Links to Film Opening and CCR Videos

Below is the links to my two CCR videos and the link to my film opening.

 AIRBALL Film Opening

CCR #1

CCR #2

Final Reflection

 I have officially finished the project and all the steps that come along with it, The final step of this process is to submit these last two blog posts. Over the last few months I have learned a lot about the production process and myself as well as a student.

During the first few weeks I recall the hardships we faced trying to come up with a good idea for our project that would stick out from the others. Every idea that we bounced off one another didn't quite stick, until the idea for Air Ball appeared. Once it was brought up everyones eyes lit up and we immediately started thinking of ways to expand on this idea and really make it the way we wanted it to be. One of the key elements we kept having ideas for on how to improve the idea was comedic aspects. This leads into part of the reason I truly enjoyed this journey with my group members.

My group for this project was all of my friends so we already had relationships and didn't have an awkward phase and were already comfortable expressing our ideas to each other. This helped in progressing the quality of the film, but also made for lots of great funny moments. In our planning stage many of the ideas thrown around were wild and outlandish, but that made them even more funny. The production of the film itself had to be the best part in my opinion. During the production of the different scenes over multiple days, there were many cuts due to us not being able to hold in our laughter from anything from the dialogue, to the actions, this experience is one that I deeply enjoyed.

Apart from all the jokes and fun times though, we were very on schedule with our plan and the schedule that we set for ourselves was one that we stuck to for the duration of the project. This was one of the key factors for our project having the quality that it does as none of it was saved until the last minute due to procrastination.

All in all, this was one of my favorite projects of the year and I am proud to be submitting what my group and I have created.

CCR Post Production

 The editing portion of my CCR videos proved to be not nearly as challenging as the actual movie opening was. The majority of the editing process included weeding through the bad clips, putting the clips in order, and then cutting them down to make the shots transition smoothly. I edited these on my phone as it didn't require an advanced software to complete the task.

CCR Production

 Creating my two different videos for my CCR was a very fun process that allowed for lots of creativity and ingenuity to result with a product that I was satisfied with.

For the video relating to questions 1 and 2 my friend Federico was kind enough to help me out and be my host on this show. Originally in the script we had planned for the foods that I was to eat was a pickle and a carrot, as I don't like those foods, but I forgot to grab the carrots at the store and was trying to figure out how to solve this problem. As I was scouring through my kitchen, my brother gave me this candy he had gotten from one of his teachers. On the label it looked foreign and had an odd looking flavor that I couldn't understand as it was in a different language. We all assumed it was avocado flavored and couldn't be too bad. When we shot that scene we all had no clue what was it would taste like. As I ate the hard candy I bit into it, and that is when the flavors hit my mouth and I had to rush to the bathroom. That candy was definitely not for me and that reaction in the video is my real reaction to its taste. In the end it made for a good video so it was all worth it.

For the video relating to questions 3 and 4 I wanted to do a street interview type of video like the ones seen on social media, but I though the idea of filming on the glasses would be a nice unique touch that could separate it from the others. At first I was hesitant and a little bit anxious as I wasn't sure how good the quality of the audio would come out especially with other elements contributing to the soundscape such as wind, other people, cars, and the usual bustle of a city center. This turned out to not be a problem at all and the quality of not only the audio but also the visual elements from the glasses camera impressed me. I had my friend Nico be the filmer and he was the one wearing the glasses. during shooting. This was a lot of fun to film as it was in public with lots of people watching us which made it awkward but funny at the same time.

Overall the production of these two videos for the CCR portion of this project was a very nice addition to the project that allowed me to think deeper about the decisions I made throughout this project in relation to several different aspects.

CCR #4

 Questions 3 and 4 will be included in this video. this street interview will provide a unique way to portray the interviewee in a way unlike others.

The two main points we will be trying to get across in this video is:

• How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
• How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

The following is the script for answering questions 3 and 4:

SCRIPT FOR CCR 3&4

Interviewer: Excuse me Mr. Taylor could I have a minute of your time? My name is Charles Hartfield and I go around doing impromptu street interviews with the biggest names in the film industry and I was wondering if you'd like to answer a few questions relating to your highly anticipated film, Airball?

Wyatt: Yes, of course, I'd be happy to, but I must ask, where is your camera?

Interviewer: Thank you so much, it is actually a part of my glasses, these glasses allow me to take videos and record audio just like any other camera.

Wyatt: Oh, wow I have never seen anything like it before, this is the most unique interview I think I've ever been on!

Interviewer: That's good to hear, ok for the first question, how did you add on to your already stunning production skills during the course of the production of the film?

