Finally done editing! I spent the WHOLE night layering audio and really trying to get everything smoothed out to match the visuals. I had the most problems with the narration, since it was recorded prior to any other progress. I think it would've been better and easier if I recorded the narration after to match the visuals, but I tried to make it work the best I could. I also really love the score Spencer put together, I think it tied in everything perfectly. I'm really happy that I'm finally done and excited to get feedback from others!! here's the finished product:

SO. This is an exciting post!! I'm really happy because the score for my film is finally done. Spencer Levy ((musical genius)) helped me out and basically created the score for the production. He made two songs, both with similar rhythm as some songs that French musician Yann Tierson used for the film Amelie. Today I'm finally putting together all the audio, and then I'll be 100% done with the production! Spencer also helped me enhance the audio for the narration, which is my friend Eric Louet's voice. I'm really excited to finally put all of the elements together. Here's a glimpse of the two songs:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13_GZmmi55RGNWuTdKAWtt1Q6r5L-WAf6/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pOChR2bG0el0Zu79lqm0VWyh-VLLgu0Q/view?usp=sharing

X Maria

This week I basically completed all the social media that I'm linking onto my production's website. I think social media is such an important aspect of marketing, and it is a component that can my film a ton of exposure....and for free! 

I decided that I would stick to three main social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. My main target audience for this film is both males and females between the ages of 14-30 (a decently younger audience). Although I feel like a more mature audience could enjoy my piece as well, I think the 'love story' aspect of the film is much more inclined towards a younger group. That's why I decided to stick with these social media platforms, because the demographics for them tend to be younger. 

For example, college students (or those between 19-29) use these platforms the most:

- Facebook (87%)

- Twitter (47%)

- Instagram (45%)

These three are the apps that are used the most, which is why I think it would be best if I used these to really market my film.

Instagram

I started with an Instagram account, and since Instagram tends to be more about pictures and overall "aesthetic", I decided I would use the grid format to my advantage. I also put the film's website in the Instagram bio, which would allow for the viewer to have access to both the website and other social media platforms. Instagram also has a new feature where you can sort of "brand" your profile, depending on who you are/what you're promoting. I put the Indefinite account under a "movie" category, which could connect with people inclined towards that category with Instagram's new post sponsorships. By clicking "promote" on the page, Instagram guides you in various ways to get your content on other people's feeds. Instagram also has an 'explore' page that could connect more people to the movie by having some of the posts on it. 

On Tuesday I decided to start filming my CCR! I wrote a sort of mini-script because I decided that I wanted to make my CCR a sort of talk show/interview. However, after filming the first portion, I'm not sure if I love it. I feel like I can find another way to be more engaging with my audience, so I'm either re-filming today or building from my current progress.

I have to have my CCR done in two days so....my options are in a bit of a time crunch. I'll be working on it all Saturday though, so I'm not too worried :)

X Maria

Hello everyone! So it's coming really close to the OFFICIAL end to this project... literally only 4 more days....gulp. I've been working nonstop these past couple of days, just to have everything prepared for Saturday evening! Last night I didn't get to blog, but I worked extensively on the website and I'm basically done with it. I'm actually really happy with how it came out, but there's still a couple things here and there that I need to revisit. I'm still not done with the "merch" section of the website, on which I plan to put some merchandise that visitors can buy in relation to the film.

If you check out the Indefinite website here: https://intropictures.wixsite.com/indefinite you can see a lot of the progress I made!

The website was actually intimidating at first, I didn't really know what I would put on it. After some research on previous portfolio sample projects, I finally had more of a vision of what I wanted to include on the website. First off, I decided I would keep everything short and sweet, making it more user-friendly. I added a lot of visuals and made the website extremely clean so it would be easy to navigate. I thought the tabs I included were the most important ones; about, synopsis, contact, screenings, and merch. Each of them plays a key marketing role for the short film, and I think I presented each page with a nice aesthetic feel.

Please check out the website to really understand what I mean!!

X Maria

This weekend I finally created my postcard and I'm so happy with it! I've also been working a LOT on editing the film and it's almost finished. This is the final week working on this project, and I'm filled with emotion! I'm mostly stressed just because I still have some important things to do, but I'm also really excited!!!

Voila. The final product for the postcard:

For my short film's postcard, I've been researching some stylistic as well as strategic choices. Postcards are great because they're an easy marketing tactic that can reach a large crowd (if you're at the right place). My postcard would be distributed at different film festivals and theaters, that way my film would have a lot more exposure. No one takes a lame postcard though, so I really want to make my card really aesthetically pleasing. 

Here are some examples of a style I really love; and it has been used extensively for Wes Anderson films! 

These are some Wes Anderson examples:

And these are some other great movie posters with the same minimalistic approach:

If I were to do a more setting-based card, I'd probably just digitally design the setting in this style:

Citations:

http://jonreiss.com/2008/10/film-festival-tips-posters-and-postcards/

Hello! So this is just a very brief update on filming/editing. Yesterday I mentioned I was going to re-film the watch portion of my production, but unfortunately I didn't have time so I'm going today instead. On a better note, I finished editing the rest of my visuals! It actually came out so well (besides the parts I need to re-film) and just needs audio and a couple touch-ups here and there. I'm so satisfied with the rest of the filming though. I'm really excited to post the final production,,, I'm planning on uploading it mid next week, so stay tuned

X Maria

Hello! So this week I've been editing my film a lot  to get the visuals just right. Hopefully I'll finish the process between today and tomorrow. I'm hoping to re-film the bathroom footage I have, which is where Leo looks at his watch and goes back in time. The reason being is that the footage I have now is really poorly lit. The watch I used for the film is also really awful, and you can barely see the image on the face. Look at this snippet from the shot:

To fix this problem I tried experimenting with the exposure on iMovie, but it simply doesn't make the cut. I think today I'm going to re-film in another public restroom (since the location doesnt really matter for that) with better lighting. I'm also using another watch (an Apple watch) which is what I had originally planned but couldn't get ahold of one last minute. Hopefully the footage will come together better this time.

