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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 18 - TRAILER 1 DONE, TRAILER 2 BEGINS

To continue with editing, this week, the colour-grading was a matter of only a few minutes, as we already had the colour pallette ready we just had to view those colours and Vedant added that to the library scene, just to try out if it matches the entire trailer, Vedant placed it and while viewing it looked perfect! it gave us the exact effect that we were in need of.

^The colour palette for the garden scene.

Something different that we tried is to use the 16:9 film gates from the top and bottom of the frame. This would give it a more cinematic effect.

^Film gates in trailer 1.

Last touch-ups were done to trailer 1 like shifting the slates to another layer so that the colour grade does not affect it as well. Then adding dissolves and dip to black and white and adjusting the clips according to the black bars.

TRAILER ONE COMPLETED!

Trailer 2 now begins... Vedant began arranging the shots for trailer 2 as per the screenplay and cut the shots to bring them together in harmony. For the trailer to look better we added the goons scene first as it grabs the attention of the audience at the beginning itself, after which we have the following scenes as per the screenplay.

^Posterized clip of the goons scene.

To try something out of the box Vedant posterized the clip- goon scene- which makes it dramatic and gives it a look like a fast-forwarded shot. After which he looked for appropriate soul-stirring music which is also at a fast pace. We wanted this trailer to be unlike the first trailer which was slow. The anthemic background music was from the movie ‘Joker’(2019). We now needed something dissimilar to it for the happy scenes. So I suggested that we have sounds of birds chirping which shows happiness. Vedant and I searched for sounds that would match the scenes filled with joy, so we found out a tune of crystals tinkling which was giving out a feeling of desire.

^Main theme song.

To make more sense out of the trailers we placed the highlighting shot at first that would show the rest of the trailer from Preeti’s perspective and would allow the audience to understand it better.

^Start of trailer 2.

We then did the titling for the trailer and kept it right towards the end so the audience can register the name of the film and other details. An unconventional method of presenting the trailer was used as we included a post trailer shot of Preeti crying and Avinash throwing vessels around and banging the troubling her. This was incorporated to increase the disturbance and intensity of the product.

^Post trailer shot.

As this year we did not do dubbing we had to record a few dialogues again so Vedant and I went to do this for Avinash’s dialogues as it weren't clear through the pilot track or the recorder. So we went to an empty classroom in the school and recorded his dialogues with much more rage and anger in him. I tried to give him a demo of how the dialogues have to be said.

^Giving a demo to sir.

While Vedant went on to match the sounds and dialogues I had to record the answers for my CCR as I planned on doing something creative from last year, I chose to do a slideshow with voiceover.

^Recording CCR answers.

In terms of colour grading, we used a lilac to pink tone for the garden shot, blue tone to the scene where Avinash shouts at Preeti and a mustard yellow to orange tone for the library and hiding shot. This was an easy process as we already had our colour palette ready.

^Lilac tone applied to the shot to show the love developing between characters.

Lastly, we added the film gates to this trailer as well but in a way that they slowly come inward onto the screen to enhance the trailer. Last touch-ups were made to the trailer like checking the titles, audio and video.

^Film gates for trailer 2.

TRAILER TWO COMPLETED!

After the end of both trailers, we were relieved as we met with the deadline. Now we all had to work on our blogs and CCR. I started by arranging the audio into each answer and also created 4 different bins for each answer so while adding videos or photos no confusion occurs. As the first answer was very long it took time to cut.

^4 bins created.

Furthermore, before working on the audio, I had to do noise reduction so that the backgrounds sounds are removed. Sir taught me how to do it on Adobe audition which was very easy after a few tries. Even though the process to arrange clips and match them, I enjoyed working on Adobe premiere pro. For the clip play harmoniously I added peaceful background music so that it does not get monotonous.

^Process of noise reduction.

As for the images and videos, I took a few from our product and some off the internet. Matching them to the same time limit as the audio was difficult and time-consuming but once I got the hang of it, it became smooth.

Moreover, this week, our principal viewed both the trailers and said that she is eager to watch the whole film; this boosted our spirit and we also have ideas of maybe making a short film based on the plot of “CANVAS”. After we got the approval, we posted the trailers on YouTube as unlisted on the account of Canvas2k20 and then linked them to the website.

^Upload of trailer 1.

^Upload of trailer 2.

After the completion of my blogs and CCR I come to an end of component 3 and now look forward to answering the writing paper (component 4). The entire course of Media studies has been a great exposure to the filming process and the digital world along with exploiting the creativity in each one us. Working in groups also taught us how important it is to hear everyone out which turns out to be great learning. I would want to work on my own ideas and turn them into products that would be displayed to large scale audiences.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 17 - WEBSITE

This week after the poster was ready and Adrija started the website, over the last week she wrote the content down so that work gets easier while uploading it on the website.

To begin with, the domain was bought from www.Godaddy.com for our group as well as the other one. Email and password were set up after which both the groups started selecting the themes for our websites.

For our group, I suggested a black background as our poster is colourful and the images will be too. The main page that opens up required an image with a tagline on top of it, for which, Adrija and I worked on Photoshop and created the image where we picked out the title from the poster and an image from google of clouds in the sky representing freedom.

For the marketing line, we thought of writing ‘Near Your Theatres This Love Season’ as our release date was finalized as 14.02.2020 which happens to be valentines day.

^Look of the image and marketing line.

After this, we uploaded the poster on the first page and also the disclaimer. We also added the 4 other pages that are: Film information, trailers, cast & crew and the gallery page.

In the film information page, Adrija also included the branding and sponsors for our product.

^Film information page.

The page after which is the page where the trailers are uploaded, as we did not have it ready we just had had a template put up.

^Trailers page.

Cast and crew page contained the pictures of the actors and their descriptions, and for the crew section, we had circular images and small descriptions.

