Editing Part 1- Lets Finish This Damn Thing!

 Editing Part 1

Welcome back vlog to this new series of ...

Let's Finish This Damn Thing!

In this series I will hope to Finish This Damn Thing. This is the final stage of finishing the film opening, so I am ready to reach the end of the journey! I have started to use Adobe Premiere Pro because of the help of my friend Male. Male and I hung out the day before I left to Manhattan because I was a bit worried about how I would use Adobe if I didn't have too much experience with it, at least using it for the purposes I intended. So, we hung out and she explained several things from how to operate Adobe and apply shortcuts to how to color grade.

Here is a picture of a notes collection I made while she was explaining information:

With this information, I began to edit in Adobe Premiere Pro! As of now, I have started to edit the dialogue, not going straight into setting/NYC montage because I want to see  how much time the dialogue portion takes up so I can decide how long to make the montage. Here are a few of the clips I am using for the dialogue sequence:

                                                                         Problem: 

One problem that I ran into was that in some takes of the actors, they did some adlib so whenever I tried to mix some clips or get continuous shots from different angles, it would be hard to make it look smooth or like one take because there would be different dialogue in each take. I am working around this by choosing cuts that look the most similar.

Moving forward:

Moving forward I will continue to edit and keep finishing up on layering sounds and cutting up the clips accordingly!

Editing Sound-Updated!!

 NEXT DAY.... THINGS HAVE CHANGED:

Hello! It is the next day and I am not dismissing all I said above because it was my entire reality as of yesterday! I really thought that I was going to go with the film noir jazz music and use that for my montage. But, I didn't finish writing my blog yesterday and I kept looking for songs (just in case there were any better ones out there). I did like the jazzy type of song but I also had another vision for the intro montage, one that would have it a little more mysterious. I remembered what my original vision was for the montage, and it hit me that it correlated to the Joker bathroom dance scene music. So, I searched with what instrument that was played with so that I could search up a replica, no copyright-inspired version.

This information from www.classicfm.com (2019) was given (article link):

Halldorophone

In the bathroom scene, Guðnadóttir plays a Halldorophone, an electro-acoustic cello that has, alongside the four traditional strings, a set of resonating strings that are mic'd and fed into a speaker.

So, I searched up "dark cello/halldorophone music no copyright" and clicked ENTER and found the perfect song...

Joker bathroom reference:

Song I chose :

Not only was this song suspenseful and mysterious, but it had accents of some similar aspects of the one used in the movie above. So now that I have chosen my song, I am going to start the editing process and will work on adjusting the clips to the song. I am someone who loves to use music with pacing of editing and cutting of a shot on a certain beat so this part will be fun to do 😁

Editing- Sound

 Sound/Music in Editing

Hello blog it has been a while. I have been in NYC for the past few days and it has been so fun walking around this glamorized but monumental city! 

I came for vacation but I have also been filming extensively because this is the home (setting) of my film opening!

I have already filmed all my shots and I have now begun the editing process! I have started to edit sequentially now that I have the Manhattan clips for my "establishing setting/tone montage". But, what I had to get first was the royalty-free music I would use for my montage. So, I went online and looked at various royalty-free music websites:

Purple Planet (link)

Fesliyanstudios (link)

Bensound (link)

Two of these sources (Ben Sound and Purple Planet) I got from my notes of when my teacher had recommended some royalty-free music resources. But the other one (fesliyanstudios) I got from my friend Male. Male came over to my house the day before I left to NYC to explain some questions I had regarding Adobe and color grading, which I will write about in my upcoming blogs. But, I looked around on all these sites, especially in the "dark/detective/suspenseful" columns of music, and I found a particular new genre or column of music that I hadn't been aware of, film noir jazz or film noir music.

I had heard of this genre of movies before, only having a narrow overview of the genre conventions, so I decided to do a little more research on this genre:

Film Noir:

"Film noir, style of filmmaking characterized by such elements as cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy. The genre was prevalent mostly in American crime dramas of the post-World War II era."

This quote from Britannica was one that was used to describe this genre. After reading the whole article of information (article link attached), I learned that there is still a "film noir controversy" regarding the exact title of the category. People don't know whether to label it as a genre or subgenre, or whether the name is just to associate a film with specific stylistic elements. But, this "genre" is most associated with crime dramas, and some western and comedies. Some of its genre conventions include pessimism, black and white, and a hero vs. villain theme.

