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.

Short Film Research Blog: See Saw

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 researching short films made by other creators. And today's title is See Saw! Listed below will be my observations of the comedy genre as a whole! And I will reference how this film used such traits.

Common sound

Mostly natural noises and background noises in this short, like a phone ringing or dinging from messages. As well as TV or just the main guy talking. There’s some upbeat music that fills in the silent moments as the character does stuff.

Common mis-en-scene

The costume is just basic clothing, an at-home outfit, because throughout the movie he was home. However, in other comedies, they may change more often. There’s not a lot of makeup, at least not prominently, in comedy unless you’re trying to dress up as something—maybe a monster or such. The lighting really helps show how the main character feels throughout everything happening in the short film. The only props may be the clock, the phone, and other items around the house, maybe even the car at the end. This would be the same for any comedy—just everyday items around the area would be props. The set was really only the house overall. Sometimes the character is in the bedroom and sometimes he’s in the living room, no real in-between, as the character transitions trying to adjust to what’s happening to him. This would be the same in other comedies, where there may be multiple sets but not always.

Common editing

The editing zooms in on the main character’s face while critical moments happen—sometimes it can make you laugh as you see their expression. Editing will zoom in on things you can’t see so you can better understand the running jokes or what’s happening in a scene. Like in other comedies, the background sounds get quieter when a joke or moment is about to happen as well.

Which elements I enjoy

I like the comedy of everything going on, but there are still the simple moments. Sometimes the person may pop out a joke, and it may not be funny until the meaning hits you later on. Comedy also has those funny moments happening in the background, which can make you enjoy it so much more.

Which elements I dislike

What I dislike about comedy is that some things aren’t funny to joke about. This can make certain people uncomfortable, and that’s a bad thing, especially if it’s labeled under comedy and not a mix like dark comedy. You think you’re going in there for comedic relief and come out disgusted and disappointed.

That’s all!

That’s it for this short film research blog, everyone. This film had such an interesting look at how humor interacts with everyday life. 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.