^Cast and crew page.

lastly, pictures were chosen by Adrija and me for the gallery which was put up in a slideshow manner to make it more presentable.

^Photo gallery page.

Later this week we also had a fun test conducted by sir which would help us improve our speed of thinking and writing. Though it was enjoyable it had a skill developing motive behind. The task was to listen to a song and along with it write down the lyrics, it was very difficult as listening and catching up with the lyrics simultaneously was tough and confused us. The first song that we did was The radio song from Tube light (2017) and First-class from Kalank (2019).

^The radio song test.

^First class song test.

Finally, editing began as our editor arrived after his exams. Before he could come I discussed the basic outline of the first trailer with sir so that we don't waste time in thinking about the concept and getting confused. So, when he came, he began arranging the shots according to the guidelines provided to him.

^Organizing the clips and matching sounds.

The next day he came we inserted the title track from the movie Ae dil hai mushkil (2016) which was something we came up with in regards with the feel of the trailer, most of our first trailer is sad and emotional so to match up to it we used this song. Along with this, we challenged the convention as our film is in the English language but the song is in Hindi.

^Title track of ae dil hai mushkil with the trailer.

For the slates, the idea of having unfortunate love stories and their characters would give the audience a gist of what the two characters may be destined for. Thus we included characters like Romeo and Juliet.

^The slate with Romeo and Juliet.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 16 - TRIP TO UFO & POSTER!

This week we went to the head office of UFO Moviez India Ltd. situated in Andheri (Mumbai) which was near our school; which is India’s largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform. UFO operates India’s largest satellite-based, digital cinema distribution network.

^UFO Moviez.

As we reached the building we were given visitor passes and taken to the floor with a preview theatre on its own, where we all were seated and the head of privacy and security spoke to us. He first started off by an introduction from all of us and later began giving a brief of the company and its main role in the pipeline. UFO has around 9000 out of 11000 screens across India and on an average distributes 22 movies per week. This was something none of us knew and we were all shocked to know this. After a brief discussion of the company, we started asking doubts and majorly discussing how the producers of films approach the distribution company and ways in which the company tries its best to protect the product from leaking online and piracy.

^In the demo theatre where the discussion took place.

One doubt was regarding what happens if there is a clash of movies, so the head told us that the team is so big that a delay can never occur also that the movie comes to them a week prior to its release so all the last minute work has enough time to be mended and applied.

We also questioned him about the cuttings between movies like during intervals and how that is done with Hollywood movies as they usually don't have one. We were then told that the cuttings, trailers played prior to the film and advertisements before the movie is all inserted by UFO. He also informed us about the government advertisements in regards to smoking and alcohol consumption. Adding to which, we were told that the Directorate of audio and video publicity (DAVP) is the one who decides how much money should be spent on campaigns and other activities for the government.

We further discussed the competitors as there are around 11000 screens in India. The other smaller firms that have their own distribution channels are Qube that is based in Chennai and K sera sera (KSS).

^2 competitor companies.

We then discussed how the movies are sent abroad to foreign countries and distributed there. So the head told us that it is not sent online as there is a higher chance of piracy, thus its sent in a hard drive along with a license key, which allows access to the company abroad. The license key is issued by the network operating centre (NOC) and allows access to the file if an equal number of license keys are bought.

Furthermore, our attention was also brought to the idea of different ticket pricing for every movie and how the theatres, for example, PVR assess the film and keep their prices in order to gain a profit, if they feel that the movie will not succeed there is always food and beverages that compensate for any loss. One more important detail discussed was whether or not the company of UFO will face losses, the head explained to us that they get their money even before the movie is exhibited and any further income is taken as a profit for the company, so even if the movie is a flop at the box office UFO gets their income.

^Inside the theatre.

A tiny discussion on whether theatres will ever go extinct also took place and ended up in a note that audience looks for a different experience when going to the cinema hall and enjoying the amenities there so the chance of this business shutting down is low.

^Will cinemas go extinct?

After this, we were taken to a room that was situated in the mini theatre that we were seated at and the room had many systems placed with a desktop on which movies were worked on and edited. The head who guided us through all of them showed us 4k projectors and also the software that is developed by UFO itself to allow easy access and editing.

^Room with equipment.

Later we were taken to the room where the colour grading and sound mixing is done for the last time before the release of the film but before we went into the room we passed through a security check so that no one brings in their phones or pen drives through which any data could leak, after which, we saw a small cabin in which the hard drive is first opened and all files are checked and a note of how many files are there is taken so that when the hard drive goes back out the same number of files should be present. When we got to the room where the touch-ups of editing are done we saw that they used the software called Da Vinci resolve which was very similar to adobe premiere pro that we used for our editing, however, the difference that was explained to us was about the efficiency in colour correction and grading. In Da Vinci resolve colour grading is better and in adobe premiere pro editing is better. We were also shown a clip of a short Bengali film that the team had been working on and the different colour corrections that they had done to enhance the product.

^An example of display in Da Vinci Resolve.

Lastly we were taken to a room with a large projector and sound systems where we saw the trailer of the movie ‘Housefull 4′and a few scenes of ‘Prashthanam’ the number of frames and the timing of the film was seen on top of the projector screen as the video played, this was done to check if anything is missing and was like a checkpoint for all films before it left the premises.

^Posters of the film clips that we viewed.

We again went through a security check to ensure nothing is stolen or got out of the area. We then took a picture with the head who guided us around and enlightened us with knowledge and information that we were not aware of.

^Group picture.

This trip was very exciting as we got to see the entire process that happens before the film is sent to the theatres and all the levels of security that have to be maintained to prevent piracy.

POSTER!

