🔙FORMER STUDENT WORK🔙

 

Good evening bloggers,

We were assigned to examine some of our former colleagues' film openings! Getting a chance to see these film openings will really help in molding our project in the exact way that we envision it too. My group and I are eager to commence our filming, but this inflates my eagerness even more!

Roll Call

To start with the positives, I really admire the opening shot as it builds suspense to the crime that has just occurred. The drone shot is the perfect Segway into the following scene, as he enters the Miramar Police Headquarter building. I love the creativity and editing during the mug shot scenes, it really feels like a Hollywood movie. Now with the negatives. I feel like the recording could have been steadier just to give it more of a professional look, but at the same time I kind of enjoy the natural and authentic feel as it gives it more of a comedic feeling.

New Everything

I really like they used all of their resources to their advantage as it seems that they didn't really have to spend that much money if any. However, this project just feels very generic and bland. There isn't that "WOW" factor, which just won't intrigue the viewer to keep watching. I feel like they could've implemented some sort of effects/visuals to keep the viewer entertained. Overall, just a very stale idea and project that had no real creativity.

Dreamland

The start of the opening is absolutely astounding. I love the color gradient as the light colors (such as pink and white) evoke a subtle feeling of intimacy. The music also provides that calming feeling that it seems they are aiming for. What I love most about this is the shade of color they use during the Walgreens sequence. It matches what the directors are aiming for; that feeling of going to your local pharmacy at the middle of the night while under the weather. Amazing film opening.

Dear Lover

The voice over adds a completely new dynamic and really suits the idea of the opening; which is reminiscing over the time she had to leave her mother. The cuts between the voice over and the actual talking is perfect as it feels genuine and authentic. The scenery matches the emotions that were conveyed in the video. I really admire the little flashback as it is creative and unique. Very good film opening.

Dare to Thrill

I love the fact that it never seems to get dull; the camera is always moving (sort of jittery). The music enhances this feeling as it adds a sense of urgency and anticipation. The scene of the car turning is my favorite scene out of the 5 openings that I have seen as it builds tension to the ride that they are going on. (the synchronized sound of them turning up the volume is awesome). The close ups and zoomed out shots of the car going around is so creative and honestly I have no clue how they did it, but I love it.

🎒GROUP MEMBERS🎒

 

Hey bloggers,

The long-awaited decision has come... it's time to choose our groups for our project! At first, I thought of working by myself just so I could have full control of how I wanted everything to be executed. However, I realized that the work-load would be quite overwhelming, so I opted to join a group. In our group, it will be me, Antwan, and Gallarde! All of us are unique in our own ways, so I can't wait to collaborate with them.

I chose to work with Antwan as he has past experience in editing which will help us tremendously! He is a vibrant person who is able to light up the whole room with his exuberant personality. He is an extremely creative person who isn't shy to try new things. Most importantly, I've known him for many years and am glad to call him a friend. :)

My other group member, Gallarde, is someone who I am delighted to be able to work with! His extroverted, frivolous personality is exactly what I was looking for as it is perfect for acting. I'm extremely grateful to call Gallarde my friend as he is someone who I know I can lean on whenever I need to. Although he tends to be a quite hands-off guy, I know I will be able to bring the best out of him and get him to participate.

✈️STORY BOARDING✈️

 Hey bloggers,

Story boarding is an integral part to film production as you start to envision how your film will end up looking like (or at least an idea of what it will look like). As I have dived deeper into the intricate details of story boarding, I have learned that storyboards can be either written or made digitally, they are essentially the 'blueprint' for the final product, and it also gets everyone on the same page from the beginning of film production. 

In my opinion, being open minded is the most crucial aspect when beginning to start your storyboarding. Having a pool of ideas running through your mind when creating your storyboard makes it easier to envision how your film will look like. While storyboarding, it is quite common to run into some roadblocks. Lack of communication with your peers, time management and productivity, and keeping up with evolving skills and tools are just some of the challenges with storyboarding.

For my storyboard, my movie of choice was Avengers: Endgame. Specifically the Big Three Fight Scene. Endgame is an iconic movie that is filled with action packed, tense moments so I felt it was the right movie to do with my storyboard. My drawing skills are quite grim, so it was quite a challenge to draw these. I felt that this specific scene had moments that displayed moments of confidence, defeat, and fear. 

