Social Media

 Throughout this whole process I haven't been on the social media accounts much. There's so much to do but I just need to find time to actually do it. Although I'm not sure exactly what to post. While filming I didn't think much about behind the scene videos and pictures. And when we recorded we deleted most of the clips that weren't recorded right. So I don't have content to post on the social medias currently but hopefully that'll change. Or maybe I might have a different idea on what to post. On twitter I also haven't been active. After putting on the final touches to my film I going to begin to post things. Although I'm not sure what exactly I should post. 

The website hasn't been updated since I created it too. There's going to be a lot of stuff to add. I actually don't remember what needs to be done. Although it's been a long time so I'm sure there's things I could add. I am nervous about how people will receive my film. Or even what I'll say about it on social media. I'm aware it's my journey and my production but that's exactly what makes it nerve-racking. I shouldn't feel bad with what I'm putting out though. I'm putting a lot of time and effort into the entire film process so I know it's going to be good. I simply need to start uploading and showing the process of everything on my social medias. 

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Editing Blog | Re-Edit

 The entire process is basically done. Filming and editing. Although I am unclear and the postcard, other than that I've finished. I went back through the film to add the missing scenes or replaced scenes that had a problem. Now everything is lined up with the storyboard. It's also over just a little bit over 5 minutes. There was a lot to edit since I didn't edit in the titles the first two times. Learning how to add the texts onto the screen wasn't that difficult. I didn't expect it to be too difficult in the first place but it was quite easy. Also making sure that they'd disappear when needed was somehow fun to properly make.

Editing the entire film was kind of stress. Although on the other hand it was fun. For the music selection just used the three that I got online. I tried to create a sneaky instrumental track but I don't think it worked out well. I did however create a instrumental beat total aside from it. In the end I just got a sneaky beat I found online. It was a lot more difficult to choose this time too since I was looking for something so specific. Not a super energetic sneaky kind of instrumental but very low-key. But all that's left are the small touch ups. After that the film will be complete.

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Film Blog | Re-shoot

 With some of the scenes I ran into issues. Other scenes I just didn't record or they need to be re-shot. We were able to re-shoot in a timely manner. Some of the beginning scenes were somehow lost so we started with those. With these 4 or 5 scenes we gained an extra 20 seconds. Which is good because I was behind a lot before editing anything out. There was one scene in particular that sponslor got messed up. Whenever you'd play the audio there would be a low static kind of sound. Because of this I couldn't use that scene which further messed up the storyboard. But we re-shot so we were back on track.

We were also able to finally record some missing scenes. There's are a couple scenes during the evening that was never shot because of bad scheduling. The scene only included Jesson which is played by my brother but most of the time he's at work. But I planned that we would film it on a day that he's actually off. After filming all of these scenes hopefully we're over the 5 minute mark. After re-filming and I start the re-edit process then I should have all the clips I need. Everything on the storyboard should be filmed properly. I also hope that each scene that we recorded is actually the right amount of time. When we re-recorded the amount of time for each clip seemed right. Although the first and second days recording I also thought that the clips were long enough. 

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Editing Blog | The Main Process

After putting the clips in order I realized that I hadn't reached 5 minutes. I'm kind of nervous and worried that I haven't reached the proper time. Although I'm not too stressed since I still can re-shoot. It's a problem though because I followed the storyboard. I guess I didn't follow the storyboard strictly enough. I made 6 pages with 6 boxes each so I'd have enough time to cut stuff out. But it seems that a lot of the clips were not 5 seconds or longer. This is still concerning since I filmed basically the entire movie already. There are some scenes that I haven't filmed and will in the re-shoot. Other than that everything is going well.

Davinchi Resolve is pretty easy to use. I'm learning more things that'll make the editing process easier. Very minute details. Things such as being able to insert a clip between two clips. Or being able to replace a clip that's already been placed. Also being able to drag and drop new clips if need be. I thought it was going to be more difficult than it actually is. At least in the editing process I don't have to be worried. For now at least, something may occur later that might be an issue. Until I can plan a re-shoot, I'm just going to edit the clips I currently have.

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Music Selection

 For the music in the film I decided to find music online. Although I did want to try and create my own. I still might but I'm not sure. I haven't added the music to the film yet. I went online to try and find what I think will fit the theme of the film. The film has more of a sad feeling to it. Therefore I searched for those types of background music. I was able to find three tracks with this feeling. I made search to include "copyright free" in my google search. Although I have to remember to give the website the credit. 

When I searched for the music, I only searched for sad tracks. I'm not 100% sure what specific type of sounds I need. I know that I'm going to have to find a spy track. This'll be used for whenever Rickson is scouting and sneaking around. Other than that I'm not exactly sure what else is needed. Maybe before I search online for a sneaky background track, I can try and make one. I've quite familiar with making production tracks so it won't be hard. Especially since it would only be an instrumental. It would only be a few percussion instruments and a short melody. I think I'm going to try it but if not I'll find one online.

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Editing Blog | Relearning the Ropes

 I've done editing before, but I had forgotten basically everything. So at the start it was a little slow but things started coming back to me. Before I could even edit I had to find an editing software. So I asked Aridsondez who edited the film I was apart of creating last year. He suggested Davinchi Resolve which is an advanced editing software. He also suggest Filmora which is a more user friendly software. I decided that I was going to test each one of them before picking which one to go with. To test I'd use a couple clips and so what I could do with each one. I downloaded Davinchi Resolve first so I used that one first. Using the program wasn't too confusing. 

There wasn't things and there still are things that I can't do with it but nothing too complex. I called Aridsondez to tell him that I didn't find it that confusing. He told me that if I'm not struggling too much then I should stick with Davinchi Resolve because it has more to offer compared to Filmora. For the editing process I made a plan. I'm going to put all the different clips in order then go back and edit them. I think while putting them in order I'm going to cut what needs to be cut. Then last time around I'll put the credits onto the film. Adding text onto the screen doesn't seem too difficult and even if I don't know how to do it I could always just look it up. Hopefully everything goes according to plan. Although nothing ever really goes according to plan. 

