Monday, March 16, 2026

The Last Post

 

Movie Opening & CCRs Below

Google Docs Folder:



Copy Link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19ORUQbSI6wu4iK2EB3repu9SA0ptJirR?usp=sharing


CCR 1 & 2:


CCR 3 & 4


Movie Opening:



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Sunday, March 15, 2026

The One Where She Edited Both CCRs


Final Editing Day

    Today, I edited both of my CCR videos. With the experience I had with editing my movie opening, I found it to be much easier than before since I was far more familiar with ClipChamp. I also recorded the voice overs that are included in my first CCR video before editing.

    Lastly, I reviewed my movie opening to see if I needed to edit anything else, which I did. When I showed my teacher the opening, she agreed that the color of the title in the beginning didn't stand out enough and suggested something like an outline for the font.

    I didn't like how the outline looked, nor a gradient, so I chose to space the title out differently and place it to the side. I liked how this looked much better.

    I didn't choose to add any more graphics either.

    I'm so tired but so relieved that it's over with. Now everything is ready to be turned in tomorrow. I'm so excited to show what I've worked so hard on. 


 



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Saturday, March 14, 2026

The One Where She Filmed the CCRs

  


Filming BOTH CCRs

    Today, I filmed both of my CCRs with the help of my mom. Since the videos were of me, I couldn't exactly film myself in all of them so she stepped in and helped me! It was pretty simple, we filmed with my phone and didn't use any sort of microphone. The most difficult part was probably remembering my lines.

    I had to remember a lot of what to say and I also had a problem with articulating my words in a fluent way, but I found that it was okay. This was only a struggle for my second CCR. But since my first is going to be narrated by a voice over, it was much easier to film. 



 
(All the footage above)

    All I have left to do is edit and tweek my film opening to make sure everything is good, and we're almost at the finish line!

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Friday, March 13, 2026

The One with the Second CCR Planning

 

CCR #2

    I plan to make my second CCR, answering questions 3 and 4, to be much more simple. I wanted to do a room tour, because besides the filming sets, I have everything I've used for production in my room. Sort of walk around and show everything like my GoPro and laptop. Then for the second part, just a small speech to the camera about how much I've learned. I wanted to avoid the "talking head" version of a CCR, but it'll just be a short speech. So I'm basically doing question 4 first then 3.


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It'll start off with me at my bedroom door.

"Hello everyone! I realize you've all seen a lot of my process and my project, but not who made it. My name is Andrea and I am the creator and producer of The Quiet Before. I wanted to share a peek of the place I've been working with all of these months and everything that has helped me along the way. Come on in."

I open the door as the camera follows me.

"This is where all my blogs have been written, footage has been edited, and ideas have been brewed."

I walk over to my desk.

"I got this GoPro as a gift from my brother last summer and it's what I used to make the first scene of my project. I chose it instead of my phone because I wanted to use some sort of "real" camera. It was a breeze to manage and it got the job done at least."

I sit down on my chair.

"But I ran into a problem when it came to audio. The microphone on my GoPro is not very good at all, and that was okay for the first scene with no dialogue, but for the second it was an issue. I tried to find a bluetooth microphone that I could use for the GoPro but I couldn't."

I take my phone from my pocket.

"So I resulted to the next best thing, my phone. It fit with the plug from my teacher's bluetooth microphone that I borrowed, and I figured the slight change in resolution wouldn't be too big of a deal."

I stand and walk to my stand.

"I used this stand once or twice to film my first CCR and editing process, but I filmed everything else by hand."

I go to sit back down.

"And as for lighting, we relied on natural lighting and my house's lamps, nothing fancy at all."

Then I turn to my desk as the camera follows.

"I used my laptop to record my process and plan, and my PC to edit."

"Talking about editing, I used various online resources throughout this project. Besides the websites I used to research, I used Canva to create and design my production logo and movie title. I used ClipChamp (and ClipChamp tutorials on Youtube) to edit my video which I will also use to edit my CCRs. I was going to use Adobe Premier Pro, but I found that ClipChamp is much more beginner friendly.

"As for the sound affects and music, I used Epidemic Sound. I did have to create an account but it was so worth it for me personally."

"I used the GoPro Quik app to upload the first half of my footage to my phone with ease as well."

"Emailing also came very handy to contact the GoldCoast Railroad Museum where I filmed the first part of my opening, and also to try and reach out to the artist who's music I wanted to use."

"Last but not least, I used known and beloved Blogger to record my process and plan. I even used it to write the script I'm talking about now!"

"Those are the technologies and online applications I used for this project."

The chair turns and it goes to me on the other side sitting at my desk where I begin to answer the second question.

-

"When it comes to the development of my production skills, I quite literally went from 0 to 100. I'm not saying I'm a pro, but just that knew almost nothing about production when I started this project. I've always had a good eye for photography, but never filmmaking.  I learned about shots and angles and how to take them correctly, such as how a tracking shot can change the feel of a scene. I also started from scratch on learning how to edit, having no experience, and learned how to do it decently well."

"I'm not going to lie, this project has caused me a lot of stress. On the nights before filming I'd be up biting my nails and thinking of everything that could go wrong. So I did also learn how to slow down and trust my own process. As someone who has been interested in film since she has watched La La Land when she was 10 years old, I never explored filmmaking as an option for my future. But after all the fun I had doing this, I think I want to explore it a lot more and possibly more depending on where my last year of highschool takes me. I didn't just view this project as just another assignment, but something that I truly felt passionate about the whole way through, and I'm glad I did it."

