CCR Question #1 Research

 Another major section of the portfolio component is the Creative Critical Reflection, or CCR. As the name implies, the CCR is an opportunity to discuss our film opening while expressing the progress we've made along the way. The CCR is divided into four questions, but we'll only be focusing on one today. 

The question is as follows:
"How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?"

Earlier in my posts, I actually take a moment to discuss the typical conventions in a sports drama, but I primarily focused on the visual elements seen in film. This is a good opportunity to delve into the storytelling elements of a sports drama. 

According to The Script Lab, a sports drama "incorporates dramatic elements into a sports storyline. These films tend to examine the more gritty and intense aspects of the sporting world" (Buffam, 2011). A prime example of this is Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, which depicts the ups and downs of the titular Rocky Balboa. I actually researched this film when reviewing the inclusion of credits in an opening sequence. 
My film opening most definitely utilizes these conventions. The entire premise of the plot is built around the struggle of my protagonist, who battles a terminal illness while seeking to defy the odds. 

The next part of the question is actually one I overlooked when writing opening's story: how the film represents social groups or issues. Ryan, of course, is ostracized by his condition; he is forced to dedicate extensive time and effort just to live healthily. As a result, his life falls into monotony, as his need to stay fit overshadows his desire for excitement and adventure in his life. According to National Library of Medicine, muscular dystrophy affects roughly 1 in 5000 people worldwide (LaPelusa et al., 2024). Initially, Ryan's condition was only a springboard to establish an ongoing conflict and motivation for the protagonist. I didn't put much thought into seeing Ryan as a member of a severe minority group. On a broader scale, Ryan represents the constant struggle those with MD undergo. In many cases, muscular dystrophy can lead to degeneration of myocardium, causing heart complications in patients. Ryan is an example that his condition, no matter how severe,  does not define who he is as a person. 

Researching this question really made me consider how characters can act as a representation for entire groups. While I did research the condition, I failed to study up on how it affects people on an emotional level. I hope to represent those with MD as persistent, overcoming a constant struggle. 

That's all for now - check out my CCR later to see how I answered this question.

References 

Buffam, N. (2011, March 26). Sports. The Script Lab. https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/991-sports/

LaPelusa, A. (2024, February 26). Muscular dystrophy. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560582/

Brightness & Saturation

 When Nico and I were working on editing, we came across a bit of a disagreement. The film takes place in two places: Ryan's home and a public gym. I wanted Ryan's home to come off as less vibrant and more monotonous, mainly illuminated by dim natural lighting. On the other hand, the gym was supposed to act as a more vibrant contrast, a sneak peek to the more exciting life Ryan will discover in pursuit of his powerlifting competition. 

But here's the issue. Nico wanted to desaturate the shots at the gym to show that, even in a public environment, Ryan is still pretty empty, lacking any sort of direction. On the other hand, I wanted the gym to be intentionally bright, putting Ryan out of his comfort zone. We decided to take a desaturated version and its original side-by-side. Therefore, we could see if the light was too excessive, or if the grayer appearance is a little too obvious. Here's how it looks:

On the left is original, while the right is more desaturated. It isn't an extreme difference, but it is somewhat noticeable. We eventually decided on sticking to the original, to show that Ryan is out of his comfort zone. This is especially noticeable when you contrast the brightness of the environment with his darker clothing, making him appear as a 'black sheep' at the gym. While the change is pretty minor, it goes to show how even vibrancy can make a huge difference in storytelling. I didn't realize how big of a role saturation played in conveying emotion subtly.

That's all for today! The film opening is starting to take shape - exciting!

Continuity at the Gym

 So, as I mentioned in a previous post, we were missing some props and costumes in our first day of filming at the gym. This was a bit of an issue, since we did end up getting certain shots, but were missing some of the most crucial parts of the story. Namely, the inclusion of Ryan's gym buddy and the discovery of the flyer. We ended up filming at the gym a second time, recording the shots we weren't able to before.

In the couple days between our first and second filming sessions, I managed to lose my contact lenses. This really isn't a huge deal, since I just had to take my glasses off when filming. The tricky part? Remembering to take my glasses off - it's surprisingly hard to remember to intentionally impair my vision. This leads to a few shots here and there in which I was wearing my glasses. Exhibit A: 

If you look closely, I'm only wearing glasses on the left side. This isn't a super noticeable detail, and this shot will only last for about a second, but it breaks the realism in the scene. I tend to be a perfectionist, so I decided to nitpick through every shot to double check if I was wearing glasses. Thankfully, I caught a lot of the slip-ups on the day of filming, so we still had the proper shots. 

I mentioned this when I blogged about the first day of filming, but it is really important to have everything down to a tee. With limited time to film, it's super important that we had a game plan from the get-go. But things (like losing my contacts) happen, and you have to be ready to adapt. 

That's all for now, see you next time!

Finishing the Study

Alright, as I mentioned previously, the study room was practically finished, apart from some diagrams and sketches to show Ryan's work research as a med student. I had two major goals: showing his obsession with his research, and hinting towards his condition.

My first plan of action was sketching out a few diagrams of the muscles, with intentionally rigid and sloppy linework to drive home that sense of obsession. Here's how it turned out!