Wyatt: This film in particular really opened my eyes to crafting the different perspectives of the several characters through the different types of shots and angles that we used in the film. I had been paying closer attention to this than in the past and I believe that really is where we exceeded all of our expectations in terms of the final product of the film.

Interviewer: That is great to hear! As I was watching the film opening I really connected with J.D and I can't wait for the full film to be released so I can watch how the movie plays out.

Wyatt: Well I hope you enjoy it.

Interviewer: I myself am an avid user of technology as you can tell by the glasses, but I was wondering how you integrated technologies such as online, software, and even hardware into this film and its opening?

Wyatt: One example of the use of technology in our film opening comes from the scene where J.D puts the headphones on and listens to music as he is benching in the gym. This scene utilized a combination of hardware being the headphones, and online resources being the music that is playing for the audience, to immersify the audience within the film opening and get them hooked and excited to watch the full film on its release.

Interviewer: That was one of my favorite scenes from the film opening after all, thank you so much for your time I hope you have a great rest of your day!

Wyatt: Thank you, I enjoyed this interview have a good one!

CCR #3

 The second video that I will be doing for my CCR posts will be a street style interview with a fan and myself. These interviews are often shown on short-form content platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram, or even Youtube Shorts. 

Videos such as these tend to go viral and millions of people love to watch these for hours on end. One of the main reasons of this is the human aspect of these unplanned and sudden interviews which can show the true side of someone, especially when they are just being themselves at a given location.

I liked this idea, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it my own and add my own touch onto it, until I remembered I own a pair of the Ray Bans Meta glasses. These glasses have a built in camera that allows you to do many things such as take pictures, record videos, listen to music, and even ask meta AI anything.

This way of recording the interview will add a touch of creativity and will seperate our interview from the others on the internet. This angle of recording records at a POV shot which will allow the audience to feel like they are in the conversation and can feel more connected to the video. 

This video will be used to answer questions 3 and 4 of the CCR.

CCR #2

 The first two questions of the CCR postings will be included in one video. This podcast-inspired video with some twists will be a good way to get the point across and answer the questions asked with a unique element to it. 

The two main points we will trying to get across in this video is:

• How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
• How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

The following is the script for the video answering questions 1 and 2:

SCRIPT FOR CCR 1&2

Host: Hello and welcome back to the word OR mouth podcast, a show where our guests either answer our questions, or are forced to eat one of their least favorite foods.

Host: I'm Jared McGee and today on our show we are bringing on the world famous actor and director Wyatt Taylor. Welcome to the show today Wyatt

Wyatt: Thank you for having me on! I am a loyal fan of this show and I am excited to hopefully not have to eat so much let's just say "not tasty" foods.

Host: Well we will see what happens but I heard you are quite the picky eater is that correct?

Wyatt: Yes, ever since I was a little boy I was not one for new foods.

Host: Maybe today we can expand your horizons on the delicacies of the world.

Wyatt: That would certainly make for an entertaining episode!

Host: Ok, lets get started, I think I speak for everyone when I say we have been marveling at your film opening countless times since its release, one of the big questions that seems to be on everyone's mind is how does your opening utilize typical conventions of comedy movies into your film?

Wyatt: That is a great first question, Our film, similar to other films within the comedy genre have several different characters that contrast each other, J.D and his brother Jason being one example of this. Most of the settings and locations the film was shot at also played into those typical conventions as they were very bright and there was lots of activities that could be created purely from the setting.

Host: Very interesting, and what about how it challenges those norms?

Wyatt: J.D's internalized doubts and uncertainness for the future creates a whole different aspect to the movie which doesn't follow the cookie cutter standards for a comedy movie. As this aspect is shown more in the actual movie, the audience will be able to see how this film is a step in a different direction than most comedy films.

Host: Well that is a very intriguing answer Wyatt, thank you.

Wyatt: Of course, 

Host: Moving on to the next question: How does your film represent certain social groups or issues?

Wyatt: Your on fire with these questions today, OK, well our film is guided towards raising an awareness of the insurmountable amount of pressure many young children are under today and how often times it can seem to go unnoticed. J.D is our take on a young man trying to navigate life under such stress. 

Host: Wow, that really adds depth to the true meaning behind the movie.

Host: Now I have to know, does J.D eventually make it big in basketball during the movie?

Wyatt: Hmm, I'm going to have to eat something for that one.

Host Ahh well it was worth a shot, the first dish we have prepared for you is a singular pickle spear fresh out of the can, dig in!

