Cambridge Blog Post 26

    I have completed my CCR script and have gone through and done edits and proof reads. I wanted to make sure that what I was saying was concise yet gave a lot of information. I also made sure to add cues to the script. For example, at what points to add certain effects or add certain pictures or videos. 

    Doing this will almost definitely help me with the time it will take to edit, because my ideas are already written down and ready to go. At this point, I will begin filming my CCR. I want it to look cool and like it was professionally made, so I will have to make sure that I get the lighting and positions of things right. 

    I cant wait to see how this turns out.

Cambridge Blog Post 25

     As of right now, I am working on my script for the CCR. I do not have too many updates so this will be a short blog post. At the moment my script is 4 pages long, and I believe that I will have enough substance to last for the 8 minutes. I am looking forward to presenting this information in a creative manner and I think it will be fun for me to do.

Cambridge Blog Post 24

     Today I finally completed my project. The project is final and I have done many viewings. I love the way in which it was made and the way that the final product looks. I am very proud of how it came out. I also had my friends and family watch it so that I knew what needed to be changed, and to see if the film is enjoyable. 

    I will now begin my CCR. Today I will be completing my script for it. I must make sure that I utilize my notes that I took on how to create it. Our teacher did a presentation on how to do it, and I made sure to take notes on every single thing to ensure that I complete it correctly. I have provided a picture of my notes below. 

Cambridge Blog Post 23

     I have finally finished the final muzzle flashes for my scene. They look really good. I made sure that each flash was slightly different to add some variety to the shot. It would look worse if there was no variety, it would look repetitive. I also had to make sure that the actual flash matched the lighting of the scene. For example, a dimly lit scene would make use of a brighter light from the muzzle flash. And a brighter scene would make for a dimmer light from the muzzle flash. I also made sure to add some light on the assassins legs to make it known that the gun is in his hand. 

     Next, I needed to make sure that the sound is correctly placed. I had to go through and thoroughly check the entire film to make sure it was correct. I went clip by clip and inserted each sound. Then, I rewatched it plenty of times. I found only a couple of errors in the gunshot sounds, they were only a frame or two off. But I wanted to make sure they were perfectly in sync. After that, the sound and lighting was done. I am really loving the way this project is turning out. 

Cambridge Blog Post 22

     Today I have completed the final color grades and the addition of muzzle flashes to my scene. To complete the color grading, I made sure to watch the tutorial again that posted in a previous blog. I had to make sure that the color grading matched the overall theme of my film, as does everything else. 

        To create the muzzle flashes, I had to search for free, copyright free, assets. I found 5 different styles, all of which I used in my film to give some randomness and variety to my film. I also had to make sure that the brightness and opacity of each of the flashes corresponded to the already provided film grading. 

    Moreover, I also had to make sure that the area around the gun was being illuminated, because if you are firing a gun in a closed space there will be light coming off of the objects in  the way of the gun. Therefore, I decided to boost the white levels and use a mask for a short period of time to get the illumination effect. Here is a frame from one of the shots:

    Although it may look silly or unprofessional in this frame by frame view, it looks amazing when played at full speed.

Cambridge Blog Post 21

     Today as I was completing some of the final touches to my piece, I noticed that one of the songs that I used was actually copyrighted. I needed to change it, so I went back and looked for more music that actually was not copyrighted. I found multiple songs on the web page that I pasted below, and I thought that a lot of them did actually fit the theme of my film.

    To my surprise, when dropping in the most recent one, with limited tweaking, I was able to get it to fit the theme and flow perfectly, and I am extremely pleased. I tried out multiple songs from that list, but ultimately landed on the one titled "Super suspense", and "the hero we need". The hero we need was strategically used to create a sad tone after the person was killed by the assassin, which perfectly fits the mood. 

