Final Cut

CCR Questions

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

"IF I CANT HAVE YOU, NO ONE WILL," is an American drama/thriller film which focuses on the wife "Deva Jackson" attempting to get a divorce from a toxic relationship at the divorce office however, her husband refuses to go, so instead of going, he plans out something crucial that will all happen on the same day. What her husband said that day, will end the wife's life as she is walking home but comes back from being dead. My objective is to engage my audience within my film.  My product heavily focuses on dialogue, which at first seemed good, because that is what sets the plot in motion. How my actors (me and Deva) move throughout  the film including what and how they say thing is very important.  I made an effort to avoid adding too much sound to the film because sometimes suspenseful music may make a movie seem more dramatic than it actually is. With the exception of scene 4, a steady-cam was used to complete most of the close-up, extreme close-up, mid-shot, tilting shot, tracking shot, etc, shots throughout my movie. I didn't have to be too extravagant with the camera angles, although some of them were uncomfortable as I was acting it out. What made it harder is I couldn't expose any of my parts, meaning if i showed the slightest skin i would have to refilm this happen about 5 times.  But i had to put my priority first and put my camera first and me last, being uncomfortable is temporary. The purpose of making this film was to raise awareness about the fact that situations like this, in which you would be forced to remain in a poisonous relationship, still occur. Many people in today's society believe that being toxic or in a toxic relationship is "attractive," but this is untrue. This film is meant to let my viewers realize that they can't just date anyone and that they need to be cautious and alert. The relationship's red flag that you've noticed might have been the beginning of everything. 

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

My product interacts with viewers on YouTube, but here's what I've noticed: I realized that my video needed to be advertised before I simply even published it.  Thus, I created a short Instagram story to promote my film in order to get more attention and viewers. Using Instagram and IMessage, I even directly approach people I know like my friends and peers so they can take a look at my film and tell their friends and family about it. Everyone uses social media, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, even Twitter it's clear that social media is a significant tool to advertise everything you're up to.

3.) How did your production skills develop throughout the project?

My production skills came along quite well, especially considering that I am both an actor and a cinematographer. It takes me some time to set up my camera before I begin filming. When I originally started filming, I was a little unsteady, my exposure wasn't set at the proper level, etc. If I'm being completely honest, I did forget to adjust the exposure throughout scene 4. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference, especially with it being late at night but the fact that I forgot made me feel stupid. I realized this when I decided to review all of my scene 4 shots the following day and actually had the time to familiarize myself with Adobe Rush. But since the tripod was being held stable throughout scenes 1-3, there was no way I could have had wobbly shots, It appears to me i seemed to lacked confidence when i am cinematographer  around other people I just feel like im being judge in the way of things, although it is quite normal to feel that way i learned i need to grow up because people are always going to stare no matter what, i would do the same thing they doing. but, on the other hand,  when I am shooting alone, I was undeniably secure in myself. Even better, I picked up some new skills that I'll definitely use when I film my future child's first performance. The tools I used to make my movie were fairly simple and straightforward just a tripod and Iphone 11. I was going to utilize the Canon camera, but I opted against it since I didn't want to complicate matters. Instead, I stuck to what I know and did further research on YouTube to build what i already know.

4.) How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?

The day I chose my narrative, technology has been use ever since in the start of my project. I searched and searched, but I probably didn't discover anything that would have inspired the notion that struck me today, but it did give me a motive that cause me to think about it for a moment. Because I was watching "Cold Cases" and thought, "Why don't I build something completely similar to that but a way more obvious look. Technology is what helped me explore the research of cinematographer, technical skills, and getting editing suggestions. Apps like Adobe Rush, Creative Cloud, OneDrive, YouTube, etc. are some of the programs that assisted me in creating my film. I recorded my shots on my phone, also using a tripod, I didn't add any artificial lighting since I didn't think it was necessary; instead, I just used the natural lighting that was already present.

👇🏿(black bags) Equipments.         

 

WHAT A JOURNEY 😮‍💨 (Reflection)

 

I completed it, and I thank God. I couldn't have succeeded without the support of my peers, friends, and professor—even when it was only the slightest thing. Today, it's impossible to rely on anyone. I really appreciate it. For me, this was a tough experience. Although my film could have been better, at least I tried. Even if my actors abandoned me, I gave it everything I had. NEVER GIVE UP AND BELIEVE ME, EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT. I can almost feel the relief flowing through me. I just need to make a few edits to my blogs and CCR, and I'll be good to go.

A Re-edit must be done

 My movie needs to be re-edited, but with the appropriate tools. Everything had already been sent to her before. I made the decision to sit next to her and watched her edit the movie while logging into Adobe Rush in front of her. I detailed everything to her what I want intended to happen in the movie. Being in communication is essential!