This was a step in the right direction. It showed some of his research as a medical student, but it didn't scream obsession to me. There wasn't enough clutter or chaos to really portray what I had in mind. So I went back to the drawing (haha) board. To really spice up the setting, I decided to use different types of paper. On top of that, I needed more diagrams. Way more. I started using sticky notes, printer paper, lined paper, and pages from my brother's old journal (sorry!). Here's the finished product:

THIS is more like it. The larger papers show the less detailed diagrams, focusing on the overall shape and appearance of the human body, while the smaller papers from the journal go into detail about different muscles. Lastly, the sticky notes are used to show Ryan's own personal thoughts, gauging how much more research he needs to carry out on certain groups. I think the system to each paper helps show that Ryan has a method to his madness, and isn't entirely crazy.

This process took way longer than expected. On top of that, I sort of procrastinated this part of the set, and that really came back to bite me. Having said that, I think it turned out pretty good!

That's all for now, tune in next time!

Day 1 of Filming

 Alright, day #1 of filming! Just like we planned out, Nico and I went to the gym straight after school to record footage. The gym was pretty empty, so we could use different areas and machines without impeding on anyone's personal space. Here's a step by step on how everything went down: 

1. We arrived at the gym at about 1:30 PM. No problems here, apart from leaving a water bottle and the wireless mics in the car, leading to a (somewhat shameful) walk back or two.
2. We captured footage at the gym, making sure to overshoot. 

    This day of filming went by pretty smoothly, apart from some major hitches. Nico wasn't dressed in the proper clothing for the gym, so we weren't able to film any of Ryan's interactions with his gym buddy. Additionally, we didn't have the flyer advertising the powerlifting meet prepared. While we still got some shots in, we will have to spend another day filming at the gym. If there's anything this session taught me, it's that I should definitely put more effort into planning. Keeping a checklist to make sure everything is on pace is the way to go.

Short blog post for today, but here's a silly video from the gym:

Not my best appearance, but it was still fun to record nonetheless. Tune in next time!

Setting Up the Study

    In our film opening, I want to indirectly convey Ryan's (the protagonist's) dedication to weightlifting and medical school overall. To capitalize on this "show, don't tell" approach, mise-en-scene elements such as set design are essential. Luckily, my brother is in college, and there is a study room going completely unused. To plan out the changes that need to take place, here are a few of the shots that will take place in this room:

1. Ryan weighing himself on a scale
• Simple enough, my parents have a digital scale that I can move into the room.
2. Light seeping in from the window 
• While this sounds easy, this one might actually be a little bit more tricky. The point of this shot is to establish the time of day, which would be around 9-10 AM. I want to utilize natural lighting for the room, but still keep things darker to reflect Ryan's own mentality: unhappy, alienated, etc. The room's curtains are a translucent beige, which might provide the scene with an unwanted warm tone - a little too 'home-y' for what I'm going for. For a colder setting (and more control over light), I'll change out the curtains for blackouts. 
3. Ryan typing onto his laptop, logging the fluctuations in weight that is expected from his condition
• Again, just put a laptop into the room. Simple.
4. Long shot of the room, revealing diagrams and sketches of the human body
• Easy, but time consuming. To portray Ryan as a 'homemade' researcher, I want all of the images to be done by hand, showing that his studies are completely independent. This one might take a bit.
5. Medium shot of Ryan measuring himself in the mirror, noting changes in size.
• While finding a good spot for the mirror might be a little tedious, this shouldn't be much of a hassle

    Now that we've established the shots, here's the plan. 
I want to remove all colorful objects in the scene, hoping to portray Ryan's life as dull and uninspired (for now). On top of that, I want to remove all musical instruments from the frame (my brother previously used the room as a recording studio), as to not mislead the audience into assuming Ryan's character traits. 

    Hello! Sergio from the future here. I've made substantial progress on the room - just a few more finishing touches left. Here's how it looks:

    As you can see, all the vibrancy in the room has been removed, keeping this beige/white/black color palette. The room should look less warm once the blackout curtains and natural lighting is implemented. This process turned out to be pretty tricky, since there was a lot of clutter prior to my refurbishing.  Behind the camera, a bunch of instruments, boxes, and cabinets are hidden. With minimal storage, a lot the mess is kept barely out of frame - this really showed how only the section being recorded really matters. With clever shots and angles, nobody would even suspect the mess.

    A few steps left: clearing out a few more instruments (& the portrait of Jim Morrison), adding the mirror for the measuring scene, and filling the walls with diagrams and sketches of the human body. 

As for that last part, I plan on documenting the sketching process with another blog post. Stay tuned!

Opening Filming Schedule

Before we can get to recording, Nico and I spent today figuring out our schedule. We had already done a rough timeline to determine what we were doing on a weekly basis, but we had to go into more detail for filming. Here's what we're working with:

• Nico's schedule is pretty packed, since he was out of town for the weekend
• We have to film in multiple settings (house and gym), with each location a sizeable distance from one another
• With the gym, we're hoping to film during less crowded times, so we are less constrained with our footage
• The study in the house still needed setting up, so that might be for a later time

With this information, we decided to split up filming into several days. On Wednesday, we would record at the gym, since we both leave school earlier (around 1 PM). That way, we can avoid rush hour and have ample time to overshoot - just in case. Unfortunately, we would have to record the house scenes the next week, which impedes a tiny bit on our editing time, but shouldn't be a major concern. 

Next on the roadmap: filming and setting up the house. Now that we have a game plan, (hopefully) everything should be smooth sailing. I'll update the blog on the whole production process, so stay tuned.