Seventeen

My friend Mia found me a song!!!! I still have to receive permission to use it, but the band who produced it is FARRR less known than anyone I've messaged thus far. The band is called LadyTron and their song "Seventeen" is describes the life of a model very well!

Agencies, casting directors, and everyone in between within the industry, want models their "prime".  They want their models to be fresh faced, and in the song, the lyrics depict just that. 

I dmmed them on Instagram but this problem occurred:

I was getting a little scared but then I searched why that happened and all I had to do was follow them :) 

Hopefully they'll answer! 

Keep you posted, 

Isa

Fresh Thoughtsssss

       Friendship is great, let me tell ya. My friends are beyond intelligent about the film industry! My friend Sebastian Fish Mathurin, who's also enrolled in this course, gave me a brilliant idea to substitute for the headline scene of the opening. We were on our way to visit our other friend Xamir when I had told him my idea for Brainless Babe. He put his creative mind to work and gave me a great idea! 

This is Sebastian, AKA "Fish": 

 Truly, a legend.

His idea: 

        Go to a place in Miami where there are a lot of billboards with models on them, and look up as if you're admiring them for their passion and dedication they have towards a hard industry. The photoshoot could still be the very beginning and then on the last flash, fade into the younger version of Giselle looking up like she knows she wants to change the industry. 

I loved this idea so much, and Miami is the best place to go to shoot a scene like this considering we're  on a very low budget and running out of time!

Anyway, 

talk soon! 

Stills

     I love stills!! Stills taken within any movie can make people feel things words cannot. I remember always looking on Instagram and seeing many directors, writers, actors, actresses, extras, and more, post stills from the film they worked on! Just recently, Jacob Elordi, amongst many others, posted stills to certain film greatly appreciated by the masses.

This is a link to one post 

Link to the other 

Everything captured within these stills is impeccable! I cannot wait to see more!

The stills from Brainless Babe feel like they need to be viewed as Instagram pictures; something you would post. I paused the video at parts where I thought Giselle looked best in, here's what I took: 

Enjoy! Until next time :)

Schedule Has Been Set Back!

    The schedule has been set back!!! I took a trip to Bokeelia for spring break and I had no time to edit anything or film any additional pieces. Unfortunately, this week I'll have to double the work. I guess you could say I reversed the "work hard, play hard" thing everyone always says!    It was my first time in Bokeelia (had no idea it existed before we went)! I went with five other girls and it was a lot of fun! Here are some pics:

Anyway, back on track! This week, I'll see what I need to add to make the film intro look less like a music video, I'll edit, and hopefully begin my creative reflection before next week! 

Shall I Continue?

 Filming ended... I hope!  Honestly, I feel very relieved knowing I have most of what I planned to shoot, which was Giselle's photoshoot, but I'm not sure if I should continue with the rest of it (the school part). I got feedback from my friends and they think I have enough footage to just do the photoshoot, and I agree, but I also think it would look more like a music video then a film. 

My friend, Mia Batista, is very creative and knows a lot about all aspects of film. I trust her when she says things that could improve my video. I showed her the footage I have and she said that I could place the video shown below at the beginning of my film and before I walk in, I could place the title in the white space and then follow with credits throughout the montage. 

If I do the second part at school, it would have be the day I get back after spring break, or I could change the idea of the bell ringing and figure something out at home, I'll let you know! 

Stay cool,

Isa

Group Meeting: Round 1

 

    Today in class, we had our first group meeting! Group meetings are when groups of 6 students meet and discuss each other's project. We give each other advice and help each other defeat an obstacles we might encounter. The most common issue was music. Finding royalty free music was very hard for all of us, one of us even gave up and added dialogue instead. 

    I showed them my videos and told them my whole plan/idea and they really liked it! I also really liked everyone else's idea too. I think my project was the one we spent the most time discussing! They opened up YouTube in their laptops and attempted to find me the right song since the one I want isn't royalty free and I still have yet to hear from the owners. 

    I really hope the next group meeting is just as productive. Wishing everyone's project has run as planned since we met!

