Critical Reflection

Final Project

Editing

Let me lay down our two main issues with the editing process at the moment:

1. We have barely enough usable footage to scrape by
2. Some of the most important shots are missing audio

Trust me, I know. There is nothing more that I'd rather do than smash my head into the wall for not thinking to check all of the audio on the night that we filmed. By the time we were done shooting, it was late at night, our actors and extras were leaving, and we were dead tired of it all. Still, there is no excuse for such a detrimental mistake and I know that. 

But agonizing over it now is useless to us, so all we can do is try our best to cover it up in post-production with our wicked editing skills. And, in an attempt to stay optimistic, I think we've been doing a good job, given the footage that we're working with. 

This is how we have been approaching our main issues:

1. We've chopped up the footage that we got and cut it every which way in order to get as much variety in our shots as possible. There's still a distinct shortage of close-ups and movement techniques, but we are trying to see what we can salvage from the ruined footage, and were hoping we can pick out some decent cuts. 
2. At first we thought that the audio we lost could somehow be restored. However, we realized that would be impossible once we figured out what the cause of our trouble was. While filming the last two scenes, our boom was somehow disconnected from the camera. As far as the equipment is concerned, that audio never even existed. Because of this, Jania and I are forced to resort to plan B, a plan neither of us is too excited about. We agreed that the only viable solution is to get our actors to dub over themselves. Then we'll layer their voices with the diegetic sound that we recorded in order to make it sound more realistic. And when the editing is all done, we're hoping that it won't look awkward or out of place. 

All in all, I truly do believe that we can pull it together and make this film work. It's been tough, and it's certainly not over. But we're almost at the finish line, and I can't wait to cross it with Jania at my side.

Filming

Last Friday, Jania and I finally managed to arrange our fake party so that we could film everything. And, in all honesty, it was an absolute nightmare.

I was a complete mess the whole night, and I could tell that I was cracking under the stress of our circumstances. There were just too many factors that all restricted what we could and couldn't do. We needed the sun to go down, we needed a good amount of people to fill up the scene, we needed everyone to stay quiet and then get loud whenever we wanted, and it all had to be within a certain time frame before our main actor would have to go home. It was chaotic and crazy, and I think I was probably the most annoying person on the planet that night. By the time we finished filming the bare minimum of what we needed, our actor had to leave and it was almost eleven o'clock. I was exhausted and tense, and it didn't help that Jania and I had been clashing a bit while recording (I know it was mostly my fault though, on account of how high strung and panicked I had become).

The worst part was that I know it could have bee fun. If there hadn't been so many factors adding to my anxiety, things would have gone better. I would have been enjoying the experience rather than running around like a maniac; and I take responsibility for that. I wish I could redo that night and get it right. But that doesn't matter, because Friday was our one shot. And now all we have is a lot of useless footage and mediocre takes.

But I'm not gonna let that stop us from finishing this opening. We will just have to work with what we have, and hope that by the end of it all, we'll have something worth presenting.

The Story

I've realized that up until now, I haven't actually explained what our movie's plot is, so I'll clear that up here:

Our main protagonist is a shy girl named Hallie, and the film begins with establishing that she's at a party. Even though it's pretty obvious that Hallie is not used to parties, her friends have left her alone to fend for herself.

She is shown wandering around uncomfortably before finding a corner by the drink table where she can be away from the parties chaos. That's when Jonathan approaches her and begins to hit on her. At first, Hallie seems pleased with the attention and even blushes at his flirting, but the tone quickly shifts when Jonathan becomes more and more insistent, literally cornering Hallie despite her clear discomfort.

From a feet away, another girl, named Blake, has become aware of the situation, and she decides to step in by dumping her drink right on Jonathan's head and demanding that he back off. When he finally leaves, Blake asks if Hallie is okay, and it becomes apparent through the look on Hallie's face that she is attracted to her bold savior.

The opening ends with a two shot of our protagonists looking at each other and smiling, indicating that the rest of the film will be about their relationship and how it will develop.

Difficulties

So we've been experiencing some issues indifferent areas of our project. For one thing, we don't think we will be able to get the song we wanted originally. They've given no indication of responding to our requests to use their song, so we've started looking for a royalty free song as a backup, much to our disappointment.

We're also behind on our schedule. We originally wanted to film during spring break so that we would have plenty of time for editing, but we were unable to confirm enough people to play extras since so many of our friends were on vacation. We considered completely altering our story and script but decided against it in the end. Our new filming date is this Friday, so we are currently working on getting more confirmations for our party.

