Creative Critical Reflection

Final Project

Here it is! My group and I's film opening!

Editing // Completion!

Editing proved to be super successful today! We are officially done with our opening and will be posting it either tomorrow or Sunday! Editing the footage together wasn't too bad, but combining the two songs for sound was a hassle. First, iMovie didn't allow for the songs to fade in together, so that was a problem. Our teacher suggested we go on Garageband to edit the music together and then add it to the video, and it helped a lot! However, things still didn't go so smoothly. The timing for when the song should change and making it flow together took a good hour or maybe even an hour and thirty minutes. Every time we would export the song to iTunes, it would only play Sao Paolo and leave out the transition to No Left Ear, which began to get really frustrating. After many trial and error, we realized that the audio for No Left Ear began a minute later in Sao Paolo than where we initially edited it in. The realization made everything so much easier and we were finally able to get the music we wanted in the right spot and finished editing our piece! I was very pleased with the results, and am looking forward to present it.

Sound

I probably should have made a post on this earlier but one perk of working with the band is that we won't have to worry about copyright issues. We will be utilizing their songs Sao Paolo and No Left Ear in our opening. Sao Paolo is an upbeat but steady song that we felt would be great for introducing the characters because it shows how they're a chill group of guys with a fun side. Then we will fade the song into No Left Ear which is more heavy on guitar for the band scene.

99% Done with Filming!

Okay well not entirely because Camila will refilm Andy's part today for better lighting but we're basically done! On Tuesday Camila filmed Shaggy's (bottom) and Andy's (right) parts and yesterday we filmed Isaiah's. I unfortunately couldn't make it to Tuesday's filming due to my personal schedule, but my group and I have discussed how we wanted the opening multiple times and rough storyboard, so I knew I could count on her to take great shots.

Yesterday we filmed Isaiah's part at Camila's house. I loved the room we picked because it's black and white scheme was able to contrast with the colors of the post-it notes on the headboard. Also, we decided to omit the scene with him in a grocery store all-together because we felt that we had enough footage already. Also, we decided to give all the characters headphones to show how they are all connected with music as well. The bottom left picture is the Izze bottle we used for Isaiah's freeze frame and the bottom right picture is of the headboard. We also re-filmed the band scene to match with the phone quality.

 
I'm glad to say things are coming along great. I'm happy to see the progress we are making and am hoping that our opening is as great as I first imagined it.

some changes

Unfortunately, due to lack of time left and everyone's schedule, we are going to have to omit Isaiah's scene in the Korean Market. I'm upset because I was really looking forward to creating an eye-engaging scene with the market's bright colors. However, we still want to place him in a grocery store to grab the drink, so we might just film in a Publix in town since it is closer as apposed to the Korean Market which is thirty minutes away. The juice aisle in Publix is colorful, so I'm hoping it will have the same effective contrast that we've been wanting.

Day Two of Filming

So we filmed Alejandro's library scene today and everything worked out well. We decided to film with our iPhone today because we realized the quality is better. We'd probably have to re-film some scenes from the band practice scene, but that can be easily done since the boys will be practicing from Wednesday-Friday.
Tomorrow we are going to film Andy's and try to film Alex's scene. With only one week left until the deadline, we have to move fast. With how things are going, however, I'm feeling optimistic. I'm hoping to have all the footage done by Thursday or Friday so we could get to editing Friday afternoon. We're going to need to dedicate a lot of time this week into this project, but it'll be worth it in the end.

delays delays delays

So we wanted to film today after school for Alejandro's scene.. but turns out he has JROTC practice and won't be able to make it. One pro of this outcome is that it gives us more time to make the prop of his notebook with "MCLOVIN" on it. However, I'm beginning to get stressed out because the project is due in a week and a half and there's still a lot of filming that needs to be done. We wanted to film this weekend as well, but now the band is going to recording their EP on Saturday and Sunday. I am hoping that they'll have some time available for us to film, but if not then we're going to have to rely on filming after school next week. If anything, my group and I will start making all the props we need with no rush this weekend to continue being productive. I really hope everything works out, the stress is building up tremendously for me.

