CCR

https://youtu.be/a5jucl6Xu-o

SHORT FILM (COMPLETED):

My short film, The Apocalypse, is in a state of completion. Hope it makes you feel all kinds of emotions.

https://youtu.be/ap0kMxwmeJc 

WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very simple unlike the Short Film. Colorful and a blog enthusiast.
https://camilacastillog9.wixsite.com/theapocalypse

POSTCARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IDEAS NARRATION WRITTEN:

To be alive is a complex situation. The people who simply exist have it easy. Why were you born? How does it feel to breathe? How does it feel to wake up every single day? The mornings, the night, the afternoons. To live, to enjoy life, to see, to hear, to taste, to touch, to get out of bed, to be able to watch the rain, and listen to the birds. To being alive. Are you only alive when you feel happy. Because I feel most alive when I’m sad. Well.. not really. I feel everything, most emotions. And when i feel them they are profound. I try to feel alive every single day, I do things that make feel alive every single day. I laugh, I argue, I cry, (okay more like every two weeks for the crying), I dance, I sing, I play with my dog, I write, I learn, I speak french, I try to make this existance a wonderful thing. 

Me deleito en vivir, me deleito en saber que todos los dias los he aprovechado, los he escudriñado. Que he hecho todo lo posible para vivir y no tan solo existir. Soy agradecida de ser viviente, de tener luz, de tener paz, de tener felicidad, las cosas que no se pueden ver pero se sienten a lo profundo. Doy gracias por esta vida. Por vivir. Gracias. 

To love sunsets. Enjoy walks. Wash the hours away with a book. What do you do that makes you feel alive? Do you even feel? Its wonderful to live, breathe, paint, run, laugh, have a family. you know how it feels to wake up healthy every day. savor, while you can. bc many cannot. Many are destined to live in a hospital, while you have the luxury to buy groceries and travel the world. it is a pleasure to be alive, it is a gift. So do that thing you have been meaning to do. Make that call you have been meaning to make. Or start that company you have been meaning to start. Everything is possible if you take advantage of time while you still have it. Time is not in our favor. Don’t wait till later, till tomorrow, do it now. 

You don’t know how lucky you are. how privileged you are. how amazing your life is. little things that bother you are a waste of time. I know we are human and cannot handle our emotions or dim down our anger at times, and that is okay. but 

to make anger or sadness more than an occassional visitor, to make anger and sadness a natural, reocurring behavior... is sick. life is not meant to be handled hating everything, not loving yourself. You have so much more than what you consider, you are physically complete with a brain and a heart. what is wrong? your mental? are you working on your mind, your emotions, your thoughts? physically, mentally, emotionally, financially. are you working at all? or are you distracted by outside forces? are you grateful to even be able to work? there are people who can’t and wish they could. you’re not grateful for having a full body, to naturally function, to have a bed, to have a home, to have food, to have clean water, to have shoes, to have clothes, to have a toothbrush, to have socks, to have a roof over your head, and an overabundance of everything? so you’re telling me you’re aware of all you have and you still suffer? 

: eyes, mouth, teeth, eyebrows, eyelashes, hair, ears, a neck, a jaw, a nose, lips, a tongue, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, breasts, a heart, torso, members, a butt, thighs, knees, elbows, muscles, ligaments, ankles, feet, toes.

And what if all of it was gone in a blink of an eye? what if the apocalypse changed everything forever? would you appreciate it then? would you miss it? of course, you would. that’s why being grateful everyday for the life you are gifted is the most crucial, vital, necessary thing. thing. grateful everyday. it could all be gone in a second. 

life is about cherishing the present and executing. take advantage of life. live. while you can. 

are you gratefull at all?

