Production Blog: Filming!

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on filming!

Scratch Off!

We have to get things done, and get them done right! So we pay attention to the rubric and scratch things off! We have to cover very specific angles, or else we may fail!? It's a dangerous life living as a high school student, sadly. But we won't let these parameters discourage us! For we are already on the scene. We have some footage already, and there is a variety of angles! Some medium shots, birds eye, and a grand establishing! But we do not know what we are keeping or scrapping yet! So take everything I say with a grain of salt! We are scratching off all the requirements like lotteryier! But as we reach our conclusion, I am excited to share our film!

to

That's All!

That's it for this last Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: Delegation

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on group work delegation.

The Leash

Holding up the reins of this operation, we have my comrade "AN ALYSSE  MCCOMIE-WATERMAN," aka Leash! She has so much passion for this film, and was the one to bring forth the pitch! She is in charge of the music directory and is technically the director? I suppose she is! She is also the actor playing Lucky!

The Mac

The brains and discipline of this Film is my other comrade "ALEXANDRA SOTO," shortened down to just Mac. Mac is kinda our broker, they are the first to talk to our teacher, and also keep us on track. Mac is also a brilliant artist! Way better than I am now. So Mac was also the one to cook up our storyboards! Mac is also the actor of Charmy!

The TL;DR

Now here comes me! Your host, Jaydon Smith! I will not be an actor in the film itself, but I run behind the scenes. I work on my Media TL;DR series, keeping you all updated on the behind the scenes and inner workings of our Short Film! I am also the head editor of the film, so I have the important work of making everything look good! It's an honor to be here!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: Music & Mood

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on music!

The Mood

My wonderful comrade Leash was in charge of music, and she has returned with results! She is loving the characters, so she wanted the music to be in relevance to them. I'm sure it was a real stressful process! According to her, she started with around 40 songs, and narrowed it all down to one! Isn't that impressive! My teammates have been working so hard, and since I can't show up to in person filming, I really have to shine with my editing! Regardless, back to the songs. Leash looked into the script and storyboards to really see which song would fit. She really put a lot of effort landing on the mood. And so, there was one song left.

The Song

We did not want to run into any copyright problems, so we had to go to some royalty free websites to obtain our tunes! The first 2 she ended up choosing were "Seize the Day" and "The Pop", which are both by the same artist. However, as the time came and concluded, the final song chosen for our film was!!!

"Today is the Day", as Leash judged that it would work well on a scene by scene basis! She did a great job here, kudos to her!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: Wrath of Wix

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on website difficulties.

The Site

I require a website for our Short Film, Knock on Wood, so what better task to do than go on a website... to make my website! So what I used was Wix, as I see many Youtubers get sponsored by them, so I figured that they'd be great to have. So, I went ahead with Wix! The UI is great! And it is simple to use! But my favorite part was the automatic template feature! Wix uses an AI that puts a script into a website! So I was able to create my Movie Site in short time! Or so I thought.

The Wrath

See, Wix has a special paid plan, as most businesses do, so naturally, they want to push it! Unfortunately, they pushed me too hard and ended up confusing me badly. See, I really tried to get the website domain, but it kept saying I had to pay for it? I was so confused and had no clue as to why! Wix promoted itself as a "free website creator," yet I was still prompted to pay for its services. This stumped me greatly.

The Winning Solution

So I pulled up a YouTube video on how to make a Wix website, and I saw a comment talking about how they wasted all their time designing, only for them to have to pay for a special premium feature, so I decided to get designing, and that's when I saw it, the golden chalice: The publish button. It was there the whole time!? I was just happy that it worked! So battabing battaboom! I have my Wix website now!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: Group Synergy

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on group synergy.

The Key

What is the key to a great film? What separates it from just an average film? Is it the sound, the editing? While those are great after production, there is something more impactful before that. I'll give you the answer: it's those around you. The most important thing in a film is the actors; you have to make sure to have great synergy. Without that, disputes are sure to sprout up.

The "Wright" Way To Do Things

A filmmaker who takes advantage of this is someone I've mentioned before: Mr. Edgar Wright. While some actors are displeased with certain film aspects, like filming with greenscreens, Edgar Wright ensures that everyone is having a great time. Many actors in his films stated that they actually looked forward to the next video shoot. So the actors had a great joy filming with Edgar Wright, so with our group here, I wish for us to be friends and close, so we can make filming exciting and fun! We are already friends, but there's always a possible closeness for us! Cheers to this short film and our friendship!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: Prop Propositions (& Problems & Proposals)

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on prop propositions!

