Previous Works
All of 2023 we have been working on different shortfilm projects in Media Studies. We first needed to have a bit of context about what we needed to pay attention to (as it was our initial year having the subject) so, we started by learning about shot angles, color palette, music and sound, themes and genre, costume designs, budgets, and some more. (click on each title to see the work)
The first ever assignment we got was to analyze all these aspects in a specific film. My group was given “500 days of summer”, a movie I had never heard of before. We got together in a house and spent the whole afternoon watching the film with a big bowl of popcorn each. It was the first time that I watched a movie paying so much attention to every little detail that made it up. That was when I started to understand what “the magic of cinema” actually was. How everything has a purpose and is not there just because. How all this different aspects can create marvelous things once they are put together.
Afterwards, we did a bit more research and captured all of the information in a beautiful Presentation. We made sure that not only what we wrote was right, but also that it looked aesthetically according to the theme. I remembered being nervous to present. It was my earliest work with this teacher and I didnt know his correcting/judging style (I also have the talent to get way more nervous than the situation requires) . He also told us that (for some unknown reason) he wanted us to go last, and to sum up, one of our group members was unexpectedly absent. So, it is fair to say I was shivering. However, I knew I had put a lot of work into it and I was very sure about what I was going to say, so gladly it turned out great.
After that, once we had esos aspectos pulidos, it was time for us to create our own films - well, short films. I was extremely excited because we would be finally able to put everything we had learned on the table. The theme we were given was “recreo”, which in english translates to -breaktime-. Apart from that, there was no other instruction given, we were free to use our imagination to take any path we liked. This assignment was again given in groups which made it a lot easier to brainstorm for proposals. I remember a day we sat down and all of us had so many incredible ideas. We started to puzzle them together until we were able to design a clear view of how it was going to look like. We also needed to figure out our actors which, apparently no one in the group wanted to interpret. I personally was totally willing to act but didn't want it to make it so obvious so I played it cool until I finally volunteered to play the starring role. After that, it was time to shoot.
The storyline was set in school with a girl main character whose best (and only) friend hadnt showed up to class. Breaktime started and it was when her world started to fall apart since she realized she had no one to be with. She also goes through a bad sequence of events including a ball hitting her face and being short in money to buy a chocolate bar. So, she finally decides to sit by herself on a corner of the playground and listen to her music. After dropping some tears she hears someone calling her name and, when she turns around, she sees it was her beloved friend. She immediately rushes to her and their reencounter in an emotional hug.
In order to create this scenario here were several things we had to take into account. Setting and costume were easy since we were already in school and had our uniforms on. It also helped that we filmed when we were in actual breaktime so in the background there were actual kids playing which gave a greater sense of reality. Then for sound, we knew we wanted to use a sad song to represent what the character was feeling. We chose “What Was I Made For” from Billie Eilish since it had recently come out for the Barbie movie and it was hitting. We decided to do a/ to transition between a diegetic and nondiegetic sound in which at first the music is only heard by the audience but once the lyrics starts at the same time as the character puts her headphones on, she is able to hear the music and it fact it is her choice of song. Next we wanted to entirely change the pattern of the sound for when the character’s friend appears to once that symbolized cheer and contentment. To create that sense we chose “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift. The election was pretty random as one day a specific piece of the song came to my mind and seemed like it could fit the scene. So, we tried it and really liked how it looked.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was in the crying scene. I thought that getting actual tears would add masterfullnes to the film. And I knew some hacks that could make that happen so we used toothpaste on my undereyes, for the mint to make them water. It worked perfectly but the burning was a bit stronger than what I was expecting, so we had to make it fast so I could then wash it off.
It was definitely a lot of work but I loved how it turned out, especially for it being the first one. Of course there are lots of things to improve but I think that was also the purpose of this assignment. To be able to detect what things can be done better and improve them in your next project. I also had a lot of fun filming and it was the first task that made me actually embrace the subject.
For this second project we were given the word “New” to inspire our story. This time it was an individual task and we had to film at home so it required plenty more work. I remember I was very indecisive about what I wanted my film to be about. But, after a lot of thought, I decided it would be titled “New Song” and it would go about a girl who was trying to write a song on her guitar but inspiration wouldn't come so she gets terribly frustrated. Consequently she decides to go on walk to clear up her mind and while she does, she hears the singing of the birds which give her the melody she was just looking for. The main character was played by one of my friends who only accepted since I told her id she did, then I would also perform in hers. We filmed both on the same afternoon so we needed to hurry up for the limited time and sunlight. Luckily she was able to catch my idea and followed my instructions very well. She even had to learn some chores on the guitar. I was very indecisive about what song I wanted to play in the background. I wanted it to be one that showed inspiration and have a specific change in rhythm when the character started to get creative. So, after researching for a while, I ended up picking the background sound from “How to save a life” by The Frey (I did some cut and paste on some parts in order for the rhythm to sink in/match/go along/play along/flow along with the scenes.
I was very proud of the final product because I remember being given the instructions and getting a bit overwhelmed, especially because I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it in time. But, slowly everything started to fall into place and I was able to enjoy the process.
Innocence and Experience - MARTA AWARDS
For this final task we were asked/instructed to do a short film inspired by the theme of “Innocence and experience which was the topic we were working on in English class at the moment. Once more this was a group assignment but the difference of this task was that the final product would be competing for the MARTHA Awards. This is an event that my school has designed as a reference to the “Oscars”. The letters stand for Media ART Awards. Though students don't only present their works, we also create the whole gathering. Everything from the script, to the decoration, to the trophies was made and designed by us. I had never been involved in anything like that and the whole experience was just incredible. It was a tremendous amount of hard work and it was also in the last weeks of school (when finals take place) but I am really grateful we did it. I was selected with three other classmates to be the hosts which were in charge to make the whole act get along. We were in charge of explaining the assignment, presenting each short film and entertainment (we even had an epic dance). I also helped doing a giant sign inspired in the theme and full of shine.
Going back to the short film, we had no idea what we wanted to make it about. We did have very high expectations from it as we inevitably wanted to get an award. But the theme was pulling us behind. We ended up mixing some ideas together though our whole concept was actually never clear. Even after filming and editing, you could tell that it was weird. But, we decided that was going to be part of our theme. So, the plot is centered on a mother with two daughters, quite apart in ages and basically the storyline revolves about their family roles being switched up and who it is thought to be an innocent girl ends up taking care of the mother who has childish behaviors and it also has a turbio twist in the older child. The reality is that the whole process was a bit messy but to our surprise the final product resulted pretty decent. We even won the "Best Camera Work Award"!
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