CREDITS: indecisive placement

Since the divisions (Part l, Part ll, Part lll, etc.) have a star background, there was no better credits look to use than the Star Wars Galaxy effect. I placed them at the end instead of spreading them through the beginning (which I did for last year's, 2019, portfolio project). The credits are a bit long and very much authentic. Since I, Camila Castillo, did everything for this project except for the music (by Bensound, royalty-free) the credits were looked upon to be short BUT I DESTINED THEM TO BE LONG. So I wrote a bit of what inspired me to make the Short Film, for the credits. *ROLL THE CLIP*

Divisions: Part l, Part ll, Part lll, Part lV, Part V & The End

I am adding a bit of flavor to the short film by adding divisions in between certain narration pauses to allow more of a dramatic effect. The true inspirations behind this is none other than the master, Quentin Tarantino. In my previous short film idea (before the pandemic), I wrote a blog about these "sector partings". I stuck to my gut and executed neatly.

Development & Completion:

"This post here could also be used as one of your blog posts."- Tina

I believe my portfolio project was well made and creative under the world's circumstances (and my personal very irresponsible situation). I made it happen which is what matters. I think about how the original ideas would have turned out, but change is nice, change is inevitable, and who says I can't execute my original idea at another time? 

Now that I think on a big part of the project, the blogs could have had more juiciness. The blogs for the original idea were wonderful ( I was really excited) meanwhile for the new idea they became scarce and basic. I tried to do as many as I could with a lot of information but updates on the overall project were just not provided. I understand if I receive a whatever grade because of the blogs but I am proud of how the actual short film came to be. 

It's authentic. It's eye-opening, it's what Camila could do with the time she had (once again very irresponsible on my part for not knowing the project was still going on after the pandemic outbreak). It's colorful, it's creative, some may say it's lazy, other's may say it's boring. I say the parts that have the most flavor are the sunsets, the narration overall, the divisions (Quentin Tarantino vibes), the dope lighting and props, and the credits. The message is pretty neat as well. 

music:

https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/relaxing

Since the primary form of audio is the narration, I wanted to utilize a non-distracting continuous background sound that screams "end of the world."I found Bensound, a no-copyright website and music distributor with the most beautiful sound to complement the short film.



With this quarantine I have had much "free" time perse. This has lead me to watch many films, specifically early 2000s rom-coms. I now declare that the music in mind (influence by these movies) was not the correct decision. I am easily influenced and easily guided by the wind. Sometimes choosing what is best for your projects is better than simply kneeling to your desires. Take time with your choices, analyze and execute.

definition & my drive

It might not contain actors nor a plot but according to oscars.org, it sure fits the rest of the criteria.

Narration short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUgAcjTTlrI

No plot short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I3HAIxjr7c

No character short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K_9hRM6E7Y

These are some short films that capture a little of the style my short has. I was inspired to go along with my idea when I saw that there wasn't a film like mine. I like creating new, authentic works. Some might call me lazy with what I am doing, others might say "you got to work with what you got". Remember it is a collection of moments, with a grand message at the end.

post card Inspiration

I have decided to call my short film The Apocalypse. Since there is no specific character to showcase on the postcard, I'm able to choose a picture that assimilates the film. I have chosen a sunset picture taken by yours truly because each section starts off with a sunset. A collection of film festival winner logos because I'm ambitious ;)

new short film

My short film's genre is drama, but not the regular kind where you're on the edge of your seat trying to figure out the ending. My story has no characters and no plot. It is simply a story of gratitude, a story of having everything and suddenly imagining it all go away. Usually dramas portray real life situations and settings, exhibits character development, and contains much social interaction. I believe the genre convention that most fits my film is that of moving an audience emotionally.
My film represents societal issues by reclaiming the pandemic of unthankfulness. Many people take life for granted, don't understand the blessing it is to not be in need of anything, and lastly to spread awareness for those who don't have a family, water, food, a house, don't have arms nor legs, are stuck in a hospital because of illness their whole lives. Meanwhile, we have more than what we deserve. Being grateful everyday is so important, especially at a time like this with so much uncertainty. This virus was meant occur so we can value life. Being stuck at home has not made you value life? The outside world? Going out with friends? Traveling? Or simply going to the beach? Has the quarantine seriously not made you value all the wonderful moments you've experienced? If it has, but really, truly has then it this virus has fulfilled it's purpose in your life. If it hasn't, then you have some personal reconsidering to do.

