The Slicer Critical Reflection

 The Slicer Critical Reflection

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

When thinking about what kind of movie my group mates and I wanted to make we knew we wanted it to apply to and reach a large group of people. In our movie, we hope to bring together thriller and horror lovers, teenagers, and people who have been affected by murders. My entire group is interested in crime-solving and mysteries so right from the start we knew we wanted to make a film of our own with this kind of storyline. Thriller movies are usually a hit or miss amongst people and that’s why we wanted to include other factors to bring in those people who usually aren’t drawn to these types of films. We wanted to bring awareness to murder and the dangers of being a teenager in the modern-day. Being teenagers ourselves, we wanted to combine our interests with our knowledge to make a film we were proud of. As 2/3 of our group is female and lives in a large city, we experience several dangers on the daily basis and have to walk around scared when we happen to be alone. We wanted to bring awareness and create a voice for others our age and to be able to represent the things we have to think about and deal with. Situations, like the one we created in our movie, has happened in our area before and we are well aware that the world is much bigger than our town and that things like that happen in different places all the time as well.

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

In addition to our film, we had to create a website and several social media. We created a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to post about and reach a larger audience. As most teenagers do, we use social media on a daily basis and know the impact it could have on films and other projects. We wanted to be active and post about our film on social media in order to reach a greater audience and for it to get noticed overall. Nowadays social media is the way to find out about most things going on in the world and what is being released. We ended up using Instagram the most because it is the app, we all use the most and have found would be the most beneficial to our film and its growth. We started posting and gaining a following which we were hoping for. The social media were a way to spread awareness of the film and to gain an audience, the website was to give more information about the film and the inside workings of it, and then there was the film that we created. They all work together to get the best possible outcome for our film and for it to do as good as possible. Since our group basically grew up with social media and have seen it evolve, we know the importance of it in the film and entertainment industry and we knew we needed to do the same in order for ours to be successful.

How do your products engage with the audience?

Our film raises awareness of how dangerous life as a teenager can be and how things could end if they are not careful enough. We have seen and know how teenagers, especially girls, get treated on the streets of big cities and we wanted to spread the word to further inform others. It is an issue that hits close to home and something that we deal with ourselves. We wanted to connect with our audience on a personal level and be able to have them relate to us and our film. We posted behind the scene pictures on our Instagram to get the audience and fans to feel like they have been involved since the start. When we post on Instagram we try and interact with our followers and comment back as much as possible. We want them to feel as close to the cast and movie as possible when watching the film. We wanted to create a bond with the people who have seen and experienced similar situations as us and for it to show the world that it happens more than they expect. It is something we realized needed to get attention and have attention brought to and we couldn’t think of a better way to do it than a film. We especially thought a film would be a good choice since COVID-19 is still around and keeping everyone inside. We decided that the film would be distributed on YouTube so that the audience can be safe at home while enjoying this new movie. We practiced all the precautions needed to make the movie safely and to give our audience a good image of us being careful and thoughtful.

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

We had already decided to go with the thriller genre before we even decided on what the plot of our movie would be. The people in our group enjoy watching thrillers and we realized that this would be the easiest for us to film and come up with a story for. As a group, we still decided to research the genre to make sure it was the one we wanted to go with and that we fully understood the meaning before committing to it. We came up with the idea for The Slicer and it follows the conventions of the thriller genre. We used a lot of suspense and keeping the audience on their toes throughout the film. We tried keeping the suspense up with matching non-copyrighted music to fit the genre. Most movies that are similar to the ones we created are usually seen as thrillers, mystery, or horror which can all be seen throughout our movie. We wanted to have a good variety of all three because they are all correlated to create movies like the one, we did. We used the most thriller and it seemed to be the fittest, so we ultimately decided to identify it as a thriller. Throughout the filming and editing of the movie, we would change certain scenes or add certain music or transitions in order to try and fit it in the thriller genre as well as we could. Looking back at the movie we did a good job when comparing it to other movies seen within the same genre.

