Film Opening and CCRs

Attached below in order is the film opening, CCR 1, and CCR 2.

FILM OPENING

CCR 1

CCR 2

Final Reflection

 It's done. Well not really, technically I still have one more blog post after this. But the time has come to reflect on my project. I'm not just here to reflect on my project. I'm here to reflect on my life. I have come a really long way since I looked like this.

In all seriousness, this project changed me for the better. Not once in my entire life did I see myself making a "film opening" that I was sincerely proud of and happy with. The skills I learned and knowledge I obtained in just the past 2 months will stay with me forever. I now have another way to exercise my creativity and challenge myself when life feels dull.

I would be lying if I said the entire project was always unicorns and rainbows. I encountered many difficulties that I have documented right here on this blog that were the cause for stress and long nights. From communication errors with actors, to difficulties in editing, to incredibly awful time management sometimes, this project did not leave me untested.

However, I would also be lying if I said I didn't wind up appreciating and enjoying every second of this project in the end. It just goes to show that hard work pays off. No matter what score I get, I proved to myself that I have the discipline to do a lot more than I had imagined if I put my mind to it.

I also taught myself not to be afraid of taking risks. It could be very possible that my partner and I offend the wrong people with the representation of Christianity in our film, having both positive and negative effects on the lives of the main characters. However, we are proud of what we have accomplished, and it is by no means intended to offend or attack anyone or anything. As I stated on previous postings, the film is simply just an extrapolation of the observations and ideas shared by me and JD.

In short, thank you. To myself, my partner, and whoever is reading this for this opportunity.

Here are my favorite 2 minutes from any film ever to end it off.

CCR Editing

 Editing the CCRs took a WHILE to say the least. But guess what. I'm done! I definitely underestimated how long editing would take, but it would be a lie to say that it wasn't enjoyable. I virtually got to relive the funny experiences and manipulate them into an 11 minute time frame. Today, I'll share some of the most important findings throughout the editing process.

For both CCR's, I utilized Adobe Premiere Pro to edit and made good use of a variety of tools, from lighting to zooming.

When editing CCR questions 1 and 2, I found that one of the kind hecklers had a voice that was especially difficult to understand due to his thick accent, so I decided to put subtitles on all of his lines, as well as CCR Question 2, which was asked by a different person.

The lighting issue that I addressed in my previous post was easily resolved through Adobe's "Lighting Effects" option. It found a good balance between making the footage easier to see and not making it look overly tampered with or washed out.

I decided that using jump cuts stylistically, aside from covering potential errors in my answers. would add to a sense of awkwardness and utter inelegance that was pioneered by my compelling performance (totally).

For CCR questions 3 and 4, I had a lot of work to do. I had to cut down over 30 minutes of footage to around 6 minutes, and still manage to make it a little bit funny. Luckily, approximately 90% of the footage was us goofing off, making each other laugh, and restarting our lines after messing up. After getting rid of the nonsensical filler, I was left with about 10 minutes of footage to chop down, and it was pretty straight forward from that point.

Pixabay.com had many free, non-copyright sound effects to offer and enhance the comedic, silly tone I was going for.

A common convention of podcasts that I needed to follow was the incorporation of a logo and themed music. Canva had me covered for the logo, as I simply took an alternative take to the KL Productions logo, turning it into KL PODuctions.

As for the music, what better alternative to waiting for permission or scouring the internet for non-copyright free music than music created by yours truly?

Definitely not my best art, but it still fits into the vibe of the podcast effectively.

Canva was also very helpful in creating the end credits for the CCR to appreciate and credit all those who assisted me along the way.

Overall, despite being a rather tedious, time-consuming process, I enjoyed every second of editing the CCRs. I almost don't want to say it, but I'm basically done?! With everything? What?

CCR Production Post

 Sooooo the CCR production process was lengthy and I truly underestimated how time consuming the process would be. In total, both CCRs took around 9 hours to film. Fortunately, filming them was some of the most fun I had in a while and the process never felt tedious or boring in the slightest.

The podcast CCR production took place at JD's house, as he had a backyard that worked surprisingly well for a podcast set up.

 Being musicians, we both brought our microphones (Shure SM-57)to use during production and make the sense that it was actually a real podcast all the more believable. These were plugged straight into JD's audio interface which ran directly into Garageband.  