"Thank you for listening and following my progress, and I hope you enjoy."

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The camera cuts and CCR Part 2 is over.

Thursday, March 12, 2026

The One Before CCR Production

 

CCR Plan and Script

    Tomorrow, I'm going to be filming my very first CCR answering the first two questions I've discussed in my previous CCR research posts. For the first one, I wanted to reference the 2000's series "Sex and the City." Maybe it's because I've gotten into it recently or because it's a good prompt to answer a question, but I've been thinking about it for a while.

    If you've watched it before, you'd know that Carrie Bradshaw, the main character, is the writer of a magazine column in New York City. At the start of every episode, she asks herself a question that she writes in said column and the episode is all about answering it pretty much.

    I thought it fit really well and it was a cute idea. Of course, I'll be adding my own creative elements and it'll be MUCH more PG than the actual show. 

    But before I start anything, I have to write a script! I'm learning from my mistakes already. 

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"CCR 1 & 2" shown on the screen like it's an episode's title. 

It starts off with me laying on my bed, laying on my bed in front of my laptop.

Voice Over: As I'm finishing up my eighth week of working on this video project, I've been reflecting a lot on not just the actual production of it all, but also what it meant. Ever since the beginning, I've been constructing ways to either challenge or go with the conventions of the sci-fi/dystopian genre. And further than that, representing issues through my piece of media. 

(As I talk I'm shown at my laptop, my desk, different places)

Voice Over while it's being typed on the screen: "So I couldn't help but wonder, how exactly did I achieve what I wanted to present? How did I use the conventions of the dystopian genre while also challenging them. . . and how did the product reflect social issues doing so?"

"Recalling the research I did in January, the dystopian genre lives in the dark ambience, run-down cities and areas, the ambitious main character, the abuse of an authoritative power, and often times a direct call-out of problems that really do occur in real life."

(I'm now being shown going to sit on my couch and laying down, turning on my TV.)

"I did use all of these in my product, but there's one thing I specifically left out. Most dystopian universes are shown to be in a far future or the past. For example, in the Hunger Games, we're shown lots of new technologies to tell us that they're very technologically advanced. Instead, I depicted the world as it is now through wardrobe and exclusion of futuristic implications."

"I avoided this because I wanted my message to be that though we're constantly shown that a dystopia is an exaggerated fantasy, that we're actually much closer to it than we may think."

"Which might be hard for some to see, but the issues I represented in the product are real life issues that happen and have been happening."

"Problems like a rationing system issued by a government,"

I walk to my kitchen and open the cabinets.

"That even though some of us don't see personally because we have the luxury of having our fridges and cabinets full of what we need, it still exists in countries like Cuba."

I then walk over to the window where I filmed the dining room scene, looking out the window.

"Then also issues like police brutality. In places all over the world, including the United States, there have been cases of officials taking advantage of their power."

"If I looked out this window the way my characters did and saw what they saw, I'd be just as concerned as Beatrice was. She represented the voice of reason, empathy. While her mother represented the society who has had to turn a blind eye to things like this for their own safety."

I start to walk back into my room. 

"And in the world now, whether it's for our own safety or because of mere ignorance, we do the same thing that Beatrice's mother does. And eventually, the more we ignore and tolerate, the more grave situations could rise."

I'm shown sat on my bed.

"In simpler terms, when you walk in your room and see that you have a few things laying around, you pick it up. Though sometimes you don't because you feel like you could just do it later and it'll be fine. Though over time you keep saying the same excuse,"

The clothes pile on me increasingly.

"And before we know it we're in a mountain of crap. And sure we could wait for a helping hand to clean it up, but at one point we realize  the only person that could really do something useful about it is us."

-
I'm sat back on my laptop.

"I also had to think about how my choices would engage the typical audience of the dystopian genre."

The laptop screen is shown, scrolling through different movies.

"Since the main audience would be teenagers to young adults, I think the biggest thing that would engage said audience is how Beatrice is of a similar age. As young people, sometimes we feel as if we can't do anything about the happenings around the world. So though we can't relate to Beatrice's exact situation, we can relate to her emotions."

"Other than that, it's not like the product is based on a book, but elements like the style could also draw a younger audience like the colors used and the overall indie-ish style of the movie which is very popular these days."

(Many Examples Shown On Screen)

"And lastly, where would I make the content available if this were a real media product. Realistically speaking, I can't say I'd want it to be in theaters or on Netflix, but rather smaller platforms like Youtube and Tubi that would also be easily available to anyone."

I go back to writing on my screen.

"In between total fiction and harsh realities, relatable main characters, and the options of distribution, I think I really achieved to make something good that I can be proud of.

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    It's not completely the same, but heavily inspired, and I'm excited start! 

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

The One with the Video Project Reflection

 

Project Reflection

    As someone who's loved film since she watched La La Land for the first time since she was 10 years old, doing something like this didn't just excite me, but it taught me that there are so many options in life. I never even thought of this as an option, but thanks to this option and this class, I see that this is something I might want to work with in my future.

