Wow, we have really came this far. That’s actually insane in my opinion, but anyways, here’s what I and my partner have been working for for the past eight weeks, I hope you enjoy these as much as we did:
Film Opening: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IKn4NNhSg7IctrJQ-jsLw5DuF8l3STPD/view?usp=drivesdk
CCR 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jg2lB4VL4ZNxCfrhZvrGppsH81uArPGw/view?usp=drivesdk
CCR 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YJvPVtcizurC438Rpu4ljzGNG2n-_fG8/view?usp=drivesdk
And so we have officially made it! We are at the finish line now. This has been quite the interesting journey for both me and everyone involved in the development of this project. Here’s a final, summarized reflection on absolutely everything me and my partner did throughout the eight weeks we were doing this project for:
Starting at the beginning, I was kind of expecting that I was going to work with my partner mostly because we did quite a few projects in the past together and we each had pretty good times doing them at the same time together. This time was no different, although we did have our disagreements every now and then relating to the project but we were able to compromise in the end. For example, during the editing stage of development, we each made different iterations of the film (we edited the film on our own each of us) and then we showed them to each other. From there, the changes that me and my partner made were combined through compromise and that ended up leading to the final project being made as a whole as a result.
The planning stage of the project was pretty abstract in my opinion mostly because of the fact that we had basically nothing planned or anything in mind whatsoever as to what we wanted to do with the project. Originally, I proposed that we should do either a psychological thriller or a coming of age film, but after a small delay in deciding, we ended up going with an action genre that my partner decided that we should do. The crime part of the action film wasn’t even considered fully until we were deep into planning as what we came up with naturally resonated with crime so the crime part of our film came later and honestly, I am glad that we did that kind of subgenre because without it, I believe our action genre alone would not fully represent what we had planned, and it wasn’t like we were going to fully change our already established plan which would’ve took too much time to do and would’ve put us in a great deal of stress at the same time.
From this project, I had learned everything from techniques, to representation and many more media studies related material. Even before I started this project, I had a basic understanding of the concepts and their use cases but during the progress of this project with some of my partner’s advice and research done by me at the same time, I feel like I have developed a more clear understanding of certain techniques and representations. This will be very useful for when it comes time to take the Media Text and Media Context Essays in May of this year (for my school).
Overall, this has been an amazing yet challenging journey and looking back on everything that I did, I would’ve tried to push myself harder than I pushed myself during this project as I had issues during these eight weeks with intuition and I felt like I was doing a lot of stuff last minute which was not only very bad school and grades wise, but also very bad in real life outside of school.
Thank you to everyone involved in my project including my partner (obviously!), his friend who filmed a scene with him in our opening (he is listed in the credits of the scene), and my partner’s dad (he helped film most of the opening when we couldn’t, credits are also listed on opening). If any of you see this post, just know that without you, we would’ve never been able to do what we did specifically.
Final projects coming soon!
The time has come, it is now time to answer the last question of the four questions of the CCR. This question states what exact technologies (hardware and software) were used during the development of the film opening. This one is a pretty short question compared to the previous three questions as I will only be stating what I used to do what and not anything else. But anyways, let’s get this done with.
The first and probably most obvious technology that I used is Blogger. A blogging application owned by Google, this is what I and every other AICE Media Studies AS Level Student used to post our blogs that document our journeys with these film openings and how we decide to do with them.
My three editing softwares that I used during the editing process was Adobe Premiere Pro, Microsoft Clipchamp, and potentially iMovie. Premiere Pro was my primary source of editing as it gave me what I needed to edit properly but I ended up using Clipchamp toward the end as well because my partner started experiencing issues with Premiere Pro on his end with collaboration settings. iMovie is what I plan to use to edit my CCRs when I end up producing them.
As for what we used to actually shoot the videos, we primarily used me and my partner’s iPhones and my partner’s dad’s Samsung phone. We did not use any professional cameras or any other expensive equipment as our phones were enough for what we had to record.
As for what exactly I edited with, I used my PC to edit the film opening and I plan to use my phone to edit the CCRs when I produce them.
During editing, it is also worth noting that I used Epidemic sound and Pixabay for sound effects that I did not have during the recording process and only added while me and my partner were editing.
