'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.

Unprecedented Issues

     As of Sunday, March 13th, the day that filming was supposed to occur, the group ran into some major issues regarding filming and the process. Sunday morning, both me and Logan got called into work at our job, ChillN ice cream. Initially, we both expected to be out of work in time to be able to film, but due to a variety of other factors, an immense amount of homework, and overall time constraints, we were all unable to film. The failure to film today throws us off our course of planning for the project, as we planned to edit throughout this and next week, but however, will be unable to start until then. 

    Our planning process, storyboard, intended vision, and shots are all completed, with a script being very bare to ensure that the found footage natural feel to the dialogue is kept. The lack of filming will likely be a large roadblock for the group to overcome, but we believe that by finding a date soon, we can still be on track to finish with plenty of time left over. Down below you can see a screenshot of our group chat as we discuss the lack of filming and announcement. 

Mise en scene and actors

     In order to prep for our filming date on Sunday, me and my group began to scout for actors, props, and costumes for our film opening. I personally asked multiple people if they would want to be in the project, and many had said yes. I think that by the filming date, we will have more than enough people willing to participate in our project, as each group member asked multiple people. 

    In terms of mise en scene such as costuming, the group scoured online for different things that we could use, along with some specific editing softwares and effects for our film. I searched for costumes for the cult members personally, looking on different halloween and costume store websites such as Party City for costumes that could be used and picked up before Sunday. Due to the dark nature of many parts of our opening requiring costumes for the cult, we decided that a minimalist approach for the costumes was acceptable. Down below you can see an image of the cloak that I thought would be most acceptable, from Walmart. 

Walmart Cloak Link

Location scouting!

     In order to conceive a more realistic project in terms of location, one of my group members went to scout out good filming locations for the project. We decided to film in two different locations, one closer, behind regional park, due to the more close location for the night scene, as it would prove to be more challenging to do a further location at night. During the day, we will film at everglades holiday park, as the sign would be available to film the entrance into the everglades for our exposition parts. Down below you can see the pictures that were photographed to film at. 

    Along with this, costuming was discussed more in depth during the class period, along with the filming locations. For the cult members, the group decided to depict them with a black cloak and a scary mask, similar to the cultish scenes in Eyes Wide Shut (1999). The friend group would wear casual outdoor clothes, such as hats, sunglasses, and fishing attire, such as long sleeve shirts and shorts. 

     To work on our script and to fully explain the storyboard, me and one of my partners went to a niche coffee shop to create our vision for the project. We added many features and fleshed out the project, adding many subtle details to the script to more accurately display our project. I explained the contents of the storyboard, the intended plot outline, and what types of shots I wanted to use in the found footage opening. Down below you can see a picture of my team member working on our project (and enjoying delicious soup).

    The day also consisted of us viewing older AICE media projects on Youtube, to analyze the works that other students have done as well. The session was extremely productive for me and my group, as it resulted in a deeper understanding of the project and what we specifically need to do in order to create the film opening. 

Storyboardin!!

     AS the project has gone further in terms of plot and story, a storyboard was created (by yours truly!) The storyboard is a very rough sketch of the final product, but produces a view of the opening, beginning with a climactic hook to draw viewers in, and concludes with the chronological opening of the film, as the group enters the everglades park. Down below you can see a full image containing the storyboard. The storyboard however, does not contain all of the intended shots, as the found footage format produces a sense of continuity in shots, and the storyboard only outlines the dynamic changes in shots. 

Plot Specificities and Writing Beginnings

     As my group and I reconvened for the first time in nearly a week as a whole, we worked greatly in class to ensure that plot ideas had been cemented and that the storyboarding and script processes had begun. We decided to simultaneously create the storyboard and script, as we thought that it would greatly assist in the process of creating a similarly oriented story and plot coming across both the script and the visual representation of the script. Down below you can see a screenshot of the beginning processes of our script writing document. 

    For the very beginning of the film, my group and I decided that a text description of the found footage events would make for a much for suspenseful and complex story, essentially allowing for a story inside of a story. The beginning would emphasize the disappearance of the kids that are shown in the footage, and will be likened similar to a film such as The Blair Witch Project. A climactic moment will immediately be cut to, and the film opening will begin from there.

Connecting and reaching out

     As the project filming date reaches closer and becomes more time consuming, I have realized that connecting is extremely important to continue the project process. This was especially hard as this week, I was not in class at all, which made it much harder to continue efforts and to remain connected with the group members. In order to remain connected, and essentially continue the planning process outside of the classroom and over more frequent periods of time, a group chat was created with all the members, and we began brainstorming locations, plot lines, and further strategies we could use to generate a successful project. Here is our group chat profile that was established. 

    As for a follow up for the previous connections that I did, reaching out to bands and musicians for possible musical input and sound for our project, it turned out to be a success. Astrobrite, one of the 90s shoegaze bands I reached out to, successfully responded, giving me full permission to use any of his work in the project. I still am unsure if this would actually be used in the project, possibly as synchronous sound as the friends drive into the everglades to set the opening off with a disturbing tone, but the option still remains open. Down below you can see the screenshot of the interaction that I had with the account. 

Finalizing plot and shooting

    As the production for the piece has continued, our plot has finally been finalized as a concrete idea, rather than just a variety of smaller ideas. The plot will revolve around a group entering the everglades for either hunting or fishing or exploring, and will encounter a cult, in which sacrifices one of the members of the group in a horrific way. The plot will be shown somewhat through the opening horror montage shown, and through the creepy entrance in the driving of the beginning of the actual sequence of events, which will begin after the title sequence is shown. 

    The concrete date for filming will be March 2nd, as the group members have all concluded that it would be a good day to begin the process. The project will take place at Everglades Holiday Park due to its nature in the everglades and a wide variety of area to cover, which will result in a good project being shown. More dates will be available to film however, as footage may not be complete and concrete for the full project. Down below is an image of Everglades Holiday Park, the intended area for filming our project. 

Forming a plan

     Due to my absence from class throughout this week, I have been essentially attempting to plan out all of our tasks and brainstorming from outside of school. My group has come to the initial conclusion that filming will take place next week, which will require extreme preparation with people, a filming site, costuming to create the scary nature and the main characters personalities (likely will be more rural country people), and a camera. Preparation will begin throughout this week, along with a storyboard that will be split up and worked on in class as well, as the creative process works much better for me in collaboration with others in person. Shooting will likely be carried out on Saturday throughout the day, with both daytime and nighttime shots being required for our piece.

    As for our initial plot description, it will revolve around a group of country/fishing gear dressed friends as they travel deeper into an everglades wildlife center. The beginning of the opening will reveal a horror inducing title sequence with flashes of scenes and the cultish antagonists, and after the title sequence flashes, will begin chronologically with the friends entering. We plan to film next weekend, and possibly begin next Wednesday, a day where an SAT testing day is occurring. The schedule of our planning process looks somewhat unconventional, but is efficient.