Portfolio Project

WEEK TEN: FINAL POST

Film and postcard: https://we.tl/b-HPw3rqlVdY

Instagram: @bornblinkgone

signing out,

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK TEN: CRITICAL REFLECTION

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

The message around born, blink, gone. is that memory is a difficult concept. There are parts of our lives our bodies won’t allow us to remember simply because we don’t want to. I like to think that my film represents the people who miss out on certain parts of their memories for whatever reason might be. In this case, it was trauma induced. For others, it might be because of pain or medical reasons. I wanted. to create an abstract way of expressing the feeling of not knowing what you don’t know. 

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

The component of my film that ties everything together is the color scheme. I went with a dark but bright-colored theme, such as Jaxson’s ice cream parlor, because I thought it would represent the genre perfectly. By using these colors and editing for each social media post as well as in the postcard and the film itself, it brings the tone of the short film straight from the screen to the audience. The brand it creates in turn causes more attention to the film and a more memorable marketing campaign. I also used the font times new roman for every post and text in the film. This sophisticated font paired with the overall essence created a very specific look that I kept consistent throughout the entire project. 

How do your products engage with the audience?

The main way I engaged with my audience was through social media. My posts were very mysterious and vague, which created a sense of curiosity to see the film. Each post contained the same “logo,” which consisted of the title of the film as well as the director's name. I also made sure to include the date of release and any upcoming events, such as the film festival showings. My Instagram did look a bit hectic. In the future, I think I would create an alternating feed of types of posts so it doesn't look too repetitive or clustered.

The postcard I created promoted these film festivals. The goal was to be able to pass them out and create an audience to view my short film live. I included the dates and times of each show as well as the names of the festivals. I chose stills from the film that I knew would catch the eye of participants at these festivals and also included the Instagram handle, so they can interact with that as well. 

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

I focused my research mainly on case studies of other films. Choosing films in the post-modern, coming-of-age, and thriller genres, I essentially created a mood board for what I wanted my project to look like. One thing I struggled with was my plot. I wanted to create something for young adults but with an underlying meaning that would more relate to them when they were older. I do wish I could have developed this better in my film, but through my research, I grasped the concept of using a more mature concept for younger audience members. Personally, I don’t think my message got through as I would have wished it to. This is a flaw in a combination of components, specifically writing, and editing, and I completely think that I have used this as a learning experience to try and successfully execute this in my next project. 

While looking at the film Mid90s by Jonah Hill, I discovered the font Times New Roman. This is the font I used across all three components: postcard, social, and film. As I looked at the Mid90s Instagram, I learned that this font was exactly what I needed to use to relay my tone. This shows the power of not only marketing but little aspects of media such as the singular font you use. It can change anything from your target audience to tone to the quality of the film.

Overall reflections

This was a big learning experience for me. This was the first project I completely worked on from beginning to end by myself, so for that I am proud. Certain components of this specific project are definitely clearer in hindsight. The first is that I need to take several angles of the same scenes. At some point, I started rushing and as I edited, I realized the angles of the shots did not flow well and looked extremely messy. I also wish I used more camera movement instead of using all still shots to eliminate the montage feel. My biggest learning point though is in myself. From the beginning, I hyper-fixated on this film and that every detail needed to be perfect. Rather than choose a smaller concept, I tried to "go big" and ended up having a broken plot that was all over the place. Regardless, this was definitely a turning point in my future career as a filmmaker, so I am proud of born, blink, gone.

Portfolio Project

WEEK TEN: THE FINAL WEEK... or like 5 days

WELCOME TO THE LAST AND FINAL WEEK OF THIS PROJECT!!!!!!!!!!!

As sad as I am to see it go, I have to admit I am happy to not have the constant stress of finishing this. Let's just say I have a lot to write about for my critical reflection...

First of all, I would LOVE to update you on my musical journey. Thankfully, as anticipated, my colleagues (have dmed me back once), The Moss, have gotten back to me with a lovely answer. 

Wow, I love them. Totally recommend listening to their music!! #promo But seriously, artists helping artists is beautiful and I am really thankful for their support :)

As I’ve
said before, a big barrier in my filmmaking career is my janky laptop which cannot do more than one thing at a time. As we get closer to finishing, I am nervous that this will become a major problem when I download my final project. It has already shut down on me multiple times while I’ve been editing, so honestly it’s not looking too hot. Will definitely keep you guys updated. 