We decided to help each other film ours individually, as different episodes of the same podcast, entitled KL Poductions, derived from KL PRODuctions (Brilliant, I know). In all honesty, I hadn't given much thought into how the CCR questions would actually be brought up until about 5 minutes before I arrived at his house, but I had reached an idea nonetheless! The CCR questions would be asked by fans in the comment section of the previous podcast episode, and we would choose them at random and answer them.

With the help of taping a loose script to the table in front of us, some comedic improv, and the help of our friend Max, the production process was over quite shortly (not really). It was a ton of fun, and some key highlights were the creation of "Guy the Sound Guy", the victim of me and JD's tormenting, as well as the creation of the inside joke "SmoothieGo Jr.". Don't ask.

A Comedic Change of Plans

Remember that "celebrity sidewalk interview" idea that I had. Yeah? Well it was trash. 0/10. Embarassing. Shameful.

Instead, I opted for the scene of a stand up comic bombing awfully in front of a crowd. After quickly running out of jokes, he would then turn to the audience and ask if they had any questions. What would these questions be? CCR questions 3 & 4 of course!

I decided a local bar which I have played gigs at in the past by the name of "Boston Johnny's" would serve well as a fake "comedy club". After getting permission from my friend Jason, my wonderful mother drove me over and served as a heckler, and I got another bargoer to serve as the host of the comedy club introducing me on stage. While I'm sure that the other bargoers did not intend to spend 90 minutes of their evening listening to comic bomb and answer CCR questions, they were all very kind and more than happy to play along.

Me on stage @ Boston Johnny's!

Anonymous Friendly Volunteer Bargoer

One difficulty that I ran into was the poor lighting of the indoor bar, but this can be fixed in post editing.

I attempted to base my cringeworthy performance off of the likes of fellow awful comedians like Dax Flame. No one is really sure if he's joking or not. 

Notecards really helped me lock into the persona of an awkward, nervous comedian who had no chance of engaging an audience. They also helped guide me through answering the CCR questions as I wrote down a loose script and key points to help guide me.

Overall, the CCR production process was long, but so so fun, and I would do it all over again if I could.

Potential CCR Ideas

Two potential ideas I had for the CCR are creating a visual podcast, as well as a celebrity sidewalk interview.

The visual podcast would take inspiration from the Joe Rogan Experience and Bad Friends podcasts, incorporating music, advertisements, and additional media into the podcast. Me and JD would likely both end up using this approach but switch between asking and answering questions for our own CCRs.

The quick cuts and shot/countershot technique work to keep the audience engaged and even highlight humorous dialogue and facial expressions, so this is something I can be sure to implement into my project.

The introductions to these podcasts are often thought to be iconic, so I must be sure to find a song that fits and matches the overall aesthetic.

The celebrity sidewalk interview would take inspiration from popular TikTok content, in which people walk up to strangers on the sidewalk and ask what song they're listening to. It takes this premise, and combines it with regular celebrity interviews, in which important questions are asked and answered in a relatively brief, concise way.

This approach to answering 2 CCR questions is a lot more fantastical, in which I'll pretend to be a celebrity renowned filmmaker and play a character. I feel that this will produce fun, engaging content, and when paired with layering on screen visuals that tie into what I am describing, will be all the more engaging.

 

Overall, now that I have my 2 ideas for the CCR and concluded my research for all questions, the production process should be over quite shortly. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

CCR Question #4

 How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

Hardware

Some of the key examples of hardware technologies I used within this project are an iPhone 13 Pro for filming, and a tripod for stabilization purposes. The iPhone was convenient and sufficient in producing satisfactory quality for footage, and I was already familiar, instead of having to learn how to properly operate a camera. The tripod was necessary in ensuring the instability of certain shots did not grow overbearing.

Software

Some software products that I used were Adobe Premier Pro to edit the footage and create the soundscape, Blackmagic Cam to enable myself with more camera control options on an iPhone, and Ableton Live to elongate the song we used - "Sleepless" by Diffie Bosman. Already having experience with Premier after using it in past projects like the Music Marketing Project, I felt comfortable using it and ran into minimal difficulty. Blackmagic Cam is a free app that was downloaded onto the iPhone, allowing many advanced camera options like frame rate, image quality, and even tint. And the best part? It was free! Finally, after using Ableton Live in the past for recreational music creation purposes, I found it quite easy and convenient to use, as  I discussed on my March 7th post.

