"DECEDENT" LINKS:

Film Opening: DECEDENT FINAL VERSION

CCR #1: CCR #1 FINAL VERSION

CCR #2: CCR #2 FINAL VERSION

 FINAL REFLECTION:

I want to begin this final reflection by saying that this project has provided me with so many great memories. I’ve learned so much throughout all the stages of the film opening project, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have worked on it with my fellow classmates.

Lejandro Van Tonder Ballola Valeria Olvera Andrea Martinez

These three incredible people have made this process so much more than I imagined. I truly do wish that we created such a great film opening, and I couldn’t have done it without their help.

With my understanding of knowing what I want to do with my career, this project was the best project I feel like I could have produced at this stage of my life. It was what I envisioned from the very start, and I’m so glad it turned out so well. I can say that I’m very proud of the result, and I can’t wait to continue making more films in my future.

CCR POST-PRODUCTION:

 CCR POST-PRODUCTION:

Overall, CCR's post-production has gone fairly easier than post-production for our film opening. It's still definitely challenging, but due to my understanding of how planning is so important, I knew I needed to plan my CCR's out better, which I did, which made this whole process a lot easier.

Implementing voice-overs was something I had never done before in any production I've worked on, so learning how to do it was quite fun and really enjoyable. I could definitely say that my CCR's were both challenging to make but, at the same time, were quite a blast as well.

EDITING TIMELINE PICTURES:

 CCR PRODUCTION:

CCR production has gone super well so far, with the scripts already written out for me and me knowing all my lines. It’s made it so much easier to shoot. I’ve also been shooting insert shots with all my props that I used throughout the film opening to enhance the relationship between the CCR's with the film opening me and my group created.

It's been a privilege to create these CCR's, as to me it's been a way to actually grasp what I did throughout this project. This isn't only about making a film opening but much, much more, and I'm thankful to have been able to go deeper by answering these questions in a way where I can still show my skills as a creator and creative.

UNEDITED FOOTAGE LINKS:

CCR PROP #1

CCR PROP #2

CCR PROP #3

QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS

  Creative Critical Reflection Scripts:

(Production 2)

Question 3?

INTERVIEWER: How did your production skills develop through the project?

INTERVIEWEE: My production skills improved more than I ever expected. I can honestly say they grew immensely. I learned so much throughout this project. One of the biggest things I discovered is that time management and planning are absolutely essential in any production process.

INTERVIEWER:What part of the process taught you that?

INTERVIEWEE: The pre‑production stage. I realized how important it is to have every shot planned, every line of dialogue written, and every prop ready before filming even starts. Learning that was a privilege because it is something I genuinely needed to understand, and I am glad I learned it early in my career.

INTERVIEWER:And what about the actual filming?

INTERVIEWEE: Filming taught me a lot too. The biggest lesson was how challenging audio can be. It is honestly the most annoying part to capture. Micing our actors and making sure there were little to no sound issues was a real challenge. But now I feel confident that I could mic someone up without any problems.

INTERVIEWER: So overall you feel like the project pushed you forward.

INTERVIEWEE: Definitely. Every step of the process taught me something valuable, and I can see how much I have grown because of it.

Question 4?

INTERVIEWER: Now let’s talk about how you integrated technology in this project. How did you approach that?

INTERVIEWEE: As a group, we wanted to use as much real film equipment as possible, even though our budget was low. We wanted hands‑on experience with lighting equipment, tripods, stabilizers, and anything else we could get access to. We feel that using this equipment went really well, and it helped our final product look much stronger.

INTERVIEWER: Can you give an example of where the technology made a difference?

INTERVIEWEE: The beginning sequence is the one I am most proud of. We set it up using only one artificial light source that was meant to mimic the sun. That single light guided the audience’s eyes exactly where they needed to be. I am really proud of how that shot turned out.

INTERVIEWER: And what about camera movement?

INTERVIEWEE: We used a lot of tracking shots, and that was only possible because of the stabilizers we had. They gave the camera great support and mobility, which let me follow the actors smoothly without the footage looking handheld. Using that equipment was honestly awesome and made a huge difference in the quality of the shots.

 Creative Critical Reflection Scripts:

(Production 1)

Question 1?

INTERVIEWER: How does your product use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social issues?

INTERVIEWEE: Our film follows two detectives and a mysterious killer, but it is more than a simple chase between them. We challenge the usual conventions by focusing on the idea of how humanity can survive and somehow coexist with evil. Instead of treating the killer as a flat villain, we show the path that led him to this point. We explore his madness, but also his sadness, because nothing in a person appears out of nowhere. Every feeling and every action comes from something.