And just like that, that is all the CCR questions answered! Stay tuned for production ideas and CCR production and editing posts and as usual, here is my script for the fourth question:
BEGINNING:
Ok now moving on to the last question, I used a variety of different software and hardware to help develop the film opening as a whole.
Starting with the most obvious one of them all, Blogger, I used this to document my development process all the way from start to finish.
Next, in terms of editing applications, I primarily used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the film opening but I also used Microsoft Clipchamp toward the end of the editing process. I also plan to use iMovie to edit the CCR Videos.
As for what I shots videos with, I used an IPhone 14 Pro and my partner’s and his dad’s phones as well. (I unfortunately don’t know what their exact phones were, sorry).
And last but not least, I used both Epidemic sound and Pixabay to add copyright free sound effects to the film opening.
That is all for the second CCR video. I had a really great time overall with the project and it was definitely an interesting experience for sure, bye guys.
END OF VIDEO
Now it’s time to answer the third of four questions of the CCR. This is the first question that I will be answering in my second CCR video where I will answer both this question and the fourth and last question. This question essentially asks how exactly did my production skills develop throughout this project. I will be discussing thoroughly how exactly my knowledge of pre production, production, and post production processes expanded as the project progressed. Let’s get to it!
Firstly, when I first started this project with my partner, I personally felt like I was only beginning to figure out certain techniques especially surrounding shots, angles, movement, and composition. There were lots of them you could do but they were very plentiful to the point where I felt like one could be confused for another especially if they had very similar but ultimately different meanings. This also applied to other aspects of techniques such as sounds, editing, mise en scene, and even some forms of representation as well. But as time went by and through research at times, I ended up learning more about the specifics of certain techniques and how they worked exactly. This mostly happened during the planning stages of our film opening where me along with my partner were discussing exactly what we would do with the exact camera angles when it came to a certain scene and how we wanted to play that out.
But this didn’t just apply to the pre production process, we also experimented with different techniques surrounding mostly shots and angles but also with other aspects as well. The day we recorded, we experimented and pondered over what we would do with the techniques even though we planned them out during the pre production process because when we went to see the scenes in person, we ended up having different thoughts on our scenes as some scenes would’ve looked worse than we thought they would during the planning stages. This is primarily the reason why we ended up creating a rough script for the opening and updating our storyboard after we already made another one because we ended up making a lot of changes to our original plot all without making the plot look too different than it was before. During production of the opening, we both gave each other some insight into what shots should’ve looked like by us telling each other what exactly to shoot and also by telling my partner’s dad (who filmed a lot of our scenes, thank you) what exactly to catch in a shot to make it look as good as possible.
Post production skills also improved as well. During editing of our film opening, we initially did not have a complete idea of how to use Adobe Premiere Pro (although I did have a basic understanding of it, my partner did not) and we had to watch tutorials to help us navigate through the software but it was worth it because in the end, we were able to edit the film to a great degree and we were able to fine tune all of the details. The only thing that I will say that did hinder us with Premiere Pro was that whenever we wanted to edit together at the same time, we couldn’t even though there was a certain feature that we tried to use but could not figure out how to use it so my partner ended up switching to Microsoft Clipchamp towards the end of the editing process while I continued to use Premiere Pro. But other than that situation, we mostly learned our editing through the internet and each other at times as well.
To summarize everything, I initially had only a basic understanding of every technique to the point where we could only describe it but now looking back, I was able to learn through a mixture of internet research, advice from my partner, and my teacher.
Here is a script that I will use to answer the first part (question three) of the second CCR video:
BEGINNING:
Welcome back everyone, this is the second of two CCR videos that I will be posting where I will be answering four questions about my overall reflection to the film opening me and my partner made. Let’s get started!
The two questions I will be answering in this video are how my production skills developed throughout the project and what technologies did we use during the development of our film opening? Let’s dive into the first question.
Initially, I felt like I had a basic understanding of all the techniques used for pre production, production, and post production. But I knew this wasn’t going to take me far enough and I knew some things were going to change throughout the development of the film opening, and I ended up being right about that.
To be more specific, I along with my partner would end up pondering with each other where we would discuss certain topics surrounding techniques during the pre production process to use and through that, I would end up gaining some knowledge about said topics and so did my partner as well. We basically taught each other things as time went by.