                                               

Behind the Scenes

 FILLLMMMM DDDAAYYYYYYYYYYY PICSSSSSSSSSS

I had so much fun filming/shooting for Brainless Babe, you have no idea. I told my friends I would even rent out the studio again so we could all do it together for fun! We got there around 1pm because we had the studio from 1-5pm, however, my photographer was shooting with a model and went overtime by an hour. This was okay considering I paid less and didn't need all five hours; plus, I with my friends. We went up at 2 and started setting up. We ended around 4:45pm and cleaned for the last 15 minutes.

I got everything I needed and more! My friends had some time in between looks for Giselle so they got their own pictures for their social media which I thought was neat! I only changed twice because I got a lot of footage getting ready. I did my own makeup and hair, but my friends were there to play the part of the extras: MUAs, Photographers, Stylists, etc. It was a great day! Below are some BTS pics for you to seeeee! :) 

Music Update

Aaaand we've circled back to square one for music! 

    Do you recall when I emailed the owners of the Burlesque Original Motion Picture song, "The Beautiful People"? I published that process in one of my older blogs: here. Well, never heard back! Today was in fact film day and as anyone, I assume, I would like to begin editing the soonest possible considering film openings take time, and a lot of it! The reason they did not respond could have been because they're busy people; indeed, it is Christina Aguilera's cover! 

    Now on the search for another song! I thought of "If You're Too Shy" by The 1975!  I sent a DM to Dirty Hit (The 1975's label) on Instagram, as they have no website to contact them through email. Hopefully we'll get a response soon! Here's what I sent: 

Lets hope this works!

Until next time, 

Isabella

Editing Apps

Film day is approaching!!! I'm so beyond excited to shoot on Sunday, it's going to be fun and smooth! I figured with the day coming closer, it's time to research into editing methods; so it isn't saved for the last minute. I googled things like:

"Vintage Presets"

"Camcorder edits"

"How to edit a video to look vintage"

It wasn't until my final search, "vintage film apps". I found a couple: RetroVHS, Camcorder, Videograde, Filmicpro, etc. I downloaded them all (Filmicpro has been downloaded from the beginning of the year when we did our first project) and tried each of them. 

Why these didn't work:

RetroVHS looked so similar to a basic Instagram filter

Camcorder was far too grainy and would irritate the eyes if someone's looking for too long

Videograde has too much of a green tint

Filmicpro had no vintage edit, it's far more advanced and modern

I then downloaded 8mm. What a relief.

It wasn't free, but it was worth the purchase. I paid 3.99 for the perfect app it gives the mood I want to share. I found it through this website: How to Make Your Video Footage Look Vintage with Phone Apps. 

Luckily I found an app just in time to film rather than having to film on normal video and then search for a preset!

Stay cool, 

    Isabella

Editing Platforms

    Lets talk editing!

    I own a surface pro 7; therefore, no iMovie, but that's okay! Thanks to this wonderful class, I get Adobe Premier. However, we've come across an issue. Every time I go to download the app, the screen changes to this: 

I'm told that the software is unavailable in my region, for whatever reason

I have a solution! My brother has a MacBook, I could use iMovie on that if I find no other app to edit :) I love how user friendly iMovie is! I also have a desktop computer, but it's a little slow and I would to edit in the most productive/efficient manner I can. 

I recall my teacher talking about other editing apps when we did our foley projects. Vimeo was one of them that is free! I could use that and see how it turns out but I understand that in order to maximize the resources given I must suscribe and pay around 7 dollars a month! We'll see which route I take! 

Talk soon!

What's to Come

 Next week is film day!!!!

The 13th is in exactly a week! It's time to make an in-depth schedule for the next couple weeks before deadline! I want to ensure that I make enough time to, hopefully, edit every day for at least an hour every other day and as the project comes to completion, little tweaks can be made here and there.  Since many of my friends are also taking this course, I hope we could all edit together sometimes and give each other feedback on what we should improve. 

