AICE Media Studies

  Hi blog!! Today after many changes, we’ve finalized our film. Now, we will be c reating the website and postcard for our mafia short film. We used Wix for the website, which made the process easier but still required a lot of customization to match the dark, cinematic feel of the film. I selected a template, added images, and adjusted the layout to avoid overcrowding the page. Writing the film's synopsis and ensuring it matched the tone took several drafts. Embedding the trailer was straightforward, but I had to make sure it didn’t slow down the site. I also worked on SEO, added sections for the cast and crew, and set up a contact page for festival submissions. While working on the website, I also designed the postcard, aiming for a simple yet striking look. I chose a bold image and made sure the text was readable by adjusting the contrast. The postcard included a QR code linking to the trailer and website. After finalizing everything, I distributed the postcards at screenings an...

  When we sent our film to Zuleyma she thought our concept of a revengeful murder was not unheard of, but we added a twist that made her feel interested throughout the film. Zuelyma’s opinion not only meant a lot to Charlize , Sabrina and I because s he was critiquing and giving feedback on our film. But because she is our friend. We wanted her too genuinely like it. A fter watching the film, she had a list of pros and cons. Things she thought we did well and some things we could improve upon. The pros were that she thought we had good angles, nice lighting, our costumes and the mystery . The con was the audio. She said that the angles we chose to use for each of our shots fit. That even though they were simple we weren’t trying to overpower our work. A s for the lighting she complimented us on our ability to work as the sun was setting. This was something we only had so much control over but we did it really well. As for our costumes, she thought that they fit our vision ...

 Hii  Blog, I’m back, Happy President’s Day!! Today is the first class period since we finished our editing process at Charlize’s house. I think today is one of the hardest dates since we choose our music. In the beginning when first heard of the project and developed our idea. A song that at the moment was stuck in my head was ‘She Is A Mystery’ by Lovin’ Spoonful. When I informed my teacher she told us we would need permission from the producer/singer or our film would be copyrighted. After she explained the process to get rights, my group and I began writing our email to  AMR Songs which owns the publishing rights by the Lovin’ Spoonful. After I typed up the email and sent it. I noticed that they had sent me an email back almost instantaneously. This was due to them having their email inbox full. It was a good thing we started this process since the beginning to have time to have a plan B. I researched other ways to get in contact with the AMR team but it was impossibl...

  Hii blog, I’m back, Happy Valentine’s Day! Today, we again, went to Charlize’s house to finalize the editing process. After we left her home yesterday, she decided to try and finish the editing. While she played around, she tweaked some of the stuff we had already collectively done as a group. When Sabrina and I saw these changes we weren’t too happy. As a group we had to have a talk and discuss whether the changes looked better or worst for our type of film. These changes made the film look more horror rather than the mysterious look we were going for. After voting, we decided that it was best if we did not keep the changes but we kept the copy of this video to show our critics when we asked for our friends opinions. We began the CapCut process all over again. Putting the clips in, editing the credits and putting the timing correctly. We decided on all of us to be involved and no group work to be done without all of us there. With everyone’s curfew, we attempted to fit all of th...

  Hii blog, I’m back. Today, my group and I are starting the editing process. Although, I didn’t have much motivation towards the end of the filming process.I’m glad to announce we have all of the scenes done. My groups designated editor is Charlize. Even Though Charlize will be doing most of the editing me and my group mates are still trying to be part of it. We’re doing this by using our creativity to come up to come up with the layout itself. The plan for the layout is to put any of the credits on open space. We took this into consideration during our filming process too. While we helped Charlize, she put together all the clips and cut them to fit the time correctly. As a group, we also decided to come up with our studio name. For this, it was kind of a debate. While Charlize wanted: Visionary Films. Sabrina and I wanted: Infinity Studios. This part of the editing process was one of the harder ones because at the end we are a group and we have to all be on board with a decision....

Hii blog, I realized today that I had done most of my shots, but I felt like I was missing some important ones. I therefore went over a few of the fundamentals. When a movie keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, they are likely wondering what will happen next. Selecting the ideal location is the first step in shooting a tense scene for a film. The lighting, the camera angles, and the shot framing should all be carefully considered by the director and cinematographer. Having said all of that, I realized I could alter a lot of these elements to increase the effect by using editing. Identifying the kinds of shots I had been using was the first step. To create tension and enhance suspense, this genre frequently uses medium shots, close-ups, and extreme close-ups. To build up the suspense, the camera movements should be smooth, careful, and progressive.  This required me to think about the movie's usage of sound as well as the lighting and angle effects. I then began to re-film a fe...

  Hii Blog, Welcome back. Today, I continued practicing some of the angles and shots with my group. I began by calling Charlize to see if it was possible for Sabrina and I to go over. Once she gave us the all clear we headed over. I checked that all the props we got last time were present. So I went over my scene again and again. Before I recorded them, I practiced a few times but with the props. They are being recorded so that we have a starting point for our film. After examining the previous shots, I'll see if anything needs to be rectified or improved before creating and assembling the video. To proceed, I shot my first scene, in which I announced the death of Luca . However this one had to be repeated since the lighting was not cooperating. I wanted a dark vibe but it made everything un-watchable. It took those four scenes for me to get the lighting right. As I got used to the filming attitude, I was able to obtain some wonderful coverage on what I was doing. Sabrina  the...

Hii Blog, Welcome back. Today my group and I began another essential step for filming. I started collecting props! For this film I needed many props and costumes that would shape our film. These included outfits that look mysterious  and many essential props. Me and my group started off by meeting in by the thrift store near our school ‘Out of the closet’. For instance I bought a nice and cheap outfit that portrayed a plotting woman, and also many make-up tools to add realism into the “dead” look. We tried our best to split the bills. I also bought other less important props and quickly went to Charlize’s house to begin practicing with our new props. As I was going home we also saw another store, ‘Goodwill’ so we quickly stopped to see anything else of interest. Nevertheless, We still headed home and didn't find anything else. Once home, I made certain that everything was in order. Then I ran through my scene a few times. I practiced this a few times before recording them. I was ab...

  Hii Blog, Welcome back!! Today my group and I began practicing some of the angles and shots. First, we all went to Charlize’s house. Once there, my group-mate’s made sure every prop was in order and we used dolls to mimic the rest of our missing cast since not all of them could show. Then, I ran through my scenes a few times. I practiced them a few times before we began recording. We’re doing a test-run in which all of us record our scenes and we filled in for those missing dressing different than before (for example: wearing a hat) for them to be analyzed afterwards. After reviewing my media, I’ll determine if anything needs to be repaired or enhanced before officially making them and editing them together. To continue, we began shooting our first scene which wasted introduction at the poker table. I had to record this a few times due to my group mates being nervous for the first scene and laughing. This continued on for three more scenes. It took those three scenes for them to ...

Hii blog!! Welcome back to my blog today we’re preparing to begin the filming process. Today, me and my partners are meeting to finalize our cast list to be able to begin our filming process. We are also finalizing our location since we need various background for the different scenes. My group decided our options within friends as well as our houses. First we met up at a Starbucks near all of us. We discussed the different options but immediately ruled out my house and it would be difficult for all of us to be there at the same time as well as the rest of our cast and since I live the further out of all three of us. Then we moved on to Sabi’s house and discussed the possibilities of filming at her house and when it would work for her and her family. As a group, we decided we will film a little bit there as well as Charlize’s house. I had trouble playing my role while choosing the location since I had to consider all the possible issues with each house. For my house, it would be too fa...