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After editing my video I need to figure out a place to upload and showcase it to an audience.

There are various different platforms where I can do this. According to this article by Google, 1.5 billion people visit YouTube each month. It is also a very convenient place to upload videos and share them.

Another way I can showcase my video is through Instagram, there are 1 billion monthly users on Instagram and there are many of my own target audience on there, content creators.

I could alternatively present it in front of my peers as they are also content creators and I can get direct feedback from them on my finished project.

I decided that I will upload my video  on YouTube, advertise it on Instagram and showcase it to some of my peers to make sure I reach my target audience.

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For my final major project of my course I wanted to make an introspective film that makes the viewer question more, I felt that it was important to add humour and keep it light-hearted to make things more entertaining and less intense than if I were to solely explore states of consciousness and how susceptible our sub-conscious minds are to influence.

I began the project with my 500-word proposal after various forming of ideas and since have altered aspects of my film based on my primary and secondary research.

As seen in my secondary research, one of the leading inspirations for my narrative is Inception by auteur Christopher Nolan, I value his film-making style, specifically how he places the audience in the role of a detective. I recreated this in my own project as it seems effective in keeping viewers engaged and immersed in the plot.

My film was targeted at other content creators which would hopefully appreciate the self-referential process of film-making I incorporated in my film and how things inspire us to create. I conducted a survey where I could get an idea of what my target audience would prefer to see in my short film. Some of the things I wanted to determine was if I should include a film reference, where my target audience draws inspiration from and which factors of mise-en-scene they believe is most effective in symbolising hidden meaning. I believe I made the most of my research as I incorporated the factors in which my target audience would prefer to see in my film.

I also researched an article on dreams and how the subconscious mind can influence our dreams as I was inspired to make my film based on a dream I had. Since the majority of my plot is based on a dream this article helped me figured how I should have structured my narrative. I believe I effectively incorporated the use of subliminal symbols of the protagonists waking world in his dreams such as the plant symbol seen in my film and the music coming from his surroundings.

In my own view, I believe that I effectively executed my hopes and plans for my final major project. Some of the things I am most proud of is my creativity and how I drew inspiration from various different creators. I take pride in my camera work, editing, and my incorporation of mise-en-scene and codes and conventions in order to deliver deeper hidden meanings of my plot. I believe this is my best piece of work as a content creator and am overall pleased with it.

With greatness though also comes struggle. I think one of my main weaknesses was the organisation of time. I did not work on the project as much as I should have in the beginning resulting in work piling up towards the end. I also had to rely on other people to act for me and there were many times the actors did not want to take part any more or could not make it a specific day, making filming very difficult. On the day of filming, a lot of time was taken up by reading and rehearsing lines. If I were to do the project again I would have conducted a meeting minute early in the production in order to find a suitable day for actors to film and would have provided scripts for the actors beforehand, so they could familiarise themselves with it.

I also gathered feedback from peers, tutors and actors which was very helpful. I conducted a focus group where I asked peers and actors what they thought of my idea for the film. The majority of feedback was positive, they stated they found the idea interesting and creative. One peer did state however that she believed it would be hard to pull off. On the day of filming one of my actors told me that the plot is too complicated and hard to understand and admitted that I should go for something easier.

I asked my brother if he could give me feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of my project and this is what he stated:

"It has been captivating to witness Julio’s plot under development, as, although he takes the viewer down the rabbit hole, he manages to captivate attention by using suggestive scenery and light humour. This seems to have kept the project fun and upbeat for the most part.

As observed, his work would excel much higher if he improved his organisational skills and time keeping. This has led to several missed opportunities to film and further develop the plot."

I believe that I did meet my goals as reactions to my finished product have been positive and viewers admitted that they were engaged and understood the message I was trying to convey. As a practitioner, I think my strengths are being able to conduct extensive research for things that can influence my projects and in this case creating a narrative that is light-hearted but thought-provoking at the same time. When making films I find it very important to believe in what I'm trying to produce and have fun whilst doing so, balancing out the difficulties. I believe my weaknesses are procrastination and time management, which I plan on developing in my future of content creating.

