Maybe some small changes??

Hi, blog!

As I mentioned in my last post, things are pretty hectic right now. I'm sure COVID-19 has thrown us all off, especially us in AICE Media 😅. This was literally the worst time for this virus to happen, not that any time would have been good. But of course, this is happening when I need to get a five-minute short film done and turned in. Ughhhh why must this be happening?

I've been very stressed thinking about this project and other things so I've thought a lot about this and will probably have to go through with it as I'm very limited on time.

So, originally my short film was going to be about an obsessive fan who wants to be just like the celebrity they're obsessing over, driving them closer and closer to madness. Considering I needed multiple actors for this idea to be carried out the way I wanted, I've tried to think of a new idea that falls along the same line but does not require so many actors, perhaps a one-man show type of thing.

Ugh, I'm kind of dying right now because I'm kind of wishing I chose documentary instead of a short film. If I knew this was going to happen, I definitely would have done that and done an excerpt on bodybuilding. The only subjects I can really work with right now are my mom, dad, and brother. My brother is pretty much a bodybuilder, but he doesn't compete or do anything like that. He used to be a real skinny kid with almost no body fat to 270 pounds and full of muscle. I think this might've been an interesting documentary topic and probably would have been easier considering how limited I am on actors and everything.

But it's too late for that so I've been trying to think of some changes I can make to my short film to make it easier for me to film and complete.

I thought about possibly having my brother as the main actor and he's an obsessive fan of a bodybuilder and wants to be just like him so he pushes himself to look just like the bodybuilder, and possibly pushed to a breaking point. This is an idea that I've thought about for a little bit but I'm not entirely sure yet if that's what I want to do. But I know I have to think fast. This whole thing really sucks.

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

AICE exams are no más

Hi, blog!

Well all AICE exams have officially been canceled due to COVID-19.

This was a shock but at the same time, it wasn't as I knew there was no way we were going to be able to do the exams, at least in person, with everything going on.

So I'm not exactly sure what is happening in regards to the media exam and portfolio project but I'm sure we still have the portfolio project counted as a grade, at least I'd hope so.

With that being said, this post is really just an update on what's going on right now. I feel like I'm running out of things to write about, unfortunately. Everything is just so hectic right now. I would have never imagined in a million years that any of this would be happening. It's all so crazy.

Well, I hope everyone is washing their hands and staying safe!

That's all for now.

- Rachel

Branding

Hi, blog!

In this post, I am going to talk about branding my short film. As I continue to work on my website and postcard I am focusing on color psychology and key art.

Since my short film is about an obsessive fan, my genre falls in the psychological thriller category. This is one of my favorite genres as I love thrillers that explore the mind or even have the audience question their own minds. With that being said, I am focusing on using darker colors for my marketing content (postcard, website social media, etc.). I will be using lots of blacks, greys, whites, and reds. Red is a color that I associate with the thriller genre a lot and it's a color that I think really captures an audience's attention.

The website builder Wix makes choosing a color scheme super easy as they have a sidebar that allows you to choose from various different color schemes when building your site. This is really helpful and I love how easy Wix is to use. I highly recommend it.

I would use the same red, black, grey, white color scheme when it comes to the postcard. Using these colors lets the audience know that this film will be on the darker side. I've also come up with an idea for the key art. I like the idea of having the obsessed fan back to back with the person she's obsessed with as that kind of gives off the idea that she wants to be just like her, or that she (or he) is leading a double life. I would have the picture in a darker color scheme as well. This is the picture I would put on the postcard and the website.

I will provide more updates on this process later!

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Distribution

Hi, blog!

So I've decided to make this blog post dedicated to distribution, specifically how I would distribute my piece.

First, I would submit my short to various film festivals. Some of these film festivals would include the Sundance Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival. According to the article "The Twelve Things You Should Know Before Submitting to Sundance," "A Sundance short requires the length of the film to be 49 minutes or less, though the average is usually between seven and 15. They can be narrative, animated, documentary or anything art-driven and experimental. Only 60 short films are chosen from a submission pool of around 9,000—all due on September 15."

There was another interesting part of the article that talked about saving money when submitting to a festival. It said, "Regardless of your film’s budget, it’s usually a good idea to save money and there are a few reasons why. Barrera advised the audience to add a festival marketing line item to your post-production budget. In the event that your film does get chosen for Sundance (or any other film festival), it’s going to cost you for deliverables prep, travel, lodging, materials, etc.—so it’s wise to think ahead and be prepared."

"Another way to save during the submissions process is to send Vimeo links. Although DVDs will still be accepted, the programmers highly recommend not wasting your money on them. Online links not only save money but time as well. Vimeo is the most common way filmmakers submit their films. "

As I read more of the article I realized there were a lot of things I didn't know about when it comes to submitting a film to a film festival.

If I were to then win a spot in a festival and have the opportunity to have my short widely distributed, I would distribute it through Netflix or Amazon Prime, or both. These are two of the most popular streaming services so I believe my short film would have the opportunity to reach a large audience if I ere to distribute it through these platforms.

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Stress!!

Hi, blog!

This coronavirus is really stressing me out in terms of my project. Since basically everyone is quarantined, I have no idea what to do about my project. It's too late to change my idea but I just don't know how I'm going to make it work.

Since I do live with my brother, I could try to make the lead a male instead of a female, even though I originally wanted the lead to be a female. But I just don't know what else to do and I can't exactly rely on anyone as everything is uncertain now.

On top of that, I feel like I'm running out of things to write about on here ugh. I'm just very stressed and I'm trying to keep calm but I don't know if it's working very well.

I will give updates about what's going on.

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Working on the Website!

Hi, blog!

So, as I said in one of my previous postings, I'm focusing a lot on working on the website and postcard this week.

For my website, I've decided to use Wix.com as it's my favorite website builder to use and is very user-friendly. Wix gives you the option to put in all the information you want on your site and builds a website template for you, which is extremely convenient compared to other website builders such as Godaddy.com. Also, Wix has its own app, which once again means I can edit from my phone!

I'm mostly just playing around with it today and seeing what kind of template I like as I still need to get pictures and other things for content for the site. This whole Coronavirus is stressing me out as they're starting to shut down more and more places and stores in order to keep the virus under control. This means I will more than likely have limited options for filming locations if I do decide to film in any public place. However, in my planning, I had a lot of the shots taking place in the main character's bedroom and house, so hopefully, this virus situation won't impact me too greatly.

When trying to view the website on my phone, it was formatted a little weird so I took a video from my laptop and have included it below:

I will continue playing around with Wix and see what works and what doesn't for this website and hopefully, Corona won't get in the way of my project!

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel

Working on Postcard!!

Hi, blog!

With Coronavirus messing up everyone's schedule, I decided now would be a perfect time to work on and complete both my postcard and website.

In this blog post, I'll be focusing more on the postcard.

I've decided to use the website Canva to make my postcard as I find it very easy to use and I've used it in the past for previous projects. I also like that I can edit from my phone.

I looked at some of the previous projects on Mrs. Stoklosa's website and liked the postcards more in the 2017-2018 projects so I took inspiration from some of those.

I've been playing around with Canva and I kind of like this format for my postcard:

Obviously I will replace those pictures once I can get them. I plan on putting the main character's face along with the celebrity's as the picture but split up as seen in the postcard if that makes any sense? I'm also not sure if this is what I want to call my short film but I will probably stick with that name or call it something very similar.

Well, that's all for now!

- Rachel