Reflection

This was a very long and frustrating project nonetheless. Not because of the difficulty of it, but because of all of the elements and things we had to do in order to complete it. But surprisingly it was also a time of learning and gaining new knowledge as we had to learn to do stuff me and my partner Matias have never done before. 

We started the project with high hopes of learning and being able to develop our "media creation experience." Obviously, we started with the planning process. We brainstormed possible genres and ideas when we finally got to one that interested us both: the indecision in high school. Both of us were very familiar with this topic as we had seen it with close friends and sometimes even ourselves. After that, it was pretty much research. We spent the first week and a half researching the genre, what possible things we could use, where we could film, etc.

Planning and research became a huge part of the project and it took us longer than expected. We also had to make scripts, location searches, and storyboards. The next step was to start actually filming. At the beginning of the process, we contacted one of my friends who previously agreed to play the part of the main character. However, this came to be our first drawback on the project. We were supposed to start filming around week 4, but those plans changed. Our actor was not able to attend this shooting day. Therefore Matias and I decided to use this  "off" week to refine our planning. We revisited the storyboard and script, organized the set (my room), and we did all of this to make sure that once we could actually film, it would be an easy process. Due to conflicts in our schedules, we could only film on weekends, so we used the weekdays to prepare these things. Once week 5 arrived when we agreed to film, our actor yet again said he could not make it. At this point, we became frustrated and decided to completely take him out of the process. From there it was just me and Matias.

On week 5 we each had to take on the characters that we were not supposed in the first place. On the first day of filming, we assumed this decrease in "staff" would not affect us... but we were wrong. The first day we filmed scene one which was mostly one character, therefore while Matias was acting, I could easily film. But, day two of filming came and we realized a big problem. We did our storyboards and scripts based on the fact that there would be three people available (two actors, and a cameraman). Now that one of those people was out of the picture we had to basically quickly redo our previous planning and remake it to accommodate our current necessities. So, on day two instead of filming scene two, we filmed scene three which included fewer shots of the two characters together, therefore, making it easier to film. 

Another problem came when our schedule became tighter. In the beginning, we thought we would start filming in week 4 and assured ourselves that we would be done filming by week 6 at least. So, I had already agreed with spring break plans with my parents and would not be available for that weekend. Thus, we had to rush the filming to a weekday, but luckily that same Friday we did not have school and I convinced my parents to move the trip from Saturday to Sunday. This would give us two days in which we had to finish or shooting. 

As mentioned before we planned to use a cameraman who would handhold the camera. After we changed that we had to change most of our planning. Firstly, we had to change the scene itself. We were planning on doing a walking two-shot, but without a third person that was going to be hard. We moved our location and had to buy a tripod. And, since we changed how the scene was going to develop we also had to change the script.  Those two days Friday and Saturday (which were the only two days we had to finish filming) we basically had to race the sun. We had to be able to get everything done before it was too late. 

On spring break we agreed to work on the project. I would edit while Matias would do additional sounds. But, we committed the mistake we told ourselves we would not do: we took things too easy on spring break. We had the whole actually started working on Saturday, but the good thing is we still had a whole week to be able to finish editing and do our CCRs.

We are both currently working on our CCRs and finishing up editing. There were definitely some drawbacks, things we did not expect, and things we could have done better. But as I said at the beginning, this project allowed us to learn new things and learn from mistakes.

Additional/Foley Sounds

 During the process of editing in a previous project, we had an issue with wind and audio. So, we decided to use this previous experience to fix that. We knew that in scene 1 and 3 there was not going to be many audio problems are they are filmed indoor. However, scene 2 was going to be the one that will give us problems, but there were two ways we tried to fix that.

The first thing we thought about before starting filming was to record with an extra phone our audio up-close. As our characters are teenagers, they can get away with using headphones and airpods. Therefore, we would both use headphones connected to an extra phone that is recording just audio. One of the issues we had with this though was that when both characters were speaking, the headphones will pick up the audio of just one person. And since we just had one extra phone, we just tried to place the phone in a midpoint area, that would listen t both of us. 

