Film Opening and CCRs

This is it

Links to my project:

Film Opening - Not My Intention

CCR 1 Podcast

CCR 2 Lying detector interview

Bibliography:

Barthes, R. (2025). Binary Opposition. Media Studies. https://media-studies.com/binary-opposition/

Beverly Boy. (2021, October 20). How is Binary Opposition in Film Used? Beverly Boy Productions. https://beverlyboy.com/filmmaking/how-is-binary-opposition-in-film-used/

Campion, S. (2023). LGBTQ+ Representation in Film and the Legacy of New Queer Cinema. Rethorikos. https://rhetorikos.blog.fordham.edu/?p=1903 

Gardner, C. (2023, September 14). LGBTQ Representation in Film Hits Peak While GLAAD, Guilds Caution Strikes Risk Progress. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/gay-representation-on-screen-film-glaad-study-1235590485/

Hellerman, J. (2024, May 3). The Core Elements of Romantic Comedy. Nofilmschool. https://nofilmschool.com/romantic-comedy-definition#

Music by DELOSound from Pixabay

Music by DELOSound from Pixabay

Pieces I took inspiration from: 10 Things I Hate About You, Anyone But You, 500 Days of Summer, The Proposal, Just Go With It, Spanglish, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Final note:

Thank you Cambridge for this amazing opportunity I hope you enjoy!

Final Touches

 I DID IT!! My film opening is finalized! I am going to talk about all the editing I worked on from the last update about editing until now.

I edited the sound of all the clips so the conversation would sound more natural and not like separate clips, I put a filter over the entire thing so the coloring would look better and cohesive. I also added background sounds to make everything more realistic like traffic sounds, birds chirping, kids talking in the background for the school scenes, and a school bell, I found these on YouTube and they are all royalty-free. I love seeing all the progress I have made from day 1 and how far the project has come,  I just love seeing everything come together. 

I added all the credits and title graphic but I struggled with choosing which color to put them in because every color felt out of place, but I finally settled on purple with a thin black outline. I thought a bright color fit the teenage aspect of my film, and it also stood out enough not to blend with the background. I ended up choosing the font True Story, which was my second option when I was choosing between fonts because it did not blend with the background and it fits the juvenile aspect of the film.

I am so happy with the result and I cannot believe this journey is coming to an end. After working on this for almost 2 months, posting blogs almost became part of my routine, I am going to miss this. I am also proud of what I created, even if it is not the best or perfect in any way, I worked so hard on it and dedicated so much time and effort into it. 

I cannot believe this is my second to last post, but see you tomorrow for the final post!

Filming Pt. 3

 It finally happened! I am done recording the film opening. I know it was about time, but it is done. Both my CCRs are also done, so I can now solely focus on editing the film opening. 

Yesterday I got together with Isabella and Zain who let me borrow the camera once more and we recorded the remaining scenes. We recorded inside the library but made it seem like we were inside a school with the angles and backgrounds I chose for each shot. We continued the story where I left off last time, with Jade walking away and Maia following her. Now she follows her inside and to her class and that is when they realize they are in the same class and are now stuck with each other for the rest of the school year. 

We wore the same costumes and did the same makeup and hairstyles we did on the first recording day to keep everything consistent and I think we did a pretty good job with it. This time we got more footage than what I thought we needed just in case and I made us re-do each scene at least 4 times to have enough to choose from when I get to editing. 

This recording day was probably one of the most stressful parts of this project not because filming was stressful but because planning for the extra recording day having so many inconveniences and not finding time to record until yesterday had me stressed out for the last two weeks. I am someone who likes to have everything done ahead of time and I can finally get everything finalized soon so that takes a huge weight off my chest. It is also a relief that I have everything that was previously recorded fully edited so the only thing that is missing is the new part. 

Here are some pictures I took when we started recording: 

.    

Podcast production and editing

Almost there!

Hii! We are almost at the finish line! Today was a very productive day as I finished recording the film opening and editing my podcast for the CCR. I will talk about the filming in the next blog so for now podcast time!

I had so much fun with it, that I am now planning on starting a podcast hehe. I am a talker, I love to talk and I found it really cool that I got to be silly and talkative while still answering the questions for the CCR. The ad was just hilarious, I had to do so many takes because I could not hold in my laughter but it ended up great. I added background music too and I think it sounds pretty good. Here is a link to the royalty free music I used. 

The editing was probably the easiest so far because I only had to focus on sound. The only "hard" part was matching up the clips whenever we made cuts so that it still flowed nicely, and changing the volume of the music so it would not overpower my voice. Here are some editing screenshots I took, once when I was starting and the other one near the end.