    Not just that, but it was also a great way to express myself, my opinions, my thoughts. Though the film opening I made is science fiction, some of the themes in it are real. And I've always found that it's better to speak out about what you believe in rather than keep it to yourself because you're scared. Awareness and self expression is important. 

    At first I was scared and second guessing mysef. "What if it doesn't come out the way I want to?" 
"What if  I can't do this?" - "What if it's not good enough?" I struggled, but I remembered that I know I can trust myself, my process, and my vision. And in the end, it came out looking pretty damn good. Not to be cocky or anything, but I really am happy with it. And I hope that people enjoy watching it just as much as I enjoyed making it. 

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Tuesday, March 10, 2026

The One With the Second Part of Editing

 

Editing Day #2

    After some progress on editing yesterday, it's time to finish up my editing. Today my goal is to put in the sound and music, add the credits and title, and fix any transitions or mistakes to make sure it turns out good. Like mentioned in my last post, I hope the transition I'm adding puts a few more seconds to my time, and if not I'll try and extend or add SMALL extra scenes in. 

    This time, I didn't take a time lapse of me editing, solely because I felt like it'd look pretty identical to the last one, but I'm going to be going over each step of today's final process. his time editing took me 3 hours, so a bit more than yesterday. 




    First I started by checking all the clips once more, making sure they were all in place. Which they were! So first step gone right already.

    Then I went into music. For copyright free music, I used Epidemic Sound, which required account creation. I didn't mind because I felt like it was the best choice for the quality of what I heard. After going through some songs for the first half I was left with three choices. And after some advice from my mom and friend, we all agreed that the pacing and vibe for the song "Starfall" by Roots and Recognition was the best choice. There's not much else to say about sound but the fact that I really didn't think I'd have to use that many sound effects, but as I started using them, I saw how it enhanced the feel of the product. So to my surprise, I ended up using quite a few, for things such as footsteps, slamps, and other sound effects.


(Sound Effects Shown Above)


    After watching some tutorials on how to put text, photo, and edit sound, I found that editing was a much easier job than I thought it'd be. Did it take me a sum of 5 hours to edit a 2 mintue clip? Yes. But as my first time doing something like this, I found that I did it decently well. I almost found it fun, too. Who would've thought? 

    Though, I didn't do it alone. Every so often I asked opinions of my friends and family. Such as "What do you think of this hue?" or "What do you think of this font for the credits?" Because though the responsibility of this project is on me, I also found it important to hear opinions from others to know what an outside perspective thinks of something I'm making. 

    I felt like shedding a tear when I was done since it took so long, and I'm happy to finally be done with this part. Now onto my next part, which I'm already a bit late for. Let's get going. 


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Monday, March 9, 2026

The One Where She Edits (Finally)

 

My Editing Process

    I FINALLY got to get the first half of my editing done today. I say finally like it isn't on me that it's like this, but oh well. Sometimes we have to complain for no reason. But anyway, today I set up every scene and synced them one. To be honest, this is probably going to be the easiest part of editing since tomorrow I have to add the music and credits, along with one fancy transition between the two scene I want to include, but I think it'll be okay. Before I thought I could've even do this but it turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

    I only filmed half of my editing process, which was about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and I made a time lapse of it. I wish I could've screen recorded it but I wasn't sure how to do that on this PC, so I went for this option instead. 



(Peep the paint on my sweater in the first few seconds)

    There was a few times where I had to change my music and give attention to my dog, but I was pretty on task for most of it. Since the software is so simple, I got the gist of most features off the bat, but I looked at one or two tutorials to understand some things. I imagine I'm going to have to look at a lot more of these videos tomorrow. It was honestly really helpful that ClipChamp has their own channel with tutorials, though. Often times, online things like this have tutorials but they tend to be out of date or confusing, but the ones I watched were easy to follow. 

    I didn't have many issues but one. It was TOO short. When I finished putting in all the clips I intended to use at first, I ended up having 1 minute and 30 seconds. I panicked a little bit here, so I went to ask one of my old Group #1 members, Arantza, for some advice. She told me that our teacher had suggested to make use of the maximum of two minutes in their entirity, which I understood, but was stumped on what to do. Luckily, I figured I still had to include the production logo and some extra scenes I had.

    This actually ended up turning out pretty well for me because not only did I simplify my production logo to something more simple (which I liked better since my old one kind of looked like a perfume label)



    And as for the including some other shots, I'm glad I did. When I filmed the first scene, I thought that her rummaging through multiple bags was going to be too long, worried that the video as a whole would be over the limit, but it turns out I was way under the limit. So not only did I have footage to fill what was missing, but I think it also made it more believable since she goes through multiple bags before getting to the last one instead of it seeming like she got a magical feeling to choose the last one and actually find something in it. 

    I ended up ending with 1 minutew 53 seconds after this process, which isn't ideal, but I didn't have much more to include that wouldn't appear to messy or out of place. I figured that it'd be better to be 7 seconds short than to cram things into  it reducing the flow of the film opening. I'm hoping that with the small transition I'm going to add, it'll turn out at least 1 or 2 seconds longer, but I'm not too mad with my results right now. 

    All in all, I'm pretty happy with today's editing process and I'm excited to finish it tomorrow so I can finally get to my CCR and have enough time for it. 

