Newfound Obstacles Blog

   With the corona virus spreading more and more, matters seem to be worsening. School board has recently released information on the continuing of school. School was originally supposed to be back in session after the 30th of March and the ending of Spring Break. However, it has been extended to April 15th and could be longer than that depending on how bad things get. If push comes to shove, online schooling will become the norm for the rest of the school year. It’s a great opportunity because students will still get learning necessities they need, but it won’t be the same as real interaction. Online schooling will test the discipline of Fort Lauderdale students because it will be our jobs to stay update with work we are given. In addition to this epidemic making changes, we may have to push the quarter back to give students more time to fix grades. The main obstacle this pandemic causes is the take away from learning and prepping for the rigorous AICE exams. Besides the issues with school, I recently have been finding symptoms that come with CONVID-19.
   I have been extremely light headed. My eyes also feel really heavy and somewhat hurt. To top it off, I have been coughing and sneezing non stop. I’m not exactly sure where or who I came in contact with that was ill, but it is a little unsettling. I can’t act as if I’m tested positive and completely isolate myself from the rest of society, but I do think it’s best if I remain isolated as much as I can till I can afford to get tested. I have been in bed for quite some time and only leave for certain things. This is an obstacle for my group and I because if I let them know I could possibly scare them into not wanting to re shoot for our opening. If. I don’t tell them there’s a chance they might start seeing the same symptoms as me. I’m unsure of what’s the best decision to make when it comes to meeting with others because we don’t know of what’s in the atmosphere when we get together. However, my group and I had to eventually figure out when we can get this assignment done finally. Time is running out and we need time to execute the best way.

Delay in Filming Blog

    As mentioned last time, the recent catastrophe has escalated. The coronavirus is way more serious than what leaders have been letting on. The virus has spread globally and infected numerous amount of people. There have also been cases of death from this epidemic. With this type of information, it puts fear in us citizens because who is really ready to die? To add to the fear, individuals have cleared out the supermarkets with large amounts of items such as water, tissue, soap, meat, and more important valuables. Basic necessities are continuing to run extremely low and aren't good for households especially those with young children. It's hard for my family to find some of these resources as people have selfishly bought thinking of themselves only. They aren't to be blamed solely, however, because many people are controlled by fear and panic and simply acting out the way they seem fit. With all the chaos taking place, it is still difficult in re-shooting for the film.
    This chaos has caused trust issues to arrive when it comes to going around one another. People are scared to speak out on whether or not they have been tested positive with corona or have been seeing symptoms that can result in it. In addition, it's possible to not have any symptoms of this contagious disease but still have it. This is a scary thing because it can do silent damage. I have a newborn brother who isn't strong enough to fight sickness. Although it would be nice to film for this project and finally complete the assignment, my mom doesn't want to risk letting anything get inside our home to cause harm internally. My group and I have doubts to film, but thanks to our AICE Media teacher keeping us up to date, it provides some sort of calmness. Back to school is in the process of being pushed back, but the AICE exams remain the same. Teachers and students can do nothing but stay steadfast and in accord for whatever this virus decides to throw at us. The next information to reach us is that of school and whether or not it will take place or how it will affect us students as a whole.

Our AICE Media teacher staying in contact with us .

Planning Blog: Re-shooting the Opening

   Currently, the U.S. and the world as a whole, is facing what may be a deadly outbreak. The Coronavirus has arrived everywhere including where I live and it's quite a scary thing. The Coronavirus, also called COVID-19, is a virus that causes illness or even severe diseases. If an individual comes into contact with someone else who has this virus, that individual is more likely to get the virus. It is said to be less intense than influenza, but not everyone has immune systems that can withstand the virus. This outbreak comes into thought when planning with my group when we would film. I'm not exactly sure if any members from my group, including myself, may have the virus. Coronavirus requires accurate testing to discover whether or not someone is positive. I have a baby brother and family members that suffer from having weak immune systems so I have to be cautious with what I bring home to them. My group and I all live different lives and come into contact with different people.

