Day 23-24

Hey!

Day 23-24: EDITING. (yes, it took me 2 days)

Editing is the part that I struggle the most with, even when I edit news videos for my TV class. There are just so many ways we can go and so many different looks we can give the video that it takes me a long time to get done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0MeDQlrfgQ (black and white silhouette) Okay, but I don't know if I should use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYNaj-DPseQ&t=61s (black bars) Got it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvFCnVRcT3Q (color grading) This is where it all went wrong. 

I did this whole color grading thing, clip by clip. I experimented with blacks, whites, shadows, contrast. I finished, they looked great. I render the sequence, I watch the video: the quality of every clip lowered!!! 
I undid the whole color grading thing and found another way to fix some of the clips that really needed help. 

Here are some photos of my editing progress: 

 

Organized footage. These are all the clips after my first "throw away the ones that I won't use." After this, I reshot some footage but those videos are in another folder.

Editing some audio things that I don't know if I'm gonna keep. 

Color grading fiasco^

* Font: I wanted to go for an elegant look, cause I'm planning for this film to be serious, that's why I chose a simple, formal font, and put it in white- a very simple, formal and serious color. 

*I figured the opening shot is really important so I thought about it and I decided to open the sequence with a shot of Aaron painting a heart. It's telling the audience that this film, above all, is a film about love, love for a cause, love for justice. I wanted my film to start that way!

Day 22: Title

Hey! So I figured that if this project was gonna exist it would need a title.

Day 24: Title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=47&v=AcTd2lOebvw&feature=emb_title

and guess what ! just now, as I was checking Instagram because I got distracted from writing this blog, a person who I know, just now, posted a video mocking people who say "don't assume my gender". Now I am more motivated than ever to do this.
The worst thing is I know him, and I know he is posting that proudly.
At some point it doesn't even have to do with being LGBT or not, it's about respecting people. Why make fun of people? Respect others, not LGBT people, not Hispanics, ALL PEOPLE. FELLOW PEOPLE OF THIS EARTH. Let people be. 

So, where were we? 
Title!
Okay, so I watched this video because I'm kind of not good at all at making up titles. 

And I came up with this one: I said, Love Is Love

"Love Is Love" is a very common quote, especially when dealing in situations where some people might judge who others love, whether it is because of gender, age, or whatever. 
I thought that that title sounded direct and strong, I think it matched my film because it sounds like my character is standing strong for what he believes in. It sounds like he is not going anywhere until he gets what he wants.

Day 21: THE DAY

Heyy! I have awesome news: I filmed my project!

The main problem was getting the camera and my body out of the mirror, as you can see:

My very cool slipper, my sister's feet and legs, and the camera. I think I got everything except what I actually had to film.

Other than that, it went great!

Day 20

Heyyy

Day 20: painting.

You know that song that says "no one ever said it would be this hard"? If you don't, it's The Scientist by Coldplay. It's really good. BUT it's exactly how I feel right now!! I didn't think it was gonna be so hard to do a simple painting.

But still, it's so difficult!
Getting the right colors, painting in between the lines and stuff. Props to artists everywhere you guys are awesome.
Here's my process, I did it in two days so actually it's half of day 19 and day 20.

1st: I changed the painting to a horizontal version because of spacing stuff.

2nd: I painted the butterfly, darker in the middle and lighter at the end. Makes it look like something's bursting out of it. I tried A THOUSAND color combinations and mixed everything and still, the girl's skin was orange.

3rd: Mom came to help <3. Turns out I just had to mix light brown with white.

Plus: I decided to do the background simulating it was the sky, they saw this butterfly and they felt they were flying, they felt great. And it symbolizes truth; for Aaron, this is the truth, you see people by who they are inside. 

4th: Mom finished pain- I mean I finished painting the people and their hair. 

Note: what my brother is going to paint while I film him: the heart-shaped eyes (red), some details in the butterfly (violet, red), and he is going to sign it.

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*What I wrote in my other blog, just to remind you: 

I know I'm gonna use red in specific parts because it represents love and passion, two things Aaron wants to transmit.