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Sunday, March 8, 2026

The One Where the Footage Didn't Load

 

Editing

    Maybe it's me or maybe it's the universe teaching me more lessons about how things don't always go the way we want them to, but I had more problems with editing than I thought I would. Something came up on Saturday so I wasn't able to sit down and edit anything, so I left it for today. 

    Unfortunately after going through all the footage for the last time and picking which one's I'd be using officially, I was stumped when it came to transferring the footage to my computer. I managed to send the footage from scene #2 to my computer, but I had issues with the GoPro Quik app. Having downloaded footage from road trips before, I knew (or thought I knew) that it would work quickly. Maybe it's because of my low phone storage or because I'm transferring so many at once, but something weird happened. 

    On the app it said it downloaded to my photos, but when I go to my photos, there's nothing there. Even further, it pops up when I open my photos on apps like Instagram, but when I go back to my photos, like before, there's nothing there. 



    Then I tried sending the items to myself, but the files are too large to send through any text messages. I figure that it might just take time, so I'm going to give it until tomorrow to properly load onto my phone because something like this has happened before (even if it took less time).


    As for the second half, I've only put them in order. This is a bit of a set back, which is not great at all. I hoped I'd be done editing by this weekend so I can start worrying about filming my CCR, but it looks like I'm going to have to hustle and work on them both at the same time. 

    I hope it all goes well tomorrow, I'll see you readers there.

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Friday, March 6, 2026

The Last CCR Research Post!

 

CCR Research #4

    The last CCR question is "How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?" 

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    1. Devices Used:

    To film, I used two different devices. On the first day I filmed, I used a GoPro Quik. I'm not really sure why to be honest. I got it as a gift from my brother when we went on a road trip and we thought it would be a good substitute for an actual camera for filming. And it was, at least for the first time since there was no dialogue. But for the second part, the GoPro had an issue. The speaker wasn't good at all and no microphone that was being offered in class or on Amazon would fit it. My iPhone was the next best bet. 

    In the end I think it worked out because the resolution for the GoPro looked a bit vintage and darker than the resolution on my iPhone camera, which fit the vibe I was going for. 

    I used a bluetooth microphone and connected it to my phone to film the second part of the opening with smooth dialogue. I had a little trouble figuring out how to use them, but then I realized I had to turn the individual little microphones on . . . and then everything went okay!

    For scene #1, we just relied on the natural lighting of the sun. For the second scene we used the ceiling light in my dining room and the natural light coming from the window. So . . . not a lot tech used there. 

    Lastly, I filmed everything by hand or with a phone stand to keep the camera still. 


    2. Online Use:

    I used Canva to create my logos which was so easy to use since they offer so many different fonts and designs to use. The only update I have for that is that I might change the company logo a bit because it might be too cutesy, but I'm not sure yet.

    For editing, I will be using ClipChamp which looks like a simpler alternative to Adobe Premier Pro which I had a lot of trouble with in the past. 

    I emailed Gustavo Santaolalla about getting permission to use the song "What We Can't Feel," but I have yet to get a response, which is sad but not a huge problem since I can just use a song from a copyright free database like Pixabay or BenSound. 

    In addition, I used the GoPro Quik app to transfer all the footage from the GoPro onto the app so I could save it to my phone.

    I've also been using my PC and my laptop to edit and record and share my progress and what I've learned throughout this project process on Blogger! 

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Thursday, March 5, 2026

The One With 3/4ths of the CCR Research


CCR Research #3

    The third CCR question is relatively easier to answer than the others. At least I think it is. The question is "How did your production skills develop throughout this project?"

Production Reflection


    I say this is easy to answer because before taking part in this class and this project, I knew almost nothing about production. In November and December I practiced with editing a magazine cover and editing a 50 second clip. Besides that, I've always had a good eye for taking photos, but I've never experienced a project like this.

    When I started, I barely even knew how to zoom in the camera I was using for the first half. Along with that, I knew the different kinds of shots and angles, having watched examples like videos of them in class,  but I was stumped on which ones to use to make it look best. For that, I tried it from various different angles with many shots, and ending up with going with a tracking shot. After getting used to it a little more, it was easier to shoot the second half, especially since I did it with my phone. 

    In my blog, I spoke about how I viewed different film openings, like the ones of Interstellar, Mazerunner, and the Hunger Games. But I went further than that. I rewatched a few of the Hunger Games movies and A Quiet Place: Day One. To be honest, I also watched these for fun, but also to take note of how different shots and angles made the scene feel. In Mockingjay Part 2, when Panem (the Capitol) is bombed by President Coin, the camera follows Katniss from some different angles. But I noticed that as the camera followed her, it wasn't completely still. It was as we were walking with her as we watched, and at the same time, it made us feel the disarray the characters are feeling in this scene. Everything is messy and going up in smoke, and the camera reflects that. Something similar is shown in A Quiet Place: Part 2 when the alien creatures first invade the city and the camera follows Samira through the rubble and dust.


(Time Stamp: 6:25)

    Inspired by this, I used a tracking shot to follow the main character and reflect her feelings of desperateness and hunger. I'm glad I did this instead of just several different still shots. 

    I didn't just learn about the shots, but also how important it is to be prepared. I noticed the big difference in between both days of shooting. Though I knew what I was going to be doing on the first day, I didn't prepare a shot-by-shot script. Therefore, it took a lot longer than the second time around where I wrote it all down. 
    
