Re-editing Journey

   This past week has been a real chaos for me since everything I planned and scheduled got moved around or even canceled. For me it is extremely hard since I didn't get a text or even a call from my partner but I will still inform her of what is going to happen with our project. For now I plan to edit our film with a new software I found and downloaded for free with no watermarks because I don't know if my partner will even edit at all. Even though I have Pinnacle Studios I still downloaded this new software, ever since using this new software it has been extremely easy to edit meaning I feel like I am in control because it is really easy to use and get started and isn't complicated like Pinnacle Studios. The first thing I did was test out the software and get it scanned to ensure it wasn't a virus or a scam since it was for free to download. I was able to insert the files from our recordings and start editing. I tested all the different features it had to offer so I can see and get a feel of how it works. Once I knew how everything worked I started by adding all the scenes together and just edit each one at a time. I trimmed each scene and fixed the sound whether it needed to be muted or amplified. So far I got half of it done since I had to redo it since my partner Jeannie did not edit.
    By tomorrow I wanna have all the scenes trimmed and the sound fixed so I can do my magic and add in any inserts or transitions to make the flow of the film seem clean and not choppy. I also plan to add the music in the background after I do some searching for a non-copyrighted song on Google. I want to leave the titles for last and once I finish what I have planned for tomorrow I am going to text my partner again to inform her of what I have been doing. I am also going to tell her the announcements our teacher made on canvas regarding school and the project. For the most part everything is still on track for the final project to be due on April 9th and even though I do not have the teachers to remind me physically to focus and work on my blogs I make sure I do them on time. Once I finish editing the opening I am going to start recording my CCR and start editing it since we need inserts or a split screen showing our process from before up until now. What I want to do is once I finish all my 12 blogs that we needed to do by April 9th I also want to include separate blogs that have the video or link to my projects from the beginning of the year up until now to show my true progress and so you can all enjoy. I am mainly doing this because I don't know whats going to happen after April 15th whether we are gonna go all online for our classes and I don't know what is going to happen with our Cambridge exams for not just for our AICE Media Studies class but for our other AICE classes.I have been reading all the announcements and updates my teachers texts whether it is through Canvas, Email, Remind, or Social Media and so far all I know is that we have to continue working on this project which I am 100 percent going to do.

Editing Blog

   My partner Jeannie wanted to edit the film since we used my story or pitch and because I drew the storyboard which was about 8 or 9 pages long. After filming I was able to dump the footage onto my laptop and move it into my folder specifically for AICE Media Studies. My partner brought her laptop when we did the re-shoot last week on Thursday so I can dump the footage from the SD card onto her computer since she wants to edit it. She decided to edit the scenes together with all the transitions and effects we wanted to create the Thriller and Action feeling through our genre. We both decided to keep the titles for last so we can decide together when we meet up to re-edit the film. We already have the title design in our mind but we wanted to wait and see the right places to edit our title on that can be seen and read. My partner Jeannie already has a mindset of how the film is supposed to look like so I trust her with getting it done before the deadline. For the music I decided to handle searching for a non copyrighted song since it is too much of a hassle to email the producers to use a song in the movie. I am looking for a song that will fit the theme of our film and bring out that thriller feeling among the audience. I am pretty happy with how my partner and I are handling the situation due to the COVID-19 virus and I am glad that the AICE Media Studies class is all online.
    Since my partner is handling, editing the film I am waiting until she finish so all I have to focus on right now is assisting my partner and getting these blogs written. We were supposed to have school this week but because of the virus, Broward County Public Schools District closed schools for this week and now we have 2 weeks of spring break. This 2 weeks of spring break is the perfect time to get this done and finalized for April 9th which the due date. The last important thing I am putting all my focus on is the CCR since it has to be 10 minutes long so right now I am writing my script and start filming with the camera I have. Since school is closed for this week I still have the camera and tripod for when I checked it out so I am going to be putting it into good use for the CCR. I am making sure that I turn everything in on time and that I check the dates from the pictures I took in class especially with the blogs since we have a blog every Monday and Thursday. I am making sure I keep myself healthy but still working myself even though we have no school. I plan to work together with my partner and discuss with her when to meet up to re-edit and watch the film. This Thursday I will for sure have more information on what was edited and how everything is going with my partner. I plan to accomplish the goal of getting the film done on time and impress my audience.

