'Interview Daily' My finished CCR!

 

  

  With the project done, the CCR was all that was left, and I took an interview style approach that delved into my thoughts directly. Although many of my classmates used graphics cut into their CCR, I took the creative decision to not include any, as it would take away from the interview-esque style and realism of the video. I am really happy with the ending as well, as I think that it sums up my thoughts and adds a fun creative way to end the video. In this video I worked with fellow students Gaby McMillan and Eric Diaz.

Final Project! "The Everglades Tapes"

 

     Finally, the project is all complete! I am actually very proud of how this project turned out, as it matched the environment and tone that I perfectly wanted. I am glad to see how others recieve the film opening, and I am so proud of my group and I for completing this project in the way that we did. 

CCR writing process.

     Throughout the past two days, I have worked on the process of writing the script for my CCR interview. Although I had initially planned to do simply a bulleted list of things to talk about in the interview, I thought that it would work much more smoothly and concisely if I did a full script to allow for no wasted time. In my script the interviewer asks a skewed and rewritten version of each of the four required questions for the CCR, ensuring that it does not come across as too obviously formatted from the required questions. I wrote very much about my experience in the project and how we created it, along with ideas and thematics behind the film and what it sought to do for audiences. Down below you can see a document of the full script as I work in the process of creating it. 

CCR script

    One flaw I have with the script is that I do not think it orients enough research into the overall design, as I only cite a few sources in the interview. I plan on adding more as I dive further into the script, and hope that it will be enough to earn full credit for the CCR portion. I also seek to incorporate different angles and shots into the composition of the interview, similar to how a news network or show would run an interview of that type. 

CCR Ideas!

     With the CCR entering the forefront of importance regarding the project and its due date, I took this time to begin the brainstorming process and idea selection of what I could do in a creative method. I had the initial idea to do something similar to a late night talk show interview, but did not know the likelihood of where I could create something realistically similar. So the idea of doing a 60 minutes type interview entered my head, and I wanted to create something dramatic, easy to film, and doable in the time crunch that I was left with to create the video. I watched a scene from Bojack Horseman in which the titular character is interviewed. 

Bojack Horseman interview

    The scene, although portraying vastly different content from what I would want to portray, represents the style and format of the interview that I would want to convey. I plan on playing a more expressive and narcissistic version of myself in order to create a more entertaining and enjoyable video, where I can more creatively express the choices that I made in the project. I plan on recruiting someone else to play the interviewer, where the conversation will serve as the CCR.

Editing process!

     As filming has been concluded on our project, editing almost immediately began afterwards. With filming being done over the course of a few days, editing continuously happened as videos were sent to each other. For example, on day two of filming, which occurred at regional park, and encompassed a majority of our filming, videos and footage were sent afterwords, and the editing process on the particular clips began, and we were able to begin the process of cutting and adding the pieces together. Although not editing the film directly, as Helbert serves as our main editor, all of the group members have had input into the design of the project, and what we seek to get out of the editing process for the final result. 

    In one particular case, Helbert and I conversed surrounding the quality and decisions of the night-time climactic scenes, which has reflected the overall process of editing and my involvement in it as a whole. Rather than editing directly, my group and I will subliminally assist in the process, and aiding him in the task of editing in any way we can. Here is one screenshot of the suggestions and collaborative editing process that my group and I have. 

Shooting day 3: night scenes

     The final day of shootings took place a few days later, as I went on a camping trip with one of my friends. We took this opportunity to film a cool night sequence as the camp grounds had very good sets to create a creepy night sequence to record the climactic sequence. The filming was very easy and manageable, as a church at night with green lighting was used to portray the cultish environment that I stumbled upon in the film. Down below you can see a frame from our shooting. 

    The filming today was very fast and convenient, although the crowded nature of the camping ground made it a bit harder to time the filming correctly. This day wrapped our filming process for our film, and now we embark in the editing territory of our piece, which may be time consuming due to the large amounts of changes and editing that will be needed in post production. 

Shooting day 2: regional park

     As the establishing shots in the everglades were already filmed, my group was able to stretch our creativity quite a bit to film at regional park, creating the guise of an everglades-esque environment, but not having to have the same struggle of filming in a highly populated and crowded environment. The filming took place on a trail at regional, so it still gave the same appearance of the everglades. The filming overall went very well, as we recorded a large amount of footage and documented our time there in a casual way to ensure that editing went smoothly. The time there was very fun actually as well, as my group all worked together efficiently and well. Down below are some shots from our project. 