Wyatt: Oh you must've done your research on me and my hatred for pickles, this isn't going to be fun.

*Eats the pickle*

Host: Not so bad see,

Wyatt: I now remember why I don't like pickles, that was rough.

Host: Time for the next question, How does your product engage with the audience and how do you plan to distribute this film to the world?

Wyatt: Our target audience for this particular film is young male adults and teenagers, which is one of the reasons we opted for a sports element in the movie. Millions of people around the globe bond over their love for sports daily and this will be a great way to engage with them from film to audience.

Wyatt: This film is to be released in theaters initially, and then eventually it will transition into being available on certain streaming platforms.

Host: Another great answer Wyatt Thank you. I personally can't wait to see this film in theaters.

Host: Speaking of seeing the movie, you and your team have been keeping the release of the full film very secretive, do you have an idea of a date in your head you would like to release it?

Wyatt: Whats the next food you have for me? I'd rather keep it a surprise for you all.

Host: Ur a tough cookie to crack Wyatt, the second dish we have prepared just for you is a singular fresh carrot.

Wyatt: Oh man, at least it well help my eyesight,

*Eats the carrot*

Host: looks very appetizing, well that's all the questions we have for you today Wyatt thank you for joining us it has been a blast.

Wyatt: The pleasure is all mine I had a great time answering questions but not such a good one eating the food. See you next time.

Host: That wraps it up for today's episode stick around next week for an inside look of what the rich and famous are doing this spring break. I'm Jared McGee signing off.

Group Meeting #2

 Jayden-https://jdaicemedia.blogspot.com/

The girls mom dies and the dad starts to neglect her. Before the mom's death they were very religious, however after her death the dad starts drifting away from religion. This happens until the dad finishes grieving.  After this happened they moved to a very religious town to reconnect with god. This leads into the main characters realizing that it is all about the community around them. The use of props were very good and set the scene very well.

Shira-https://shirula1.blogspot.com/

A family is living in amongst a zombie apocalypse until a zombie breaks into their house and murders the parents. The kids are then left to survive and fend for themselves. This movie follows the kids as they try to stay alive. One of the main challenges for them was to find good lighting as they were shooting in the dark. They solved this by utilizing a flash from a phone and placing it in a way where the effect was created perfectly.

Veronica-https://veronicasblog6697.blogspot.com/

Coming of age about this girl that is being peer pressured into doing bad things by her "friends" and after her mom's death her grievance and need for companionship pushes her do explore these things that are bad for her. The location of the film had to be changed on very short notice as the sunlight during the sunset at the beach was very inconsistent, so they decided to do it at the pool. This alternative ended up working well.

Maria-https://maria-c-g.blogspot.com/

A school-age girl is a misfit in comparison to the rest of the kids at school and the film is about how she doesn't fit in with the others and her actions and color scheme in her costumes and props emulate the main character's behavior. This film was able to be filmed mostly at school and at the group members house. She created a soundtrack by hand with her piano at home and recorded it to be used in the film opening. This sad tune compliments the story.

CCR #1

 The first question for the CCR(Creative Critical Reflection) is about discussing topics such as genre conventions and representation.

As I began researching actors of comedy movies and YouTube videos about them discussing the film they were in, they often did it in a podcast-style with a question and answer structure. This will be what I plan on doing for the first question as myself and others seem to find podcasts like these entertaining and fun to listen to and watch.

This image shows Adam Sandler talking about his new movie coming out with Netflix soon with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show.

This video and others inspired me to want to do something along these lines. I will have J.D be the interviewee and I will be the interviewer and as I discuss different topics about the creation of the film I will discuss with him the different genre conventions we incorporated and the use of different props as representation in the film.

Editing Process Post 2

 This post dives deeper into the details of the more technical parts of the editing process. after we cut the clips down and fit them into place, we have to come up with appropriate ways to introduce new scenes and changes in location.

As you can see from this snippet, to switch from the basketball court scene to the coaches office scene, we experimented with different fades and cuts to transition properly and to give the shot the intended effect. 

We also plan to integrate sound into our project as we will need to do a voice over of some of the scenes since there is heavy background noise during a few shots. This voice over will need to be added in during post production. We also plan to incorporate diegetic sound in when J.D is at the gym and he plays his headphones, this will be when the audience is able to hear what J.D hears and the outside world noise is cut off. This will also have to be done in post production.

Editing process Post 1

 This post is centered around the beginning of the editing stage of this project. We have officially finished filming and have shifted our focus onto editing and adding the finishing touches onto the film opening.