The week got more exciting as I had to work on Photoshop to make the poster. As I already had an idea and a rough draft it was easier to get the ideas flowing, the only challenge was the different tools and managing layers.

I started off by the background and the idea of having the faces of the two female characters on either side, this idea was seen before in many posters but it suited our theme very well, it showed both the characters along with which I came up with an idea of making half the poster black and white and the other side coloured so that it shows the distinction between how life can either be monotonous or filled with colour.

^Idea with faces on both sides.

While taking out images for the faces, it became difficult as the shape and sizes of the faces were different and it looked very messy and incomplete. Thus I let go of that idea and took a look at the other pictures that we clicked during the photo shoot.

While still working on the idea of the faces, I got to learn layer masking and how it is used in the right way to remove the sections that we don't require or sections that need to be bought in. White reveals and black hides.

Another thing that I was made aware of is how raw images from the camera are converted and made into a JPEG( Joint Photographic Experts Group )or TARGA( Truevision Advanced Raster Graphics Adapter )file format. TARGA file format is heavier than JPEG and better quality.

In addition to which sir told me to use the polygonal lasso tool as it gives control and freedom for selection, which helped me work and select better while onto the idea of the two faces.

^1st idea that I worked on.

As I took down this idea, I had to rework on the whole poster; One picture that stood out was of the two actors holding their hands on the book. In a simple way, this showed what our product was about and summed up the gist of the story however, not revealing too much that the audience understands what is going on.

^Image of holding hands.

Along with this, I incorporated the image that was also taken during the photoshoot where the two of them are leaning against the wall of the balcony sill and reading their books.

In the middle of the poster would be an image of the book with a highlighted line that expresses the emotion of the film.

^Sitting pose and the image of the book.

As the background layer of the poster is a plain page of the book so that if there are any gaps left it would be covered up by the page and won't be plain white.

^Cleant the fingers using patch and spot healing tool.

^Added a tint with a gradient using blending modes to give it a dreamy look and add the touch of romance in the poster. This was an interesting element as I had to choose the colours in the gradient bar and apply it, Prior to applying the purple-lilac colour I tried having a rainbow effect to represent the LGBT group, however, it looked untidy so I chose the lilac colour.

^Blurred the sides of the quote so that it stands also highlighted the line using layer masking where more of it is revealed and did layer masking near the corners of the book so that connectivity is maintained.

^1st attempt in titling for the poster.

Fonts such as Cassandra, Yellow ginger, Beauty mountains, Allessa etc... were used for the titling and colours for the fonts were tried out.

^Look of the ‘CANVAS’ title. Pink was used as it is a delicate colour that means sweet, nice, playful, cute, romantic, charming and feminine, where our product relates completely to feminity and romance.

^Addition of the 14.02.2020 date was made which was decided as a release date of our film.

To catch the attention of the audience a yellow highlight was made to it using the brush tool and different brush size and style.

^Changes of the fonts, size and colour were made to fit in, correctly to the poster.

As the poster looked cramped up with all the names of the cast and crew I decided to take out the name of the cast and keep only the names of crew members so that the poster works in a medley and not jumbled up.

^Look after taking out the names of the cast.

^Final poster.

This was an exciting experience as there were so many ideas that were coming up and to stick to one main idea was very challenging. We now look forward to work on the website and begin editing after a long gap.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 15 - SECTION B

This week I wrote my first answer of section B on question 2- How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

After writing down the answer I showed it to Aparna ma’am when she realized that these theorists can not be used for this answer and I would have to rework my answer to fit the right theorist and the theory.

^First draft for the answer of question 2.

We had a practice test on Section A and the second question from Section B. This test was more difficult as previously we had only section A, the crunch of time hit us hard as we had to complete the paper on time.

^Practise test.

Later this week sir sent us a document containing the right theorists and theories according to which I revised my points and noted down the films and TV shows.

^Revised notes for question 2.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 14 - COMPONENT 4

This week too our software was not fixed so we worked more on component 4 and writing answers for section A, part A and B.

I started off by drafting answers for Part A in which many aspects had to be looked at. The difficulty I faced while writing the answer was that it was a lot to write with minimal timing so I had to work faster and come up with my ideas in a flow.

^Drafted answers.

As last week we began with section B most of us were still unsure about the format of the answers so we got a class with Aparna ma’am who taught us component 2 section B last year. She started with the 4 main questions that could be asked and how we have to incorporate theories into this answer along with case-studies which are the movies and other media we would use to prove the statement we make. We had to choose any 2 media forms from TV, Film, Print, Web etc...

^Class by Aparna ma’am.

Ma’am also differentiated the second question as it is the only one where old movies or old media can be used as the question compares the past and present. The main idea we have to focus on was the ‘Representation’ of youth.

^Notes for Aparna ma’am’s lecture on section B.

Further this week I worked on section B and picked out the theorists and their theories based on which I have to pick out a statement and then movies to support that statement. The two media that I chose are TV and Film.

^Points made.

As we went on this week sir also gave me blog corrections that I started working on side by side.

^Blog corrections given by sir.

Lastly, this week I completed writing my answers for Section A, part a and b and I now had to work only on section B which was a bit more difficult than section A.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 13 - START TO SECTION B

This week we started off with section B of paper 4 where sir explained the concepts and what topic we have chosen out of the list given, we picked out Media and collective identity. We went through the document created and shared from sir which had all the points that have to be included into our 50 mark answer.

^The document that was sent by sir.

It was difficult to comprehend the jargon used, therefore, sir helped us out to understand what each word means. Words like mediated which means communicated or shown through.

^Lecture on Section B.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 12- BLOGS & TECHNICAL GLITCH

This week we had holidays as there was a big Indian festival of Ganesh Chaturthi due to which we missed our lecture on Monday.

^Festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

On Wednesday sir could not make it as he was out of town so we all either worked on blogs or poster and on Friday when we decided to sit for editing but unfortunately there was a glitch with Adobe premiere pro and photoshop because of which we couldn't continue with editing or further working on the poster.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 11- COMPONENT 4

This week was completely dedicated to component 4 where we were asked to get points in regards with all the 9 topics that we had to base our answer about.

We all cleared any doubts that we had. My doubt was about the topic of narrative and exactly what points have to be added and how to frame the sentences when we write about the different theories that apply to our products.

In terms of editing, Vedant and I decided that we first work on one trailer and then go on to the other trailer so there is no confusion. Vedant organized all the shots and sir gave some corrections that were then made. Vedant also started to look for suitable music.

^Organization of clips.

I got done with the rough idea for our poster and started working on it on Adobe Photoshop CC 2018, as I was still new to the software many things were confusing but then sir guided me with where the tools are and what tools are appropriate for each function performed.

^Working on the poster.

Towards the end of the week, sir conducted a practise as we decided to have it every week so that we get a good understanding of component 4. As this was our first practise we were all blank. I still wrote about my previous product of ‘ADRISHYA HATH’ as we had completed that and not ‘CANVAS’. I was short of time thus I could not complete part B.

^Writing the part A answer.

Sir informed us that he would be out of town the next week and gave us deadlines that we had to follow:

Complete blogs

Start off with CCR answers

Work on component 4 answers

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 10- GROUP 2 SHOOT

To begin with, in this week we did component 4 where sir introduced us to a document created by him that complied all of the pointers and guidelines that were important to remember while writing the answers.

In section A we had 2 parts (a and b). Under part A there are 4 basic topics that we have to write about:

Use of digital technology- The kind of software we used, the equipment and how the technology helped enhance our product and what challenges we faced?

Creativity- Where the idea came from, what effect was created and what problems were developed?

Research and Planning- How we researched about our film in different aspects, the kind of audience that is being focused, the locations, costumes and actors.

Using conventions from real media texts- the conventions that were followed and the ones that were challenged.

Under part B there are 5 topics to write about:

Genre- On a whole of how the genre was depicted through different mediums like camera, mise-en-scene, sound and edit.

Narrative- This revolves around the story and how it is depicted in terms of camera, mise-en-scene, edit and sound.

Audiences- Who the target audience is? why will the production appeal to the audience, all of this again in terms of camera, mise-en-scene, sound and edit.

Representation- How does the product represent certain characteristics of actors or the story itself.

Media language- This is similar to clip analysis where the 4 aspects of the camera, sound, edit and mise-en-scene is written about.

^Section A.

In part B we also had theories to learn that were given by theorists which we had to do in order to get better grades and improve the quality of our answer.

Through the week I noted down the main points on which my answer would be based and this would help me plan my answer in a more organized way.

Later on, the other group that consisted of Paarth- Director, Diya- Cinematographer, Tanya- Production designer and Vedanti- Editor, planned their shoot on the weekend that was Saturday and Sunday.

The basic plot of their story was about twins and the drama that goes on about a writer Sahil and his twin brother Kabir. They stay together but the problems caused by Kabir’s disorder, Sahil has to pay the price and suffer through the consequences and because of Sahil’s frustration Kabir takes bad decision in life.

^Twin brother representation.

Through the week they worked on their master breakdown and scheduling, My team and I were ready to help so Tanya told each of us to get a few items- I was told to get the rug that we used in our shoot and the idol of the god. Other group members were also told to get some things, as Janhavi was no more part of A level media studies she was no longer a part of our group but she was ready to help the other group as they helped us during our shoot.

Two days prior to the shoot Paarth wanted a letter addressed to his building as part of their shoot was going to take place there so I typed it out ready to be approved by the principal. For the shoot they needed 2 new diffusers like the ones we used for our shoot had completely torn due to the strong winds, so Adrija and I made the diffusers in a better manner so that the light diffuses in a constant way. I was also asked to bring gelatin paper that could be used for the lights.

^Adrija and I working on the diffusers.

As per the schedule, their first shoot for day 1 was in a hotel that was owned by our mutual friends' father after which the shoot was at Paarths home. Day 2 the whole shoot was at Paarths home and the compound below his building.

DAY 1- HOTEL AND HOME SHOOT

For the first shoot, we were all directly called to the hotel, after everyone reached along with the actors the brief of the shoot was explained and we began setting up for the first shot. The scene was of a detective coming to the owner of the restaurant and having a conversation. A shot that I suggested was a shot of the reflection of the detective's footsteps, this would increase the dramatic effect that the group was trying to portray. Along with being in charge of the clap I was also given the task of giving the mark for the actor.

As the later shots progressed, a shot that needed a slow pan of the entire camera was done through the use of a cloth that was put on the floor for smooth movement, this was the idea that I implemented and it worked quite well.

^Assembling of cloth.

Adding to which to give a more suspicious effect I suggested that we make use of the red gelatin paper on the lights while the restaurant manager has a conversation with Sahil. As the shoot was coming to an end the team had an improve shot where they followed the actors back and the actor exited the restaurant which I found to be a nice shot which increases the drama in the trailer.

^Shot taken from the back.

After the shoot at the cafe, the next shoot was at Paarths house. Once we all assembled at his house we began the shoot by going down to shoot where they originally planned to have a garden shoot but it had to be changed as the location did not seem fine. So now they took the scene in the car. While the shoot was going on Vedant was busy helping them get the lights down thus I had to order the food for the actors along with the entire team.

^Car shot.

After the shoot with the detective, the food arrived and we ate. As all the scenes of the detective were over he left and we continued the shoot with the actor who was playing the role of Kabir and Sahil. While we were on break, I got hurt on my thigh due to which I could not be part of a few shots that were being done. However, I tried my best to assist Paarth.