Online 

Last but not least, many online tools were used in this project, including Blogger, Google Docs to access the script, and YouTube to access the SFX for editing the soundscape. Numerous online tools were used for a variety of reasons along the way to help bring the film opening to life.

Clearly, a variety of tools in different forms were utilized along the way, and all were crucial in creating the finalized product.

CCR Question #3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

My productions skills developed greatly throughout the course of this project. At the start of this school year, I was a complete noob at anything related to film besides sitting down and watching them. I had no idea of the amount of critical thought and intentional choices behind every single frame of a film. After this project, I can confidently say that I have a far better understanding of just how much effort goes into a mere 2 minutes of film.

Working with someone as experienced and motivated as my partner without a doubt played a huge role in bettering my skills as both a director and editor. At the start of this project, I didn't even know where to begin with how to write a script, or direct people. Being able to collaborate and see how someone with so much experience went about doing these things were huge learning experiences for me. Throughout the project, I gained a lot more confidence as a writer and director and I can't wait to use all the knowledge that was shared with me in future projects.

Additionally, through many trials and tribulations, my production skills developed for the better as a result. I learned that planning is key, except when it isn't. Planning elements like scripting and storyboarding are great tools for bringing something to life in my head, but sometimes something can turn out to be impractical, like a certain shot, or a character's delivery. I learned that not all goes according to plan, but this can open new doors that weren't even considered in the first place.

For example, in this blog post, I discussed the process of deciding to incorporate a handheld tracking shot due to the instability of using a phone to record. This is a key example of a learning experience, in which I gained that film directing is not entirely planned out, but rather some of the best ideas come from the heat and excitement of the moment.

Last, I learned that my personal favorite aspect, and what I feel most comfortable doing, is sound design. I was put in charge of this element of post production, and I absolutely loved it. Finding just the right combination of sounds and levels to bring the film opening to life was quite an enjoyable experience. 

Overall, this project only allowed me to grow my production skills in positive directions, and I'm sure that the knowledge I gained will be used to my advantage in the future.

Grail, F. (2024). Cinema Audience Demographics Analysis: Insights & Data. Filmgrail. https://filmgrail.com/blog/cinema-audience-demographics-analysis-insights-and-data/

Thriller film market size, scope, growth, trends and forecast. Verified Market Research. (2024, October 10). https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/thriller-film-market/

CCR Question #2

Hello again! Today, let's do some research to help answer the second CCR question:

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

First, let's start with a quick breakdown of the target audience for psychological dramas. Being the lovechild of two very different genres, dramas and psychological thrillers, research has shown that in terms of age range, there is quite an overlap. Psychological thrillers tend to reach an age range of those aged 18-35, with a keen interest in substantial narratives, complex characters, and suspense. Dramas at large tend to reach a far broader audience of those aged from 25 up to 50, with the more specific limitations depending on the content within the film. The coming of age elements of They Lay In a Pool of Blood That Is Not Their Own! will make the film more appealing to young adults aged 18-25, so this will be the most definite age range of our target audience. 

Our film would engage with the target audience due to the implementation of key characteristics discussed in all three genres. This includes complex characters who undergo great development throughout the story, heavy, substantial narratives that tackle real-world issues, and an unapologetically frank approach to the discussion of these issues. Films like Skinamarink (2022) and American History X (1998) tackle real world issues such as racism and child endangerment in a bleak, unfluffed way, and our film does the same. Both Christopher and Belle undergo great development throughout the film, and their complexity makes it difficult to even understand the motivations behind their actions at times. Our film tackles the topic of religion, as I previously discussed, and the solemn, bleak tone throughout adds to the realistic approach to tackling this topic.

Our film would be distributed on YouTube initially, and after gaining enough traction would be submitted to local film festivals such as the Miami Film Festival and Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Films like Tangerine (2015) have gone this route, being released on YouTube initially, eventually making it to one of America's biggest film festivals, the Sundance Film Festival, and then receiving widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. 

CCR Question 1 Research

 How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

The main genre present within They Lay in a Pool of Blood That is Not Their Own! is coming of age, while there are some conventions relating to the drama and psychological drama world as well.

Coming-of-age films are universally known for revolving around a teenage protagonist and cherishing the beauty of growing up, including the hardships that come with it, as they eventually lead to the main character being a more mature, wholistic person. 