Some of the music in these films is a "film noir jazz", or at least this genre of music is present. On the website my friend recommended me, I found a song that would help establish my eerie and suspenseful mood in this genre called "Alley Thoughts."

This song is suitable for the NYC montage because I correlate jazz to NYC and also it has elements of suspense and mystery because it goes with the film noir genre.

Moving forward, I am going to continue editing and start compilating my sequences together!

Filming Process: Filming Action #3

Filming Process:

Hello! Welcome back to my series of....

Filming Action!!

In this blog I am going to be showing the actual filming events that took place on 3/17/24. 

Pre-Production:

Although all this work and the blogs that I've been making have been dedicated to pre-production, I want to focus on the pre-production props and planning I did a couple of days before the actual shoot:

For the props I had planned to have and were included in parts of my storyboard, I had a vision of how I wanted them to look that was accessible for me to create. For example, for my detective board that would be drawn all over and have pictures of evidence on it, I needed to create the pictures of evidence. My vision was that as the detective was pointing to the evidence, an insert would appear of an actual clip going to what was in the picture. So, the night before I quickly set up a black blanket in the garage as a backdrop with a stool and the "piece of evidence" on the stool. I did this for three objects (that supposedly the kidnapper left behind on purpose) and not only took a video of them that would be used for the insert, but also took a picture so I could then print out and use on the detective board.

Here are the three pictures:

Here was a picture of how the board turned out and how the pictures fit onto the board:

I also had to get the folder and desk props ready. These were folders, papers, and files that would be placed on the desk to reinforce and build a chaotic and stressful tone with the messy environment. My dad also went to pick up coffee and facturas (argentinian pasteries) at Grazianos and Starbucks, which I also included on the desk even though this was a spontaneous and unplanned addition of props, but it worked! The actors even wrote their character's names on the cups to give context of who's coffee was whos. Below are pictures of some of the props brought and how they looked on the desk:

 

Production:

So for actually filming the film opening, I had to first play around with the equipment to see how it fully worked. This is something that being frank I should've played with and tested before because if I had done so, then I wouldn't have run into a problem I am going to discuss later. But anyhow, I brought the equipment, including a boom stick, stabilizer, and tripod, and then began filming! Below is 

While filming, I noticed that something that helped me with remembering what type of shot I wanted to do following a certain line, or what type of movement I wanted the character to do on a certain line was writing certain key phrases on the script. I did have the storyboard with me, but I think going back and forth between the storyboard and script was something that was becoming time-consuming and was honestly just messing my pace up. So, I annotated  my script and wrote directions on where I wanted my character to move or what I would do with the camera next to the line I wanted these certain actions to go on:

Post-production problem:

A problem I noticed after filming and watching the clips back was that some of the shots that I took with the stabilizer were a bit shaky. I think that I definitely could've used the tripod for more shots instead of doing it hand-held with the stabilizer, especially for shots where the camera isn't moving. I think if I had played around with the equipment more I would've realized this which is REALLY FRUSTRATING, but I think I may have a solution. I talked to my friend Male and she said that there is an application that could  help me make the clip more smooth and stable 🙏🙏 I am a perfectionist so that is really bothering me, but in my upcoming blogs that is something I am going to be discussing and working on. 

Extra picture of me filming with the stabilizer and my friend holding the boom stick 😜:

Mise-En-Scene: Filming Action #2

 Costume Design for Filming!

Back to my filming series, Filming Action, and with a new blog post on…. COSTUME DESIGN.

Research:

For costume design, I had already done some research in my previous blog about genre conventions on what I wanted my character to look like and some details I wanted to incorporate regarding costume design:

I already had ideas before on costume design so when finalizing my costume design visions I didn’t need to do much research. Here were my ideas for each character:

Detective David Rivera:

• Blue polo
• darker grey/blue tie
• black cackys
• black dress shoes
• thin-framed glasses
• -Casting: My dad, Luis Di Lauro

To the right is how the costume design turned out. It is very similar 

to my vision, even though I would've liked grey cackys more, it still

looks good. 