The shoot ended and we had to meet again the next day to continue the shoot with the actor playing the role of Kabir along with a female neighbour.

DAY 2-HOME SHOOT

The shoot was scheduled to start by 10 am, however, the actress arrived only by 11 am, so the shoot began by 11:30 am. Scenes involving the neighbour and Kabir/Sahil were done in the elevator which was unplanned and also done in the house in a room where the neighbour comes to check on Kabir when she gets confused and rejected because Kabir does not want anyone to know who he is.

During these scenes, I was handling the clap along with helping Tanya out to make the pillow look a little old by using spices to get the colour on the pillow cover. I also held the rug on the window so that there is no glare from the sun outside.

^Holding the rug.

A scene that was included was about the neighbour entering the house, to dramatise this scene I gave an idea that instead of taking an over the shoulder shot as always why not they take it from a lower angle like somewhere near the lower arm region.

^The shot that I suggested.

There were many shots that involved Kabir and Sahil using the typewriter that was one of the main components of the trailer. A few montage shots of him working or him just plainly jotting his thoughts down or sometimes getting angry due to lack of ideas.

^Taking a shot where the character is plainly just typing his thoughts.

At evening time we all took a break where Janhavi and I made coffee for all after which we hopped back on to the shoot that needed only the male actor.

A scene with the typewriter involved it being slide off the table. Before the actor could do this shot, I did it as it was the assistant director's job, so that Diya could know exactly how to handle the camera.

^Done by me.

^Done by the actor.

A tricky scene was when Kabir brushes his teeth and his gums start bleeding. This was done using fake blood and ‘close up’ toothpaste as it is red in colour.

Later, the group took pictures that they would use in the poster. The actor was wanting to finish the shoot as he was very tired and he had a cab waiting for him so, the other group took the last shot that they thought of in the end moment where Sahil pushes Kabir- this was done in a way where only Kabir’s back is shown on camera.

^Sahil pushing Kabir.

Here the shoot ended and it was a big ‘PACK UP’.

This shoot was much better than last year as they were in time with their documents and actors, they also had better planning of what shots have to be taken. However, in terms of the costume, I felt it could have been better. This was the last shoot that we all would be doing in A level media studies and it was a great experience, now both the teams look forward to work on their edit along with the poster and website.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 9- EDIT IS ON

This was the week after our shoot and we were happy with what work we did on the shoot, now it all comes down to the editing part that Vedant will have to nail in order to raise the product drastically.

An unfortunate event occurred when we got our AS level results where Janhavi- our cinematographer had been ungraded so this led to her being out of our group and we no more had a cinematographer so her job of making the poster came on me and I was more than excited to take this up as I enjoy working on the computer and experimenting in Photoshop.

We started organising the clip according to the screenplay and I also started brainstorming on ideas for our poster.

^Drawing ideas to develop them further in Photoshop.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 8- SHOOT!

Anxiety and nervousness along with excitement soared until high up in the sky as this week was our shoot week. As planned by looking into actors schedule and the availability of our location the dates were fixed for Friday and Saturday.

Work that we had left to do was getting all production requirements and going for the garden location check.

On Tuesday I had to go and get the printouts that we would be sticking on the book.

Then on Wednesday Adrija and I went to Diya’s building as that's where the garden was. We did a complete check by estimating the placing of the actors and checking the lighting along with the ideas of shots that we could come up with.

^Location of the garden.

By Thursday, Our group had still not confirmed a male actor as the one referred to us said he won't be able to make it in the time slot that we gave him, after contemplation, we approached a sports teacher in our school called Sushant sir, who said he would be okay with the role. I took his number and sent him all the documents and details regarding costumes, timings and location.

^Email sent to Sushant sir.

For the role of Ayaan who is Avinash’s son and Preeti’s stepson, we approached Janhavi’s brother as he suited the character.

^Priteesh playing the role of Ayaan.

We had one lecture on photoshop where we went through the file menu, edit menu and help menu.

^Menus at the top of photoshop.

We also had a small revision of paper 4 where we discussed the questions and cleared out any doubts.

Later, on Thursday Adrija and I went to buy the production items that were not bought yet, We first got the printouts of the master breakdowns and the screenplays then we bought the sweat spray, we also bought cardboards so that we could make diffusers that would be used on the external lights that sir was getting for us.

^Idea of how the diffusers have to be made.

We also had to buy a top for the actress playing the role of Kiara as she did not have a mustard yellow one that we were in need of. Further, we went to a medical store to buy glycerin but they had a very big bottle which would go waste thus we did not buy it. Paarth came along with us as he was assigned the task to make reflectors and also get chips and juice boxes.

^The mustard yellow top that we bought for Resha.

I allotted work to each one member of my group as well as the assisting group where Diya made a reflector, Tanya was asked to get makeup sponges and Vedanti was assigned the task to help Adrija do the bruise look makeup for the actor as she has experience, she was also responsible for the food and water on the set.

^Bruise look done on Preeti’s face as her husband Avinash abuses her at home.

At night, I sent the address and timings to the actors respectively. A problem arose as the actress playing the role of Preeti insisted that her clothes be ironed before her appearance on the camera. So I coordinated with Diya as we were shooting in her building and asked her if she was okay with me using her iron stand. Out of all of us, I was the only one confident to iron the clothes so this task was on me.

On Friday which was our shoot day we all attended the first lecture as part of our school schedule and then worked on last-minute corrections and arrangements. I went to get the printouts that we would be needing to stick on the books that were going to be highlighted on day 2 of our whole shoot. After which, Tanya, Adrija and I correctly measured them and cut them ready for it to be stuck on the book. Adrija stuck the pages very neatly and made it look very realistic, after which I helped her as it became a tedious task. Simultaneously, Vedant and Paarth were onto making the diffusers. I was also coordinating with actors as to where they are and if they needed any guidance.

