And at last I see the light And it's like the fog has lifted

The final update...

So, now that everything is officially finished, I guess it's time to provide the links for everything.

short film: YouTube

social media: Tumblr page

~

This project has definitely been a whirlwind. I'm not sad it's over, in fact I'm actually glad it's finished. It's a big relief and a weight off my shoulders.

I think I did the best I could with what and I had, and in that respect, I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish. 

I don't know how good my project is as a whole/ I tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist overly critical of myself when things don't turn out exactly how I wanted them to (or just in general really).

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making this (okay, there was no blood, maybe a little sweat, but definitely some tears; okay, many tears), so after all this effort, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it.

Anyway, that's all for forever.

There won't be a next time... sad, I know.

~fin~

When Will My Reflection Show Who I Am Inside - Critical Reflection Essay

An update...

It's that time of the project. Time for the critical reflection. 

So, let's get down to business... to defeat... this essay (I'm sorry, I had to).

~~~

The short film, 'ctrl z', is meant to depict the writing process and what authors may go through while writing. Both the actions of the author and the changes to the story being written are reflected through the use of live action and animated sequences. The piece is intended as a short, comedic film that is relatable to those who watch it.

In order to create the best effect for this film, different types of animations were researched. The one selected, an animatic, was deemed as being the best fit for the project. This is due to the fact that it does not require as much time and work as a regular animation. This was seen as beneficial to the project for a couple of different reasons. The first reason being that, since there was a limited amount of time given to complete the project, going with the style of animation that required less time seemed to be the better option of the two available. Also, due to the nature of an animatic, with it essentially being an animated storyboard, it has a certain look and tone that aligns with the idea of the short film. It aligns with the idea of creating something that is still a work in progress, thus the fact that the animatic is not a fully completed animation, works in the favor of the piece.

While researching, there were not many productions that were found to have matched the specific idea of the short film, which is a mixture of animation and live action in one film, but separate from each other. Many productions that include both animation and live action have them intertwined, such as the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Due to the lack of productions available, there was not much to base the short film, ‘ctrl z’, on. Therefore, it was necessary to have to improvise and make things up along the way. However, one production that did somewhat match the idea that the short film was going for was the YouTube video Musical Fiction by Rudy Mancuso; it alternates from the reality of the song writer to the fictional story he is creating through his song. This inspired the structure of the short film, ‘ctrl z’.

As the short film, ‘ctrl z’, is meant as more of an observational comedy, and not a traditional comedy, so the conventions used by this short film were taken specifically from the sub-genre of observational comedy. This includes taking an aspect of everyday life and relaying it in a humorous manner that would be relatable to the audience.

In the case of the short film ‘ctrl z’, the target audience includes writers from the ages 13-35, both male and females. The component of the short film would be attractive to the target audience as it features a relatable aspect of their lives/work. It is a situation that they specifically would have the ability and experience to relate to. In spite of the fact that the content itself is relatable to all ages, the addition of animation may not be as appealing to the higher end of the target audience than it would be to the younger teens. The social media page on Tumblr would engage the target audience as it carries the same tone and goal of the short film. It is meant to be relatable to the target audience while also promoting the short film. This is one reason why Tumblr was chosen, because of the fact that it allows for a more informal approach to the target audience. In order to be relatable to the target audience, the social media page contains jokes and inspirational quotes specifically meant for writers; for the times when they need a little extra motivation or get stuck in a phase of writer’s block. It contains tips and helpful advice that is specific to writers and would not apply to any other group. Tumblr already has an established community of writers, thus is another reason for why it was chosen. It would be easier to target them using Tumblr rather than a larger, more broad platform, such as Instagram.

The different elements are meant to work together in order to create a certain brand identity. They are meant to facilitate the creation of a community and environment where writers can feel welcomed and relaxed. The short film, ‘ctrl z’, and the social media page work together to create this brand image. The short film creates a piece of relatable content for the target audience of writers while the social media page creates a safe place for them. The final component of the project is the postcard advertisement. This third component is less specific in its approach of targeting the target audience. It can be viewed as more of a general ad that may appeal to and interest anyone who happens to receive it. In spite of the fact that it is more general and less specific, it visually relates to the other two components as they are all cohesive in their appearance.

Overall, I believe the products of the short film, social media page, and postcard advertisement to be successful in representing the community of writers and the process they go through when writing, and their goals of creating relatable content and creating a welcoming environment and community for writers to join and be a part of.

Bella Note

 A not so little update...

It really is a beautiful night, and I am about to tell you why, right now.

The project is finished. It's finally over. (I know, I can't believe it either)

Overall, this project has been pretty stressful. For many reasons. The first being the sheer size of it. It's a large project with a lot of different components. I may have made it more difficult for myself at multiple points, but that's kind of my thing (I don't know why I'm like this either).

I also doubted myself a lot throughout this whole process and considered changing my plan (which definitely went off the rails and had to be thrown away, but we already knew it would) multiple times. I didn't though. I stuck with it and I'm not completely disappointed with the outcome.

I'm definitely glad I decided to do an animatic/live action mix instead of a full blown animation (that would have been awful). It was still a lot of work, but I don't think I was as stressed out by it as I was last year. Or, at the very least, the stress I was feeling wasn't as warranted as it was last year.