A crying Moment

 Uploading my film gone wrong. The worst day I could have ever dealt with was this one. The attempt to upload my film to Blogger was a complete failure. We spent hours trying to figure out what I could do because when it finally reached blogger.com, my video was not in the appropriate position. I then modified it to ensure that Blogger.com would take it, but it still refused it, even adobe rush refused to take my film. I had to download other resources to my phone like "google drive" to ensure my film gets unto blogger.com. When I decided to take a brief break from this difficult issue, I ran into my editor. I asked her what editing program she used, and she said that it was called Cap cut. I realized that I made a huge mistake by failing to find out what she intended to edit on. I would have told her emphatically NO if I had known it was Capcut. Capcut isn't a film editing program; rather, it's best used to edit your TikTok videos in a more involved manner, if that makes sense. I learned i needed to improve my ability to ask big questions because I could have prevented all of this stress.

Editing

 Although I didn't edit it, I did guide my editor what I research about editing for a drama/ thriller film. I couldn't edit because i lacked the technology necessary to edit my film I informed her that creating suspense is the theme of my film providing her all of my shots, which were about 15 shots for scenes  1-3 and 9 for scene 4, for a total of 24 shots some of what are extras.

                                                                     My Editor: 👇🏿

Filming Scene 3

 Scene 3 was more of me instructing him what he needs to do, like making sure he gets a decent angle and a steady shot while he is on the phone, he got one of his siblings to film this, he says.  For this shot, I created the following line: “She thinks I’m attending the divorce, but later does she know what's finna happen to her, she wants a divorce I’ll give her a divorced but by life.” Then he simply sent it my way. Remember that this was a last-minute decision. Just like me, he has a busy schedule. But i figured it out and he did his thing. Moreover, scene 4, was already previously discussed in "1st day of production" blog.

 

Filming Scene 2

 Scene 2 was a breeze to film. Despite there not being any movement, I took this shot at least ten times. I did, indeed. I kept stuttering or sometimes forgetting the script, so this was mainly my fault. You can see that I was essentially talking to no one while taking this shot. I had to try to avoid asking any questions when I came up with these two statements; 1st shot of scene 2: “Hey, Good Afternoon, I dont really have to explain anything cause we been through this about 5 times already. Right?  Uhh is your husband coming? Remember I have other clients i need to deal with. If he doesn't come in at least 30 minutes I’m sorry we will have to cancel this.” 2nd shot of scene 2; “Yea I’m sorry 30 minutes is up, when you guys got this figured out you can book in an appointment with me again.” if I did, I would swiftly move on to saying something else. I instead placed the laptop that contained the dialogue for me to say so that I can read it while someone was supposed to be sitting there, which was the wife. Furthermore, so that it would indicate to the audience that the wife is seated there. Of course, I would have taken an over-the-shoulder picture if the wife had actually been present, but that is not the case. It was extremely pleasant to feel confident and in control while also feeling good about myself throughout these two shots even though i filmed them about 10 times each. There were two shots overall in this sequence.

Filming Scene 1

 It was annoying to film scene 1 at the time. Let me go over everything that happened in detail. I chose to take Shot 1 from two different angles. In shot 2, I started writing and jumped right to me finishing it completely. This was very simple, but the annoying part was me reading it, mind you I have to read all of this “Dear Diary, It's Divorce Day. Today's the day i get divorced to a horrible toxic man. In this relationship, I've experienced so much that I'm shocked I've even made it this far. At the end of the day i hope to be known as Deva Paisley and not as Deva Jackson. If so, the divorce is to not happen again, I'm absolutely done with life. It's time to do what i always needed to do.” It’s honestly so annoying since my family kept chatting in the background, if it wasn’t that it was me stuttering, or even their electronic devices, the least movement would ruin the shot. Shots 3 and 4 only showed me introducing the diary, which was straightforward. My favorite shots are 5 and 6, but it was embarrassing to film them because one side of my crocs is torn. Don't worry, though; I'll be getting new ones. I could have changed shoes, but it would have required changing shot 1, which I didn’t feel like re-filming. Thus, in order to get shot 5, I had to move very quickly. And scene 6 dont let me get started on that, I had to move quickly to avoid displaying my skin tone, and I believe that I nailed that shot, just don't look too closely now.

Shot 1-6 are all at 🔝 (extras also)

Overall, I find scene 1 to be stressful and embarrassing. I filmed these shots definitely more than enough like at least five times some shots even more than five times,  enough is enough. Mind you, I was the only one filming alone; I had no assistance with the camera, and people kept interrupting my film frequently, but I'll get through it.

NO face NO CASE

 I am forced to play the parts of the actors because they bailed on me. So, yes, NO face NO CASE.  You may argue that I could modify my script, but it's far too late, and I've already shot what used to be scene 2 and is now scene 4. I had to think of sequences that would resemble the first script I wrote somewhat but with shots that would hide my face. You might think that's simple, but it's not. Me and my actor well sort of my actor doesn’t have the same tonality, I will need to wear gloves and a jacket for scene 1 and any parts she may be in, in order to avoid exposing  my skin. ALL SHOTS HAVE TO BE FILMED TODAYY WITH EDITING ALSO. LETS GET TO WORKING!!

