AICE Media Studies

I have completely finished my AICE Media portfolio project! It has all gone by very fast and I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. At the beginning of this project, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to produce a quality project because it seemed so complicated. When I first heard about the project, I immediately knew that I wanted to do a zombie film.

I was heavily inspired by my favorite pieces of zombie media and did research on the credits scenes and openings of each. The research step of this whole process was the most helpful. These blogs helped me plan, in detail, each step I was going to take to be able to pull off my idea. I was assigned to create a schedule which I included in a blog post, I found that this helped me simplify my timeline. I also created a shot list which was a huge help because it helped me make sure I wasn't forgetting any shots and made the filming process simpler.

Of course, with every task there are always setbacks. I am lucky to say that I didn't have any major setbacks, but I did have a few challenges I had to overcome. I had an original plan to have the beginning of the project be somewhat action-packed and taking place at night with a time jump to the woods. I was worried that this would be too ambitious and it would also seem like a short film more than a film opening so, I decided to just have the whole opening take place in the woods.

My original Storyboard

I had a few very minor bumps during the filming process but I was able to work around them. Since I was filming in a public park, there were people in the background, both visually and audibly. This was fixed with some simple crops and lowering the volume along with adding sound effects. Finally, the last shot was quite difficult to film because I wanted to have a "zombie" walk in the background. I played as the zombie and tried multiple times to make it look believable but I failed, so i just had the same shot without anything in the background and it still looked pretty cool.

Overall, I am quite pleased with myself and how I produced a film opening by myself. This project will allow me to have more faith in myself in the future when things may seem impossible. Even though I was overwhelmed in the beginning, I was able to work hard and get it done.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

CCR Post-Production

I have just begun the editing process of my Creative Critical Reflection and should finish tomorrow. For my slideshow, I want to edit some photos on the slideshow since it would be easier than using an animation within Canva, and I also need to edit my voice recording on top of the screen recording I have.

For my director commentary, I have done all the cuts I need to and arranged the clips properly. I would like to include music, so I will need to find a royalty free song to put in the background and I also want photos and videos in it which I should get done by today.

Monday, March 17, 2025

CCR Production

For my CCR I am doing a director commentary and a slideshow. I am doing a slideshow for questions 1-2, and director commentary for 3-4. I created my slideshow in Canva and I've recorded my VoiceOver.

I just need to screen record the slideshow and edit the video. For my director commentary, I've recorded everything I need, I just need to edit the video as well.

I am nearly done and have made pretty good progress so far!

Thursday, March 13, 2025

CCR Question #4

The final question for the Creative Critical Reflection is, "How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?"

Technologies

I used primarily my cell phone for this project. I used my computer briefly to research sound effects and create my blogs but my filming and editing was done only on my phone.

Hardware

As I stated previously, I used my phone to film and edit my project. I did use a tripod for the stable shots to ensure they weren't shaky or uneven. I didn't use a microphone since my opening was primarily sound effects based.

Software

I used iMovie to edit my entire project and did my coloring by experimenting with the settings in the camera app. I used 1001freefonts.com for a few on my fonts and pixabay for my sound effects. I also used YouTube for the music in my film and to also research film openings for a previous blog post. Of course, I used blogger.com to produce my blogs that document my progress.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Group Meeting #2

Today in class we had a second group meeting. We discussed our current progress in the project so far, most of us were in the process of editing, we also talked about our ideas for the CCR. I showed the group some of my editing process and they said it looks good so far, I also was told that I should keep "Dead of Night" as my title which was reassuring but I am still not feeling it. If I don't come up with something soon, I'll have to keep that title. overall, I enjoyed collaborating with my peers today and getting feedback as well as giving feedback.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

CCR Question #3

The third question in the Creative Critical Reflection is, "How did your production skills develop throughout this project?"

How process evolved

I started out unsure of how I was actually going to complete this project and finish it on time. As I completed each phase of the planning aspect, I had to make several changes so I would be able to finish it. I had an original idea for the opening which was to have it take place across two different times, but I thought that it was going to be risky so I ended up changing it.

Research and Planning

I did a lot of research on the conventions and target audience of the genre I chose. I spend a while planning what I was actually going to include in my opening and how I was going to execute it. I created a schedule so I was able to stay on top of time and finish by March 25 which helped. Creating a storyboard and shot list was a huge help in allowing me to actually produce the film the way I had imagined it.

Production and Adapting

I decided I wanted my project to take place in the woods so I immediately ha a location in mind. I filmed it at a local park which has a woodsy area and a lake. I had two of my friends help me with this project, one acted as the protagonist and the other assisted me with the recording process. A challenge I did face in production was trying to not get other people in my shots as it was a Saturday and quite busy. The park also has a shooting range in proximity to the woods so you can hear gunshots in the background which was fitting, but also annoying since you could hear it in the clips. The filming process took about an hour and a half.

Reflection

At the beginning of this project, I was overwhelmed. It almost seemed like I wasn't going to be able to complete, especially alone. I learned how important the planning process is because my schedule, storyboards, and shot list helped me feel like I could actually execute it. I also learned a lot about the production process of films and how much work goes into it. Most importantly, I learned that I was more than capable of doing this project on my own, even though it may seem impossible.