Why I chose these options:

• I chose Rivera's lighter blue shirt because I wanted the color to help represent him as a loyal and peaceful person, his main goal throughout the film opening was to, yes solve the case, but it was to make Parker feel less stressed. So the lighter shade of blue helps represent him as a soothing figure who wants to create content for those around him. I wanted him to wear the glasses because David has a psychology background and is a very meticulous person in the way he analyses not only evidence but the world, so I thought the glasses would be a nice touch to reinforce that characteristic. The rest of the attire is typical detective attire in which I chose to give contextual evidence.

                                                                            

Detective Smith Jones:

• White polo
• Dark tie (dark blue)
• Black cackys 
• Black shoes
• Satchel bag (costume prop)

Why I chose these options:

I chose the white polo (the only differentiating color from the other two detectives) to symbolize how Detective Smith Jones wants to appear to his coworkers. Smith wants to appear as innocent as possible, and wearing a vibrant white polo is a clear and open way to represent him as "innocent", his yearning facade. I also added a dark tie to have some of his true identity or "evil" sneak into his costume design. As for the satchel, this is more of a prop but it does have to do with costume design since he is going to be wearing it in the beginning. I wanted to not only give some contextual details and additional movement to Smith (the fact that he was entering the room and having a bag and setting it down would make sense), but I wanted to add an extra detail that differed from the other characters that would omit a mischievous and mysterious vibe, and I think a stereotypical dark satchel is a good choice.

Detective Parker Harris:

• Blue polo
• Black cackys
• Black shoes
• Glasses
• Clothing props: tie and blazer

Why I chose these options:

I gave Parker a blue polo, but it is not as light as Detective Rivera's. I made his polo also blue because Rivera and Harris are on the same page about getting the case solved, but I also wanted to symbolize characteristics like Harris being responsible and trustworthy. I wanted Harris to not have a tie on and for his shirt to be a little unbuttoned because I wanted to make it seem like Harris wasn't as focused on appearing well or that he hadn't had enough time to get fully ready because he had been locked into solving the case. A small detail that I incorporated to reinforce Harris's state of obsession and persistence with this case was adding his blazer and tie messily onto the back of his chair, I hoped that this would show that he had been in the office working for a while. 

Review: For my next blog, I am going to discuss the filming process and some problems and some accomplishments that I faced while and after filming. For now, I am working on finding copy right free sounds for my film opening intro!

Equipment- Filming Action #1

 Filming Equipment

Hellooooo whats up, I know you can't respond but here I am talking to you! But not just talking to you, initiating this week with my mini blog series: Filming Action

This blog series is only going to last for this week 😬😬!!! I did end up filming yesterday. It was really fun, exhausting, but a really cool experience. This series is going to go through how I filmed on Sunday, what I used to film, and what assisted me in making the filming easier.

Research:

After realizing from early last week that I needed specific equipment to capture the shots I wanted, I directly went to my friend Male for help. Male is in CBTV, our school's TV program so she has way more hands-on experience with certain equipment than I do, and would help me identify what equipment is necessary for what shot.

So, I talked to her! First I asked her at school what she recommends for whip pan and she told me just a regular tripod with the handle. Then I asked her about what would be best for hand held shots, and what equipment would make the shots more steady. She had mentioned something about a stabilizer but I forgot the exact name she gave it, so I texted her later:

Perfectttt. Then , I asked her about a place that she had also previously mentioned to me called Becon (Broward Educational Communications Network). She elaborated on it and told me that Becon is where most CBTV students rent out equipment if they can't get it from CBTV and that it would be a lease for about a week, FOR FREE! I thought this was insane and such a good opportunity. So, I contacted Jim (the man at Becon that does EVERYTHING its crazy) and my sister, my dad and I all headed over there! I did need some help with the directions because the location is a bit secluded! (Below Male's texts helping me 😌 and above that is the outside of the building.)

Once arriving, Jim met us and gave us the equipment! I ended up getting a tripod with a handle, a boomstick with a microphone, and a stabilizer. Below:

Jim showed us how to use the equipment and also ended up giving us a tour of the place which was really cool:

Finishing up:

I picked up the equipment last week Tuesday before heading off to my drama trip so I could have it when I got back to film on Sunday. One problem I did encounter was that I didn’t have anyone to do my sound, but in the next few blogs I will go into detail on how the filming process went. For now, I am also just downloading all the videos and revising them🙌🙌

Storyboard

 Storyboard

Hello! I am back and ready to storyboard! I've learned throughout the year the beneficial impacts of this process and I now honestly understand why this is such an important tool in film making. 