👁MISC EN SCENE👁

 

Hey Bloggers,

    Misc en Scene is a part of film-making that truly determines whether a movie does well at the box office. It is the base of all movie production and requires intense, intricate thinking to make sure everything in a scene stays cohesive and in relation to what is going on in the movie/show. To put in simple terms, Misc En Scene is everything you see on screen.

    My ABSOLUTE all time favorite show will always be Breaking Bad, so that's what I chose to do for this blog! The suspense, tension, and plot all make you wanting more! The film production is second to none as every scene is thought out to perfection, which makes the watch ever so much enjoyable. Everything ties together and you really get the gist of what the director is envisioning.

One of the most iconic clips in Breaking Bad is Walters cancer diagnosis. This is basically the root of all Walters problems as he tries to ensure his families future financial security by entering the drug business. As you can see in this scene, the colors appear to be very dark and dreary, reflecting the circumstances of this scenario, as getting diagnosed with cancer is one of the most demoralizing things that can happen to someone. Walters clothes and facial expressions also can be seen. His clothes, brown and this sort of dark green color, which matches the overall dull color of this scene. His facial expression, lifeless, sort of showing the scale of this situation. The lack of lighting makes this shot even more depressing.

Here in this shot, you can see the kitchen that is shown an abundant of times throughout the show and it is in Walters house. This house resembles that of a middle class one as you have a gas stove with wooden cabinets. None of the appliances seem to be outdated as if seems like your standard 2000's kitchen. The fridge has those magnets that kids usually put on them, which shows that he has a family.

As Walter's drug business continues to climb too enormous heights, you see the stress take a toll on him ,which can be clearly seen in this shot as he has his head laying in one of his hands. Throughout the show, the director opts to use more brownish, maroon furniture. As you can see, his wife, Skylar, is pregnant at that time, which may be contributing to his tensity. Skylar possesses this nonchalant facial expression as she has yet to find out about Walters secret endeavors. The lighting seems to be centered on the couch, which shows that both of these characters were the centerpiece to this scene.

Walter's obsession with maintaining his pride ultimately ends up killing Mike, as here in this shot you can see him with Mike in his last moments. Mikes black shirt feels like an indication of his inevitable death. The color scheme mostly consists of green and brown, showing the gloomy magnitude of the situation, which is one of the main characters dying to greed. It seems to be late in the afternoon as the sun does not appear to be shining. The peaceful scenery of the situation is the perfect scenario for how Mike wanted to die, as he tells Walter to shut up and "let me die in peace."

😜MOOD BOARD😜

 

Hey bloggers!

We were assigned to create a mood board and make a blog post to describe the movies feel and mood. Mood boards are an exceptional way of conveying a movies feel in only a select few photos. Every mood board is unique in its own way, as some are aimed to be melancholy and dark, while others are meant to impart a bright, elated mood. 

For my movie, I chose Toy Story! This movie was a centerpiece of my childhood, so I felt it was only right to create a mood board about it. Toy Story is movie that opts for more of a bright color scheme, primarily using colors such as red, yellow, green, and blue, to show its playful and upbeat theme. Toy Story is centered more towards a jovial mood to target a young audience.

In my mood board, I chose to use photos that show monumental moments in a persons life, such as graduating from high school. Since the movie is made mostly for kids, I wanted to incorporate some of the things that kids love to do and eat, such as eating ice cream and playing outside with other kids their age. One of the unique photos that I used was the photo of the Grand Canyon. I used this photo as a reference to the main character Woody, but also I felt that its ambiance perfectly reflected the movie. The Toy Story trilogy has cemented itself in history as a story that presents the grueling reality of children turning into grown, mature adults and leaving all their childhood belongings behind them. A movie that will have a long lasting memory in the minds of many people, especially mine.

❄️SOUND STORY❄️

 

Hey bloggers!

    My partner, Nicholas Nunez, and I recently finished our sound story! This project opened my eyes to just how much time goes into making a movie sound as close to perfection as possible. Every little sound combines to have a huge effect on a movie, which is why sound layering is the most crucial part to how the movie does at the box office! Even though the project was fairly short, I learned a great amount of valuable information that will help me during the Cambridge video.