CCR Podcast Script and Planning

Today I finalized my podcast script and I will record it and edit it over the weekend. I already have the intro sound and outro sounds picked out and I got my best friend Dani to help me by being the host. I got the sound off of Pixabay since it is royalty-free.  I also included an ad in the middle of the podcast to make it as realistic as possible. 

My script is very conversational and directly talks to the audience since it is a podcast and the host is asking me questions related to my project for me to reflect on the project I have created. I based my answers on the research that I conducted at the beginning of this project about genre conventions, representation, and media theory. 

I was overthinking how to add sources of my research onto a podcast since it is only an audio file so I asked my teacher and she said it would be best to link all my sources on the blog next to the link to my podcast, so that is what I am doing. 

Here is my script and a picture of me editing the intro and outro sounds to fade in and out, I just have to add the dialoge in between them. 

CCR Production

 Questions 3 and 4

Yesterday my friends came over to my house and we recorded the lying detector interview. It was really fun and we thankfully got it done in about an hour, we had to divide the questions into various shots because we kept laughing and making fun of each other but it turned out great. 

I just finished clipping and putting the clips together and tried to make the cuts as smooth as possible, I just have to add the resources page at the end. 

Here is a picture of Dani and I getting the ankle weight on my arm:

(warning: a very frustrated and angry note from me)

Also on a very negative note, I had scheduled the recording for the last part of my opening today. However, my friends seem to have lost their memory and forgot the MULTIPLE conversations we had about recording today and did not bring the costume or camera to record after school so, now I have rescheduled it for Monday, which still gives enough time to edit and finalize it but it is still so frustrating. I double-checked with them yesterday, I really do not understand why they could not be more considerate and let me know ahead of time that they could not record today...

Sorry for the venting session but I am really frustrated :/

Now that the negativity is out, lets focus on the amazing bloopers from my CCR, enjoy. HERE please ignore the lighting I already tried to fix it 3 times and it looks fine on Premier Pro but when I download it it looks like that sorryyyyy. 

Group Meeting 03/12

Today we met in groups to talk about our projects and give each other feedback. My group was Anastasia. Charlie, Diego, Dani, Mckenna and me. 

I told them I had already planned out my CCRs and shared my ideas with them, and they all agreed they were good. Then, I told them about how I had to schedule one more filming day because I did not have enough footage and Anastacia told me this happened to her too, which made me feel better about it. They all also helped me brainstorm on what I should add to my opening. Dani suggested I add a scene inside of the school instead of more driving clips which I thought was a good idea and Anastasia told me I could also add a graphic with the title instead of putting it over the scenes I already have like I originally planned on doing. Their feedback was really helpful and I feel more confident about what to do when I record again now.

Mckenna told us about her idea for her CCR and I thought it was really good but Charlie said it might not be as creative since she wanted to recreate the interviews that Wired does with famous people. Then, Charlie told us how she wanted to do a "What is in my bag" video and show all the props and equipment she used to film while answering the CCR questions and we all thought it was an amazing idea. 

Diego, Dani, and Anastasia all said they wanted to do a talk show type of video and I suggested they all add visuals to make their video more entertaining than a talking head. Charlie also suggested they got a friend or family member to help them and act as a host in their talk show. 

It was overall a productive and helpful group meeting! We took a lot of pictures at the end because we wanted to be funny and make awkward pictures:

Here are links to everyone's posts:

Anastasia's blog: https://myblogisthecoolest777.blogspot.com/

Charlie's blog: https://blogbycharlee.blogspot.com/ 

Mckenna's blog: https://mediasmedley.blogspot.com/ 

Diego's blog: https://ruzlog.blogspot.com/
Dani's blog: https://intomediastudies.blogspot.com/ 

Lying Detector Interview Script

 Questions 3 and 4

I decided to write the script for the lying detector interview first so that I could schedule the recording for tomorrow after school since it is the only day this week I do not have to stay until later for rehearsals or musical theater show. This also gives me more time to edit and finalize everything over the weekend and next week.

My friends are going to come over to my house and we will record using this script I created. We might not stick to it fully as I want the interview to sound conversational but it will be nice to have a guide on how I want the conversation to flow. I will send it to them today so they can learn their lines.

I am planning on using an ankle weight around my arm and a random cord from old headphones connected to a computer to simulate the lying detector, I think it will work out perfectly and it will look credible enough.

As for the part that goes on the chest I was planning on using some ribbon laces I have laying around or one of the stretch bands I have for dance. I think either of those can work but we will try both tomorrow and see which one works best. 

