My Critical Reflection

 

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

My product represents social groups and issues by having the person being interviewed be reserved for most of the film. Having them act like that gives people who would’ve felt awkward in the same, or similar, situation something to relate to. For the introverted, it may be difficult to express themselves and speak with others unless it’s on the topic of something they are passionate about. This is shown in the film. The director does not come off as confident, but when they get into costume and speak about their passion, they are a lot more extroverted and animated. Because they are shown someone that is similar to them, those who are introverted may feel more comfortable or less guilty with who they are. Those who have felt guilt for not talking more or is dissatisfied with how shy they are can find refuse to see someone else who is like them. Not only will this give introverted people someone to relate to, but it may also give others a good idea on how to approach these people. Someone who wants to become friends with an introverted person but is unable can watch the film and see that introverted are more likely to open up when talking about a topic they enjoy. Although this may not be true for every introverted person, it can help everyone in general. If people are able to reach out and connect with those who are naturally reclusive, then impossible friendships can form more often.

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

There were many different parts of the film that was able to be turned into a brand easily. Over the course of production, the Dark Figure became the mascot of the film unintentionally. While making social media posts, the Dark Figure was most likely the subject of the image and while talking about the film, I found the Dark Figure to be the most interesting part of the conversation. The Dark Figure being the unknown force of the film gave me the opportunity to make him whatever he needed to be. In the film he would be the antagonizing force, but in promotional material he could be the main character’s reluctant friend. The first image I made for social medias was of the main character and the Dark Figure sitting next to each other. In the film, this would be impossible. Despite the audience not fully knowing the intent of the Dark Figure, it was safe to assume that he wouldn’t willingly sit next to the main character for a photo. The mystery of his character lent itself perfectly to the brand due to his anonymity. Had I thought of social media more during the planning of the film, I most likely would have made the main character the mascot. The social media accounts would be controlled by a reclusive main character who could have called out for help online or asked about the weird sights they’ve been seeing. Instead, the Dark Figure was able to steal the spotlight and become the “Face of the Film.” 

How do your products engage with the audience?

The film I ended up with engaged with the audience by answering the questions they would have had about the film. The interview is a perfect way to explain more about the actual film and address any misconceptions or rumors. The answers asked during the interview could easily be asked by someone who is following the film and wants to know about the production process. Having an interview with the maker of the film gives the audience glimpse into what it is like making the film, what experiences and slip-ups have happened during the process, and if film making is fun. It also allows for the audience to see who the maker of the film is. They can see what their personality is like and possibly form an opinion on them without having to meet them face to face. Without meeting me or watching the film, audience members can see that I’m introverted and shy to talk on camera but passionate about film making. As mentioned before, the audience is meant to see that I, or at least the persona I put on in the film, is shy.  This persona can get the audience to connect with me more personally and possibly liken themselves to me if they are similar in how they act. If they audience is unable to see themselves in me or my character, then it is still possible that I remind them of a friend or can decide on if they like my personality or not. 

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

My research included looking into two different genres: mockumentaries and psychological horrors. When looking into psychological horrors, I was able to see how the characters were written. For example, looking into “American Psycho” showed me that the main character is not supposed to be outright insane or different from other people. Instead, the main character of the film blended in with his colleagues and kept everyone’s trust in him. The opposite was taught to me when I looked into “The Silence of The Lambs.” That film showed me that if the main character was going to be outright in their “special” behaviors, then there must be something to them that makes them threatening. Hannibal Lector’s demeanor was creepy, and it did not allow the audience to guess what was going to happen next at all. When incorporating my research into my original psychological horror script, I wanted the film to show off that the main character had something wrong with them from the start. Then, it would continue to show how the main character was steadily getting worse. When looking into mockumentaries, I learned that the aim was to be funny, but there was still room to have information. I incorporated this into my interview by having a contrasting behavior between the director of the film and the interviewer. In the full script, the interviewer is obviously not interested in wasting time and allowing the director to explain himself or fully talk about the film and this is contrasted by the director who gets excited about the film and talking about it. 

My Short Film Package

 An Interview With the Creators of Secluded

https://youtu.be/b_1qtzmX558

https://secludedshortfilm.wixsite.com/mysite

Crashing More Than Editing

 

For the past few days, I've been trying to edit the rest of the interview. However, Sony Vegas hasn't stopped crashing every time I do something. Every time I move a question into place, the program stops responding seconds after. I've resorted to saving every few minutes, just in case. I've been able to make some progress this way. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. It's possible that the program is outdated and something went wrong. Or my computer can't handle the software. That one seems unlikely, as I've edited more taxing videos. Whatever the issue, I hope it doesn't persist for long.

I've been able to edit halfway through the first part of the interview. I doubt there's much left to do in this part. I've gotten past the part of the interview where I intended to play a clip of me "breaking" my light bulb. After this point, I need to sync up a few more questions then I'm off to the next half. The second clip I planned on including may end up somewhere in this half. The second clip is of me in the Dark Figure costume hitting a bedside table. The second half of the interview has me in the Dark Figure costume. Thanks to this coincidence, there's a lot better chance the clip will make it in. Hopefully I can make it there with under 20 crashes. I doubt it though.

