LINKS!!

This is the last post I will see, but the first post you will see. Here are my links Cambridge:

Aice Media Links 

Film Opening

 

CCR Questions 1 & 2 Interview

CCR Questions 3 & 4 Youtube Video

Final Reflection

 

Learning Experience

After all my work for this project is finally completed, I truly am realizing how much my perspective on media has changed throughout the entire year taking this class. In the beginning, filmaking to me was just hitting record on a camera, but now I realize that there is so much depth nad that every scene is a choice. Learning about all these elements such as mise-en-scene, representation, editing, sound, and camera angles have not taught me how to create media, but also how to analye it properly when watching meda.

Challenges

With every journey there always comes challenges and problems that need to be overcomed and solved. Time management was a big problem that I had with this project because not only was I very busy with other things outside of school during the process of the project, but when I did have the time for this project, I procrastinated and did not use my time wisely. Other aspects like not having a high end camera and having to record with my iphone was another problem that I faced, but it also taught me how important lighting and compositing really is. I learned that the hardeware (my iphone) is simply a tool that is used, but the real story comes from the way in which that tool is manipulated to fit your character's personal world.

Moving Forward

This class has completley changed the way that I consume media. at the start, I was a rookie and consumed media like the average joe: scrolling on reels hours upon hours mindlessley without any realy analyzation or thinking. But now when I am watching a movie for example, I catch myself subconsciously trying to analyze the cuts, the sound, the camera angles, the mise-en-scene, etc. And even if I do not pursue film or media as career, these skills that I have learned will stay with me and will be put to use.

Editing CCR

 Editing

So by now I just finished editing my CCR and I tried to add in multiple sounds, clips from my film, and images to make it look better.

For example, I used this image here, which is about the young and rubicam's 4cs theory. I incorporated it into my CCR as I was talking about it and also included a little ding sound the image popped up because I had seen something like that before.

Here is a recording of my timeline and also how I incorporated scenes from my film into my CCR. In this clip, I was talking about the contrast that was created between the clothing styles of my character and I brought in clips that show the character wearing both outfits.

References for CCR:

    Fiveable. (2025, September). Social realism. https://fiveable.me/key-terms/film-and-media-theory/social-realism

    Somerset, E. (2020). Social realism: A guide to the genre. BFI Screenonline. https://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/444789/index.html

Chase, N. (s. d.). Film distribution: The ultimate guide for filmmakers. Neil Chase Film. https://neilchasefilm.com/film-distribution/

    T2 Informatik. (n.d.). Target audience. Smartpedia. https://t2informatik.de/en/smartpedia/target-audience/

    Binti Ahmad Shahrir, S. N. (n.d.). Young & Rubicam's 4Cs theory [Presentasi]. Prezi. https://prezi.com/p/lf6m1gvwrg3l/young-rubicams-4cs-theory/

    Justin Brown - Primal Video. (2024, September 9). Microsoft Clipchamp tutorial for beginners (The COMPLETE guide) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIreFXLK1rc

    Mansurov, N. (2023, October 12). Understanding aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Photography Life. https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography

    Status Code. (2023, June 7). The birth of the internet: From ARPANET to the World Wide Web. Medium. https://status-code.medium.com/the-birth-of-the-internet-from-arpanet-to-the-world-wide-web-eb6086334e92

CCR Production

 Just wanted to post that I just finished filming and editing my first CCR and that I ended up doing a different idea from the ones I had in my previous post. I decided to do an interview in which I was the one being interviewed by a production company and I answered questions 1 and 2. However I decided I will be doing the walk and talk for the second CCR video because it is my favorite one of all the ideas I have in that post.

Production

The production for this CCR did not take to much set up. I put on an old blazer that I had and sat my chair next to a white wall to make it look like a proffessional zoom meeting interview. I could have made this better by going onto an actual zoom meeting with one of my friends or my mom to make it look more like an online interview. The voice that is asking me the questions is my mom and I had her pre record her voice and then I edited in the questions into the video to make it sound like she was intervewing me from my computer.