First day of Filming!

Vincent Mango band practice

Yay! We finally started filming! Today the band was having a band practice, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and get to filming the scenes of the band members together for the ending of our opening. We filmed using Camila's digital camera because we felt the quality of the video would come out better through the camera instead of from our phones. I'm happy that the band was very cooperative and I hope we got all the footage we need for this particular scene. (Alejandro was wearing his JROTC uniform in the picture, we made him change ASAP so that the band has a uniform, grunge look like how we originally planned.)

We tried to get as many close-ups of each of the members playing their instruments, and also got as many angles as we could. We thought the more footage we had the better. Also, we plan to film again tomorrow, starting with the individual scenes with the characters. We hope to finish Alejandro's library scene tomorrow, and finish filming over the weekend. On the bottom left is a picture of Camila and I capturing a low angle shot of the band, while on the bottom right is a picture of Camila filming the close-up of Isaiah.

The Credits

I notice that with indie films, they always have a fun way of introducing the credits. For example, in Napoleon Dynamite, they introduce the cast by using food and common items. It also subliminally introduces the characters' traits, like when you go through Napoleon's wallet and his "UFO Abduction Insurance" card shows how he's dorky. I got inspired by that idea and told my group about it, and they loved it. For each of our characters, we will use a prop from their scene and incorporate their name somehow. We also want to play with the freeze frame tactic when their name is shown, and also use graphic matching when transitioning between the characters so that there is a flow between them and also shows how they're all connected.

Here are our ideas:

1. Isaiah: So we plan to open with Isaiah in the Korean Market. We want to place his nickname "IZZE" on a soda and as he places the soda on the counter, it transitions to his bedside table, where he will be laying in bed. Once the close-up of his eyes closing appears, it will transition to Andrew's eyes opening. 
2. Andrew: Andy will be then seen viewing his camera, showing how he is into photography and such. As he flips through his photo album, the pictures will spell out "ANDY". When he closes his book, the scene will then switch to Alejandro's book.
3. Alejandro: As Alejandro's closed notebook is shown, the cover will be decorated with his nickname "MCLOVIN" on the front. (Also back to my old posts about wanting to contrast colors, his bright notebook and clothing will contrast with the dull coloring of the library he is in). In a shot where he is stressfully running his hands through his hair, the shot transitions to Alex running his hands through his hair at the skate park.
4. Alex: His scene will be him skating. We want to portray him as the leader, so we want to use a low angle shot of him as he's about to go down the ramp, and we see the bottom of the skateboard it will say his nickname "SHAGGY". 

After all of this, it will then cut to the title "VINCENT MANGO" and all the boys joining together for practice. 

Works Cited:

 Napoleon Dynamite - movie titles. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2016, from       

    https://vimeo.com/5524216 

Meet The Cast

Andrew "Andy" Acosta

For Andy, we plan to have his character to be very outgoing and spirited. However, his good heart will contrast with the rough life he has at home.

Isaiah "Izze" Ampuero

As for Isaiah, we want to be the "sad boy" in the group. We want to show him as being very in his thoughts and in his feelings.

Alex "Shaggy" Alston

Alex will be the more laid back person in the group. We would like to show his interest in skating. We also want to make him the more serious one in the group and sort of the "business man".

Alejandro "McLovin" Lopez

Alejandro is going to be the studious one. We want him to focus on his studies while also focusing on getting the band a bigger name.

Members // Background Ideas

Vincent Mango

Korean Market

I probably should have showed this earlier, but
this is the band that we will be using in our film opening. This image is a perfect representation of how we want them to have grungy vibe. 

We also plan on using this Korean market to film one of our scenes. We plan on using backgrounds with colors like this to contrast with the the dark, rugged look of the band members. This will make the opening visually enticing, in which I was inspired by Wes Anderson openings such as Moonrise Kingdom. We also want to use props in the background that would reflect each character's personality traits. 

