(9) Some Research on Editing

Okay, okay, I know I already made three blog postings about research and brainstorming but this is something new, I promise. 

So these past two days I have been working on my storyboard and outlining my film and I'm happy to report it's going really well!! :D I'm not completely finished with it but I'd say that I'm halfway done with it. When it comes to storyboarding I usually come up with shot ideas on the spot; I just let the images of what I want to capture flow out onto the page. Now that I have taken my ideas and placed them on paper I can conduct some further research on what I want to incorporate or consider including. 

I want to include some visual match cuts in order to provide a smooth transition from 'real world' shots to animated ones. However, I am not very experienced when it comes to shooting visual transitions (let alone editing them together). I knew that I would have to look into how to perfect a visual match cut so I found a video and a link that I think will be useful for the production and editing stages. :D

https://blog.pond5.com/21323-5-types-of-match-cuts-and-how-to-use-them-well/

This research about jump cuts made me think about editing and if I'm honest it made me a little nervous (hehe ^^;). Now normally I wouldn't even think about editing until I finish production, but that's simply because in past group projects I would never be in charge of editing. However, since I'm the only person working on my film editing is something I'm going to have to think about. 

I typically use WeVideo or a little bit of iMovie in order to edit projects on my own, but those two editing tools are pretty limited in how they can edit footage. I wouldn't be able to manipulate the lighting or color of a shot in an accurate fashion or use software that can assist me with transitions. At the same time, I'm not sure if I'm willing to go out of my way to buy Adobe Premiere and learn how to use it just for this one project. I guess I'll have to see what are my options and come up with a more thorough plan later on...

Just when I feel like I planned everything out another factor I need to consider pops up. :/ As frustrating as it is it's really important that I do think these through. For me, blogging everything down and keeping track of what I'm doing through my posts has been insanely helpful. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything down tomorrow, I'll keep you guys posted!

(8) Okay, Here's the Plan/Stop-motion research

Hello everyone! :D

Right, so after looking over my past blog posts and documents I've been using to plan out my film project I have decided to set out a list for myself to complete before this upcoming Monday. By completing all of these tasks I hope that I'll be prepared to begin the production process this next week! Here's the list that I made below:

Since I've decided that I'm going to be using stop motion for some of the scenes in my project I want to lay out all of my ideas on how and why I'll be using it. :0

As I'm imaging some of the stages of grief I picture myself in various 'scenes' that capture the essence of that stage. Because of this, I would like to use my environment around me in order to symbolize some stages, but I don't have access to a set or the resources to make a full-blown scene at a life-size scale. However, with animation my limits as to what I want to capture or create dissolve. I can be able to place myself (or a representation of me rather) into any location. 

Of course, with freedoms comes responsibility, and knowing that stop-motion is very laborious I'll need to plan. I'm already familiar with the technical gear I'll need but I am not sure how if I would want to do 2D or 3D animation. 2D animation would be easier to execute, but since I want to do stop-motion to create scenes I think 3D is the wisest choice. Because Yejin used a 3D setting for their film I decided to get some insight and ask them for advice! :D 

They said that I should definitely try to have a strong source of light since it'll allow me to "create a sense of depth" if I'm using a diorama. Luckily, my art desk has a really strong light making it the perfect spot to set up a diorama so I'm set when it comes to my setup!

ta daaaa!

In my project last year I focused on the mise-en-scene of my film so I'm hoping that my experience will be able to assist me in creating the 'set' for the stop-motion sequences. Yejin suggested to use a mixture of both paper and clay so that means I'll probably have to go run some errands in order to get the materials I need (hence the note on my task list). 

There isn't much more planning I can for the stop-motion sequences unless I get the storyboard and the general outline of my film down first. Hopefully I'll get that done in time for the next blog post, I'll keep you guys posted! >:D

(7) Inspiration Hour

Hey everyone, it's been a minute. 

