View Other Student Work

Hello! For today, we are doing our midterm in class, viewing and critiquing other student's work from the past. 

Dare To Thrill

1. Strengths that I found was their tracking shots when it came to recording the teens driving. Their editing also created some tension to the opening. The weaknesses that I found with the opening was the audio. You couldn't hear much of the dialogue because the background music was too loud. I also One takeaway that I could consider using for our opener is using a track to be able to get smooth, camera movement. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=nYpjHCwRO6Q

The Blue Boar

2. Strengths that I found was the audio. The dialogue was loud and clear, and the background music didn't overpower the dialogue. I also liked the dolly shot, following the girl walking into a forest. The weaknesses that I found was the shakiness of the camera. Most of the camera shots were all too shaky. I also didn't get the story line as much because the title of the opening was called the "Blue Boar," but nothing in the opening didn't relate much with the title. One takeaway I would grab from the move opener is using a voiceover in order for the audience the clearly hear the dialogue.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvMH-1XdR9c

White Coat

3. Strengths that I found was the eerie background sounds. The sounds give a thrilling, mysterious vibe to the movie opening. The use of low-key lighting also added some sort of suspense to the setting in the movie. Weaknesses that I found was their editing and lighting. For editing, the beginning of the opening was face-paced, then slow at the ending, which disrupted the flow. The lighting in the movie was kind of too low, so you couldn't see much of the props they used. One takeaway I would take from the movie is using low-key lighting to our movie opener since the genre of our opener is thriller and horror. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=dvAsmo32uo0

Stalker

4. Strengths that I found in the opening was the close-up shot of her face when she heard the camera shots, showing her shocked face. Weaknesses that I was able to find in the opener was the sound. The sound of the overall movie was too low and the abrupt uses of sounds they use near the end didn't sound realistic or disrupted the flow. The black screen with the title Stalker in the middle seemed weird as they should've added in the beginning. One takeaway that I would possibly use is the transitions that change from one setting to another. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxIZJKdc-Sw&feature=youtu.be

Rise

5. Strengths that I found was the audio and the camera shots. I like the music they used to keep you upbeat. The music also went on beat with the shots. I liked that they used an action match, where the player kicked the soccer ball, which then cut to another shot of the ball he kicked going into the net. The credits at the end were also a nice touch. Weaknesses that I found in the shot was the ending. I founded the abrupt close-up shots of the two guys at the end, facing each other. One takeaway I would consider is using cohesive editing that allows the audience the understand the storyline in the opener more. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AKdUT8nyg&feature=youtu.be

Dear Lover

 6. Strengths that I was able to get from the movie opener was the sounds and the voiceover. The use of romantic music enforces the title "Dear Lover" more. The voiceover allows the audience to understand the protagonist's inner thoughts. The use of white vignette to indicate a flashback was also a nice touch in the editing. Weaknesses that I found was the low dialogue between the main protagonist and her "lover." The conversation between them was a bit low. You couldn't hear the lover too much. As for a takeaway, I would consider is editing flashbacks into the opener as a way to reveal the protagonist's past.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_bKQDg6fiI&feature=youtu.be

Brainstorm/Ideas

Hello again! Today in class, my group and I are starting to brainstorm ideas of possible storylines we could do to make our movie opener.

Possible Storyline

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Roles in the opener:

- Doctor: Veronica

- Dying husband: Niliem

- Patient: Kamryn

Roles for production:

- Veronica is helping record scenes and manage the social media 

- Niliem is going to help with editing 

- Kamryn is going to help with sounding

- I am going to be providing the props, recording sound and edit the opener

Plot: A specialized transplant surgeon named Elena Marquez is well-known for her years of successful transplants within the area. She has a husband named Daniel, who she was wedded with for decades. Elena started to notice symptoms like fatigue, appetite loss, and even fainting from her husband. Later on, her husband was diagnosed with severe organ failure. His doctor said that without an transplant, he would possibly die in less than 3 weeks. With the high demand of organ transplants, it would take years to get on the list. Desperate, Elena decided to go through a inhumane method to get her husband the transplant, by any means.

Preliminary Exercise

Hello! During today’s session, the class were assigned to take / make 4 images that has a certain meaning behind it. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate our understanding of composition. We are then supposed to write a commentary, explaining our decisions when shoot and a reflection, explaining how to improve our skills.

1. In this picture, I wanted to do a shot of a person having a hard time studying for their upcoming exams. During the shot, I decided to do the location at a library since that's usually the typical place where students borrow books and study there. I used SAT books as props for this picture. Then I told the actress in the picture to convey an annoyed, sad reaction to the opened book while ruffling her hair as a sign of struggle. I did a close-up shot to be able to show the reaction of the person's face. As for what I could have done to improve it, I should've framed the camera more close to her face to capture even more of her expression. I should have also chose an area with book shelves to further indicate that we're in a library. 

2. In this picture, I wanted to capture someone who is watching a sad show in their room at night. In order to execute the shot, I chose the dark bedroom with low-key lighting as the location because a lot of people would watch movies in the comfort of their own home. As for props, I used tissues as to show how sad the person is while watching their show, a laptop displaying the movie, chips, and a stuffed animals as for emotional support. I also decided to do it in a POV shot for the audience to feel immerse into the scene as they are part of it. If I could improve it, I would fixed the lighting so that the props in the picture could be more visible while the background remains dark. I would've also liked to angle the camera higher to capture more of the setting. 

3. For this next picture, I wanted to capture an altercation between two friends at a library. I used a two-shot for this picture. The location took place. I had the actress on the right grip the hair on the other actress to further enhance the fight between them. To improve it, I should've picked a different location instead of a library, probably more outside. As for the framing, I could've backed up a bit to show more of their body figures. For the action in the shot, I would have liked it if the actresses were more aggressive and have had angry expressions to help the audience understand the context of the scene more.

4. For the last picture, I wanted to capture the scenery of the bright city at night. For the location, this was taken at a a city. I wanted to take the picture at night to be able to visually enhance the beautiful scenery of the lights emitted from the city. I did an establishing shot because I wanted to show the audience the whole, overall location. Since its an establishing scene, there aren't any props to be displayed. To improve it, I could've zoomed the camera a bit to be able to see the city more.

Primary Research - Auditing Media Skills / Members

 Hello! Today in class, we were asked to fill out an audit chart that helps us understand more about our skills for when we start producing our own movie opener for the AICE exam. Based on my chart, I am more skilled at editing and recording sound rather than filming or posting on social media. Then we were asked to form a group for our production. My group consist of members which involves:

- Veronica Madrid: While she is exceptional at producing social media, using her camera, and writing to convey a purpose to the audience, she's not decent at using editing software.

- Kamryn Phonesoukseum: Kamryn i

- Niliem Valdes: 

 

Skill	I am good at this	I can do this but need to improve	I need to acquire this skill
Using camera (photography or video) including those built into a mobile phone		✔
Recording sound either on its own or as part of a video	✔
Using light for effect, either in still photography or moving image	✔
Using video or photo editing software	✔
Using desk-top publishing software		✔
Writing for specific purposes and audiences		✔
Producing social media such as Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok, Facebook			✔
Using online applications to enhance the meaning of texts, for example Prezzi, Powtoon, Slideshare		✔