Second Steps of A CCR

 Question Two of CCR!

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

This CCR question is about how the choices we make within this film target a specific audience as well as how we plan on distributing our film. I've already done some good research of the target audience of my film, so I'm going to start formulating a script for this portion of the CCR video. However, I definitely need to look up ways to distribute a short two-minute opening, but also will develop a script for it.

Target Audience-Script (pt1 of question 2)

Now, I know what you're thinking, "were you thinking of me while creating this film?" Well, if you were my target audience, then yes! The target audience had a strong influence over our film creation! We wanted to make teenagers and even young adults, mostly 13-21, could relate to and feel seen by, since that is typically the goal of Coming-of-Ages. At those ages, people tend to want to figure themselves out and be seen by society as something more than just a kid. But they, aren't fully sure how to do that, or what to do for that. Atticus has such a strong passion and learns how to properly handle that passion in hopes to teach these teens and young adults healthy ways to use their passion as well. But we can't just simply teach these young people without attracting them first. So how did we do that? Well, the opening was made to have three settings that are typically very comfortable for teenagers. A car and two bedrooms. A teenager loves their bedroom. It is their space to get away from the world. That's what we wanted to make their bedroom. Atticus's room is full of his whimsical and fantasy-like toys/decor as well as all of his beloved art supplies and comics. Meanwhile, Aurora's room is full of pictures of when she was happy with friends and family alongside all of the cameras she loves. The rooms are set up this way because it is what makes Atticus and Aurora feel most comfortable. Cars, are different. An older teen, and especially a young adult, rely on their car if they have one. Cars give these young people freedom to do and go where they please. It allows them to explore this world, whether it be safely or daringly. These two things are very special to young people and we needed to make it apparent that they were special to our characters as well. 

Let's not forget, our LGBTQ audience. There is a queer relationship in this film. To reach queer community, we must represent that relationship authentically. On top of it being queer, it is very toxic and Aurora eventually leaves Kai, and get with Atticus, a boy, afterwards. That doesn't make a lot of LGBTQ+ audiences happy, and there being a gay relationship in the first place doesn't make other people happy either. Our film wouldn't do so well if we had both the queer community and homophobes mad at the movie. So, we naturally had to target the LGBTQ audience by representing the queer elements well for representing them alongside representing ourselves. That's why having someone not make a big deal of the gender they date is important and is what we plan on doing. Handling the toxic relationship in the same way as handling a heterosexual toxic relationship was crucial. And that's what we did. We showed a gay relationship and normalized it. We also normalized someone not caring what gender she dated but instead their character.

Alongside that, we needed to make things cool. Or what teenagers think is cool. A car going fast and almost hitting someone, in a teenager's mind, is very exciting! We want to attract teenagers, not bore them. Alongside that, many artistic kids love to watch art on the screen! So having Atticus be the artist that he his and demonstrate some of his art definitely helps! Costuming had to be stuff that typical teenagers wear, and since we are typical teenagers, we just used our wardrobe. Well, Madison and I, who were actually typical teenagers. Atticus is a little different, so he shows that in his different wardrobe. The story also includes a lot of fights and action to keep the attention of our target audience as well as very serious storylines that may be faced by typical young people. Toxic relationships are a topic we cover that happen to 33% of American youth. We want those struggling with that kind of relationship to be seen. We won't shy from the hardships that many go through in relationships. We want to show the arguments, the fights, the betrayals, all of it. Because it is something that needs to be seen. Especially the way that Aurora gets out of that relationship. In the opening, it only shows the controlling behavior of Kai and the fighting nature of their relationship.

Now we had an audience, now we just needed to get it to them...

Distrabution Research/Script (pt2 of quenstion2)

Distributing films is how you get that target audience to actually see what you're targeting them for. Without distribution, what I said up there is just a bunch of nonsense. But how exactly do I plan to distribute my "big name film" if it's not actually a big name film? Well...

Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• Twitter/X
• ***YOUTUBE***

Some Sites I Found To Upload To:

• Vimeo
• ***Youtube***
• Kinema
  
• Filmd
  

Film Submissions:

• Miami Film Festival
• Shorts.tv- Submit our film and see what they say
  

Script: Let me tell you guys a secret.... I didn't actually create a whole entire film. Only the first two minutes of it! I know! I know! I'm a terrible person. But look guys, making a full length film... is a lot of work. But hey, you can still watch these brilliant two films! I plan to distribute it on all kinds of different sites. Sites like Vimeo, Kinema, Filmd, and not to mention social media like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter- ahem- X, and of course YouTube. So you might not be able to see this film in big name movie theaters but you could catch me and my film at the Miami Film Festival, and cross your fingers that my submission to Shorts.tv gets picked up and possibly placed on the silver screen just as you all want! But truly, the best distribution choice not just for me but for any short, very short, film maker to get the largest reach is no doubt YouTube. All of my target audience is on it, and most of everyone else's target audience is on it. It's accessible from most places with internet, and even gives ya a little ca-ching if it does well. But to maybe achieve greater success, Miami Film Festival and Shorts.tv might give me and my team the biggest big break we need! 

