CCR #4

 How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

1-- Discuss hardware (cameras, lighting, microphones, phones...)

For my project I used my own phone for recording. I did not have any cameras, and I think my phone's cameras is very good. Because my film opening does not have any dialogue, there was no need of a microphone. All of the sounds will be included during the editing.  I decided to film in my own room because I can change the lighting easily. For the flashbacks, I opened the curtains and turned the lights on to make the scene look colorful and happy. For the present scene, I closed the curtains and adjusted the lighting of my room to make it look more dark. 

2-- Discuss software (editing tools, filter...)

At first, I was going to use Adobe for my editing, but after talking to my friends, I decided to use Premiere. I downloaded the app to try it out and I really liked it. There is a lot of transitions available, and it is not so hard to edit. For the filters, I preferred to use my own phone. The filters available on iPhone are really good and when I was trying it I realized that it made my scenes look better. I also used Canva for my logo. Canva is a great editing  tool and it was very easy to add effects and animate the logo to look exactly how I wanted it. 

3-- Discuss HOW/obstacles

One of the main challenges during this project was filming most things by myself and with limited equipment. I only had my phone to record, so I had to find ways to position the phone and film the scenes without help. Sometimes it was difficult to get the right angle or make the scene look natural. I also had to record in my own room, so I needed to adjust the lighting by opening or closing the curtains and using the lights in my room to create different moods for the scenes. Another challenge was the editing process. I had to make sure the film opening reached the required time of at least 1 minute and 55 seconds. When I added transitions between the clips, I noticed that the video became shorter, so I had to adjust the clips and sometimes extend some scenes to reach the correct time again. Even though there were some difficulties, these challenges helped me improve my problem-solving skills. I had to be creative, try different ideas, and adjust my editing and filming choices until I got the result I wanted.

Script:

Interviewer:

Alright, so today we’re doing a little house tour while talking about your film. My first question for you is how did your production skills develop during this project?

Me:

Honestly, a lot more than I expected. At the beginning I just had the idea for the story. I knew the film would be about a woman trying to find the person who killed her sister, but I didn’t really know how to turn that idea into actual scenes. While I was filming and editing, I started understanding more about how shots work and how each scene can help tell the story.

[Entering the room]

Interviewer:

So… this is where the movie magic happened?

Me:

Pretty much, yeah. Most of the scenes were filmed right here in my room. I didn’t have a camera or anything professional, so I just used my phone. At first I was mostly just trying to get the scenes filmed, but as I kept working on it I started paying more attention to things like camera angles and lighting.

Interviewer:

And did you look at other movies before making your film?

Me:

Oh Yeah, I watched a few film openings from suspense and drama movies. I noticed that a lot of them start pretty slow and emotional and then slowly build tension. That’s something I tried to do in my film too, especially with the flashbacks and the darker scenes later.

[walking around the house]

Interviewer:

What do you think was the hardest part of making the film?

Me:

Probably filming by myself. Since I didn’t really have help, I had to put my phone in random places around the room to get the shots I needed. Sometimes I had to try a few times to get the angle right.

Lighting was also something I had to figure out. For example, in the flashbacks I opened the curtains so the room looked brighter, and for the present scenes I closed them so everything looked darker and more serious.

Interviewer:

And editing? How did that go?

Me:

Editing was actually kind of tricky. At first it was hard to organize all the clips so the beginning of the story made sense. At one point I added transitions and somehow the video actually got shorter, so I had to go back and adjust some scenes.

Interviewer:

What about the music and sound?

Me:

That took some experimenting too. I wanted the beginning to feel more emotional because of the memories of the sister, and then slowly become more suspenseful when the main character starts looking for the killer. So I tried a few different sounds until it felt right with the scenes.

[going back where we started]

Interviewer:

So after making the film, what did you learn from the whole experience?

Me:

I definitely learned a lot about filming and editing. I understand much better now how things like camera angles, sound, and pacing can change how a scene feels. But honestly… I also realized this kind of project might not really be for me. I didn’t really enjoy writing the blogs, filming everything, or planning the whole production. Even though I didn’t love the process, I still learned a lot from it and improved my skills during the project.