The first step in editing the film is transferring all of the clips into the editing software and choosing which clips fit best and deleting the other cuts that are not as visually pleasing. Once the correct clips are left, we have to cut them down so the different clips seamlessly transition from shot to shot.

As you can see from this snippet, we are cutting the clips and editing them to fit the timing so they can properly switch to the next shot.

Our film opening will not have too many difficult/extreme editing incorporated into it so this process shouldn't take too long.

Coaches Office Production

 This scene is the one that is set to follow the opening scene of J.D missing the shot on the court. During this scene the coach is talking with him about his performance and his dreams.

This scene took much longer than anticipated as the acting required a serious tone when saying the dialogue during filming, but due to the comedic nature of the phrases and other elements, this turned into a scene where many cuts were needed. After all the shenanigans, however, we completed the scene with all of the intended shots with several different angles for the post production process to have more options to choose from.

 This snippet shows an alternate angle that we shot to allow for more of a selection to choose from to create the best looking story. As shown in this shot, J.D's coach is upset with J.D's performance and is having a stern discussion with him. 

As for the location of the scene, we had trouble finding an actual coaches office as they wouldn't let us film in the one in school and some of the teachers desks could've worked if there weren't other kids making noise. This worked out well in the end as we were able to go to our friends house and shoot both the room scene with J.D's mom and this office scene at his house. The office space you see here is my friend's dad's office that he let us borrow.

Even though it isn't a real coaches office, it still fits and the scene still looks as it was intended.

Gym Scene Production

 After the production of the basketball scene was complete we moved into completing the gym scene that we had planned. In our script and storyboard we called for a shortened version of this scene to end off with, but we thought it'd be best to have more footage that we could shave down than add more at a later date.

This angle is among others used to show J.D benching during his workout. This clip is a crucial one in the scene as it introduces the diegetic sound that J.D and the audience hears of the music playing from his headphones and it adds a comedic element to his "intense" workout as he is struggling to bench the bar.

We incorporated different parts of the body into this scene to be able to show him working out on different machines without it being too repetitive. This treadmill creates symbolism as no matter how hard J.D pushes to be better, he is still stuck in the same spot.

 

This scene doesn't include too much dialogue so we were laser focused on the acting being on point so we could accurately tell the story the way we intend it to be told.

Basketball Scene Production

 One of the scenes that we filmed at L.A Fitness was the opening scene where J.D is playing basketball. When we were filming there were other people on the court but out of view which made the soundscape very messy, but this will all be fixed when we add in the audio ourselves.

Overall this scene was the most fun to film and it didn't take very long at all. We based our shots and lines off of the script and storyboard we had created and even with our creative tweaks added on during filming, this scene was pretty smooth throughout.

This snippet is a part of the first sequence in this scene where the audience sees J.D go up against another player in basketball. This is the first impression J.D will have on the audience.

This scene introduces many of the characters very quickly and they are all represented well with their outfits, dialogue, and role in the scene.

This scene is definitely one of the ones that plays more into the comedic aspect of the movie as the dialogue and acting go hand in hand with the hopes of amusing the audience.

Filming Struggles

Some of the scenes that we were shooting require a gym and an indoor basketball court. It sounds easy enough to find, but with 4 people with 4 different gyms that don't have guest passes available to minors, we had to get creative.

At first we decided to shoot the gym sequence first, so we went to YouFit gyms as the workers that are there are usually laid-back and wouldn't mind us filming. When we got there however there was this lady that refused to let us in to film.

After that plan was foiled we regrouped and decided that the YMCA would be a great next place to try as not only did it have a gym, but also an indoor basketball court. Two of our members were able to get into the gym and was about to shoot the gym scene with the various shots when we realized we had forgotten the headphones at home. This key part of the scene made it impossible to shoot and as we were waiting for our other members to get through the workers figured out what we were doing and kicked us out.

After that our morale was down, it was getting late in the afternoon and everyone was demotivated and wanted to go home. This was until one of our group members remembered that they had seen a promo from L.A Fitness where you could get a 3-day free trial. Everyone signed up as we headed over to the gym. After multiple gyms we finally struck gold and was able to film both the gym and the basketball scenes at L.A Fitness is a short amount of time.

Even though the finished product may look like the process went smoothly, there are and will always be bumps in the road that we have to overcome to complete this film and make it look flawless.

Cast

 For this production there are several characters that help to execute this film opening properly. The cast is a mix of people from in our group alongside others that are not in the group.