    With that being said, my group and I still want to film because spring break is coming up and some of us may be very busy. Therefore, we planned to re-shoot the film on Saturday in the afternoon. I work later on in the afternoons so we have to start and finish on time. This won't be a problem, however, because we don't have much to re-shoot. We plan on filming the scene with killer revealing himself and possibly improving sound if needed to. The weather isn't much of an issue as we did that scene inside of Charli's garage. If we do decide last minute to shoot another scene over and it was raining as heavy as it is now, then we would have a big problem. We don't believe we have much to re-shoot not because we did a perfect job, but we feel great about what we did and don't think we should ruin that. After re-filming this opening, we'd be left to do nothing but re-edit the video and prepare for the exam. This project is a large piece apart of our grade for AICE Media so it has to be planned and done correctly.

Editing Blog: Busy Days

   With the school term ending shortly, it seems as if there's less and less time to do everything before the due date. In addition to that, there are different classes and exams that require a certain amount of time and focus. Activities outside of school work such as sports and jobs need attention too. This, however, is no excuse for not getting work done for the final project. As an AICE student, it's my responsibility to manage all of this and execute efficiently. My group and I have been proficient in our work and do our best to meet all the deadlines. Although this blog should focus solely on what I did in the editing process of the movie opening, I am not the lead editor in the video so I can only go off what the editor in my group did or what I would do. Josh, the lead editor, chooses to edit at home where he feels more in his element and creative. Charli and I don't live with him so it is difficult to see the editing process live and everything that he does. I know for a fact that he began to implement the necessary movie titles to give direction of where the film's story is going and how we want it to be depicted.
     To make Josh's job easier when adding titles to the opening, I created the storyboard with the titles in them. For example, a box in the storyboard might be of the establishing shot with the title "ACJ Studio Presents" jumping into the pool. By doing this, Josh is able to look back on the storyboard for guidance on where to insert a title and how it can be inserted. Josh is more experienced in editing motion pictures so he may have a more creative idea. Besides titles, there are adjustments of effects and sounds. Effects include flickering lights close to the ending of our film to enhance the scariness of Charli's garage. Another effect is the slow motion of the killer revealing himself to Charli. This increases the anticipation of the audience watching and finding out who the mystery person was all this time. The distortion of Charli voice as she says "Dad?" is another great effect added during the editing course. This shows the scared yet confusing feeling she is experiencing. The music that adds suspense throughout the opening was selected by Josh as he edited the film. It adds to the mystery and horror we want to include in our film. Although my team and I have been extremely busy with our life in and out of school, we always find a way to ensure or film gets the best of us and our abilities.
 

Editing Blog: Making Changes

  Although this blog is titled as an editing blog, my group and I didn’t edit because we had another assignment in class. During class, while my group and I reviewed someone else's video ours was also being reviewed. The group took our jump drive and began evaluating us. On the peer review sheet, it showed that we met the majority, if not all, of the requirements for a successful movie opening. This is a great start because it showed that we follow instructions and truly want to produce an excellent film. The group also graded us based on what our opening consisted of and if they liked it as a whole or didn't. The group figured out our storyline which they interpreted as a group of friends hanging out who got kidnapped. Next, they wrote that our film had good lighting, but also remained the same. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing as they didn't expand on it. The peer-review group also mention that we need a change in sound. They believe that throughout the opening, the characters spoke very low or the background sound, such as wind, interfered.
    One thing the individuals (who peer-reviewed my group's and I film) liked was that our storyline was easy to follow. They were glad to see it wasn't complicated to understand and not overly common like films already out.  Our goal was having something viewers seeing it would be able to comprehend without having to go home and do research. The AICE Media group, however, suggests that one thing they would correct is the flowing and consistency of the scenes. In some parts of the opening, they found themselves lost because some scenes didn't match up with each other. While the storyline itself is easy to follow, the execution wasn't according to them. They also felt the plot of the film was too simple and lacked a variety of angles. One group member believed more variation of angles would make it better as a whole. Now, I agree and disagree with a few things. I agree that the film needs to be louder so viewers don't have to strain to hear. I disagree that the scenes don't follow each other. We created our video the opening in a way that matches up with what we want to portray. My group and I have to decide if we want to refilm and what exactly we would refilm and reedit. I would change the sounding of the film because the characters did speak low a few times. Besides that, I don't believe our group needs as much change as we originally thought.