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For my final draft all I did was add voice narration of William's thoughts to better guide the viewer.

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https://www.scribd.com/document/414540005/FMP-RJ

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For my second draft I needed to add the animation of the plant. I also added flashback voices of the dream when he wakes up.

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Below is my first draft for my film, there are still things I need to update

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Primary research
FOCUS GROUP
https://youtu.be/vIsKf2ESu2M

SURVEY
https://www.scribd.com/document/412119593/Primary-Research

FEEDBACK
I asked my brother to give feedback on my project.

"It has been captivating to witness Julio’s plot under development, as, although he takes the viewer down the rabbit hole, he manages to captivate attention by using suggestive scenery and light humour. This seems to have kept the project fun and upbeat for the most part.

As observed, his work would excel much higher if he improved his organisational skills and time keeping. This has led to several missed opportunities to film and further develop the plot."

Secondary research
INSPIRATION
Inception
One of the main inspirations for my final major project is the film Inception     (click here to watch the trailer). Director Christopher Nolan has a notorious and distinguishable film-making style. He explores intelligent themes and expresses them incredibly through symbolism in his films.

I was inspired by how he keeps the audience on their toes, attentive to the plot, by stripping back the layers of reality as the protagonist intercept the layers of the dreams and consciousness. In Inception, and many of his other films the audience is placed in a subjective point of view, of the protagonist. We are only given as much information as the character, placing us in their shoes. I want to incorporate this in my film in hopes of having the viewer enjoy a deeper plot.

Another one of his auteur signatures is his subtle nods to the creative process in his movies through the use of self-referential analogies, such as dreams and sub-conscious inspiration. My short film is targeted at other content creators as I feel as if this demographic would appreciate a reference to the process of making a film. I want to recreate the element of dreams as I found this theme particularly interesting.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Sony's 2018 movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse is a comic book take on their signature hero. This movie was highly acclaimed amongst film critics and the fans of Spider-man.

One of the most appreciated things about the film is the continuous references to past Spider-man dimensions and characters. For instance, in the end-credits scene of the film (click here to watch), we see Spider-man 2099 from the 90's comic books. This Spider-man, Miguel, travels through dimensions to the notorious 1967 animated TV series Spider-man. Miguel ends up bickering with this Spider-man about pointing, a hilarious reference to those who can appreciate the context. There is also a very popular meme of this scene that circulated the net before the film came out.

In my primary research, I asked my respondents if they would appreciate a reference to a popular movie in my own short film and 93.3% said yes. I also asked if they prefer classic or contemporary movies and just over three quarters said they prefer contemporary. I wanted to collect these quantitative data as it informed me of the age of my target audience and what reference they would likely enjoy. I choose to recreate this end-credits scene as it covers a large base of consumers which could appreciate my reference, plus I really enjoyed the scene and exploration of realities myself.

Does Your Subconscious Mind Control Your Dreams?

This article explores the connection between the subconscious mind and dreams. I researched on this topic as I want my main narrative to be in a dream of the protagonist.

"...most dreams are indirect and difficult to understand, but they are often connected to our experiences and the events in our daily life."

This will aid me as I know that I must include references to the daily life of the protagonist in his dream to indicate the works of his subconscious mind.

Bibliography
Inception. (2010). [film] Directed by C. Nolan. United States: Warner Bros.
Nolan, C. (2019). Inception (2010) Official Trailer #1 - Christopher Nolan Movie HD. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoHD9XEInc0.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. (2018). [film] Directed by P. Ramsey, B.
Persichetti and R. Rothman. United States: Sony Pictures Animation.
Lee, S. (2019). Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse: Earth 67. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/WDZ1noGxSMU?t=43.
Sophia, T. (2019). Does Your Subconscious Mind Control Your Dreams?. [online] The Wisdom Post. Available at: http://www.thewisdompost.com/law-of-attraction/subconscious-mind/does-your-subconscious-mind-control-your-dreams/1003

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Centre name & number
Julio Cesar Alves 169627
Conscious 02-05-2019
Short film Mystery/Fantasy