I will be back soon with the production post and the script for the podcast section of my CCR!

CCR Planning Pt. 2

 Questions 3 and 4

I am beyond excited to create this part of my CCR as I have decided to do it in the format of a lying detector interviews like the ones Vanity Fair does. (here is one of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo). I love watching these, I think they are so entertaining and after pondering on how to do my CCR it occured to me to mimic these interviews. 

The last two questions being 

• How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
• How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?

I am already brainstorming on how to break them down into questions for the lying detector interview, I will also be writing this script soon and scheduling a time to record with my friends to ask me the questions. I will also have to create a makeshift lying detector as I do not own one hehe, or at least put together something that resembles one, but I do not think this will be too hard. 

I honestly do not think answering these questions about my project is hard since they are pretty straightforward and directly related to all the things I have learned so far in class and throughout the project. I like that they allow me to reflect upon my learning journey and the process it took for me to develop this project. 

I will be back with the script and the recording process soon, I am so excited!

Also, here is a playlist with more of these lying detector interviews. I will be watching more of these to keep getting inspiration on how to format mine. 

CCR Planning pt 1

Questions 1 and 2

I have decided to split my CCR into a podcast and a lying detector interview. I will use the podcast to discuss the first two questions 

• How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
• How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

I have always wanted to start a podcast so I thought it would be a good idea to create one for this project, I also feel like it allows me to discuss the topics engagingly and entertainingly fully. I plan to include my friends as hosts to ask me questions about my project and try to record it sometime next week, probably during the weekend. I will also be writing the script very soon. 

The editing process might be the hardest part because I plan to include intro music and insert audio clips of the research I include to make it as close to a real podcast as I can. I am excited to record this soon.

As for the questions itself, I plan to use the research I did at the beginning of my project and everything I have learned in class to inform and construct my answers. 

Audio

I have been feeling a little discouraged since I realized I have to record more footage and a little stuck since I cannot record until the end of next week, but I know I have to keep going and focus on what I can do now. 

I am gathering all the sound effects, such as the music and the car scratch, that I will use for the opening. 

For the music, I had 6 different options... I am very indecisive, I know it is an issue. However, I asked my friend Ayami for help, and she said she liked the fourth one the best. So I decided to add it to the beginning clips and while I was watching I realized that I could include clips of Maia driving to school to introduce her character and show the contrast between the two through their driving habits. 

I like this sound because it gives off the vibes of starting something new, like a new chapter, which is what is happening in my film opening so I felt like it was fitting. I will have to adjust the length when I add Maia's clips and I want the cuts to happen with the beats of the music so that is something else I will have to edit later. However, seeing my project slowly come together is exciting and is encouraging me to stay positive until I get the chance to record the new clips next week. 

I also found the perfect scratch sound and it took me a little while to get the timing right, but I finally did. I got the scratch sound from the website Freesound and the music from is Bensound, where I found all the other options I was considering too, as they are all royalty free. 

Editing day 1

 I have to re-record...

I started to edit my project YAY! To be completely honest I had not started before because I was overwhelmed and a little intimidated by the editing process, but today I decided to take on the challenge. 

I started by choosing which version of the clips I liked better, and it took me way longer than I thought it would. I am a very indecisive person and for various clips, I just could not decide between two or three. I asked my classmates for feedback and they helped me choose which ones to use. Everything seemed to be going fine while I was cropping all the clips until I looked at the time stamp and realized there was not enough footage. I was so close to crying because I started to see everything come together and got all excited and now I have to think about what to add or which parts to re-record. 

I am a little frustrated but I will not let this bring me down. I have to re-group my thoughts and stay positive. I think I can add a few clips of Maia driving before she parks and continue the conversation at the end. 

It just really sucks because I cannot record this week because I have rehearsals for the school musical I am in and next week we have our show. I will make time to record next week and hopefully get it all done this time. 

I am trying not to stress too much and I will focus on finding the audio components of the opening and start researching for my CCRs meanwhile.

Until next time, and hopefully on a more positive note. 

Credits and Fonts

Before I edited, I wanted to plan which and how many credits would be in my opening and what font I wanted to use for them. This is a crucial part of a film opening, and every rom-com opening I watched included credits. 

I want to credit the producer, director, writer, cinematographer, editor, main actors, and the music I end up using (there will be a post about that soon I promise). 

I think it is really important to give credit where it is due and I know for this particular project crediting myself over and over might be redundant but I am proud of my work and want to be accredited for it. I will also credit my friend Zain for working the camera and my friend Isabella for acting.