We are essentially on the road to following this aspect, then popping a complete U-ey (making a U-turn), as we essentially leave the opposite message. At the end of the film, Belle is lost. She has developed a fueling resentment towards Christianity and anything associated with it, her father, and anyone she has ever known. She feels lost and betrayed as she feels her dad forced her into a life of being bullied and oppressed by her peers, and she associates all of her anger back to the religion she now feels she was forced into. As a result of maturing, Belle's life has worsened, and her reality has been destroyed to the point where she can't be a functioning member of society and decides to burn down the village her father moved them to.

(I didn't know what to put)

Some conventions we have followed, however, are within the psychological drama world, as some key conventions are the occurrence of a traumatic event early into the film, setting the tone for what's to come, and themes of isolation and descent into madness. Christopher burning the picture of his wife is deeply traumatic towards Belle, as it serves as a turning point where she truly realizes how alone she is in trying to remain attached to her deceased mom, reflecting themes of isolation.

Additionally, a further convention of dramas at large is the crucial role of the soundtrack. In our opening, Diffie Bosman's "Sleepless" will be heard throughout, and will be crucial in furthering our solemn, bleak tone.

Our film tackles the social issue of Christianity, as well as the ethical issues it brings about. The Christian "getaway" is a representation of the dedication select groups have towards the religion that is prioritized above all else.

The Christian community is represented in a variety of ways in our film, as to Belle, it is eventually resented, as we have discussed. In this way, the film may even be understood as a means of othering Christians as immoral and detached from ethical standards.

However, to Christopher, it is the only way he saw possible of escaping the darkness he was trapped in after losing his beloved wife. Christianity was quite literally his escape. Without it, it is impossible to know where he would have ended up. In this way, Christianity is cherished as a means of escaping the horrors of everyday life, and to Christians, it brings them closer to their God as well. Clearly, Christianity is represented in a dualistic way that is heavily open to the interpretation of our audience.

PLEASE understand that in no way, shape, or form is this film an attack on Christianity. AT ALL. In fact, neither me nor JD consider ourselves to be religious to any extent. It is simply an extrapolation of observations we have made and ideas of ours. An assessment and exploration of the lengths those who follow God will go to stay as close to him as they perceive to be possible, even if it means abandoning the memories of those they love.

Foleyoley

 So me and JD have decided that in terms of post-production, we would go 50-50 and he would handle the footage side of things, and I would handle the sound side of things. As I sit around, waiting impatiently for the edited footage to create the soundscape to, I can't help but get started on some foley sound design, and what better place to go than YouTube?

I had previously found some copyright-free SFX to use in post-production in past YouTube excursions, so today I'll show you what they look like over the big climax: the picture burning.

Here's the original video with original sound:

And below are some pre-recorded foley SFX I had planned on using from YouTube:

When editing, I felt that the soundscape was a little too dull. While the overall tone of the opening is rather solemn and dull, the soundscape was a little too monotonous. So, I decided to add two new sounds: breathing and a very subtle heartbeat. The heartbeat would make the scene a little more suspenseful without being too obvious. It's more felt than it is heard. The breathing gives the impression that the shot is almost a POV shot of Christian, placing the viewer in his perspective and forcing one to attempt to reason and sympathize with his cruel, inconceivable actions.

And here's the final footage:

It's quite possible I might make some subtle tweaks in the future, as I'm attempting to work around not having completely edited footage yet. However, as I continue to set the foundation for the sound design for individual shots, moving the sound designs over will be seamless.

Choppin' Up

 I've always considered myself more of a guitarist than a DJ, but here I've found myself needing to act as one for the sake of my film opening. Remember this song?

Well, as it turns out, after only 15 seconds of music, the drums come in. Yikes. Don't get me wrong, I love some good drums, but this would really ruin the tone we were aiming for in our opening. We're aiming for something more on the chill/ambient side. So, I'll try my very best to edit this into something a little longer that we can work with using Ableton Live.

After many trials and tribulations, I managed to near perfectly loop just the first 10 opening seconds and extend it to about 2 minutes. We don't necessarily need all this time, but it would be great to have more to play with as we continue along the post-production process. 

I also elected to add some additional channels for delay and reverb as well to create a bigger, warmer sound than the original, as well as to make it less monotonous. Overall, now that the dull tone-establishing foundation has been completed, I can't wait to see how this track and the footage complement each other.