In case the headphones technique would not work as much, we fixed sounds on the post production process. We used foley or additional dialogue. So, certain sounds we recorded separately such as traffic, nature, or certain dialogue parts. These would help us avoid extra sounds we did not want in such as wind, loud cars and honks, or at one point people speaking in the background.  Moreover, for the scenes we had to use the original audio, we would use apps such as Audacity to remove static audio, or lower the volume of certain loud scenes. Overall, I think it was really good the fact that we were able to look back and see into previous project mistakes and try to fix them on this one.

Editing

 Editing has been a smooth process, as we have been editing since after we did the first shooting. But there is still a lot to be done. After shooting the first day, we decided it would be a good idea to edit what we already got. And it was good in fact, as we were able to see what worked and what did not. Or maybe some stuff that we had to fix. Overall, that first edit week was pretty successful.

After the second and third days of shooting, we would not be able to meet up again due to spring break. So, that was our last chance to fix everything we had to. The editing would be done over this week (spring break) which would allow us to take it slow, smooth, and concise with things by doing it over a long period of time, but remaining constant.

At the beginning, we both wanted to edit. The problem was that since I have a school computer in order to have Adobe premiere Pro, me and my partner could not use the "share project" ability of Premier. And we found out really quick that it was not really practical ot be emailing the Adobe project back and forth. I would email what I got done, then it will take time for him to email it back, sometimes the file would get corrupted for some reason, or if I changed it after sending my part, he would receive an outdated version of the project. Conclusion: it was a mess. So, what we did was decided on a single person to keep the project on their computer, which was me. What we would do, is that sometimes we would make a call and I would share my screen with him, so that we both input on the project. We made it work.

Shooting Day 2 and 3

As spring break approaches, this was the last day we could film so we had to stay focused and get done what we needed. By this point we scheduled to film scene 3 on Saturday and scene 2 on Sunday. Again, as spring break was approaching, we both had different schedules, therefore we had to get everything done in these two days so that we could use the rest of spring break to finish up editing.

On Saturday we needed to film scene 2. We already had things that we previously filmed on the first day to get ahead. So, this day was not much of a hard day. And the scene was inside the house so we did not have any other variables that could affect the filming. So we just followed the storyboard and got done the whole scene. 

Sunday was more of a difficult day. On this day we had to film Scene 2, which was outside, and it required us both to talk. Like any other day we got to my house to firstly plan out the scene and make sure the location was available. After that we went to the location. One of the first things we noticed that was a little annoying: the Florida heat. For some reason that day was just way hotter than the entire week. But this was not a big thing that actually affected the project whatsoever.

Now, one of the big issues that actually changed our plans was the change in casting. Since me and my partner were not able to have a third person, then we had to rely much more in tripods for scenes where we both appeared in. And, it is also the fact that none of us actually like acting or are even good at it. So it was very time consuming all the bloopers, laughter, and mistakes that would randomly occur as we have no experience in acting. So at that time after having so many do-overs and bloopers we were racing the sun... and our battery. Since it was getting late, the sun was going down, and since we were outside, the natural lightning of the sun was a big part. And to make things worse, as we were not planning on taking that long, the phone we were using as a camera was running out of battery, and even forgot about bringing a charger. At the end, we rushed the filming, no time for mistakes and thankfully got everything done at a miraculous 5% battery.

Casting Issues

 So far our most major issue was the unavailability of one of our actors. Initially I talked with one of my friends (that has appeared previous projects I have done) if he wanted to be on this project, which he said yes. The problem came the week that we actually had to start filming where he said he was not going to be available. This happened even though we had several schedules showing what days we would film and what and how much we would film each day, even trying to adjust to his schedule, but he just could not make it. 

Because of this, we decided to replace him as the main character, so he would move on to be the secondary character while my partner would be the main character. This way, the weekend he was unavailable, I could be able to film the scenes that only required the main character (my partner) so that we would leave the scenes of the two of them for the weekend he was available. 

However, the next week came and he still put up many. At this point, me and my partner were tired of all these excuses, after even trying to change our entire filming schedule just to match his. So after this we just entirely replaced him. I had to take on the role of the secondary character.

This not only previously affected these schedules, but it also greatly affected our planning too. We did such planning, like the storyboard, while thinking of having three people: two actors, and a cameraman. Initially, I was going to be the cameraman. However, since both me and my partner were forced to act, we had to change up our plans and figure out a way to have both of us while still filming. 

