My Short Film Package

My Short Film Package

                                                                    Towards Victory

                                                            https://youtu.be/g8AzA9ZNm-I

Website for Towards Victory

Towards Victory Website

The Post Card

Critical Questions

 Critical Questions

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

 

They represent the online video gamer social group, as well as the miniature smaller groups that are defined by the device video gamers play on. In the internet, the distinction of computer and console gamers is made, and they are often talked about together. To many people, what device you play video games matters quite a lot as there are stereotypes associated with each social group. This can cause issues because arguments can be frequent as well as pushing for game developers to create changes within their game to satisfy the different needs for each social group.

My products represent these social groups and issues because the theme for my short film is unity between computer and console gamers on one of the most popular games in the world. Their can be a gap between performance of playing games on controller (console) and keyboard and mouse (computer), and in my short film this problem goes away once teamwork steps in. Both social groups of video game players, specifically on Fortnite, are represented through their issues and how they can come together to reach success in my short film, “Towards Victory”. Many players simply want to have fun and relax, and when these social group issues between console and computer gamers arise less often, these players can be satisfied, which has been represented in my short film.

 

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

 

            The elements of my production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’ because they all work together to create a theme. The film, postcard, and website are all geared towards an action-packed theme of teamwork and unity. The theme may not be unique, though my film definitely is. My short film is unique as it is aimed from teamwork from a video game perspective with personal connections. The characters are me and my brother, which we have personal connection that will overcome an obstacle in the video game world.

            Regarding the editing, I have created a film that matches its genre, action. The action in my film through editing is unique as the growth of Andreas, a main character. The post card design as well is colorful, and it pops out. Matching the needs of the game is what we do to win the tournament in my film eventually. It focuses on main points in the games so that the audience can be directed to the important aspects of my film.

            Next, my filming elements work together by pulling in so many different types of shots and unique perspectives so that my film really looks amazing. The time it took to film is reflected in the quality of the recordings, the uniqueness of the majority of the film, and even my logo. My logo I think is really unique and it highlights the main aspect of my film, teamwork. Together, the elements of my production work together by supporting and providing uniqueness to the entire short film package.

 

How do your products engage with the audience?

 

            My products engage with the audience by keeping themselves interesting the film. There are no sudden jumps in action with the characters, which keeps the audience engaged with the plot. Also, through the possible appeal to video games, especially Fortnite, from the audience, my short film engages amazing in this scenario as the center of action in it revolves around them.

            With my postcard, the design of it is very interesting and colorful. It meets the eye as something unique, which makes the audience engage with reading its contents. I made sure to add some meanings behind its design so that the audience has something to think about when inspecting it. The editing of the postcard is very obvious, so it does not look completely clean. With the editing, the postcard’s designs pop out and clearly provides the information about the short film’s premiere so that the audience can still be interested in it.

            My website on the other hand, is a well-built and fun site to sort through. It immediately engages with the audience on the home page with many interesting things to read and view. Many of the pages have important information regarding the cast and the film. Especially with the reviews page, the audience engages with the reviews because the reviews come from them. They can explore other people’s opinions on my film and studio and create their own opinions as well. Exploring the creation and design process of my short film can spark some attention to some of the websites’ pages.

 

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

My research informed my products to flow along with the action genre by matching it with its typical conventions. Through research, I found out so many awesome camera angles and shots that really match the action genre, so my film could use conventions of this genre. I also looked at conventions for editing for the action genre, which truly brought all my clips and recordings together by connecting to each other well.

My products mostly use conventions, though with my postcard and some of my edits in my film challenge conventions. The postcard really shows off a lot of color and different feelings that do not match the intense advertising for the action genre. The edits as well in my film, specifically the title sequences, do not come in an intense way though they simply come out with nice coloring to focus more on the action at hand in my film.

My website also has needed research for it to be informed and my research did this through a process of selection. I needed to put important information on my website and with research, I could understand how I should display it. I display it in an organized and interesting manner that is sure to bring attention. My website does not look so bold as it would usually be for action genre conventions, though it matches the overall feelings. My research informed my products to be in sync by giving me the necessary ideas to do so.

Significant Editing Progress

Significant Editing Progress

   Yesterday, I blogged about my filming progress. While filming, I have been editing as well and I have made significant progress with it. I currently have around 1-2 minutes of recordings that I edited to make sense, to be in order, and to look great. I have not edited in many transitions, and so far many of them are cuts. Though with my work so far, if all of my recordings are put in place, many transitions will be completed. My filming progress is currently looking good, which means my editing progress also has to look good..

