Creative Critical Reflections

 CCR #1

CCR #2

Film Opening. Tied to Strings.

Here is my film opening Tied to Strings, I hope you enjoy!!

Reflection.

 I cannot believe that this project is over wow.

  I'm gonna be honest, not always in the creative process do I feel the most motivated, sometimes I feel a bit of an imposter syndrome where I feel like my ideas are not good enough or portrayed well enough, but I'm glad that in the end I was happy with the product and I know that I have learned so much and I was already able to apply so much of my knowledge that was waiting to be shared and implemented, so as I reflect I want to just push the brakes and acknowledge to myself how far I've come! 

I learned so much about writing and building a narrative with character through this project, and I know that's going to be worth using in A level!

The BIG Cookie

Hello! I'm Martina Rodriguez and this is my Creative Critical Reflection for my film opening titled Tied to Strings. My story follows a young girl named Nat, who discovers her purpose and passion for art at an early age; is full of creative ambitions from youth. As an artist, she second guesses the value of her art and attaches it to her self worth, she is hesitant about sharing her creations with the world... afraid of what the consequences may be, towards the end of the opening we see she struggles to pursue it, and it looks as if she's leaving her childhood and creativity behind. Now we don't exactly know why that is or what experience made her feel this way, so there's this ambiguity and anonymity created in the film opening, the plot is not entirely black & white from the get go. 

What we DO know is that the film opening is centered around this character that is on the cusp of becoming. Which is conventional and typical of a Coming of Age film. 

#1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups/issues?

Now, according to MasterClass, there are 3 characteristics that encompass the storytelling of a Coming of Age movie.

1. Character and Growth

2. Dialogue

3. Social Commentary

However, there is no inner monologue OR dialogue to explain what's going on through the character's head at the beginning, there is no quirky little explanation that sets up the character's thinking patterns and the plot, (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not the way I wanted to tell it). It's simply showing us who this person is and what this person does with their free time. The struggle of maintaining that creativity is ultimately what will be addressed in the plot. Will she continue to create? Will she keep on pursuing her passions?

The protagonists conflict is an example of Character vs. Self and Character vs. Society. In this case both of them very much intertwine, as her interactions with society are affecting the way she treats herself and therefore perpetuating this preconceived notion that arts are not as important as other disciplines.

Okay yes, I understand that these movies typically follow through the narrative with an inner monologue that gives a view into the characters mind, like _______ but I didn't want to give too much away at the start of the film even though it's gonna have to get introspective eventually.  I didn't want the viewers to know 100% where the story was going. 

ISSUE #1

According to the source give kids art, the changes in outbox thinking faced a gradual decline... and even in figure 2 we can clearly see that by the time adulthood is reached, creativity is no longer at the 80% mark it once was at 5 years old. But what is to blame???  are the education systems squandering creativity?? Is it social media that's turning people into human dodos?? Follow the rules, do as your told, fit in; all horrible advice. 

ISSUE #2 

https://www.amacad.org/news/american-opinions-about-artists

The fact that the character in the film opening begins to believe that her passions and that art is not a major contribution to society is scary, but she's not the only one. 

 NORC at UChicago surveyed a share of the public opinions on certain professions, and 42% believed it contributed some while only 22% believed it contributed a lot.

The film opening serves as a representation of all artists and younger generations who may have felt discouraged at some point by the societal norms and beliefs instilled in our communities, and even in our governments. 

women in creative industries

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

 And since Coming of Age films are very human, and heartfelt, I feel that's the greatest genre to give these values and notions a place in the medium. Which leads me to my target audience, for this film would be on the younger side around 12-22 years, targeting teens to young adults due to the subject matter dealing with growing up and adapting to the world, I believe this would be the appropriate audience.  In a way, everyone can take something away from this film, even adults who have passed beyond this transitional period can find something meaningful in this piece, since the artists importance, particularly female, continue to be underrepresented. Not everyone may identify with the piece, not everyone may understand the piece, but it's important to bring awareness! 

https://phys.org/news/2011-04-teenagers-dont-college-sociologist.html#google_vignette

In other words, teens find coping methods such as avoiding situations and difficult conversations... but that can become maladaptive, so having this product out there would bring light to these conversations and these issues as well as inspire audiences to consider the perspective that being an artist has meaning and value. Some food for thought.

 https://www.givekidsart.org/why-art

My best options for distributing the piece as a real media text would be through social medias and websites, where I can build a brand for myself and push my work out there. It's good to take advantage of the tools alloted in this digital era so that the media texts can gain more exposure and bring awareness. Film festivals are also another great way for media texts to be distributed, as they strive to give student filmmakers recognition even through awards ceremonies!