• J.D is played by Gabriel(In our group)
• Coach is played by Noah(In our group)
• Player 1 is played by Wyatt(In our group)
• Player 2 is played by Robert(Not in group)
• J.D's mom is played by Kamila(Not in group)

This cast is the list of the different characters that have lines and will play a role in the opening.

Storyboard

 This is the storyboard that we have created with some of the frames that we hope to capture. These sketches are a good base point for figuring out what to shoot, how to shoot it, and in what order.

Audio Elements

 The film opening will be incorporating different audio elements into it to help add to the feel of the opening and it will aid in connecting the audience to the film.

There are many sub-genres that follow under the umbrella that is audio. From dialogue to music, there are many different ways to use audio in a film opening.

Our film opening will be including a decent amount of dialogue. This dialogue will be useful to the audience as it will be critical for the plot and progressing in the story. We will record this dialogue as we film so that we won't have to worry about lip syncing any of it as that can be quite difficult to pull off and make it look good.

Music will also have an impact on the film opening. In the last scene of the opening when J.D is at the gym, he is going to put his headphones on and once he does that, the audience will be able to hear the music that J.D is hearing like we are the ones with the headphones on. Once this occurs, the outside audio will cut off and the only sound will be the music from the headphones. This sound still is considered diegetic as J.D can still hear the music.

The type of songs that we were looking at were songs that were "hype" songs and the type of songs that would pump someone up. We haven't decided on the final song that we will be playing as it is a big part of the opening as it is the last few seconds of it, but we only need a minuscule snippet of the song to use. One of the songs that we have our eye on currently is Pitstop by LUKA. This song is not copyrighted so it is available to use.

Link to song

This song does include vulgar language at some parts but if we do end up using this song for that scene there won't be any content in the music that is not school appropriate.

Development of Costumes

 The costumes that characters in films wear is a huge part in the development of who their character is and the traits that go along with the way they dress. Some may think that the outfits the characters are wearing are random and unimportant, but in reality the costumes that characters are sporting can say a lot more about a character than dialogue or actions can. 

One example of how costumes represent a character well is Dwight Shrute from the hit television show The Office. Dwight Shrute is one of the employees at the office and he is very serious about his job and can be quite strict at times. This professionalism can be matched to his attire. Dwight makes sure to look his best as much as possible during work hours and outside the workplace.

As you can see by the suit and tie, this picture depicts Dwight to a tee as even though he is seen in the audience's eyes as a character to laugh at due to his actions and words, in the show his intentions are very serious and straightforward.

Our costumes for the opening have been selected with several factors involved in the decision such as representation of character, setting the scene will be in, and how the audience will perceive it.

One of our costumes that we have planned out for the beginning scene where J.D is playing basketball has checked off all of the factors listed above and would be a great way to incorporate the importance of costumes into the film opening.

The heat jersey was chosen due to its representation aspects of J.D's big dream of going to the NBA as well as fitting in with the scene of him playing basketball. The shorts were chosen as they were athletic shorts that would be the kind of shorts that you would find at a basketball court.The shoes that we picked aren't necessarily basketball sneakers, but this is for a reason. The more casual shoes that we picked out better represents J.D as it shows how even though he is trying very hard, he isn't even wearing the proper foot attire.

Overall the whole costume put together is perfect as it is very similar to an ourfit that you would see at a basketball court, it represents the hard work and desperation J.D has to make it as a basketball player, and the audience's first impressions of J.D will be them seeing him working really hard and grinding during practice.

Use of Props in Opening

During the production of our film opening a significant part that we will need to integrate into the story will be our props. Props in any movie or production are a way to further develop the plot by integrating items into the story to make the story seem more in-depth and accurate.

One great example of props in movies is Wonder Woman's lasso of truth. This lasso was her weapon and is one of the things that she is known for and recognizable by.

As you can see this lasso is a key role player in enhancing her character. Without this prop, the audience would be missing out on a huge part of her character. This also applies to all of the superheros with props as weapons as without them, it would be extremely difficult for the superheros to show their powers.

Similarly to Wonder Woman and her lasso, the props we are going to utilize are also being used with the intention of developing the story but more importantly, J.D and his character.

One of the props we were going to use was a picture of J.D with his brother. This picture would come into play when we are shooting the scene where he is feeling down and his mother is consoling him.

This is the picture we are planning to use. We wanted to place this in a picture frame to make it more natural to be holding so it visually is more pleasing on screen. There is a picture frame in my house that I plan to put this picture in.

In order to get the desired look we need to edit the photograph by adjusting the color gradients to give the image more of a nostalgic, older feel. 

This prop will be crucial in the development of this film opening and without it the story and plot wouldn't be as intricate.