Important Development!

 Breaking News!

As you know I yap a lot. Typically, I know what I am yapping about. But I fear, I missed one crucial detail that I must share with you all right now! That is that Kai, the main antagonist to our main character Sam/Atticus is now a female! Yes everyone, gasp. Kai was originally male, but because Kai is being played by a female, and our team members are mostly queer, we decided to change direction just a little bit. That little bit making Kai a woman, and therefore in a queer relationship with Aurora.

How will this change things?

It doesn't change much! The story remains the same, however, the representation changes. Instead of just a toxic relationship, we are now representing a queer toxic relationship. Something that is barely seen in media. Because of the political state of the world, I feel that recently most queer relationships shown are more wholesome or sweet rather than being layered with issues. So representing a toxic relationship is one thing, but adding the queer experience to that changes how many will view these characters and even the outcome of the story!

For example, currently in the LGBTQ community, a woman leaving another woman and then dating a man afterwards is heavily frowned upon. That is what happens in our story. Many may not like this plot point, but it is a very common thing to happen. I've personally known four girls who have dated a woman and then dated a man afterwards. They hate these girls got was so weird and not right. 

On the flip side, homophobia is still very present. The idea of two people of the same gender dating people disgusts people. I myself have been the victim of homophobia, and this is not right either. Perhaps, if we represent that for some people, the gender does not matter, but how the person treats them, people may come to be more accepting of both dating the same gender and also dating the opposite gender.

Representation is important, and so I am actually very happy to be adding this intriguing storyline into our production. While I personally have a preference for one gender, many are open to multiple, so it's time to show that more and hopefully let people be more accepting of that.

First Steps into Creative Critical Reflection

Please Lee, Explain What a CCR Is!

Well if you insist! A Creative Critical Reflection, or CCR, is an overview done by yours truly of the entire process of my video product. I do this through two different media types, most likely a video that reflects on the production, responds to the questions, and expresses my personality! So, it needs to be reflective, responsive, and creative. 

The Power of Sound

 Foley!

Foley is the creation of sound effects for films/shows, videos, and other kinds of media. It's used to make the video feel more whole since the cameras don't capture the sounds as well as adding those sounds in! For our film opening, we intend on creating some specific sounds, and of course I'll show you that process, as well as add in sounds from helpful sites like Pixabay and Bulletproof Bear. 

As you may or may not remember, we are behind in filming, so the sound effects I can fully edit in will be for two short clips. You'll of course see a better, more extensive use of sound effects in future blog posts, but I am currently doing as much as I can now. 

What I Did!

There will be music over this, but there still needs to be background noise to make this opening feel whole, so even if the noise is so quiet you can barely hear it, I want it there. I watched my 16-second video over and over again and placed sound that I thought should be there or envisioned to be there until the scene felt complete! I used Pixabay for all sound effects within this scene. I didn't feel the need to create foley for this scene since I was able to easily find everything. But not to worry, because I still want to create foley!

Creating Foley

For the major scene we plan to film, I do have some sounds I can create now for future use! These sounds are the sound of drawing, the chair creaking, and Atticus falling. So, here's a short montage of me creating those sounds!

I'm excited to place these with the shots I'm seeing in my mind, as well as finding new sound effects to put in. It's kind of fun if you ask me! And as always, I'll keep y'all updated! 

First Steps of Editing

 Editing!!

I genuinely enjoy editing! It's one of my favorite parts of this whole production process! I enjoy acting too, but editing is where I feel my skills shine, and I hope to prove with the editing of this film opening. There isn't anything too crazy planned, most of it just being cuts to different angles and actions. That doesn't mean this role of editing should be taken lightly, since it is just as important as most of the factors of this production. So come with me, as I edit the few clips I have together to have a clear and consistent scene that fits into the time constraints.

(Screenshot was not working, I fear)

I'm currently editing Aurora's solo scenes, which isn't much, but I have to make sure to keep them short and sweet while including everything we want to. I will say, keeping things short is definitely my biggest struggle when I edit, so I am fearful of this, but as long as I make sure her scene is no more than 10 seconds we'll be fine! 

Well...

The video is 16 seconds instead of my hoped for 10 seconds (or less), but I did what felt right and natural, so I am not too upset. I will have to wait until I get all clips to see if it's much of an issue or not. For now, it's an alright time and it looks good so there is no huge outcry for this situation.

I know it isn't much, but it's all I can do right now! It's better to have this done than to add another "scene" on top of everything else I'd have to edit. The blog post for editing the big scenes is going to go insane!

The Rise and Fall of Production

 The Good News!

Sofia and Madison are back from STN! Our whole team is back, the equipment is here, and we are ready to get rocking on rolling to get back on track with our filming! 

 The Bad News!

Madison is sick, our lead actor can't film, and I can't film this weekend. Making us behind... AGAIN!

So What?

Sofia, Kenna, and I found a day and place we could film the scene with Aurora in her room after school. Sofia's house was perfect since her room had a window facing the street the same way my neighbor's house does. The plan for when we film at my house has Atticus looking longingly at his neighbor's house, which is Aurora! So filming in a different house in the perfect placement was, well, perfect! 

