AICE Media Studies

 Here is my Critical Creative Reflection. This was so much fun to film and matches the theme of my final task perfectly.

Here is our final task entitled Tea Time! On behalf of Adrian and Faith, I hope you enjoy our final project for our AICE Media class. 

 I've made it! My final task is finished, the last project for this AICE Media class. I am so excited for you all to see all the work my group and I put into making this film. There were some obstacles we had to overcome for this project, but it all worked out in the end.  My journey with AICE Media felt so long but so short at the same time. It began with our first film: the commercial. With that, I got a taste of what the process is like to film. That project was very fun to do because it was the first time I wasn't doing a typical, conventional assignment for a class. I had a lot of creative freedom and was very proud of the outcome of the commercial. I was introduced to filming, lighting, and editing techniques. With the second project, the music video, I got more accustomed and familiar with the creative process. I learned different camera angles and editing techniques to convey certain emotions to the viewers. It was also really enjoyable to film because music is more en...

 In our last film review, I had my history teacher, Ms. Moran, look over the first draft of our film. It wasn't complete and was missing much of the components like sound, music, and transitions. However, she gave us some critiques that I kept in mind while editing our final project.  One of her critiques were the inconsistencies in the lighting. In order to fix this, Adrian and I went through each scene and put a filter or color over the scenes to make them match as best as possible. After doing this, the scenes looked more consistent and smoother. Ms. Moran also told us that the cup didn't look like it was filled with blood. To fix this, we met back up to film a few more shots that would display the blood better. We filmed a point-of-view shot of Faith looking down to the cup. We also filmed a scene where we dropped red food coloring on the plate to give the effect of blood. After we went back and fixed these components, we decided to show Ms. Moran again. This time, our fil...

 Today was the second day for editing. We needed to add the rest of the components to our movie. This included the title sequences, soundtrack, lighting changes, and any final scene cuts. First, we added more transitions to make the film look smoother. One distinct transition we did was cut the scene where faith is braiding her hair to when she is opening the closet. I wanted the switch to be abrupt to make the audience feel like there was going to be a jump-scare. I also added many fades between scenes to blend them together and make it look smoother. Secondly, I came up with the titles for the title sequence. I had a lot of fun with the titles because I used my friend's names for the actor names. I also got to use my last name for the name of the production company. We also decided to change some of the titles. For example, we made the name of the movie embedded rather than editing it onto a scene. We thought writing it in blood would look cooler and it helps the audience underst...

 To check in on our progress and if we are on the right track, my partners and I had one of our teachers look over our rough draft of our film. Her name is Ms. Moran and she teaches history. We chose her because we all have her class together and we all value her opinion. She is very thorough with her lessons and I can tell she really cares about her job and her students. This leads me to believe that she will put her best effort to review our movie and give us constructive advice. The first thing she told us was that she enjoyed the costumes and the theme of the film. I was super happy about this because I put a lot of effort into picking out the costumes and visuals of the film. She also said she enjoyed Faith's acting, which I agree with. Faith's portrayal of the character is amazing and it was a good call to make her the actor of the film. One critique she gave was the constant change in lighting. This is an issue I mentioned in a previous blog that I predicted could be a p...

 Now that we have finished filming, it's time to starting piecing all of it together. I can't believe this is my last time editing a project for this class. Nevertheless, I am ready to complete my AICE Media journey and make the best final film ever! Like always, we had Adrian edit the footage on his phone. First, we looked through all of the footage and flagged the shots we liked the best. This usually takes a while because we take many shots of the same scene. We are adamant about getting the perfect shot and we take "back-ups" just for precaution. After we selected the shots we wanted to use, we put all of them in order. I just wanted to see how long it would be and the "big picture." We didn't cut anything and all of the footage together was almost four minutes long. This meant we had a lot of deleting and jump-cutting to do. We always start off with too much footage, but we can always shorten. I would prefer this issue, rather than having too less f...

 After the first weekend of spring break, we met up again for our second filming day! The last time, we only filmed the first half of the film. This is because I had plans later that day, and we wouldn't have time to set up for the kitchen scene. Therefore, we decided to tackle the kitchen scenes today. This time, Faith and Adrian came over at 9:30 because we wanted to sleep in a little more. When they came, we set up the set for the kitchen. We seated the dolls, placed dead flowers as center pieces, and even placed a creepy candle. However, we ran into a few problems as we were setting up. The first problem was that we didn't have any teacups! I realized I forgot to look for some when I went to the store and I only have mugs and plastic cups in my cupboard. This was a pretty big setback for me because I really wanted the aesthetic of the table to look a certain way. I felt like not having real teacups would ruin the look. But, my mom suggested that we use some character cups t...