The Slicer Short Film Package

My Short Film Package

The Slicer

Link To Short Film: https://youtu.be/qLS1GohqwTo

Link To Website: https://theslicermoviee.wixsite.com/theslicer

Postcard

Editing

    Our group has started editing. We filmed all the scenes on my phone. We chose to film with my phone because it's the newest and has the best camera. I airdropped the clips to Stephanie. She will transport them on her computer. The editing software we want to use is both available on our phones and Stephanie's computer. We have used this software (iMovie) before so we already know how to use it. We think it's easier to do on the computer so we will airdrop the clips to Stephanie's computer. We decided to use the airdrop feature rather than sending it as a message because it keeps the quality of the footage good. Since we used my phone/camera for the quality we want to make sure the quality stays good.

   We have also posted more on our social media. So far we have only posted on our Instagram. We don't usually use the other social media apps ourselves so we kind of forget about them. We are definitely more active in Instagram than the other apps which reflect on the project. We want to post on the other apps but we don't really know enough about them to just randomly post. We posted some behind the scenes pictures to our Instagram today. We went with our personal accounts and commented to keep the account active and interactive with the audience. We want it to look as legit as possible. Later this week we will finish our marketing campaign packet. We are almost done with the project which is both sad and a relief.

Editing our webpage

   Today we edited our webpage. We already made one but it was bland. There wasn't a lot about the film there. All we had was the name and the social media attached. We decided to add text and pictures to make it more personal to the film. We added several things. The first thing was an "about us" page. This is where we explain why we created the movie and some other background information. We also published the time of release for the movie in this section. It was just a brief summary of how the film came along and simple information.

   We also added "Our Team". Here we showed the final cast for the movie. There are 9 cast members so there wasn't a lot to put. We put everyone's pictures and names. We even included how many teenagers and adults/parents the cast consists of. There wasn't much more to add so we decided to move to our other social media. We decided to post the first thing on our Instagram. We decided to post the cast. We thought this would be a good start to posting on these platforms. We have other things planned to post later on like bloopers and behind the scenes.

Finishing and exporting

    Today we finished filming. We shot the scenes with Stephanie, Olga, and me. We filmed at Stephanie and Olga's house. It was the last footage we needed before editing. I went over to Stephanie's house to film the majority of the clips. Dominic went to Europe so we have to work without him. We still include him in decisions. However, he can't work with us in person so we have to work around it. We had the storyboard and script to follow. Everything went smooth because we only needed to be 3 people.

   Now that we finished filming we need to go to the next step. We had to export the footage. It was easy because we filmed on a phone and will be editing on the same one. We filmed with an iPhone and will edit with iMovie. We did the same thing last year. Since it worked for us then we know how it will work for this year. We haven't started editing. We just wanted to export it and make sure all the footage was there. Last time we tried exporting we lost footage and had to film again. We wanted to make sure we had enough time if that happened again. Now we need to start the editing process. 

Filming the main part

    Today we filmed the climax of the story. It was Stephanie, Mats, and I. Dominic went to Europe so we have to film without him. He is still involved in the decisions about the movie. He just can't be with us physically. Today we filmed the part where Stephanie gets killed. There was not a lot to film so it went pretty fast. Since we only needed 3 people we could find time easily and get it done. We all met up at my house first. We then drove to the location where we were going to film. 

   We already knew the location where we were going to film. Since we had filmed prior scenes for the movie we already had a spot. We drove to the same park we were at last time to continue filming. We are filming on a separate day because the people that were in the movie on the first filming day does not have to be there for this part. We wanted to make sure we didn't use anyone's time if we didn't have to. Also, Mats didn't have to be there for the first part so it wouldn't make sense to waste everyone's time. We went back to the same spot we found and recorded the last time. We filmed the last scenes we needed outside. We made sure to film each scene multiple times just in case. We don't want to go back if we don't absolutely have to.

Having to refilm

    Today we had to refilm. We were starting to put the footage into the editing software when we realized some footage was gone. Everything we filmed the first time at Stephanie's house was gone. This meant we had to go back and refilm everything for that scene. We were mad at first. We had spent so much time on getting it right the first time. We were disappointed, to say the least. We looked through our phones to see if we could find it. After we looked through our camera rolls and recently deleted we gave up. We couldn't find the footage anywhere.