On Saturday I received a few emails from universities I applied to and unfortunately I got deferred from some of my dream schools. I was pretty upset and occupied over it so I had to take some time to figure out what I needed to submit (I think I figured everything out). Unfortunately, I'm off schedule, but instead of moping I'm going to do my best to knock out planning as soon as possible and complete a plan that I'm proud of! >:0

Alright, since I've been in a creative block I decided to take the time and brainstorm again to hopefully draw some inspiration. I was talking with my boyfriend about my project and what I had planned so far and we were able to bounce off some ideas (yay!).  

After telling him my plans he agreed that I should try to include some kind of script/voiceover within my film. However, he suggested that instead of a complete script I could also make it abstract in some sense. Since we're both spoken word poets he suggested that I use or create a poem as a voiceover to my project. While writing out an entire poem might take some work, I think the idea of using spoken word in my script is stellar! :D I think it will work well in an arthouse film style and the flow of a spoken word piece will sound really nice!

He also showed me a couple of Ted-ED videos that have animated visuals to a spoken word poem for some inspiration. I really like the style of these videos and they're method of storytelling; I'll definitely look to these when it comes to finalizing the organization of my film!

Yesterday I was scrolling on my Twitter and I saw that my friend Yejin Koo posted one a stop motion  project they have been working on (Yejin used to go to Cypress and take this class but now they're at Emerson College in Boston). They made a project about a young boy and his day at the beach and I absolutely fell in love!! I really loved the animation and it really inspired me to consider using stop motion within my own project!

I was on the fence about using stop motion animation it out but after seeing what Yejin did I knew I at least had to plan for it. Using some animation within my film will definitely allow me to include visuals that otherwise would not be necessary. It might be time-consuming but I think it'll be 1000% worth it.

Even though I lost a production week I'm not going to sweat it because this is necessary. I'm the kind of person that needs everything planned out before I even attempt to work, and for a project where I'm planning to tell story in an abstract manner it's crucial I have everything down. For these next few days I'll take the time to plan out everything I need and next week it's crunch time! I'll keep you guys posted! :D

(6) Equipment and Planning Going Wrong

As much as I love filming, I really hate the technical aspects of it. 

Don't get me wrong I love all of the cool stuff you can do with the equipment, but I'm never good with understanding how it works or knowing what I should use if I have a specific thing I want to include within a shot. Fortunately, I do know a few people who are pretty tech savvy and they were able to help me out!

This morning my godfather called me to just chat about life, and I was telling him about my film project he asked me if I had any of the equipment in order to execute some of the ideas I had. I was telling him about how I wanted to use colored lighting in order to symbolize various stages of grief, but when he brought that question up I realized that I don't have any lights in order to pull that stunt off. Luckily, since he works in the photography industry he is able to lend me a few lights that I can use! :D

He even offered me to borrow a camera that has a stabilizing feature in it so it would be easier for me to get handheld shots. If I'm honest, it sounds a little daunting for me to have such a high-tech camera so I told him that I would think about it. 

Last night I was writing out my script but it was not going that great. I planning to write out some voiceover only but as I looked it over I didn't like it at all. It felt very unnatural and I feel like if I were to use it within my film it would not help communicate my message any further. Since then I've been in a block; I haven't been able to finalize my plan and begin the production process. 

Everything that I write and storyboard isn't right and I don't feel satisfied with it. However, I don't have much time until I need to start filming. I definitely don't want to be off schedule like I was last year so I'm really hoping that this block passes and I'll be able to get back on my feet. I'll let you guys know what happens, hopefully it all goes well.

(5) Group Meetings and Music

Today in class I had a group meeting with a couple of other peers and we were able to bounce off ideas from one another in order to hear the advice of other people and to hopefully get some inspiration!

I was presenting my idea to my partners and they brought up something that I should consider first before expanding on my idea for the project: am I planning to use a script or just use visuals in order to tell the story? 

I never really considered the idea before, but the moment my classmate Dean brought it up I knew that was something I have to think about. 

The plan of my project so far has no script and I haven't really considered any audio components such as music or sound effects either. As I was looking it over I quickly realized there is no way I can't include no sound within my project. Because my project is relying on capturing the essence of certain stages of grief planning out a soundtrack and/or having a script to go with it will greatly boost the messages within my piece. So, I after the meeting I went to work in search of some music!

