AICE Media Studies

  Let’s Get Reel Podcast #331 All incorporated text is property of Let’s Get Reel Inc., & Sarah Abreu Hi, my name is Sarah Abreu and I’ll be your host on this segment of Let’s Get Reel. For those of you new to the podcast, Let’s Get Reel discusses all things related to the film world.  The producers over at Let’s Get Reel incorporated have sent me a list of questions from their listeners to answer about the latest film I acted in called “The Roadtrip”, so if you’re ready, let’s get reel! The first thing you all wanted to know was how the film “The Roadtrip” used or challenged conventions.  From my experience acting in other thriller films, one convention “The Roadtrip” followed to a tee was using the element of suspense. It is common in many thriller films for something seemingly serious to go wrong in the very beginning of the film. Since most thriller films have audiences going in knowing it is a thriller, the thought of tragedy so soon makes people tense up. “The ...

 Dearest reader, I am so excited to finally reveal the final project! My teammates and I worked so hard and I hope you enjoy it!

 Dearest reader, Today, we got to work on the changes discussed in my last entry. My sister, Hannah, who loves watching my media studies projects agreed to critique us. The input we recieved was extremely insightful.  One main critique we worried about was music. The musical selection has been rough to say the least. At first, I found a YouTube video full of royalty free music I thought might be fruitful. I was not head over heels at the scores, but they were the better of a bunch of evils. My group however, disagreed and after their points, I saw why. The music, while better than the 2014-esque vlogger music I found, was too mideval tavern feeling. While I cannot pretend I do not like a good bard's ballot, it deffinetely was not fit for this project.  After the first YouTube video, I scoured Apple Music for solutions. I found, what I thought was a decent royalty free tropic beat. Once again, the gold I thought I struck turned out to be copper. Half of the group liked it,...

 Dearest reader, Today, we figured that our final project was far enough along to bring in the critiques. Millie, one of my teammates finished up the editing earlier today. My sister is town for spring break, hence my absence from the blog.  My sister is my biggest supporter in everything I do. Last media studies project, when I posted my music video, she watched it three times. Alone. Then she showed her roommate. Later, her rommate showed their friends. All this to say, she was the perfect critic to watch this latest project.  I sat my sister down and explained to her that this was the final project for my media studies exam. I told her that I had not submitted yet and I would like any last minute critiques before it went in.  After screening the film, my sister had several helpful critiques. For starters, she mentioned that while she found the beginning comprehensive, a little help in the setting department could go a long way. Mainly, she noted that most films be...

 Dearest reader, Today, we continued editing our short film. We met via FaceTime once all members were home from school. There was a bit of back and forth between which editing platform to use. I made a case for ClipChamp mentioning the ability to use many tools for free. I found ClipChamp to be a saving grace on my last project.  Ultimately, the group settled on CapCut. I had made it abundantly clear to my group that my editing skills are subpar. While I made sure to enthusiastically emphasize my willingness to edit the footage should they want me to, I can not promise much skill for the group. It was agreed that the editing work would be split fairly evenly amongst members. First, we needed to import the clips off of the drive and onto CapCut.  Finding the cropped clips I had worked on yesterday was easy for my teammates. The clips were moved onto one teammates’ laptop and the editing began. Clips were organized into sequential order on the timeline. Filters were then a...

 Dearest reader, Today I began editing our short film. Filming wrapped yesterday. We filmed the scene we needed of everyone getting in the car. After finishing at Alexandra’s house I did have to get ready for a birthday dinner immediately. This meant that there was no discussion of editing yesterday. This morning I woke up and had birthday brunch with my grandparents who live in West Palm Beach. This was about an hour drive up and another hour back plus the time spent there. With all this to say, I got to editing later in the day. First, I reached out to my group. I checked in to see how we wanted to divide up the work amongst the group.  We decided we would meet via FaceTime to discuss what editing platform to use tomorrow. With a call scheduled for after school tomorrow, I checked in to see if there was anything else I could do for the group. The group needed the clips we took Friday and Saturday to undergo some slight pre-editing. We collected the clips from the various pho...