Vane and Is date went really well. I finished editing, for the most part. It’s really cool how just one other person can push you to be that much more productive. She gave me a lot of criticism as well as reassurance, so I do feel a bit more confident in my results. 

I'm going to stop this blog here because I feel like I’m rambling. I would like to mention that I am glad I gave myself those two free weeks to edit, because I DEFINITELY needed them. Time may not be my strong suit. 

See you guys later,

ms spielberg 

Portfolio Project

WEEK NINE: VANE YANES

If you were here from the start, you probably recognize this name. Vane and I are extremely similar. Our journey to discover how absurdly similar we are began in this course and has only gotten weirder since. We have frequent meetings throughout the week (lunch, class, and the walk from this class to our cars) to discuss our weekly topics, and recently they have very much been centered around our projects.

During our virtual meeting this weekend (constant texting) the concept of procrastination. We both struggle with the want and need to do certain components of our project, but can't bring ourselves to start them... so whack! At first, I thought it was just a me thing. But after talking to Vane, I realized we were feeling similar feelings. 

The main shared vibe we have is the anxiety of beginning a new concept of the film (or trailer). Personally, I know what I have to do, and I know I need to get it done, but when I sit down to do it, it stresses me out too much so I start another component. I have started every singular piece of this project, and the only part I have come close to finishing is the postcard. Vane is doing the trailer, so she is really struggling with editing.

Our solution is a date! Vane and I are gonna grind out our projects together @ Panera on Wednesday. I think a little support is going to get us a long way. Especially cause we have a very fun, chaotic energy, whenever we do work together it's almost as if our chaos drives us to our end goal.

don't worry, we will definitely be blogging with our caffeinated lemonade and bread bowls

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK NINE: #BORNBLINKGONE

I hate social media. The amount of other feature, short, student, professional, basically you name the film social media pages I have looked at makes me almost want to throw up. I like to diagnose myself with posting anxiety. I prepare the posts and I want my page to be full, but the stress of writing a caption and clicking post leads me to put it off. This common disorder is found it those who work frequently with media, such as marketing which I do for a nonprofit that basically has taken over my life.

Like I said in my social media blog, I loved the look of having the name of the film centered at the bottom of most of my posts, like in Mid90s. This is what I have created so far:

I love how they look, but obviously, if these were the only type of content I were to post (i.e. stills from the film with the "logo") it would get quite boring. I want to also add stills with quotes such from the film, as well as short clips. I won't have time to make a trailer or other more complex videos to post, but I am going to post the blooper reel as the last post of my social media page.

I also updated my postcard. It seemed too busy with the location and the title, so I tried to create an easier style where you would easily read the information.

Choice A

Choice B

I am definitely leaning more toward choice A. It is more interesting to look at, and not as boring as B, but B is easier to read. I am going to talk to my classmates and get feedback. The back is staying the same.

I wanted to create a post that announced born, blink, gone. would premiere at Reality Bytes since it would form continuity from the postcard to the social media page. This is the hypothetical post:

Not sure why it's such bad quality.

The only issue is that after I posted it, tagging @niurealitybytes, I realized they would be informed about my post. I didn't want them to think I was pretending to be a part of the festival or that I believed I was in it when I wasn't. My game plan is to either message them and tell them what I am doing to avoid any confusion or just not tag them in the post, neither account of a hashtag, but I don't want to do that. I will talk to stok about this also.

This is the current state of the page:

I want to announce Reality Bytes before I post anything else, so once I have that approved I will post the next 5 or 6 posts.

starting to feel a bit behind, but loving the rush!

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK NINE: SECOND TO LAST WEEK

Here we are, in the final weeks of our project. We got a lot to do so let's get into it.

I have been working on editing, and I'll definitely be done by the end of the week, maybe Monday of the following.

I just messaged The Moss if I could use their song "Blink" in the film.

For those who are thinking "Hannah, do you really think this band is going to respond to you?" The answer is yes, and for various reasons. The first is that they are not very big. They currently have 36K followers, which seems like a lot, but for reference, Justin Bieber has 285 million followers...so... Another reason to believe they will answer me is I am a loyal fan. I followed them when they were at 10k followers, so loyalty! The final and most important reason is that they have answered me before.