    For the editing, I used iMovie. I have used this application before, so I was already familiar to the whole gist of it. This sound project helped wonders in terms of my technique. I learned how to make the sound that is most fitting for each scene, while at the same time, making sure that none of the sounds were too overpowering. Also, I learned how to become more creative when finding out where to generate my original sounds.

    I wouldn't say editing the project was hard, but more so tedious. First of all, I wanted to find the best online sounds that were as close to what I was looking for. I would look for sounds that were a little too specific, which as a result, led to me not finding them. The sound layering is one thing that I hope to improve on. It's extremely crucial when making the movie sound as authentic and I feel like I could've added some more sounds when layering. One thing I would redo are the transitions between each of the main sounds. I feel like I could've make them every so slightly smoother, just to make it sound cohesive and pleasant to the ear. I would also liked to have had the video to be about battling pirates but it was a little to advanced for me. But I know with time, I will be able to do it like its second nature.

💢TRANSITION BLOG POST💢

 

Good Afternoon Bloggers,

This blog is our first time practicing using transitions! This assignment is getting our feet wet for what's to come, which I like. Transitions are able to capture emotions, suspense, and surprise the viewer. Without transitions, movies would not be nearly as entertaining! I had a blast recording these, with two of the videos including my sister. Luckily, she was willing to participate in these videos and she helped me with brainstorming, which I obviously thanked her for. :) In all of these videos, I tried to find the right transitions. Honestly, I feel like I still have a lot to learn but I know with practice, I will continue to improve.

                                                

In this video, I was able to convince my sister to use her as a subject. It starts with her sitting at our kitchen table on her computer, in quite a laid back mood. However, the vibe shifts as my sister is seen overwhelmed, even on the verge of crying. I used a fade transition to connect both the videos/clips. As you can see, I used the transition as a time-lapse to show my sisters growing frustrations in relation to whatever shenanigans she is doing on her computer. A fade transition can show there is change within a scene. 

In this clip, I begin with filming my backyard, more specifically my lake. I then pan down into the grass, and use a dissolve transition to pan to my front yard. I put my bunny in video to add more life to my video as I felt it would be quite uninteresting. The pan down into the grass enables me to provide a smooth transition between changing locations, and the dissolve transition adds on to the smoothness of my transition. This clip was quite easy to film. I wanted to include my lake as it provides some much needed scenery.

In this clip, I have my sister eating some delectable chips while watching some TV. I then used a wipe transition to show that time has passed and she has fell asleep. I found this video quite humorous as the transition is very blunt. I originally wanted to have the lights off for the video. However, the lighting was not suitable for a video as you could barely see her. The wipe transition is very fast compared to the dissolve and fade, which is why I decided to use it for this one.

🎥MOVIE ANALYSIS🎥

 

Hey bloggers,

    One of the most fundamental, crucial parts of a movie are the use of camera angles, movements and transitions. They are vital when attempting to capture the emotion of a scene, grab the attention of the viewer, show the tension of a situation etc. Some of the most successful movies that have ever hit theaters have tremendous cinematographers who are able to capture the every minute detail through the use of their unique angles, movements and transitions.

    In this particular case, I chose "Hunger Games" which is an action/sci-fi five movie trilogy that is known for its action-packed and suspenseful scenes. I'll be highlighting some shots that were excellent at capturing every minute detail of a scene.

1.          Katniss and Peta conversing

In this shot, we see a clear over the shoulder shot. This screenshot shows Peta, with Katniss' shoulder included. This specific clip has multiple over the shoulder shots as they converse about the reality of the situation they are in, which is that only one of them will make it out of the games alive. This extended over the shoulder conversation builds up suspense for what was to come. In this case, they both engaged in an intimate moment. This could also be seen as the close shot, as the viewer can clearly see both Peta and Katniss' facial expressions. Peta and Katniss open up about their feelings about the calamitous situation they have been put in. The camera movements include the cinematographer moving the camera back and forth between Peta and Katniss, to show the lengthy conversation they have engaged in.

 

2.        Hunger Games

As the contestants prepare to enter battle, the viewer is provided with a brilliant establishing shot of the battle field in which all the contestants will fight to stay alive. In this particular scene, the contestants are preparing to enter all out mayhem as they will be put through rigorous and life threatening challenges. This establishing shot really sets the tone for what's to come. Also, the establishing shot shows the true scale of the situation in which the contestants are in, as the viewer can see the never ending forest that ends up being the fate of most of them. 

