SUPERHUMAN - CCR

Here it is... The CCR.

I hit all four points in order, but here goes nothing!


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lhhJc0kGgMZIXC23CICiLlG8BoFiuQAW/view?usp=sharing





Hope you enjoy :)



Thank you for allowing me to share my experiences producing this film.  It's been a blast and I'm excited to work on some personal film ventures in the future!

                                  - Jake



TODAY'S HERO: ELEKTRA (Elektra Natchios)



Backstory:
Elektra is a trained bounty hunter and assassin who flew to Japan after the death of her father.  There, she was trained by a cult of ninjas called "The Hand".

Powers:
She excels in Japanese martial arts, and additionally uses two sai to damage foes.

Other:
- She is in an active relationship with the hero Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
- Olympic-level athlete and gymnast
- Attended Columbia University

First Appearance:
- Daredevil #168 (1981)

Movie History:
- Played by Jennifer Gramer, she appeared in the 2003 film Daredevil
- Reappeared in 2005 for the spin-off film, Elektra

CCR - Script

I severely underestimated the video that is the CCR.

Over the course of two days, I have been writing the script, making sure I hit every essential part of the questions I was asked.  For my sanity (and for organization's sake), I answered the questions in order.  Upon writing my answers to the questions, I timed how I plan on delivering these lines in my video.

That's right.  I'm sitting at a comfortable 9 minutes and 45 seconds for my CCR.  This is fantastic.  It's not TOO long, but it's also not too short where I forget information.

As far as recording my voice over for the CCR, I used QuickTimePlayer to record my audio.  I read the script, paragraph at a time, capturing each section of my voice.  I found that the audio had white noise in the background, so I did what any sane person recording their voice would do:

I set up a mini recording studio under my bed sheets to block out all other sounds. This helped me get audio like this:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MkZxTczl8dPs3ogkpM22OY6WP6XgLuxn

Now to go back in the studio and record the remaining twelve more audio clips :) This will be fun.

TODAY'S HERO: DOCTOR STRANGE (Stephen Strange)

Backstory:

Dr. Stephen Strange was a wealthy surgeon that got into a serious car accident, severely damaging his hands and ruining the opportunity to give surgeries again.  In an attempt to heal his wounds, Dr. Strange stumbled on a Temple of the Mystic Arts where he learned how to use magic; he would become so skilled at his wizardry he became known as the "Sorcerer Supreme".

Powers:

Dr. Strange has typical spellcasting abilities that he utilizes as a wizard.  He also possesses artifacts such as the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamodo which allow him to fly and manipulate time, respectively.

Other:

- He is the guardian of the New York Sanctum, which is the United States entrance to the wizarding world.

- Strange was trained by a being called The Ancient One, who taught him how to use magic

First Appearance:

- Strange Tales #110 (1963)

Movie History:

- Dr. Strange was introduced in the self-titled film Doctor Strange (2016) played by the legendary Benedict Cumberbatch.

- Strange made a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

- Latest appearance was in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

SuperHuman - Film Opening

Behold, SuperHuman.

It's been nothing but an exciting seven weeks with this film, and I'm so excited to share the beginning of my story.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SZPtMadKZq4ydUr6Y5yNXIIa6_T204J_/view?usp=sharing

                                                   - Jake

TODAY'S HERO: GAMORA

Backstory:

She is the sole survivor of her species, the Zen-Whoberis.  Thanos found her as a child and trained her to become a weapon for combat. 

Powers:

Gamora has superhuman strength, speed, agility, and durability. She also is a trained assassin and is trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Other:

- Has a sister named Nebula, who was also adopted by Thanos (this connection is more eminent in the MCU)

- nicknamed "The deadliest woman in the whole galaxy"

First Appearance:

- Strange Tales #180 (1975)

Movie History:

- First appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) played by Zoe Saldana

- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

- set to appear in Avengers: Endgame (2019)

I DID IT

After days of editing... I finished editing my film.