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Film Blog | Second Day of Filming

 The second day of filming went just as smoothly as the first. We did what we needed to do though. I scenes were shot by the end of the day. And I don't think I could be an actor if I wanted to either. Although none of my scenes were difficult. My directing still wasn't up to par. Although it was better than the first day. The location we used to film was my garage. I think it's a good representation of an abandon building, kind of. There's a lot of random things in my garage so you can pass it off as an abandon building. 

When making the script, I made lines for each character. Although while recording, I'd tell my cousin what to say and he'll say it how he feels his character would say it. When he did this it the scenes came to life. I didn't do nearly as well on my scenes. But filming today was easy. We didn't run into any problems throughout the process. Keeping track of what the characters should be wearing was a little worrying. I wasn't sure if we were recording the right scenes with the right clothing, especially when my cousin questioned it. But everything was recorded right in the right costumes. Now that I have the scenes, I'm excited for editing. 

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Film Blog | First Day of Filming

 Filming was a little bit different this time around. There was a lot more to film. I was kind of stressed out since I'm the only one in my group. Although my cousin is being a really big help. He is the main actor as well. Lucky he was free today so we recorded. Although he had work earlier so we started recording the night scenes. Before we started filming I made a list of what needed to be recorded and the time period in which they needed to be recorded. So I started with the day scene, then the evening scene, then the night scenes. I'm glad I did this because it saved some time. Although at first I forgot the script had to match the storyboard when recording so we had to do some retakes. 

To film we used his phone. The camera on his phone is really good since he has a Samsung Galaxy S10. They made the night scenes actually able to be seen. Directing him was iffy though. I don't think I could be a good director. In my mind I'll have how I want the scene to look like without telling him in detail. So he had questions on a lot of scenes because I was not explaining properly. In the end everything was fine. He's a really good actor for someone who hasn't done it before, at least in my opinion. He told me after recording that he actually thinks about certain things to make him feel those emotions. 

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Film Blog | Not Able to Film

 So far I, unfortunately, haven't been able to film. I've had a lot of school work to do. When I do want to film I can't because of my cousin's schedule. Hopefully this weekend I can start because I'm running out of time. I also need to play out how many scenes I'm going to film. I think I'm going to try and film the most amount of scenes that I can with the time I have. But it's also going to be difficult because of the weather. I think most people in Florida hate the cold and that includes me. Although I'm going to have to get it done. But I need to make my schedule. 

The main issue was that my cousin has a job where it's just him and his boss. So he's the only employee. He's usually off on at least Sunday so I know we'll be able to film there. My brother is also apart of the film so I have to make sure that everything fits in with his schedule as well. Or even if it doesn't I could just record his scenes separately. I have most of the locations figured out in my head. If there are some scenes that I don't like because of the locations then I'll just re-film them. And just in case I'm going to go over everything that I need to film. I'm going to film with one of my brother's or cousin's phones since they both have the latest Samsungs and the new iPhones. I'm definitely going to be cautious because I know everything is not going to go according to plan. 

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Film Music

 When creating the idea for my film, I bounced ideas off of my brother. He really helped me create the idea for the irony in the film. When I mentioned the music and the type of score, he told me that for the film that's one of the essential parts. Having a strong and emotional drive score in the film is what is going to make the film seem real. The music is what's going to make the audience feel the characters' emotions. With proper editing, I could make this come to life. I often don't watch American-made television shows especially in comparison to anime, Japanese cartoons. In anime, I've noticed how much the music really makes the scenes feel a lot more grand or entertaining. So for me, the music that's in my film has to fit perfectly. I know that I'm going to spend a lot of time trying to search or even make the music. 

I know if I want to use music online I have to contact the creator. Or I could just use completely copyright-free music. I'm just not sure about the amount of copyright-free music that's available. Although I assume there's a hefty amount that can be found especially for projects like this. If I can't find anything online I could try and create the music myself. I don't think I'm all that good at creating music using a program, I think I'm decent. I have FL Studios that I could create songs or instrumental. Using FL Studios would be a good way to create a track for the movie. I'll most likely end up using a song from online. Although it would be interesting to try and create my own song for the film so then I'd have a credit in the music production.

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Website Blog

 I've made a website once before this project. And recalling from my memory it wasn't very difficult at all. It was also for a school project in eighth grade. Similar to the website we were told to use this time, the website is extremely user friendly which made everything easy. Although when I started making my movie website I didn't have many issues. Everything on the website was easily customizable to my preference. When I thought of what I wanted my website to look like, I thought of the title of the movie  "Last Chance" to stand out once you click the website. Originally when I set the words on there I felt like there wasn't enough flare. So I decided to create my own logo with a custom background using this free photoshop website. So the first thing you see on the website is the logo that I created. 

I wanted the website to have a dark type of vibe or feel to it because of how I want the movie to feel. Since the movie isn't a happy kind of film but more of a dark feel I made the theme on the website dark. The logos I created also went along with the theme. I made two other logos for social media accounts. I came up with a little quote that I felt fit the theme of the movie. "Last resort, last hope, last chance." It's supposed to represent how the two main characters are looking at this situation as their last chance to do better or better their lives. It's Rickson's last resort and hope to save his brother's life, but it's also Jessen's last chance to prove that he could do better as a parent and/or role model. So I made this quote as the banner on Youtube and Twitter and I also created another logo just for the profile picture on all the social media. I honestly enjoyed creating the website and I'm looking forward to adding to the website.

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Storyboard Blog

 The storyboard part of the filming process is very important. It helps the director to record the film a lot easier. Having a storyboard is a direct guide to what needs to be film. I will say that this process has definitely been the most draining. Especially since I'm the only member working on my project. In the end I feel like the first big hill has been cleared. One of the biggest task is now out the way. Although I'm still kind of nervous about creating the social media platforms. But I do know that the filming process will be easier. Last year when I created a storyboard I didn't follow it as strictly and kind of winged some of the scenes. But this time around I think that now that I know what to expect I'll be more prepared.

