Day 39: When will my reflection show?

Hello hello helloooo!! Today is my last day of blogging before submitting my final film opening and CCR's and I'll be giving a little reflection about my whole process. I'll be breaking it up into a few sections:

1. Initial thoughts
2. What I think I did good
3. What I thought I could do better on/regret
4. My overall opinion

First of all, I want to say that this project was such a blast. I am so glad I chose to take this class and was able to produce a piece that I actually am proud of. I think that this was such a good experience because now I'm able to say which parts of production I like or dislike. 

Something that I think I really did well was time management. During this project, I made sure to use my time in class well and work on things actually related to my project. I also stuck to my schedule pretty well, and I'm extremely glad that I gave myself a buffer week because I would be so stressed out if I didn't.

I think that I planned my mise-en-scene very well. Though I was the inspiration for the main character (and actually was), I wanted to make Maia appear extra in every way. I wanted to make her seem extra childish, extra bright, extra everything. Because I knew exactly what I wanted, I went on Pinterest and made my moodboard to really solidify the concept of the character. Through this process, I learned that I really enjoy planning and creating a whole backstory for the character that can be told through the set design, props, and costumes. Personally, that was the most fun part.

I'm going to be honest, I don't have many things I regret, but after re-watching my film opening, I think I could have done a better job filming some of the shots. I did have a fantastic camera to use (the Canon EOS Rebel T7), but some of my shots are shaky and let me tell you why. 

For the shots that were a bit shaky, my friend, Emma, had to be behind my desk, or piano, to film because we opted not to use a tripod for those shots. Naturally, because the shots were handheld, they weren't going to be perfect. I think because the pieces of furniture were very heavy, we were just lazy to move them out more to fit the tripod. If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely make enough space for a tripod so that the shots are exactly what I want. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the process of this project. I sincerely appreciate the amount of time that we were given to complete because I feel like I was able to produce a pretty good product. Through this project, I learned that I love planning, but not so much the filming or post-production processes. I feel like the fact that I enjoy mise-en-scene so much is due to the fact that I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was younger and it just makes me so happy that I've discovered it. 

I think that you can tell that I loved this project. I will in fact be back at it next year for A level, so I hope you're not tired of me (yet). I'll catch you on the next one!

Sources:

Canon EOS rebel T7/2000D review. RTINGS.com. (2024, October 9). https://www.rtings.com/camera/reviews/canon/eos-rebel-t7-2000d 

Day 37: And that's wraps!! (Part 2)

Hi there!! Welcome back to the FINAL WEEK of my portfolio project!! Wow, the past 7 weeks have absolutely flown by and I can't believe we're already at the end. This past weekend I filmed my CCR's and today I'll be showing a few of the raw footage.

Before starting the filming of my CCR's, I wrote blog posts on days 32-35, with the help of the notes that I took in class. My teacher thoroughly explained each question and how we should answer them, so take a look at my notes below! These notes really helped to break down my answers into parts that were much easier to deal with.

Filming my CCR's was an actual pain in the butt. It took so long because I kept on mixing up my words and not saying things that made sense. Overall, I think it took about an hour and a half to film it all. I took probably about 50 takes, which you can see below. I also just used my previous blog posts (days 32-35) as my "script". I put script in quotation marks because I didn't say exactly what was in the post, but I stuck to the major points that I had originally wrote.

Screenshot from my OneDrive

I did make a ton of mess-ups though, so let me show you some of the funny ones.

One of my main struggles was saying "Canon EOS Rebel T7" properly, because it was such a mouthful.

But yeah, all of these shots are the raw version. I'm going to finish picking out all of the shots today and hopefully start editing by tomorrow. So, I'll catch you on the next post where I'll be editing my CCR's!!

Day 36: My CCR ideas!!

Hello hello hello!! Today I'll be telling you a bit about my ideas for my CCR's!! If all goes well, I'll be filming them tomorrow and editing throughout this coming week. Without further ado, here they are!

My first idea is to do two of the hobbies that Maia has while answering the CCR questions 1 and 2. I think I'll do taekwondo and crocheting for this one. In my house, I have a mini dojang, which you can see below. I'll film the taekwondo portion there and be in my dobok (uniform) so that it really reinforces what I'm doing. I think this could be a fun way to show that I actually am the girl who the film is based on.

For my second idea, I'll be answering "comments" on either the Maia: Unfiltered blog or my own personal blog. Those comments will of course, be CCR questions 3 and 4. This will tie in the blog portion of my opening and hopefully be a bit visually interesting.

That's pretty much all for today and I'll catch you next week!

Day 35: CCR4

Hello hello hello!! I hope you're having a fantastic day and today I'll be answering my last question of the CCR. I plan to film on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and will edit in the coming week, so let's get into it!

