was Whittling Away by True Intent. In this film, there is an interesting use of camera angles and movements, as well as Mis-En-Scene. The first thing that really stood out to me was the use of sound. The film starts out with calming ambient noise of a forest. This added a very calming and relaxing atmosphere to the film. Some lighthearted relaxing lo-fi music teens begins to play, which furthers that tranquility in the film. Then, as the young girl reveals she’s holding a knife, the noise abruptly stops. The abruptness is shocking and reveals the the viewer that this scene may not be as peaceful as it seems. This is a common trope in mystery films to trick the viewer into believing everything is normal.       Transitioning to the next scene, the set...

       Hey everyone! The next part of our research was to figure out how we even make a short film. This was our first time ever making one before, and we wanted to do as much research beforehand as possible to make sure we can create an amazing product. We first learned about the writing process, and the most important thing we learned is the value of practicality. By this I mean that when we’re writing our script we need to always keep in mind our limitations. For example, we know that we have very limited equipment for filming, being that we are highschoolers, and thus, we shouldn’t be writing a script that includes things like aerial shots or explosions. By keeping this in mind from the start, we can make sure that what we plan to film will look well-thought out, put together, and professional. Essentially, the big takeaway is for us to not bite off more than we can chew!      Another important thing we learned in regards to writing is to never go ...

     Hey guys! After watching 9, our group decided to compare the short film Le Jeter and the full-length movie 12 Monkeys. This helped a lot in developing our understanding of the two types of films, and our findings are down below.  Part 1- A Comparison The concept of these two stories and how they’re similar yet different really interests me. Le Jetee is vastly different from the types of films we see today, and vastly different in style from the 12 Monkeys. It was the first in a series of photo novels that would eventually give way to stop motion movies. The images in this ominous, psychological thriller were all in black and white. However, it was still able to tell a coherent story, which is quite a feat. One reason this film was still so intriguing to watch, despite its unique style, is the types of camera shots and editing techniques that were used within the film. Another aspect that allowed this film to be so popular was the soundtrack of the movie. The cre...