Also when creating the storyboard you have to have everything planned out. You have to know the settings, the actors, the costumes, etc. I knew how I wanted most of these but now everything is set in stone. Before I didn't know if I wanted my cousin to play Jessen or my brother. While creating the storyboard I decided on my brother. To make the process easier on myself I created a guide. The guide would remind me what to draw in each box on all 12 sheets of paper. I'd write a brief description of what would be happening in the scene. Then I'd delete whatever scene I'm drawing after completing it. The story is definitely coming to life now, and it's only going to be built up more from here on out.

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Planning Blog

 We're soon going to have to start filming. The planning process is one of the most important steps for some people. Actual filming studios plan the entire movie and follow the plan that they've created pretty strictly. Most of the time I like going with the flow, but I don't think if I go with the flow on this project that I'm going to come out with the best product that I can create. The way I want the film to go was already thought up when I created the script for it. Well, the majority of it was. The entire movie is going to be shot at my house. With different angles, I should be able to get away with making the movie feel natural. The main characters are going to be played by my cousin and me. He's going to be the Rickson and I'm going to play Damian.

I was torn between who was going to play Jesson between my other cousin and my brother for the longest. I think I'm going to have my brother play him since he'll be more available. Although my other cousin fits the role more in my head so I'll try to get him to play the part and have my brother as the backup. The setting for the place that Rickson and Damian are staying at will be my garage. With the angles I have in my head and the editing, it's going to look nice. The costumes are going to be pretty simple so there shouldn't be anything I have to purchase. I will have to purchase a toy shotgun or a fake shotgun or pistol since that's what I envisioned in my head for that scene. Lighting is going to be a huge part of the film. A lot of the scenes are going to be in dim lighting. If I don't capture the type of lighting I want I might be able to change it in the editing process.

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Short Film vs. Feature Length Film

 The short film and the feature film for the 9 were both good in their own categories. I feel like the short was a good way to start the audience off with that the movie could be. And the feature film gave us exactly what was expected. The concept of the entire story is amazing. The short was quick to the point with what Shane Acker wanted the story to be. With such a unique world, the feature film elaborated on what happened and it all made sense. What the short film had that the feature film didn't was the lack of dialogue. The lack of dialogue made the film more interesting because you had to focus only on the animation. With just the animation, the director was able to get his point across perfectly. While also having the outline for the main story. 

The feature film in my opinion was a good extension of the short film. Unlike the short film, it had dialogue between the character. It also gave the full story of the numbers and what occurred in the world. With the dialogue between characters, it's easy to see how each number acts and the role they play within the group. I do like how in both films the beast was killed differently instead of sharing the same way. Out of the two versions of the film I enjoyed the feature film more. Although I did enjoy the short film. The short film really did intrigue me because of the lack of dialogue but because of the director's ability to keep the audience engaged. The feature film gave me the full movie experience. Meaning introduce the characters, conflicts, and ending. Having an in-depth version of the story is what sold me.

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Research 9 | The Feature Film

9 as a feature film was a good movie. I personally enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. From the beginning of the movie, I didn't know what was really going on but just based on the setting I knew that the film would be interesting. I liked how we didn't get an immediate explanation of what happened in the world. Instead, Nine is just as confused as the audience at the beginning of the film. When Nine leaves the first room and sees what the world looks like, I'm already curious as to what happens. Throughout the film, the audience is slowly shown each number without any specific order. Although I liked that, when Three and Four were introduced they never said their numbers so while watching you just had to guess who they were. Another thing I noticed around the end of the film is the character design between all the numbers. Each design created by the scientist was different as if he already knew that he'd have exactly nine numbers in total since Nine looks the most refined.

The story developed quite well in my opinion. When One told Nine that they just need to stay safe and wait until the beast died and Nine refused, leading to the death of Two. It made me think that Nine's drive to end the chaos that was occurring was extremely necessary. If Nine didn't try to kill the Beast, who knows how long it would've stayed like that. I liked how the Machine was tied into the story. It showed the backstory of what happened in the world. It shows that the scientist created what ended the world. For his last act to try to save the world he created Nine with the purpose to destroy the Machine. At the end of the film when Seven asked "What happens next?" it really did leave me wondering what next. The rain was a nice touch to the ending that indicates that life can grow again but is the human population going to come back? If not how do Nine and the other numbers repopulate if they do? It'd be interesting to know what happens next.

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Research 9 | The Short

 9 as a short film was very intriguing. For starters, throughout watching it I was engaged the entire time. That says a lot especially since there wasn't any dialogue. For Shane Acker to create just characters along with a very vague story and keep the audience watching is really shocking. These characters are clearly in a world that looks run down and abandoned. They start off fiddling with a light bulb, then with the actions that they start to have the audience can easily notice that there's something or someone around. One of the characters tells the other to grab the light bulb and run, as he gets caught and his ''soul" gets taken. Then the entire rest of the short film the other character running away from the beast until the beast falls to its death. But there's clearly information that we're missing. It makes the audience wonder where they are, who are they, and what's their backstory. 

The short film does a great job of making the audience care for the characters. Near the end of the film, you see one of the characters jump onto his creation that was shown at the beginning of the film to kill the beast. While watching it I completely forgot that scene happened until I watch it again. In the first watch, I also didn't realize that the main part of the film was a flashback. After the part where the character kills the beast, we see what occurred after he had the flashback. With the device that the two characters had and the device that the monster had, he was able to bring back his friend and/or his friend's soul. There are so many questions that can be asked about the short film. Such as what was that device and who were the other souls that were released? In such a short time span I was fully engaged in the film. I feel like having such an elaborate setting is a big part of why the film was so great. The setting only could make the audience simply wonder, what happened.

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Genre Choice for Film

 The genre I chose for my film is drama. Out of the three, I thought could possibly work drama just fit the best. The pitch I created isn't anything that's too unrealistic and the story is what really drives it. In drama films, the story is the main driving point that creates the entire film. The spy film would require more spy film aspects other than an attempt to sneak in. One of the characters in my film is going to try to sneak into a house steal and although this does correlate to spy movies that aspect alone isn't enough. To make my movie a horror film there would need to be way more of a scary feel to it and that's not quite how I imagine the film being. The drama genre fits my pitch the best without having to make many changes to the pitch. I imagine having a scene that's kind of open to the audience's interpretation. The two characters are going to be looking at each other back in forth before one of them decides to let the other go. 

