Brainstorming

Brainstorming

Hello! Welcome back, today's discussion will present my brainstorming. Specifically the ideas my group and I came up with. 

    As the season changes from a warm autumn breeze with notes of pumpkin spice to gusts of cold wind. In other words, as the winter season approaches we took that into consideration when discussing the film idea! As we wanted it to be engaging to the audience, we thought of possible movies that fully engaged us personally. Action! Usually in these types of movies, the action acts as a exciting moment for viewers. To conclude, we came up with a few ideas that could convey a similar excitement. 

1. Holiday Dinner Feud

    To start off, a grand "Holiday Dinner Feud." This would consist of a jolly atmosphere, the family gathering around the dinner table. However, the cheery mood would be shortly lived due to a sudden family argument starting. Although the genre of action normally has many different camera angles and shots, we decided we wanted to have more still shots. A show that demonstrates this would be Gilmore Girls. We wanted to take much inspiration from that show as many conflicts occur, however it does not take away from the warm and quirky atmosphere. Though, we started considering the pros and cons. Many pros include that it would be easy to film since a kitchen and dining room is accessible. Though, acting out an argument scene would display difficulties. 

2. Award Ceremony Speech

    With other ideas in mind we also came up with a ceremony speech. This would commence in one of us acting as a popular celebrity. Proceeding to give an inspiring and motivational speech to the people watching her. Many factors of comedy would be included as a way to engage the viewers. A huge con would be the setting since a stage would be hard to access. Though, this would be easier to act out since it would be a normal speech with comedic flair, contrasting to our other idea that consisted of more action packed dialogue. 

3. Holiday Shopping

    Lastly, we thought of another holiday themed film. With inspiration from the first idea, we thought of gift shopping and the fact that many people buy gifts during Black Friday! This would consist of a quirky and fast paste shopping spree. Many Christmas movies inspired this idea such as Home Alone, we liked the hectic mood of it. A negative side of filming this would be the difficulty in gathering a large crowd, this would be to imitate the hectic feelings of Black Friday shopping as everyone is fighting for the big deals. But a positive side would be that we would most likely be allowed to film in the public shopping area, to make it more authentic. 

Former Student Work!

Former Student Work

 

Hello everyone, welcome back! Today we will be diving in to some student works previously submitted to Cambridge!

1. Roll Call

    I find the title very intriguing, "Roll Call," evokes thought provoking ideas in the viewer! After watching the short film, I found that it had many strengths. I enjoyed how they set the scene by using a pan up to show the entire building, and it leading to the title. During the clips of her mugshots, I was entertained by the flashes made in editing to simulate they were actually taking photos. Although there were many strengths presented, I would also like to add things they could improve on. Including the interview, I felt that the tilted angles set the wrong tone for the interview. Normally, Dutch angles are used to set a feeling of nausea and discomfort, however the interview is more serious. They could fix this by using a tripod or other camera equipment that aid in steading the camera. However, I could appreciate the zoom-in on her face as it added more tension. Overall, this film would earn a nice score!

2. New Everything

    This second short film is titled, "New Everything." In short, I was quite disappointed in this film. There was no plot and it did not intrigue me as a viewer. Each clip was repetitive and it really did not evoke any feelings! There was no variety in camera angles used, I think they could improve on that by using various angles we have learned in the AICE Media class. Although, I appreciated the realism and the way they used the actual school to set the scene. Also, the background characters were used as actors and it further set the realism for the scenes. Overall, this film was decent but could be improved on.

3. Dreamland

    Thirdly! We have a short film called, "Dreamland." The title sequence is "dreamy" and elegant. The editing was nicely done, using different angles to capture the flowers. However, the scene abruptly cuts to what I thought was completely unrelated. It cuts to them at a pharmacy, though, I can appreciate that they used an actual pharmacy such as Walgreen's. They could have fixed the abrupt cut by taking more time to develop the middle of the story, because frankly, there is no story!