After a couple hours sifting through instrumental albums I already know and discovering some on Youtube I complied some songs that can be potentially used for my film! The songs that I chose encompass all of the stages of grief I plan to express; from peaceful to somber tunes I feel confident with all of my choices for music. 

here's the list!!

Now, I have two tasks I need to complete. I need to email all of the artists and ask for permission to use their songs and consider if I will be using a script or not. Since this is a school project I don't think that it'll be hard to get permission to use the songs, but in the chance that it does not work out my teacher did say to me it would be fine if used them anyway (I mean it's not like I'm selling my film right?).  I really have no clue if I would want to include a voiceover or dialogue so for now I guess I'll try to write something out and see what I can do with it. Well that's all I have for now, I'll keep you guys posted! :D

(4) Brainstorming colors

One thing about me is that I am an extremely visual person. When I'm planning a project I can always visualize how I want it to look like; visuals are always the first part a project that I like to shell out first.  For this project, when I think of the stages of grief I associate them with colors. Most people already associate feelings of anger with red and depression with blue, but I also like to think of the colors for the other stages. For me, I see acceptance as green and bargaining as lilac. 

Because such vivid colors are coming to mind when I think of my film and the story I want to tell, I decided to make a Pinterest that I can use as a guide when it comes to visuals that I want to capture. To me, I think the stages of grief are like uncharted waters. Every time you go through them there's always a level of uncertainty and the end of it is always shrouded in mystery, which is just like water ripples in my head (I hope I am making sense).  Anyways, I added the Pinterest link to my mood board below :P

https://www.pinterest.com/kathy0pericas0g/absence/

(3) Research

Hello everyone! :D This weekend I did a bit of research about art films to get a better understanding of the genre. I've always heard of art films and had a general understanding of what they look like, but I never grasped what makes them different from other genres of film (until now). In this post I hope to give a basic definition of arthouse films and some examples of them; let's jump in! >:D

Art films (or art-house films) is a style of film that takes elements and techniques coming from visual art and places them within a film 'lens'. They're known for being introspective and experimental; commonly using symbolic clips and footage in order to send a message. It's important to note that art films can encompass a wide range of genres, from thrillers to romance and dramas.

For the creator of these films, the goal is not to portray a piece that can be understandable or palatable amongst all audiences. The artistic vision and perspective of the creator is the most fundamental component of art films; the author's expression is what drives and arthouse film forward. As stated by Wonderful Cinema, "The narrative is often in the social realism style with a focus on the characters' contemplation of their existence or immediate concerns".

The birth of arthouse films started right with the birth of film as a whole. Ever since movie cameras were invented many directors were already pushing the conventions of story-telling with them. Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dali greatly pushed the usage of experimentation within the film world, and it really took off around Europe during the 1920s-40s (the stereotype of unusual French noir films is a direct result of the art film boom from this era). They sharply fell out of popularity around the 40s and 50s when the United States started to become the global standard for what film should look like, swapping out experimentation for a traditional method of storytelling.

The film Intolerance (1916) is considered to be one of the first art films. 

Because they are very experimental and do not adhere to the conventions found in most films, many big-name production companies often steer away from making arthouse films. Instead, they are often produced independently/distributed (although there are some companies that do distribute them). Many arthouse films are often distributed and screened in film festivals since they have a very niche audience.

However, I would like to note since postmodernism in the media has challenged creators to shift away from the traditional framework/plot of movies, arthouse films and its elements are starting to become much more popular amongst a broader audience. Some great examples of popular films that can be grouped under the arthouse film style would be Moonlight (2016) or Parasite (2019).

Key art for the film Moonlight (2016)

In terms of storytelling, art films are not always told sequentially. Sometimes the story is told in chapters, a mismatched order, or even told in reverse. Whatever the reason may be, an art film's story is told in the way the director feels it can be told best, and this usually means chronological order doesn't always cut it. Almost all arthouse films abandon (or very loosely follow) the traditional movie plot structure.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is a good example of an arthouse film told in reverse.