The best way to make this project succeed is in the drama genre in my opinion. There could be no clear protagonist. The story is the main aspect driving the film. And it could all be done in a short time span. Drama is the genre needed to create the film I imagine. It would be cool to maybe add aspects from the other two genres. Still not sure if I'd add horror because it doesn't really fit. Although adding a couple more spy kind of scenes would make the film more engaging. I think under this genre the film will come out great. All that's left to do is begin the filming process. 

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Genre Research | Spy And Thriller

Spy movies often times have close-ups, extreme close-ups, and over the shoulder shots. In spy films, there is background music that fits spy movies specifically well. Movies such as James Bond or even The Incredibles they have music that fits a sneaky kind of feel. Typically in spy movies, the main cast is wearing an all-black outfit to fit in with the surroundings. The lighting for spy movies varies as some scenes may be bright and others may be dark, but not too dark to see. Like when a character sneaks into the typical all-white room compared to the back alleyway that usually is dark. Spy movies have their star actors such as Tom Cruise or Jason Statham. Spy films do have their usual props such as the detonation control, or the spy car. There have been multiple spy movies that have a character sneaking into an all-white room from the roof with lasers that they have to avoid. There's also the usual headquarters that the main cast uses. The most popular spy movies are the James Bond or Tom Cruise movies. And for children, the most known spy movies are the Spy Kids trilogy and The Incredibles trilogy.

In horror movies, the camera angles are usually low angle shots, tilted angle, close-ups, panning or tracking,  and bird's eye view/high angle. Sometimes the horror movie may include a handheld camera scene to increase realism. Horror movies have a recognizable sound. To make the movie scary and creepy they often have a child screaming in the background. There's also always eerie music that would send shivers down the audience's body. The clothing in horror movies are usually just ordinary clothes expect the characters that are kidnapping or killing the main cast, they often wear a scary hockey mask or have blood on their clothing. Horror film majority of the time is shot in a dark setting so there's just enough lighting for the audience to see what's going on. The makeup in horror films mostly consistent with fake blood on some parts of the character's body. The props used are usually knives of some sort or maybe a handgun. The setting of a horror movie would most likely take place in a house or different locations in a town. 

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Genre Research | Drama

 In the drama genre, the common shots are close up, long shot, bird's eye/high angle shot, over the shoulder shot, medium shot, and extreme close up. The common angles and movements in a genre angle are high angles, panning, tilting, and zooming. The sounds in a drama film are mostly dialogue. Clamps are a very important part of a drama film. The costumes are usually regular clothes. The makeup is simple makeup to make the actors look more presentable. The actors in a drama film definitely change how well the movie will do. An actor who is known to be a really good actor will make certain scenes stand out more than others. The props aren't usually anything special, maybe a knife or something similar. And the setting definitely sets the mood for the whole scene changing how well and real the scene can feel. 

Common editing in the drama genre is adding various different shots of an important moment. When there's a climactic scene in a movie the director will take shots from multiple different angles for dramatic effect. The jump cuts are usually clean between the end of a scene. Popular drama movies are films such as Highschool Musical, Twilight, and The Breakfast Club. I find drama movies kind of relatable. In drama movies where the main cast is teens, the suspense between the characters or the awkwardness is intriguing. And sometimes the drama aspect somehow makes the film funny. Although I don't like how drama films are predictable. It's not rare to find a drama film where the audience can usually guess how the movie ends without even watching it. The film can also overexaggerate how the cause and effect of a character's action will have a huge unrealistic change in the entire film.

Drama Lion King GIF from Drama GIFs

Genres I Would Like to Research

 The kind of movie I imagine my pitch to be would fall under Drama, Spy, or maybe Thriller. The movie wouldn't be that cheerful of a movie. These three genres are more low key kind of. They all share a certain feel that gives suspense. I haven't watched many movies under these three genres so it's going to be interesting. Without having done the research yet I feel like my pitch could be made under one of these genres. The drama aspect comes from the story. The spy aspect comes from the fact that one character is trying to rob another. And the third is kind of a stretch but there is a slight thrill that comes from a sneaky type of film. It may be possible that if shot correctly the film could fall under all three genres well. 

The other genre I thought might fit my pitch was horror. But for a horror film, there would need to be something actually scary. And a lot of the time characters are killed off somehow. That's usually a big indication that the movie is under the horror genre. My pitch could be made into a horror film if altered a little, but the pitch wasn't made under that intention. I want my movie to have the suspense needed without overdoing it. I feel like both drama and thriller would have this but not so much spy. One of these genres is definitely going to be the one I'll use. Although I'm leaning toward drama. But I'm not 100 percent sold on any of them.

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Pitch Blog

A homeless teen that had abusive parents resorts to stealing to save his sibling’s life, from a homeowner that was abusive to his deceased son.

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Group Blog

 I've decided that I'll be working by myself. Although I didn't really want to work with myself. I only know a few people. Out of the people I know and asked if they wanted to work, they already had an idea in mind. I thought about who else I knew but couldn't think of no one. And because we're online and not in person I can't become friends with anyone that I don't already know. This project is a lot though but there's a lot of time. I'll definitely have to use my time more wisely without procrastinating. Now that I'm thinking about it, this is the first big project that I'm working alone. But there's a first time for everything.

I'm not 100% sure if I can get outside aid, meaning people not in the class to help but hopefully, I can. My brother is a film major in college so I'm going to asking him for ideas. He was always creative especially when it came to creating a story. I should be able to bounce ideas off of him to create a good product. Although all the work is still going to be done by me. The three different media that I have to make. That part is most likely going to be the most stressful. I also have to edit the entire movie but I do have experience with that. This is going to be a lot to take on alone. But this isn't something that I can't do, I simply need to focus.

Welcome Back

 We're back and better than ever! This year I'm in AICE Media A level and I'm kind of excited. Compared to the AS level version of this class, nothing's really different. This level of the class is basically the same thing but goes a little bit more into detail and lets us students be more creative. We do have more time to work on the final project as we're already starting the process right now. It is a little stressful tho because of not 100% percent about who I'm going to work with.  Although I kind of have a rough idea. Last year I had group mates who I quickly became friends with so it was easy to work efficiently. Our chemistry together was real and we'd easily bounce ideas off one another. I do have one friend in A level currently and we've already decided to work together. 

