Movie Opening

 Falling Through the Rose Bush:

If it's not working, put the link in manually: https://youtu.be/VD6-FgEvtVM

If THAT'S not working, press here!: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14VPxUsVQnapp1WNJ47t8exLJf6TnrtOQ/view?usp=sharing

CCRs

 CCR #1

If it's not working, put the link in manually: https://youtu.be/jGTZd9dWQB0?si=Or2G7T_azavgWd2X

CCR #2:

If it's not working, put the link in manually: https://youtu.be/U_C07nyFSc0

CCR Credits:

If it's not working, put the link in manually: https://youtu.be/bTXjsA1U-uw

Final Goodbyes

 Wow. 8 weeks. Across 3 months. One project. 

    This project has taught me so much more than just making up the concept of a movie opening. While I might not have loved it at first, my opening is now my pride and joy (even though I would DEFINITELY change things if I could). All jokes aside, this was such an immense challenge for me in terms of working individually. I thought working individually was better because your idea could be totally your own, but it is so much more than that. I completely underestimated how much time this would really take and how long 8 weeks really was. My entire project would've been different if I had a partner because not only would I have somebody to keep me on track, but I would have someone to share the workload with. Even though I didn't have a partner, so many people helped me and were there for me when I was stressed out or had to cancel plans to meet a deadline. Speaking of deadlines and underestimating, I had no clue how bad my procrastination really was until I had to do weekly blogs. For some strange reason, I always thought I had so much more time. Enough of the complaints, though; I truly did enjoy the process of making Falling Through the Rose Bush, and I hope all of you at Cambridge will like it too. 

Me going through every emotion known to man in this reflection.

Lady Watching Sad Movie In Cinema - Stock Video | Motion Array. (2025). Motionarray.com. https://motionarray.com/stock-video/lady-watching-sad-movie-in-cinema-2467827/

Editing CCRs!!

     I am SO close to being done with this project. It's bittersweet, but it's worth it. All that is left is editing and publishing my CCRs. Post-production wasn't too elaborate. For the first CCR, I did have to actually edit a 7-minute long video, so that wasn't the greatest. On the other hand, though, the second CCR only had to be published, so that was easy peasy.

    For the enhanced podcast/talk show, though it was lengthy, editing only required cutting clips and adding music and subtitles on top. Not too difficult, as the same music repeated through the entire episode except the intro and the outro. I used two jazzy royalty-free songs from the same reliable Mixkit and made the ad by customizing a template on Canva.

Editing the episode

Arrivederchi! I will see ya'll at submission.

Producing the CCRs

     One CCR was much, much harder and took longer than the other, so I'll touch base on both, but one will have more meat to mention. Despite this, the CCR content flowed nicely and wasn't extremely difficult to piece together. I'd like to say that this is because I did a good job planning, but the truth is that my teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa, set the whole class up really well with the instructions. Because of all this, I produced one enhanced podcast/talk show and one voiced-over presentation.

Ori's Podcast

The original plan was to record Ori growling and barking to make it seem like he was talking and just put subtitles over that. However, my sweet pup decided to be quiet today, so there was no growling. Also, he wouldn't sit down for long enough to get shots together, resulting in only shots and countershots. The most he cooperated with was receiving a treat to sit down on the host's couch. The first thing I did was set my camera up on the tripod and test the angle. I then bribed Ori to sit on said couch with a treat, though it took about 5 tries. Finally, I figured that I'd just shoot as long as possible as I can get of him on the couch and cut everything in post-production. Here's evidence for ya'll.

For me, I just set the tripod up in a way where I was seen but not the coffee table where my computer rested with my lines on it.

Presentation

    For questions #3 and #4, I felt as though they were beautifully answered on my blog, so I used those answers as a script for my presentation. I used Canva and stuck to the 1800s theme on a notebook texture with doodles of flowers on it, making it seem like Lily's notebook. For the voiceover part, I simply screen-recorded the presentation and spoke the answers aloud as I was going through it. It was smooth and straight to the point.

