LINKS TO FILM OPENING AND CCR'S

IT'S OVERRRRR:((((( 

Thank you so much for joining me on this insane journey, 

KBlog, till next time!!!!!

LINK TO FILM OPENING CATALYST:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-5ouqmmt5wF0lXr-tF1mWWC8ykz4iTsJ/view?usp=share_link

LINKS TO CCR'S:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DKhYfwZAk34upKYKIlxy0aFcNHCDrBXa/view?usp=share_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KB6a06TsrmIgpon3BS-tyGoUIFyFE5Tb/view?usp=share_link

First CCR video prep and script

 for my first CCR, i wanted to a carpool karaoke interview with someone interviewing me about the film while also singing carpool karaoke. I plan to answer question #1 and question #3 and would get a friend to interview me while they drive.

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

and 

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Basic script (this will not be exact but an outline for the conversation could go)

INTERVIEWER: Hello! Welcome back to carpool karaoke. Today, promoting her new film, Catalyst, it's creator Kamila Perdomo-Salazar!! Welcome Kamila!

KAMILA: Hi! thank you, so happy to be here today; I'm excited!

INTERVIEWER: Honestly i'm surprised you'd let me drive. After watching Catalyst,  I figured you'd be wary of car trips. I mean, we all saw that crash. The intensity? I'll be checking my mirrors every 5 seconds from now on!

KAMILA: (laughs) Don't worry! You're safe...for now. Kidding, but yeah the car crash is very much the heart of the film. It's the "catalyst" for everything that follows. It had to feel impactful because it's not just an accident, it's a moment that changes our protagonist, Adam, for good. 

INTERVIEWER: And you delivered. Now, i noticed the film's vibe is very...heavy. In a good way no doubt! It definitely makes you wanna turn your lights on when you watch it alone in your dark living room. How did you handle those genre conventions so we as an audience can feel all the intended emotions? Did you keep t classic, or did you flip the script a little?

KAMILA: So actually for Catalyst, I didn't want to go against any conventions. We tried to lean into the psychological drama and thriller staples., the slow-burn tension, symbolic mise-en-scene, and that lowkey lighting to keep the atmosphere very eerie. 

INTERVIEWER: Yeah, it definitely seemed very intentional.

KAMILA: Exactly. Our goal wasn't to make a "jump-scare" horror or a "cutesy" romance. We wanted to show how this traumatic event really transformed our protagonist. It's to show how Sarah is not just a character, but a symbol of grief and of how that pushes people over the edge. It's meant to explore how far someone will go when love is their primary motivation for revenge. 

INTERVIEWER: Very dark. And deep...and it's making me want to sing something very upbeat to feel better. You up for it?

(UPBEAT SONG PLAYS, THEY BOTH SING AND JAM OUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE)

INTERVIEWER: Okay, okay back to business. This film looks very polished and high-quality but i know the indie world is not easy. How did your production skills hold up during the shoot?

KAMILA: Honestly? This entire process taught me how to improvise and adapt more than anything else. Every project has its own deadlines and necessities, but this was by far the hardest one we’ve tackled. 

INTERVIEWER: What do you think made it so tough?

KAMILA: I have to admit I underestimated the difficulty of developing, filming, and editing a psychological piece like this. We had major challenges with resources. It became a massive lesson in working with what I have. I had to learn to be resourceful when the "ideal" version of a scene wasn't possible.

INTERVIEWER: Well, you had me fooled! It looks like a high budget piece! Speaking of high, can you hit these high notes in the chorus?

KAMILA: I can try!

Reflection and changes

 Almost over! This has been one of the hardest projects I've had in high school so far. But, that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. It taught me the valuable lesson that, more often than not, things don't always go as planned. And you always have to prepare for the worst. What seemed like a pretty lightweight project was the complete opposite. 

I will say I am so much more proud of my project than I thought I was going to be. When the time management started getting all sorts of messed up, I was ready to take the F. Between school, theatre shows I'm a part of, and really just life, a lot is an understatement. If I had to do ANYTHING different, it would definitely be just to plan ACCORDINGLY. I thought I had when I started this whole process, but I disregarded sooo much that I should've taken into consideration. Moving forward, I know now that communication and organization is absolutely key in processes like this. 

I'd like to thank Addison Edwards and Chase Broderick for being the best group members

As well as giving a shoutout to Samuel Matas for helping me by being in my Dashboard Duets CCR as my interviewer. 

And of course, thank you to Ms. Stoklosa. She has been such an amazing guide and so patient as she sets all of us students up for success. I'm so happy to have had her as a teacher this year although I did give her a hard time in some moments throughout the year, I truly am grateful.

So much work was put into this film opening and the CCR'S and I am so proud of not only the project, but also myself for pushing through even when it was hard and making it all the way to the finish line in one piece (barely). 

Now, to post everything!

KBlog, see you in a sec!

CCR prep

 Filming for the opening is almost done, so now it's time for a new challenge: the CCR. To be totally honest, I've been kind of nervous about this aspect of my portfolio project because if there's one thing I strive everyday to not be, it's boring. And this brainstorming process has made me realize that a brain that is both perfectionist and creative is a recipe for frustration and stress. I also have been really behind on production due to my 4 shows I'm performing in this week, so long story short, it's been a lot.

Before I pile up a bunch of ideas onto you, let's actually answer each CCR question. This isn't exactly how I'll answer them in my videos, but writing them down will make things like writing a script a little more clear and easy later on. 

Question #1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Catalyst presents a variety of psychological drama and thriller genre conventions, such as slow burn tension rising throughout, symbolic rise-en-scene, and low-key lightning and coloring to give an eerie atmosphere. For this film, I didn't want to go against any conventions because I feel like the main purpose of the film isn't to be a scary horror or cutesy romance, it was meant to show how this traumatic event changed our protagonist and what prompted him to be the way he is now, how Sarah works as a character but also as a symbol of what pushes people over the edge and how far they'd go with love as motivation. 

Question #2: How does your project engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

The film engages with the audience by immediately opening with a long shot of a car, establishing the opening setting. Then, through Sarah and Adam's argument, their relationship is established. This will create empathy later on when Sarah dies in the car crash and Adam loses his mind. By establishing a romantic relationship between them immediately, it creates context for why Adam becomes to consumed with her death. This helps audiences follow the story, feel sympathy, and understand his motivations. By keeping a suspenseful tone, it also keeps the audience on their toes, waiting for what will come next. Adam is in a state where he's very unpredictable and impulsive, so having the audience unsure of what he'll do next and what he's even plotting is key to keeping them active and engaged in the story. As for distribution; I'm obviously not a world-renowned director so distribution will look a little different for me. I think starting off with submitting to some film festivals would be beneficial, which could catch the attention of distribution companies who may want to release in on their streaming platforms. If not, YouTube is always and option as well and could lead to the same result. That plus some social media promotion could work really well too. 

Question #3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

I'd say above anything else, this process has taught me how to improvise and adapt. Each production process is different, with different schedules, deadlines, necessities,  etc. I feel like this has been by far the hardest production project we've had and the one with the most challenges due to budget, resources, and ideas; making it a good lesson for how to work with what I have, especially considering I underestimated the difficulty of developing, filming, and editing this specific project. 

Question #4: How did you integrate technologies- softwares, hardware and online- in this project?

All of the project was filmed on me or my group members' iPhones, depending on the day and what we were filming, and Addie used clipchamp to edit the clips. I also bought a phone mount on Amazon which made it way easier to film the scenes both in and directly outside the car.