Creative Critical Reflection

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Final Project

Editing Time :)

   Our group has started editing and everything is coming out just like we imagined it would. Or i guess how I imagined because I'm the only one that hasn't seen any of the shots because I was on camera the whole time. The forest scene has definitely been the hardest to edit for a couple reasons. The first is because it is a very fast paced scene with  many many shots.The scene is very hectic and intense so we will also need to add some fast yet creepy music too it.

     The second reason is because of our final shot in the forest where Daniel's parents disappear when the camera trucks to the right behind Daniel's head. This is hard to edit because I moved a little further down from the first shot to the second and even though it was only a slight move it is enough to notice from one shot to the other. To fix this we will have to just use one of the shots but when the shot moves over to my right shoulder we will have to mask that whole part of the image so my "parents" don't show up. 

     These have really been the only problems we've had while editing but I'm sure we will work through it and it will look great. Im really happy with how our film opening is progressing everyday and I honestly can't wait to see the final product (which will be my next blog post). Till next time!

    

Filming Day 2!

   Today we filmed our final scene with Daniel in the doctors office. We started the scene off with a point of view shot of Daniel waking up to bright lights and dozing off in the Doctors office. Daniel then begins to have flashbacks of his parents accident. The transitions we are planning to use will be very subtle and therefor will help show how Daniel is not sure what is reality and what is not.

    Daniel wakes up in the doctors later after his hallucination in the woods. He seems very nervous  to be there and is looking around the room tapping his feet and hands. Daniel then his name gets called to go see the doctor and the scene ends. We are very happy with everything we filmed and are excited to edit this part of the video along with the forest scene. In my next blog post I will be talking about the editing process of our film intro :).

Filming Day 1!

Today we filmed our first two scenes in the forest at Markham Park. one is the scene after Daniel passes out in the doctor office and wakes up in the creepy forest and the other is the car crash where Daniel's parents die.

Over the shoulder shot of Daniel (me) reaching out to parents

     We came in with a story board of the basic things we wanted to film but we also came up with many new ideas on the spot. For example we thought of a great idea to have Daniels parents (played by two other group members Gaby and Felipe) standing all creepy next to each other in the forest calling his name and saying "Daniel come with us" while they are walking away. Daniel proceeds  to chase after his parents but can never seem to catch up. He gets closer and closer until he trips over a log, in a last ditch effort he extends his arm towards his parents, shown in an over the shoulder shot but they are too far away. The camera begins to move from Daniels left shoulder to behind his head till his parents aren't visible anymore and finally, when the camera gets past Daniel's head and over his right shoulder his parents are gone.

Car Crash Scene

    The next scene we filmed was the car crash. To make it look somewhat believable and for some cool shots we bought a glass bottle and broke it to look like broken glass from a car window. I ended up cutting my finger in multiple places but then i just continued to rub the blood on the bottle (as you can see in the picture) to make it look even more believable but then Agustina made me put a band aid on :(. We filmed this scene with close ups in and outside of the car and with a shot from the floor of me walking over the broken glass and going a picking up  what are supposed to me my "mom's" glasses that were on the floor after the crash. We are really happy with what we accomplished today and cant wait to start editing these scenes and film the last one in the doctors office tomorrow!

Daniel Trama

One of the most important thing to do while making a film is establishing the main characters background, and that's what we decided to do. His name is Daniel Trama and he is 19 years old and currently attending college. In mystery films, the main character usually has some sort of important issue or is attempting to solve a crime or mystery. So, I think of it as one type of mystery movie being from the detective point of view and the other from the victims. Mystery movies don't have to involve a crime, rather just a series of events that the viewer doesn't understand and needs to be tied together. 
   Our main characters as I stated in previous blogs has PTSD and experiences strong hallucinations of him being in places he really isn't. I will need to be wearing very dark clothing and wear makeup to show bags under my eyes (or actually stay up for two days straight.....just kidding) to show the dark and creepy feeling.
    It is important for me and my group to further expand Daniels image to help establish the tone of the scenes to draw our viewer in. In my next post I will be talking about acting and hopefully research some tips to help me portray such a complex character.

the deadline is near!

Soooooo the deadline for this project is coming a lot quicker than expected. It also doesn't help having a group member missing for a whole week after Spring Break. Nevertheless our group is still confident that we will finish this project on time and it will come out just as we expect it will :). 

    Since I will be the main actor in this film I have been doing some research on PTSD and how people with it act. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after experiencing a traumatic event, or learning that a traumatic event has happened to a loved one. People with PTSD may experience other problems as well, including depression, other anxiety problems, or acting-out behaviors. To play this character I will need to act very distant and "in my own head" most of the time to be portrayed as someone with PTSD. Some common situations  of people with PTSD are: 

·       Avoiding contact with, or reminders of, the traumatic event

·       Declining grades or academic failure

·       Engaging in high risk or dangerous behaviors

·       Trouble making friends, dating, and development of meaningful relationships

·       Restricting life plans or reduced ambition

·       Social withdrawal

     I do not have much acting experience so it may be hard to play such a difficult role but I am usually a fast learner so it most likely wont be a problem. (:
p.s I don't know why it won't let me fix this^ :(