Royalty Free Music: https://www.bensound.com

License code: 55FTSLLQWL3ZWB5M

Summative Production Post

  As was previously stated, we were falling off schedule due to actor inavability. However, this past week, we "locked in" as the kids are saying, and finished filming!!! So to make up for all the production process documentation you've been dying to see, I'll be documenting a lot more today. Grab a bucket of popcorn and enjoy!

FAMILY PHOTOSHOOT

After meeting together at a local park, we worked towards getting some pleasant photos to frame in the house for the main scene and getting our actors to at least pretend to like each other for a few minutes. Here's how it turned out:

JD took the responsibility of editing these photos to give a more vintage aesthetic, and I think they turned out really great!

Finding the best balance between laughs, awkwardness, and hard work, I think these photos came out really well.

CHURCH DAY

Yes, we went back. By a strip of luck, as well as warmth and kindness, we were once again kindly granted permission by a local church called St. Bonaventure to film in their establishment. Me and JD are both incredibly thankful. Despite only needing a few seconds of footage, those few seconds are essential towards establishing context.

We chose to reshoot the match cut, but this time with a different, bigger crucifix in the church that we did not originally have access to. It definitely came out a lot cleaner and will make for a smoother transition.

MAIN SCENE

It's the moment you've all been waiting for. Right now. It's happening. IF YOU SMELLLLLLLLLL

Sorry. Seriously though, it's about time.

Here's a quick display of the table of memorabilia, including the pictures, props, and rosary beads I purchased. After some quick tinkering and furniture arrangement, we were off to the races.

This part took a bit, to say the least. Even with a storyboard and script, there was some improvisation involved in order to carry out me and JD's vision. After a few hours, we ran to Walgreens to pick up some food and uhh remember that pamphlet I was so excited about? Well, I might have forgotten to print it out (oops) but hey, we assaulted two birds in one Walgreens trip!

One difficulty we encountered was the inherent instability of filming with a tripod and a phone alone. However, in some instances we decided to embrace it and use it to our advantage, like in this shot, where it actually adds to the chaotic environment:

WE DID IT! We actually finished filming. I feel like I can do anything. Now, after spending the next few days on editing and sound, we can finally get to work on CCR production. We are so close yet so far.

Erica'sPhotoshoot.jpg

We finished Erica's photoshoot, and got some nice shots to use within the credit sequence as well for Christopher to burn (yikes) at the end of the opening.

Between these two shots, which we decided were the best of the bunch, the top one has more of the look we're going for. The pleasant scenery in the background highlights how vibrant and loving of a person she was, and has more of the vibe of a picture that would be stared at by a mourning husband who misses her deeply.

Through the pleasant scenery of my backyard, JD's phone, our actor's 90's vibe, and being bothered by my dog on occasion, we were able to get some shots that we were really happy with.

The internet is a wonderful place with many video game sites, online communities, and places like Vsauce's YouTube channel. 

More importantly, there a bunch of free resources online to put filters on photos to give them a certain aesthetic. For example, imgonline.tools has plenty of filters, from noise, to vintage, all the way to Polaroid.

Before:

After:

Ultimately, we have completed a very crucial aspect of the production process, despite limited actor availability. Next week, we are taking advantage of our free time and locking in on bringing the production process to an end. See you then!

The Match Cut Ultimatum

 Today, after calling ahead and asking for permission, we stopped by the St. Bonaventure Church in Davie, Florida, to film the match cut of the crucifix in our opening. I'm stuck between two options, so come along and help me decide.

Immediately, the second option is clearly more vibrant and colorful. While it is more visually captivating, I'm not sure it's what we're looking for exactly. Additionally, the cut would be less continuous as the shapes are not obviously similar, and the colors would be juxtaposed.

We are using a crucifix like this as a prop, for reference.

The first option would match this crucifix above a lot better and establish a greater sense of continuity and smoothness within the opening. Despite not necessarily being the most visually jarring or juxtaposing, it will serve it's purpose. It will smoothly link the present to the past, highlighting the opposition between Christopher and Belle regarding how they would like to move on, or stay attached to it.

Out of these two options, I feel as if the first works better, as it would match the mood of the opening better and not provide to stark of a contrast between the cross and the crucifix. While the second is more "cinematic" and vibrant, it's not necessarily what we are going for within our opening. Therefore, I can say with almost certainty that we've found the final footage to use for the match cut in our opening. That was a lot easier than I thought.