Group Meeting! (Part 2)

     The group meetings are when every student in class is assigned to 4-6 people groups to talk about what they have so far and give or receive advice. This time around, though, I didn't get much advice in the group meetings in class, but instead, I gave advice out. I'll be discussing the notes I took from the meeting and the advice I gave or didn't give.

Bella Montanari:

She's working in a group with two other people called Victoria and Juan. Their movie is about a woman who matches with men on online dating apps and goes on dates with them. If she finds flaws in them during the date, she kills them because she's a psychopath. Obviously, their genre is horror, and their title is Manslaughter. I LOVED the title; I thought it was so clever. She showed me clips of their opening, which consisted of one of the said dates where she kills a man. It looked great and I had no notes about that except that maybe it would be helpful to define her motive a little more clearly. Where did this psychopathic behaviour stem from?

Santiago Racca:

Santiago is working by himself, like me, and he made a suspense/thriller movie opening. His plot is about a man who is kidnapped and tries to escape but can never. He gets kidnapped over and over again, no matter how cleverly he finds his way out of that basement. I didn't get much else about the plot, but the opening was phenomenal. His mom did outstandingly realistic bloody makeup on his face, and the lighting perfectly set the tone. The whole thing was just really well done. Respect!

Benjamin Marchan:

This one was different from the past two. Not in a bad way, but not in a great way either. He hadn't filmed anything at all and didn't have much of an idea when it came to plot, so he got a lot of help there. His movie is a sports drama titled Offseason. He had an idea of what the opening was going to look like. Two best friends getting ready for a football meeting in the offseason to practice would be shown in a series of cutaways. I suggested that maybe the conflict in the movie could be that one of the best friends is logical and the other is immature, and they grow to have disagreements. The movie would be about friendship and commitment through the big fights. I thought this would add a nice meaning behind the football theme because football players have to get through the pain and keep playing no matter the condition. For his credits, I suggested he use lots of physical anchors. This meant having the credits written on objects on screen because it gave a more physical feel to the sports aspect.

CCR: Question #4

 Since questions #3 and #4 will be answered in the presentation together, you all already know how it's going to be set up. This blog post will simply be answering the fourth question, and I'll be breaking it down in the presentation.

"How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?"

     I used an array of technologies throughout the multiple stages of this project to enhance my production practice and get the best and most accurate outcome for my project. The hardware I used for this project consisted of a professional camera for recording the opening, a laptop for editing the opening, and a USB with an attachment for transferring files. The camera is a NIKON 5000 that my dad has owned since he and my mom met. He used to love photographing nature with it, but hasn't used it in a couple of years and lends it to me to photograph events like birthday parties and dinners. I didn't film with it myself, but my cameraman for the opening often helps me photograph these events and is familiar with its functions. My laptop is a simple Apple MacBook Air that I used to download software and look online for editing assistance. The USB was some random one I had lying around in my house waiting to be used, but it needed an attachment because my laptop doesn't have a USB port. I used these collectively to carry the videos from my camera to downloading them on my dad's laptop to downloading them on my laptop. The software I used was strictly Adobe Premiere Pro 2025. That application gave me such a good experience while editing when it came to everything except saving my files. Nonetheless, I'll most likely be using it for future projects. The main online technologies I used were for script writing, citation formatting, text making, and sound finding. I used StudioBinder for the script, MyBiB for citations, Canva for text, and Mixkit for SFX.

CCR: Question #3

     Since I'm combining both a talk show and an enhanced podcast for my first CCR, I'm going to do something on the simpler side for my second one, just so it's easier to understand and my point gets across quicker. Because of this, I'll be doing a presentation with a voiceover. Presentations don't exactly have scripts, so in this blog post I'll simply be answering the question that I will later break down on the presentation.

"How did your production skills develop through this project?"