This is me telling them I wanted to go to their concert but my parents wouldn't let me fly to Texas.

So I will keep you all updated on the music.

I finally finished picking which scenes I wanted and which I didn't. I do get emotionally attached to my content, so it took a lot of difficult decision-making and heartbreak, but I did do it. As I went through the scenes, I noticed a few mistakes, so I checked in with Sofi to see if she would be available for possible reshoots (there were no issues with Alexis' scenes). She has her school play but we worked out possible days preemptively in case I wanted to, but I am trying my hardest to work around them to not waste time. The issues were mostly minor, such as the elevator being a mirror and you can see me in it or eye contact with the camera when there was not supposed to be.

Next up for editing is cutting the shots and editing color. Crazy how we're almost finished.

See you guys later for some insta-updates,

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK EIGHT: SOCIAL RESEARCH

I am literally an influencer.

Okay, maybe that was more accurate. Regardless, I do run multiple different Instagram pages. Before I start posting on the Born, Blink, Gone page, I wanted to look into other films' pages so I can map out mine. 

Don't Worry Darling Their page isn't what I was expecting. There is not really a common theme or pattern, but rather more focused on stills, short clips, and reviews. The filters and lighting become more consistent in their more recent postings, which ties it all together. I really like their use of clips and videos of the films. I don't like how the earlier posts look very random and are more focused on their PR events than the film. I also like the information they included in their bio, and how they included where the movie is showing.

Mid90s I LOVE this page. It is really hard not to completely copy their brand because it is the exact vibe I am looking for. My favorite part is how they included the name of the movie centered at the bottom of the picture. They consistently included almost a logo of the movie in each of their pictures so that if anyone were to share it or see it without context, they would know where it is from. This leads to a bigger audience. A small, but also very cool, detail I noticed is the use of the same font but in different colors. It keeps the page consistent but also varies the content provided and makes it more entertaining to look at.

Marcel The Shell with Shoes On Okay, I know this movie had nothing to do with the genre of my movie, but I have been obsessing over it, and it's an A24 movie, so I looked into it. Again, the consistency is clean. Like Mid90s, and maybe since it's also A24, the name of the movie is at the bottom of most posts. That's definitely a technique I want to use. This page also has a countdown until the premiere of the movie. I think that is something I could really play around with. It is a great way to keep the audience engaged.

I think if I take my favorite parts from each of these pages, I could make a really fun, engaging Instagram page. The goal is to promote my movie and spread awareness so that more people will go watch it. It also matters how I present the movie, so the audience is the target audience and they feel that the movie matched the advertising.

TTYL,

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK EIGHT: POST-FILMING UPDATE AND GAME PLAN

HI!

It has officially been 5 days since we finished filming. Here is what needs to get done before our deadline, which happens to be in about 2 weeks.

    1. Edit the film

    2. Add/fix audio

    3. Post on the Instagram

    4. Get the postcard approved

It really isn't that much, except for #1. Every time I think about starting it, I get extremely anxious. The result has been me putting it off, which I am fully aware is not the right method. But it will get done!

I did actually start #1 by trying to transfer the footage from my phone to my laptop. Let me tell you, it was possibly the most frustrating experience of the whole project. 

For those of you who do not personally, I have the world's most dysfunctional laptop. As a person who is constantly creating films, you can imagine how lovely it is whenever you try to download a project, your entire computer crashes. So, it is on brand that when I tried to airdrop videos to my laptop, I constantly received this:

Ironically, this image sent perfectly.

After two days of trying the same thing of sending videos through airdrop, I decided today to try a different method. WeTranfer is my most trusty website, so I tried out "Collect" by WeTransfer, and it was awesome. My videos transferred within 30 minutes, and are now available to start downloading and putting into Premiere. 

I am going to start editing the film tomorrow. I also have a game plan for music involving messaging my favorite band, The Moss, on Instagram and seeing if they will let me use their song (yes, they have responded to me before)!!

I keep looking at the stills, they're so pretty,

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK SEVEN: POSTCARD

After filming, obviously, I went straight into replacing the scary close-up of Vane's face with the big glasses with Sofi the beautiful actress's scary close-up (Vane, I am not saying you are not beautiful, but the picture is not your best). So, here are the first drafts:

Front

Back

I know I am missing a few details, but I do love how this looks. I was debating whether doing Sofi with her eyes closed or opened, but I thought the idea of her not blinking would portray the theme of the short better. Also, it looked a little weird given the focus is on a woman with her eyes closed and the text is the main focus. Not sure if that makes sense so I will provide visual contexts.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

You see, eyes open just made more sense.