   We realized that the only thing left to do was refilm. We all met up at Stephanie's house where we were going to film. We looked over the storyboard and script once again. After that, we talked and tried to remember what we changed. Last time we filmed we changed certain angles and movements as we went along. We wanted to use the same changes again. We tried remembering as much as we could and just followed the storyboard. Dominic was the person filming most of it because both Stephanie and I had to be in the same shot. This time we knew better how to act and say certain things. It set us back a little bit but I am happy that we realized it on time and were able to film again.

Not filming

   The last time we filmed was Tuesday. Since then it was been Christmas. We decided not to film these past few days. We all celebrate Christmas so we were unable to film. We all had different things going on so we couldn't find the time. We also just wanted a break and had other things to think about. Since it's a holiday we just wanted to relax. We didn't feel like thinking about filming. We decided to continue filming once Christmas was over. People were also out of town so we would've had to adjust. 

   We will start filming again as soon as we can. We will try and find a day next week to continue. Now, however, we don't need the entire group. All we need now is Stephanie, Dominic, Olga, Mats, and I which will not be an issue. We still need to film the scene where Stephanie gets killed and found. We also need time in case we need to refilm. We always have to think a step ahead just in case. We learned from last year to always think a step ahead and plan for anything. We also need time to edit. This will happen once we are done filming. By transferring the clips to the editing software and starting to edit we will see if there is anything that needs to be refilmed.

Filming our next scenes

    On Tuesday we started filming with our larger group. We started by filming in my apartment and getting those scenes. After we were done filming inside we needed to film outside. We decided on a park near us to film at. We all got into the same car and drove over there. It wasn't far from where I live but it also wasn't walking distance. When we got there we got out of the car and paid for parking. We then walked around the area to see where we wanted to film which scenes. It wasn't that big so we walked around the neighborhood as well to see if there were any good places. We found another small park down the road which we decided we could use.

   After we observed the area we went to where we wanted to film. We talked about the scenes that we needed to film. The actors went over their scripts to know their lines. We couldn't exactly stick with the storyboard because the surroundings were different. We just had to go with and do the best we could. Dominic and I took turns directing and being the cameraman because Stephanie had a role in the scenes. We did angles like eye-level and tracking shots. We filmed each scene at least twice. We wanted to make sure we got something we could use. This would also reduce the number of scenes we would need to refilm.

Filming as a group

    Yesterday we started to film our movie. We all met up at my house at about 10:30 in the morning. We were going to be 6 people but one person didn't show up. We had to reschedule the role last minute to one of our other friends. This set us back a few hours. Our friend came over and we started filming the scenes we needed inside of my apartment. We set up the props and went over what we needed to do. Each of the actors went over their lines to make sure they knew them. We referred back to our storyboard to see which angles and movements we needed to use. We shot everything in order so that we knew how the storyline would work.

   We decided to shoot each scene at least 2 times. We wanted to make sure we had something we could work with. We wanted to think ahead in case we later noticed a flaw or if we didn't like something in the clip. This will reduce the risk of having to reshoot these scenes. We especially wanted to limit the reshooting risk since for these scenes we needed a group of people. We don't want to use other people's time if we really don't need to. We also tried different angles and movements from what we originally decided on. We realized that certain scenes could be filmed from a better angle and we wanted different options. The filming process in my apartment took about 2 hours because at first we couldn't take it seriously and kept laughing. After a while, the actors became more comfortable and it went better. Everyone worked well together to get the job done.

Making changes

    In the past week, we have made several changes to our plan and film. The first change was the filming days. At first, we had a plan to film last Wednesday. We had that plan since the weekend before but something came up so we had to reschedule. We decided to reschedule the filming to Monday the following week. We thought this would be a good idea because we have our winter break. On Sunday, the day before we were going to film, something came up once again. We decided to just move the time to later in the day instead. When Monday came around something new happened and we had to reschedule once again. We decided to reschedule for Tuesday because no one had any plans so we were going to meet up in the morning.