 Dearest reader, Today was the second day of filming. Since today was not a  school day, we started filming earlier. Due to the fact that we are meeting at Alexandra's house, l woke up at 8:30. I live out west, about 40 minutes from the school. Alexandra lives out east about 20 minutes from the school.  Last night when I got home from filming and finished all my homework, I went straight to bed. This meant that on top of my usual morning routine, I had to shower. I hopped in the shower as soon as I woke up and got my day going. After eating breakfast, I did my hair and got in my costume. Almost late, I ran out the door to head to Alexandra’s house. When I arrived, we were waiting on one teammate. Something family related came up and there was a delay. Similar to yesterday’s filming, those of us who were there made sure we were looking ready to film and had the cameras set up. Once everyone was present, we got cracking on the scene where we are driving off to start the tri...

 Dearest reader, Today was the first day of filming. If you read the previous blog, you know that yesterday was a race to memorize my lines thoroughly. Our teammates checked in on each other to see how the line studying was progressing. All of us seemed to have spent last night the same way: cooped up rereading and reciting lines till we were dizzy. Knowing this made me excited to film today because there was a chance we might have been able to finish all the footage. Upon arrival, we had about ten minutes to re-read our lines. During this time, various members stepped out to prepare for filming. Some of us set up cameras and check our phone storage. We discussed who may end up editing the footage when it was all said and done. We also contacted our parents to let them know we would be leaving for the first filming location in a few minutes.  Then, there was a great flurry of getting dressed and ready. I had to change clothes, change my hairstyle and do my makeup. I added hair...

 Dearest reader,  Today was all about memorizing my lines. We officially have a filming date set for tomorrow after school! After all the chaos it feels so so good to have secured a filming date and have it be so soon. Originally this weekend was too conflicted to film, but plans changed for my vacation so I am able to work on the project. We are meeting at one of my teammates house after school.  The sudden schedule change, while positive, is stressful. One luxury of a distant far off filming date was not rushing to get my lines memorized. I know from AICE drama that memorizing lines can be difficult even an as a straight A student. Line memorization requires reliance on other people saying their lines first. If someone misses their line it throws off the mental que for me to say my line.  To fix this issue in a live performance, you would just memorize more of the lines leading up to yours. You could also try to practice improv to help the scene along. However, in ...

 Dearest reader, Today was another day of delays. My group has had back to back obligations with extracurriculars. Many of us are also taking several advanced courses with project deadlines coming up.  In lieu of this issue, I decided to attempt another task I could execute alone. The delays in the filming process are stressing me out like crazy and I need to be actively working on something to stave off the anxiety. Additionally, a friend of mine who is also in media studies but in a different group has asked me to be in his project. The first day I showed up no actual filming got done. I was under the belief that everything we needed filmed would get done. Trying to coordinate dates for that while also prioritizing my own group's grade is an added layer of chaos.  The solution to these frustrations? Fashion.  Costumes are an essential part of conveying the character within a film. Since my character is the first one to get kidnapped, I want to convey a sense of nai...

 Dearest reader, In our delays me and my teammates have decided to work on tasks we can do independently.  Music is a key part of any film. Especially in an opening sequence, music is almost always present. Since music also affects the tone of the opening sequence, we decided it would be best to pay some attention to this sooner rather than later.  I decided to search for music we could use and propose it to the group. Hopefully, a few other teammates will also have found music. If there are multiple options we can give them all a listen and cast a vote.  In the music I am looking for something that gives an adventurous road trip feeling. In order to portray the feeling of eeriness, something that is adventurous with a slight off key feeling would likely achieve this. Finding this type of music will be hard because it must be copyright free. This means that we are likely working with instrumental music only.  Some key words I tried in searching for royalty free ...

