CCR#2

 March 13, 2025

CC2 #2

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

I will be doing an interview while baking something. This way the viewers will be entertained while listening what is being said about the film.

Script:

Interviewer: How does your film engage with audiences?

Response:
The film connects with audiences by relating with universal feelings. Especially the emotional journey of growing up and transitioning into adulthood. Everyone has experienced that moment of change, whether it's leaving your childhood behind or going into a new chapter, like going to college. We really show those relatable moments of nostalgia and self-reflection, making the audience reflect on their own experiences.

Interviewer: I love that! How do you think people will relate to the protagonist, Piper?

Response:
Piper's struggle is something almost everyone can understand. She’s overwhelmed with the pressure of growing up and dealing with expectations, all while trying to hold onto her past. It’s something many people go through, especially at this life transition. Her story relates to people that have had to face tough choices about moving forward and leaving things behind.

Interviewer: Right, that definitely is something many people can relate too. How will the film be distributed to reach a wide audience?

Response:
We’d aim for Youtube, since they cater to younger audiences and the coming-of-age genre does well there and due to our production not being a big name yet. The film would also be at film festivals. It could build media talk and connect with audiences looking for something more emotionally relatable.

Interviewer: That sounds like a solid strategy. How about social media—how would you use that to connect with viewers?

Response:
Social media is huge factor! We’d share behind-the-scenes footage and teaser trailers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Engaging with influencers or content creators who’ve gone through similar life transitions could also help connect with viewers. It would make it feel personal.

Interviewer: I see! So, what impact do you hope the film will have long-term?

Response:
Ultimately, I hope the film encourages viewers to embrace change, even if it's scary. It's a reminder that transitions are a natural part of growing up and everyone goes through it. I think it’ll be something people look back on as they grow older, reflecting on their own memories and growth.

Interviewer: I love that. It sounds like a film that stays with you even after it’s over!

Response:
Exactly! It’s all about capturing the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to the past while moving into the future.

Group meeting #2

 March 11, 2025

My 2nd Group Meeting!

Heyy Cambridge!!! My teacher put my class in groups so that we can share with we eachother what we are doing and how we can help each other better our openings. 2 people in my group were absent so it was just 4 of us. My group was Davis, Santiago, Sarojini, and me. 

Davis:

Davis is doing a drama film opening. His opening is called accepted and it is also silent. His story line is 2 bestfriends wanting to go to the same college but only one of the friends gets accepted. He wanted to truly capture the emotion so there was no script. He did not know yet, what he was going to do for the CCR's.

Santiago:

Santiago is almost done filming his sci-fi genre opening. He is doing a film where a planet is going to crash on earth. Some conflicts he ran into was the filming in the gas station, the owner has not been there to allow them the right to film so they might have to switch locations and they had klighting issues due to the sun going down to quickly. They will be using CGI like aftereffects and blender for editing. He is thinking of doing a simple talk show for his CCR.

Sarojini:

Sarojini is doing a rom-com style film opening, at first she wanted to do horror but wanted to deviate from commonality.She took inspo from “to all the boys i’ve ever loved”, and from 70’s themed, movies like “Clueless”. The plot is a worker named Ethan finds “Help wanted” for house, and meets girl called Lilly, who’s his "dream girl”. The opening will show contrast between both characters and hint at a connection. She is done filming and plans on adding a vintage filter to give off that 70's feel. She had lighting issues, filmed during golden hour, by time done filming some scenes the light was gone so she took second day to film.

Sienna:

For me, I was given a tip to put my title in the middle of the film. They said it would be best to add at near the surprise. Everything else they thought was good and can't wait to see the finally product!

Setback

 March 9th, 2025

Major SETBACK!!!

Today we were supposed to finish filming and refilming some of our final clips. Unfortunately I got sick, throwing up everything I ate and being nauseous due to not having any food in my stomach. I was so sad that I wasn't feeling good but my teammates reassured me and they got together to get more editing done. We all talked and decided to reschedule this filming day for Tuesday the 11th. While my teammates were together they thought of script change towards the end to better fit our film. Piper was going to scroll through her camera roll, looking at memories and videos from high school. Instead, we decided that while she was in the bathroom, she received a text from her friend saying, "OMG, I edited a bunch of videos of us throughout high school! Look!" Her friend sends her a compilation of their moments together, and after watching it, Piper decides to call her friend so they can go out one last time before she leaves for college. They called me asking if I agreed with the change and I did so were going to go with it.

Sick "Piper"

Editing #1

 March 8th, 2025

Editing Day 1!!