Research:

Although I already know what a storyboard is, a visual representation of sequential and specific shots, I was reading an article (link here) on storyboards and found this:

This statement opened my eyes to a problem I had been attempting to confront. When visualizing some shots I knew I wanted in my opening, I wanted a whip-pan shot and a smooth tracking shot. I then realized that storyboarding those shots and visualizations brought me to notice that I need the right equipment for the job! Here is the storyboard below:

I made the storyboard! And even though I have this planned outline, I definitely want to also get some extra shots if I visualize a cool angle or shot type with the scene👍

For the next week, I am going to further discuss the equipment situation and all things revolving filming! Tomorrow I am going to film the majority of my film opening so I am so excited!!

Script

 Script

So... FINALLY it is happening.... I wrote my script. I have been away on a drama competition in Tampa but I have made time in the hotel and train to accomplish my long-awaited goal of writing my film opening script.

How to write a script:

So before writing the script, I had to relearn and remember the formatting of a script. The first thing I did was look at the notes I took in class a couple weeks previous on script writing:

These notes expand on the full process of writing and developing a script and story, examining the brainstorming, outline, screenplay, and revision phases. One thing that I had been trying to achieve since first deciding on my film opening's story was a "full movie" concept. This was part of the outlining stage and basically would allow for more clarity and direction for my opening. So having made several drafts of a full movie outline, I finally decided on one. Below is a picture of one of my full movie breakdowns:

 In this breakdown, I explain a brief overview of the whole movie plot, which is: A group of three detectives are on the last day of their kidnapping case before it gets taken away from them by their sergeant and replaced by another case. It is August 2023 and the kidnappings started happening in different places in Manhattan, New York, starting from July 17 and continuing on every 2 weeks after. Now, it has almost been two months and barely any information has been found on the suspect. One of the most sophisticated detectives, Detective Parker Harris, of the team is on this case and won't back down until the kidnapper has been found. He works with the analytical Detective David Rivera and the notorious Detective Smith Jones (son of the police head). The three all meet up on August 28, 2023 (film opening starts) and have till the end of the day to solve the case before the kidnapper attacks again (it is the 2 week mark) and until the case is taken away from them. They end up not solving it due to Detective Smith Jones attitude and due to the kidnapper not attacking that day, leading them to less evidence to work with. They must turn in the case and start working on new appointed cases, but Detectives Harris and Rivera continue to secretly work on the kidnapping case as the kidnappings start. Detective Smith Jones steadily starts showing up to work less and less, raising suspicion for Harris and Rivera. They start to look into Jones as a suspect, befriending him as a closer pal and going around to learn more about Jones and his background. At the end, Harris and Rivera find out Jones has been the kidnapper/murderer all along (Harris finds out Jones's connections were the ones that kidnapped his daughter).

Character analysis:

For a script, knowing and building intentions behind your character's dialogue is significant to creating realistic and personalized characters. For example, in the beginning I didn't know what I wanted my character's to look like (characteristically), so even less what I wanted them to say. So, I created a character background breakdown that describes important attributes that describe my characters:

Detective Parker Harris:

• very dedicated and driven
• goal-oriented individual
• Anxious day-to-day
• Used to have 11-year-old daughter but she got kidnapped (explains his yearning to save these girls, wants to save his girl subconsciously, doesn't want to let people down, disappoint)
• Is in line to be next seargant

Detective David Rivera:

• Has background in psychology
• Very analytical
• Non-problematic
• Quick and effective planning and problem-solving
• Tries to promote and sustain peace between people!!

Detective Smith Jones:

• More laid back and relax
• Since his "detective legacy" (dad is astound and glorified police man, as well as grandfather, they own department) he has it easier, didn't have to go through initiation process
• Had complicated childhood with parents ( they didn’t love brother and put him in foster care and they liked him but he always tried to be the best subconsciously for their love he was fearful they wouldn’t love him) -affected him now- he is the killer! explained ⬇️ 
• So he ends up being the kidnapper they were trying to find the whole time, shows and makes sense for the beginning how he kept asking questions instead of making plain statements, he acts not interested and dismissive because he doesn’t want the other detectives getting too close or suspicious.

Intention^^

Script!!

So, with all this character analysis and story plot in mind, I ended up creating this script:

Moving on:

For my next few things, I am going to complete my storyboard and focus on my costume design ideas for the actors! 