 Dearest reader, What do you get when you combine four students with extracurriculars? Schedule issues.  We have been trying to figure out a good time to film our final task. First we began by looking for weekends that are available. With a debater in the group, that is none. Then, we decided we will likely not get to film the whole opening sequence in one day. With this in mind, we considered after school. One member of the group is on the tennis team so she has practice every day after school except Fridays. Fridays were looking good for the group except for the fact that the next few Fridays were booked for everyone. I had a date this past Friday and I will be travelling out of town the next.  Trying to align schedules has proven to be a hurculean task. February is coming to a swift end and we really want to film before March. If do not film until March, we will be running it right up to the due date with the editing. I am not sure about the editing abilities of my tea...

 Dearest reader,  Below is the storyboard detailing our final task. Panel 1 is the first scene of the opening sequence.  Panel 2 includes the end of scene one. Then, panel two goes on to the beginning of scene two of the opening sequence. Panel 3 shows the end of scene two. This panel also goes on to cover the beginning of scene three. Panel 4 shows the ending of scene three. This panel also shows the beginning of scene four. Finally, panel 5 shows the rest of scene four. At this point the opening sequence cuts off and transitions into the body of the film.

 Dearest reader, Below is a rough idea of what the title design is going to look like! Font/ Color- Bubbly girly, vintage vibe with a dark color and a shadow Our reasoning for this unique choice is that we want the audience to come along with us. They should truly believe that the premise of the movie is a friend group going on a fun trip. Yet to still match the fact that is is a thriller movie, we want subtle clues that hint at an ominous tone.  Size-We will have the main title take up the most space, roles be medium sized, and names/ others be small We want the size of our title to represent its importance. If all the title is the same, nothing will have emphasis. The main title of our movie will obviously be the largest because it is the most important. The rest of the credits will be divided into medium sized with small under it. For example, our role will be medium and our name under it will be smaller.  Working title- The Bucket List Transition- In order to continue...

 Dearest reader, Below is the script for our final project. Pitch - Four friends embark on a road trip to fulfill their bucket list, but their journey takes unexpected turns. Characters: Milana - Elle Sasha - Samantha Sarah - Katie Alex - TBD Scene 1: Location: At friends house                                        (We are all getting ready to leave for our road trip)              ( Three friends arrive their other friends house waiting for her to finish packing) Character Name: (Character 1 knocks on door) Dialogue : “ Come on  we’re gonna be late for our road trip !!! ” (Character 2 opens the door carrying her luggage) Character Name 2:  Dialogue : “ Ok ok I'm sorry I’m ready now, lets go “ Character ...

 Dearest reader,  Below are the details of our location, participants, health and schedule in regards to filming. Location:  The first location we will be filming in is someone's house. Since we need somewhere to park the car we will be using later, we will film this bit at Alexandra's house. We decided on this location by first discussing the distances all of our group members live from the school. Three out of four of us live far from the school but all in opposite directions. Alexandra, who lives closest to the school had the primary location for filming. After checking that she would be able to film at her house and is comfortable with this, we decided on this location.  The next location we will be filming at is a gas station near Alexandra's house. Since we will be in areas she is familiar with, she will show us the nearest gas station to her house.  The final location we will need to film in is a park. To give the film an adventurous road trip feeling, we...

 Dearest reader,  Below is my research on the movie "Gone Girl" directed by David Fincher. This particular research was done on the website "Art of The Titles". What Titles Are Displayed During The Opening Sequence? The production company distributor, production company, production company filmmaker, actors, casting director, music director, costume designer, editor, production designer, director of photography, executive producers, producers, screenplay by, written and directed by, title of the film. What Images Are Prioritized In The Opening Scene? At the beginning of "Gone Girl", the credits appear to be part of a scene, showing the back of Nick Dunne's (Ben Afleck) head while he caresses his wife Amy's (Rosamund Pike) hair. The camera specifically focuses on this private moment and guides the screen's presentation of the credits. This "nice moment" paints an idyllic picture of a happily married couple who live seemingly perfect li...