Music Choice Selection and Progress

 Music Choice Selection and Progress

   Today on the last day of this year's November month, I took the time to find some music to use in my film. Last year, I used copy-right free music in my film with my partner. Now since I have more experience and I want to make my film better, I am looking for copyrighted music to use. Of course I have to ask permission and get permission from the artists to use it in my film. I first wanted to look for action music to use. When I was scrolling through my storyboard Google Slides, I noticed the scenes where I put emphasis on my computer starting up. I remembered that on my Xbox One X console, the startup is a very emphasized boom sound effect. I looked at the sound effect again and I decided it would be a good idea to use it for those scenes.

   Now again back onto the action music, one of the ideas I had was to use anime music. I know Japanese music in a Fortnite film does not seem to match, though using the instrumental versions of the songs could be amazing to use in the film. I decided to check around for different anime opening instrumental versions that have good action beats and a fast paced rhythm. I looked at Black Clover openings and the first One Piece opening instrumentals and they can match the film. I am trying to find better action music, though sometimes soundtracks like these can be a great fit as well. There is also another song I tried looking into and I found a song I listen to a lot. It is under the label of action music for the anime "Seven Deadly Sins", and it is indeed a very nice song to have playing during a fight scene in the show. Though I am making a film about Fortnite and two brothers trying to win a duo tournament for money, and this fight scene music may or may not fit in the overall mood of my future film.

   To first get copyright permission on the music soundtracks, I commented on two videos with instrumental anime openings to ask the channel if I need to get their permission or the original author's permission to use them. I then went on the personal website for the composer of the action song "Perfect Time", which was used in the anime "Seven Deadly Sins". I emailed him asking for permission and if I should have contacted him for permission to use the song. Overall, I am on the right track to get copyrighted music and sound effects into my film, which is a bonus. The majority of songs presently, I believe, are copyrighted and so having access to these songs is better for my film's soundtrack. I hope I get to use songs that I like and that add a good and positive mood to my film, along with the action vibe, too.

(GIF of a scene from the first opening of One Piece)

Marketing Campaign Set Up

 Marketing Campaign Set Up

   I have currently set up my website for my film already. This was done before Thanksgiving Break 11/21-11/29/2020. I personally included in my website four social media links that are at the bottom of each page. I made a social media page called "Nira's Creation Hub", which is my studio name, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. My website currently includes the name of the film, a synopsis of the film, what our studio is, the suggested movie release date, and reviews on the film. I have worked on creating reviews today, which went along smoothly and successfully. I made two personal reviews from two of my friends. I will continue working on the website, though so far it is set up. Another thing I set up for my marketing campaign, was my studio's design. I took a picture of a nicely grouped up bunch of grapes, a tomato, and an apple. I took this picture and put it as my studio's design and the profile picture on my social media accounts and my website. I am thinking I will eventually change it and make it look more professional, though it feels nice to put it.

   Then of course, over time I will continue adding content to my marketing campaign. I put all the necessary information for my film and my studio so far, though to make it professional, more content is needed. I also want to engage with my future and my current audience more, so I will be posting and replying to them. I am the director of my studio and the film recorder and I need to create an audience to try to make my film successful. So far I have my website, my main social media accounts, and my email setup for my film and/or studio. By the end of the year, I plan to have my marketing campaign nearly done. This will allow me to move forward on my filming and editing process. Some filming and editing has gone into this process, and I will do more of this in the future as I work on completing my Final Task, my short film!

My Filming Process Over Thanksgiving Break

 My Filming Process Over Thanksgiving Break

   I had an enjoyable Happy Thanksgiving break. Over the break I did not do any school work at all except on the very first day. I did not film over this break because I was and currently am not in Florida, where my film takes place. Also if I was in Florida, I still would most likely still not film because I would be hanging out with my family and friends the majority of the time. I did think about filming though. As I previously said before in my other blogs, I will most likely film in January. I could definitely film in December a few of the clips and the Fortnite gameplay. It is important to think about my AICE Media A Level Final Task when thinking about school. I am thinking about getting a new phone or maybe a camera to film better. 

   Yesterday, during Black Friday shopping, I noticed a clip-on microphone, a little bit torn, was on a rack and I wanted to buy it. I know how good these things can be for vlogging and such because I watch a local Florida vlogger a lot. I did not buy it because it has been messed with a little bit. I am planning to buy two of them for me and my brother to have a clean audio for our voices when we film. Not only do I want my film to have good shots, angles, and a good plot, though I want it to look and sound good as well. Having a good phone/camera to record and good microphones to sound clear is pretty important in filming as well. 

   Overall, I did not make much progress in filming this break. I did do a lot of planning work for filming as I am gathering up what I need to make my film good as time goes by. I hope by the end of December I get some filming done. I definitely will film in January. I am glad I got some thinking on filming and that I have my mind going upwards on my final task.

Storyboard for Short Film

                                                             Storyboard for Short Film

    I finished my storyboard for my short film. It took me around three days to finish. A few of the panels have the transitions in the next panel which seems fine to me. The drawings are not that good though I feel they are acceptable. I put in a lot of information for my panels individually. I really went in depth with my descriptions and I did my best for my drawings. I feel like I am doing much better with this and this truly will help me. The two characters are drawn very similarly, though Andreas has a black shirt on. Peter on the other hand has a white shirt on. The characters can be confused though I hope they can be told apart.

    This storyboard was far longer than last year's story board and I am so glad I am able to finish it. I thought it would only take me 10 pages to finish it. Then according to my screenplay, I needed one more page. I have 11 pages in total for my storyboard. Each panel is not rushed and I feel like it can help somebody tell what is going on. The transitions and the way I designed it is very good. I put a lot of my work into thinking how it will really look like. I am glad this is done so I can now film. I thank Cambridge for this work. I will now move on with my short film. This storyboard is complete and ready!

Planning for short film

 Planning for short film

    Hello and I will be talking about all the general planning topics I need to cover for my short film in this blog! First up is the schedule, and though I do not have the exact date, I can cover over the general time. My filming can start as early as in December, though it will most likely take place during the month of January. I can record some of the game play clips before hand so that I can be ready to just record us pretending and/or actually playing the game later. Then, the location of the filming and the short film will take place at my house. The majority of the film or all of the film will be recorded in my room.

    The participants have been decided already, and the participants will be me and my brother. My brother really likes the idea of doing it, which is something I want my brother to feel when completing the filming part of the process with me. Next up is the health and safety of my short film. There are no health and safety risks involved whatsoever. We will simply be playing Fortnite in my room, maybe even doing something else to lead up to us playing Fortnite.

    Next I will be talking about the props in my short film. The props in my short film will be my PC setup that I will be playing on and the Xbox One setup my brother will be playing on. I did say in my screenplay that our desks will be messy, so we can include soda cans, food, papers, and clothes on our desks as props to make it look messy. More props that we will be using are our smart phones to talk to people online and to be notified that we were invited to play in the tournament. Then I will be finally talking about our costumes for the short film in this blog. The costumes are typical costumes that people usually wear when in their houses. We will be wearing casual clothes like t-shirts and short pants. There will be no excessive accessories involved, though me and my brother wear necklaces and bracelets so we will most likely not be taking those off, though they also add to the casual look. This is my planning blog and I wrote about the general fields I need to cover to move on with my short film project with an idea of how it will be and how it will work out. I had fun planning my short film and I hope this helps me complete my short film project better and with more professionally!