   As I have blogged yesterday about it, I am using the editing software called "Shotcut", and it is a very professional one indeed. My nearly-completed film will be done soon, most likely by Sunday. Regarding my music, I have made significant progress with fixing the copyright issues with my film's soundtrack. I found two non-copyrighted songs that fit very well with my film. I have used a copyrighted song in some of my edited recordings and I loved it, though I need permission to use it. I have taken the correct steps to contact the potentially correct labeling companies for this song. So far one of them has responded and directed me to the actual labeling company that owns the song. I have emailed the correct company today. I am still hoping for a response that will grant me access to use their song in my film. I also made sure to contact the producer of one of the non-copyrighted songs I will be using. The producer replied surprisingly, and relatively fast as well. The email the producer sent is proof of my permission to use their song in my film. My progress on editing is going well and smoother than at first. I am estimating that I have around 8 hours of filming and editing completed so far, and I will continue to work hard to finish my short film, "Towards Victory"! I shall blog with more information on my progress again tomorrow, bye!

(A screenshot of the name of my most recent work in Shotcut)

   

Filming Progress Check 2

Filming Progress Check 2

    In the past few days, I have started filming the majority of the in-game Fortnite content. Right now, I have almost all of the clips ready. So far I have edited over half of my recordings so far. It has taken me over 5 or 6 hours to film this much. The quality of the recordings look great and all of them look relatively smooth. When I first started filming, I used Twitch to stream the game and then save the stream. The quality of the stream was not good so I decided to look for other programs to use. I tested Geforce Experience and it affected my game negatively. After some time, I came across OBS Studio on the internet. I have downloaded it before, though I deleted it because I didn't know how to use it. When I got it again, it was honestly very easy to use. I streamed with it, and to my surprise its performance was surprisingly amazing. I then tested out recording with it and with some changes done to the settings, it worked fine. It could record in 1080p and 60 FPS nicely. My biggest step in my filming process spanned over three days. I could only record after school and with editing, I could not film for too long.

    Yesterday, I started filming within the game's built in replay system. It could replay many recent games I have played and I could control my perspective to any place at any time in those games. It has given me some amazing shots in-game. I still used OBS Studio to record parts of the replays as well. So far I am making great progress in filming and I hope that I will finish by tomorrow! I will blog again when this happens!

                                                (A folder of many of my in-game recordings)

Social Media Progress Check 2

 Social Media Progress

   I have so far posted yet again on social media. I only am logged in on my studio's Instagram on my phone, and nothing else. I posted again on the Instagram with another picture. I posted a picture of my brother who will be the second main actor for my short film. As I was thinking of ideas to innovate my social media pages, I was thinking of what Fortnite does on their social media. Fortnite gives a bunch of teasers and foreshadows of their future content in their games and social media posts. They use clever patterns and ideas to do this so people can be more amazed by it. I want to create something similar in my social media posts by making a pattern with a few of them. I want to make it geared towards my film and how I want its mood to be. Other than this there has not been more work on my film. I mean I did pull of an awesome clip with my other friend earlier in Fortnite, which shows that I still have the skills to win games in the Battle Royale mode.

   I have more thoughts I am willing to be put into action, now focusing on YouTube. I want to release a teaser trailer, which does not need a lot of clips from the actual film. I can just use some custom made clips not going into the film and some from my Fortnite gameplay to produce a suspenseful teaser for my film. Producing hype in the audience is a good way to keep them wanting to watch your film. I need to log into my other social media accounts on my phone so I can go more mobile. My Twitter account on my phone is under a similar name to my official studio account. Facebook only allows one account to log in on mobile, so I might now switch to my studio's account on my phone. So far things are going great with my short film and social media progress. I hope with the start of a happy new year, all things including my film may go well.

Screenshot of my studio's Instagram page

Filming Progress Check 1

 Filming Progress Check 1

    Today, my power cable for my monitor arrived today. It came in a very simple box and I took the cables out right away. I tried plugging the cable into my old monitor. As I had hoped for, the cable fits and my monitor is now being used by my brother. I am glad it works again and that we have the necessary equipment to start filming in my room. Clearly we need to set up a date and my environment so it can look professional. I also do need my Fortnite content recorded first because the content will be displayed on our screens when we film in my room. The Fortnite content should take maybe one or two weeks to get all the recordings completed. School will be starting on January 4th and on school days there is not a lot of time I can be playing games.