CHANGES

hi, I haven't been on here in a while. mostly because of everything the world has been going through the last few months. well you know... coronavirus and all that. to be totally honest I completely cancelled on this project, as in I didn't think we would be doing it anymore so I flaked. oops. I have many blogposts to make up because I don't want to fail the last semester of senior year and this project.

to be totally honest I wanted to do the project I had in mind because it was so wonderful (in my head) but in life there are changes, and we have to adapt. see you the last couple of days with a lot of updates. 

I'm Not Okay With This

I just watched the new original Netflix series, I'm Not Okay With This, and in all honesty it was entertaining. The main character was truly obnoxious... not sure if it was the personality or the way she didn't annunciate some words clearly. Well, she was just not in any way the cool part of the show. They probably could've casted better... whatever.

Netflix sort of has a certain theme going on with their originals, they seem to really speak to me in an artistic and storytelling type of way. First it was Stranger Things, then The End of The Fucking World, then Sex Education and now I'm Not Okay With This. The targeted-teen English / American shows have a certain continuity in them, whether it is because of the heavy color scheme, the impeccable characters (except the one I mentioned above), or a story that is just so wonderfully written. I am not sure what it is but Netflix Originals maintain a certain aesthetic to their series that makes all of them feel so well done (as well as the Spanish series, so amazing!!! 10/10 recommend).

I watched all of Season 1 of I'm Not Okay With This in one sit down... right now... no like legit, I just finished it at 20:30... and then I felt inspired so here I am :) What I'm trying to say is that it would be nice to incorporate those aesthetically pleasing characteristics as well as have well written roles.

Two details:

Stanley's suit!!! For one of my characters!!!!!

Adding the title at the end of a scene!!!!!

Story details

During the class meeting on Tuesday, many doubts were cleared and new ideas incorporated into the project. I was experiencing a dilemma with how I should end the piece and if the characters should be spiced up (just a little) since my story is quite simple... which I love (and Tina does too).

"Start with how they end up and the rest of the film is the day leading up to the audition." Instead of showing the band playing at the end after the film placed the people into the band, the students suggested to start off the film with the band playing (a nice & non-recurring approach). Which personally I don't think is a bad idea, I just don't think I would be filming the band playing in general. I don't obtain all the instruments needed nor are all the actors are musicians. With that being said, I appreciated the idea but I don't think it will be considered (maybe for another project).

Another idea would be to have the band audition and none of them pass the audition, which would mean ending the film with a twist and not a resolution. This ending would also leave the audience with a suspense, with a mystery of if the band ended up together or not. Personally I don't like when films/ short films and/or music videos end this way. I like to have the full information, not necessarily a happy ending but a resolution... something to end the piece in form of a resolution, a kind of proper closure.

The last advice that was spoken from the minds of the wonderful students!!!!, was to make the characters very distinct. Each and everyone has their unique quirks that differentiates them profusely from one another. I believe this idea would add an interesting element to this film, it would add a certain contrast that color and mise-en-scene in general wouldn't be able to portray. As well as the physical style of the characters, their personalities will vary. Yet I feel more than the personalities, what they do during the day would be better to set the contrast. Since it is a 5 minute film, trying to sum up the personalities would be resolved in an easy which ends up with the film being cheesy. Which I don't like.

Poster I

Since my film takes place in the 70s (finally decided), the poster has been a complete image in my brain. I'm usually better in exerting my creativity and ideas at the moment that I have them because I like to have the physical visual. It's more difficult for film because in my eyes there are more and easier resources I have to make the poster work out, when the film includes other people, more equipment, planning out profusely, editing, re-filming (if there something you missed), sometimes you don't get a shot the way you want it, or it's not cool enough. There's just so many factors that are out of my reach with a film, that doesn't mean I don't want to create them but for now I feel quite comfortable with canvas and 2d art in general. 