I did research for the film festivals themselves too. I wanted to choose two festivals that were 1. specifically for young filmmakers and 2. were around the same time frame. After looking at many websites and a few weird Facebook pages, I went with Reality Bytes and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY).

Reality Bytes This film festival sponsored by Northern Illinois University is a film festival for independent films by high school, college, and graduate students to competitively screen their films. This year, it took place April 11-13, so I am predicting it will be on the same weekend the following year. I like that this is a smaller festival and less knowns than NFFTY and around the same time, therefore I can use the postcard for both festivals.

NFFTY NFFTY is the largest world's largest film festival for emerging filmmakers, ages 24 and under. This year, NFFTY took place April 27- May 7 in Seattle, Washington. This will definitely draw more attention than Reality Bytes but give a good range in audience given the different regional areas.

that's enough for today, see you soon,

ms spielberg

Portfolio Project

WEEK SEVEN: FILMING DAY!!!!!

HELLO HI WELCOME YAY, WE FILMED!

Filming went really well!! We had a LOT of fun and a LOT of ice cream, so I would call it a success. 

Our Massive Sundae

Let me give you a breakdown of how the night went:

8:15 p.m. Left dance and headed over to Sofi's apt.

8:30 p.m. Got to Sofi's apt. and shot the opening (not sure if i'm even using but thought it would be useful)

8:50 p.m. Alexis arrives to pick us up; Sofi and I head down

8:52 p.m. Begin to shoot the first scene

8:56 p.m. Realize the shot in my head is not possible due to the layout of the apt. (and the valet men were deeply confused why we were driving in circles)

9:00 p.m. Arrive at random parking lot to shoot scenes

9:20 p.m. Start drive to Jaxson's

9:40 p.m. Arrive at Jaxson's and get sat by the most lovely hostess

9:42 p.m. Ordered the most delicious sundae of our entire lives

9:47 p.m. Eat approximately half this massive Sunday.

9:50 p.m. Begin filming! Most was done at our one booth, so it was fairly simple to shoot.

11:00 p.m. Start to rush because they close at 11 but our very kind waiter told us not to rush :)

11:15 p.m. Leave the very kind waiter a big tip and leave Jaxson's happy and full!!

This was how my night went down! I was super nervous because I didn't loooove my script, but just like I said, Sofi and Alexis killed it. Also, the second we started rolling, the three of us could not. stop. laughing.

Blooper reel coming soon...

I realized that filmmaking is not about perfection. I do not need to impress the entire world or change the game of cinema to be proud of my work. I may not have an award-winning film, and this may not be Stok's favorite piece, but I am proud of myself and making it made me happy :)

here's to growth,

ms spielberg (new and improved)

Portfolio Project

WEEK SEVEN: SHOT LIST

Greetings earthlings.

Personally, I am a person that needs a general plan of attack before I do something. So, I created a general list of shots that I need to make sure I get while filming.

1. Long shot of Sofi at her house

2. Mid shot of her checking her phone

3. Close-up of light on her phone

4. Sofi exiting the house

5. The elevator shot in and out

6. Long shot of Alexis pulling in and Sofi getting into the car

7. Shot from the back seat of Sofi getting into the car

8. music playing scene

9. Some shots of them driving around the parking lot

10. Long shot at Jaxson's of them going in? Maybe in line?

11. Sitting at Jaxson 

12. Conversations different angles

1. Mid shots

2. Long shots

3. Close-ups

13. Close-up of sofi

1. “Open your eyes”

Some reference photos:

Sofi's Apartment

Jaxson's Exterior

Jaxson's Interior

I have it all pictured in my head, but I still have worries that I'll miss something. I think a lot of conveying my message is in the editing, so I am going to get as many extra shots as possible so I can get what I want out of it... like, an abundant amount of shots. I get a lot of perfectionism anxiety over things not being continuous so a reshoot day is NOT an option. It just has to be perfect... not biggie!

next time we talk, ms spielberg is going into action :)

ms spielberg