CCR Production Ideas

There are so many ways that I can successfully create a creative CCR production, so this blog will just be some ideas that I have been thinking about doing for my CCR production.

Commentary

The first idea would be to have my entire opening playing while I put a bubble of me in th corner of the video making commentary on my opening, pausing the video, circling things like the lighter and explaining how it develops mise-en-scene. I actually already have experience doing this because I did something similar when creating a review for a recommendation for a movie.

Podcast

Another idea could be a podcast where I could have one of my friends help me by being in the podcast and asking me question about my opening that deal with the CCR. I also could wear some headphones and use some small microphones that can attatch to my shirt so it can make it look like a proffesional podcast.

Walk and Talk

For this idea I was thinking of doing something where I am walking in the street or the sidewalk answering question while the camera is moving in front of me. And I would answer questions as I am doing side quests along the way like helping an old lady cross the street or catching ball thrown to me by kids playing in the street and throwing it back. This would make the production look so much more immersive and entertaining. I got this idea from the movie Wolf of Wall street, where Leonardo Dicaprio breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience. to watch the clip link on the video below.

References: 

    Best Part. (2025, 19 September). The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - Jordan Belfort 4th Wall Break | Best Part| Absolutely fcking not [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-vtWkRH6l4

Researching for CCR Question #4

 Prompt: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

Hardware

I shot this film on an iphone 16 pro because I unfortunately did not have access to a high quality camera. Most of the shots were handheld shots because the shakiness from holding the camera helps the audience feel the main character's anxiety and nerves. We also used a microphone for some of the foley sounds we needed to do like the lighter flickering and the voice of the mom.

Software

I brought all my footage into the editing software called clipchamp where I did all my editing on. I used multi layered editing to where I had multiple layers of clips and sounds on top of each other to create one piece. I did not just have one straight video, instead I had a row for multiple correction and foley sounds and some color correction.

Online

Transfering the files from my phone to my computer was quite easy because my phone connect directly to my macbook, so all I had to do was record the videos on my phone and they would show up on my computer. To hold all my files however, I used google drive which is what is holding my film opening. I also used youtube and other wbesites online to help me understand lighting, editing, sound, etc. 

Script: 

I shot this film on an iphone 16 pro because I unfortunately did not have access to a high quality camera. Most of the shots were handheld shots because the shakiness from holding the camera helps the audience feel the main character's anxiety and nerves. We also used a microphone for some of the foley sounds we needed to do like the lighter flickering and the voice of the mom.

I brought all my footage into the editing software called clipchamp where I did all my editing on. I used multi layered editing to where I had multiple layers of clips and sounds on top of each other to create one piece. I did not just have one straight video, instead I had a row for multiple correction and foley sounds and some color correction.

Transfering the files from my phone to my computer was quite easy because my phone connect directly to my macbook, so all I had to do was record the videos on my phone and they would show up on my computer. To hold all my files however, I used google drive which is what is holding my film opening. I also used youtube and other wbesites online to help me understand lighting, editing, sound, etc.

References:

    Justin Brown - Primal Video. (2024, September 9). Microsoft Clipchamp tutorial for beginners (The COMPLETE guide) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIreFXLK1rc

    Mansurov, N. (2023, October 12). Understanding aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Photography Life. https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography

    Status Code. (2023, June 7). The birth of the internet: From ARPANET to the World Wide Web. Medium. https://status-code.medium.com/the-birth-of-the-internet-from-arpanet-to-the-world-wide-web-eb6086334e92

Research for CCR Question #3

Prompt: How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Growth

When I first began this class and started doing little project which helped me learn how to record and edit, my production was not horrible but also not amazing. What my production lacked from the early stages of the project were the little things and technical skills that make the difference in the viwers eyes. After all the scenes I recorded during this project, so many ideas begen to fire in my head and it made feel as if I was so creative. In the early stages of the project, the shots I took were mostly flat and bland, but as I continued to grow, I learned techniques like shadow depth of field which helped me blur the background in certain scenes like the bedroom scene. These small techniques may seem simple but they make the film so much deeper to the audience as this small technique made the character Oliver seem even more trapped in his own mind.