This year, I think most of my stress and anxiety was focused around being able to get all three components done on time and to a standard that I would be proud to present. I can be quite a perfectionist and I am always my biggest critic, so I can't say if the final products are actually what I think they are. Personally, I think there is a lot of room for improvement. I'm not really sure if they lived up to my expectations of what I thought it could be, but maybe I'm just biased.

I definitely learned a lot from this project. I learned a lot of new editing techniques using Adobe Premiere Pro. I learned about animatics, how to make them, and the animation feature on Procreate. I learned about advertising/marketing. In summary, I learned a lot (I don't know if that was clear). I don't think I would be able to detail everything I learned.

There were definitely some highs and lows that came with this project. The highs being the times when I thought everything was going well, and that I could possibly, actually pull this off. The lows being the times when i had absolutely no motivation to do this project (none, nada, nil, zip, zilch, zero). But I'm glad I persevered through it all. It really was a step outside of my comfort zone and I'm glad I was able to produce something different from what I may have normally done.

This project really helped me to embrace a more creative idea and approach and got me to think differently about a few things.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time... (which will be the last time)

Did I Mention...

A little update...

Did I mention that I started the animation? No? Well, I did.

I also decided to change the style. I was going to do a cartoony style, but now I'm going with a more realistic style. The cartoony style would have been easier and taken less time and detail, but I couldn't decide on a style that I liked. So, I'm going with something more realistic looking (but not completely realism, it's still going to be somewhat cartoony).

I finished the basic images for what I need. All I have to do is go back in with shading/coloring and possibly add in extra images if I think I need to.

This is the rough sketch of what it's going to look like.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

The World Will Know

 A little update...

Okay, so social media.

I haven't thought much on this previously as I wanted to focus on the film, since it's the largest part of the project. 

I wasn't too sure about which platform to use, but I think I want to use Tumblr. It's popular among the target audience (being older teens/young adults, writers, and people who enjoy comedy/relatable jokes).

Plus, I can be more informal on Tumblr than on other platforms, like Instagram.

It has a lot of features that I could use:

I can upload text or audio posts. I can upload pictures, gifs, or videos. I can uploads quotes or links.

I can reblog (repost) things from other creators.

There's also a feature where I would be able to respond to any questions or messages that are sent from followers and post it.

So I created an account...

I don't know if I like the header image, but at the moment I don't know what else to put, so it's gonna stay for now.

I plan to make posts promoting the film, showing some behind the scenes clips/shots, and other things related to writing/art (like inspirational quotes).

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

With a Smile and a Song

 A little update...

Okay, so now that the rough draft of the film is done, I've started looking for music to insert. I don't want anything too dramatic; just a chill track to play quietly in the background.

I'm going to start by looking up royalty free LoFi music to see what comes up (I listen to a lot of LoFi music when doing work, so it seems fitting). LoFi music has that relaxed tone that I'm looking for.

After googling it, the first thing to pop up was a YouTube playlist. So I searched up some more directly on YouTube to see what I would find.

The playlists are hours long so I'll listen to them later (probably while doing homework) and see if anything stands out to me.

The second thing to pop up was Free Music Archive

I looked under the genre of "Instrumental" and then the sub-genre of of soundtrack. Then I just went down the list of songs and tried to find something that I liked. I didn't really find anything that I liked.

On to option three!

I figured I may have been limiting myself too much by searching specifically for LoFi music, so I searched for "royalty free music".

Bensound was one of the first sites to pop up. I went to the cinematic tab to look for something.

But, alas, I was once again unable to find anything that I liked.

Going back to royalty free Lo-Fi music, I found the website mixkit.commixkit.com. 

It didn't have as large a selection as some of the other websites, but I did find a couple of tracks that I liked, so I'm going to try them out and see how I like them.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

A little update...

Good news! Fantastic news! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious news!!!

I got the titles to work!!! This whole thing with the titles has definitely been a roller coaster.

I don't know what was wrong or why it was not working before (probably user error if I'm being honest), but it doesn't matter now because I got it to work and I'm super happy about it.

It was really frustrating me and bringing down my whole mood... so I'm glad it's working now.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Un Poco Loco

 A little update...

I'm working on the titles in Adobe Premiere Pro, but its... not... working. And I don't know why. It's frustrating me. 

When I add an effect, it is supposedly added, but it doesn't show it doing anything on the playback. So... I'm not really sure what's wrong here.

I tried quitting the program and re-opening it. I tried deleting the clip and re-adding it and the transition. Neither of those have worked. I created a new title clip and it's still... not... working.

So, I'm just going to move on and come back to it later, Because I don't know what else to do.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Friends on the Other Side

 A little update...

We had another group meeting today.

I didn't have much to ask in regards to the actual film, but I did ask their opinion about the social platform that I should choose.

I have been considering either Instagram or Tumblr.

They thought that Tumblr could be a good idea based on my target audience.

I'll make a blog post (eventually) going more into depth for each to officially decide which I'm gonna do.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Collision of Worlds

 A little update...

I have started editing. Have I finished the animation yet? No. But I figured if I started editing now, it would be less work later.

I imported the live action parts that I filmed and the audio into Adobe Premiere Pro and have begun to edit those. Thus far, I've created a basic layout of what I want. I separated the clips and put them in order according to the storyboard, leaving little spaces in between so I know where I need to put the animated sequences in the future. 

I've also created the title cards and created a place holder for the credits.

I'm probably going to insert the animated sequences as I create them and edit as I go. That way it should be less work at the end (editing wise, at least).

It's going quite well so far, hopefully that continues.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...