#1 question of CCR post

 Hey Blog!

Today I am working on research for question #1 of my CCR, “How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Our film mixes two genre that aren’t normally associated, our genre is sports drama and comedy. In the film Airball we decided to take a different approach to the usual sports drama. like in most sports films JD, a young athlete trying to get better with the help of a tough but caring coach. However, instead of building up to a big game or win it focuses more on failure, self doubt, and the pressure of living up to expectations. Right from the start JDs terribly missed shot sets the tone for the whole film, its funny, but also shows how much he’s struggling. 

Challenging sport film conventions-

Most sports films show an athlete working hard, overcoming obstacles and eventually proving themselves with a wining a game or any big moment. However in Airball we challenged this by making failure the focus. JD doesn’t magically improve overnight and the story doesn’t end with some huge win. Instead, it highlights the realistic struggles of athletes, where improvement is slow and how much self doubt can slow you down. The ending with JD trading alone and still struggling shows that growth takes time.

Social issue-

Our film also represents the social pressure in sports, like how JD feels he has to live up to his older brothers success. His coach, Marcus, uses tough love, pushing him to improve, which his mom tells him that he doesn’t have to be Jason. This shows how two different people deal with expectations, one pushes JD for greatness, while the other reminds him that his worth isn’t just basketball. Our film also shows mental struggles in sports like how JD has sleepless nights. 

Takeaway-

Airball was meant to make the viewers laugh but it might also be relatable to some young athletes going through the same thing.

Post-production process post (editing)

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The grind continues, and we deciding to add some extra effects to our production. Today, we are working on the voiceover making sure its clear and perfectly timed with the visuals. This voiceover is the only one we will be adding because its really needed to bring this scene to life. Today we are also focus on adding a few special effects which will enhance the story a bit more making it more visually pleasing. Since we aren’t actual movie directors, making sure the editing is perfect is key to making sure it doesn’t look like a montage of scenes smashed together. 

Post-production process post (editing)

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Ah, the fun part is over and the hard part begins. Now that we have finished filming we have to start editing our production and make it perfect.  We are starting to trim down scenes and pick which ones we want to use in our production. We also adjusted the pacing, to make sure everything flows together. After doing this we added color correction and layered music to emphasize on emotions being felt. Although this is a lot of work, every tweak we make helps us get closer to creating the best version of our production. 

Theses are some pictures from when we started editing (we did video trimming by phone because it worked better for us)—>

Final Filming day

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Finally we have finished filming and I can’t lie I had a blast. Our only major set back while filming was dying of laughter at some scenes. Despite of this set back we were able to finish filming on time according to our plan. Today we finished up doing the office scene which took so long because it was way to funny, the amount of bloopers we have is insane. We also did the bedroom scene, this one was challenging because we had to make sure the lighting was perfect for the shot.

These are some examples of the office scene—>

    This was a pretty important scene for the film so we needed to make sure it was perfect, which was challenging because of how funny they were to make. I think we did a good job using the over the shoulder technique as the characters were talking. These shots helped establish the relationship between the two, emphasizing on their connection.

The last scene we filmed today was the bedroom scene. This was also an important scene where we meet JD’s mom. JD was upset in this scene about him trying to get better at basketball but doesn’t see improvement. The props we had in this scene were a signed basketball, jerseys hanging up and the picture of his brother. The mom was playing a “cool mom” figure and the mise en scene was her wearing jeans and a modern white top. Since she is a drama member at our school she was very helpful in this production.

Filming Day #3

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Today we came back to LA Fitness to finish up filming the scenes with JD along with introducing coach Marcus and player 2. We were at the basketball courts filming and realized we forgot a few props so we had to go back home to pick it up, which delayed our plans quite a bit. But it ended up being to our advantage, when we came back to the basketball courts they were empty which made it a lot easier to film without capturing random people in the background. This also helped us minimize background noise that would disrupt our dialogue. 

The main scenes we focused on today were coach Marcus getting upset with JD and a few other one. 

Here are some examples of the shots we took:

Takeaway- 

When shooting scenes come prepared. This was now the second time that our production got disrupted by our own mistakes we need to do a little better. 

We are basically done filming we just need to do The office scene (which will be done in school tomorrow) and the bedroom scene which is very short.

Filming day #2

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Today was our second day of filming and let m tell you it went way smoother than yesterday. Shooting the gym scenes was surprisingly easy because we got lucky and the gym was practically empty. However, today the basketball courts were packed so we had to wait around hoping for an opportunity to film all the scenes we needed. We were able to do most of them involving JD and player one, here are some examples————>

 Unfortunately, today we did not have enough time to introduce coach Marcus and Player 2. However, tomorrow we are coming back to film everything we weren’t able to do today.

Filming Day #1

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Today we completed the first day of filming. This was pretty interesting, we were filming the scenes that involve a gym and we actually had to leave because we weren’t allowed to film in there (which makes total sense). However, we did go to another gym and asked permission beforehand and they were nice and allowed us to film. This was very entertaining because we were having tons of fun creating these clips for our movie. Today was a short day of filming we didn’t have to many scenes. 

Here are some example shots we took, enjoy!

BIG takeaway:

When filming in private areas be sure to ask for permission.