Peer Review Blog: Watching Others

   Last class, the AICE Media teacher left the class with instructions on how the peer review assignment should be completed. First, everyone must have their film on a jump drive so that it can be viewed by others. After figuring out which group you're watching, your group and you must watch the video while filling out a peer review sheet. The peer review sheet checks to see if the individuals you are peer-reviewing have met all the requirements in their production and if you liked it as a whole. The group that my classmates and I viewed was a young girl who was in a group by herself. In her film, she used friends and family members as actors and filmed herself. While the storyline was somewhat hard to interpret, it was focused on a girl who stayed inside the house her whole life and was attacked the minute she stepped foot outside. What I personally liked about the film was the fact that she chose a movie idea that was out of the norm. You don't typically find films with the story of someone staying inside all the time and getting attacked when they finally leave. That was a creative idea.

    In addition, I also liked the use of various locations and lightning in her film. The bedrooms she filmed had low lighting, while the kitchen had a brighter tone. The scene of the girl outside had a darker tone which represented the thrill that took place. The darkness outside was associated with the girl being attacked by the evil lurking in the dark. The last thing I liked about the film was the props she used. My favorite prop was the garbage can because it signaled that something was going to happen. First, it began to rumble and then the scared girl looked back it and someone jumped out of it at her. That was a great use of an object that seems so plain. While I did like many things about the individual's film, there are things I think need to be corrected. To begin with, the audio was extremely low. Originally, when watching the film we put the video on the highest volume possible. However, the sound didn't budge and I strained to hear the dialogue taking place in the film. This is a big issue because the dialogue is a necessity in our movie openings. The story being drawn out is another issue with the film. The film was mainly surrounded around the being in the bedroom. This made the person I reviewed seem as if her film didn't have any substance to it. The last thing I suggest being corrected is the quality of the video. The film was shot in poor quality possibly from the camera or the phone. The also buffered a lot meaning it most likely wasn't rendered. Rendering it will compile all the clips and improve the smoothness of the video.

Editing Blog: The Simple Process

   The final AICE  Media project is coming to an end and soon our videos will be submitted to Cambridge for grading. This grade will determine how well individuals did and whether or not they get the AICE credit. Because of this, it’s crucial my group and I follow every step to ensure we get the best possible grade for our projects. For the movie opening project, we have began editing since we finished filming. Josh has decided to lead in editing since he is more creative and familiar with editing softwares. Charli and I decided we can give necessary input where we think is needed. Due to the fact that I am not always with Josh, I don’t know hair full editing process, but I can assume and think of it as if I was editing. To start off the film, he would need to make sure he has the storyboard with him because it has drawings of where the movie titles could be inserted. Before he gets to this process, he must import the clips onto the Sony Vegas Oro editing software. While on the editing software, the footages will go onto AV Track 2. At the top, the edit tab allows my group and I to add things to spice up the movie opening. Josh is expected to edit the titles in a way where blood drips from them. However, our titles are open to change and what we are capable of. Dissolved and fade outs are also going to be added as transitions in the film because it helps bring out the thriller theme we chose.  In AV Track 3, music, or sound overall, is placed in this track. The green and purple line are sound waves from the clip. Sound can be detached from the take. This is helpful if a voiceover is needed. We don’t have any voiceovers, but we do have dialogue and sound throughout the film. Non diegetic and diegetic sounds will be implemented in order to incorporate all the necessary elements the opening needs.  After finishing editing, it's important to export the finished product. This process is the opposite of importing. I’d suggest to Josh that he render the film before we have to turn it in to be reviewed. Rendering compiles everything you did and makes it smoother and not choppy. After that is done, the video should be viewed to ensure it was exported properly. Now we’re ready to get our film peer reviewed.

Charli and I pool scene being edited by Josh on Sony Vegas Oro editing software.