Planning
During the planning process I learned a lot about genre conventions, target audience, representation, and how media is distributed. I discovered what it is like to be a content creator and I found out about local film festivals in the area. With the coronavirus taking away my initial plans of my setting and cast, I was able to create a plan B and create my film opening. I developed many skills one of which was time management. During the planning process I created schedules and I had to organize myself to make the production process carry out smoothly.
Cast
Being in quarantine I was not able to film with either Julia or Briana from my original cast. Therefore, the lead role had to change, so my step sister Valari Cronin decided to take the part. She is 14 years old but looks older for her age so she fit the role fine and I was able to make it work.
Costume design
My friend Paulina Lopez is the one person I know that loves fashion. At her school she participates in coordinating the annual fashion show, so when I asked for her guidance she was very helpful. I decided to paint a butterfly on the back of a jacket to have a signature look for my main character. Although I did create this piece she inspired me to do so. The other elements of her costume were small accessories that helped add to Skylar's outgoing and sweet personality.
Finding a setting and creating props
Originally I planned to film in Briana Farnsworth's room, she was my first pick for the original lead role. I was planning to bring props such as the record player, art set up, guitar, and whiteboard, however that had to change. The setting switched to my room because of not being allowed out during this pandemic. I implemented all of the props in my room and added a colorful tapestry to my bed, and flowers by the window to add more vibrant colors to the set and build up her personality.
Filming
Filming was a two day process. I decided that this would be a better way for me to organize my time and not overwhelm my sister with having to re shoot most of the footage. A new day gave myself time to plan and gave my sister a break. I filmed the first half of the opening on one day and the other half the next day. I ran in to a few problems with lighting and it was hard to film shots with a mirror without being in the frame. I also desired to use some filming equipment to help with my shots but I was limited because of a lack of resources.
Editing
I spent days editing to finally get it good enough for my liking. I began with using the app VideoShop
to see a quick rough draft example of what my opening was going to look like. I then used WeVideo as my main platform for the final product. I had to learn how to include text so I watched tutorial videos. I had a lot of raw footage to work with so the selection process for what clip to use took a while. I also discovered a new font that I preferred better, I used transitions and included the credits in a unique way. On WeVideo I was able to edit both of my videos with no complications, overall it was an organized and stress free process.
Sound
I wanted to start the opening with diegetic sound so I included a bird chipping track and some other natural sound elements to make the scene more realistic. I balanced the sound effects and original sound of the videos to make the scene sound better. I used Audiolibrary and YouTube copyright free music to add to the opening. I wanted music instead of dialogue or just regular sound because I thought it would make the scene more cheerful and add a positive mood to the overall production.
Although the sound can get repetitive, I believe it does it's job in making the video flow smoothly and it matches the tone of the film. For my CCR I used a small microphone to record the voiceover element of the video.
Technology
I used my iPhone 8 plus to film this production and I edited on my MacBook Air. I used various websites in the research and planning process, I also used my instructor's website for guidance and examples of past projects to help me. I used the app Pinterest for costume design inspiration, I used VideoShop for my rough draft of the opening, and I used WeVideo to edit my final production. I created title covers for my film on PicsArt as an additional unique element of the production process.
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