Besides that, all other aspects of editing are going pretty smoothly. I just need to work a lot to make sure my 5 min time frame is perfect!

X Maria

So for my film I casted a group of about 5 people, all close friends of mine. Here I’ll give some details on their outfits/look for the film:

Jay; Spencer Levy

Seen wearing black jeans and a white shirt, a pretty plain and basic outfit. The reason I chose Spencer for this role is because I really wanted a quirky, decent looking boy for my main character. I think he also gives off a kind of "french" look, which is perfect for the given storyline. 

Main girl; Ambar Ramirez

Seen wearing a white shirt and jeans, with gold hoop earrings. I always wanted Ambar to play this role, since she's cute and quirky but also can play a feisty character. Her and Spence are a good physical contrast too so it made their interaction more interesting within the production. Spencer and Ambar both come from hispanic backgrounds, so I'm mostly focusing on this minority group within my casting.

Barista; Isabelle Miller

Seen wearing a black blouse and pants, with black lace-up boots. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to use a barista from Undergrounds, since I already had Isabelle's image in mind. I don't know exactly what it is, but she just has this typical barista/coffee maker look. She's more artistic-looking if that makes any sense, so I knew she'd play a good role for hosting this small coffee shop. Although she's only featured in one or two scenes, it's a good look!

Boyfriend; Cesar Larez

Seen wearing khaki pants, a white shirt, and a jean jacket, Cesar plays this role with a lot of confidence. Cesar is the boyfriend of the girl who Leo has been desperately trying to talk to. He comes and whisks her away, and Leo realizes that all his work was for nothing.... or so he thinks.

Other girl; Taylor Sweeney

Seen wearing a black tank and a jean skirt. I wanted Taylor to be wearing something way more laid back and sort of flirty. I was hoping that she would give off a more relaxed and approachable vibe. After all, she knows exactly what Jay has been up to this whole time.

So that's it! a really general rundown for casting/costuming choices. Their personalities will be better seen throughout the production :)

X Maria

FINALLY, my storyboard was completed. (Like 2 weeks ago LOL). I used this extensively to film, so I though I would post it here too.

Enjoy my messy little charts~

So since I didn't go to film on Thursday, I decided to film for about 4 hours instead on Friday. My crew and I headed to Ft. Lauderdale bright and early, with everything ready and a common goal in mind: to produce an awesome short film. We got there about an hour before Undergrounds Coffeehaus opened, so we decided to get a head start on the outside shots. When they finally opened up though, we got straight to work. 

Hello everyone! For the past week or so I was away on vacation in another country, but then came I had to come back to a family emergency on Wednesday. I haven’t been active at all on my blog,  but I’ve still been consistently working! I’ve already filmed too so that’s a big step. Tonight I’m going to post all the drafts I had for the previous week or so, since I have a lot of progress to talk about. My life took a bad turn the past week and I’ll be regularly posting for the next two weeks of this process!!!

With love,

X Maria

Hello all! So this week I'm leaving to Colombia on Thursday, so I'll be blogging a lot before I go and lose my wifi.

If you've been following along, I've run into a small problem that really defines a lot about my production. I ----

As I was writing that ^ I actually called Undergrounds Coffehaus to see if I could get in touch with the manager. What I was GOING to say is that I was having problems with finding a set, since the people I reached out to never got back to me. However, I spoke to Mrs. Liptak, the owner of Undergrounds, and she gave me permission to film!!! Yayyy!!!! I'm excited to film and I'm glad that I have a confirmed set in place. Now I need to officially cast and prepare for filming ~

Mrs. Liptak also confirmed my schedule for filming, which will be
March 28 (Wednesday) from 12:00-3:00 pm &
March 29 (Thursday) from 12:00-3:00 pm.

This week I'll have everything in place for when I come back to film. I'm pretty excited, but a little nervous. Keep checking back for more updates!!!

x Maria

Sooooo this is I think the third week? This is going ways too fast it's quite overwhelming 😧 But I think I'm on a pretty good track so far. The one main thing I have pending is the set of my film. I'm going to try to revisit the potential locations soon, and if those don't work out, I need to start planning my home-made set. For now that's pretty much my biggest concern, the rest is pretty much on track! I still have Starbucks on the line, but I think I would rather create my own set at home.

 I switched two things up in the schedule- the recording in French and the casting/costuming. Yesterday I recorded the script in french, which will be naaaratinf my entire film! It was so fun to work with my family friend, Eric Louet, and I’m even more excited to put the audio over the visuals. My friend Spencer (who is helping me with all the audio for my short), brought all the supplies over and we recorded everything successfully. Now we just have to clip the audio here and there and enhance the audio a bit.Everything is coming together slowly, but of course actually filming is coming up soon and I want everything to be perfect.

So since most of my film is coming together, I've decided I need to start working on my website! I really like the freedom and facility that WIXSITE gives users so I'm planning on using that platform. Since I haven't shot anything yet, I won't have a lot of visuals on it for now. The website will always be linked on the header of my website or you can check back here for updates!

Link: intropictures.wixsite.com/indefinite 

Hello! So I've been delayed on posting my storyboard, mostly since I haven't had full access to a scanner - I did mine hand-drawn. However, I finally figured out a name for my production! 

Indefinite or Indéfini (in French)