INTERVIEWER: So you are showing all sides, not just the detectives.

INTERVIEWEE: Yes. We dive into the lives of all three characters in a way that connects them. The film challenges the stereotype that cruel people have always been bad or have no heart. People are not born as monsters. They slowly become them. And we think it is important to show that the way we treat people, the words we use, and the actions we take can push someone toward a certain path.

INTERVIEWER: And that is where the social issue comes in.

INTERVIEWEE: Exactly. The film represents social issues by showing that society plays a role in shaping people. Many of the cruel and heartbreaking actions people take come from the fact that someone was never there for them. We are not excusing what they do, but we are showing how they got there. It asks the audience to think about how much responsibility we all have in the creation of the people we fear.

Question 2?

INTERVIEWER: Let's switch topics how does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

INTERVIEWEE: From the beginning, we knew we wanted to make this film for people between the ages of eighteen and thirty‑five, which is why the film would be rated R. We never focused on gender because our goal was to make the film completely gender‑neutral. We did not want to exclude anyone. The only limitation is the age rating, which we believe is necessary for the themes we explore.

INTERVIEWER:And how do you want the audience to connect with it?

INTERVIEWEE: We want the audience to engage not just with the surface question of how a person can commit these crimes, but with the deeper question of how someone reaches that state of mind in the first place and who pushed them that far. As a creator, I have always wanted to work with a story that seems simple on the outside but goes much deeper into themes like loss, grief, fear, tragedy, and exclusion.

INTERVIEWER: So the emotional side is a big part of the engagement.

INTERVIEWEE: Yes. We want people to connect with the idea that many individuals never receive the help or guidance that others take for granted. It is important to recognize who needs support and to guide them toward it before they reach a breaking point. That emotional understanding is what we hope stays with the audience.

INTERVIEWER: And how would you distribute the film realistically?

INTERVIEWEE: Since it is not a blockbuster‑style film, we believe the best way to reach an audience is by premiering it at film festivals. Festivals are a great place to find viewers who appreciate this kind of story. They also create opportunities for word of mouth, which can help more people discover the film over time.

 Creative Critical Reflection Production Ideas:

CCR #1:

How does your product use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social issues?

Our idea is to shoot this question by interrogating the person being interviewed. 

We believe it’s an excellent way of combining our film's theme with our Creative Critical Reflection.

CCR #2:

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

(Gender, Age, Range, Hobbies, Commonalities)

Our idea to film this question is to just talk to the audience face to face and avoid the "floating head."

It'll be an informational video telling the viewer the answer to the question.

CCR #3:

How did your production skills develop through the project?

Our idea to shoot this CCR question is for a director commentary.

We believe it's the best way to answer this question while showing the audience parts of our film.

CCR #4:

How did you integrate technology in this project?

(Software, Hardline, and Online Technology)

Our idea to film this question is by walking and talking throughout the set of our film and showing all the equipment we used while we were shooting the scenes for our film opening.

  Creative Critical Reflection #4:

Question 4?

How did you integrate technology in this project?

(Software, Hardline, and Online Technology)

As a group, we wanted to make this project using as much film equipment as possible, even with our budget being so low. We wanted to experience the usage of lighting equipment, tripods, stabilizers, etc. We believe our usage of this equipment went really well and that our final product of our project came out great.

For example, the beginning sequence, which I'm most proud of, was set up with only one light source that was artificial, mimicking the sun. The one light source guides the audience straight to where their eyes need to be. I'm very proud of how the look of that shot turned out.

Another example of the usage of technology was definitely how we did a lot of tracking shots. This was accomplished by using stabilizers for the camera we were using. It provided great support and mobility for me to shoot the actors without making it look like handheld footage. It was awesome to use that equipment.

Footage Links:

OPENING SEQUENCE

 DETECTIVE TRACKING SHOT

 Creative Critical Reflection #3:

Question 3?

How did your production skills develop through the project?

My production skills, I could say from the bottom of my heart, immensely improved. I have learned so much from this project. For example, I've learned that time management and planning are truly the most important steps in a production process.

The pre‑production process is massively important, and I know that you must have every shot planned, every line of dialogue written, and every prop ready for filming. It has been a privilege to learn these things because it's genuinely something that I needed to learn, and I'm happy it has happened at an early part of my career.

Now, talking about the filming process, I learned a little bit while filming—most importantly that audio is the biggest and forever will be the most annoying step to capture while filming. Micing our actors and making sure there were little to no sound issues was definitely a challenge, but I can say now that I do feel I could mic someone up without any issues.