    Through my project, I followed the natural progression of research --> plan --> production. I began by researching genre, media theories, title sequences, and openings that interest me in terms of inspiration. I was thinking of this project as simply another assignment. Something brainless and easy. Then, I started the planning for my opening, which included my plot idea, storyboard, characters, costumes, filming location, props, music and audio, and script. At this point, it was becoming more personal. I was starting to become proud of my product and gaining a sense of ownership for it. Last was producing my actual opening. I filmed, recorded, and created. It was such a creative journey that it felt liberating. The process was no longer a chore but a pleasure. I do have to admit, though, that I definitely had moments that felt weighing. For example, I had no costume until the day of filming, and I didn't even plan it myself. Solution? My costume for a school play just so happened to be perfect for my opening and came right in time for filming. Another instance was when I had to edit my entire opening THRICE because I kept losing or deleting it. Solution? I gave myself lots of time to do my editing, so though it was an unnecessary and time-consuming hassle, I managed to get it done in perfect time. A third occasion was that I am a huge procrastinator, and I worked on this project alone. This meant that I had to be solely dependent on myself for timing when it came to posting blogs and filming and editing. Solution? I had to learn and push myself throughout this project to get stuff done on my own terms and for my own success. This project has been a journey and a gift, and I have honed in on my editing, time management, and overall production skills through the course of it.

CCR: Question #2

 "How does your product engage with audiences, and how would it be distributed as a real media text?"

    Continuing the theme of the Puppies Talk podcast, the second question will be answered after the advertisement break, and it will likely be about some dog-related subject such as parks or treats. The following is the script for this section.

Ori: After that delicious snack, let's get back into it, shall we? So, Keyla, by making all these specific choices, you clearly had a target for your viewers, right?

Keyla: Of course, yes!

Ori: So tell me, who are these people you're trying to reach?

Keyla: The genres of psychological movies and dramatic movies are both largely viewed more by women than men because of the much heavier appeal emotionally. Men tend to be more drawn to the action, so women make up a grand part of my target audience. Additionally, psychological thrillers require a bit more intellect to grasp the concepts, so FTTRB targets adults around 18-35 more than older or younger ones.

Ori: Well, that's much simpler than I thought it was. Is the target audience based only on age and gender?

Keyla: Not exactly, Ori. It's also comprised of status, ethnicity, education, interests, and much much more. For example, my film should be especially attractive to viewers learning about medical and/or psychological topics like the ones Lily faces. Education in my target audience is also between mid to high since slight background knowledge is needed. However, status and ethnicity aren't big factors in my production's audience since this story doesn't even take place in present times, so both these characteristics were very different from then to now.

Ori: Ohhh, that makes sense! So what choices did you make when producing your movie to find said target audience?

Keyla: To begin, the main character is between her teenage to young adult years, which is why though the target audience is adults, those adults are on the younger side. Exanding on this, she's also a girl which will aid in the target audience for my genre to be even more drawn towards my film. Then, education is needed because Lily's story deals with lobotomies and the social norms of the 1800s. Knowing what's going on in the background is important in the film, which is why higher education audiences are ideal.

Ori: Wow, Keyla. So clever, truly. 

Keyla: You flatter me, Ori.

Ori: Tell me, how exactly do you plan to put this amazing film of yours out into the world?

Keyla: Let's be real here. This is the first production I'm ever putting out into the world; it's certainly not going to become famous overnight, and my budget is very, very limited. Hence, I need to start small when it comes to distributing it. There are annual film festivals held at a local high school in which I could submit my production to be displayed. There are often some pretty influential people who attend and I could get my film noticed big time! Also, online platforms are some of the easiest and most popular forms of distribution nowadays, all for a simple subscription. I could put my work on sites like Vimeo, YouTube, and Prime Video Direct. 