    Technology has never been my strong suit, so I don't know much about it. Having not edited yet, I can't say how much I've learned with that process until tomorrow. I'm going to dedicate this weekend to complete my project. When I practiced video editing for the first time, I used Adobe Premier Pro, but I had a very hard time. My new Media Studies teacher suggested that I use ClipChamp, a tool provided by Office365. It's editing software that is much easier to use. Once I get to working with it on Saturday I'll update on how much I learned from that. 

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Personal Reflection


    Though, at this point, I started in January, being completely new to this kind of production product, and now I can confidently say I've learned how to shoot scenes and direct in a productive way. I also learned how interested I truly am to this topic, and I had so much fun going through this process. Sure, it was stressful, but I think that was part of the fun. I've always liked movies and TV shows, but it never occurred to me that I could do something with this interest for my future, not until I took this class and did this project. 

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Straub, J. (2023, November 23). What is a tracking shot? Definition & examples. Boords. https://boords.com/blog/what-is-a-tracking-shot-definition-and-examples

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

The One With 2/4th of the CCR Research


 CCR Question #2


    The second CCR question is "How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?" Which stumped me when I first read it, but after a thorough class discussion, I understood it a bit more. 
 
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    1. First, I must address the target audience of my media text, but let's narrow that down. 

    In the past few years, the dystopian sub-genre has become increasingly popular with new generations. Making the leading audience for it teenagers to young adults. One of the causes of this interest is current situations that are shown in these media texts. Some older audiences also stay tuned to these movies because they're fans of the books that came out when they first started getting into it. (Which was a while ago.) As for gender, there's no statistic that shows that interest for the genre shows in a specific gender. 

    2. How do my choices engage that audience?

    As discussed in my last blog post, my media text shows examples of real-life issues within the contents of the opening. It's a direct criticism to certain practices around the world. The text also follows the typical conventions of a movie in this genre, such as a young protagonist. This increases the relatability (to a certain extent) to the audience I'm trying to reach. Though the majority of them don't know what it's like to scavenge for food, some could relate to having shaky relationships with their parents and definitely the feeling of being a bystander when being confronted with a complicated situation. Everyday, whether it's online or in their own communities, young people are presented with harsh situations. Being young, a lot of them don't stand up or say anything because they feel like their voice doesn't matter or that it wouldn't make a difference. 

    3. How will I make my film available to these audiences?

    Putting myself in the mindset of a new filmmaker trying to get their product out into the world, I can't sit here and say that I'd want my film released in theaters or Netflix. I'd release it on small platforms like Youtube and Tubi, but also present it at events like a film festival. Beyond that I'd release a poster or snippets on my own social media to promote it. 

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Hickey, G. (2016, March 23). The popularity of dystopian film and its effect on dystopian literature. Greg Hickey Writes. https://www.greghickeywrites.com/dystopian-film-popularity/

Shahzeidi, A. (2025, March 4). Top VOD platforms to distribute your indie film and monetize. Raindance. https://raindance.org/top-vod-platforms-to-distribute-your-indie-film-and-monetize/

Yennie, B. (n.d.). What platforms should I release my movie on? Guerrilla Rep Media. https://www.theguerrillarep.com/blog/what-platforms-should-i-release-my-movie-on

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

The One with the 1/4th of the CCR Research

 

CCR Research #1

    The first Creative Critical Reflection question is "How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?" But . . . what does that mean? I mean, we know what it means, but what kind of answer does this kind of question require? Let's answer it in parts. 


    1. What are conventions of dystopian films?

    Luckily for me, I already researched the typical genre conventions of a dystopian film. This is why recording your research is important. Films in this genre usually follow a young protagonist who questions or is against the totalitarian government of the universe/nation they live in. Said main characters are always on the "lesser" side of society. Dystopian movies also represent situations that are exaggerated versions of the world we live in now, or what the world could be in the future. Many of them are set in the future. Lastly, there are smaller things like dim lighting, rundown or controlled settings, futuristic technologies and cities, things like that.

    2.  Now, does my product use or challenge these conventions?

    When it comes to the last part having to do with the mis-en-scene, setting, and those sort of details, my product uses those conventions to amplify the tone of the movie and have it be more believable. Along with that, Beatrice is a young protagonist who questions the system who also happens to be on the short end of the stick. Her problems, and everyone else's, are rooted in the government's tyranny. Though, my product differs in it's genre because I didn't set it far in the past nor in the future, but rather in the present. I wanted it to be clear that something like this isn't a fantasy or a fairy tale, but a possible future that isn't 5 million light years behind or ahead of us. 

    3.  How does it represent social groups or issues?

    Though the gravity of the situation in my film opening turns out to be a bit exaggerated, I derived my details from real life situations. There are many countries all over the world that have societies facing hunger and poverty. I was specifically thinking of countries like Cuba that have a rationing system. I've been familiar with the situation in Cuba for most of my life, being Venezuelan, since our countries share similar issues. Either way, I did more research. Due to the economic situation, a lot of Cuban families and individuals rely on government rations for their daily bread, literally. With a rationing booklet, which is marked off each time, Cuban citizens  are given one roll of bread daily. This bread is stale and hard, and in the words of YaneisyCANTA ( or @yaneisycanta_98 on TikTok), a Cuban influencer who sings and documents her struggles in Cuba online, "Si te quieres comer el pan de hoy, tienes que esparar para mañana." Which translates to "If you want to eat the bread of today, you have to wait until tomorrow." She also says things like Spam are a luxury, or anything like oil and salt to make the bread taste a bit better.  In my product, I included these details I learned. Beatrice and her mother are shown eating the loaves of bread they were both given for the day, along with small pieces of canned sausages and 2 or 3 dried blueberries. 