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

During this project I borrowed my friend Mia's camera to film pretty much my whole project. Mia was so so generous to let me borrow it and put her trust in me not to break it... But I love the results from the camera and I think that the quality is much better than my phone camera ever would have been. 

I borrowed the Canon EOS Rebel T7 and the tripod that came with it. I also used my phone to film the voice over and my piano piece.

In this video, I was helping Mia film her project, so here you can see the tripod, camera, mic, and light. For the use of my project, I only used the tripod and camera.

As for my software, I used blogger to write about my whole process from start to finish. 

I also relied HEAVILY on Canva for mood-boards, fonts, and of course, editing my opening. Because I'm super comfortable with Canva, I had no problem navigating, and my teacher provided me with access to Canva Pro, which gave me access to a billion different fonts, elements and more. 

As I mentioned before, I did struggle a bit while editing with Canva. After making my initial rough-cuts, I watched it back just to see that there were many, many jump-cuts throughout. Initially, I freaked, but then I thought about switching to ClipChamp or Adobe Premier Pro (which isn't supported by my Chromebook). 

Before making the final decision, I downloaded the project to my laptop just to find that there were no issues with jump-cuts, so I continued to edit on Canva as usual.

For sound, I also used Pixabay and to find the keyboard typing sound and Voicemod Tuna to find the alarm clock sound. 

There is one more resource that I used to find inspiration for some of my mise-en-scene elements, which was none other than Pinterest. I found that this was super helpful to create a rough idea of what vibes I wanted Maia's character to give off as well as find fonts for the title card (that I, sadly, didn't end up using...). 

You can view my production logo mood board here. As well as my overall Maia: Unfiltered mood board here.

That's all for my CCR research/planning!! I hope you enjoyed and I'll catch you on the next one!

Day 34: CCR Part 3

Hi!! Welcome back to my adventures on working on my CCR. Today's question is question #3, which I have inserted below.

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

I started my Portfolio Project not being super comfortable with editing whatsoever. I was not excited about that part, however I was very excited about planning all of the mise-en-scene elements.

As I'm sure you've read, I started the project by researching my genre (COA) and different openings from my genre. Based on this research, I figured out what approach I wanted to take for my opening, which was developing character. I then figured out what story I wanted to tell and planned out all of the mise-en-scene around the main character, Maia (who is also me). 

Throughout the production process I had to have an open mind and be a bit flexible with the fact that some of my ideas might not work the way I thought it out in my head. For example, I created my title card in one of the first weeks of the process and once I got to editing, I ended up scrapping it because it didn't work out the way I thought it would. I went through various variations (again) to get to the one that I ended up using.

version 1

version 5

final version

One thing I also had to deal with was my editing software. As I've mentioned before, I chose to use Canva to edit my opening. Whenever I had finished my rough cuts, I was re-watching and there were so. many. jump-cuts. This made me so nervous because I was completely against editing on ClipChamp because of how much you have to reload the page. I then researched Adobe Premier Pro, but found out that my Chromebook wouldn't support the app. Because I didn't want to entirely start over, I downloaded the video to my computer and it was completely fine, no jump-cuts to be seen. So, I just continued to edit.

I started this process not comfortable at all with editing and throughout this process I've gained a bit more experience and don't feel as much pressure while editing. Now, I'm proud to say that editing is not as intimidating as I made it in my head. I also learned that I really enjoy the planning and design aspect of production, because I love the way you can tell the story through mise-en-scene like props and set design.

Maia's desk

Maia's Moodboard

I also want to add that I think my teacher did a fantastic job of preparing me for this project. Throughout my portfolio project, I've realized how each project we've done this year has built up to this. We've done projects working on soundscapes, a review on a film (similar to the concept of a CCR), created a whole new rock band that my group and I created backgrounds for and developed those characters and so much more.  

For me, this project really helped solidify the fact that having a growth mindset while going into anything is so important. It can help you think of ways to solve a solution that has never crossed your mind before and to always go into things with an open mind. Things will not always work out the way you had originally planned, so you have to think of ways to re-invent that idea, which is what you have to do in the real world.

Though it did take a lot of work, I honestly have nothing negative to say about this experience. Overall, I'm so grateful that I decided to take this class and got to take 7 weeks out of my life to create something that I actually am proud of. 

I can't wait to see what you think of my opening which I'll be submitting very very soon!! Have a fantastic rest of your day and I'll catch you on the next one!!!

Day 33: The beginning of the end

Wow, welcome back to week 7 of my portfolio project!! 🥹 🥹 🥹 I can't believe we're already nearing the end and MY PROJECT IS DUE IN T-14 DAYS. 

