One Word Film

 In this project, we partnered up and were tasked with creating a story, between 60 and 90 seconds, which accurately conveyed a word (which was assigned by the teacher) to the audience. Our assigned word was "Relieved". Dialogue was not allowed to be used, as we were being assessed on our ability to tell stories through shots/angles/composition/movement and editing. We were also able to include instrumental music and sound effects in our projects.

Before filming, we had to complete a brainstorming sheet. During the brainstorming process, my partner and I decided there could not be a feeling of relief without the building of tension and stress. As a result, we chose to tell the story of a distressed student who forgot to study for a test because they were too busy playing video games the night before. However, when they arrived at class, they discovered that test had been cancelled, which created the feeling of relief. The brainstorming process also helped give an idea of what editing techniques would work best in the film. For example, I decided that insert shots of the student playing videogames the night before the test would work well.

Additionally, with the help of creating a storyboard, my partner and I were truly able to bring our story to life in our heads and get an idea of what shots were practical, and which made sense in the context of the film. Beyond that, when it got to the actual filming process, we discovered many other ideas for shots that would work well, beyond what we included in our storyboard. To illustrate, I had intended to use a reverse zoom to capture the overwhelming rush of emotion the protagonist felt when he remembered there was a test tomorrow. However, when attempting to create the reverse zoom, I discovered it was far more complex than I had imagined. Running low on time, I decided to settle for a close up of the protagonist's face, where it was very evident that the protagonist had realized something and was clearly freaking out over it. Our storyboard helped get us in the mindset of and immerse us in the story we created, so we were better able to communicate the story to an audience.

I utilized Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the project, which I had absolutely no experience using beforehand. It was definitely a time-consuming process, but I now feel that I have a far better understanding of the program's capabilities and how to make use of them.

Overall, I believe that my partner and I did well at accurately conveying the word to the audience and developing tone through technique and character movement. I also believe that I did well at editing the footage in an appropriate manner, and I am happy to have learned so much and familiarized myself with Adobe Premiere Pro. However, being unconfident in my ability to use music and sound effects to contribute to the meaning of a film, I chose to keep the peace silent. For next time, I will be sure to make more confident decisions and do everything I can to contribute to a message and overarching theme of a project.

Link to project:   OWF_Kearns

Camera Shots Quiz

 In this quiz, we were given a partner and tasked with telling a story through the use of 15 shots and angles we had previously been taught. We also had to show that we were capable of illustrating proper ideas and tone. Ten of the shots and angles had been previously chosen by the teacher, and the remaining 5 were entirely up to the creator.  At least one character in the story had to be an inanimate object.

My partner and I chose to illustrate the story of a student who arrives to class and takes out a pen, only to find that it has run out of ink, and then chooses to throw the pen away and retrieve a second one from his bag.

To approach the development of the story, we began brainstorming ways to make the story more interesting, as it was pretty plain and simple on its own. We decided that we wanted to end in a way that kept the viewer the thinking, so we chose to not reveal whether the second pen the student grabbed from his bag was functional or not. Also, we decided that there were two shots we absolutely had to have in the production: A low angle close up of the pen being dropped into the trash, and an over the shoulder shot of the student using the pen for the first time. We both considered these shots to be fairly unique and fitting for the story. My personal favorite shot of the project has to be the low angle close up of the pen being disposed, but looking back on it, we could've done a better job at bringing this shot to life. I feel that the angle wasn't low enough to emphasize the distance of the drop, and the uselessness of the pen to the student, which can make the shot come off as forced to a viewer.

Overall, the things me and my partner did best were imagining cool ways to spice up the story, whether it be an interesting shot or new dimension to the plot. I believe we also used background well in long shots and medium shots to give a sense of perspective and relationship between elements in the story, such as the trash can and the student's desk. However, we struggled in bringing our interesting shot ideas to life as best we could. For example, in some close ups, the framing looks awkward and cuts off part of the main subject of the shot. Also, the shots that were intended to be extreme closeups were not framed properly to accentuate the main focus of the shot.

The Blue Pen.pptx 

Introductory Post

 Hi, my name is Ryan. I am a student studying media in AICE Media Studies.