Works Cited:
Anderson, W. (Director). (2012). Moonrise Kingdom [Motion picture on Netflix]. United States: Universal.

Film Opening Idea Confirmed

Yesterday my teacher created an activity where my classmates and I were put into groups to share our ideas and see how we could improve our projects. When I shared my idea of the opening where we would do a parallel editing of each member of the band showing their personal struggles and in the end having them meet up for rehearsal with the title of the movie with a loud amp sound, they thought it was a great idea. It's reassuring that I know that other people outside of my group for my project like this idea too and confirms to me that it will definitely be engaging.

How to Open an Indie Movie

Now that we have an idea of what context we want to open our film with, we need to learn how independent films typically open and look for some inspiration.

I first looked at the opening for Juno, an independent movie from 2007. The director of the film definitely shows a more artistic route, which will later begin a pattern I see in other openings. The director also uses Juno's body language and facial expressions to introduce the character's personality as laid back because she walks very loosely while also having very blank facial expressions.

(watched up to 5:17)

I then looked at the opening for The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). This opening shows the more quirkier side of independent films. It opens with artistic-like credits like Juno, and introduces the story with narration of the main character, which implies that the movie will be focused on him. The narration also introduces the character's personality by making his voice and dialogue imply that he is socially awkward and is a bystander of the world around him, hence the quirky side of indie films.

The rest of the film openings I explored were through Netflix. I watched "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"(1993), which opens with a long shot to establish the setting that the main character and his family live isolated from other people. The opening is shown through narration of the main character again, giving context to the setting, and describing each character in the family. Narration from the main character is a trend I see to appear in these openings.

Lastly, I watched "Adventureland" (2009). It starts off with the beginning credits saying after all the production titles "this is that production", which I feel gives off the tone that this movie production is laid back and such. The beginning zoom in on the character's face and the close-ups of him and his girlfriend adds to the quirkiness feel of these kind of productions, especially since the context of the scene is him getting dumped. The whole opening shows how Brennan (the main character) is just an awkward and unlucky guy. His friends at the party seem geeky through dialogue, and the opening cuts to Brennan at a lunch with his parents which expresses how unfortunate his life is because they can't pay for his trip to Europe. This series of events introduces the conflict right away that he needs a job. This opening can be used to help my group and I introduce the different issues of each band member in our opening, if we are still choosing to do that.

Works cited:

"JUNO - "All I Want Is You" Video." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Feb. 2008. 9 Mar. 2016.

"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - 10 Minute Preview." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Dir. Lasse Hallström. Perf. Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.           Paramount Pictures, 1993. Netflix.

Adventureland. Dir. Greg Mottola. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg. Miramax Films, 2009. Netflix.

The Beginning of the Beginning

Today, Sofia, Camila, and I began discussing what area/genre we want to present in our film opening. We first decided on the plot of the movie, and we chose to utilize a band from our school named Vincent Mango. We felt we needed to know what would be the overall story of the film first because through what our teacher has taught us, the opening should be the "2+2" of the story without the 4.

At first I wanted to open the film with the band leaving a venue and we convey the background of the story through their dialogue, but my group members and I agreed that it would already introduce the band as well-known, and our goal for the film as a whole is to show how the band is trying to build their popularity while still battling with their own personal struggles.

We then agreed on opening the film with each member's personal issue separately first, then at the end of the opening have all members meet at practice, which will introduce them to the audience that they are a band and we'll then show the title of the film. Our quick way to compromise leaves me optimistic that my group and I are going to be a great team. However, this is only a rough idea for now, because at this point none of us had done extensive research.

We also decided that the genre of the film should be independent. The band that is inspiring this film is an alternative rock band, which could fall under indie music. This would make both the band and the film go hand in hand. With this kind of genre, we are able to go a more artistic route, which will make our piece more personalized but also different.