As I wrap up editing my opening, I need to continue planning for my CCR. The CCR is essentially another project in itself, which is why today (or really last week) marks the beginning of the end. So today I'll be researching CCR question #2, which you can see below.

• How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

First of all, my target audience is young girls, ranging from ages 12-18. Their common interests are hanging out with friends, fashion, and finding creative ways to express themselves. In my opening, it is revealed that Maia is being bullied and throughout the film she would figure out a way to combat it. The target audience would hopefully find something about the film relatable, which is what coming of age films are all about.

In order to engage my audience, I used bright colors in the set and costume design to keep it visually interesting. I also chose to essentially montage clips of representation of the voice over so that the audience can essentially "get to know" Maia as a person more.

Now, how would I distribute as an amateur creator?

As an amateur creator, I would start by uploading my film to YouTube. Since there are so many people, especially Gen Z, use YouTube as one of their main sources of entertainment, I think that this would be very effective in reaching my target audience. 

I would also enter into different film festivals near me. Ones that are coming up are the Miami Film Festival, the Sunscreen Film Festival, and the Florida Film Festival. By distributing to these film festivals, I will be able to reach other creators with similar interests and others who just go to watch.

Lastly, I would create a film maker's website using something simple like WIX. On the website, you would be able to stream my film (with ads of course), reach out to me and see what I'll create next. You would also be able to access the official Maia: Unfiltered blog where audience members are encouraged to leave comments.

Thank you for reading today's post and I'll catch you on the next one where I'll be continuing to research for my CCRs!!

Sources:
Hardacre, O. (2014, March 20). Target audience research. prezi.com. https://prezi.com/u-mzr7kqffc7/target-audience-research/ 

Guardian News and Media. (2025, July 30). YouTube most popular first TV destination for children, Ofcom finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/30/youtube-tv-destination-children-ofcom-survey 

Productions, Y. (n.d.). Here’s how to distribute and actually monetise your short films | by Yotko Productions | Medium. Here’s how to distribute and actually monetise your short films. https://medium.com/@mguerrini/heres-how-to-distribute-and-actually-monetise-your-short-films-f52b30dd979b 

Day 32: Oh, how close we are to the end...

Hello hello hello! Today I'll be researching question #1 in preparation for my CCR!! Wow, I legit cannot believe how close we are to the end of the project, but I can't relax yet because there is still more work to be done. 

If you don't already know, here is the actual question:

• How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

To start, I should discuss the conventions of the COA genre and which conventions I used in my opening (which I have already researched on day 10 and basically just need to pull my information from there).

First of all, what is a COA film? 

A COA film usually explores themes of self-discovery and not fitting in. Main characters in this genre are generally teenagers who are trying to figure out their life in some sort of way. COA films also commonly used voice overs as their narration style to create a more intimate bond between the character and audience. It can also highlight the character's personality over their actions. 

Examples (that you might know!):

Ex: Charlie - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
(Not fitting in)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
(Voice over)

My product uses the COA conventions such as not fitting in and voice over. In the opening, it is revealed that Maia actually gets bullied, because of her child-like character, which is why she doesn't fit in. I also utilize voice over as the main auditory technique to develop intimacy between the audience and Maia. 

My product challenges the conventions of a COA film because the main characters are usually not portrayed as childish as mine. Teens in COA films are usually seen going to parties and trying to be adults, whereas Maia is not. She is just trying to discover who she is as she goes through high school.

Though I challenge the conventions of a COA film there are also some conventions that I specifically chose to stick to because they are key features of films in this genre. The key conventions I'm referring to are voice overs and the theme of not fitting in. When audience members watch a COA film, they usually expect the main character to not be "normal", which is why the film is about that character. Maia is "different" because of how childish she is, though she is already in 10th grade. I also chose to stick mainly with voice over because I want the audience to connect and sympathize with Maia's character.

Finally, how does my product represent social groups? 

Well, my opening represents teenagers as a very broad group, through relatable experiences like sleeping a lot and getting bullied (which I hope is not a relatable experience for many). 

My opening also represents a certain group of teens that are more energetic and like to be creative. Through my set and costume design, I fully present Maia's personality of being bright, bubbly and still a little bit childish. There are many bright colors, fun shapes and a ton of stuffed animals throughout her bedroom which directly translates to her personality. Her phone case also represents her creativity and enjoyment of being happy. 

Thank you so much for reading and I'll catch you on the next one for week 6? (I've already lost count at this point...) Bye!!

Sources:

Heller-Nicholas, A. (2020, December 31). What is a coming-of-age movie? No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/what-is-coming-of-age-movie

The Screen Academy. (n.d.). Teen movies genre. https://www.thescreenacademy.com/knowledge/genre/teen-movies-genre