CCR

Hi, blog!

Here's my CCR! Enjoy!

CCR: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gcmcNQ53jzQyQxBRCGNlB4H76PrGG_YS/view?usp=sharing

The final product!!

Hi, blog!

Below is my short film along with my postcard and website. I hope you enjoy! This has been quite the experience for me and I'm glad you were able to join me for it. Here's Insatiable!

Film: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mmx-wYrvwsEEeU2w2a11iHXVVAtlMo_y/view?usp=sharing

Website: https://rlaynelevitz.wixsite.com/website-2

Postcard: 

Reflection

Hi, blog!

It appears this journey is coming to an end and I honestly couldn't be more relieved. This entire process has been extremely stressful but honestly an interesting experience. I ran into many obstacles due to everything that happened with the coronavirus. My original idea had to be changed to fit the circumstances as the actors I originally was going to use were unable to film due to being in quarantine. I had regrets about which project I had chosen to do, but ultimately everything turned out ok. I know I could have done better with my project if all of this hadn't happened, but it was a good experience and I think I handled it OK considering me nor anyone else could have seen this coming. I had to work with what I had and come up with almost a completely new idea, however, I didn't stray too far from what I had originally planned to do. The idea I ultimately chose to go with was still very similar to the main idea I was going for with my short film, basically how an obsession with someone or something can be harmful, or even deadly. From reading my blog, it's interesting to see my process of thinking through all of this and how I managed to work around the obstacles I was faced with. Even though I was extremely stressed out through it all, I think I made it out just fine and all I know is that I tried my best!

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Wrapping it up!

Hi, blog!

So I wrapped up filming today and I am so relieved to finally be making the final edits on the film. I'm looking forward to seeing how everything turns out. I will be posting a reflection blog in a couple of days talking about this whole process and how I felt about it. This journey is soon coming to an end, and wow what a journey it was. I have finished the website and postcard so that will be posted along with the final short film at the end of this week. I'm proud of myself for doing the best that I could with the circumstances I was presented with. I do wish things could have gone differently, but in the end, some things are just inevitable. This is a short post but just an update on what's going on with the project!

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Filming!!

Hi, blog!

So I got a lot of filming done today which is good because a lot of my stress is now relieved. I’ve been using my mom’s Nikon camera for filming because I definitely want a higher quality look rather than just filming from my iPhone, not that iPhone’s quality is bad but, you know. I did all of my brother’s filming today at our house so I just have to upload all of the footage to my laptop. I’m pretty glad I decided to go down this route for my short film as a lot of footage is the stuff that my brother does naturally, minus the steroids of course. Therefore, it was pretty easy to film him and he was very cooperative. Since all the gyms are closed for quarantine, my brother actually built his own gym equipment and has been keeping it in our backyard. I filmed my brother standing around and using some of this equipment which I think is a pretty good mise en scene element for what I’m going for. I’ve been on the fence about a certain aspect of my film: dialogue. Since my film doesn’t necessarily involve anyone talking to anyone, I don’t think I’m gonna have much dialogue at all. If anything I might include a voiceover monologue relating to the super fan’s obsession with the bodybuilder. I think this might be a good idea. Other than that, I have to now film all the scenes involving the superfan. This requires me to go to my boyfriend’s house (I know, I’m breaking quarantine rules but don’t worry I’ll stay 6 feet away!!) and filming him kind of doing a similar normal routine, with a little bit of a twist. Well, that’s pretty much it, just giving an update on how things are going and what I’ve gotten done. 

That’s all for now!


- Rachel

Storyboard final

Hi, blog!

So I have a complete storyboard all drawn and written out for my scenes for the film. It’s nice to finally have something you can work with without having to change something every few minutes. I’m still gonna add some extra filler scenes here and there but this is basically an entire outline of what my short film entails. John (played by my brother) is the famous bodybuilder while Alex (played by my boyfriend) is the super-fan that looks up to John and basically want to look just like him. I think it’s gonna be interesting to show this topic/theme in a kind of different than normal fashion. You usually see this kind of story like a famous singer, actress, model, etc. You don’t usually see these people in works that involve this obsessed fan mentality, so it’s kind of fun to show that in a different light, with a bodybuilder instead. In the storyboard, you can see I wanted to incorporate a lot of close up shots, specifically of the obsessed fans' eyes to create the idea that this person was obsessed with something. These close up shots are seen more on the scenes with Alex rather than John to distinguish between the two. That’s pretty much all for now, just wanted to post my final storyboard!

- Rachel 

Researchhh

Hi blog!

So I did a little research on steroids in order to make the ones in my short film look relatively real. Apparently one of the side effects of taking steroids is blurred vision so maybe I can like blur the screen as if it was the POV of the guy Alex in my film. I don’t know if that would be cheesy but it’s just a thought. Another thing I didn’t actually know about steroids is they are a synthetic form of testosterone. 

According to healthline.com, these are the main benefits of taking steroids: The main potential benefits associated with anabolic steroids are the following:

• increases in muscle tissue due to enhanced protein synthesis
• decreased body fat percentage
• increased muscle strength and power
• enhanced recovery from workouts and injury
• improved bone mineral density
• better muscle endurance
• increased red blood cell production

I could probably also include a scene of Alex looking at this same website and reading these benefits and reacting to them in a positive manner. 

and these are all the side effects:

• Increased risk of heart disease. AAS used in combination with resistance exercise can increase the size of the left ventricle of your heart, as well as blood pressure. This may increase your risk of heart disease and related death 
• Can increase aggressive behavior. Steroid use has been associated with increased aggression and impulsivity in male teenagers and adults 
• Can affect body image. AAS use and dependence are classified as a body image disorder in the diagnostic manual for mental disorders 
• Can cause liver damage. AAS, specifically those taken orally, have been shown to increase your risk of liver dysfunction 
• May cause gynecomastia. Defined as swollen male breast tissue caused by a hormone imbalance, gynecomastia may occur when you stop taking AAS 
• Decreased production of testosterone. Steroid use is associated with hypogonadism, which is characterized by the shrinking and decreased function of the testes 
• Can cause infertility. Due to its potential to decrease sperm production, steroid use may cause infertility 
• May cause male pattern baldness. The androgenic effects of AAS may cause or worsen male pattern baldness. This effect may vary depending on the specific drug used 

This is a pretty long list so I could have my character reading this as well, but obviously choosing to ignore it and following through with his purchase.

So this post was just me doing a little bit of research on steroids, because to be honest I didn’t really know much about them before.

Well, that’s all for now!

- Rachel