Even with all the times I was away from my computer, the short time period I had for filming, having to jump in and act in my film, my inconvenience in finding time to edit, I still finished my film.  With time to spare.

Actually, I did show the film to some of my friends and they said that the film was dark for some odd reason, so I increased the brightness, contrast, saturation, and temperature for all of my shots to create a more vibrant scene where the colors of the clothing actually appear the vivid color I imagined they would be. I'll be posting it tomorrow.


To reflect, the obstacles that I had definitely sucked, but I am really fortunate that I have people that I trust and experiences that I've had in the past to help me overcome my troubles in this process.

1.  Right at the beginning of my production process (during the research and story building phase), I had a full musical to put on at school.  Rehearsals were extensive and lasted for a very long time after school; I was able to pull out my laptop and breeze through the thought processes that I had beforehand.
2. My dad only being able to film one day definitely messed with my head and my planning.  If I had two days (like I originally planned for the Monday and Tuesday before I went to my States Competition), then I could review footage after the first day then be able to modify those angles and shots and test new positions on the second day of shooting.  However... that didn't go as planned. What also made filming difficult was...
3. That my actor couldn't be in the film. Because I could now only film on Tuesday for a specific period of time, my original performer couldn't play the role.  I am lucky because I knew I was capable of being in the film, and I am even luckier because one of my good friends is very comfortable holding a camera.  I don't think I shared this with the blog, but I have done a music video with Luis where he was behind the camera and I was the main actor. It was a really positive experience for me and I was more than willing to let Luis carry out my vision for me.
4. Editing during my Spring Break was a monster. If only I didn't fall asleep on the flight to Nashville, I would have gotten it done sooner.  I had to stay in the hotel sometimes while my family would check out an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame just so I could get the transitions between cuts to be exactly how I desired.

Doing these blogs have really been positive for me; I never have a problem of thinking of what to blog about or not having enough information to fit into the blogs.  I always have fun doing these blogs and I think I might pursue doing more blogs even after this portfolio project is over. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Now I need to work on my Creative Critical Reflection.  I already know how I plan on structuring my video, I just need to make a script first and then I can record a voiceover to place over different photos and videos of my production process.  I have until Sunday; I can definitely accomplish this.

Next post will be my Film Opening for SuperHuman, then the following post will be my script for my CCR.

                                 - Jake

TODAY'S HERO

Before I begin this segment of "Today's Hero", I want to announce that Luis and I actually got tickets to the more important Superhero film of any Superhero film ever created: Avengers: Endgame.  We got tickets to see this epic film on April 25 (the day BEFORE it's official release date) and we are beyond excited to see how the Russo Brothers plan on concluding the story that the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with Iron Man.

In honor of this infamous event, I'll make an exception to the "Hero" rule that I've made for this section and I'll research the villain of this film and of the MCU (so far).

THANOS

Backstory:

The mad titan himself was born on Titan, the moon of Saturn, where he grew up in his childhood years. As an adolescent, he fell in love with the embodiment of Death and to please her, sought to kill half of the universe to get her attention.

Powers:

He possesses superhuman speed, strength, stamina, immortality, and invulnerability (because he is descendant of the Eternals, a race of aliens). He also possesses skilled hand-to-hand combat and is able to project beams of energy at opponents.  With the Infinity Gauntlet that he is commonly depicted with, he is able to manipulate all matter and alter all events in time and space.

Other:

- Is famously seen wielding the Infinity Gauntlet with all six Infinity Stones in it

- Has a helicopter in one comic called his "Thanoscopter"

- The iconic "snap" from Avengers: Infinity War was from a scene in the comic book where he also finger snapped with the full gauntlet equipped.

First Appearance:

- The Invincible Iron Man #55 (1973)

Movie History:

- First cameoed in The Avengers (2012) played by Damion Poitier

- Appeared in following MCU movies (played by Josh Brolin) in 

      - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

      - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

      - Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

      - Will appear in Avengers: Endgame (2019)