This ended up continuing during the actual production process where we would tell each other what exactly we should have done in terms to techniques especially since we constantly changed course during the planning process and we both wanted to create the best scene possible from what we had.
During post production, we also took time to help each other during editing with Adobe Premiere Pro as although we had a basic understanding of editing techniques and use cases, we still taught each other methods and watched tutorials on the applications as well. In the end, my partner ended up using Microsoft Clipchamp as well due to an unrelated issue with Premiere Pro on his end but we were still able to achieve what we wanted editing wise.
END OF 1ST PART
Welcome back everyone! Now that question one has been answered, it is now time to answer question two (or the second part of my first CCR video), which is how do audiences engage with the opening and how could the film be distributed as a media text? Let’s get started!
As a modern action and crime film, the audience is primarily engaged through the gathering of attention through a few ways including the use of an enigma code, continued use of tension, the plot twist that happens midway through the opening, and the use of realism. The enigma code more specifically, poses questions that the audience may ask about certain events within the opening due to information that is not specified or withheld on purpose, such as what exactly are the dealer and buyer’s motives or about the situation in particular. Since audiences would naturally want their questions answered, they would keep watching as a result. The tension that is established throughout the film is what allows audiences to anticipate or guess what might happen next. The plot twist (the part where the dealer suddenly kidnaps the buyer) is what keeps the plot interesting for audiences and also works to make the film more unpredictable which still allows for audiences to anticipate something but won’t allow audiences to predict how the entire film would go at the same time. And finally, realism gives a sense of familiarity and makes the film feel believable to audiences which in turn, increases immersion within audiences and the film.
Distribution wise, since this was only meant to be done as an inexpensive school project by amateurs and not done professionally or with high budgets often seen in many hit films, we are limited in what we can do to distribute as much as we can but there are a couple things that we could do realistically. First, uploading the opening (along with the two CCRs) to YouTube is a viable choice as it is virtually free and is easy to do as well. Another slightly more advanced but more rewarding option would be to submit the opening to a small film festival. This would help to show the opening to attendees and help spread the word about the opening as well depending on what audiences think about it. This option is more rewarding because it would expose the opening to more audiences compared to YouTube where people must search for the video manually and it wouldn’t be marketed as much either compared to a film festival.
But if we were to put realistic goals for distribution aside, streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu could be considered as these can make a great difference in terms of marketing and distribution of the film. Theatrical releases could also be possible to add a more immersive experience to audiences who want a more traditional way of viewing films.
Finally, action and crime based films often appeal to more younger audiences such as teenagers and younger adults. Because of this, I believe that people aged between 16-35 would be the best kind of audience for a film like ours. It would also help if the audience is interested in more action filled, possibly intense films obviously.
Here is the second part of my first CCR’s script where I answer this question:
BEGINNING:
Moving on to the second question, the film engages with audiences in a variety of ways. The first of these includes the use of enigma code which is where the audience will ask questions in their heads in response to the withheld information about the characters, their motives, or the situation and attracting their attention to the film even further after first paying attention to the film.
Along with that, the tense environment that is invoked within the film helps to motivate audiences to develop some anticipation about what happens to someone or what might someone do right after someone does something. For example, someone might anticipate that something bad might happen to the buyer after the exchange between the buyer and the dealer as the buyer looks to be completely alone at first which might tell someone that something is about to happen (in this case, something does happen and the buyer ends up gets kidnapped).
Additionally, the plot twist where the Buyer gets kidnapped by the Dealer and the use of realism throughout the film both work together to not only make the film more interesting and keep viewers watching, but also to add a sense of familiarity and believability which allows audiences to feel more immersed in the film and possibly even allow audiences to relate to the film depending on their personal life experiences.
And as for how this film could be realistically distributed, the most likely option for an effective and cheap distribution would be to post the openings and the two CCRs to YouTube where they could be viewed at any time by anyone. A submission to a small film festival could be possible as well but at the time of recording, neither me or my partner have decided to submit to any film festival and we don’t know whether we would like to or not.