Prop Propositions

The headings for this blog will be easy because I'm covering exactly what it says! For "Knock On Wood," our Short Film, we proposed superstitious options, items, and the like. For example, the movie would start off with a character breaking a mirror. Or say we go through with the "knock on wood" idea. We need wood to knock on! It's as simple as that! Props are so important for a film to work. A movie without props would be tough to pull off. But sometimes props aren't just items. Sometimes props are living things.

Prop Problems

So, an immediate hurdle we had to give up on was a face of bad luck: the black cat. I thought it would be so cool if we had a black cat that we could have cross our path! But alas, none of us have a black cat. And back to the mirror, I'm not sure if we have enough mirrors to break- because we can not just undo breaking a mirror. If we mess up that breaking shot it's over. But I'm not a man who brings problems without a solution!

Prop Proposals!

So instead of having a black cat with us on set, perhaps one of our friends has one! One they can record at their own house! That way we can just cut and reverse cut our footage of it! I'm not too sure about how to manage the mirror part just yet, but I'm sure we'll succeed! Right!?... Right?

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog, everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive. 

Production Blog: Camera Cause

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on camera preparations!

Our options

Our trials begin with the core us. I am unsure, unaware, and uncertain if we have access to any high quality cameras. But if you recall my previous blog, you'd know that my Final Task last year was recorded with only a phone and GoPros. So even if we don't have some cool cameras, I am confident that we will still be able to concoct a great video! After all, an artist can draw an S tier drawing only using E tier utensils.

Techniques

With whichever camera we use, we have certain regulations to remain in. Of course we'll have a nice establishing shot. But I think that will be difficult without a drone or ladder. So we'll think how we'll manage that. Additionally, we will include some closer footage in many flavors, from closeups to medium shots. So we'll have much footage to fit in the regulations!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog everyone! I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Production Blog: There Was A Man

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on my editing resources!

There Was a Man Named Edgar Wright

Edgar Wright is a well-established filmmaker known for making many films, like Scott Pilgrim. *hint* *hint* But his strongest areas are transitions and music, and that's the impact I desire to have in my film. I want to have transitions that truly move the viewer from scene to scene. One of my partners for this film also expressed a desire to implement certain music in this short film too! This desire further inspired me to watch a movie by Edgar Wright. And the movie I'll be referencing will be none other than Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

There Was a Man Named Scott Pilgrim

Ever since my friend introduced me to Scott Pilgrim, I have been absolutely enamored by it; I watched the movie, read the comics, and watched the anime! But outside of a personal love for it, I also found it amazing from a filmmaking perspective! The transitions were synergized with the music, and were well-done in general. The cut and reverse cuts would move whole locations, and the text would move the scene as well! I absolutely loved studying this movie, and I will definitely use what I've learned in my short film. 

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog, everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive. 

Production Blog: Editing Practice

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on practicing editing again!

An animated ally!

After my last Media Studies assignments, CapCut stayed with me still! And I still use it to this day! However, some time ago, I was able to do some practice because I pranked my friend by sending her song lyrics and pretending it was a real conversation. So, I had to edit our text screenshots and connect them to the song. Now, it wasn't just that, I wanted to have more fun. So, I took some inspiration from a YouTube channel that made videos with Hamilton songs and decided that I would animate my friends as well. So I took a still picture of them and just moved them around using a feature on CapCut that I didn't know about! But it served me so well! I was able to move our pictures around the video automatically! And hopefully, I can use this new knowledge to assist my Short Film!

Short Film Progress

So on the topic of our short film, we have yet to finalize our editing style, but I anticipate it with excitement! We will get to filming very soon, so I will get to editing very soon!

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog, everyone. It was a bit short this time, but I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive. 

Production Blog: Let's do this one last time.

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on! Starting my final sets of production blogs.

 

Original Time

All of the blogs from the beginning of our A-Level have been group blogs, meaning that, like a hivemind, all of our blogs were practically the same. It's just that some of us took some creative liberties when posting them. But now it's time for my individuality to shine! It's time to bring back the heart into Media TL;DR!

Clunky Plan

Alright, so here's the sitch, we had to rush a bit with our planning blogs because this class was kind of swept under the rug. We lost track of the blog due dates, and we, in turn, received not 1, not 2, but FOUR zeroes! So, all of our planning blogs were a bit rushed (our storyboard still looked amazing), and we have yet to discuss any filming days. March is just around the corner, so it's a bit nerve-racking. My previous A-Level friends warned me, "Don't take too long to film," so that is my #1 fear. But we'll get through it! We always have.

That's All!

That's it for this Production Blog, everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Planning Blog: Storyboard 2

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is my storyboard for our Short Film.