^Working on the diffusers and page sticking.

DAY 1- GARDEN SHOOT

Finally, sir arrived and we all took off to the garden where our first shoot was scheduled. As we arrived Resha who was playing the role of Kiara arrived on time whereas Poorvi who was playing the role of Preeti arrived late due to traffic. As the actors came I introduced all of us starting with my team and then moving on to the assisting team along with sir.

Just so that the actors and the other group members know the story and get that character feel, I explained the story and cleared any doubts. By the time I explained this, Poorvi (Preeti) and Resha (Kiara) started getting ready and I began ironing the Kurtis that Poorvi had to wear on the garden shoot.

^Ironing the Kurti.

The actors preferred doing their own makeup so Adrija was just doing the hair.

^Adrija making Preeti’s hair.

While the actors were getting dressed Sir showed us the workings of the LED lights that he got along with the stands to hold the lights.

^The demonstration of how the lights work and how it can be manipulated from white light to yellow light.

Before we all went down to commence the shoot we had a short prayer so that everything goes right.

We had to carry towels and umbrellas in case it started raining and the actors get drenched or to lower the chances that the camera gets wet. This was something that we did not need to do last year as it was an indoor shoot so this was a new experience. As a director, I had to be prepared for any circumstance and may have to also compromise shots here and there due to any external influences.

^Use of umbrella.

I directed the whole team as follows: Diya was assisting Janhavi with the camera, Paarth being the assistant director was in charge of the clap, Tanya was in charge of helping Adrija with the production and arranging the set and Vedanti was in charge of food and water.

First off, An on the spot shot was the 360-degree handheld shot that hit my mind when I started to think about the intense situation that the characters are in.

^The shot made on the spot.

^Vedant and Paarth giving the mark position of how the actors will stand for the shot.

Further, we went on to do all the shots that were in the garden starting with the shot of Preeti and Kiara walking in the garden taking a stroll. Next, we took the shots of Preeti and Kiara sitting down where they talk about the abuse that Preeti faces at home and how Kiara consoles her. Here we took 4 shots that comprised of 2 close-ups, one pan shot and another steady 2 shot at eye level.

^Shots taken where the actors are sitting.

We made use of lighting while taking the steady 2 shot and close-ups of the actors to make the atmosphere feel brighter as it was originally gloomy.

Between these shots, there was a change of costumes and makeup which was smoothly managed by Adrija along with the help of Vedanti (assistant editor) who did the bruise makeup for Preeti.

We did another shot at a low angle of the actors walking in the garden holding hands and enjoying their time together, however, it suddenly started raining so the remaining shots which we could have taken could not be done due to continuity problems.

^The low angle shot.

Meanwhile, Vedanti ordered food for the actors along with the rest of the crew which unknowingly reached another location, due to which we all had to wait until the food arrived and only then could we go to the other location. By the time the food came, I coordinated with the male actor to be there at Janhavi’s house by 5pm.

DAY 1- HOUSE SHOOT

As we reached Janhavi’s house, the shoot took off at a fast pace as we had got a break while travelling and we were sure of the shots to be done. The actors refreshed themselves and simultaneously Sir and I indulged Sushant sir (playing the role of Avinash) into the character of the forever angry husband. We also discussed what shots we would exactly take and did the placements. Adrija got the costumes ready along with the jewellery, Janhavi took a look at the shot division and accordingly thought about the other shots we could take.

^Discussing the scenes with Resha while Adrija and Tanya do the makeup for Sushant sir.

We began the shoot with the scene which was about Avinash getting angry at Preeti and her reaction along with their son's reaction. For this scene, there were a total of 4 shots, 2 over the shoulder shots that show the communication between characters and one quick panning shot showing the reaction of Ayaan to the situation that he is in giving a shock or a quick reaction.

^Look by Ayaan.

Sushant sir was taking some time to correctly say the dialogues in a flow as he was getting nervous and was not a professional actor. After a few takes, we got an okay shot however, I was not completely satisfied with it but we had to move on. We completed the other shots quicker as it were over the shoulder shots.

^Avinash hurting Preeti.

Moving on, we got to the scene that was about Kiara and Preeti playing with pillows when Preeti suddenly realizes that all of this will soon get over and that she would have to return to her abusive husband from whom she receives no love and zero respect after which Kiara gets closer to Preeti where they almost head to have an intimate scene. This scene had originally been planned in a way wherein we make use of feathers as I thought it would be extremely romantic,however, we switched on to the play of lights as the actors come closer to each other the light dims more and more to enhance the effect and bring about romance. The shot was a handheld shot that was done to try and change something about the feel rather than sticking to the same old steady camera shot.

^Diya and Vedanti arranging the lights for the scene.

The actors took some time to adjust with the emotion as their scene involved actions that is very rare for two females to do. Vedant and Paarth sat outside in the hall because the scene that we were planning to shoot was intimate and actors prefered boys out of the room. This taught me that sometimes for the actor to perfect a shot it is important that they feel comfortable or the shot will not turn out as desired. We took around 3 rehearsal shots after which we finally got a proper shot.

Our last shot of the day was where Preeti is a corner of the bedroom where she starts crying because her husband Avinash is shouting at her for no reason, he also goes about and throws vessels around and breaks things. Here too we thought of adding a yellow light effect rather than keeping it plain white which would kill the aura. The use of Glycerin gave a very realistic effect on the scenes that involved the actors getting emotional and teary. In just one long shot we got a perfect emotion and we were done with all the shots that had to be taken.

^One take shot.

We now did the shoot for our poster, where we made the two actresses sit on the window sill that looked very romantic with the beautiful curtain as the background, it showed what the film about yet does not reveal too much. We had to make sure that the suspense had to be maintained. Vedant wanted to click the pictures for the poster so we let him do it.