As for casting, we've pretty much figured out our actors, but somethings are still uncertain and it's out of my control at the moment, which makes me particularly anxious.

Film Location and Actors

We finally confirmed where we will be filming our opening! Our friend Rachel has agreed to let us throw our fake party at her house, even going so far as to let us invite about 20 people to fill out the space and really get into the party vibe. I'm a little worried that not all our extras will show up on the day of filming, but, if anything, we can figure out alternative ways to fill up the space. Right now we are trying to decide on lighting and the overall mise-en-scene of the scene. We'll most likely use mainly close up and medium shots of the setting in order to cover up for our limited resources, but I have no doubt we can make it work well.

Now that we have out set worked out, we're going to start writing our script. We wanted to confirm the location before writing it just to make sure that the story would be possible to film. Jania and I signed up for a script writing application and we're going to start jotting down ideas together.

I also want to start keeping my eyes peeled for possible actors. We need two feminine looking actors who don't mind playing queer characters to be our main protagonists. I originally thought that it would be difficult to find people willing to play these roles, but I realized that we have plenty of willing participants in our schools GSA club. So now my main concern is finding good actors to play the roles believably. Jania and I agreed to hold auditions after we finish writing our script, but for now I'll be looking out for some potential candidates. I'm confident that everything will come together nicely!

Animal

Jania and I have decided to try and get in contact with a record label in order to use a specific song for our opening. Since the film opens up in a party setting, we decided that we wanted to use a familiar song that teenagers would dance and have a good time listening too. Because of this we want to avoid using non-licensed, generic party tracks. The song we agreed on is "Animal" by the band Neon Trees.

The song itself really captures the atmosphere that we want to convey during the party scene, and Jania has told me that she's had this song in mind for a while. The lyrics even connect with the characters themselves and would almost be like foreshadowing for the rest of the story. We contacted Mercury Records (Neon Tree's record label) and are awaiting their response.

Hopefully we will hear from them soon so that we know where to go from here. If for some reason it doesn't work out, Jania and I have started brainstorming some back up plans. But for now, we remain hopeful.

Genre Research

After many months of going back and forth between different ideas, Jania and I have finally settled on the genre for our film: romantic comedy.

Now that its been decided, I've started doing research on the most well-known, LGBTQ romance/comedy films, starting with one called "But I'm a Cheerleader."

The movie -which was released in 2000- received mixed reactions from audiences across the U.S. It's main critique was its poor production value and cheesy acting. But despite these valid critiques, the film remains one of the most popular LGBTQ comedies amongst the queer community, and it's beloved by many. 

The reason for this film's popularity is simple: people crave representation. With so few films that feature queer protagonists, it's no wonder that the community latches on to these highly critiqued films, basically taking what they can get. Especially in this new, more accepting generation, the demand for diversity in films is growing. So Jania and I plan to deliver in this aspect with our film opening, since we too believe that representation is essential. 

The Beginning

Welcome to my very first blog! My name is Adri, an aspiring writer, poet, and animator with a passion for the arts and creativity in general.

Today marks the official beginning of creating my first ever film opening, and I could not be more excited to finally get this ball rolling!

Ever since this project's existence was presented to my class at the beginning of the year, I have been brainstorming non-stop, trying to come up with suitable ideas to create a fantastic film. During this time, I had lots of ideas running around in my head, but the thought of doing them all on my own was daunting for an amateur such as myself, and I found myself somewhat discouraged.

Luckily, I would not have to worry about working alone. My savior was my friend and classmate, Jania, a fellow writer and avid member of our schools GSA club, just like myself. As friends, we realized that we could work well together and that we could always trust one another to do our duties (we even worked together on several smaller projects from the beginning of the course). When she suggested that we team up for our final project, it was a huge relief to me, but it also gave me a fresh sense of determination and excitement for the project that awaited us in the future. From this, our partnership blossomed into what is now Shortcake Studios.

Once Jania and I decided to partner up, we realized we have one very distinct desire for our film. As members of GSA and the LGBTQ community ourselves, both of us have become determined to created an amazing film opening with realistic, well-written, queer representation.

I myself have always resented the poor representation of queer people in the media, especially concerning the hypersexualization of lesbian relationships. LGBTQ activism is something that both Jania and I are extremely passionate about, which is why we have planned from the very start to have an LGBTQ character be the protagonist of our film. Though some may see this as a foolish basis to start on, it is a topic that will always matter to me, Jania, and every single member of the LGBTQ community alike.

~ Adri