Whats up Cambridge!!! Today we decided to officially start our editing process. As I previously mentioned we don't have all of our clips done but we decided that it was better to start now rather than later. We don't want to stress ourselves out so we want to get as much done as possible.

None of use really know how to edit or use Adobe Premiere so we decided that it would be beneficial to watch some videos on it and look up what specific buttons/tools did. 

https://youtu.be/gs2o5LiR5To?si=wWy7Dr9W7rsj_GiA

Our biggest challenge while starting this process was audio. We needed to cancel out a specific noise that was in the clip without cancelling out all the noise but we couldn't figure it out. Everytime we thought we had it the clip would just be fully mute or just not sound right.After looking watching another video we finally figured out what we were doing wrong and how to fix it! We had to add fades which fixed our problem.

This whole editing process is teaching us so much and I can't wait to see how our finished production will turn out!

Post- Production

 March 6, 2025

Sorting through the clips

Hello Cambridge!!!! Today marks the start of our post-production process! We don't have all of the clips that we need to fully start the editing processes but we decided to sort through the footage that we have. We decided on what clips we needed to refilm and which clip takes were good and useable for the opening. 

During this process we imported all the clips into Adobe Premiere. We did noticed that some of our clips were either too shaky or I/Piper would smile towards the end making the clips too short for our liking. We want this to be as authentic as possible to we decided we need to refilm that. We are taking the time to do so the 9th which is Sunday, so we can finally finish filming and start this editing process.

CCR Question #1

March 4, 2025

Research For CCR Question #1

The question that will be getting answered today is: How does your product use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social groups or issues? 

Hey Cambridge!!! Today I will being doing research for my first CCR question. The coming-of-age genre is something many teens can relate to causing a connection with the film and them. Personally, seeing how people and everything around them changes as they grow up is very interesting. Watching the harsh and good times of the whole process shows the reality of it all which is something that people can find relatable causing it to be mine and many others favorite genres.

 

Mean Girls (2004) is a perfect example on the stereotypes (popular girls, nerds, emos, cheerleaders, etc) that are seen in highschool and the harsh reality of bullies/mean girls.  It highlights the trying to fit aspect while also reminding yourself to be the most authentic version of yourself. 

13 Reasons Why (2017) shows the different struggles/ harsh reality people can be going through. It teaches awareness on finding help and shows that everyone matters. Never judge someone because you could have no clue on what they are going through is the overall point of the show.

 

Genre conventions

Transition: Piper is going from high school to college. She is stepping into a completely new chapter in her life which can be scary. Piper feels reminiscent on the past having so many amazing memories from the past and that all is changing now. This is a feeling many high schoolers can relate to.

Setting: The party setting is nothing surprising to the coming-of-age genre. Parties are a big aspect in the teenage life so we thought it would be perfect to incorporate that into Piper's graduation. It somewhere that teenagers can let loose and have no worries but it can also be overwhelming as seen in Piper's situation. The bathroom is also a pivotal place for teens to go when they feel overwhelmed or not good, it is somewhere they can hide and let everything out.

Emotional shift: The emotional shift is something seen in all films for this genre. It highlights the different emotions one can feel and how they deal with it. Piper going from having a good time to getting a wave of nostalgia shows how quick ones mood can change. Her going to the bathroom highlights that it is a spot where she can get away from everyone, signifying that it is a "safe place" for her. 

Production Progress

 March 2, 2025

Filming Day 3

Cambridge today is the day we have all been waiting for...... THE PARTY!!! Piper's graduation party was finally today. It was a nerve wracking film day due to use needing other people but they had their game face on and helped us complete our shots.

The first thing we did was decorate. We blew up balloons and put up banners in the back to make the party authentic. We add drinks and food to the set due to it being things that would normally be set up at a party. Everyone began to arrive and they were all dress accordingly which was fantastic! 

We began to shoot the initial surprise where Piper walks in to all of her friends being at her house throwing her a party. We at first did some practice rounds to make sure everyone knew what they were doing so that when we actually started to film everything would go smoothly. We only had 3 times to get the perfect shot due to use buying 3 confetti poppers. It was hard to manage everyone there because people kept talking and not being serious at first but we got them to all listen and they all played their role phenomenally. 

We got some shots of just the party itself and of Piper disappearing to the bathroom. After that we cleaned up the house due to confetti being everywhere and balloons everywhere. We thanked everyone for coming and then we all left wrapping up our day 3 of filming, this leaves us with one more day of filming and then we are on to editing!