    Also, I played today with my brother who will be being my duo partner. We tested our recordings, and they look fine. We clipped both of our recordings. I have downloaded both of our recordings of one of the 1v1 fights we did in game to practice. The recordings could look much better. I don't want to ask too much of my brother, though I want for both of us to get a free screen-recorder that records in higher qualities. I could definitely tell that our customized stream settings did not appear in the actual stream. The 1080p and 60 FPS I had put for my stream did not look as well as I expected it to. The video's resolution looked pretty low and the recording had drops in the 60 FPS I wanted. I am glad we can actually record this part of the film easily. It only took me and him to clip this part of the pre-edited film in 15 minutes. Of course when we actually get into public matches, it will take longer. With practice, we can pull off the clips we need without that many problems. I will again blog again tomorrow, see you soon on Happy New Years!

                                             Me and my brother's practice duel in Fortnite (1V1)

Social Media Improvements

 Social Media Improvements

    Today, I figured it would be a great idea to work on the studio's social media. I decided to post a picture of myself, one of the two main actors, on the studio's Instagram, nirascreationhub. This is my first post on there and providing more content to my audience is a great way to connect better with them. I would have been blogging about my monitor more today, but unexpectedly I realized that my new power cable will be coming tomorrow. I have checked a few times out my door expecting a delivery today. I also have come across the absence of a logo for the film. Some films have their own logo, and it would look nice for my film to have one as well. Also the studio's logo needs a new profile picture on social media because it does not look professional enough in my opinion. Overall, my Instagram is looking better, though I also have to start Tweeting more and posting on Facebook. I will post videos on YouTube of things like the teaser trailer, trailer, and maybe a few clips of the film. YouTube is the social media account that I will be posting the least on for my film.

    Next, I have also worked on my website today. Since I posted a picture of myself on Instagram, I put a similar picture up on my studio's website. On the page "Cast and Crew", I put pictures of both myself and my brother on there. We are both the main actors for the film and we both have important roles in the studio. I filled out a description for both of us and we both have our own personal quotes listed there as well. Since the last time I worked on the website was a while ago, I shall work more on the social medias to make my connection to my audience stronger. To my surprise, my website has received interactions. There have been exactly 34 traffic cases in the month of December, which makes it seem like people are getting interested in my film. This is great news, which shows that my work is being noticed by people. My studio's social media will be having more content soon and I will blog yet again tomorrow, see you soon!

Music Choice Selection Progress Check 2

Music Choice Selection Progress Check 2

    Yesterday I mentioned that I would blog about my music choice selection progress today. Here I am with not a lot of new information about it. I had sent an email previously to a band called EMPiRE to ask them if I can use use one of their songs in my short film. It had been sent in English, so I decided to try translating my writing into Japanese via Google Translate. I sent them a new email, which is now in Japanese. I tried making it more formal and to the point, and I hope it worked. I am not even sure if they are the ones I should be contacting, though it was a good idea to send two emails to them. I will be checking my email many times in the next month or two for any response from them. Hopefully, I get a response that at least directs me to what email I should contact for permission to use their song in my film.

    In the last hour, I have also decided to go to the internet for help again. I have sent out a post on Reddit asking for a simple way to get permission to use a copyrighted song in my content. I have listed some specific details on it, though I left the topic broad enough so that I have a higher chance of getting a response. There is also another Q&A website that I use called Quora. I have just now posted the same question there so that I can have more luck in getting the response I want. I definitely believe Quora will provide a better and faster response than Reddit. Until it comes, I will keep on thinking about other songs to use for my film. I am an anime fan, which means I have many good songs in mind that I can try using in my film. I will keep on working on my music choice selection.

    Regarding my filming, my new power cable will be arriving shortly and I hope it works. I will most likely start recording the majority of my Fortnite content tomorrow when I am not busy. I will blog again tomorrow, see you soon!

Filming Setup Completion Progress Check

Filming Setup Completion Progress Check

    Just earlier, I have officially ordered my monitor's power cable. I have blogged before that my old monitor needs a power cable that is currently missing. I took the initiative to check the specifications of what power cable I need and searched online for a good one for around 10-15 minutes. I have found one that suits the port on my old monitor and I ordered it. I really thought that ordering the cable now is a great idea as New Years is around the corner and it would suck if my package contributed to make someone stay away from home for the New Years celebration. It will be coming on Tuesday, which is two days from now, and a few minutes exactly. Now with the cable coming and my old monitor will finally be able to turn on again, I have made progress.