Creative Critical Reflection

CCR NOTES DAY

    Hey blog. What's up! Are you ready cause I am ready for this week! Yeah for sure... I have to write my script by the end of the day and I will but I just UGHHH. You know what, it is fun it doesn't have to be perfect! It’s a minute and a half tops we are good. 

Okay I just needed to get that out there.

Anyways! I am back, it is a new Tuesday and today we had a classroom discussion about the CCR part of our project! I am actually excited to come up with creative ways to answer the prompted questions, especially after seeing some of the examples. Here are some of the notes that I took in my class:

In my notes, we broke down what the CCR does and what/ how questions needs to be answered:

The CCR is a reflection and revision of my overall project. Cambridge gives you prompted questions that you must answer in a “creative” manner, for example making a 

director’s commentary or a vogue-inspired video as a template to answer the question. 

One idea that I think would be super fun would be to do like a 73 question video like Vogue but to get some friends to be like the people interrupting in the OG videos, here are some more engaging interview style videos to draw inspiration from:

Link to 73 question video (above)

Link to video above

W Magazine

Thoughts:

While listening to the presentation and taking down notes, a reiterated statement was "DO NOT MAKE YOUR WHOLE CCR A TALKING HEAD" which I thought was pretty valid.

We watched examples, some of them with too much screen time on the person just sitting there talking, and some with more movement and inserts of important information. While I probably will do one of the 2 CCRs with a more structured outline and down to facts feel, I want to start thinking about fun ways to provide information, but also engage the viewer. I really want to try to take a well-known bit and transform it into an aspect of one of my CCRs. 

To Be Continued:

While right now I am more focused on completing my film opening part of the project, I will keep the CCR in the back of mind (since it is 20/50 of the grade points), thinking about different eccentric ways to compel my information. One I am thinking about as a starting point is having one of my main actors from the film ask me questions in the city the film was shot! This could be my more structured video since it doesn't have too much going on, but it won't only involve me in my room talking to my camera alone. I am planning to film the CCRs (at least one of them) during spring break and in NYC. Also because I am in New York, I want to try to utilize this location and incorporate it into my CCR to make it more varied compared to other's CCRs.

 Set Design

Helloooo... so I found the place where I will be filming! I had been looking at a library that is near me to film at but, it wasn't going to be open the day I planned to film and I also learned that my dad knew of another office area that honestly has more to work with. 

Research:

But first..... WHY IS A SET DESIGN IMPORTANT?

Set design is important because it can quickly establish a tone for a film. The set of a movie isn't only fundamental in establishing context to where one is, but also it innately allows the audience to understand the actions and emotional lives of the characters in the story. The set offers nonverbal information about where a character surrounds themselves, which can then be understood as how a character views their surroundings, offering more insight into the character.

For example, if I place someone in a castle versus placing someone in a vet's office, those two places say such different stories and backgrounds that give us insight into a character's world. Also, these sets can create different tones for the specific story and can assist locate a story's theme.

So... what will my set be?

So, I asked my dad about his friend's work place and he told me that she works at an office that holds different offices because people can rent them out to use, how more PERFECT can this be??

So, we take a trip down and end up at my dad's friend's office area!

So... I walk in AND! I really like it! But it is just NOT what I am expecting, honestly I didn't know if it was better or if it was kind of worse that I wasn't expecting it.

I really liked it, the only thing was that it was way more modern and colorful and planty-hippie vibe than I expected. So this was going to be a problem... here are some pictures:

As I kept looking around, I realized that this office definitely has potential and that I could change my storyline up a bit to accustom this set design. Originally, I wanted to make the story be based in the early 2000's or maybe 2010's, but now, I think I am going to base my storyline in 2023 and make my set be a modernized, detective's office. I think that if I make my story around a modern, expensive NYC detective's office or bureau than this will definitely fit and make sense.

Now, I don't think I am going to use the whole entire office, but I do think I want to use two central locations, one of the bigger meeting rooms and a smaller open desk area. I am thinking of using this:

as my main room (has a whiteboard on the side wall)

and then go through this:

hallway to meet up at this area:

Moving forward:

I really liked the set and the office and I think that with the props and the papers all over all the desks, it reinforces the messy and chaotic tone that I want within the office. I will continue to work on my script and storyboard, making sure that MAXIMUM (for real this time) it gets done by Tuesday.