Audio

I realized that during my first edit, the sound of the lighter flickering in the first scene was not as crisp and loud as I had wanted it and it just ultimately did not capture the whole vibe that I was going for. To fix this I recorded seperate foley sounds which captured a louder sound of the lighter flickering by using a small good quality microphone directly next to the lighter. Learning how to sync foley sounds into my scenes were a huge jump in my technical skills in editing and helped me a lot in my film.

Editing

I learned that the scenes showing Oliver in the hallway dressed up for school needed to be longer and steadier to feel more boring which is what I was going for. But contrastingly, in the bedroom, I used faster cuts to show the chaos and and anxiety of the character. Learning this aspect really changed how I look at editing in films.

Script: 

When I first began this class and started doing little project which helped me learn how to record and edit, my production was not horrible but also not amazing. What my production lacked from the early stages of the project were the little things and technical skills that make the difference in the viwers eyes. After all the scenes I recorded during this project, so many ideas begen to fire in my head and it made feel as if I was so creative. In the early stages of the project, the shots I took were mostly flat and bland, but as I continued to grow, I learned techniques like shadow depth of field which helped me blur the background in certain scenes like the bedroom scene. These small techniques may seem simple but they make the film so much deeper to the audience as this small technique made the character Oliver seem even more trapped in his own mind.

I realized that during my first edit, the sound of the lighter flickering in the first scene was not as crisp and loud as I had wanted it and it just ultimately did not capture the whole vibe that I was going for. To fix this I recorded seperate foley sounds which captured a louder sound of the lighter flickering by using a small good quality microphone directly next to the lighter. Learning how to sync foley sounds into my scenes were a huge jump in my technical skills in editing and helped me a lot in my film.

I learned that the scenes showing Oliver in the hallway dressed up for school needed to be longer and steadier to feel more boring which is what I was going for. But contrastingly, in the bedroom, I used faster cuts to show the chaos and and anxiety of the character. Learning this aspect really changed how I look at editing in films.

Research for CCR Question #2

 Prompt: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Target Audience

The primary audience for this social realsim film would be older teens and young adults aged around 16-24 and enjoy the "coming-of-age" dramas. My audience would likely be "The Reformers" according the the young and rubicam 4Cs theory. These people tend to value social awarness and true authenticity. They would likely connect to the character's struggle in his parents' world. The engagement of the film would come from the relatibility the audience would feel to the film. Even if the viewer is not rich, they are surley to relate to the feeling of having a "secret world" or feeling the pressure from te standards of their parents.

Distribution

 For distribution we obviously would not go to a huge distribution company, instead a company like A24 because after some research, I noticed that they love films which deal with complicated teenagers like the tv show Euphoria for example. The film would also be better to be able to be streamed from home rather than the the theaters because the people who like these drama films would prefer to watch this from the comfort of their own house.

Script:

The primary audience for this social realism film would be older teens and young adults aged around 16–24 who enjoy coming-of-age dramas. My audience would likely be "The Reformers" according to the Young & Rubicam 4Cs theory. These people tend to value social awareness and true authenticity; they would likely connect to the character's struggle in his parents' world. The engagement of the film would come from the relatability the audience would feel. Even if the viewer is not rich, they are sure to relate to the feeling of having a "secret world" or feeling the pressure from the standards of their parents.

For distribution, we obviously would not go to a huge distribution company. Instead, we would look to a company like A24 because, after some research, I noticed that they love films which deal with complicated teenagers, like the TV show Euphoria for example. The film would also be better suited to be streamed from home rather than in theaters because the people who like these drama films would prefer to watch this from the comfort of their own house.