 Today was our first filming day! Faith and Adrian came to my house at 8:30 am because we wanted to get an early start. We began with clearing out all the items in my room that doesn't fit. This included stuffed animals, items with my name on it, and anything that had brands or characters on it. We kept certain stuffed animals and some of my items because it matched the girly, childish theme. This included my music box, jewelry, and certain stuffed animals.  After we got the set ready, it was decided that Faith would act in the film instead of me. I felt like Faith would be the best option because I had trouble focusing last time I acted in a film. At first, I was worried that the costumes I picked out wouldn't fit her. The costumes were my clothes and we didn't bring any extra because the original plan was for me to act. However, the clothes fit perfectly and looked great on Faith. This proved to be a good decision because Faith gave no issues. She stayed serious most of t...

 Uh oh, something came up! Since the three of us are so busy during the regular school year, we decided to film during spring break. It would be easier because there would be any school activities and the only obstacle would be Faith's job. However, Faith got accepted to go on a college tour during spring break. She applied for it a long time ago and just found out she is allowed to go. We are all so happy for her, but this now means we can't film on our original date. This is no big deal, but we had to move some things around to make this work! I have a lot of events planned for my spring break that I did not plan to be home for. I have plans to go to the beach, a band event, and even a play to go to. Faith's first filming suggestion was the first Monday of spring break, March 21st. However, I have a competition for band that if I miss, I'll have to pay a drop-out fee. I suggested the Friday we leave school, March 18th, but Faith will be on the college tour. Faith sugg...

     Our final task calls for some costumes and props that I didn't have on hand. Our group split up some responsibilities, and I was put in charge of collecting the essential props and clothing. Over the weekend, I visited my favorite thrift store, American Thrift Store. I go to this thrift store all the time to shop for clothes and other random things. In fact, I would say 70% of my wardrobe is from this thrift store. They never disappoint! My goal for the trip was to find a creepy dress for Abel to wear while getting ready, a tea tray, and a few dolls. The last time I shopped here, I saw a bunch of dolls in the back of the store. I knew that was my first stop, since the dolls are the most important prop in the film.  I went to the back of the thrift store and, to my luck, there was like ten different dolls on the shelf! There were so many options to choose from and I didn't even know where to begin. I decided to go for the dolls that looked like little girls. I ch...

 Before we start filming, my group and I wanted to find the perfect song to put over our film. Our project is intended to be very creepy. It has lots of child-like components like dolls, a tea party, and a very girly room. I knew that our song choice needed to include those childhood elements. My group members and I each searched for songs on the internet that we think would be a goof fit. When picking my song choice, I kept in mind the copyright laws and chose to search for royalty-free music. Normally, I wouldn't mind asking for the rights to use a song on a school project. However, I didn't want to run the risk of not getting permission in time for editing. I'm not a fan of being uncertain and unprepared, so I figured it was better to just find a royalty-free song.  Eventually, my group member and I presented the songs we found to each other. They both found great selections, all in tune with our theme and genre. After going through each of our songs, we all came to a de...

  StoryBoard Blog Scene 1:  -The scene opens with an establishing shot of the room, followed by a over the shoulder show of the Abel (main character) walking into her room -Next in a medium shot Abel will be looking in the mirror and then pulls out a brush to start brushing her hair.  -While she is brushing her hair the camera will switch to a close up of her -Then the camera angle switches to a extreme close up of her eye, then the camera will pan over to her other eye still in a up shot -Then Abel puts on a top hat, while she is doing this it will be in a tracking shot of her hand Scene 2: -The scene starts of with Abel opening her closet, recorded with a medium shot from inside of the closet -Next the camera switches to a close up of Abel hands rummaging and looking through all of her clothes -Then she finds her the clothing that she wants and takes it off the rack, this will be filmed in a tracking shot -Medium shot of Abel throwing her clothes that she got from her d...