CCR #2

HOW DID YOUR PRODUCTION SKILLS DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT.

Hi My name is MARTINA RODRIGUEZ I will be the host of this podcast ready to discuss more about the behind the scenes of creating this film opening. So discussion questions... fire away! 

 Going into this, I've always put a lot of thought into my work and trying to make sense of a story... what is the purpose, and what will people take away from it. The message has always been super important to me but as to how it was conveyed... that was was not really something I'd have to think about. Moreover, I've practiced making commercials, all sorts of promos, and music videos where I would build on the idea to help find a unique way to market it, but to have to create the product and storyline itself... AND execute it...?!? that was entirely new for me. I had lots of trouble with writing this opening and understanding how to structure it... it tested my resilience if anything, I had to be open and take a risk in order to get a much more successful product! So research was definitely a component I relied on... and watching more movies has definitely expanded my mind and provided a good framework for me to understand how to write and create my own story. My writing skills definitely got better with this project, and I was able to tap into my creativity to connect the dots in a new way!  But in the end, it was rewarding, and I feel like this story is worth sharing! I learned to let free of what others perceived and went with my gut and what I believed! Once I was happier I got more creative. 

 I wanted to use this project as an opportunity to bring on a cathartic experience... one for me to learn from in numerous ways. That I did. I'm going to admit, I chose a pretty difficult topic. It was difficult because it was so personal, and at the beginning I felt like I didn't really know what the plot was even gonna be about after the opening, I was grappling onto my feelings for inspiration, and that was working to my detriment. I also had little experience with screenwriting, and pairing that inexperience with a contentious topic created quite the obstacle for myself. When I started, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to establish a strong sense of character for the audience, so I researched and looked for ways to do so. I learned that when building the character, there has to be an external motive that drives the plot, but also an internal realization that is implicit but acts as the conclusion/resolution in the end, and leaves people satisfied.  

HOW DID YOU INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGIES-- SOFTWARE HARDWARE + ONLINE --- IN THIS PROJECT?

For starters, I was able to use the Sony Alpha 7 IV: Full Frame Mirrorless. My uncle, who works at Comcast NBC universal and got his bachelors at full sail has been a huge mentor for me throughout the years, and I learned from him that it's not necessary to always have equipment that is the latest and the greatest, but (if you have a sort of budget) it's definitely important to do your research on cameras and equipment to know what to spend your money on. I have another camera but that one is more like a consumer camera, moreover the crop sensor doesn't allow for a full frame and clear image, as opposed to the Sony Alpha 7, so that's what I preferred to go with for a more polished look. 

As for lighting, I made use of the practical lighting and made an effort to film in daylight, so the images wouldn't look so artificial. For the shots with young nat, the lighting couldn't be super super bright as I liked creating a tone that felt more melodramatic, so the blinds where there to help stop so much sunlight from creeping in. And for the yearbook picture, I used my ring light to light my actor!

I have been editing with the Adobe softwares for almost 4 years now, and although I've been meaning to learn how to use DaVinci Resolve, I didn't want to risk switching over when I knew these 8 weeks were going to be tough to juggle. Editing is my favorite part of the production process and I was able to put those skills to use in this project. I knew that my photos and videos had to be recorded by myself, so a challenge I faced was matching the color of the yearbook photo with the background ones in the back. I solved this issue by going onto lumetri color where I lowered the midtones in order to get a cooler feel in the background, but I also balanced it out with some saturation so the color of the face didn't get washed away. I loveeee getting creative with the graphics, and for the animation I did on Tied to Strings it was super simple and regal, but it also added something to the story. The purpose of the two Is stretching out in different directions was to make people feel like they were going to meet in the end, but because the I's are soooo far out from each other, the intent was that there was a knot midway and this whole rollercoaster in between that is out of frame. The editing of this graphic was super simple as all I had to do was type out my text with the Bebas font and add two line shape layers, I carrot down to the keyframes and press "add" where I can then select trim paths, allowing me the option to toggle in the keyframe where I wanted the animation to start and finish.

Even towards the end, once I was finished with my opening I thought about including it on my social medias and uploading it to YouTube so people could easily access it.