Creative Critical Reflection

CCR Question #4 Draft

    This project was a challenge to complete, and it would have been even more challenging had we not had access to all the technology available to us. Lucky for us, there were several advantages we had because of this technology. 

    The camera we used was an iPhone 7 camera, which has 12 megapixels and optical image stabilization. The quality wasn't as good as a professional camera, but it was enough to film in the dark setting we were in and gave us clear videos of the scenes. The phone also made it easy to upload the videos to a computer where we could do our editing. 

    For editing, we primarily used Adobe Premiere. We used the import sound function to add a short music clip in the film, and we used the clipping tool to cut each scene down and string them together. It was confusing trying to navigate though the application's many features, so we stuck to basic editing to be safe. 

    We also used Snapchat on our phones to coordinate our group actions, like meeting up for filming. This made it easy to communicate with each other rather than having to be together all at once to have discussions. 

CCR Question #3 Draft

    Before we started this project, my understanding of film making was very limited. I had never attempted something like this, so the whole process was foreign to me at the start. I had a basic understanding of how movies are made, but no first hand experience of my own. 

    Once we had the idea for our movie, we had find a suitable shooting location. To do this, Connor and I drove around town looking for spots with settings that would work well with our movie. I had to take into account the noise levels, lighting, and traffic so that the dialogue in the shots would be audible and the characters would be visible. 

    Once we found our location, we had to organize a schedule. I was involved with finding a time to film that would work for all members of the project, which meant considering our school and work schedules. Once a date and time was designated, we all had to meet up at the place independently to begin filming. 

    During our shooting, I played a role in directing the scenes. I used my vision of the movie and my knowledge of camera shots to help make some scenes more entertaining and professional. I suggested the car pulling in scene, the jump cuts of Giovanne, and the falling on the ground scene because I thought they would add drama to the film. 

    My camera work was limited in the movie, but nonetheless I contributed and learned some things. In the telephone scenes I filmed Connor while he was on the phone, and I had to decide what angle to shoot from and how to frame him in the shot. Additionally, I filmed the scene where Carla throws the duffel bag at Connor by putting the camera over her shoulder. This, I thought, would add to the suspense of what she looks like because we can't see her face yet. 

    Through this project, I have learned how to use a camera better, how to coordinate shooting times, how to scout locations, and how to direct actors and models to make a decent movie. 

Distribution Research: Rambo: Last Blood

Rambo: Last Blood was released in theaters on September 20th, 2019 by Lionsgate. An alternative version of the movie with a different opening and deleted scenes was released in Australia, Mexico, Sweden, Brazil, Germany, and Finland. It was digitally released on December 3rd, 2019, less than 3 months after its theatrical release, and on 4K UHD on December 17th. The movie totaled 91.5 million dollars worldwide.

CCR Question #2 Draft

    Due to this film's violent and mature themes, our marketing strategy would center around advertising to adults. From my audience research, I learned that most movies utilize posters and trailers to advertise, and some new ones have started experimenting with social media.

    We would start by putting artistic movie posters around crowded areas to attract attention to our film. We have seen through our research that they are effective at promoting movies, so this would be an easy place to start. They are also inexpensive so there is little risk with producing them. Our next course of action would be to make a short trailer of our movie. Trailers are an almost universal means of film marketing, and they significantly increase a movie's attention. We would put together a short compilation of scenes from The Rise that hint at the story but leave out enough detail as to not spoil the movie. Our last plan would be to create a social media page on Instagram or Facebook. Social media pages are a new way that movies are generating attention, and they have been shown to be successful with movies like Bird Box. We would create a basic page that shows teasers and posters; basically all of our marketing plans but on a single platform. 

    From my distribution research, I learned that most movies invest in a producer rep and a distribution company to handle distribution. 

   
    Once production of our film is complete, we will get in touch with a producer rep who will hand off our movie to a distribution company. Distribution companies are typically used because they specialize in making connections with outlets that will show movies to the public. Once the movie is in the hands of our chosen distributor, they will begin their work by releasing our film into theaters.
We chose a 3 month theater show time because that is what is traditionally done, as it gives people enough time for movie goers to see it, but not long enough to make them lose interest. Once the 3 months is over, we will pull the movie from theaters and release onto DVD and Blu-ray so people can still enjoy it at home. To modernize our distribution, we would release our movie onto Netflix after our theatrical run is over and we start digitizing it. We feel that the younger audience that Netflix has would be similar to the audience we would likely appeal to, so our movie would fit well into its collection.

CCR Question #1 Draft

   The first convention we used when making our film was the use of jump cuts to signify time passing. This is commonly done in movies because it eliminates the need for transitions between the characters' activities, thereby shortening the screen time but still maintaining the feeling of passing time. We used it to make Giovanne's wait in the movie feel longer by jumping between scenes of him doing different things like pacing back and forth and checking his teeth.

    Another convention we used when filming was the use of shot-reverse shots during the phone call between Giovanne and Alto. Shot reverse shots are often used when two characters are talking on the phone to show each one during their speaking part. Since conversations are back and forth, the shots mimic that so we can see each character when they are speaking. We used this technique during Giovanne and Alto's phone call before the deal takes place because we wanted each character's expressions to be seen when they are talking, rather than keeping the focus on one of them.
 
   Additionally, we used incidental hip hop music when Giovanne drives to the deal spot. Hip hop music is typically used in modern films targeted at younger audiences to seem more in touch with the viewers and to make the film more entertaining. We used this music because of its popularity with our young target audience, and its association with drugs and other illegal activities that our movie incorporates.

    Finally, another convention we used was dim overhead lighting. In dramatic movies with illegal themes, suspicious meetings like drug deals usually take place in dimly lit areas with a single light source. This is to create a sense of darkness that mimics the immorality of what is taking place. In our movie, we filmed at a quiet park at night that was only lit by a single street lamp. This lamp cast the majority of the light on our characters, which made their faces darker and more hidden from the camera. This technique was used to give an ominous mood that foreshadowed the antagonists appearance.

    In our film, we used three different social groups: kingpins, underdogs, and consumers. My character, Giovanne, represents the underdog because he is a novice drug dealer with little experience but high aspirations. He is presented as naive and cowardly at the beginning of the film to show his transformation when he achieves power later in the movie. Carmela represents kingpins because she has control over her area and is too powerful to challenge. She is presented as haughty and intimidating to show her superiority and ruthless nature. Finally, Alto represents consumers because he is an essential bystander that will side with whoever provides better products. He is portrayed as a turncoat when he buys from Carmella instead of Giovanne to show that consumers care about their interests over loyalty to their provider.

    

3rd Quarter Submission

The Rise 3rd Quarter Submission

For our 3rd quarter submission, we decided to cut some parts of the script out and re film the entire movie.
The first thing we changed was the script length. Our original movie was over three minutes long, so we had to take some parts of the script out. The opening scene on the phone was kept, but we shortened it dramatically to only include the basic plot information. We also decided to make the phone call happen while Gio was already in the car to avoid the scene where he walks to the car.

Another fix we made to the movie was the wardrobe. In the first film, Carmella was wearing a Drug Free Youth lanyard, which is an ironic thing for a "candy" dealer to be wearing. To solve this problem, we had her wear normal clothes and leave the lanyard out of filming. We also changed Gio's clothes to be more flashy to show his wild character.

Other tweaks we made to the film was the shortening of Carmella's speaking part at the end. We originally had her give a few sentences of dialogue, but we changed it to one single line to manage our time. We also added music to the waiting scene before Alto arrives to make the scene feel less awkward and boring.