AICE Media Studies

 Hey Blog!     Today I will be adding final touches to my blog.  Once the main editing was done, I knew I had to give my film that final touch to make my short look polished. Color correction was something I didn’t really understand at first. I didn't incorporate this into my short last year, so I decided it would be a good idea this year. I quickly realized how important it was in making the film look cohesive. Some of my shots were too bright, while others were too dark, and I had to adjust the exposure on certain scenes.      I played around with the contrast and saturation to make the colors pop, but not too much—too much saturation can make the footage look unnatural. It was a simple balance, but I wanted the film to have a specific mood, so I chose a warmer tone overall. I spent a long time adjusting the shadows and highlights to get the right look for each scene. The color grading process was like adding the final layer of paint to a canvas, giv...

 Hey Blog!      Today I will be sharing how exactly I made my short work, on a budget.  I didn’t have access to fancy lighting equipment, so I had to get creative with natural light while shooting my film. The first day of filming was a challenge because I had no idea how to make my scenes look good without the right gear. I learned that the time of day is crucial—especially based on the story line of the film. I tried to plan most of my scenes during the night, but sometimes I had to shoot in harsh midday light, which made things tricky.      One of the best tricks I learned was using a simple white sheet or wall to bounce light onto the actors’ faces, softening the shadows. I also used trees, buildings, and other objects to block direct sunlight when it was too bright. Inside, I relied heavily on curtains to cover the light coming through windows and I had to be careful about shadows.       In some shots, the light coming thr...

 Hey blog!      Today I continued editing my short film. When I started editing, I didn’t think much about transitions. I figured I could just cut between scenes and it would look fine. But as I worked on my film, I realized that transitions are way more important than I thought.       The first time I added a fade between two scenes, it was perfect—it made the film flow seamlessly. I experimented with different transitions, like wipes, dissolves, and even simple cuts, to see how they affected the pacing. Some transitions worked well when switching between two fast-paced scenes, while others felt more natural for slower, emotional moments. I quickly learned that the type of transition you use can completely change the vibe of a scene.       For example, a sudden cut between two opposite shots can create tension, while a slow fade can evoke a sense of sadness or contemplation. I also realized that overusing transitions can be di...

 Hey blog!      Today when I started working on the sound for my short film, I realized how crucial it was to set the right mood. I knew that music could make or break a scene, so I spent a lot of time finding tracks that matched the emotions I wanted to convey. I didn’t have a composer, so I used royalty-free music from online libraries, but picking the right pieces was harder than I thought.       At first, I just added random tracks to see how they fit, but I quickly learned that the music needs to support the story, not overpower it. I started with a dramatic piano piece for the emotional scenes and a slow, scary track for the suspenseful moments. Then came the sound effects—things like footsteps, doors creaking, or things falling chirping. I had no idea how important these small details were until I started adding them in.       I had to experiment with different volume levels to make sure the sound didn’t overpower the di...

 Hey Blog!     Today  I started editing my first full short film and I had no idea how much work it would take. Making the intro last year was hard, but this was worse. I had tons of footage, and the thought of sorting through it all was a little overwhelming.       The first step was organizing everything—naming my files and separating the good takes from the not-so-good ones. I quickly realized that not every scene worked the way I had imagined, so I had to be picky about what I kept. Some of the footage was a little shaky, and I had to cut it down or use techniques to stabilize it. It was hard to let go of some shots that I thought were cool, but I had to make sure the film flowed smoothly.       I learned that trimming scenes was just as important as shooting them. The more I cut, the more I saw how the story started to take shape. I spent a lot of time finding the best shots that matched the energy of the scene, even if th...

 Hey Blog!      When deciding on how to go about this project, I was really excited to pick Karina as a partner as well as my actresses. Last year, I worked alone for my intro to short film because I thought I could be more organized. Yet this year, I thought having a partner could be kinda fun.     Filming this short was an awesome experience, but working with my friends on Set definitely had its ups and downs. It was just me and Karina on crew, so we both had to contribute a lot. The best part honestly was having friends here to help bring my creative vision to life. My friend and her sisters were excited to acting my short, yet the easily forgot their lines or got distracted. I had to remind them to stay in character, but they were patient and worked hard to get it right.     For example, sometimes someone would start laughing in the middle of a scary scene. Then we had to redo it a couple of times. But honestly, these bits of laughter kept ene...

 Hey Blog!     Now that I have completed two full days of filming, I think it would be good to share my struggles. Last year, when I first started filming, I thought I could just grab my phone and shoot whatever. This seemed to not be the case. In the last two days, I was once again reminded that there are struggles in filming.     First of all, my camera was so shakey! Maybe it was the nerves in me, but I realized this entire film could not be handheld shots. Then I had the idea that I would need some sort of tripod or stabilizer to make my shots more smooth. I tried balancing my phone on different objects around the house, but that was not the easily solution I had hoped for. Eventually once I calmed down a little, I found myself capable of doing the hand held shots.     Then, my lighting setup was honestly not ideal. It was supposed to be night in the short, yet I definitely filmed during the day. Upon that, one of the characters uses a flashlight p...

Hey Blog!     Today was my first filming day for our short film. It was exciting and nerve-wracking. Honestly, last night I had a hard time sleeping. I just wanted to make sure everything would go right.      Earlier today, my first task was to set up the location of everything, and it wasn't as easy as I thought. We filmed in my house, but I still had to rearrange my furniture to create the right sort of look for every scene. Yet once we adjusted everything, it ended up looking perfect! Karina and I spent hours today trying to figure the best angles to capture our ideas. I had to make sure I had enough space for the camera to travel smoothly.     My first few takes were awkward, but I realized that it's normal to have a little difficulty. This also happened last year in my intro to short film. It was also a little hard working with my actresses, making sure they completely got into camera. While filming, I found myself constantly checking lighting, ev...