    I am extremely satisfied with the way this is turning out and I am excited to complete the final touches.

https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/downloads-c/suspenseful-music/25

Cambridge Blog Post 20

    I just finished the composition of all the sound into the project. At first I only added the video portion of the clips because I did not know where exactly I wanted everything to go and it was easier to do it with no audio. As of now, this is what my project looks like in Adobe Premiere:

    There are many layers of audio. I had to make sure that each clip of audio was mixed correctly and accurately timed. For some of the slow motion parts I needed to make sure that the audio was matching the speed and placement. This is what one portion of the audio looks like:

    As you can see, there is multiple layers, and some effects are applied to some of the audio. For the final slow motion part, I decided to shy away from my original plan of a reverb addition, and I went with a simple slowed down version of the song and audio. For this part, I had to make sure that the audio sound effects I used matched the speed of the video, since it was slowed to 50%. 

    Next, I plan on completing the color grading and muzzle flashes on all of the parts of the film. This will be complicated and take lots of research and time, but it will be worth it in the end.

Cambridge Blog Post 19

     I have begun editing my project. Yesterday, I was having so much fun editing, that I spent almost 7 hours on it. So far, I have completed the composition of all of my shots into the editing software. I wil be using Adobe Premiere Pro 2022 for this project. 

    After the composition, I plan on doing a simple color grade for now, and adding more later on. After that, I will make sure that I add all of the sound effects in their correct spots with the correct volumes and more. I have included screenshots of the movie editing so far below.

Cambridge Blog Post 18

    I finally filmed the entire project yesterday. It was incredibly fun to do so. I included some videos from the filming below. I kept mostly to the storyboard I had, but I ended up taking a couple of shots out and replacing them with new ones. I took out all of the close up shots of the assassin, and instead included an establishing shot.

        The establishing shot includes the assassin walking out from a corner and the lights turning on one by one by one. It looks really cool and I am excited for the next steps. I am currently piecing together the first pass of the film opening and I am getting some people to tell me what they think about it as I go. I want to make sure that I get this film progress to match the overall theme of the film. 

    Below I have uploaded the scene that I was given the most feedback on. Before the people said it was too fast and confusing. Therefore, I ended up changing it so that it is still cohesive but slower.

Cambridge Blog Post 17

    Today is the day that I begin my filming. We had to make a couple of changes to the filming date. At first, we were supposed to film on Monday, 3/14/22 at 7:30 pm. After some discussion, we had to move the date to Wednesday, 3/16/22 at 7:30.

    I had a track meet yesterday, and at that I was able to talk to the owner of the warehouse. Due to a miscommunication and a failed relay of information, he did not know when we were filming. I told him Wednesday 3/16 and he said that worked for him. However, when I got home, the main character asked to do it a bit earlier and proposed a time at 6:30 pm. I got that confirmed by the owner and we are good to go.

    I will be filming today at 6:30 pm at the warehouse. I have to make sure that all of the supplies are brought, including the camera, the airsoft gun, holster, vest, and the actors. I will have a second friend there to help me take pictures and videos of the filming for the blog.

Cambridge Blog Post 16

    This class, we conducted a group discussion. We got members of different groups and we discussed our projects and ideas. After we discussed, we gave each other advice for different portions of the project that we needed help on. 

    They gave me advice on how I should end my film. Because I am ending my film with someone being shot to death, they recommended that I end the film without actually showing the kill. I will be changing the ending to fit the appropriateness of a school project. It will not be much different so it will not be a huge deal. I enjoyed this group discussion because it provided me with a lot of confidence.

    

Cambridge Blog Post 15

    For this blog post, I will be discussing the research that I did on color grading in preparation for the editing portion of the film. I watched a video on YouTube that I will reference and include below for further use. 

    1. I will need to create a null object above the final film cut to allow for the creation of color grade

    2. I need to track the motion of the camera by picking a spot with sharp edges

    3. I have to make sure that the target is on the null layer and then hit apply

    4. I need to create a new solid with the darkest part of the image as the color to keep consistency

    5. I will need to turn off the new solid so that I can see the original film layer

    6. I have to make sure I use the pen tool to draw out some spotlights created by the actual lights in the shot. 

    7. I need to change the blend mode to subtract and then add a mask feather

    8. I will have to create ellipses and add it to the area around the light (surrounding the ellipse)

    9. Make sure that the solid layer is parented to the null layer

    10. Create a large ellipse in the middle of the shot

    

Some extra notes I have are:

    - keep the attention where it should be

    - shadows and color grading can be strategically added to draw the viewer to a certain area of focus

YouTube. (2015). Create a Cinematic Look with After Effects Tricks! YouTube. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fmxbAv3XtI&ab_channel=Kriscoart. 