I'd like to have another person because then the work could be distributed more. Although I feel like just us two could make a nice short film if put in the time and effort. I feel like I want to spend more time thinking of a really great story that can be executed extremely clean. The project I had last year was really great but I feel like because of the superhero type of feel we tried to create it was slightly harder to make entertaining. This time around I want to go for something that's more relatable as an audience member. Something that a highschooler may deal with but it isn't commonly talked about. Other than that I'm excited to go back to school again. The last school year ended super abruptly, but we were able to end off the year online. The online version of school and specifically this class wasn't nearly as intriguing as in person. And it still isn't right now but hopefully, we'll soon go back to school.  

Audience and Institution Essay

            In the film industry, marketing servers a huge role to boost the movie’s publicity. The more people talk about a movie the more it’ll be seen and have higher revenue. Using other platforms to promote a movie’s premiere is essential to having a big movie. Having merch, toys, games, etc. to promote a movie is how top Box Office movies become big.

           Black Panther was a Marvel movie that became one of the company’s biggest films ever. Ever since the movie released there were large amounts of publicity around it since it was the first black superhero from Marvel. The publicity behind the movie grew since the release due to all the marketing from special events and cross-promotions. The lead actor for the movie participated in an event for Marvel’s mobile game Contest of Champions to promote the movie. There was another event hosted by Marvel that presented pieces of clothing from the film that the movie’s marketers used to appeal the fashion and different art that the movie contains. To tie it all in the company created a website selling tickets and merch with additional information on the cast. The company’s marketing strategy was to give the movie large anticipation through other means like these special events and cross-promotion. An entire album was created solely based on the movie with Kendrick Lamar as the executive producer. He performed a single off of the album at a college’s Football Playoff National Championship Game. Similarly, the movie’s trailer was first played at an NBA Finals game. Marketing anything in front of a large audience will definitely boost the popularity. Marvel’s marketers continue to promote the film in other ways such as the movie’s artwork, on the radio, a partnered commercial and mentioned a previously made cartoon series. All the promotion and anticipation was apart of what made the movie how big as it is.

           Another Marvel movie that also did really well was Spiderman Homecoming. The companies tactics are essentially the same as what they did with Black Panther. Although the biggest difference that was made was creating an entire video game partnering with Sony. As a Playstation 4 exclusive, a Spiderman game was created before the movie was even released to greatly promote even more. The video game itself did really well and was even the game of the year. Toys were largely sold to aid to make kids want to watch the film. There was a period of time when they partnered with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was also promoting the movie. Spiderman is already a favored superhero between all kids and has had multiple movies previously, so there wasn’t much promotion needed to have a large revenue. With just this promotion, the amount of money made off the movie worldwide was close to one billion dollars.

            The Lego Movie 2 had a slightly different approach but one that also worked well. The movie is a sequel although it’s still originally based on a toy set. There was a videogame that was created for the film before it was released with a similar play style to previous Lego videogames. The movie also had cross-promotion with discovering as one of the characters play as a bank teller. Along with that Legoland recently opened up going perfectly with the movie. A specific Lego set was created with characters and pieces from the movie-making kids wanting to play with these toys. All these events happened as marketing for the release of the movie. The first poster promoting the movie announced that the first trailer would be released the following day. On Black Friday for only one day, the Warner Bros. Company released the first Lego Movie on YouTube for free. Other brands partnered up with the company for cross-promotion leading to the success that came after the release of the movie.

            Jurassic World is another large movie that has made a huge name for the trilogy. The official Jurassic World website has tickets to go to their theme park based on the movie. This is a great marketing strategy as the audience can visit the park and see things from the movie and previous movies in the trilogy. Jurassic World had cross-promotion with Lego releasing a Lego set and video game before the movie was ever released. Another game was created for all mobile devices that users would be able to make in-game purchases. Not only were their trailers posted online but they also had reserved spots on TV. To really engage their fans before the release of the movie, a Jurassic World egg hunt took place online where fans could figure out and find Easter eggs about the movie. Close to the movie’s release date, Universal Studios got Comcast to play old reruns of Jurassic Park movies. Jurassic World had other cross-promotions done such as have a regular toy set and being promoted on Mike and Ike’s candy and having a special flavor at Dairy Queen. Jurassic World had a lot of marketing done to have such excellent promotion.

            The marketing for any movie largely affects how much its seen when released. The popularity of a movie often depends on all the publicity given to it. The tactics for marketing are also similar to big movie companies like Marvel and the Jurassic trilogy. Often times being promoted through a toy set, a video game, or more commonly a candy or food. With months of anticipation, a movie can be more appreciated when finally released with a great marketing scheme.

CCR

Reflecting back on the entire process that it took to make our film is a lot to take in. It's interesting to think back and see how certain decisions effected the end result.

Final Project

This was the most enjoyable project to film. It made us create our own original story and film it. It reflected our skills and how far we've come throughout the with the previous two projects. I'd say I've grew with producing and creating an actual film, not a overwhelming amount about enough for a novice.

Music Video

This was the second filming project we had this year and we had a lot more freedom on what to film and where to do it. Picking the song was kinda challenging but after we picked the song, we just had to decide where we were going to film and when we were going to do it.

Commercial

This was the first the that we filmed that the very beginning of the school. It gave me my first experience with producing anything. Although is was a lot more stress inducing as we had a short and limited about of time to film what needed to be filmed.

Re-Edit Blog

For the final part of the editing stage, Aridsondez arranged it. This was the difficult part story-wise. That's because what we record was way too long. So he had to decide which scenes to put in and take out based on what's important to the story. He trimmed down some clips to make it fit the time limit allowed. Other scenes were just completely taken out. There was a fighting scene that we recorded but didn't make the final cut because it wasn't that important. Or the scene would be important but entirely too long to add-in. Arranging the clips was the easy part but adding the effects on the clips was the difficult part. This was the most difficult and time-consuming part.