   Tuesday came around and everyone gathered at my house to film. We were all supposed to meet up at 10:30 in the morning. Everyone got there except one person. We tried calling but had no luck. We waited around for a while to see if he would call or show up. After about an hour we decided to give the role to someone else. We called a few friends and found someone that was able to do it. We later got a call that the other person couldn't be in the film anymore. In a way, it was a good thing that we had to reschedule the filming because if he was in previous scenes we would have to refilm everything since he couldn't finish his scenes. Even though we had several changes it worked out for us in the end.

Starting to film

    My group and I have started filming. We decided to meet up on a weekday because that was when everyone was available. Since it was a weekday and we had school the next day we did not film the entire movie. We decided to only film the start of the movie. In the beginning, we didn't need the entire cast there. We only needed the 3 of us who are in the group as well as Olga. We decided this was the best idea because everyone else was studying for finals and we did not want to take up their time. The scenes only required Stephanie, her mom, and me. Since Dominic did not have to be in the scenes he filmed. We want to make the groups as small as possible due to COVID.

   We all met up at Stephanie's house and talked about what we were going to do. We decided to print out the script and the storyboard. We used the printed out a storyboard to be able to set up the scenes and angles right so that we knew what we needed to do. We also looked over the script to make sure we didn't need to make any changes before filming. Once we were done proofreading everything it was time to start. Stephanie and I changed into the clothes we were going to wear and touched up our hair and makeup. We started filming and everything went smooth and well. We were nervous in the beginning but as filming went on we became more comfortable in front of the camera. Printing out the script and storyboard was definitely a smart idea and it made filming much easier. We need to talk to the others in the film now to continue shooting the rest of the movie.

Progress So Far

    We just had a week off school due to thanksgiving breaks. We were planning on filming but some things came up. We didn't realize that certain people who were in the movie were going out of town. Instead of filming, we needed a new plan. We needed to discuss with everyone to see when they are free to film. We want to make sure we get everything done on time. We had to rethink the order in which we will film. The best thing to do was to see who needed to be in each scene. Then depending on the people and scenes, we could come up with a schedule that works. If we have to we can film different scenes with those people on certain days.

    Since we already have our script and storyboard this could work. We just need the actors who are in the same scenes to be available on the same day and time to make it work. We could film out of order since we know what happens and it's more efficient. The only issue we might face is refilming. Or if we have a new idea we would need to go back and reshoot. We still need to figure out the details. At least we havé the general idea down. For the first scenes, we only need Stephanie, Olga, Mats, and me which can be easily organized. We will most likely film the beginning scenes this week. We will figure out a schedule with everyone else later this week.

Music Choice for Short Film

 The music choice for our short film is still unclear. At first, we were thinking of different songs that would go well with the movie. We then started researching how to get the right to use it in our film. We realized that we needed to reach out to the owners, get permission, and a bunch of other steps. We realized this would take most likely to take a long time. And that's if they even decide to respond whatsoever. We decided to use uncopyrighted music. This would be a lot simpler and faster. We then started to search for uncopyrighted music. It was a lot harder than we thought. 

We started to search for copyrighted music but realized it was also a lot of work. We needed to first find a song that fit the film. We also had to make sure we liked it since we have to listen to it over and over. When we found a song that was decent we had to make sure that it was copyrighted. Since we don't know much about music in film and copyright we didn't know if certain websites were scams. We wanted to be 100% sure it was not copyrighted. We are still searching for a song we like. We are not too worried about it yet though. Since it will be added in editing we still have plenty of time. And if something changes in the script or plot we can make sure the music fits the change.

Marketing Campaign for Short Film

    My group and I recently started thinking about the different marketing campaigns available. We realized that the easiest and best for us would be through social media promotion. We have opened several social media accounts. We opened accounts for the film on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok. We know that these are some of the most used social media platforms and will be the easiest to grow on. We also already know how to work these platforms which makes it a lot easier for us. We ourselves have followers on these social media platforms and have told our friends and family on there to follow and support the accounts. The names of the social media's are basically the same, just the name of our film "The Slicer". We have followed other kid's accounts in our class that has also made social media accounts for their films. We are excited to start posting things about the movie.