As for the fonts, I found a website that has a variety of fonts that people can download for free you can type in any text and it will give you samples with each font. Here are some options I am considering

I liked the first one because it has the little heart on the i, but it did not convince me fully. I found the second one and I liked it because it feels juvenile which is the vibe of the opening. The third one thought was also really cute but I think it does not match the vibe as much as I would like it to, similar to the first one, I think they give off too much of a sweet romantic vibe, and even though the movie is a rom-com, the opening has a different vibe. The last option might be my favorite because it is both juvenile and pretty while still matching the vibe of the opening and the story in general.

I am between the second and fourth because I feel like fitting the vibe of the opening is more important than it being cute hehe. I am a very indecisive person so I have not decided which one I am going to use yet... but I will, very soon. There will be an update, I promise. 

Until next time!

Filming pt. 2

 Action... again

After our quick snack break, we got right back into filming and this is where I thanked myself for starting with the dialogue scenes because the last few scenes were so much easier and less time-consuming which was perfect as we were all hot and tired from being outside for so long. It also helped that most scenes we had left were from the inside of the car so we had AC, yay!

First, we recorded the middle scenes right before "scratching" the car. We made sure to get various shots of the same scene so I could choose the best one when I edit it later. We spent quite some time doing this scene because I wanted it to look as realistic as possible (without actually scratching any of the cars, of course). 

Then we recorded the beginning scenes where Jade drives to school and parks in her spot. Those were honestly pretty easy as there was no dialogue and since Isabella was concentrated on driving she did not overthink her acting too much. 

And that was it! Once I edit and revise I will schedule another filming day if needed, but I got so much footage that I think I will not need it (fingers crossed).

Here is some raw footage that we took (and yes, it is sped up so that it is not painfully long to watch, I promise my voice is not that squeaky and we were not driving fast in a parking lot). 

Also, a little not-so-fun fact, I had to go to the carwash by myself for the first time to get all the drawings off. I was so nervous because the only time I had done it before I was with my dad (whose job is to fix cars...) yelling at me to do it right. Long story short, I was so nervous and concentrated on getting the tire in the right spot that I forgot to roll my window up... It also started raining the second I got out of the carwash. On top of everything this what my car looked like the next morning, I have no idea how that happened, but it is safe to say I will not be taking my car to the carwash again any time soon. That's it, I hope you laughed at this, I did not. 

Until next time!

Filming pt. 1

 Action!

After I got everything ready, we started filming. I directed every shot and reviewed the angles before recording each scene. First, we recorded all the scenes that had dialogue in them as I thought they were going to be the hardest ones, and I was right. We had such a hard time not laughing and trying to stay serious for a few seconds after our lines to create a buffer. 

We recorded the scenes from inside Jade's car right before the scratch and her reaction to the scratch, which were a little frustrating to do as Isabella kept laughing whenever she looked at me, so I moved behind Zain who was recording and directed from there so she would not laugh and thankfully, that worked. 

Then we did Maia's line before she got out of the car which also took a few tries because I was acting and directing at the same time and I could not take myself seriously until after a few tries, but eventually we got the shot. We recorded all the lines at the end of the opening which also took a little while since we kept messing up and I wanted to get various versions of the same line so that I could choose which ones fit the best.

I think one of the hardest parts was to make the lines sound like I had envisioned them and to not get frustrated when things did not work on the first try. The good thing is that my friends kept a smile on my face and we kept trying until the scenes came out the way I wanted them to. Overall it was a successful filming session and I did have a lot of fun. 

Here is proof we had fun hahaha

At this point, we thought of calling it a day and resuming the next day, but I decided to continue since we only had the easy scenes left and I did not want to risk the parking spots being taken the next day or any inconsistency with having different cars parked in the proximity of ours. So we took a quick snack break and finished after. I will blog about part two of filming in the following days because I do not have time right now oops, TO BE CONTINUED...

But before I go, here is a very unflattering picture of Zain and I that Isabella took because why not?

Preparing to film

Almost there!

It is finally happening—I started recording! This post will focus on all the preparations we made before we started recording. The day before, we coordinated all the outfits and props we would need for the filming day. 

My friends and I got to leave school at 12:30 on Friday, so we went straight to the library and started preparing everything. We chose two parking spots that were next to each other, where we liked the scenery behind them, and in a spot where not many cars were driving by. We then painted my car with chalk markers to showcase Maia's artsy personality.

Then we changed into our outfits and did our makeup. The eyeshadow for Maia was the hardest part as none of us are experts at doing makeup, so we had to trust the process. Thankfully, I think we did a decent job as the result looked good. Next, my friend Zain has a camera and mics that she let me use for this project, so we set everything up and tried it out to double check everything was working the way I wanted it. 