Using the program he was able to capture the exact style he was going for. He wanted a spooky feel at certain points in the movie. He has a kind of negative effect on it. He then was also able to draw onto the picture and add the stitched up mouth and eyes. He highlighted it with blue so it's very distinguishable. The picture below is the finished product of that. Since these were the final touches to the film, he cleared made sure everything was as perfect as can be. In other parts of the movie, he did the same process to capture the "purgatory" vibe and feel. It does feel as if something creepy is going on in those scenes. Especially since they're like flashing in and out of the effects.

Re-Shoot Blog

Our plans to reshoot a couple of our scenes have been canceled. This is due to the Coronavirus or COVID-19. The pandemic has shut down the world. We've been told to stay indoors and quarantine. We also can't reschedule because we aren't sure when we'll be allowed to go outside. It's unfortunate especially since the Cambridge exams have been canceled. Maybe if this doesn't last long we'll be able to re-shoot some scenes. Until then, the only thing we can do now is makes edits on the content that we've already recorded. If we look hard enough we can find things to edit and change. This really does affect the end product. We'll simply have to settle for what we have.

The Coronavirus has had a toll on everyone. No matter where you are in the world you have to stay inside for your own safety. This is also going to heavily affect the school year and how proceeding to the next grade or graduating will happen. Cambridge grading will also be edited. Students weren't able to complete the school year in the traditional way. An effective solution is going to have to be made for this situation. That also applies to schools worldwide. This definitely wasn't expected to happen and it's going to be a difficult outcome. Even after the pandemic is over, getting back to regular everyday society might be different than before. Although eventually, everything is most likely be back to normal.

Editing Blog

We messed up how the titles were supposed to be in the film. During the peer review, when we self-evaluated ourselves we realized that the titles weren't spaced out like they were supposed to be. When Aridsondez edited it, he only put them in the first half. So for the re-edit, that's what he mainly focused on. He spaced them out throughout the film. There were also some titles that he combined thinking it was supposed to be like that. So he made sure he fixed that as well. If we didn't have the peer review assignment, the placement of the titles would have cost us points. We only noticed because the group we peer-reviewed had their titles spread out. After spacing out the titles, he also put them in order. Meaning based on the titles in order of reviewing them he put them how they're listed. Just for reassurance that everything is correct.

He additionally just went back to add touch-ups. Fixing or altering the sounds to the picture. Creating a new voice over. Adding or removing scenes to really display the story. Making sure the story of the beginning of the film is essential. The film as to be the beginning of a movie, not a trailer. Making actual events occur is a must. There's a fighting scene that didn't make the cut of the movie because it wasn't necessary. Making the text on the screen was legible is also something that he might've touched on. All the simple things that are needed to make our film look as presentable as can be is the goal.

Editing Blog

The editing for the short film was done by Aridsondez. I know he used the DaVinchi Resolve to edit the movie. Other than that I'm not sure what he did to edit the film. I am aware of what the clips looked like before editing since I recorded most of the movie. I think he did the best in the editing than any of our previous productions. To me, he captured the "purgatory" effect well. He used some sort of filter to make the colors negative or inverted them. Throughout the film, he did that to capture the creepy aspect that purgatory has. He also edited it to keep the audience on the edge of their seats but creating slight panic. Whenever the time came, the voice-overs were there.

While editing the movie, he'd update Quincy and me. It'd be interesting to see the actual process. I'd probably be able to add to the movie since I have a fairly creative mind. Maybe I'll be able to edit the re-edited film. Arisondez he a really good job with the edits. He had a lot of jump-cuts with slight transitions. That's because he used if not all, the majority of the recorded clips. Especially at the beginning, he's establishing the area with a ton of different shots. It was a smart idea to do that because he then incorporated the scary scenes in between them. The process didn't take very long either because he was done editing that same night. 

Filming Blog

We finally started filming after days of rescheduling. We started filming around four pm so we'd have enough time to film everything needed. I had my doubts but we actually started and completed the entire film. The entire time we were focused on getting it done and it happened. The actual filming process was quite fun. We finally got to see how the film would come together following the storyboard. One aspect we had to make sure the film had was the "purgatory" effect. Meaning only the characters in the film would be shown. So we'd have to make sure there were no moving cars or people in the background. So if we messed up we'd have to reshoot that film.

We realized that we'd have to reshoot them after recording the second scene then we remembered. Filming took the effort of all three of us to get the best visual for each scene. We also had to remember a couple lines each but nothing too intense. While recording the sun was going down but we needed dark scenes in our film. There was one scene where I had to slap Quincy but I didn't want to actually slap him so Aridsondez edited my hand hitting his face at a faster speed. It's noticeable but we'll be able to fix it in the reshoot. The filming went so well we probably won't need to do much reshooting anyways. Maybe a little re-editing as well but that's it. For recording our entire film in one session, it came out a lot better than expected. Although I knew we'd be able to do it.

Peer Review

The peer review was a lot more fun and interesting than first anticipated. I didn't think if was going to be fun in the first place. I was also nervous to let another group look at our film and give us feedback. Our film turned out good but it's still nerve wracking. The fun part was reviewing another group's film. The group we review was #2 and was called The Chase. It was interesting to see how another group went about making their film. Overall it was what the beginning of a movie would have. Although it does seem like it was a bit rushed but since she was captured so fast. They did include everything that was needed for a movie.

There first scene was an establishing shot of the first couple of scenes. You can clearly follow the story that they created. The girl was getting ready for an event she had planned. Then in between her getting ready they show another girl we was stalking her Instagram page. Then the first girl gets in her to get to the place, but on the way there her car broke down. The "stalker" walks to the girl in the broke down car to offer her a ride. And she agrees and they continue on the road. They stopped at a gas station and the girl realized that the stalker was stalking her. While the stalker was inside, she got out the car to run away. But after a couple seconds, the stalker was already there behind her.

Filming Blog

Things aren't looking good for us. Our project is due soon and we still haven't recorded. Every day there has been something stopping us from filming. Tuesday Aridsondez had track practice. Wednesday I had to attend band practice. Today Quincy didn't come to school and his phone died when we texted him. By the time he responded, Aridsondez's mom already left. This is the last weekend that's left and we MUST record since our planning was so poor. The days we record must be for long periods of time whenever we record. Tomorrow we're definitely going to record but it'll be later than we want since I have band practice.