    Secondly, the aspect of police brutality shown in my product. A boy is shown bumping into a young military official, and the official is enraged and decides to take violent action. Being used to this, Beatrice's mother  closes the curtain and ignores it. There are and have been many instances where police officials, or other non-official divisions of power, have taken advantage of their position. George Floyd, Renee Good, and Liam Ramos and his family are just a few examples of victims that have faced this. Though there has been a lot of outrage for the horrors imposed upon these people and other victims like them, there has been an excess in ignorance, too. My inclusion of this issue isn't only to show the ongoing problems in this universe, but also how "normal" something can become if a society keeps turning their heads and ignoring grave situations. 

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    Now knowing what I'm going to speak about, I'm much more prepared on how I'm going to respond this first CCR question. 

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1. Benjamin, M. (n.d.). Dividing the pie: Cuba’s ration system after 50 years. Global Exchange. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://globalexchange.org/dividing-the-pie-cubas-ration-system-after-50-years/

2. CiberCuba Editorial Team. (2026, March 2). MINCIN reports the distribution of donations to those in need, and on social media, people are echoing: “We are all vulnerable.” CiberCuba. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-03-03-u1-e135253-s27061-nid322058-mincin-reporta-reparto-donaciones-personas

3. Al Jazeera. (2020). Know their names: Interactive profiles. Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html

4. CNN. (2026, January 8). Renée Nicole Good: Minneapolis ICE shooting. CNN. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/us/renee-nicole-good-minneapolis-ice-shooting-hnk

5. BBC News. (2026, February 1). Boy, 5, and father detained by ICE return to Minnesota after release. BBC News. Retrieved March 4, 2026, from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwynzw7jd4go

Sunday, March 1, 2026

The One with the Title

 

My Movie Title


    I was thinking and I realized I forgot an important step to this project, which is naming it. Naming the movie I want to make. I figured that it's something I want to know before I start editing, since I'm including the title at the start and not the end. 

    To making the title I'm going to use Canva like I did with my production company logo because they have many fonts I can work with and it makes my life easier since maneuvering through Canva is a piece of cake. 

    But before I make it as a page, I need to actually know what the title will be. I was thinking of "A World We Accepted" but I don't think it's very catchy. Then, I came up with "The Quiet Before" which I liked a little more. I just really want to emphasize one of the biggest messages of the movie opening, showing how silence, even innocent silence, will lead to something way bigger than some would imagine. I decided to go with option #2. 

This is the final product:




    I wanted to make it so the hands represent the hands that cover up atrocities, trying to hide it from the public eye. But the letters are so big and bold that you know what it says if you just stop and look. 

    And on the more technical part, I chose a big, bold font to echo the themes of the movie. As for the hands, I got various images of different black and white hands and cut out the background. Then, I shaped and turned them to make them look like they're gripping into or going over letters. 

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Saturday, February 28, 2026

The One With 100 Takes


Film Day #2


    I filmed today but my problems actually started on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I recalled that I actually didn't have a costume for a military officer character. Big oops. Thankfully, my mom knew someone at her work that used to be a Marine in Colombia and he has his old military jacket. And he was more than happy to lend it to us. We also found a prop badge and baton. Then on Friday before I went home, we went to Walmart and got a pair of cargo pants and some black boots that gave off the military vibe. 

   Also on Friday, it turned out that Nylah's friend who was going to play Maxxine (the main character's sister) wasn't available, and her substitute wasn't available either. And on top of that, Nylah was only able to shoot on Saturday and had to be out by 4:00 PM. The cherry on top was that Nylah didn't know anyone to be the officer and neighbor like I had expected, so I had a lot of work to do. 

    First, I decided that since the character Maxxine didn't have any lines to begin with, I ended up scratching her character from the second scene and changed the script into having it be Beatrice's birthday instead of her sister's. 

    Then, the hardest part was finding two guys that were available to film the next day, since it was so short notice. I asked around and many were busy, but my friends Samuel and Julloyd, from my last school,  moved their schedules around to help me. And for that I'm so grateful.

 



    Lastly, I arranged for everyone to meet at my apartment by 11:30, so we could start and finish earlier so everyone was free to do their own things.

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    This morning I woke up really early, at around 7:00 AM, so I could shake the sleepiness early so I could start working on the set inside my house. As soon as I had breakfast in my system and a little time to wake up, my mom and I started to set up. 

    As mentioned in my set blog, my goal was to portray Beatrice's family as a family with very low income. This is where my addiction to thrifting for antique, oldish looking things came in handy because I had plenty to work with. After throwing a sheet over the window and the table, putting some dead flowers in the middle and some old decorations around, this is how it turned out. 



    After getting everything ready, my dad and I went to go pick Nylah up from her apartment. Once got back it was 11:30 and everyone was already arriving on time. (Phew.) Once everyone was there we sat around my living room and had a sort of table reading. I went over the story idea for those who didn't know and we went over the lines a bit. 