    Regarding the Fortnite content, my friend and I confirmed to each other that he will be able to help me to produce the content. It will go well and I hope the quality of the recordings will look amazing. When I have time next month, I will be surely able to start recording. I need to organize a date, my room, and the specifications of how we look and our equipment.

    Yesterday, I blogged about my music selection progress that ties in with my editing process for my film. So far there has been no feedback on my requests from the producers and publishers of a few songs to be able to use them in my film. I hope I can at least use one or two copyrighted songs that I feel will match my film very much. I shall keep searching for new songs to use and I will keep emailing the necessary people to get permission to use their songs. Recently, I have come across an ad on YouTube about a service that gives you access to unlimited amounts of songs to use for your content by giving you different licenses. It costs money and I am thinking about if I should use it. I really am not sure if when my possible subscription to it ends, my license for permission to use copyrighted songs in my content ends as well. I will find out more information and if it seems reasonable, I shall use it if I really need it. Until the time comes when I really need to edit my film and I have a deadline coming up, I shall continue sending out emails for copyright access for songs. Overall, I think the progress I am making is a little bit slow, though it shall surely speed up when I get more good news on my music selection for my film. I will keep you updated again tomorrow, good bye!

The Start of my Filming

 The Start of my Filming

    I have successfully started to film. Today I wanted to start filming something, at least the Fortnite content. I had asked my friends if they would be interested in helping out with this portion of the film. One of them, hopefully, will now be helping me to move on with the trial stage of filming. I had started the game and I checked my storyboard for what content I should be recording. The first thing I put was myself being eliminated in the game. Eventually, as I went into a game, I got eliminated. I recorded 9 minutes and 28 seconds of content and I only needed the last 10 seconds of the recording. When I get into the editing process is when I will be editing my recordings. I play Fortnite at 75 frames per second, because my monitor can't support more than that. Though, Fortnite is actually pushing for 120 frames per second because of my settings. This can cause "screen-tears" so that the recording may look weird. I checked the recording, and the main thing that popped out to me was the choppiness of it. The FPS, frames per second, on it is most likely 30 FPS. This would look terrible when I film myself playing the game.

    Luckily, I know of another way of filming, through my Twitch streams. I can stream my game onto Twitch in 1080p and 60 FPS, which is what I want. When I finish streaming, I can download my stream and save it. I tested out this feature and I streamed in 720p and 60 FPS. When I finished the stream, and checked it over, it looked better than the other recording in terms of FPS. The resolution was not high enough, so when I will switch it to 1080p, it will look amazing. So far I have successfully completed my trial stage of filming and will now begin to film as the days go on. I am more relieved now to be past the trial stage and I can now start filming. I will blog more about other news relating to the music content soon, stay tuned!

(This is a screenshot of my Twitch recording for the test run on the quality of the video)

Preparing to Film Update 2

 Preparing to Film Update 2

    I have been checking my Gmail constantly to see if any of the YouTube channels and music creators/publishers responded to my requests for copyright permission. None of them have responded, which made me a little bit worried. I then took some time of my day to go on one of the songs that I believe would match my film really well. I checked the publishing company and both of them are from the Asia region I believe so I could not find them online to contact. I then went on the band's website to see if I could contact them and there I found their contact. It was in Japanese so I had to translate the page, and when I did, I saw that I could send them an email. I wrote out my message, put in my contact info, and I sent it. Hopefully they respond and hopefully allow me to use their song. I do not want to use the complete song, I only want to use the instrumental version of it. I commented under the instrumental version of the song on YouTube, though there was no response until now so I went and personally emailed the band, EMPiRE. Hopefully they respond soon and that my message will be read well because I sent it in English, not in Japanese.
    Regarding my monitor situation, I have looked online for a new power cord I could use. I noticed that I have one of the pieces to the full cord, and that the other piece may just be something that I missed. I need this cable to make the monitor turn on so my brother can use it in the film. If I don't find it soon I will need to order a new cable. I really need to film soon so I can fix anything that does not look good before I can not fix it anymore. I will continue planning who will play the games and how it will go. I will continue to request songs to use earlier on so I can get their permission to use their music hopefully on time. My brother has to practice Fortnite on a controller still. I will keep my progress preparing to film as time goes on, I will blog tomorrow!