With hard work we can still have a great project. Although compared to the last two projects we're going to have to work 3x as hard to make it good. The weather for tomorrow is predicted to be in the 40s. I didn't expect that to happen especially since the temperture was way higher at the beginning of the week. Regardless of the weather, we'll still record for the next three days. We all planned to meet up at Quincy's house early than usual. If we do this and don't goof off at all, everything will go perfect. The only concern I have is if we'll actually be able to record everything on our story in the amount of time that we have. And if what we record is two minutes. If a little over we'll have to rerecord to make up for it.

Filming Blog

This weekend I had planned on both Saturday and Sunday preventing us from filming. On Saturday I had to attend two different birthday parties and it was raining. There was a party for my aunt and uncle that overlapped. Even before they started, we were going to film but Aridsondez had an issue. The following day I had morning church service and brunch with my siblings and cousins. We also didn't plan to record on Sunday. The brunch lasted longer than expected so filming was out of the question again. We've decided that we won't wait for next week and record during the week. Although I hope it won't interfere with Aridsondez’s track practice. Also, the problem with recording during the week is the shorter amount of time that we'll have.

Today was the first day of the weekend and it didn't go well. Yet again we didn't record. Aridsondez had other homework due and time flew by him. By the time he was finished, it was pitch black outside. Tomorrow I'll make sure that all of us are on the same page. On Wednesday I'll have mandatory band practice to attend that ends at 6 so we won't be able to film then. But for the rest of the week, we'll record at least 2-3 more times. We have to work even harder to catch up since we missed the first two weekends to record. But if we're all working hard, we'll be able to get it done. Our movie can and will come out great.

Filming Blog

For this blog, we haven't started filming yet. We've decided that we're going to start filming on the upcoming Saturday. And if something comes up, we'll reschedule for the next day. The location is the same as the music video, inside/outside Quincy's house. We'll probably film for 2-3 hours around 3 or 4 pm. And since we didn't sign a camera out, we're going to be using an iPhone XR which both Aridsondez and Quincy have. Although since we're using a smartphone, getting certain shots and angles may become more difficult to shoot. The process should be easier than when we filmed the commercial and music video because of the experience we've gained. Following the storyboard will be the most essential part since each character actually has lines. As long as we do so, this movie beginning will be great!

We didn't specify what costumes/clothes we'll wear. I've decided that I'll wear a full black outfit. A plain black hoodie, black track pants, and all-black shoes. I know that Aridsondez has also planned out what he'll wear. It's kind of important that each of us knows what we're wearing. We'll also have to wear the same outfit every time we record unless there's a change in character clothes. But our film doesn't have any change in character outfit so there shouldn't be any confusion if we forget what we're going to wear. Although in the story, Quincy and I are on the same team and Aridsondez is the "seeker". So it'll be smart if both of us wear the same color while Aridsondez wears something different. That'll make it easy for the audience to identify who's on what side.

Storyboard Blog For Haphephobia

When creating the story blog it was a spit effort. The script really helped in visualizing the storyboard. The storyboard and the script go hand and hand. So, it helped my teammates know what to draw and write on the storyboard. We split the effort into three ways. So that is why some of the art seems different. That isn’t important though because the storyboard still conveys the story. I know for sure now when we go filming it will be as easy as ever. When we hopefully bring more actors the storyboard will allow them to easily catch on to the story. The storyboard is actually pretty detailed.

Title Design

Titles is going to be an important aspect of this project. So, it's imperative that we get them right. The way I will do this is keep the titles simple. They will be simple enough that it's not jarring but it still holds complex meaning. I want the title to somewhat represent the movie. Of course the background and music of the tile sequence will do that but if I can personalize the tile to do the same I think it will help the audience understand the movie a lot better. I'll personalize the titles to be correlated to the tag aspect of the movie. It will also have movements that represents tag.

Location, Participants, Health, & Schedule

Details for LPHS are the details for the location, Participants, Health and safety and Schedule. This slide goes into detail on what the LPHS of our film will be. Finding a location wasn't hard, we used the same location from our music video that we did in the middle of the year. It's a great neighborhood. Schedule was hard to make but when I thought about it, I made the perfect Schedule. It takes into account everything and gives us more than enough time to do this project accurately. Health and safety wasn't hard. I already knew what measures were put in place to ensure our well-being. Participants weren't final. I know that 3 people including me will participate but I don't know if the other people will be also participating.

Sound Script: Sound and Dialogue

This script had to match the shooting script. Though this was easier in a way it was hard to find the right songs. The song had to be royalty free and had to be perfect for the scenes. After searching I found great songs on youtube that worked to my liking. Doing the script was hard. I had to really think about the sound that would be happening during a scene. I had to think about the dialogue and how that would work. In the end I think it turned out great. My partners will appreciate the scripts and be able to comprehend them. The sound script will help me when editing.

Script Blog

When doing the script about the character movements, movements of the camera and angles it was really hard to do. I had to consult my team and we had to think of a story to write about. The story we already made from our pitch but we have to figure out the details. The slides that I made are the script. It doesn't outline everything but it does outline what the characters are doing. The story is explained in the dialogue so it was hard making the script without that. I tried to implement most camera angles in my script. Including high angle, low angle tilt and even more. I didn't force the movements. It fits right into the story. Including the camera movements those were easy. Figuring out the story was the hardest part.

Title Research: The Final Destination

-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

The title sequences display 21 titles.

-What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The image of death and danger and dying is portrayed in the opening sequences and it's constantly shoved in different manners how an individual is killed. Some are creative and it follows this theme throughout the tile sequence.

-What connotations do the images carry?

The title sequence obviously takes the connotative meaning of death and dying in the most gruesome ways. It portrays this as characters continuously get hurt in the worst ways possible. They follow this theme throughout the title sequence and it's really pushed.

-How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The genre is reinforced by the continuous scenes of skeleton characters getting hurt. The genre is like an action slasher but the one doing the slashing is a mysterious force. This is reinforced because the characters in the opening seemingly die from random incidents.