Rough Plans

The storyboard for the mini-movie has been elegantly completed by our very own Mac Soto! Huge props to them! Without further ado, here are the rough plans! (Disclaimer: the two main characters are in bright colors to make them pop out from the background;the main characters aren't actually yellow and blue. Yellow = Lucky || Blue = Charmie) 

Scene one is of the main character, Lucky, getting the bad luck that sets the story into motion. It is meant to set up her character, she freaks out at both the cat and the breaking of the mirror, two very common signs of bad luck, showing how superstitious she is already. 

The second scene shows Lucky telling the other main character, Charmie, about the 7 years of bad luck for the mirror after Charmie mades a side comment about her being unlucky after Lucky burns popcorn. Charmie doesn't actually believe doing things or saying words will cause bad luck, and so this is the primary conflict.

The next scene is just show what exactly her bad luck is, as well has showing it to Charmie, the bad luck presents itself has being mild annoyances, such as keeping a question wrong, to unharmly but major inconveniences, like getting splashed with water.  

this scene portrays instances that seem lucky, but become unlucky, often when charmie doesn't see, leading her to further not believing Lucky about the bad luck, such has spotting a penny, but it being the wrong way around or going to see ladybugs but the part of the exhibit is closed because of an unexpected animal death. In the last scene, Charmie even makes a joke about it, saying "well i wish you to have good luck" when she got the bigger side of the wishbone. 

Scene 5 includes Charmie now trying to actively disprove Lucky about her "bad luck," she gives her jewelry either assigned to keep bad luck away or attract good luck, one of these is a jade bracelet, which break, meaning it has absorbed as much negative energy has it can.  One part of this is in a clover field trying to find a four-leaf, but instead Lucky steps in dog poop. 

Here, Charmie is evaluating whether maybe Lucky does actually have 7 year bad luck, seeing as everytime they go out, something goes wrong, but sticks to her beliefs and don't believe bad luck is actually a thing. Meanwhile, Lucky tries to smell a flower and is attacked by a bee. 

The final day! Lucky finally doesn't have bad luck anymore, she wakes up and realizes that it has been 7 years since she broke the mirror and now everything should be okay! Maybe even get a bunch of good luck in exchange!

Lucky calls Charmie with the good news and insists to hang out. Charmie, the non believer, goes out expecting terrible things to happen, but instead everything seems to be going Lucky's way... maybe she was right and it did exist. 

Now not a non-believer, Charmie and Lucky are leaving the mall (or general hang out play) when they are walking and Charmie notices and avoids a latter, but Lucky doesn't and instead walks under one, hence forth continuing her terrible luck! She ends the movie with a yell to the sky!   

That's All!

That's it for this blog everyone! I hope you guys like our idea for our Short Film! I really enjoy drawing as you all probably know haha! But I'm not reluctant to admit that Mac surpasses my skill. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Planning Blog: Title Design 2

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is about the title selection for this project.

The Core

Titles are everything in a movie, it's how you recognize and share films. When making one, you take many things into consideration. Things like the genre, theme, and message. The film my comrades an I are making is a comedy about superstitions, so we looked into the origin of the word when we started it.

Superstitious Origins

The word "superstition" came from old wives' tales, and those came from fearing some deities, so one us suggested, "Old wives fear the gods." Simple and straightforward, however, it doesn't match with the overall theme, hopefully funny and goofy. So another one suggested was "It's not fear, its annoyance," to show how the main character is feeling about the whole thing. Annoyed. But that felt off. So, we come up with some to match the original idea about mirrors. Like "Shattersitions" or "Seven Years Later." But one seemed too improper, and the other sounded like a thriller or romance. We almost did "Tail-sided Penny," but Penny has little to nothing to do with the story, so we moved on. Eventually, we landed on "Knock on wood." This is a thing people often do to prevent bad luck. It's playful and energetic. So we have landed on a perfect name! However, should we outdo ourselves, it is still subject to change. It was a fun conversation to name our film, which will hopefully be the attitude we take with this whole thing, so I'm really excited about the rest of this project!

That's All!

That's it for this Planning Blog everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Planning Blog: Other Info 2

   

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is about the miscellaneous information necessary for this project.

Schedule:

My comrades and I have open schedules most days. Unfortunately Sundays seem to be a no-go for two of us, as I have my usual Sunday Church attendance, and our Mac is occupied with work and an internship.  Although there is a chance one of us may fall ill. This shouldn't be an issue as with the edits skills a person can just be added in. If issues do appear, my teammates and I will discuss what needs to be done. Like making new arrangements for the movie. 

So far, our schedules match up. There have been no issues with discussing what needs to be done. All of us hope to record together so everything goes smoothly. Our backup plan is likely to record in pairs and not with all three of us. No, big twists have come up so far, and hopefully, none will anytime soon. Every location makes sense, and though they are far between, we will get through this. Overall we have a simple set schedule!