    We have decided to not split up the responsibilities for the accounts. We decided to manage all the accounts together. We know that we all work well together and rarely argue so it would work. We usually agree on most things or are good at negotiating so we know that there won't be a problem with posting and someone getting hurt or angry in the process. We created a TikTok which was not required by our teacher. We decided to open one anyway because we know the power it has and how popular it is. Since we have and use the app ourselves we know the ins and outs for the most part. It's a way to try and gain a larger audience. We have seen how people can become very popular through these apps and even though it is very rare, it's worth a shot. We are all excited to start recording and posting about our journey. We have not posted anything yet but we will soon.

Storyboard for Short Film

 

My group and I worked on our storyboard. Stephanie and Tekla met at Tekla's house, and Dominic was on FaceTime because he couldn't join. The entire process took approximately 4 1/2 hours. Stephanie worked on writing the descriptions. This includes the camera angle or movement, location, and description of what is happening during the 6 second period. Tekla worked on drawing the pictures for each of the storyboard boxes. She then colored them in so everyone can distinguish the characters from each other. Dominic was on FaceTime to help us decide what to write and draw. Since Stephanie finished her part of the storyboard before Tekla, she helped Tekla color the storyboard. Stephanie had to go home before the storyboard was finished, so Dominic left the call. At home, Stephanie finished up the drawings. The next day, we all were on FaceTime to write this blog. This process went smoothly and didn’t take a long time. Our team worked efficiently to finish the storyboard. We now know how our film will look like. This will be really helpful when it comes to the filming process. It will allow us to save time because we know where we need to be, and what the angles have to be. The storyboard will keep everyone involved in the film organized and on track. The storyboard is an essential part of filmmaking for this reason. The storyboard process went smoothly. Overall, our group works very well together and we are optimistic to begin filming.

Planning For Short Film

 My group and I decided to film on one day. Everyone will meet at Stephanie's house at 11:00 or 1:30. This depends on which character the actor is portraying Then at 11:15, we will begin filming the opening scenes in which Bella is waking up and getting ready. Then at 12:00, we will film the kitchen scene and the news reporter scene in Stephanie's house. At approximately 12:30 we will have lunch until 1:15. Then we will set up the camera in Tekla's house. We should be filming by 1:30. From that point, the rest of the actors would already be there in costumes. We would film all of the scenes that are in Tekla's house. We should be done by 3:00. Then, we will set up the camera in the neighborhood that Stephanie lives in. Then we will film the scenes in which the character Bella is walking to the character Brandon's house. After that Stephanie will quickly do special effects makeup on herself (Bella). This should be done by 4:00. Then, we will film the last scene in which all of the characters are looking for Bella and eventually find her. This should be completed by 5:15

The locations include Stephanie's house, Tekla's house, and Stephanie's neighborhood.

Our participants include Stephanie as Bella, Tekla as Chloe, Dominic as the News Anchor, Olga (Stephanie's mom) as Bella's Mom, Mats (Tekla's dad) as The Slicer, Blake as Brandon, Julia as Sasha, and Luca as Grayson.

Since there is an ongoing pandemic, we have decided to keep our masks on at all times except when filming. If a person is currently being recorded, they will not have to wear their masks but everyone else will have to. In addition to this, everyone will be tested for COVID-19 a few days before filming. We will also be washing our hands whenever we feel necessary, and always have hand sanitizer with us.

One prop that we have is the board game at the character Brandon's house. This is because they are playing the board game when Bella enters the house.  Another prop is a mobile phone. This is because Bella's mom calls Brandon in one of the scenes. Other props include beds, makeup, cereal, a bowl, tv, a mask, and a tv remote.

Our costumes are normal clothes that a typical teenager would wear. This can include jean shorts, a tee-shirt, a cropped shirt, a skirt, etc. However, the Slicer will be wearing dark clothes, and possibly some type of face-covering/ mask.