    At first, I wanted Sam to be the military officer since he's considerably taller than Julloyd, but Julloyd noted that since him and Nylah were both black, it made it seem like the brutality is only against minorities/people of color, which I didn't think about. The goal was to show that everyone outside of the powerful ring of government were the victims, no matter what race or ethnicity they are. So, after listening to constructive criticism, we switched the roles to balance it out. We also all agreed that it didn't matter if Julloyd was shorter, it made the message louder in a way. It doesn't matter whether you are tall or short, skinny or strong, when given so much power and the authority to abuse it, you will. And there's not much others can do about it. All in all, you don't need to be large to cause large amounts of harm. 

We practiced the lines and the movements I wanted them to make while making each scene, and everyone got in costume. (Except Sam since he was already wearing regular clothes.)

 





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    We filmed the shot outside first since it would be the fastest to get out of the way. To get the angles right, we put some tape on the floor so they knew where to bump into eachother and I set up the camera in a way that the cars in the background wouldn't show. We got it on the tenth take and moved on. 

    There's not much to say since we didn't encounter many issues filming. The microphones worked well with my phone. And though the lighting was a little tough to control I thought it went okay. 

    We had to take maaaany takes. A lot. Not because they kept messing up or anything, but sometimes I wanted to change how a line was delivered or a certain angle, and I wanted to get it just right. We kind of scared my neighbors with all the knocking and yelling, but luckily we got it over with relatively fast and wrapped up filming.


(Extra credit to Julloyd for being our voice)

    After three hours of filming and 119 takes, the three of us (since Sam went home early) had some pizza and watched a movie for a bit before everyone had to go home. And that was my day. Editing here I come.


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Extra!



Sam and Julloyd playing a videogame on my PC while we shot the second half^


(My dog welcoming everyone)

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Friday, February 27, 2026

The One Where She Calls the Shots

 

Script and Scene Creation #2

    Don't let the heading mislead you, I know what my second scene is about. But since I'm filming my second and final scene tomorrow, I wanted to get everything written down, scene by scene, line by line. I wanted to do this because when I filmed the first time, the issue wasn't so big since there was no dialogue, but I had trouble figuring out where to start certain shots since I didn't plan SPECIFICALLY enough to the point I was organized when it came to actually filming. And you're probably thinking "Shouldn't you have done this a while ago?" And the answer is yes! I should have! But unfortunately I didn't think it would stump me as much as it did, but the 4 hours of filming really hit me in the face on my first filming day. 

(Detail: I'm torn between my mom and my dad for playing the parent for now, so "August" will now be referred to as "parent" while I figure it out.)

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The shot transitions from her eating from the tin in the prior scene to her eating small pieces of day-old bread. 

Over the shoulder shot: The parent setting their plate down on the table and sitting down.
"Don't eat it all too fast." The parent says, lightly but sternly.

Long shot: we see the full picture, Beatrice sits at one end, Maxxine in the middle of them, and the parent at the other end. They're having a meal. 

Mid Shot: Beatrice begins to ask "...Mama/Papa... do you think you could get home a bit earlier today?" She rambles, "It's Maxxine's birthday and we were wonderin-"

Mid Shot: Parent interrupts saying "Tris, you know why I can't. You know why we don't talk about that."

Long shot: It cuts back to the table, but from a different perspective. There's a bit of silence. Maxinne is eating her food in very small pieces.

Mid shot: It cuts back to Beatrice and she begins to say "I'm sorry, it was just a thought."

Mid-shot to POV: Beatrice turns to the commotion outside, and we see it through her eyes.
We get a little closer to the scene. An officer is questioning her neighbor. It quickly turns violent. The officer pulls out a baton and raises his arm, and just when he's about to hit the neighbor, the blinds close. 

Long shot: Parent is going back to sit down after closing the blinds. 

Over the shoulder: As they sit back down, Beatrice exclaims "That was-" 

Mid-shot: The parent interrupts and says "That's enough, Beatrice." He takes a bite "Eat."

Mid-shot: Beatrice takes a breath and keeps eating when they hear a loud knock at the door. Beatrice turns to look at the door, "INSPECTION!" A man yells before knocking again. Beatrice turns back to the camera, concerned. 

That's when the screen goes black. 

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Thursday, February 26, 2026

The One With Technical Issues

 

Microphone Troubles

02/25/26-

    As mentioned in my group meeting post two days ago, I was worried about the quality of the speaker on my GoPro. Though I think that the quality of the camera footage turned out well, the audio on GoPros is unfortunately a lot less than great. This wasn't much of a problem when filming the first scene of my opening, but that was because there was no dialogue, and my next scene does. I reaaallly don't want bad quality to be something that drags my project down the drain, so I borrowed a bluetooth microphone that my Media Studies teacher provided. 

    We didn't get to test it out in class because there wasn't time to charge it, but I'm taking it for tonight to test it out. 

    If the microphone doesn't work, I might have to either use another camera or my phone, which I don't like because I want the same camera quality so there's no obvious contrast, or I'll have to film the scene and then a voice over and sync it, which I want to avoid because I am not a good technology person at all. I'm already below average at editing, and having to make a voiceover and edit it in would be a huge set back. 

02/26/26-

    It turns out that the plug that goes into the GoPro, it doesn't fit all the way. I hoped that it wouldn't matter but it does, unfortunately. I tested the mic and it was getting no input. 