Preparing for Filming

    Preparing for Filming

    My filming process has not started yet, so I am still preparing to film when I am ready to. Recently, I have been setting up a few things around my room to start filming. In my storyboard, I have drawn my room and my brother has his own gaming setup on his desk. I pulled out my old monitor last night trying to set up his setup, though I could not find the power cord to it. I checked in my closet, drawers, boxes, and cabinets for it and I have not been able to find it. I remember I wrapped it up a few months ago and put it somewhere. I am not going to be buying a new monitor for my film when I have one already, so maybe I will find it or buy a new power cord. I already have my Xbox 1 X ready for my brother to use, though he has to know how to actually play on it. I have been playing Fortnite again recently and my skills are the same as before, mediocre. To make my gameplay look good, I should get better at the game first. I also need to record my gameplay. I already have my recording software ready, though my game isn't running as well as it used to. I will go over my settings and make it run at 70 fps rather than 60 fps so it can look better.

    The Xbox gameplay is already excellent and it can record a lot already, so I that is good. Once my brother learns how to play Fortnite on Xbox, we will be ready to start filming. I will most likely start filming in January after break and after we are both ready. Until then, I need to plan some more as my film will not look identical to the scenes in the storyboard as the gameplay is random. Hopefully my brother will be good at playing on controller, so I won't have to change the plot that much. I am also wondering which camera to use because my phone camera is not as good as it used to be. My mom has an awesome phone with a crisp camera, so maybe I can use hers. All these ideas and things will become organized sometime next month.

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!

Short Film vs Feature Length Film

 Short Film vs Feature Length Film

    Hello, in this blog, I will be comparing both versions of the movie 9, the short and the feature length versions! The short film had the qualities of of simple action that the feature length film did not have. In the short film, there was no dialogue in the movie, which made the scenes much more simple, though in the feature film, the entire movie was filled with dialogue. I do prefer the feature film's dialogue over the short film's lack of dialogue, though in some scenes of the short film, it felt more dramatic than some scenes in the feature length film. In the short film, some things felt more realistic that matched the post-apocalyptic world such as the construction of tools, for example the flashlight. The flashlight being created in the short film was more realistic and complex than the flashlight being created in the feature length film.

    Now, for the feature length film qualities that the short film did not have was a lack of character development, true plot, and an expansive backstory and setting. There were only three characters being featured in the short film, while the feature length film had all 9 of the rag dolls featured, the Beast, the machine-creating machine, and numerous other machines. The short film did not even go into the backstory and setting of the world, while the feature length film covered everything we needed to know such as the war, how the world ended, and who the creator of the machine-making machine and the rag dolls was and how he contributed to the story even more. Looking closer at the war, the feature length film also had scenes of the rag dolls as they first emerged out on an active battlefield in the middle of the war and how terrible that war was. The scientist who created the machine-making machine decided to place the last of his effort and time into building the rag dolls who all of them together made up his soul, which I believe is such a unique and interesting backstory. Then next up is the animation, it is obvious that the feature length film received a much higher budget and higher quality animation team to produce the film, which still counts as an accomplishment the the feature length film had that the short film did not have.

    Overall, I enjoyed the feature length film far more than the short film. The short film did not cover a lot of information, plot, setting, backstories, and character development that the feature length film aced. I love many of the characters and how intense many of the scenes were. It is still very noteworthy how well the special effects were in the feature length film, like all the explosions, flames and the lighting effects. I also like the opening and ending credits of the feature length film, which matched very well with what the original short film had. The ending credits had the names of the production team rising up from the green-glowing, spherical machine in both the short and the long film. In the entirety of the short film and the feature length film, they were both fantastic and completed their jobs, though the feature length film just aced all of the things I would want in a movie. I really enjoyed watching and reviewing the short and the feature length film versions of 9, and truly do think they are both masterpieces for what they have accomplished, I love this movie so much!