I then practiced parking my car next to Isabella's without actually scratching it and we started to work out which angles would look best to make it seem like I scratched it. Lastly, we took a water break and practiced our lines and decided to change a few of them that felt awkward to something that felt more natural for each of us. 

Here are some clips I took of my friends and I decorating the car and doing the makeup and some pictures we took before filming:

Preparation for filming 

 

Mise-en-scene (costumes and makeup)

 Appearance matters

I am continuing to plan for the production of my film opening, the next mise-en-scene element I want to consider is costuming and makeup as it is something that represents the character's personalities. 

For Jade, I was thinking of a cute sweater, sweatpants, and comfy shoes, maybe UGGs. She would not think too much about her outfit but she still has some class and I want to channel that through her costume. I want her to have her hair up in a messy bun and have minimal makeup on as she likes to look put together without going all out. 

                        

 

As for Maia, I want her to wear overalls, a T-shirt, converse shoes, a lot of bracelets, and a bandana in her hair. I want her outfit to fit the vibe of the character and I think this is something she would wear. For her makeup, I wanted to do a simple base but add eyeshadow and maybe eyeliner to show she enjoys doing her makeup as a form of self-expression.

               

   . 

I know costuming and makeup is a big part of mise-en-scene so I wanted to plan it ahead of time. I will do my best to stick to this planning and start recording soon. I will be posting about the production process as soon as I get started!

Mise-en-scene (set and props)

It Is All in The Details!

I am preparing to start filming soon! I think one of the most important things to consider is the filming location. The actual scene takes place on the town streets and the school parking lot, so I first considered filming in my high school's student parking lot, but then I realized I could not go out there during school hours and if I were to record after school there would be too many cars driving out or if I wait until later, not many cars at all, so I scratched that idea. 

I told my friends about my project and asked for their help and one of them suggested we record in the library parking lot that is right in front of our school. I thought it was a perfect idea since the building is school-like and the parking lot is usually pretty full and if we go at the right time there will not be too much movement.

All my friends were eager to help me with this project, in fact, my friend Isabella asked me if she could play the main character, Jade. I agreed because I trust her and because I feel like she fits the vibes of the character well. As for the love interest Maia, I decided to play her myself since I have a very specific vision for her and feel like I need to capture her essence perfectly. Since I will not be recording the film myself, my other friends offered to help, but I will be the one directing the whole process and telling them what to do. 

This is her in the first picture, I am the one in the second and the third is a picture of both of us. 

.       

 

As for the props, we will be using our cars and this is actually gonna work out perfectly because Isabella just got a new car that perfectly matches Jade's vibes. As for my car, I am planning on asking my friend Sara (who loves drawing) to use chalk markers and draw on the windows of my car so we can make it more colorful and fitting for Maia's personality. We will also be emptying our cars and just putting in the things we think each character would have in their car. 

For Jade, we will put a dark-colored backpack in the passenger seat with notebooks and notes. I also want her to have some kind of drink in her cup holder and a gym bag in the back of her car. I want her headphones to also be somewhere visible in her car. I think the most important thing for Jade is for everything to look organized and clean. 

On the other hand, for Maia, I am planning on putting clothes, paint supplies, and even toys in the back seat. I want it to represent her messy but full life, I also want to make sure everything looks colorful when it comes to her. 

I am extremely excited to start filming, I want to see how everything comes together and bring my vision to life. 

Production Planning 2

Script 

I created a script to help myself direct the opening. I used a formatting template and found directions to make it like an actual script, it all feels so official now. Here is a screen shot of the website where I found the template, I thought it was really useful to have various examples to look at.

Screenplay scripts are used as part of the planning process for films and TV shows as they are used to put someone's idea or vision into words so other people can understand it and bring the production to life. Scripts describe the setting, the key mise-en-scene elements, the character's attitudes, and the dialogue between characters. It is like a set of instructions for the director to interpret. 

I think scripts are really useful and key to a successful production so here is a link to my script!

Sources:

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/screenplay-example-download/

Production Planning

 Storyboard

I created a storyboard to plan out the scenes and shots I want to do for my opening. I will use this as a guide and starting point for the production process of the film opening. It is rough draft and it helped me organize my thoughts and ideas.

Here is a copy of my storyboard:

I know it is not perfect and that my drawing skills are not amazing, but creating this helped me map how I want to organize the scenes and which scenes are crucial for the plot to be understood. I will make my script next, basing it on this storyboard. I am excited to start recording, which will happen soon. I know I might still change or replace a few things, but I still want to plan correctly and set myself up for the best outcome possible.