4. Dear Lover 

    Next up is the fourth one and it is titled "Dear Lover." After watching the film, I was very interested and found myself immersed in the story. I liked the different angles and movements used. They also included flashbacks which I found unique! The flashbacks added more context to the story. The transitions also set the scene by adding more serious tones. During the re-telling of their story, I felt like they could improve by using a zoom-in instead of just having the camera close to her face. Using this technique it would have tied the story together using more tension. Overall a great story!

5. Dare to Thrill

    Last but certainly not least! We have "Dare to Thrill." I really enjoyed this one! Throughout the watching process I kept thinking how professionally done it had been. Especially the opening, it was unique on how they opened it with, "Garzon Productions." True to the title, I was thrilled throughout the entire film and I appreciated how they had an actual story that was clear and well thought out. They really paid deep attention to any details they could include. At the end, there was a cliff hanger and it truly made me on edge. What was in the trunk? Although I think they could improve by adding more of a story to the part they found the key. I felt it was too quick and easy, and if this film proves to be thrilling, then I would appreciate more build up. Overall, a fantastic film to finish this blog!

Group members

 Group Members

    Hello! Today I will be introducing all of my dear group members. My group consists of four members including me. As well as myself, all of my members are students at Everglades High School and are enrolled in AICE Media Studies.

    To start off, Zadie Garcia immediately stood out as a person with many qualities. For group projects, there are many responsibilities needed from each member. First and foremost, Zadie is very organized and her ability to stay on task shows her commitment as a trusted member of the team. Beyond this, her communication skills are greatly appreciated in which she brainstorms and communicates ideas in a well manner. Overall, all these qualities ensure that our discussions will be productive and successful.

    Next, our second vital member would be a devoted person who goes by Tatyana Augustin! When it came down to selecting hard-workers, without a doubt Tatyana came to mind. Her creative talents are effortless when it comes to projects like this one. She is not afraid to think outside the box and brainstorm ideas effortlessly. Her creativity will allow the group to work thoroughly in developing a fantastic final product!

    Last but not least, another dedicated student would be the infamous Tiffany Hu. With her strong work ethic and natural leadership skills, she would play a perfect role in working with us. With similar qualities as Tatyana, in terms of creativity, I see the potential in them working together to create something extraordinary! To conclude, I am sure that every one of these hard-working individuals will work together flawlessly.

Story Boarding

Storyboarding: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

    Welcome back audience! Today we will be immersing ourselves in the importance of story boarding. Story boarding is an essential part in the process of films, presentations, and overall story telling. Story boarding serves as a blueprint in order to plan out a series of events. Throughout this process, I learned the ways of story boarding and have come to appreciate the process. Within this blog, I will evaluate what I have learned, the importance, and what I found challenging about story boarding!

    To start off, I found it interesting that filmmakers not only needed to write but sketch a plan before executing it. Story boarding utilizes the sequence of images along with descriptions to represent the shots of the actual film. I have learned that it helps in shifting abstract ideas into a visual format, which allows filmmakers to edit and fix before executing the actual film. Also allowing for the experimenting of different angles, shots, and movements. Furthermore, the importance of story boarding should not be underestimated. It is time and cost efficient in which it prepares the plan beforehand. It also serves as a communication tool for directors, as they will be able to work together efficiently with the usage of sketches. Moving forward, although story boarding essentially allows a smoother film process, there are a few challenges that follow! During the sketching process, it can be very time consuming, creating these plans requires intricate descriptions. Although artistic capabilities may not be required for a fantastic story board, it could act as a disability when sketching!

    In conclusion, story boarding serves as an essential part in the creative processes of film! It brings out clarity and efficiency. Despite the slight challenges, I believe this blue print procedure is crucial. Embracing this process can really bring out the best in films, in allowing the correct shots and more!

My Story Board:

The Devil Wears Prada (2006): Andy's Interview

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2f2Kqt_KcE