Our solutions so far have been to film normally like I wanted to with the scenes were its just one character. But, for the scenes that require us both to be on the shot, we had to invest on a tripod. Even though, this entirely changed our planning, I believe that we can be able to overcome this and still produce a good outcome.

Editing Process

 As I have mentioned in previous blogs, we filmed every weekend and edited on the weekday. This gave us plenty of time to be able to edit and see if a certain shot does not work so that we could fix it on the next shooting. This process has made our editing process much smoother and easier.

We both have had experience editing, therefore we decided we will continuously export our progress back and forth between each other to see how each one of us is doing on our parts. Of course, here comes in certain creative adaptations where one would like a scene while the other one does not. Here, we try to look for the reason why the scene should be added or deleted. But, thankfully, most of the time we are in agreement on the creative thinking and the way we like the opening to turn out.

We are almost done with the  process. Right now we are missing (hopefully) one final shooting this weekend. From there, we will have all the material necessary to utilize spring break to get into the more detailed process such as more editing, sound mixing, and the CCRs.

We have worked on other projects in the past, but this one is by far the most organized one. We both know this is a big deal, therefore we are treating it as such. On the past we may have had to rush our editing because we procrastinated on the post production. However, for this project we wanted to reflect on the past and learn that everything requires its time, and most importantly, DO NOT leave stuff for last minute.

First Day of Shooting

 Today, we started the process of actually shooting our Portfolio Project. We are planning on continuing filming this next week. But I believe that if we stay on track just like we did today, we will not as many days as we thought.

As it was the first day, there had to be more planning than shooting. Firstly, we rearranged the set. We  already knew what we wanted for Peter's room, but today we actually had to physically rearrange it. These changes were previously mentioned on of my blogposts, but it was not very hard to do this. In fact, we were able to do this very quickly in less than 20 minutes. Moreover, after shooting we went back to the location we are thinking on filming scene 2 into make sure it is still usable. 

The shooting itself was also rather easy part. We thought that we would need many days to complete this, but we were able to stay on track and shoot this scene in one day. We did not rush to get this done, in fact, we reshot the scenes many many times and shot several variations of the shot so that we would have a lot of footage. Having so much footage of the same scene can be benefitable on the editing part, as we have many shots available if we see anything we do not like on a single one. 

Another benefit we currently have is that we started early and will probably be able to finish early too. What I mean is that, hopefully, we can be able to finish the project by week 6. This leaves us a lot of time to edit. The benefit of this is that since we start to edit on that same week, we can be able to meet again to reshoot something if we see we are missing something or if we can improve a certain thing. And, finishing this early can also allow us to have a lot of time to do our CCR.

Overall, it was a very great start. I have worked with my partner before, but because of quarantine we had never being able to physically work together. But, we both knew we need to get this done, so instead of playing around, we were able to be very productive. 

Set Designing

     Even though we are not using a set design it is still important watch out for those things that we show on the camera. We have two different sets, the first one is for scenes 1 and 3 which is my room in my house. The second one will be for scene 2 and is a part of my neighborhood near the street. 

Rearranging my room was a very easy thing we could easily do, so we had to do it right. Our main character is a student who, essentially, does not know what to do with his life. Therefore, he has no hobbies, interests, or any idea of his path. This had to be reflected in his room as it would have to be very plain. We need to take things off my room that show some kind of interests, such as my guitar, keyboard, or certain posters that did not reinforce our characters personality. 

There is also specific things we want our character's room to have. One of those things are post it notes that showed his "checklist." These will show messages such as "homework due" or "test on this date." These mainly support the fact that Peter is a guy who does not like to do his assignments, therefore, he needs a physical representation of them so that he would actually start them. Moreover, these post it notes are going to be used in an specific show that goes through these to show his "stress" of having to finish many assignments.

For set 2 we do not have to do much rearranging. What we had to do was location scouting. In this location Peter and Michael would walk and talk while taking out Peter's dog. And, these place is supposed to be within walking distance of both of their houses. So, for this set we needed a narrow path, street, or sidewalk near a neighborhood. Houses had to be able to be seen on the shot to show that they both live nearby. And, there had to be some sort of connecting pathway so that while a character stays in front of the camera, the other one can walk out of the shot. We did find a place like this within my neighborhood San Messina.