    The filming day was a huge success, and gave us a bulk of the footage that was needed to edit the project, as we filmed more than enough. During the filming process, two workers drove past us, and we took the opportunity to add to the project and had them say a few words that we could weave into and boost the narrative we sought to tell. My broken toes were also weaved into the narrative as well, as various comments were made by the group in the video and film. We all then went back to Logan's house and enjoyed water, which was nice considering the hot day. 

Shooting day 1: Everglades

     Due to most of our filming occurring in regional park due to close proximity and easiness, the everglades was only used for scenery shots to introduce the sites of our film, taking videos of places such as the car, the everglades sign, and some of the everglades tanks and operation equipment. The filming was fairly quick on this day, as it involved only simple quick shots to set the scene. Down below you can see one of the behind the scenes images as we were in the everglades

    The filming day worked out in my favor, as my friends had decided to spend the day there fishing, so filming did not come at an inconvenience. However, the filming was still done with care, and no shots of people (as the rest of the group was not present) were shown in my establishment shots. The filming day, although quick, was still quite successful. 

Shooting week!

     As of Sunday, we have an accurate schedule to showcase our process of filming throughout the week. Although we had a variety of roadblocks throughout the month, we were able to finally create a solid schedule on how we are going to carry out the process of filming. Down below is the complete schedule, along with what we plan to do on the certain days that we will be together. 

MONDAY 3/21/22- 1:30 PM - 4 PM

(Teens getting equipment ready and adventuring into everglades, shots when the kids arrive)

TUESDAY 3/22/22 - 12 PM - 5 PM

(SCENES OF THE KIDS EXPLORING THE EVERGLADES/ POSSIBLE NIGHT SCENES TBD)

WEDNESDAY 3/23/22- 6 PM - 10 PM

(NIGHT SCENES)

THURSDAY 3/24/22

MAKEUP FOR ANY SCENES NEEDED

    This will be very good for organizing our process, and we hope that it is enough time to capture everything that occurs. One thing that worries me is an injury that occurred a few days ago, which resulted in me breaking my toe. This could prove to be a problem in terms of filming in an outside environment, but I think that we will still be able to carry out the project with a few modifications. Overall this schedule and week should go very smoothly, and I believe that we will be able to finish the projects filming (and hopefully editing!)

Group meetings!

     Last period in class, we had a group meeting with many different groups, which was essentially very helpful for my creative process and hopefully for the creative processes of all of the other members of my group. In the meeting, we went through all of each others blogs, looking through the various aspects, and having group members explain their projects, some issues that they encountered, and some of the elements of their projects that they were having trouble with. I personally talked about my project in great detail, explained our main issue of having a time to film and to figure out a date, and showcased my elements of the project (I probably talked too much about it). I think that it was very good for me to flesh out my ideas by talking to others about it, and I think that it really did help me to cement my ideas regarding the opening. 

    I also helped different members of my group with input in their projects. In one case, one of my members described how filming processes were not going as planned, and with all of us addressing the issues, I think talking it out was essential to helping the creative course take place. I definitely think that all of the group members benefited from the experience, whether it just be from explaining the process, helping with small aspects, or addressing the larger issues that they were facing. Although my group did not take a picture, down below you can see the blogs of some of the members that I worked with. 

https://sofiabmedia.blogspot.com/

https://jimenezpavone.blogspot.com/ 

https://juleswin2000.blogspot.com/

Visuals production!

     As the two weeks incoming with immense productions being undertaken begin to progress, the group has began to construct visuals for the project, including the title sequence and a beginning text opening. In class on Monday, we made the aforementioned visuals, on powerpoint to ensure we had the creative ability to make the openings with no boundaries. Down below you can see the two visuals we made, graciously provided for the fans of my blog. 

    We chose a minimalistic font and black background to create a sense of mystery as viewers are launched into the dark environment with the forest background. The initial text opening, as seen in the first screenshot, provides viewers with a sense of exposition, knowledge, and introduction as they are thrown into the climactic moments of the film. The fear and mystery created from the minimalistic and short text opening and title sequence is conveyed throughout the film opening, and creates a great entry to the piece.