    Since I'm filming the second half on Saturday, I don't have many options. As in, I could try and order a microphone online but that might take too much time, and it might not even work. So, I want to try and go to a tech store like BestBuy or a Walmart to see if they have anything that could work. 

    If not, I'm going to just film with something else that does work or try and sync up the audio like mentioned before. 

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Monday, February 23, 2026

The One With the Group Meeting Part 2

 

Group Meeting #2

    I felt like this group meeting helped me develop ideas with any uncertainties about the end of my opening and especially my CCR ideas, since I didn't really have any to begin with.
 
    The first thing I noticed about my group is that we were all in somewhat different places. While some were done with filming and editing, others were in the process of filming and some haven't started to film due to technical or partner issues. 

    Another detail was that this time, we met up with different people to get some new perspectives. Although, I got two of the same group members and someone whos partner was in my group the last time. Even so, we all went over one by one talking about or general project ideas, what we've done, and what we need help on. And as we did, we discussed and gave eachother some tips or our own ideas that we could be inspired by. 



(Group members were Carolina, Juan, Sebastian, JP, Mia, and I)

    Starting with Carolina, I noted how her story was slightly different as it was last time to accomadate to small group-mate issues and setting problems. For example, she planned to film in a garage but the area just didn't work. Carolina told us how filming was tiring since it took so many takes to get it just right, and I couldn't agree more. My back and legs sort of ache from following with the camera for several takes, hunching over to get the shot just right, but we both agreed that it's worth it. Another thing I noticed was how her group has already finished filming, and I admire the time management! 

    Next up was Juan, who if any reader of my blog remember, is a part of Lydia's group with the Sci-fi Mystery movie about the glasses that see into the future. His group finished their filming yesterday. Besides a slight problem with the camera, Juan didn't have any issues with production nor story, moreso ideas with what to do for his CCR. Mia suggested that since the movie opening has to do with science, he could be conducting an experiment with different components as he answers the questions. Then I added that he could take the parts of his idea and act like each component is part of the steps of answering the question, like the steps he took to make his project are part of the formula to answer the question. 

    After Juan, Sebastian spoke briefly about his mystery story, which was composed of cliffhangers. One of those cliffhangers was that by the end of the opening, the main character opens a mailbox and the screen goes black. Juan had a few problems on his hands, one being that he hasn't started filming since his partner bailed on him, another being an issue with fake blood, what to do for the cop car, siren, and lights,  and the last being about his CCR. As for the fake blood that he plans to put all over the main character and the car seats  (in the car where the opening will start), he was afraid to use certain materials because he doesn't want to stain his car seats. Carolina mentioned that our Media Studies teacher had given them a recipe for fake blood that effectively doesn't stain anything. Then Mia and I mentioned how he could either cover the seats in plastic or buy cheap seat covers that he could stain in whatever way he wanted. After that, I talked about how there are plenty of local cops around our city and that if he were to just explain his project to a department or even a neighbor that happens to be a police officer, they could help him out by having the car in the back with the lights and the siren. Lastly, I suggested that for his CCR, he could open the mailbox that the main character opened in the video, but instead the video continues and he finds the questions he's going to answer in the mailbox. He liked some of our ideas and took note of them. 

    Then, JP shared how filming went for his thriller movie opening. For those who don't remember, JP's group was doing a thriller/crime movie opening where it shows a kid who was over being bullied and ultimately kills his bully in a fit of rage. He talked about how filming went for him as we viewed his blog where he had various pictures of his sets and filming process, and it looked pretty organized. He asked for some advice for his CCR and Mia mentioned how since his project has something to do with school, he could have poster boards, like for projects, and have the questions and some answers on the board while also further elaborating throughout the video. Like a presentation!

    Second to last, Mia talked about her coming of age movie opening that follows the life of two best friends that always meet at a specific place in a park. As the season of an opening school year is coming up, one of the best friends tragically dies. After that, the other reminisces about her time with her friend and later, the best friend comes back as a ghost. Plot twist! Mia tried to start filming yesterday but had to stop filming early because of weather issues. I related with her because she was somewhat nervous on how behind we both seemed with the project, having filmed half or none of what we had to do. But we both agreed that it was part of the process of making something good. I LOVED her CCR idea. For one, she planned on doing this Fleabag (2019 series) where the main character breaks the fourth wall that the other characters can't notice, type of thing. So while she's on a date, the guy is asking her a bunch of questions and she gets annoyed and breaks the fourth wall to answer them. Then as he goes to ask the next CCR question, she slams the door in his face. 

    As for me, who shared last, I explained how filming went for me yesterday and how relieved I was that I got the opportunity to film where I wanted, and how great the experience was. And of course, I explained my story as well. I also explained my two biggest conflicts, which are mostly technical. One being that I can't edit videos for the life of me, and another being that the GoPro I'm filming on doesn't have a great microphone, and that I'm afraid the dialogue won't sound good solely off of the GoPro. They suggested that I borrow a microphone our teacher provides for students, and after discussing with my teacher, I'm going to bring the camera in on Wednesday to test the class mic on it. 

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Mia:
JP:
Sebastian:
Juan:
Carolina:

The Last Post

  Movie Opening & CCRs Below Google Docs Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19ORUQbSI6wu4iK2EB3repu9SA0ptJirR?usp=sharing Co...