I HAVE NO ACTORS :( What am i going to do?):

OH MY GOSHHHHHH :0 WHAT AM I GOING TO DO MY GUT FEELING NEVER LETS ME DOWN BUT IT JUST HAD TO BE THIS TIME WHEN I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO IT 😐 

The strange and disappointing thing is that I realized I needed to start looking for replacements the instant they began offering excuses for why they couldn’t film practically every time I saw them. However I didn’t want to look for new people because I thought they wouldn’t offer any justifications the next time I saw them, but I should have known when I decided to case freshmen in my movie, plus I also already shot scene 2. Mind you my Final Cut is due tomorrow, I’m anxious and constantly wondering what my next move should be.

New Script (4 Scenes)

                                Scene 1: Home 

Shot 1: Low+Mid Shot Of her getting out of the bed or of her walking out of the camera (Both) 2 shots set the camera somewhere else. 

Shot 2: Diary and Pen 

“Dear Diary, It's Divorce Day. Today's the day i get divorced to a horrible toxic man. In this relationship, I've experienced so much that I'm shocked I've even made it this far. At the end of the day i hope to be known as Deva Paisley and not as Deva Jackson. If so,the divorce is to not happen again, I'm absolutely done with life. It's time to do what i always needed to do.” 

Shot 3: Close up on the inside of the dairy (pan shot)​

Shot 4: Close dairy and put pencil case on top. (Gets up)  

Fade a black screen. 

Shot 5: Tracking Shot of her walking in comfortable clothing.

Shot 6: Tracking Shot of her walking in professional clothing.

Fade a black screen.

 

                               Scene 2: Divorce Office 

Shot 1: “Hey, Good Afternoon, I dont really have to explain anything cause we been through this about 5 times already. Right?  Uhh is your husband coming? Remember I have other clients i need to deal with. If he doesn't come in at least 30 minutes I’m sorry we will have to cancel this.” 

 

                                Scene 3: Husband House 

Shot 1: “ She thinks I’m attending the divorce, but later does she know what's finna happen to her, she want a divorce I’ll give her a divorced but by life.”

 

                                 Scene 2: Divorce Office  

“Yea I’m sorry 30 minutes is up, when you guys got this figured out you can book in an appointment with me again.”

                      Scene 4: Nighttime 

Shot 1: Tracking Shot of her walking 

Wife-“Hey girl, the divorce didn’t turn out too well”

Shot 2: Tilting Shot (feet to head) + tracking shot in front of her 

Stays at a mid shot 

Wife- “sadly we’re still together, I want to leave this earth it’s just to much pain to bare with within this toxic relationship”

Shot 3: (The car headlights will be pointed towards her face) 

Wife- Questions if the car is heading towards her screaming “oh my gosh” 

She covers her face because of headlights being too bright (squint eyes) 

She will scream and lay full flat on the floor (she will lay on her back) 

Shot 4: Close up on her face (eyes will be close for at least 2 seconds) then opens them and keeps them open without blinking 

Shot 5: Phoen audio + text message 

-“Hello (name) are you okay”

Spamming her phone, phone will stay in her right hand

Shot 6: pan shot + high angle shot (panning the camera left to right until we get a full body shot on the floor) 

1st Day of Production

 The filming has officially started today. Due to my other actors' lack of readiness and other errands that needed to be run, we chose to shoot scene 2 instead. And I said I can’t just not shoot so i went along and shot scene 2. For this scenario, it's a good thing that I only really required one actor. In a neighborhood at night, this scene takes place. The first thing I had to do was plan my route. I choose to use LYFT. Not a lot of money was spent there. Since that we don't reside in the same city, it is also a fair distance from my home. We studied the screenplay and started filming as soon as I arrived at her home.To make sure everything would work out when I really started filming, I made the decision to undertake tests like pre-record where I was going to shoot, try out the audio, and more. Naturally, as soon as we started filming, we started laughing and couldn't control ourselves. We took little breaks to make sure we laughed all the way through, but we managed to stay focused and get this shot down. Before I started filming, as we were preparing for each shot, I made the decision to practice each shot with my actor to make sure she understood it.  It didn't quite take us so many retakes on these shots. But i am filming a dangerous scene with a automobile, and I had to make sure I planned the shot repeatedly to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. That's the only reason why it required so many retakes. Here's a humorous story. Her mother mistook her for dead while we were filming due to the manner, she was acting out one of my shots. Meaning that I did get into a little problem with her mom, but she later apologized since she wasn't entirely aware of the subject matter of my film because her daughter hadn't completely described it to her. However, everything worked out well. I even had ice cream after the filming scene, and she even offered to drive me home. When I say that todays were so laid-back, I really mean it. We began at 8:30 and finished around 10:30. Work is being done now, then have fun. It's comparable to a reward. The entire family was wonderful. Even her sisters assisted me with scene 2. My actor comes from such a wonderful, kind family. She and I just connected. She is so nice that I'm even planning to come over just to hang out with her.  Returning to the movie though: We had a nice ending, and I watched every shot I took to see if I needed to a replacement of the shot, which I most likely did. I am really excited to film scene 1. Scene 2 has 6 shots scene which I will be filming the following day or the next has 10.