Short Film vs. Feature Length Film

 I watched both the short and feature film of 9. I liked both of them a lot. They were very different but so alike at the same time. I watched the short film first and was confused at times because there was no dialogue. In the feature film, however, there was a dialogue that made everything a lot easier to understand. There were also more characters in the feature film. It made the plot and the whole story more eventful. In the short film, in the end, there was only 9 left, however, in the feature film, it was him and a few other characters. In the short film, there was also only the soul of 5 that was showed released while in the full-length film there were the souls of the others who died throughout the movie as well. I liked this part because it made me see the different types of characters that were involved in the entire plot making the story what it was.

In the short film, there was also only one monster while in the longer film there were multiple. This made more sense to the storyline though since there were even more characters. The fact that there were more characters and monsters made the film better in my opinion. There were certain parts in the feature film that I recognized from the short film. There were obvious similarities like the names and the broad plot of the monster and it ends up being defeated. However, even though there were certain scenes that were similar they were used differently in the feature film. Like the way a monster was killed was very similar but there were parts added and parts that were different. Overall I think I liked the feature film better than the short film. It had more detail and because of the dialogue, it made it better and easier to understand. They were both very well done.

The feature film

 Last night I watched 9, the feature film. The movie was very intense from start to finish. When the movie first started I was pretty confused because there was not much context. When it continued on, however, I started to understand the storyline. I started to understand things once there was dialogue. The movie was very emotional and I was close to crying multiple times. There were many plot twists that really surprised me. The plot only got more and more interesting throughout the movie. It definitely kept my attention because there was not a dull moment. Every time I got calm something dramatic happened.

I loved the way each character was unique. They all had their own personalities and skills. They were all able to contribute their knowledge when they needed to get past an obstacle. I was also fascinated by how 9 was able to be so smart and know a lot when he was the newest one. Since they get past so many obstacles it's very motivating and is clear in its message. It is inspiring people to never give up and always keep working. I was able to create an emotional connection as well as learn from the movie. Throughout the film, they used many different angles, movement, and sound. It was interesting to see how they made it since it was animated. It was overall a really good movie.

Research 9, the short

 The short film was at first a little confusing to me since there was no real background information or talking. As 9 continued around the place by himself and eventually having a flashback more things made sense. I almost immediately got a sad feeling because in the flashback 9 was seen with another character, however now he was all alone. It was very heartwarming when the two characters shared their belongings and seemed to deeply care about each other. The flashback became at first intense when the monster showed up and the other character had to fight him. From context clues, I could already tell that it would not end well and it made me sad once again. My intuition was correct and the monster used a device and took the soul of 9's friend. It was amazing the way Shane Acker was able to create a sad scene and be able to show the heartbreak that 9 was going through even though he is an animated character. I was not expecting to feel an emotional connection since it was animated but Acker did a great job conveying his emotions onto the audience. As the movie continued the plot only thickened. 

Once the flashback was over the plot only got better and better. I was caught off guard when the monster showed up but this time in the present day. Based on what I had seen last time the monster showed up, this would be a difficult fight. 9 led the monster into a cave and was able to trick him! When I saw this I first thought that he died too easily and I thought it was odd. But then I saw that 9 was above the roster ready to attack and I gained hope again. When 9 was standing on the edge after running from the monster I almost lost all faith again, I believed there was no way he could escape that many times. But once again I was proven wrong when 9 outsmarted the monster and was able to kill him. I was so happy and sad at the same time, I was happy that 9 won, however somehow I felt bad for the monster's death. When it cut to the next scene where 9 was standing by the graves looking at his friend's "skin" sadness struck me even harder. I could relate to the feeling of mourning and missing a loved one that was taken too soon. When the device the monster used to have started vibrating I was confused but I could kind of tell what was happening. The souls were finally released and able to go to their graves and rest in peace. When his old friend, 5, looked back at him it filled my heart with sadness that they had to once again go a different way but also so happy the got to see each other once again and that he was able to be at peace.