After my research I think making my project follow the style of an arthouse film would work best for me. It'll give me flexibility to represent the stages of grief in the manner I would like them to. Who knows? Maybe I'll change up the stages a little bit if I find that works better for me. :) I already know that my film will most definitely be a drama, and since I researched and worked a lot on it last year I already feel pretty well-versed in the genre and its conventions. I already made a post on the basics of the drama genre a while back, if you would like you view it you can click on the link below:

https://kpgportfolio.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-inner-workings-of-drama-genre-study.html

I think I have enough research in order for me to start planning; I can already feel the gears in my head turning! If I feel that I need to do a bit more research expect to see another post, but if not then it's all going to be planning posts from here. I'll keep you guys posted!

Sources for art film research:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/art-house

https://wonderfulcinema.com/art-house-definition/

https://www.arthousefilmfestival.com/ahff/

(2) The Selection

Okay, after talking with my teacher I think I have come to a decision in which package I'm going to choose. 

I was telling her what I wanted to do and the direction in which I want to take my piece, and after bouncing off a few ideas I'm selecting the short film package. While making a 5-minute film might seem like a daunting task, I think it's something I can do if I work hard and have fun with it!

My teacher mentioned that making something along the lines of an Arthouse Film will allow me to put my own experience within the film and it can allow me to get experimental (something that I would love to do!). This past year I have been playing around with some stop motion animation, and I think making a short film that uses a little bit of stop motion animation would be really cool! 

Since I got my plan down, the next I have to do is research. My goal is to get most of my research down by next Tuesday so I have references to look back to when I am planning my own project. My teacher also gave me some past portfolio project to look at since they might be able to give me a bit of inspiration.

The first link (below) is a past short film that utilizes symbolism and implied suggestions in order to push the story and the message of the film forward. I like the usage of implicit storytelling; there's once scene where the director uses audio of footsteps in order to paint the picture that the main character has absent parents (I thought that was really cool!). 

https://kiarashortfilm.blogspot.com/

The second link focuses on the stages of grief. It's a musical that follows the main protagonist going through all of the stages of grief while another character she hallucinates guides her through it. It gives me a good idea as to how I should map out the stages of grief within a 5-minute window frame.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL5I2tSKkJI&feature=youtu.be

I was thinking it over, and while 5 minutes does seem like a lot of time to fill in at first, I think I'm beginning to realize it really isn't. If I want my film to have a slower pace to it then I have to take into account each stage is going to be 'stretched out'. In that case, I'll probably only have around one minute in order to capture each stage of grief. Unless I decide to change it around, that is not a lot of time for each stage of grief. 

I've only already started and there's already so much that I'm thinking about. I guess that means the next few posts will be about my research and planning my project out as I get a better sense as to what I want to do. I'll keep you guys posted!

(1) Welcome!

Hello again everyone! Welcome to my blog for my AICE Media Portfolio Project for A Level!

If you are not familiar with who I am my name is Katherine Pericas and this is my second year of taking AICE Media, and since it's my second year this is my second time working on the final project. I'm going to be using these blogs as a way to document my progress and keep track of everything that I have done (or need to do next). Im very excited to see how this goes! :D

Before I even begin to divulge any of my plans, I first want to talk about my schedule. Last year I had difficulties planning and more specifically staying on track with the schedule. I have here a planned out schedule of would I should be doing for the whole 8 weeks of this project. It sounds like a lot of time but it can go by veryyyy fast, so I need to make sure I don't slack off  or get complacent. 

As you can probably guess I'm currently in the planning stage of my project. I was thinking about this project a few weeks ago and I already have an idea as to what I want what I want my project to be about. I want to talk about the stages of grief and make a piece that tries to encapsulate how complicated grief is. I know it's a very dense subject but it's something that really matters to me. I'm going to do my best at tackling it!

What I need to figure out right now is which kind of package I will pick. I'm stuck in between doing the short film or the documentary series; I think both could be really good options but there's one kicker. I want my project to bring in my own personal experiences with grief, but I'm not entirely sure if that'll be something I can do with the documentary package. I guess my goal for these next couple days is to select a package and get a very basic outline of what I need to do. Since I'm working alone I have a lot to do but I know that if I throughly plan next week I should be good. >:P

With that being said, I'll let you know which package I'll select in the next blog, see you guys soon!