Ori: Sounds nice and realistic, Keyla. You seem to really have your stuff set. I wish you the best of luck in your journey, and can hopefully get you back on the podcast when you're famous! See you next episode on the Puppies Talk podcast! (Outro music)

Our host, Ori

Chocolate Covered Raisins

     I won't lie when I looked up what a CCR was before my teacher explained it to my class, the first thing that popped up was chocolate-covered raisins. Now that I'm well aware that CCR isn't some sweet snack but instead a Creative Critical Reflection, I'm going to be transitioning from my Portfolio Project to this analysis stage. Today, I'll be writing the script for Q1 of my CCR.

"How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?"

    To answer questions 1 and 2 of my CCR I wanted to do a podcast-style answer. My friends and I joke all the time that my living room seating looks like it was set up for a podcast so I'm going to take advantage of that. To tie in the creative aspect, I'll be having my dog be the interviewer because everybody else is busy and I'm working alone!

The idea:

The podcast setup inspiration:

My living room:

2 options: curtain down or curtain up

Ori (my dog): On today's episode of the Puppies Talk podcast, we're going to be interviewing the upcoming film director Keyla Seoane Vega! 

Keyla: Hey! It's my pleasure to sit here tonight.

Ori: Let's get into it. Tell us a little bit about your film why don't you?

Keyla: Of course, my film is the story of a girl who witnessed her own twin sister's suicide but because her PTSD was getting really bad, her family didn't want anyone to see her like that and got her lobotomized so she wouldn't remember. The entire movie is the progression of Lily, the main character, slowly finding out about her twin's death and going insane again.

Ori: Wow! How unexpectedly dark. So what's your genre then, horror?

Keyla: Nope it's a psychological drama and a period piece.

Ori: A period piece what is that? And a psychological drama? What are these? I thought there was only horror and comedy. Just how there are only two colors: blue and yellow.

Keyla: No silly there are tons of different genres each with their own conventions.

Ori: Okay, okay. Tell me about 'em.

Keyla: Well some major ones are dramas, thrillers, horrors, comedies, and coming-of-age films. They each have their own conventions or characteristics. For example, tone and mood. The tone and mood in each genre are how the connotations of the actions on screen make you feel. In horror, the tone would be suspenseful like in Terrifier while, on the other hand, the tone in comedy would be light-hearted like in Pitch-Perfect. Other conventions in each genre include topics, style, characters, plot structures, setting, conflict, speed in cuts, and endless more details.

Ori: Huh... Makes sense, I guess. Well, what genre convention did you choose, if any?

Keyla: My chosen convention was an unreliable narrator in a psychological drama genre. Unreliable narrators can be interpreted in many different ways, but Lily is one because she has a mental illness and memory loss. Her narration of the story can't be fully trusted because she doesn't have full knowledge of what's happening in her own narrative, so she isn't aware that she's an unreliable narrator.

Ori: So, you mentioned earlier how character can also make up conventions. How does the whole 'unreliable narrator' represent your main character, Lily?

Keyla: Great question, I see you're learning. Lily's story is a fictional representation of people with mental illness, more specifically, dissociative disorders like DID (dissociative identity disorder) and DA (dissociative amnesia). Mental illness is often represented incorrectly in movies and TV. While multiple symptoms are displayed in Lily, memory loss is a major theme in the movie, which I used construction to represent. Construction consists of visual and auditory choices to support aspects of a character. I used choices like vibrant lighting and curious music to build the idea that Lily's lack of knowledge and memory give her a child-like obliviousness. For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind deals with memory loss and has lots of flashbacks in which the construction helps display the main character's feeling in that moment.

Ori: Huh, it's cool how every element just sort of comes together in the end. You know what? All this technical talk is making me hungry.

Keyla: (throws treat) We'll be right back after a short break on the Puppies Talk podcast.

Here is where I would insert the ad, and after the ad, I would answer the 2nd question.