Inspiration for 70s type poster: 

Downloading fonts resembling those of the 70s: 

Design so far: 

Soundtrack

My music taste is wonderful (if I do say so myself). Especially when it comes to visualizing a scene, or a film in general, I usually tend to have certain songs prepared for the vibe being displayed in my head. In this case, a few hit 70s songs were in the equation since the beginning but fortunately I don't like bankruptcy. Hence, abstaining myself from loosing a bunch of money I don't have, equating to a different tool would be best.

SO! Searching on google "how to use copyrighted music legally" came into play at one point. In the search results, a very informative website opened my eyes on the real (and excessive, may I add) process of using multimillion-dollar making tunes. It described how I had to get in touch with the music company, the record deal, the artist, the background singers, the sound mixers, the creative contributors and many more titles that me, Camila Castillo, did not want to contact. The website went on displaying a number of resources for the contacting, as well as a sample email/ letter that IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to be used for when contacting these people.

I bestow the template:

NOW! Since all of ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑ that is not really in my job description because it requires a lot of patience and time (which I don't have) then I will subside with utilizing royalty free music. From the same website that gave me all of ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑ that, it also gave me a really nice market where I can buy a variety of non-copyrighted music at an affordable price. This place is called Audio Jungle! Absolutely wonderful... definitely recommend if you're not too stingy with buying songs for school projects. This great artist I found from another website that recommended Audio Jungle, was exactly what I was looking for. They make 70s type jams, that give a bit of the vibe that I'm searching for for the short film. l'll keep searching but this I what I have so far. 

oh! and don't worry I won't be spending $240 on music... like I said before I don't have that type of money ;))

Gadgets & Gizmos

In essence, the short film would take place in the 70s or 80s (I'M NOT SURE YET OKAY?) so of course the mise-en-scene would resemble the time period. Giving that some shots will be taken outside in the world and others inside my home, the content shown will either be hitting precisely on the characters or highly manipulated.

In other words, when I'm recording outside I will not be able to show most cars since they are not from the 70s/80s as well as when I'm filming in my house I would have to manipulate my room in a short-term, feasible way so it resembles the youngsters rooms of that era.

That would mean amping the space with:
- posters from 70s artists
- vinyls & player
- funky mirror

As for the outside world, I don't think it will be that hard since there are not many places I will be filming in that require much view of cars, people, or buildings (ajajaj that sounds pretty bad). But in all seriousness what will be shown from the outside world will have to be shot in places that are age-resistant, as in places reminiscent of the 70s vibe.
- music shops
- ice skate rinks
- colorful small houses (by the beach)

The Beginning of the End

I'm back and better than ever! For this next film (portfolio project for A level Media), I have a very detailed idea that has been inspired by film, genre, and artists with a vintage style. This past weekend I watched both volumes of Kill Bill and the series and in all honesty it MOVED MY WORLD. I didn't know how inspired and creative one could feel after experiencing something so inspiring and creative.

Many important factors considered from Kill Bill series:

- mise-en-scene

- font type (for credits & title) 

- dialogue (or lack there of)

- multiple shot angles

- lighting / colors

The short film story has nothing to do with Quentin Tarantino's gory plots, but the creative essence is one in the same. With anything that I do, whether it be covers of songs, paintings, or photography I love to incorporate a hint of something that is barely considered (I can't say "never been considered" because there are too many people in this world for something to have never been done before). My piece is about: 4 youngsters that are destined to create one of the most iconic bands in the history of the world.

Reflection- Marketing Campaign

The 'Wonderpaws' marketing campaign was a project composed of various sections. All sections such as the research, the product, and everything in between made sure the campaign were to be complete. Our process as a group was to develop research on two rescues, not knowing what they offered or how similar they were to 'Wonderpaws'. The concept was to find crucial factors and beneficial ideas and incorporate them into the campaign (if they weren't already implemented). Through the research it was very apparent that 'Wonderpaws' needed a bit more creativity and organization in regards to the actual marketing and promoting of the rescue. Such as the website needing more organization but as for creativity, merchandise could be sold. I believe this project will aid in my portfolio project because of how I can manage my time, being creative, and doing what's best to get the outcome the project deserves.