References: 

    

    Chase, N. (s. d.). Film distribution: The ultimate guide for filmmakers. Neil Chase Film. https://neilchasefilm.com/film-distribution/

    T2 Informatik. (n.d.). Target audience. Smartpedia. https://t2informatik.de/en/smartpedia/target-audience/

    Binti Ahmad Shahrir, S. N. (n.d.). Young & Rubicam's 4Cs theory [Presentasi]. Prezi. https://prezi.com/p/lf6m1gvwrg3l/young-rubicams-4cs-theory/

Research for CCR Question #1

 Prompt: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

How the Product Uses Conventions of Social Realism

• In the opening I used the conventions of a social realism film like smoking, youth rebellion, and some handheld camera movements
  
  
  
  

How the Product Challenges conventions of Social Realism 

• Typically, in movies where the main character is a "bad boy" or rebellious, they tend to come from poor backgrounds, whereas my character Oliver comes from a wealthy family which challenges the usual conventions of a social realism film. The changes the audience's expecation that money is the solution to everything.

The opening is also built on the the public side of the character vs. the private side. The mise-en-scene also develops this idea by using the white button up shirt contrasted with the dark hoodie. These elements help tell the story without using dialogue. Additionally, stereotypes of a rich kid being a "spoiled brat" were avoided and instead we represented a a wealthy kid heavliy pressured by mhis parents. The pressure to being a "straight A student" hence the title, may lead to a secret life of rebellion.

Script:

In my opening, I used the conventions of a social realism film like smoking, youth rebellion, and some handheld camera movements. However, my product also challenges these conventions. Typically, in movies where the main character is a "bad boy" or rebellious, they tend to come from poor backgrounds, whereas my character, Oliver, comes from a wealthy family. This challenges the usual conventions of social realism and changes the audience's expectation that money is the solution to everything.

The opening is built on the public side of the character versus the private side. The mise-en-scène develops this idea by using the white button-up shirt contrasted with the dark hoodie; these elements help tell the story without using dialogue. Additionally, stereotypes of a rich kid being a "spoiled brat" were avoided. Instead, we represented a wealthy kid heavily pressured by his parents. The pressure of being a "straight A student"—hence the title—may lead to a secret life of rebellion.

References:

    Fiveable. (2025, September). Social realism. https://fiveable.me/key-terms/film-and-media-theory/social-realism

    Somerset, E. (2020). Social realism: A guide to the genre. BFI Screenonline. https://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/444789/index.html

Editing

 Editing

So now that we are finally done recording, in this post I will just be going over my editing process. Most people may say that the hard work is not yet done after recording because the editing is the hard part, but for me personally, I find the editing to be the easier part only because it takes less work because I can do everything from my computer.

Here is a picture of my timeline so far. I added in some foley sounds like birds chirping and the whislting of the trees aiming to create a solid sounscape. I got these Foley sounds from Pixabay.

I took this screen recording just to show a small part of my editing process. Here I was just adding in my title card and trying to fit it in a good position in the timeline and also adding in some transitions for it.

I actually made my title card from Canva, I did this by going onto a different website which helped me pick a cool font. The website is called fontspace.com.

I then added in a pencil to replace the I in straight A's because I thought it made sense because the idea of the film was to be about the lie Oliver created about his persona. I was thinking of using a cigarette as the "I", but it just did not look good as a title, however the deeper meaning of the cigarette is better than the pencil.

More Clips

Production!!

 So by now, me and my partner are now fully done with our clips and in this post I will be just sharing some of them.

This clip here will mark the end of the film. In this clip, the character Oliver is seen walking out of the bathroom after changing his school clothes into more street clothes. the black clothes make him seem as if he is doing something wrong. he is also walking out with a bag of weed in his hands which he is about to give to someone to sell.

This clip is also very important because on this sidewalk there are two directions you can take. And the path leading straight leads to the school, but the path leading to the left does not. So by Oliver taking the path to the left it shows how he is rebellious and is intending to skip school. This will also be where I intend to place my title card as soon as he takes the left instead of going straight. The only thing I wish we did differently when recording is showing that the path straight leads to the school because it is hard for the audience to know that it does,