^Vedant clicking pictures for the poster.

My team and I were very content with how the shoot progressed with the help of the other group. As a token of appreciation we gave Sushant sir some chocolates, he too was very happy with how the shoot progressed and said that he would love to work with us in the future, this indeed gave my group a boost of confidence. We now looked forward to the shoot in the library that was a crucial part of both our trailers, and it was PACK UP for day 1.

DAY 2- LIBRARY SHOOT

After the success of our previous shoot, we were a little relaxed and more motivated to get this shoot perfect to make up for any errors in our last shoot.

Everyone met at school with all the production requirements that we had prepared on Friday itself, we needed rugs to covers the windows that were in the library as that is where we were shooting the darkroom scene. So I got the rugs and blinds with the help of sir and everything else was already ready by the wonderful organization by Adrija.

We reached the school at around 10 o’clock and started figuring out how to set the tables and chairs. Resha who played the role of Kiara reached at 10:30am, however, Poorvi who played the role of Preeti reached late due to traffic so by the time they arrived we took a shot that did not require the actors and was a shift focus shot at a top angle of the highlighted lines in the book. The lesson that I learnt from the actors is that when they are late, to match up to the schedule the shots that they are not required in should be done which increases efficiency.

^Book shot.

Throughout the library shoot, the use of lights was abundant as the original lighting in the library was far too dull to be shot in.

^Use of lights.

As both the actors were getting ready I directed my team and the assisting team to set up the tables, chairs, book and highlighter that was going to be used, we first went on to take the shots that comprised of Preeti highlighting the book and she hesitates to complete it as she is scared of taking a step that will change her life forever, and this is when Kiara comes and completes the highlight that shows a sign of commitment, trust and above all love. This scene had 2 shots: a master shot that was taken at a diagonal angle, an over the shoulder shot to show the highlighting of lines. In addition to this, we also took an extreme close up shot of Preeti hugging Kiara where she says “I love you too.”

^Extreme close up shot.

Moving on, next we took the shots of Kiara getting teary as she reads the beautiful lines highlighted on the book by Preeti. One of the shots was a steady shot taken at eye level in a diagonal angle, the second shot was a frontal close up of Kiara’s face as the teardrop from her cheek, continuing to the top angle shot of the teardrops falling on the book creating a smudged effect.

^Kiara crying after reading those emotional lines.

After this, we had a break where the cast and crew had lunch so that we get energized for the remaining shoot.

The last scene that we had left was where both the actresses are hiding from goons that are looking for them when Preeti decides to go to them, to protect Kiara because she still has a life that she could mould in any way. For this scene, a lot of setting had to be done as we had to create a dark room and give that effect, for which we used the rugs that I got to cover the windows. I directed Paarth and Vedant to hold one rug and Tanya and Vedanti to hold the other while Diya and Adrija to manage the lights and I held the blind in front of the light to give away the line effect through the gaps in the blinds.

^Use of lights and blinds to enhance the effect.

A problem that we came across was to do with the costume. The fitting of the costume that the actress got herself was not okay so Adrija had to come up with a backup to be able to take these shots thus she gave her top for that scene. We took two shots both at a top angle to give an effect that they are a low state in the situation.

^Shot of them hiding from a top angle.

Here we were done with all the scenes and shots, we did a thorough check with the shot division and screenplay after which was PACK UP! Our last project as a group, it was indeed quite a shoot with problems that arose but we tackled it with care.

As a token of appreciation to both the actors, we gave them some amount of money from our savings and also cleared the travelling expenses Resha along with the top we had to buy for her as she did not have it. Both the actors told us that they enjoyed the shoot and that t was well planned and executed. Poorvi ma’am told us that she would love to work with us in the future, this lets all of us believe that we can do it.

After the actors left the library my team planned on doing the accounts there itself so it doesn't lead to any further confusion, while the assisting team cleaned the place and arranged it as it was.

^Doing the accounts.

The shoot that lasted for 2 days was an amazing experience and I look forward to shooting again in a professional setting.

This week ended on a positive note and we now look forward to beginning editing to make our product look much better.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 7- PLANNING & MORE

This week the second screenplay was ready which was more emotional and would give out a further feel of the movie. Sir helped me out with the screenplay as I was getting stuck with ideas following which my group then took off at a fast pace to work on the master breakdown and the final touch-ups to the producers and actors ppt.

^Screenplay 2.

As there were many errors made in the master breakdown done by Vedant (editor), Adrija (production designer) had to re-work on it. And as the master breakdown base was getting done and being worked upon by Adrija, Janhavi (cinematographer) and I worked on the shot division for both trailers keeping a rough idea In mind about both the locations (library and garden).

^Masterbreakdown made by Vedant.

Towards the end of the week, we thought of visiting other schools as suggested by the librarian but when I went to our principal for the permission she denied and said that no school would let us shoot in their premises. After contemplation, Principal Ma’am, through her contacts got in touch with the father of a 150-year-old school who let us go visit the school that he had. So, my whole team went to the school and viewed the ancient-looking library that we were looking for. With the shot divisions in hand, Janhavi and I discussed the shots and the placements of the actors.

^Holy Cross High School.

We realized that we would be in need of external lights as the library was rather dim and gloomy. This message was conveyed to sir and he asked us to look for light rental companies. After hours of calls, we came up with no output as the companies were asking for a ridiculously huge amount of money even though it was for educational purposes. Because of this sir said that he will arrange the lights for us as he has a few contacts.

^Type of lights we would require.

Following this, further, in the week Vedant worked on the schedule for the shoot. Our shoot was divided into 2 days, wherein the first day we would do the garden shoot and the house shoot and the second day would be wholly for the library shoot.