 The opening credits of my film will appear in a gothic, but creepy, Victorian font. They will appear in random places on the screen. We envision the font to look like it came from an old, dusty novel title Working Title: The title will probably be Tea Time,  although it could change later. We would like the title to be in a font similar to this: We would like our titles to fade onto the screen very slowly. We want it to feel like the titles are "creeping up" on you. They will fade off after about 3 seconds. We are thinking that the color of the titles should be red or a yellow, gold-ish color and the movie title should be black. We think it should be relatively dark to contrast with the very pink, girly room we will be filming in. We want the title font size to be smaller than the person's name. So it should look something like:  directed by Adriana Lee-Fook

 Location:   We will be filming at my house (Adriana's). My room matches the description of the room in our script and I also have all the props we need: dolls, teapots, and clothes.  Participants:   The actor for this film will be me (Adriana). The cameraman will be Faith and the editor will be Adrian. I'm probably the best choice to be the actor because all the costumes belong to me and are my size. Adrian is tech savvy and good with editing, so he will be the main editor. That leaves Faith to handle the camera! Health and Safety:   This film has little risks, but there is one. In one scene, we have a tea kettle go off on the stove and we will be handling hot water to get shots of steam. We've researched what the first aid procedure for a burn is and it says to run the burn under cold water and bandage it. We are filming near my kitchen, so we'll have a sink near-by. Schedule: I have band practice every Tuesday and Thursday, with some impromptu practices and e...

 Scene One: *Establishing shot of girls room Setting: in a teenage girl's room. It's very girly; pink but with a dark atmosphere. Jane, 16 years old, is in her night gown getting ready for an event. The atmosphere is empty and eerie. *Melancholia starts playing A mid shot shows Abel going in front of her mirror and starting to brush her hair. Scene Two: *Mid-shot of Abel's back rummaging through her closet - She throws three dresses on her bed. She takes a look at each of them and picks her choice. ABEL: this one. Scene Three: - Abel is humming, sitting at her vanity.  *Close-up shots of her putting on make-up  *Diegetic sound of tea kettle going off - Abel notices and stands up to check on it. Scene Four: *A tracking shot shows Abel holding a tray with 4 empty tea cups on it. *She places the cups on the table and pours tea in them using close-up shots *Abel finally sits at the end of the table. An over-the-shoulder shot reveals 3 dolls sitting at the table with her. *A p...

   Dead silence is about a man Jamie who lost his wife, Mary, a murdered ventriloquist ion there creepy town, Raven Fair. The opening sequence of the film contained the production company, studio, film title, actors, music creator, costume designer, editors, production designers, director of photography, and executive producers. It also included who the story, casting, screenplay, and movie was directed by. In the scene the focus is directed on the creation of the doll and a description of where the word ventriloquist came from. When creating the doll it starts by showing the light of a fire to brighten the room to the carving of the doll's face. After the carving the eyes are placed into the open eye sockets and the makeup as well as clothing being placed. These images give off a very unsettling feeling because they bring a very superficial being to life. As you see the doll gain human like characteristics especially as the eyes develop it is very creepy. By having the outset...

  The Shining   1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones? The opening sequence of 'The Shining' contains 8 different titles. A 'Stanley Kubrick' Film Movie Title 'THE SHINING' Actors Executive Producers Based upon a novel by 'Stephen King' Produced in association with 'The Producer Circle Company' Screenplay by Produced and Directed by 'Stanley Kubrick' 2. What connotation do the images carry? The images are very simplistic, the whole opening scene is just a bunch of extreme long shot/ extreme long tracking shots. Just a car driving along a road that is in a mountain valley. The only feeling this gives the audience is mainly a feeling of realism. 3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?  In the title sequence the soundtrack that plays is the most significant technique used. The sound is very ominous, with a very slow pace. Very loud at some points then v...

  The Conjuring 2 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  Which ones?  There are a total of 20 different titles that are displayed in the opening sequence of 'The Conjuring 2' Director Screenplay Producers Executive Producers Executive Producer Based on characters created by Director Of Photography Production Designer Edited by Visual Effects Supervisor Actors Casting by Costumes Designed by Music by Music Supervisor A 'New Line Cinema' Presentation In Association With 'Ratpac-Dune Entertainment' A 'Safran Company' / 'Atomic Monster' Production A 'James Wan' Film Movie Title 2. What connotation do the images carry? The pictures that are shown in the title sequence give an eerie and uneasy feeling. Most of the pictures are normal group pictures/ portraits, but some pictures show broken objects and frantic scenes that make the audience feel fear. 3. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical c...

For my title design research, I watched the opening sequence to Killer Klowns from Outer Space. 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence of the film? Which ones? There were 21 titles in total. These titles included Production companies Actors The title of the movie Music producers Casting directors Associate Producers Special effects Editors Art director Production designers Director of photography Writers Executive producers Director 2. What connotations do the images carry? The title sequence opened with images of people at a popular dining spot. There are a bunch of teenagers having fun and enjoying themselves. The bright lights and fun colors give the viewers feelings of amusement and youth. The environment then transitions into being more shady and dark. It shows a few teenagers in a secluded area and underage drinking. The mood is more chill and makes the audience feel like they are up to no good. The darkness is also unsettling and adds a bit of suspense. Las...