Post-Production! (Prequel)

     My first time editing this beautiful project, I didn't get very far. I hadn't edited since November and had grown unfamiliar with Premiere Pro since then. Because of this, I was very slow when editing, but also very nervous. Since I was so nervous and rushed I just completely forgot to save the entire thing. Don't get me wrong, even though I didn't get much done, I did the entire base of my opening. As in editing all the clips together to make 2 minutes.

Here, I pretty much had no editing plan and was just sticking clips together recklessly.

    

    

    The second time around, I had more of an idea of what I was doing and could also edit a lot faster. I not only edited the clips together but started working on motion. This meant I took into perspective if some clips were too shaky and needed to be stabilized and if some clips were too slow and should be sped up. I didn't know how to do any of this but by asking for help I found a couple students from my school's TV program that knew a whole lot more about editing. 

I never found out what happened to this draft and why it didn't save either, but I don't have it anymore.

    The third and last time, I edited all the way through. Before this, I finished all of my homework for every other class so that I could just focus on editing. Over two days, I spent 6 and 5 hours respectively editing my opening. And I couldn't be prouder of it. I've finished putting the clips together, color grading, adding music and foley, integrating the production company, and finding the perfect fonts for the credits and title. Only quickly, I mentioned foley, which I was supposed to make myself, but the grass sound I needed was not able to be made since it's been raining for the past few days and I can't use wet grass for any kind of crunch, so I stuck to royalty-free sound effects. However, I did record the pen click and rustling trees. Anyways, the editing this time was thorough and neat and even. Here are the time lapses for one of those days.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KL-BP94iMkVGs5cmSWsZbJaT_hEdozm8/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ONKPpTafKbdIVhAdikd6N35oEQhu04O_/view?usp=sharing

I edited the rest of it today, but this was only yesterday's editing.

“Birds Sound Effects | Mixkit.” Mixkit.co, 2025, mixkit.co/free-sound-effects/discover/birds/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

“Grass Sound Effects | Mixkit.” Mixkit.co, 2025, mixkit.co/free-sound-effects/discover/grass/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

Post-Production!

Lighting

    In my film, the goal was to integrate two different kinds of lighting. The beginning and end have high-key lighting while the scene where she finds the noose and the earring has low-key lighting. For the most part, the opening has bright, vibrant, high-key lighting to mimic a kid's mind. This is because her memory is limited, giving her a child-like whimsy. The scene would reflect this by the lighting and color being exaggeratedly vibrant and highlighter. In direct contrast, the later scene with the tree, the noose, and the earring had dim, dull, low-key lighting. The contrast was in the negatives and the temperature was set to cool. I edited my project in Premiere Pro with a set-up template for editing and simply switched the template to one for color. 

Editing Layout                                                             Color Layout

Settings for the high-key lighting clips

Before                                                             After

Settings for the low-key lighting clips

Before                                                                    After

Production Part 4

    Hey, Cambridge! It's a new week! Today's production is dialogue. As previously mentioned, my friend Margot has a lovely English accent and is going to be my voice-over actress. 

    Apart from being awesome, Margot spends the bulk of her time playing volleyball. This meant she had little to no time to meet up after school to record. Thankfully, we have theater class together every other day in which we have access to noise-cancelling recording rooms and microphones. So our solution? Record then.

    Though we had this class time to use, we still had to be responsible and participate in some part of it. For this reason, we cut our recording into three parts. One class is 90 minutes long which is three 30-minute blocks. For the first two thirty minutes, we worked and rehearsed; for the last thirty minutes, we worked on the voice-over. We did this three times to have a total of 90 minutes of work time.

Day 1:

• For about 10 minutes, we came up with this dynamic.
• For another 10 minutes, I explained the film and the opening plot. 
• For the last 10 minutes, she read the script and I explained the different decisions.

Margot reading the script.

Day 2:

• Read over the script and made different choices to see what sounded best
• Wrote down the different interpretations

Day 3:

• Recorded!
• I forgot that Lily's mom called her in for dinner in the opening and that I had to record that too.

 In the recording room.