Behind The Scene Picture:

 Creative Critical Reflection #2:

Question 2?

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

(Gender, Age, Range, Hobbies, Commonalities)

From the beginning, we knew as a group we wanted to make this film for ages between 18–35, making this film rated R (18+). We never really focused on gender, but our goal, you could say, was to prioritize both genders, making this film gender‑neutral. We didn't want to exclude anyone, obviously, despite the age restriction we believe might be necessary.

We want our film to engage with our product not just with the overlying message, which is "how can a person commit these crimes," but with the underlying message about "how was someone able to get to this state of mind and who pushed him this far."

As a creator, I've always wanted to tackle something that has a quite simple plot but goes deeper into themes of loss, grief, fear, tragedy, and exclusion.

We want people to connect with this piece by taking away that most people don't have the necessary help and guidance that others have, and it's most necessary to find the people who need help and guide them toward it.

Disturbing‑wise, we believe the best way to grab the attention of an audience with our film, knowing it's not a blockbuster in any way, is by starting and premiering it through film festivals. I think that's a great way to find an audience for a film and a good place where word of mouth could make more and more people want to see our film.

Behind The Scenes Picture:

 "DECEDENT" CHARACTER LIST:

Detective #1

Detective #2(Sterling)

The serial killer won’t be shown in our film opening. We wanted to keep it as mysterious as possible by leaving the serial killer out and the ending open‑ended.

 "DECEDENT" EDITING TIMELINE:

This blog is an extra blog that I am providing to show how I will end up editing the project in sequence of events. Editing and knowing what goes in order is massively important, and for me to have it written down is crucial as well.

As a group we've had trouble aligning everything in order, but now with finally having the blueprint down I feel like editing won't be so much of a hassle now.

EDITING TIMELINE:

Opening Sequence ------> Pictures Of Victims -------> Police Enter ---------> Police Are Shown Dead Body ---> Detective Discuss Dead Body ------> Detective #2 Shows Detective The Pictures ---> Detective #1 Is Shown The Picture Of Himself --------> Detective #1 Seen Shaken -----> Cut To Black

UNEDITED FOOTAGE LINKS: 

Entering Crime Scene #1

Entering Crime Scene #2

BEHIND THE SCENE PICTURES:

I'll keep continuing to update you guys on our editing process!!!

Creative Critical Reflection #1:

Question 1?

How does your product use or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social issues?

Obviously, with our film being a much darker and more cruel topic, this question is, in my opinion, super relevant to our film opening.

Coming into this film, as a group we wanted from the beginning to make a film that was flat, no-depth, unemotional, and, to be honest, with no real reason behind it. We knew we wanted to spread a message with our film opening, and that message for us was: “Being cruel or in any way unkind only leads you towards a darker path.”

Our film follows two detectives and a mysterious killer, but in all of this, it is more than just a cat-and-mouse game between them. The relationship between these three characters is based on the idea of: “How can humanity survive and somehow coexist with evil?”

Our film challenges conventions by showing the path of the killer and how he gets to this point of madness and, most importantly, sadness. Everything stems from something; no feeling or action can just appear out of thin air. Our film will dive into the lives of all these characters in a way that unifies them all.

This film represents social issues by challenging the stereotypes that all cruel people have always been bad and have zero heart inside their body or mind. These people didn’t grow up as monsters; they slowly became them, and we think it’s important to show people that we decide what path other people go on with our words and actions. It’s usually what ends up driving people to seek cruel and heartbreaking actions to deal with the fact that certain people were never there for them.

Our idea to shoot this question is by interrogating the person being interviewed. We believe it’s an excellent way of combining our film's theme with our Creative Critical Reflection.

 EDITING OPENING SEQUENCE:

With this being one of the only scenes we've shot as of now, I felt like saying they're wasting time wasn’t the correct outlook on this, so I’ve decided to edit this opening sequence of our film immediately.

I’m able to do this because this sequence is one take, one continuous shot, that doesn’t require any other information. With this being the opening, and the next scene cutting to something completely unrelated but super related at the same time, it makes it available right now to edit the sequence within reason.

We are shooting the rest of the film later today, and I’ll get to immediately editing those scenes as soon as we finish shooting.

For this blog, though, in particular, I’m gonna focus on how I color graded the film opening sequence...

LINK TO UNEDITED: UNEDITED VERSION

LINK TO EDITED: COLOR GRADED VERSION

Our group will be using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the entirety of this project...