Shooting Schedule

 This week is an important one in the progress of our Portfolio Project. It is very important since we will start filming what is going to be the final result of our media project. One of the big things that I want to do before starting this process is organization. This post will serve as a schedule not only to showcase our progress but also to keep us in check about what we are supposed to do every week.

Week 5

This is going to be the first week we will start shooting, therefore, I will also post a blog about how it went. We are going to film on the weekends due to conflicts with the actor's, my partner's, and my schedule. We will start Saturday, this day will be utilized mainly for planning. We are going to arrange the set the way we want it, are going to make sure all the props are good, are going to make sure our locations are still available and will set up the costume. All of this effort will be made so that on Sunday once our actor comes, we get right into filming part of scene one. The idea is to take time planning so that the actual shooting will be a smooth and easy process. 

Week 6

As previously mentioned, we will only film on weekends, therefore, the weekdays are going to be utilized for more planning, sound elements, and start editing. This way, if we edit every single week, we won't cramp up all the editing until the last minute and will be much easier. On this week, we will film Scene 2 on a Friday, this is because we do not have a school that day, and we have conflicts of schedule due to Spring Break plans. So, we will not be able to film on the weekend either.

Week 7

Since we skipped a weekend without filming and is still Spring Break, we are going to use Friday to film as well. Friday and Saturday will be used to filming the last scene. This schedule varies a lot, we know that somedays we will film more or some days we will film less. That is why we have Sunday to catch up on anything we need, or we will use it to reshoot if we see that there is something we can improve.

Week 8

Since we already started editing since Week 5, we will have the majority done by this point. That way we can totally focus on the CCRs that are such an important part of the project since we reflect on what we created and what we accomplished.

Sound

     For the project, we wanted to incorporate several things we have learned and experienced through this Media Studies class and its projects. We have gone through several projects already, one of them being entirely focused on sound. Therefore, we really wanted to emphasize on the audio, making sure that it was good.

    Again, we are doing this out of past mistakes and errors we have committed on other projects. One of the main things we will incorporate will be an additional dialogue system. In previous projects, there were times where our characters were outside and the microphone would not fully catch on what the person is saying due to distance or other variables such as wind. 

    Therefore, we decided we wanted to incorporate an additional dialogue system that will allow us to have the option to replace the original video audio. To do this we will have our characters wear their headphones (like teenagers normally would on a daily) and have them record the scene with the phones. By the microphones in their headphones being closer to them will minimize the risk of dialogue being lost due to some variables.

    Another factor we would like to incorporate is foley sounds. However, we do not know where to incorporate it yet, what we do know is that if we need it, we will do it using foley, because it is a fun process. 

    For now, we have a basic sound list for our scenes:

Scene 1:

- During the entire title sequence the voice of the teacher giving the presentation will be on.

- However, some sounds will be over the teacher's voice such as the flicking of the pencil, the ticking of the leg, or the mouse clicking.

- As the first sequence finalizes and the camera focuses less on the presentation/computer screen, the teacher's voice will be slowly faded until she announces the presentation is over.

- To add realism there will be secondary sounds such as the characters' chair squeaking, or a degree of muffle to the teacher's voice.

Scene 2

- The main dialogue will be recorded with the main camera and the additional recording phones on the character's headphones. 

- Background sounds such as cars or the highway will not be suppressed to add realism.

- A vibrating sound for the phone will have to be manually added.

Scene 3

- There is going to be the sound of the call as Peter's dad talks to him.

- Again, minimal sounds like the phone vibration, the mouse clicking, or the doorbell will have to be manually added.

- For the final dialogue scene the additional dialogue system will not be utilized since the characters are going to be indoors.

Stay updated with my blog! If we do decide to use foley I will make sure to document the process.

Borderline Screenplay

    As we have already created our first plan, which is the storyboard, we can be able to create a script. This will make it easier to follow along as we shoot and edit the scenes. Making the script takes us one step closer to the actual filming process, which I have no doubt will be fun to do with my teammate and castmember. 

    Hereunder, the script:

1. INT. PETER’S ROOM - DAY

PETER is sitting in his room listening to a college night meeting where a teacher talks about the high school senior's future.