^Schedule made by Vedant.

As all the documents were getting sorted and approved by sir, To make it easier Adrija made a checklist just like last years so we don't miss out on anything important.

^The checklist.

later on, I sent the documents (actors ppt and both the screenplays) to the actress playing the role of Preeti and cleared out any confusion from her side, I also informed her that it is preferred she get her own costume but in case she doesn't have a particular colour we would arrange it.

The hunt for the actress playing the role of Kiara ended when sir recommended a novice actress that he got through his contacts. He passed on the number and the same process was followed with her. She seemed interested in the plot of our story and looked at it with a perspective that we want the audience to look at it as. The documents were mailed to her as well.

^Resha Kubal - playing the role of Kiara.

I got in touch with the actor who was going to play the role of Avinash the angry husband, who was referred to us by the drama teacher in our school. He took late to reply and seemed uninterested but I still kept him on hold.

This week we had an interesting lecture on photoshop after we were done with the knowledge of tools, we moved on to the various windows that are used in photoshop. Windows such as colour, swatches, library, layer, channels, paths and more. Sir also distinguished the difference between opacity and fill, where opacity will bring about a fade in the whole image but fill will work with the quantity (like the intensity of light). lastly, our attention was brought to the effects that could be applied to the layers or images or text.

^Windows at the right side of photoshop.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 6- DOCUMENTATION

This week Sir gave corrections for the first screenplay which were done and approved after which Vedant (Editor) started working on the master breakdown and Adrija (production designer) made corrections to the Actors ppt and Janhavi (cinematographer) continued to work on the colour palette of the trailers and I finally started working on Screenplay 2.

^Screenplay 1.

^Working on the second screenplay.

As a group, we started hunting for a library that would fit the mood and atmosphere of the story and the characters, after days of looking nothing was appropriate. So we thought we could approach the librarian of our school and take ideas.

^Our school library.

As for the actors we had got the actress to play the role of Preeti a 35-year-old housewife. We were in need of Kiara a 20-year-old college student and Avinash an angry husband.

Furthermore this week we had an interesting class on the last few tools in photoshop. such as:

Smudge tool- Softens or smudges colours in an image.

Dodge tool- Lightens areas in an image.

Burn tool- Darkens areas in an image.

Sponge tool- Changes the colour saturation of specific areas in an image.

Pen tool- Makes or changes paths and shapes with points.

^Use of Pen tool, Smudge tool, Sharpen tool and Dodge tool.

After every photoshop lecture, sir assigned us tasks to do based on the tools learnt. As I was absent for that class I completed my work this week.

^Use of patch tool and content-aware tool.

^Use of Spot healing tool.

^Use of Desaturation.

^Use of Clone stamping tool.

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keyoshakiranalmedia · 5 years

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WEEK 5- WORK.

This week was filled with piles of work and many things that we had to get done, as in the previous week I assigned each of my team members to get onto something this was all that we were doing along with the class that we had missed out.

We had to start looking for actors to play the roles in our trailers and thus I was in search, with mutual contacts I got in touch with an actress in the Marathi (regional) industry (Poorvi Bhave) and she loved the story plot so she was prepared to do the role of Preeti a 35-year-old stepmom whose only activity was to serve her stern husband and her son along with going to the library and reading books.

^Poorvi Bhave - actress going to play the role of Preeti.

As we needed another female actress and a male one too, we approached the drama teachers in our school and they helped us out as well. Paarth (Director- group 2) and I had to explain our story to the drama sir and he then asked us questions about the characters and what we are exactly looking for.

^Talk with the drama teacher.

Adding on to which we needed a library where we could shoot at, I called up a few libraries and it worked out well however looking for a spacious library was our biggest concern as it would fit our story perfectly.

Vedant (Editor) started working on the producers ppt after giving him a proper outline of what content has to be fitted. Adrija (Production designer) simultaneously worked on the actor's ppt as she has a better sense of the characters and their attitudes and dressing, meanwhile, Janhavi (Cinematographer) worked on the colour palette and look of the trailer with giving poster ideas. And I started with the 2 screenplays for our trailers.

After writing 2 screenplays sir still was not satisfied as it was not building curiosity and the love was not being shown enough and I was still working on it.

Our group was then discussing names for our film, we came up with around over 30 names but still didn't get the right one and finally after thinking of names such as ‘All of me’, ‘Strings’, ‘No boundaries’, ‘There for you’, ‘Crisscross’, ‘Heart bound’ and so many more we ended up with “CANVAS”, this shows how the characters have the freedom to paint their love as they want with no boundaries and complete freedom of choice.

^Rough design of the title for our film made by Vedant and help from sir.

Later on, this week we had an extra lecture as many of us were absent for the class on photoshop, so sir revised it with us along with other tools that were new to everyone, We did tools like:

Lasso tool, shortcut (L) - Helps make freehand selections.

Crop tool, shortcut ( C ) - Trims or expands the image.

Eyedropper tool, shortcut (I) - Picks out wanted colours from the image.

Brush tool, shortcut (B) - Paints desired colours using the brush strokes.

Clone stamp tool, shortcut (S) - Paints the same pixels from another part of the image.

Eraser tool, shortcut (E) - Changes the pixels to the background colour or erases them completely.

Gradient tool, shortcut (G) - Creates a blend of colours.

Blur tool - Blurs areas.

Along with the foreground and background colours switch.

^Tools and options under them.

^Extra lecture.

Adding to which towards the end of the week Vedant and Adrija continued to work on the 2 powerpoint presentations that had to be made and I was still looking for locations. One draft of the screenplay was sent to sir after which I began working on the second one.

We were further addressed about component 4 and what the paper pattern was, along with the different aspects we have to look at, such as camera, mise-en-scene, sound and editing.

^Browse through the syllabus.

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