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.

Genre Choice for Film

 Genre Choice for Film

    Hello, in this blog I will be choosing the genre choice for my film that I officially want to use. I am choosing the action/adventure genre for my film! I chose the action/adventure genre because it matches what I want my film to feel like the best! Of course I can add some comedic scenes in the movie, which is what I want to add, though I will be focusing on the action/adventure for the most part for my film.

    I was inspired to choose the action/adventure genre out of the three genres I chose to research because the first thing I thought of when thinking of a pitch was action and adventure. To make a film about two brothers working together and succeeding is very action filled and adventurous. The inspiration to continue with this genre is me remembering how me and my brother felt when we watched the Fortnite World Cup video about the winner of this world-wide Fortnite tournament who is nicknamed Bugha. The video is called "Bugha - Stories from the Battle Bus", which features a 16 year old named Bugha in Fortnite as he won $3,00,000 after being recognized as the world's best Fortnite player. This video was so well built and so inspiring that I truly decided to stick with the action/adventure genre. It reflects what I want my film to feel like and how I want to make my film. Seeing a 16 year old work so hard and succeed is truly inspiring, and the video on his success in the Fortnite World Cup inspired me to stick with the action/adventure genre for my film.

    The comedy and thriller genres match some parts of what I want in my film, though it is not what I want my films to be and feel mostly about. The action and adventure of the success in my film is what I want to highlight in my film. The story of Bugha winning the Fortnite World Cup inspired me and my brother about how awesome and legendary it is to truly win something that big. This film that I will be making will match exactly what I felt while watching this video, which is what I will accomplish for my film! I did not have to tweak my pitch because my pitch matches my thoughts and ideas that are in my mind for my film. I am choosing the action/adventure genre for my AICE Media A Level Final Task film because it best represents my thoughts and ideas on my pitch and film. Winning a Fortnite tournament is truly remarkable and action packed, and there is an entire adventure from the start to the finish. I will make my film action packed with an adventure story that will remake what the Bugha Fortnite World Cup story made me and my brother feel. I will make my film on two brothers winning a Fortnite tournament together an action and adventure film to make the film the best it can be and the best to make me and my brother feel the best about it together!