Participants

Jaydon Smith: 

Behind the Scenes 

Blog Making

Editing

Mac Soto

Actor - Charmie

Blog Making

On-A-Leash

Actor - Lucki

Blog Making

Health & Safety

I have established contacts with the Secret Service in Florida, where we'll be filming, and we will be provided protection by a police force stationed around. We will also have an adult with us within 60 feet at all times. We will be securely fine.

That's All!

That's it for this Planning Blog everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear. Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.

Planning Blog: The Script 2

    

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to Media TL;DR the series where I break down my greatest projects so you can easily dive in and understand my original ideas. I'm your host Jaydon Smith! And Today's topic is on the Script for our Short Film. And we have a format to stay in, so you'll see it below!!

Scene 1 - The Beginning (Unknown)

(Location: ????? (Main characters home)

 *Breaks a mirror*

Lucki: ???

Scene 2 - The Consequence of the Shattered Mirror.

Location: (Charmie's House)

Lucki* knocks on Charmie's door*

Charmie

Dialogue: Hey, you made it.

Lucki

Dialogue: Yup *Happy expression*

*Charmie moves out the way to let Lucki in*

Charmie

Dialogue: You want some water 

Lucki

Dialogue: Su-

*Lucki trips and falls*

Charmie

Dialogue: You ok

*worried expression before looking in confusion*

Charmie

Dialogue: The carpet/couch wasn't there earlier?...

Scene 3 - Fountain of Change

Location: Outside the mall by a fountain

Charmie

Dialogue: This was fun

Lucki

Dialogue: Ya it was, I'm happy nothing bad happened

Charmie

Dialogue: Today can't get ruined anyways

*They sit on a fountain as a kid plays ball near them*

Lucki

Dialogue: Shouldn't we move from the fountain what if my bad luck hits

*Charmie shrugs not believing the bad luck*

*The kid kicks the ball near them not hitting them, Charmie goes to pick it up too help the kid*

Charmie

Dialogue: See nothing bad happened

*Charmie turns around to find Lucki standing there soaking wet/water on them*

Charmie (confused)

Dialogue: What happened to you?

Scene 4 - Restraint

Location: Lucki's house

*knocks on door*

Lucki

Dialogue: Huh Charmie

Charmie

Dialogue: Come on let's go out

Lucki

Dialogue: No No, I don't wanna leave what if my bad luck strikes

Charmie

Dialogue: Bad Luck, Quack Luck. Bad luck doesn't exist those were just accidents

Lucki (worried)

Dialogue: No, they weren't I'm not going out sorry

*Lucki closes the door, Charmie confused just leaves shrugging their shoulders*

Scene 5 - Mall Maul

Location: Walking into different places (Around a mall)

Charmie

Dialogue: Listen bad luck doesn't exist

*Lucki looks exasperated but goes on with it*

Lucki

Dialogue: ok

Charmie

Dialogue: And since you don't believe it, I'll prove it doesn't exist to you.

*Charmie keeps dragging Lucki places and although some bad luck occurs, it's so small Charmie says it's a coincidence*

Scene 6 - Denial at the Disco

Location: Gaming area (Charmie spending time with Lucki)

Charmie (Inner thoughts)

'Maybe Lucki is right, seeing it from afar they may have bad luck'

*Lucki trips in the background*

Charmie (Inner thoughts)

'No bad luck doesn't exist, they're just a clutz'

*Charmie goes over to Lucki to help them get up as they go and play games*

Scene 7 - Maybe...

Location: Charmie's House

*Lucki rushes out of the kitchen*

Lucki

Dialogue: Charmie my bad luck ended

Charmie *rolls their eyes*

Dialogue: Ya, Ya good for you

*staring at their phone*

*Lucki's phone dings*

Lucki

Dialogue: Look my good luck, the university I wanted just took me off of the waiting list.

Charmie (Inner thoughts)

'Maybe they did have bad luck'

Charmie

Dialogue: Well, if you're getting good luck we should go out, try and get something nice for free.

Lucki (grins)

Dialogue: You're right lets go.

Scene 8 - What the Sig-

Location: Walking down the street

*Lucki and Charmie are walking down the street*

Lucki

Dialogue: This is going to be so much fun. No more bad luck or anything.

Charmie

Dialogue: Just still be careful

*In front of them there's an area getting built*

Lucki

Dialogue: Got it

*Lucki then walks under a ladder*

*Charmie turns around to Lucki falling to the floor*

*Lucki now had 7 more years of bad luck*

Lucki

Dialogue: What the SIGM-

That's All!

That's it for this Planning Blog everyone. I hope I made at least most of my descriptions and intentions clear for this Script! Thank you for reading! And until next time, stay cool and attractive.