She Knows......

This is my final cut for my film, I hope you enjoy! 

 

The CCR

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

- I believe my film represent social groups or issues because even though my film idea isn't exactly expressed it's very stereotypical. I say this because the story consist of the fact that the family came from a dark past, but as soon as the girl was born they immediately changed there life around. They didn't want to be in that business anymore so they got out. But eventually it came back to haunt them. So they use the brother as the prime example of what would happen to them if they didn't listen to them. So typically through these situations, it's usually the man who dies and the woman who gets framed for it. Having no context everyone is not going to believe her because well one, she is a female. And also she happened to find him in the back of her house. It also represents social issues because typically in these situations it's usually the female getting blamed. Whether it's because she is crazy or mentally not stable. So they give her that label. Like a prime example, is the TV show "Riverdale". I believe there is a season where one of the main characters Betty is blamed for her boyfriend murder. And obviously no one believed her when she said she didn't do it because they found her at fault with his blood in her hands. All the evidence points to her so when she said she didn't do it, they didn't believe her.  

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

- I will like to say the way my production engages with audiences is my film starts off as quiet and very laid back. But it gradually builds tension and starts to intensify as it goes. And this is good for the audience because as it builds people start getting anxious and would want to know what will happen next. And the with the music it adds meaning and just makes people want to know what is going to happen or what's the next move. My film would be distributed as a real media text because as more people keep watching it everyone is going to have there own theories. Everyone would want to have there own idea or input so everyone is going to analyze it. 

• How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

- Since I was working by myself for this production I had to learn all four roles. Which is director, cinematographer, editor, and sound designer. I already kind of have experience with director and cinematographer considering those were my roles last production. But I also have help since it I had a partner. But since I was on my own I had to learn to navigate with all four roles. My main role was director but I also had to work with the other three. I can say they definitely got better because in order to get better at these types of things, you need to experience them firsthand. It's a textbook teaching, it's more hand on deck and learning from experiences. 

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

- A way I guess you can say I integrated technologies was with the opening shot. She receives a "NO CALLER ID" phone call so I had to use phone. And if you want to count the music that too. But that's mainly there for more a meaning purpose rather then for something technology wise. 

Post- Production

 Now that I am officially done editing the film I just have to focus on doing the CCR. And for working by myself I can say I am proud of what I did. Because during filming everything just kind of felt off. It always felt like I was doing something wrong or I wasn't doing enough. And when we will watch my peers rough cuts I realized how much better there ideas or actual films were. But when I actually started editing and added the music I was proud of myself. I was constantly doubting myself throughout the whole process. I always felt either behind or like I wasn't doing enough. But actually seeing my film for the first time thoroughly I felt myself relax a bit. I even thought that my film was way shorter then 2 minutes. But as soon as I started to piece the clips together I realized I was freaking out for nothing. Adding a title also helped with reaching the time limit. So as this production comes to an end I feel a little stress being lifted off my shoulders.  

Editing part 2

So far music I had to use a different software called Adobe Premium Pro. Yes I can use rush to edit the music but in order for the music to come out the way I want it too, I have to use a more advanced app. And with pro it allows you add effects such as fades in and fades out. It also allows for me slow down the song so it builds tension. One thing I wanted from the very beginning with this film was to slow down the song, and slowly have it build until the lyric "she knows" is the big part. It sets the tension for the rest of the film and it also sets everything into place. 

Editing part 1

 

Editing for me was a little tricky, I should say. This is my first time ever editing something alone. And I had to work between two different software's. One was for the actual film itself and the another was to edit the music. But overall it a learning experience.  The only thing I did have trouble with was trying to adjust the clips. Because since I had to film on my phone I had to download Adobe Premium Rush on my phone and upload the clips from there. Because yes, you can email yourself the clips but it does ruin the quality of the clips when exporting. And since there were many takes I had to watch every clip and see which one was the correct one. But after getting the rough cut finalized I started to shorten the clips. Luckily I don't much dialogue so I really just had to worry about making sure I didn't cut any important shots out. But after getting that settled, the music was what got me. 

Starting the rough cut

 Now did I officially have finished editing, I have to work on my rough cut. Which is basically all my cuts combined together just not edited. And I know for a fact that that is going to be a little long because most of scenes require time to make the mood more chilling. I want it be this uncomfortable silence so it's uneasy for others. I almost want the silence to be too loud. To the point where you want to hear other noises. But besides the monologue and silence, there is also raw audio. Of the cars passings, the wind, the footsteps and also the doors creaking. Starting the rough cut would definitely be interesting because it's something I never really done. Especially by myself. And with editing I think that's where I would have a little trouble searching my way around and figuring out how to do certain things. 

Bird Box Background research

 As I looked into the background of the movie Bird Box I come to find out that they created their story based off chaos and tension. For example "in the first opening scenes absolute chaos are occurring by Bier are honestly terrifying. She captures complete chaos on what appears to be a relatively limited budget, realizing the power of stark imagery- a woman bashing her head into a glass window or another calmy getting into the driver's seat of a burning car- over the CGI overload we so often see in post-apocalyptic movies." They build intense scenes with overwhelming scenes that are hard to watch. And they also do this with heavy amounts of silence. They make everything go quiet before something happens. Which I think of a lot of films do to make their movie more dramatic. 

Subtitles

 I wasn't going to have subtitles for this film because I didn't think it was necessary but that before I included a bit of Spanish into script. But it's basic Spanish. But I think subtitles would be important so being understand the full context of the story and really know what's going on. Subtitles are translations. And also according to research on subtitles they are important because "with subtitles you will significantly improve the SEO of your videos, meaning that search engines can find and rank your content and thus increase the traffic of your videos." Subtitles would be very beneficial to those who don't understand Spanish, so they can fully understand. 

 

It's a wrap

 Now that I am done with filming and getting all my shots, now it's time to start editing. Which I got to be honest I am not that excited for. But mainly because it's not my strongest suit. I never really found an interest in editing. It was never a thing I like to do or something that was for me. But the only thing that is actually making me look forward with editing is the song. I want to incorporate the song at the perfect time and really sync it. And also since I am the only one in my group I also get to play around with it and see what I do and don't like. And with that being said hopefully the final cut turns out okay for a first time editor. But I am excited to see the final thing and see how it really turned out. 

The song

 For this scene right here is where I want the song to start playing.

This is her big "oh my goodness" moment. Where she catches on and realizes what is happening to her. She now knows she is being framed for a murder she did not commit, But with the song this is where I want the lyrics "she knows, she knows" to start playing and as she says her final line that is when the beat drops and changes and that's where it cuts. I want it all to sync in with the lyrics and the drop of the music. But after the cut ends, the credits would come into play with the song still playing in the background but in a echo and slowly fade out. 

Breaking down the shots

 I like to think this a beautiful shot because you really see her reaction and see how scared she is. And then the sun just hits the right spots. Then you see lifting his head trying to wake him up. And though it's a photo, in the actual video itself the wind happens to pass by at the right moment. For instance, for this scene this is where she gets a knock at her saying it's police. And as the police says " ma'am its LAPD open up" it hits her what is going on. She realizes she is being framed for a murder she did not commit.