My Blog: Final Reflection! ;)

After 8 long weeks of creating my film opening "Mind Over Mat", I have finally finished editing the production, as well as my two CCRs. And I'm not gonna lie, the last few weeks were pretty rough. From recording last minute foley sounds, to finalizing the creative critical reflection, I was cramming every day to get everything done on time. I had edited the bedroom scene and the two whole CCRs during the final week of the project. This was partly my fault because I forgot about the days missed due to my competition schedule for taekwondo, plus my other school work. As a result, I would have tried to manage my time better if I were to produce this project again. On top of that, I need to learn how to clean out my phone! My storage was completely full while I was trying to record everything. I had to delete so many random videos to be able to still have enough space to save all of my recordings for the project. It got so bad that I even had to delete YouTube. YouTube!

Something I think I should've spent more time doing was planning out the storyboard. Although I used most of the shots in my storyboard, some scenes where completely scrapped or changed. For example, although I did film the establishing shots and close-ups of the taekwondo equipment, they were not included into the final film opening. The reason being is because it didn't really match with the music and the timing wouldn't have matched to my liking. Another thing that was changed was the flashback scene to successful competitions when Allie is looking at her medals in her bedroom. There just wasn't enough time to include all of that so I completely scratched it from the video. However, the plus side to this is that I noticed I got more ideas as I was filming. For instance, I decided to have Allie search up how long a broken ankle takes to heal, giving the audience more empathy and emotion for Allie. I also added my dad into the film and the whole "throwing the stuffed animal at the door" thing. I loved that I added these new scenes on the spot because they really just make the whole opening look more interesting, and it showed Allie's personality more.

Furthermore, I did actually enjoy the process throughout the creation of the project despite the minor conflicts. (Still can't believe that I twisted my pinkie toe the day before shooting the taekwondo scenes lol). Despite that, I learned some new editing techniques, such as cutting videos into short spurts and combining them. This technique was used during the scene where Allie breaks her ankle. It added more motion and speed to the scene, making it look more realistic. I also learned how to integrate certain themes throughout my film opening. For instance, I am very proud of the way I incorporated the black and gold pattern into the credits and the title, representing a black belt with gold embroidered letters. It acts almost as a secret little easter egg for the viewers who actually do taekwondo or another martial art, and are familiar with the color scheme of the black belt.

All in all, this film opening truly resonates with me on a personal level, and I am satisfied with how I represented taekwondo as well as the feeling of mental set backs. I do love what I have created and I hope others watching will enjoy it as much as I do.

Here are some highlights!