3. Katniss concerned

As the hunger games start to get increasingly difficult, it can be seen that Katniss is starting to become startled. In this close shot, the viewer is able to see Katniss' pale, worn out face as a result of the hunger games. The viewer can see almost every facial feature; her hair, messy, with multiple scratches on her face as she continues to battle for her life. As the clip continues, you can see why she appeared to be frightened. The camera movements and angles enhance the intensity of the situation, as the frantic movement contributes to the event that is about to occur. The camera jumps continuously from one thing to another, as she prepares to fire and arrow at the sky in order to destroy the dome that they are trapped in. 

📙CLASSMATE CRITIQUE📙

 I commented on Alexander's post and Alyssa's post.

    To start off, Alexander recorded a variety of interesting angles. The first video he posted was of someone walking along the stone walkway, which although not very descriptive, could be used as a solid segue into a scene that could come up after. The second video could also be used as a segue, with the imagination that the camera pans down from the tree to people having a conversation or vice versa in which the camera pans away from the people having a conversation to the trees. The third video looks like a master shot and could be used to display the subjects surroundings and could also be used to convey someones body language as they walk around. The last shot appears to be an extreme close shot which is amazing to show facial features and emotional feelings. This particular shot was used to show the intricate details of a butterfly that would not be able to be portrayed if shot with a different shot.

    Onto Alyssas post, she first records a video and uses a still shot of herself posing on a bench. This shot creates a sense of peace and relaxation as you can hear the sound of the trees blowing in the wind. This shot reminds me of an end of the movie scene that could be used. I really like the 3rd video as it only records the subjects feet as they walk. This is great for building up suspense for the viewer, which could be used in a multitude of different scenes. The 4th video is a great example on an over the shoulder shot. The over the shoulder shot allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the conversation. It also allows the viewer to capture the subjects emotions throughout a conversation. The last video seems to be a low shot angle. The low angle is a good shot to use when you want to show the subjects dominance and intimidation in a scene.

    

🔆CAMERA SHOTS🔆

 

In this video, I recorded a beautiful flower using a close shot angle. The close shot angle allows me to show every intricate detail of the flower and could foreshadow an event that happens later on in a movie. I made sure to focus solely on the flower to show that it was the main feature in the shot.

In this video, I incorporated many different shots such as a low angle, mid shot and high angle. I filmed this with the imagination that someone is sitting there by themselves to capture their emotions and thoughts. This could also be used as a two shot between people having a conversation. These angles also allow me to capture the surroundings.

This shot, in my imagination, is used for more of an establishing shot. This shot allows me to focus more on the surroundings while also being able to transition to someone sitting there or two people. I imagine this as more of an intro to a movie.

This shot is recorded much farther from my other ones for a reason. (Imagine a person there) This shot is made to seem like someone is alone and lonely with no one to contact or talk too. This shot captures the emotion as they could be either crying or putting on a stone cold face to show they are unfazed.

❗️EMBARKING ON A NEW ADVENTURE❗️

    Hey bloggers, my name is Marco Jaramillo and this commences my Aice Media Studies journey. Growing up, most of my free time has been spent hanging out with family and friends, while also playing soccer and video games. I have heard very good things about this class which is why I have decided to take it and learn an abundance of new things.

    However, I have always been intrigued by the production and film making that happens during movie production and this course allows me to dive into the ins and outs of this particular field. Honestly, I have never been much of a movie person but I am sure this course will open the gates to my movie binging. Learning the shots, angles, dialogue, acting etc. will all help in making me hopefully pass the exam. The 2 minute movie intro is something that I am very ecstatic to be participating in and am anxious to start making it. 

    

     My sister introduced me to Breaking Bad and I loved it to say the least! I finished it in like 2 weeks since every episode made me want to watch it more and more. The filming crew did a stellar job and you could really get a sense of what the character was feeling in every scene. It was amazing.

   This is the first time I have ever posted a blog so I am sort of stepping into uncharted territory. At the same time, I have talked about myself and who I am countless of times so all those past experiences will (hopefully) help me become a good blogger. I have a lot of ideas in mind for my video so it will be a challenge to pick one. The editing part will be a difficult task as I have never edited a video so hopefully the editing comes out slick and smooth.