Section 1 - Rationale
The first 12 units I have completed in my two years at City of Westminster College has aided me greatly in the development of my experience in media studies. I have learned many skills and techniques beneficial for the media industry. Things such as creating and developing short narratives, different camera angles, cinematography techniques. I also learned the importance of pre-production. The course also taught me how to collect secondary research and conduct primary research. The course additionally gave me the knowledge of the historical and contemporary context of Media and films. I believe Unit 3 was the most beneficial for me as I learned of different job roles and responsibilities in the media industry and gave me an idea of the employment and progression opportunities that I could take. After college, I want to develop my editing techniques as I want to become a part-time freelance editor for short films and music videos.

Section 2 - Project concept
I will be making a short film that explores different states of reality, where the main character realizes his normal day-to-day life if inherently interlocked with another greater plane of existence. Baffled and eager to find the truth, he finds himself on a journey to discover if all his actions are pre-determined. Through his desperate search, he accidentally encounters the creator of his fate.

I aim to make the cinematography and editing aesthetically pleasing and smooth for the viewer's enjoyment. In addition, I aim to entice the audience through curiosity in aims to hook them on the plot as it unfolds. I’m going to use mise-en-scene in hopes of foreshadowing the plot, where attentive viewers find themselves in the same position as the protagonist, trying to piece the puzzle together.

I have already started researching movies that link with my own idea and am evolving my idea through inspiration. I got inspiration from films such as Inception, Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse, Black mirror: Bandersnatch, and short films from creator Cherdley.

In order to create a short film up to the standard of the criteria, I will have to use equipment and resources the college provides me such as a DSLR camera, tripod, recorder, SD cards, batteries, and the software for editing, Adobe Premiere Pro. I will also need to revise my technical competence and editing techniques I have developed over the course to make the most of my time filming and editing in class. I also need to make use of the feedback I can get from my peers and tutors so I can improve my project in time for the submission deadline, May 24th.

Section 3 - Evaluation
The evaluation and reflective journal process is an effective opportunity for me to review and reflect on my project as an on-going activity and as a whole by the end of the project. The reflective journal is crucial for me to be able to track my development in ideas and how I am making use of my time every day/week and allows for whoever is assessing my work to see the documentation process of my work and my decision-making process based on factors such as peer feedback and research. I aim to be very detailed in my reflective journal and include pictures every week.

Action plan/timetable

https://www.scribd.com/document/414313772/Project-acrtion-plan

Bibliography
Inception. (2010). [film] Directed by C. Nolan. United States: Warner Bros.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. (2018). [film] Directed by P. Ramsey, B. Persichetti and R. Rothman. United States: Sony Pictures Animation.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. (2018). [film] Directed by D. Slade. United Kingdom: Netflix.

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MIND MAP

https://www.canva.com/design/DAC6pVinVd8/QEY-URoVOpqbm8VTcAQ5OA/view?utm_content=DAC6pVinVd8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

SHOT LIST
https://www.scribd.com/document/411752557/Shot-List

STORYBOARD

https://www.scribd.com/document/412406347/FMP-Storyboard

SCRIPT
https://www.scribd.com/document/413279397/Script-FMP

CALL SHEET
https://www.scribd.com/document/411085606/Call-Sheet

RISK ASSESSMENT
https://www.scribd.com/document/411632659/Risk-Assessment-Form

EQUIPMENT AND BUDGET
I am going to need some equipment to make sure my project's quality is up to standard. I will need to buy or rent the below equipment for the listed prices online:

DSLR Camera -                             £559

Tripod -                                         £26.99

SD card -                                       £42.99

Battery-                                         £59.99

Recorder -                                     £75.00

Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 - £30.34/mo

Travel money -                               £5

The total budget of the production would, therefore, be £794.32, however, I can, fortunately, borrow equipment from the college for free, bringing the cost to only £5 for travel.

SCHEDULE
11:00
Meet at Holland Park station and walk to Holland park

11:30
Film the beginning of the dream

12:30
Start to head to Kyoto Gardens

12:40
Film the second scene

13:20
Film the final scene