-How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The film's opening is a whole enigma. Though people are dying, it is still interesting to know why they are dying. It's interesting to see the ways the actors die but its more interesting to know why and get a clearer perspective on it. and that's what the movie tries to hide which gives it a sense of mystery.

-What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The interesting deaths and cool transition will appeal to the masses. People want to see that happen and the movie doesn't hide it. The masses are amazed by random exciting images and the movie provides that.

-What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

 The CGI used in the beginning is what appeals to the audience and its cool transition and kills. The audience gets to watch cool things happen on screen and it is interesting and appealing to them.

Title Research: Daredevil

-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

 The title sequences display 10 titles.

-What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The braille in the opening segment is the main focus. The movie is about a blind superhero so the designer of the title sequences makes the titles come in braille first and then it glows like your reading the braille then the actual title comes in English.

-What connotations do the images carry?

The connotative meaning in this title sequence has to do with the braille and the sweeping shots of the city in the background. The meaning behind it might mean that the movie will focus on the city. Like the city will be a character in the movie. The braille definitely has to do with the blind superhero. The title sequence wants to give the audience a "glimpse" of how it feels to be blind.

-How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? 

The genre of being a superhero movie is reinforced through the sweeping shots of the city. The superhero is always supposed to save the city and the city is always in danger. That cliche is expanded upon with the shot of the city, we expect the superhero to save this city. The dark and white contrast and sometimes dark parts of the screen might be a symbolic representation of being blind as this films somewhat documents a blind person.

-How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The opening shot doesn't really show anything and that is very mysterious to the audience. The audience, if they didn't previously research this movie will ask themselves, "what is this movie about." The opening sequence doesn't show anything. Yet, the braille themes also might be interesting to the audience and spark their curiosity. 

-What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

They used shots of the city and anyone who is a fan of any superhero movie knows the importance of the city to a movie. They are aware that is the city that will be saved. They also hint at the blind element of this film for anyone who is a fan of daredevil who will understand this reference. Also the notable actors they put in the beginning appeals to any fans of the actors.

-How has technology been used effectively?

Technology is being used extremely effectively. The CGI city is being used well and with the artificial sweeping shots of the city. They also used the contrast very well to keep the attention of the audience and the music was perfect and gave a mysterious but exciting tone. They also did well with the transition, the title sequence is very dark and they keep that theme throughout.

Title Research: Mission: Impossible - Fallout

-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

Around 16 different titles are displayed during the opening sequence of the film

-What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

 Throughout the opening sequence, there were a lot of images that were passing by. They prioritized/ focused on, the stars and actors in this movie and also action set pieces that happens throughout the movie. 

-What connotations do the images carry?

 This movie isn't a heavy story based movie. The movie is a straightforward action movie and the opening segment connotative meaning embodies that. The images are basically telling the audience, "This is a movie that has your favorite beloved actors and you are going to see them do cool stunts." It's simple yet effective.

-How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? 

 The outset heavily reinforced the genre in this movie. The title sequences were fast-paced and in your face. They had great action scenes playing in the background as you read the director's name. They had flashy burning transitions that signified action. The whole opening segment was screaming "this is an action movie."

-How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

 The opening segment leaves the audience wanting. They only flash a few seconds of the action scenes so the audience wants to know what happens next. They allow you to get a quick glimpse of the actors. This keeps a sense of mystery for the audience. They are longing to see how events in the opening segment pan out and what their favorite actors do in the movie.

-What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

 The film uses fast and eye-catching transitions to appeal to the action hungry audience. It appeals to the fans of the actors by giving the audience a glimpse of them. They play out the whole movie in the beginning but they do it in the way that the audience wants to see the in-betweens. 

-How has technology been used effectively?

 Technology is being used extremely effectively in this sense. The editing seems seamless. Action is synced with the music in a cool appealing way. The transitions use this burning effect that continues throughout the outset. The close-up, medium and zoom-ins of the actors and action is used perfectly at keeping the audience engaged 

Title Research: Nerve

-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

 When it comes to the number of titles during the opening sequence, there is about 33 title sequences throughout the opening sequence of the film

-What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

 I don't think any specific image is prioritized, but the designers or designers behind the opening segment had a specific goal. They wanted to prioritize the references in the opening segment. Every title was a reference to an app or website that originated from the web.

-What connotations do the images carry? 

 The images may carry the change and randomness of the internet. The images and titles are never the same and continue to change throughout the title sequence frequently. Maybe its a reference to the internet itself and how it's always changing in a way.

-How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? 

 I think the randomness and references to well-known pop culture gives a sense of curiosity to the audience. They want to know what the movie is about because they couldn't form the title sequence and that gives a sense of mysteriousness for the audience.

-What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

 The target audience for this movie is obviously individuals who are well aware of the internet and its background and content. The audience I well used to technology and it's safe to say, don't have the longest attention span. So, the title sequence executes a strategy. It flashes different vibrant colors and references their favorite website or computer to grasp their attention.

-How has technology being used effectively? 

 Technology is being used highly effectively. The title sequences do not have any camera angles are movements but rather use and rely on transitions and visual effects. They have highly creative transitions, that are super effective at grasping the audience's attention.

Title Research: Watch the Titles Website

www.watchthetitles.com

This website is about finding and watching the title sequences of a movie. The design of the website is easy to use and it's really simple to find the movie you are looking for. They don't have all the movies that have came out, but they have a good number of them. The website is nice to look at, it is smooth and entertaining at some point. This website offers the ability to watch a interview from the director of the movie you're researching. The interviews aren't for every movie because not every director has done an interview but it's most likely there for the popular ones. I learned from this website that directors put a lot of thought into their title sequences and the tone of their movie. They care deeply about, how the audience perceives the movie. The interviews that this website provides gives great insight into the actual meaning of certain movies. The website doesn't seem to have every movie, they lack certain popular movies. I think they focus more on the title sequences that hold meaning. The titles sequences that are unique and have connotative meaning. It more about quality over quantity on this website. Consequently this taught me a lot about the tone of different title sequences and the necessity of it.