Peter is seen anxious for the meeting to end so that he could do something else like playing games.

Once the meeting ends he regrets having that underachiever attitude.

2. EXT. STREET - DAY

Peter is walking his dog while he walks alongside MICHAEL as they talk.

PETER

Yeah it was kinda annoying

MICHAEL

I mean, you were the one that joined it

They do those college meetings every couple of months

But this was the first one you ever joined?

PETER

Well... yeah.

(chuckles)

Are we even supposed to know what we wanna study in college though?

Peter turns to Michael

PETER

Do they really expect us to?

MICHAEL

I guess, but it does not really matter, I do know what I wanna study.

And... I know how I'm gonna do it.

Michael looks at Peter with a happy face

PETER

No way!

Michael nods

PETER

You got accepted?

MICHAEL

Full ride

PETER

Dang bro! That's amazing, I knew that track thing was gonna pay off man.

I am so happy for you!

MICHAEL

You are next!

PETER

Hahaha, I really don't know about that

MICHAEL

Again? Are you kidding me?

I already told you: YOU are going to college, YOU are going to get accepted, YOU can do it

But you gotta make an actual effort though, do not prove your parents right.

Peter's phone vibrates, when he checks it, it is PETER'S DAD

PETER

Huh, talking about my old man

Peter answers the phone

PETER'S DAD

Where are you?

PETER

Taking Mya for a walk

PETER'S DAD

Well, stop wandering around and get home, I received another message from Ms. Miller saying...

Peter takes the phone off his ear and mutes it

PETER

Gotta go, let's go Mya

MICHAEL

See ya then

3. INT. PETER’S HOUSE - DAY

Peter puts the phone back in his ear and his dad is still talking about Ms. Miller's message

He walks through the house back to his room still listening to his dad

PETER'S DAD

I've told you a million times, don't leave stuff for the last minute because then this happens.

I already went through school, why do I have to keep getting messages from teachers.

This is supposed to be your responsibility, not mine.

He looks at his agenda and reminders of the schoolwork he has to do

PETER'S DAD

Get working

PETER

Uhuh, sure, on it.

As Peter hangs up the phone he connects to an online game

The doorbell rings

Peter opens the door and Michael is still outside

MICHAEL

(chuckles sarcastically)

Literally, just hung up the phone and you are already connected on the game?

PETER

Bro, don't judge I am really stressed right now.

Not really feeling like doing any work

MICHAEL

What about what we were JUST talking about?

PETER

What about it?

MICHAEL

The part where you have no idea what to do in college.

But more emphasis on the part where I bet you feel guilty for not knowing what to do.

PETER

Yeah but there is nothing I can do about it, other than dealing with it

MICHAEL

(sarcastically)

Umm, yeah there is

Have you thought about maybe looking for that one thing that fills you?

PETER

But...

MICHAEL

But that is why I am here for

Consider me your helper on this journey for inner understanding

Michael and Peter smile at each other

It is worth mentioning that any previous planning (storyboard, script) are subject to change in case we find we can do something better or if we encounter minor details that can be improved. 

Borderline Storyboard

Story Board

    There were several changes from the last layout of our project. Due to location availability and pandemic, we had to change the first scene setting. From a teacher giving a conference to several students, we have changed it to an actual situation where a teacher will give a Teams Meeting online.

    As a result of this, we had to change the storyline of scene 2 and some of scene 3.

- As the teacher gives the online presentation peter can be seen not paying attention and anxious for the meeting to finish.

- However, once it is over, he is seen regretful of this attitude he has of wanting to play videogames instead of paying attention to something as important as the college meeting.

- Again, due to location conflicts we had to change scene 2.

- The characters now meet up while they walk their dogs instead of while they come home from school.

- Even though the setting changed, the same script will be kept of them talking about Michaels college acceptance and Peter's lack of hope of getting into college.

- Their conversation is disrupted by Peter's dad who calls him to tell him to stop wandering around as he as to do school things. 

- Peter goes home and hangs up the phone.

- Not wanting to do these school things, he starts playing games.

- Michael comes back to tell him that even though his dad is rough on him, he should actually listen and do his work,

- Mike tells him he will be there to help Peter find out what his path onlife is going to be, and to help him correct his past bad steps on this journey.