Cambridge Blog Post 14

     Until I can film this weekend, I am going to be conducting research on possible film editing techniques. I also wanted to attach the video of what I want to base my final seconds of the film on. It is a scene from the first John Wick where he finally gets the revenge he has been desiring. He kills the main antagonist. This video of my inspiration is included below.

    I like the way that John Wick comes in slow motion from the blur of the camera. I believe that I want to do that as well. Because my friends warehouse has different rows, I want my character to come around the corner of one of those warehouse rows. I do still want to keep the slow motion. 

    In the next few days I will be conducting research on color grading for these types of films, and I will be posting blogs based on that.

Cambridge Blog Post 13

    Recently, I have began thinking of dates for filming this project. I want to make sure I have time to get editing and research on editing done. I want to make sure my sound is also well done, which will take time because I will have to Foley some sounds. 

    I recently contacted my friend who's father is allowing filming in his warehouse. I asked him if we could film the weekend of 3/12 to 3/13. That way, I can have that necessary time for post production. I am awaiting a response from him. I also asked the friend who is allowing the use of his airsoft gun when he would be available to film, and he said that he may be able to on the weekend of 3/12 to 3/13. Today I asked him to confirm the date for me. 

    As I am writing this post my friend is asking his father for me if it ok to film that weekend. 

Cambridge Blog Post 12

    Within the past few days, I have been planning the filming days. I have been talking with one of my friends who is going to star in the film, and who will let us use his airsoft gun as a prop for the film. He will star as the main figure in the film that will be chasing down the victim. I will still have to decide who will be the main victim character, so I will talk to a few people soon about whether they want to or not. As I update that list I will be sure to update a post or create a new one to include that information.

    This week I had a discussion with the teacher, who expressed concerns about trying to film in the dark. But after I explained that another plan was to film in my friend's dad's warehouse, she expressed an excitement in that idea. I believe that I want to update my plan to film in that warehouse. That way, I don't have to worry about the scene being too dark, and I will be able to get as much detail as possible. 

    I asked my friends father about filming in his warehouse and he said that we could. This is a huge step and I am excited to see where this film takes me. I will post updated shots and scenes in the next blog post, as well as any other updates.

Cambridge Blog Post 11

I have included the new shots that I have added to my previous blog post below. They are also available on the updated post.

Shot 6: This is a new shot that I am inserting into this post. I would like there to be a shot before the subsequent shot in which the figure places a weapon case down and opens it up, revealing the weapon. I also want to show his hand go onto the weapon, and then the shot cuts to the next one. This way the figure is set up and the viewer knows what is in the figures hand.

Shot 10: For this next shot, I would like to have the same shot type as shot 6, where there is a low angle close up of the figure preparing the weapon. This time, I would like more facial features to be visible because I want the figure to be showing intent and visible anger.

Shot 11: For this shot, I want another over the shoulder where the focus is on the gun. You can see the hand on the gun as he is doing final inspections. At the end of the shot, he cocks the gun for the final time and he walks off. 

Shot 12: In this next shot, I want there to be a muzzle flash from the left center of the screen. This shot will be the final blow to the victim. The victim will fall to the floor, and will lay there for a second.

Shot 13: In this next shot, I would like the figure to emerge for the first time. They can emerge from either around the corner of the warehouse or from the darkness. The victim character is still lying on the floor, blood leaking from somewhere on his body. This shot will be in slow motion as the figure is revealed fully, including face, for the first time. 

Shot 14: This shot will be the final shot in the film opening. I would like this shot to be right after the previous one, in which the title of the film appears right as the figure leaves the shot. I want to use the deep bass sound at this moment as the title appears slowly, or fades in. Perhaps it is possible to make the music become loud for an instant to symbolize this end, and fade out as the picture fades to black.