The Final Stretch (Editing)

 

With everything finished, I'm now ready to put together the film. After editing a little bit already, I can already see that I've messed up a few things while recording. The main issue being that I didn't wait long enough before continuing down the script. The problem this creates is that the questions likely overlap the answer before or after it. So far, I've been able to remedy this problem by just cutting out some of the excess from the questions. Pauses, uh's, okay's, etc aren't vital to the question and are expendable. I'm not completely finished with editing, so it's possible that this trend doesn't continue. So far, I've added titles, cut up the questions, and began on placing the first few questions. The rest should be a fairly simple process. All I need to do is properly place the rest of the questions and cut in a few clips from filming. There is still a topic of whether I'm going to change the interviewer's voice or not. It seems fine right now, but maybe my playing both roles may get a bit confusing. If it does, I can pitch shift the interviewer's voice. That way, I'll sound much different depending on who's speaking.

I'm not done editing for today, not yet. I've only decided to take a small break due to my editing software crashing repeatedly. I can definitely get everything done today, hopefully I do.

Filming on the Other End of the Camera

 

Unlike yesterday, I was actually in frame while recording today. I wrote about filming the lines of the interviewer yesterday and today I filmed on the other end of the camera. This time I was playing the interviewee. The worries I had yesterday about the film all falling on my acting have been mostly subdued. I feel as though I've done a good job acting both naturally and unnaturally at the same time. By that I mean, the character on screen isn't too far off of how I would be if I were in that situation. However, he is still a lot more nervous and awkward than I would be. One thing that made its way into my acting from how I act normally is my hand movements. When speaking formally, I tend to move my hands a lot to help explain to subject better. This tendency is more than represented in my acting.

So far, I've recorded all of my lines up until I switch into the Dark Figure costume. It took me a while to figure out what camera angle looked the best and what to do about the lighting reflecting off my glasses. In the end, I did the best I could and settled with a decent angle. Not much I could do about my glasses. It'd be impossible to sneak a look at the script without it looking horribly obvious without them. All I need to do now is record the second half of the interview, edit it all together, and render the final products. Assuming there will be no need for any reshoots, of course. I would've finished recording the full interview before blogging, but my camera died. Anyways, I expect to need to do a bit of problem solving during the editing process. I want to include to clips in the film, but I've only made room for one in the script. I doubt I'll need to rewrite a portion of the script, but I don't have any idea of where to fit in the second clip. I'll figure that out when the time comes.

Filming! I Didn't Know I Still Did That!

 

Before jumping into the actual filming, I had to record some lines. These lines are meant to be that of an interviewer. In the script, I wrote the film to play out as an interview of the producer of "Secluded." To accomplish that effect, I needed to have an interviewer, obviously. To preserve the spirit of "Secluded," I opted to have myself be the interviewer and to have my voice be cut into the film to make it seem as if I was asking myself questions from behind the camera. To make the audio sound as natural as possible, I set up the camera and sat a fair distance behind it. Which is why the picture above is of an empty chair. It's a picture taken while filming, yes, but all I filmed was just a corner of my room. What I'm going to do next is actually act out the interview as the interviewee, i.e. myself.

I'm a little nervous about playing the part myself, seeing as there's so many aspects to it. I need to act as I would, but at the same time play up some of my more negative attributes. I need to seem even more obsessive with the project than I really am and I need to seem a lot more embarrassed by some of the mishaps that have occurred. Not only does my acting play a role, but I also need to worry about the audio as well. I'll need to get deep into production to see whether I should go for clear audio when recording as the interviewer, or if I should record in the same environment to help it blend in more. In comparison to other microphones I've used, the microphone on my camera is a lot more sensitive than any other. It can pick up background noise from other places in the house and really likes to amplify the noises of my air conditioning, even when I don't hear it. I expect my voice to come through clearly. When I was re-enacting events for the mockumentary, my voice was clearer beyond my expectations. The problem lies with the background noise. In any case, I'll figure it out once I dive deeper into filming.

Editing, Finally

 

While rewriting my short film, I planned for there to be cutaways throughout. Clips of some mishaps that occurred while filming were specifically what I wanted to include. While I was done writing for the day, I actually recorded some recreations of those mishaps. Today, I took the time to edit them. Most of them didn't require much work. All I needed to do was add captions. The one clip I did need to edit a bit was the clip where I break a lightbulb on accident. I didn't have any footage of me actually breaking the lightbulb, so this was one of the clips I had to reenact. To make things clear, I didn't actually break a lightbulb or burn myself while recording the clip. When it actually happened, I didn't burn myself then either. As for breaking the bulb, I was completely fine afterward. My hand was protected and my parents were nearby.

Alongside these clips, I want to include the first scene that I recorded and edited. I plan on working it into the film as an intro of sorts. I'll have a portion, if not all, of it play, then cut to my character speaking about it. "Then I had to cut a lot of out of focus clips, leading to that scene being unusable." This line, which will also talk about what happened during production, will introduce my character. I don't expect everything to be related to real life experiences, but I'll feel better about the product if I can bring in those experiences naturally. I want to make it seem like the production of this film was filled with mishaps and slapstick chaos, while not being over-the-top and unbelievable. It'll take some workshopping, but I can do it.