I'm also gonna use violet for the butterfly because it represents power, so it would represent how powerful a soul can be.

And the background I don't know yet.

Day 19

Heyy!

Day 19:Building up the Set.

As I'm starting to develop this character by showing his art room, the things that are gonna be in it are really important.

So here's what I did today:

So here I put a sketchbook because, well, assists need those. Underneath the sketchbook, I put this piano learning book to show that he is artistic but it is barely visible I might change it or just take it out. 

This board has a very-tiny-but-it's-all-that-I-could-do LGBT flag, some photos of my brother (who will be playing the main character) with the fam to show he has a loving family. There's a flyer for an LGBT march that he will be attending so he has it there as a reminder; there's a little post-it note from his mom reminding him to pick his sister up, it says "Love you, mom" at the end, also reinforcing that he has a loving family, not that he is rebellious because of that stereotype kid whose family isn't around much so they are rebels. Then there's a Chinese fortune cookie message that says that two small jumps are better than one big leap, also there to build up that idea that he is a very determined guy. And lastly, there's a little quote that says "I only compare myself o my higher self" also showing his motivational lifestyle.

This is the board with the sketches that he created to get to what his painting was going to be. 

Also, I forgot to take a picture, but I also printed up two quotes. One that says: It is the size of one's will which determines success" and the other one saying "Truth never damages a cause that is just". I put these to further develop who my character is, which is what he believes in. 

Day 18

Heyy!

Day 18: La Peinture. (that's French for "The Painting". i looked it up)

Sooooo a prettyyyy important part of this opening is the painting that the main character is going to be creating.

I've been trying to avoid this post for a long time because I am not an artist in that way and therefore the painting will not be the best.

So here are my 2 very similar options for the painting:
I know they look weird but there's an explanation.

Option 1:

There's a man and a woman staring at a faceless head. The head has lots of hearts and moons. Hearts stand for love and a crescent moon stands for a dream that will turn to reality, something that's growing. What Aaron is trying to say through this painting is: You fall in love with someone because of their heart and their soul. BUT I messed up the symbols. I was supposed to put a butterfly -which represents the soul- and I put the moon. I remembered at the end and I put a little butterfly on the person's neck lol. That's why this one's wrong, but I still like it I think it's interesting.







Option 2: 

There's a man and a woman staring at a butterfly, which represents the soul, they are "love struck" because they saw a soul, not gender, not looks, not status. A soul. That's what Aaron is trying to say.
 *The lines are guides for where the butterfly is actually supposed to be.












Sorry if these are simple in drawing terms it's just that I am really not good at it. These aren't supposed to be perfect portraits though, they're supposed to be like that because that's all I can do lol. I tried to play more with symbolism which I really love.

Fun fact: the drafts that I will be using as my set design are the drafts that I did to get to this. 

Colors:
I'm using this chart for color symbolism: 

I know I'm gonna use red in specific parts because it represents love and passion, two things Aaron wants to transmit.

I'm also gonna use violet for the butterfly because it represents power, so it would represent how powerful a soul can be.

And the background I don't know yet. 

Day 17

Hello! Today was crafts day. I made the signs and drafts of drawings that are gonna be part of the set design. I did these while I was listening to the Cast Recording of Evita* just in case you were wondering which I think you weren't but still, it's a very good cast album and you might wanna listen to it.

*All cast recordings are amazing and so different (in terms of acting) BUT today I listened to the movie soundtrack because I was in the mood of listening to Madonna :)

Day 17: Set Design

So I started by making this little flyer using Adobe's Photoshop:

I made this one to reinforce that idea of him being active in helping the community, it's gonna be hanged on a board along with an LGBT flag and some photos of his childhood.

Then I made some drafts of his drawings and I painted an LGBT flag*: 
* I am very proud of how it turned out cause I'm not a very handcraft person and it actually looks acceptable.

           ^It looks really bad but I               swear in person it actually               looks good.


<-- This is a little guide that I made and also used. There's a list of some things and their symbolic meaning.