Reflecting

Sadly, this project is coming to an end. I'm currently editing my CCR after I spent all weekend/end of last week creating the script and filming. The CCR creation process wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I wished I had more time to make it amazing. Anyways, now that my journey is coming to an end, it's time for some reflecting on the entire process as a whole, because I've already done some reflecting after certain stages, like researching and production.

One of the key moments of this project was definitely choosing our plot/topic. At first, we were stuck on what to do. We tampered with the idea of making a horror film or even dystopian social-critique film. But, we wanted to create media that we both enjoyed, and we were inspired by our own personal interests. We both love coming-of-age films and, since we are teenagers after all, thought doing so would make the process a lot more enjoyable than doing a genre we had relatively no interest in. Coming up with the actual idea was less difficult from here, as we found something unique we both had in common: our appreciation and knowledge of the deaf community. Our decision to make our opening centered around a deaf character was definitely a key moment in the project, because we knew from then that there was a lot at stake. We needed to portray the character in an appropriate manner, keep the genre conventions, and maintain accurate representation all while creating an entertaining and technically great film. It was a lot to take on, but looking back, I am glad we took on this challenge, because it taught us how to problem-solve.

Moreover, another key moment in the project was the ending of our actual production. Researching and planning was a breeze for us, but completing production was another story. The production process was harder than we anticipated: it was a lot longer than we expected, and our budget definitely hindered some of our visions. It was easy to get discouraged when shots were not turning out like they were envisioned to be, but we were able to persevere and continue filming. In retrospect, these obstacles taught us not only the importance of planning (so next time we can plan to rent out better technology that met our desires), but they also taught us how to maintain confidence in our work. We regained confidence in post-production, where we were able to put everything together with certain effects to make it more professional-looking. Editing was a defining moment in our project because, through trial and error, we were able to make our opening aesthetically and technically pleasing to the best of our abilities. 

Change is inevitable, and although we tried not to make too many changes to our project outside of the planning period, it was necessary in some instances. For instance, we changed a large portion of our plot line after planning and researching. We changed Sydney to be more alternative and grunge rather than Ava; so now, Ava (her sister) was the brainy/perfect cheerleader while Sydney (the protagonist) was the alternative one. We did this because we felt our first idea was too cliche, and even though the second trope is pretty cliche as well, it is less common in coming of age movies, or at least the ones that we researched and were inspired by. We also wanted to add an extra bit of uniqueness to Sydney's character to make her stand out even more, so we chose to challenge those specific genre conventions. In addition, We changed the order of some clips and omitted some from the final product mostly because of time constraints. We wanted to end on a scene of their car pulling away, but the length of the scene would have sent us eight seconds over time, which is too much. We also rearranged some clips to make the opening flow better and match more to the beat of the music. This was mostly a stylistic choice, and we did so to make the overall product more visually appealing to watch.

Overall, I am extremely proud of everything my partner and I have accomplished. I truly learned the importance of shared collaboration and communication, and I'm glad I had a partner that put in as much effort into this project as I did. Like I said in a previous post, this project has kinda of become my child because of all the time and effort I have put into it. But, I am thrilled to be able to show the world (or my class of 20 kids) Birdcage and hope the love it as much as I do!!