And finally, with this being an action and crime based film, we intend to have an audience with the age range between teenagers and younger to mid age adults. More specifically, ages 16-35 years old. It would be obvious to say that fans of crime and action films would appeal to this film, especially if they would like a mix between the two genres.
And just like that, that is all for the first CCR, I hope you now have a better understanding of our film opening and how we went along with it. The next and final CCR will focus on a more personal reflection rather than a research based reflection like this CCR was. See you then!
END OF VIDEO
Here are the sources that I used :
Media Studies. (n.d.). Barthes’ narrative codes. https://media-studies.com/barthes-codes/
Raindance. (2021, September 21). The first 5 minutes: 5 types of movie openings that hook audiences instantly. https://raindance.org/the-first-5-minutes-5-types-of-movie-openings-that-hook-audiences-instantly/
British Film Institute. (2023). BFI statistical yearbook 2023. https://www.bfi.org.uk/industry-data-insights/statistical-yearbook
Hello all! Now it is officially the time to begin research on the four questions that I must answer as a reflection of what exactly I have done during the project. The first question I will be answering right now is how would my film opening either embrace or challenge genre conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
To answer the first part of my question, my film would work to embrace genre conventions because it embraces the suspense and tension that I convey in our film. Action/Crime films like ours often begin with some form of tense situation, and my staged drug deal is exactly what happens to make the tension rise in my film. Another common element of my film is the actual illegal exchange of drugs for money which supplements what I already have. This would not be possible without the props that we included in the opening that symbolized our conveying of the situation. One other element of my opening that shows how I embraced genre conventions is how the two main characters are ambiguous meaning both of the characters are not fully identified or not much is known them which adds to the tension by adding a mysterious element to the opening and it’s plot. Here is an image that should give you an idea of slightly more serious tone that our film tries to convey:
As for the second part of the question, our film represents social groups by demonstrating illegal activity and drug dealing which is evident of real life issues surrounding real life drug dealings. This also works to show that underground economies exist in secret and are only accessible to certain people. The dealing also shows situations can also turn dangerous which is a particularly important aspect of my opening as it also works to represent certain social groups surrounding the illegal activities environment. The young looking characters further develop the idea that these people became involved in crime at a young age which in turn, represents typical social groups again but this time, through the fact that young people are involved as many of real life situations like how I portrayed mine go on just like how I did mine.
Here is roughly what I will be saying during the part where I answer the first question during the first CCR video (this is the first part of the script for the first video):
BEGINNING:
Hello everyone, I’m Oliver and this is the first of two CCR videos where I will be answering four questions about my overall reflection relating to the film opening which has been going on for about eight weeks by now so there is a lot to discuss here.
But before I start answering the questions, I would like to give a big shoutout to my partner and his father. We had a great time working on this project together and without them, none of this would’ve been possible so if you’re watching this, thank you very much you two.
Now without further ado, let’s get started!
This video will answer two of the four questions with the first question being how the opening either embraced or challenged genre conventions and how it represented social groups or issues and the second question being how does the opening engage with audiences and how could it be distributed as a real media text.
Beginning with the 1st question, our opening would primarily embrace typical genre conventions as we keep aspects of a normal action or crime film in our opening. One big example of this is the use of tension. In the opening, we first establish it through the introduction of the drug deal and we maintain that tension through the use of props, editing techniques during the deal, and through our portrayal of the main characters as well. The main characters are very ambiguous meaning they are not fully identified or given any background information other than the current situation they are in which adds to the tension and works to give out a sense of mystery that is very supportive of the typical genre conventions of crime films specifically.
To answer the other part of the question, our opening represents the social groups and issues surrounding illegal activity and crime as what we show in the opening can be very evident in real life scenarios and that situations like ours are way deeper than what we show directly. They come to show that in real life, there are many illegal markets that involve the sale of illicit goods and services and that many people often get into crime at a young age, which is supported by how young our main characters look in the opening and also highlight an important issue that exists in real life as well.
END OF 1ST PART
Here are the sources that I used:
Sanyal, S. (2023). 10 crime movies with incredible opening scenes. Screen Rant.
https://screenrant.com/crime-movies-best-opening-scenes/
IMDb. (n.d.). No Country for Old Men (2007). IMDb.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/
Wikipedia contributors. (2024). A Clockwork Orange. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)