Schedule:

March 13 - film day

March 14 - download videos onto computer

March 16- begin editing, put clips in order, crop anything unnecessary, minor things (1 hour)

March 18 - editing (1 hour)

March 20 - editing (1 hour)

March 22 - editing (1 hour)

March 23 - editing (1 hour)

March 26 - finishing touches (30 minutes minimum) 

March 27- complete film/begin reflection

March 28- continue Creative Reflection

March 30 - complete Creative Reflection

Giselle Pon

She's here! Meet Giselle Pon. The kind of teenage girl who develops into society's most influential model. She's brilliant, soft, sexy, loveable, and determined. She moves to LA with big dreams. She hopes to change the laws of the industry and make it a safer place for all girls to be. She grew up with a middle class family in an average sized home. Some of her favorite things to do are hang out with friends, shoot, do makeup, design, and study. She isn't the "it girl" at her highschool, but she's the one all the boys want to be with ;)

       Why I chose the pictures displayed:

The top middle is the way Giselle dresses on an average day. Laid back, model off duty look. 

Top left is to add to the vintage feel of the film. She's a gold jewelry girl who loves her camcorder.

The bottom left is there because Giselle gains a love interest in the film!

Bottom middle is there because Giselle focuses on her studies; if she didn't, then there would be nothing to prove false. 

The bottom right photo is represent Giselle as a calm, cool, and collected 90s model. She serves simple looks that draw millions in. 

The top right is the exact feel of the opening scene!

And lastly, but surely not least, is there to signify Giselle's future success in the fashion industry. 

All About Aesthetics

 Font, color scheme, set design 

Brainless Babe's physique is very important, especially to me since I want the film to be vintage, elegant, and very chic. Font takes a big part in the aesthetics and mood for the film. The font of the opening credits will set a feeling for how the rest of the film may be. I researched some examples of movies that have fitting font and found the following:

These fonts all suit their movies very well. Some are rigid, some depict terror, others are spacious, etc. For Brainless Babe, I want a pretty font. One that sways and feels like old Hollywood. 

I'll end up using one most similar to any of the following depending on what's available to me on my editing software: 

Once I have my font chosen when I begin editing, I'll place it in a corner of each shot so the audience could focus on the model and the environment around her. 

Until next time! 

            Isabella

Finding the One

I found a song! It fits so beyond well, I'm thrilled! 

       The song: 

    Burlesque (2010) is in my top 3 favorite movies of all time. That film was such a grand piece of art with all the costume design, makeup, music, color schemes, plot, etc. One song that was performed by Christina Aguilar is called "The Beautiful People". I listened to the first minute and three seconds and I could picture the model at the photoshoot so vividly, I had to seek permission to use it. 

Spotify - The Beautiful People      

YouTube - The Beautiful People

       The Journey:

    I knew I wanted a song that felt very Hollywood-esque, as one might say. I wanted the audience to feel whatever the model is trying to portray; something that would touch the viewer's heart, soul, mind; whichever (as I explained in my blog titled "Why I Need a Song"). 

    I opened Spotify whenever I had free time and started to find songs that feel very Hollywood Fashion. At first I thought, lets do classy, elegant Hollywood, rather than upbeat. However, I realized that the film isn't meant to come off as deep as the problem. I want it to alleviate some of the stress but still focus on the issue within the industry. 

      Some songs I listened to were:  

Not a Bad Thing - Justin Timberlake

Oxytocin - Billie Eilish

Sofia - Clairo

What Once Was - Her's

And more that can be found on my playlist that I made specifically for songs I might have used. 

Here's the playlist: VM

       Copyright: 

    Obviously, copyright is a major factor in creating content. I googled who the rights of "Beautiful People" belonged to and I was asnwered with LP, formally known as Laura Pergolizzi. LP is a singer-songwriter who's written for several well-known artists like Rihanna, Celine Dion, Cher, Leona Lewis, Christina Aguilera, and more.     

    I went to LP's website where there was a tab for contact and wrote the following email: 

                                    

    

Let's see what comes from this! 

Stay cool, 

            Isabella