Sofia checked out a camera, we agreed at a time to meet up, gathered good props, and when the time came, met up and filmed! 

You don't want to read me yap about the process, you wanna see it! So here's our little vlog of creating the set of Aurora's room!

The story of this scene is simply Aurora getting ready to go out with her boyfriend Kai. Alongside that, we also filmed Auora's (my) reaction to Kai almost hitting Atticus with his car and leaving her room. 

We filmed multiple shots of me brushing my hair and putting my make-up on. Alongside that, we put some focus on the props we placed around to represent Aurora since she is a photographer who loves, and misses, her friends. We got a shot that would be Atticus's view of Aurora. Finally, we filmed Aurora seeing the commotion between Kai and Atticus, and running out to apologize and leave with Kai.

Here's some cool photos and videos of us filming!

This was a very successful session, but we still have a long way to go and not much time left. We plan on using the entirety of next week after school to film all that we need to! In the meantime, I'll start editing the clips we have as well as compile some foley. (subtle foreshadowing of the next blog posts)

The Comic!

 A Comic?

Yes, a comic! Our main character, Sam/Atticus, is seen drawing a comic through most of the opening. Why? Because it is his passion and a driving force for him throughout the movie, not just this simple opening. I was assigned to create this comic! A daunting task to be honest. It has to look good enough to appear like an artsy kid made it, but not too good it looks like a professional comic book artist drew it! I think I nailed it, however, I have yet to do line work on this comic. Why am I posting about unfinished work then? You'll see why (I'll explain in a few scrolls with pictures and videos!)

Shoutout to Kenna for making the comic booklet for me!

     

I don't know if you can tell, but I took full creative freedom with this comic. And I mean it was fully my idea on everything, besides the title (which truth be told I'm not a huge fan of and hope that we change). I want it to be changeable if my team doesn't like certain aspects or wants to take away or add to it. Does that increase the time of making the prop? Yes, and you know how worried I am about time, however, I know myself and my art! I know it'll be quick for me to do the line art of the pages and color the cover (the comic page remains colorless because it is the page Sam will be working on). It isn't perfect or even pretty, so I definitely want my team to see it in person and I can fix what they don't like in real time.

Now what am I trying to portray here? The comic is a projection of Sam's life. He is the main figure of the cover. He is also standing guard of a princess whom he based on Aurora. He guards here as he sends a magic spell that hits the dragon who is after the princess, which is supposed to represent Kai going after Aurora as Sam works to protect her. The page itself is representative of how Sam fell in love with Aurora through her beauty and also her kindness. He sees her kindly feeding a horse and immediately thinks she is the fairest of the land! Meanwhile, Sam sees Aurora striving to be a good person and falls in love with her because of it.

If I were to keep it how it is, Sam/Atticus would be colored in a dark blue and Aurora would be in light pinks. Kai, the dragon, would be green and black as well as huffing orange flames. The line art would be a little scribbly to show that Sam himself is a bit of a messy artist rather than a professional guide. Is this to make the drawing process a little easier for me? A little bit! But also because I genuinely think he would be a messy artist. I would add subtle foreshadowing in the background, like the dragon blowing his flames actually at Atticus on the cover to reference the fight they have. I'll show that the magic Atticus has on the cover does nothing while the dargaon's flames burn Atticus' robes, foreshadowing the physical fight that Kai easily wins against Sam, discussed by my group members a week or so ago! The comic would be colored very vividly, almost in a jarring way to show that Sam's fantasy is not a true reflection of his real world.

Time lapse of me making the cover

Time lapse of me making the comic page

Here you can see me looking through a few of my comics, and that is because I wanted a reference of good comic panels to replicate. Ones that fit the scene in my head that I imagined. So thank you IDW Sonic issue 1!

The page of inspiration 

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "But Lee, why not show us after you make corrections to the comic?" And that is a valid question, but I wanted to show you guys my thought process, not just my group's. If I solely post after the corrections from my group, you only see the perspective of my group as a whole, and not my own perspective on the film and what the comic should convey. This comic is a big deal and really shows what I think of the story. I see Sam/Atticus as someone who wants to protect Aurora from her abuser, but is blinded by love to see she's stronger than he thinks. I tried to represent his blindness in the comic with her seeming to have a very passive role, hoping that contrast with how I'll play her within the scene.

Final Notes

I plan on showing the final product alongside a showing of all the props I collected or even made for the opening. The comic is important enough to have its own blog post, but to make another blog post for it seems a little much, don't you think? But don't you worry, I love talking so there will be a large paragraph or two or three underneath it discussing the final thoughts of the comic. This post was to show you my thought process behind making the comic since I was the one to make it, and to show that, although we are a great team, we are not a hive mind and have slightly different interpretations of our story. Yes, we are on the same page, but do have a few differing ideas and I wanted to focus on my ideas for this comic before tweaking it! Who knows, maybe my team will love it and not want to change a thing! Maybe they'll want to change everything. We'll see when the finally come back from STN!