Research 9, the feature flm

Research 9, the feature film

    Hello, in this blog I will be talking about my impressions of the movie 9, the feature film version that is based off of the short film that has been created by Shane Acker. I first watched the feature film version of 9, which was actually today, and I have a very positive impression on it. At first, I was amazed at how well made and animated this movie is, because I did not expect a feature film based off a short film to turn into such a well produced and animated movie! As a first impression when I first started watching it, I felt that the plot was a little bit lacking in all of the intense action and backstory fields, though as the movie started progressing, the plot and background of the ENTIRE WORLD just grew exponentially! The story of the war, the characters, and the machines are all very intricate. Even though this movie is only 1 hour and 19 minutes long, which felt pretty long at first, was actually very fast paced. As the plot thickened, the action also became bigger and faster, beginning with a few rag dolls trying to survive and hide from a mechanical beast that is hunting them. Then, when they were trying to save rag doll #5, who was taken by the mechanical beast, they encountered the beast again, who was trying to resurrect a machine-building machine that ended up causing the world to end. When they saved rag doll #5 and defeated the beast, the beast was trying to place a glowing spherical machine into the machine-making-machine, which was not known of until soon after. The result of rag doll #9 placing the spherical machine into the machine-making machine made it so that rag doll #5 got his soul absorbed into the spherical machine, and the machine-making machine started moving. Throughout the movie and the entire movie, this new machine was the main and final villain as it tried to create more machines and eliminate the remaining rag dolls, also the character development was especially very high.

    First off, #9 has a very special character development as he is the final rag doll made and he is the one who persuaded the other rag dolls to stop hiding in fear of the machines, though as he helped others, he also exposed them to danger, and in the end of the movie, he saved 3 of them. I feel the most character development comes from rag doll #1 as he throughout the majority of the movie, was the one controlled by fear and logic to run away from danger and to save people, though he had a very unique character design that allowed him to control his fear and save rag doll #9. He is the very first rag doll and he most directly represents the personality of the scientist who created all of the 9 rag dolls, who was always interested in the safety of all of the rag dolls, while this did not change at all, the manner of him saving the rag dolls did and has improved. At first, he wanted the rag dolls to hide and stay safe from the machines, then near the end of the movie, once the machine-making machine was just about to absorb rag doll #9's soul, he said "One must be sacrificed", just as he said when he sent #5 out to perish in the beast's territory, and jumped in and sacrificed himself to save #9. This shows another perspective of his true intentions and what part of the scientist's soul he truly is, the one to sacrifice himself to save others. I just now realized this as well, the scientist that created #9 also sacrificed himself, just as #1 did to save #9, creating an even closer connection to their backstories and life.

    Then for the special effects, the explosions, fire, and lighting were phenomenal, especially in the end of the movie when 5 of the rag doll's souls were released from the spherical glowing machine and put to rest as they were glowing a beautiful green with many special particle effects.

    Finally, the directorial style of the film is fantastic with every scene having a strong purpose and value that all works and flows together to produce this wonderful movie! My impression for the feature film 9 is very positive and I truly do love how creative, meaningful, and action-packed it is, making this movie one of my favorites!

Research 9, the short

 Research 9, the short

    Hello and welcome to my blog about my impressions on 9, a short film, produced mainly by Shane Acker. My very first impressions on it on how much the film focuses on visuals and action as it does not have any dialogue at all, making it very attentive to detail, plot, and action. As I have watched the full length film before the short film, I have a very detailed a great understanding of the plot. Now that I watch the original short film, I realize how much of the plot has changed. The plot in this short film features two dolls that try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world with a mechanical beast chasing after them. There is a key and important machine that glows green once activated, and there are two parts to it. Rag doll #5 has one part of the machine, and he gave it to rag doll #9 once the mechanical beast was nearing the both of them. This shows how important the machine was to number #5 as he sacrificed himself to save the machine and rag doll #9. Rag doll #9 went after the beast and lured it into a trap to beat it once and for all, then to retrieve the other piece of the green glowing machine. When both parts of the machine connected, the souls of the 8 rag dolls who passed away appeared and went to their individual graves and disappeared. Then before rag doll #5 disappeared away, he looked and smiled at nodded at rag doll #9. The plot is very straightforward, and the character development is very special.

    The character development is shown for mostly rag doll #9 as he is the one who once ran away from the mechanical beast, and then defeated it on his own. Rag doll #5 also has a very special character development as he sacrificed himself for rag doll #9. Once rag dolls #9 and #5 met again, this shows how they truly were friends and that both of their decisions were the correct ones that allowed at least one of them to survive.

    The special effects in this movie involve a lot of glowing and fluid shadows and lights. The lighting of this movie is very important because it is what defines the main characters and the good characters aside from the destroyed world and the mechanical beast and monster. The directorial style is one to create a very supportive animation style so that it covers all that the movie needs to have without making it feel cliché in some scenes and to overall create the feelings of action and the theme of "to do". My impression of this movie is positive and supportive because the movie covered the basic plot of a full length movie and you could understand all of the action very well. This movie is very creative, well made, and incredible with its plot.