Re-shoot Blog

   Today we were able to meet up in the parking lot location to re-film the stabbing scene that is the most important scene in our movie. Last time we filmed we were completely unready we didn't have any supplies or any of the props we needed like the fake knife. I went to the dollar store before I met up with Jeannie and purchased a fake knife for 5 dollars. Once we got to the parking lot we got all the props ready and my sister and I made sure to dress up again in the same outfit except we changed her outfit. We wanted to give her to wear a plain white shirt that with ease can get stained with the red paint. We will also give her a jean jacket to wear to be more stylish than she was in the previous filming we did. I also made sure to charge the camera to its fullest so we aren't rushing to finish filming before the camera dies. Now there won't be any distractions or interruptions for us when we film. Last time we filmed I dumped all the footage onto my laptop so once we finish the re-shoot I am going to delete all the old scenes and replace it with the new dumped footage on my computer. I'm super excited to re-film since we can film without the wind in the background ass well.
    Before we left to re-film I made sure to bring essentials with us since a lot is going on in the news and supplies to clean up after we finish filming. I brought hand sanitizer and masks just in case of the virus. I brought wet wipes and napkins to clean off the red paint off of our hands, face, and the fake knife. I was also sure to  bring lots of water since last time my sister and I didn't have anything to drink and money in case we need to buy something in Five and Below such as extra props, drinks, and snacks.We took 2 hours to film our movie because we didn't have much to re-shoot and we already knew what we wanted it to look like thanks to the storyboard. Since my sister had a plain white shirt filled with red paint to portray blood she wore an extra shirt underneath so she could take off the white shirt with ease. We were able to get all the scenes we needed and I made sure to dump all the footage on my SD card onto my computer. My partner Jeannie decided that she wanted to edit the movie and focus on the titles last just so we can have all the scenes to be edited clean and have all the transition, music and effects we wanted. On Tuesday when I go to be in the film for my sister and her groups movie, Jeannie will also come along so we can start recording our CCR. Jeannie will also bring her laptop so I can dump all the footage onto her laptop from my SD card because she wanted to start editing over spring break. The storyboard below are the scenes we re-shoot and how the story is supposed to be like.

Filming the Main Plot

  Finally my partner and I were able to meet up and film the main story or plot of our opening movie. My sister and I were preparing all the props needed and extra clothing for the two characters I play in the film. We planned to meet up in front of Five and Below and walk to the back of the stores to the parking lot and set up the tripod and camera. We planned to meet up at 11:00 in the morning but due to my partner being stuck in traffic we meet up at 11:35. Once she arrived we went straight into the store to buy red paint to look like blood from the stab scene. To be honest we were completely unprepared we didn't have no water, napkins, or the fake knife for the movie so we substituted it for scissors. We decided to film in the morning because we had to do our homework and study for the SAT that was coming up on Wednesday. Jeannie bought the paint and when we arrived at the location in the parking lot that was when I realized I forgotten to take the SD card and put it into the camera. We had to wait additionally for my parents to drop off the SD card before we could start filming. Once we had all our supplies (sort of) we started to set up the tripod and the camera so we can start.
    I forgot to bring our storyboard so my partner and I had to explain to my sister about each scene and what we wanted her to act out and say. Once we were half-way into our filming my partner Jeannie realized that we had 25 minutes of filming left on the camera before the battery dies, even though I charged it the night before. The best part was we got all the walking and close up scenes done and now we had to focus on the stabbing scene and the boy running to his mother scene. The stabbing scene was fairly quick and we did 10 shots of that scene and once we finished we only had 15 minutes left so we had to rush. We shut off the camera so we can get the props ready with paint. My partner Jeannie painted the scissors while I put on my hoodie and paint my sisters face with the red paint along with her hands and my hands. Once Jeannie the director finished filming my sister dead on the floor we quickly had to film the scenes with the boy running up to his mom before the camera dies since we had 5 minutes left. We filmed that scene up until we had 1 minute left. After filming for the day we were such a mess we had paint all over ourselves while we waited for Jeannie mom to arrive to pick her up. Once I got home I immediately took out the SD card and dumped all the footage onto my laptop in a folder I have dedicated for AICE Media Studies. My partner and I discussed recently to re-shoot some scenes this weekend before spring break and this time we will have all our props ready and actually be prepared by having the camera fully charged so we have more time to edit.

Peer Review

     For my peer review, I had to review a group of boys and their opening film of the movie which was 2 minutes and 53 seconds long. The group had everything all the titles, sound, and editing done real nicely. What I really liked about their film was that it was consistent and you knew exactly what the story of the movie is about. The story of the film was about a hit-man that was hired to kidnap a high school boy since it shows the hit-man with the money and hanging up a picture of the boy on the wall. The last scenes of the film shows a trunk shot of the high school boy inside the trunk and the hit-man closing the trunk. I also really liked how they put so much detail and effort into the movie by having a detective, a dad role, the hit-man, and the person who hired the hit-man. They also put a lot of detail to show the kidnapping and make it seem like the high school boy was kidnapped from home by showing the controller on the floor which the dad picks up and the TV all static to show something might have happened. Everything was connected and went together like a puzzle piece which I like when watching a movie. The editing of the scenes was very clean and transitioned efficiently to the next. The lighting was consistent and added to the feeling of the movie genre.
       The group however, did not have all the camera shots, angles, movement, and editing style to fulfill the requirements needed to be in the film. One suggestion I would like to make about the film is to definitely trim some scenes since the movie was over 2 minutes such as the walking scenes and trim to the important scenes of the movie. The only confusion I had was why the high school boy was being kidnapped but I do like that it leaves you in a cliff-hanger wanting to know what happens next. Another suggestion I would make is to edit the lighting in scenes in the bedroom unless it was on purpose to create that effect. Overall everything else made it feel realistic and natural I honestly enjoyed watching their film. The titles in the movie were clear and readable just went too fast for my liking since I was not able to read it without having to pause it. They were able to avoid filming the camera man and the tripod and there was good sound quality throughout the film. The only thing the group has to add or remember is too add the "directed by" title at the end of the opening so we the audience can know that this movie has just started. The rest of the film hit all the marks for everything else on the form we were given to fill out presented below. I noticed that the group members were not done editing but I can't wait to re-watch it one it is completely done.