Massimo's Blog

Here is a link to my final film opening on YouTube: "THE RUNNER" Film Opening

Here is a link to my CCR that covers question 3 on YouTube: CCR 4 Presentation

Here is a link to my CCR that covers question 3 on YouTube: CCR 3 Documentary

Here is a link to my CCR that covers question 2 on YouTube: CCR 2 Vlog

Here is a link to my CCR that covers question 1 on YouTube: CCR 1 Podcast

INCONVINIENT COMPUTER TROUBLESHOOTING After editing CCR's back-to-back, some in the same day, I experienced about 4-5 crashes where my computer couldn't handle the project. Most of the time, it happened when I was editing audio. Premiere Pro has an audio enhancement feature that takes about 2-3 minutes to be put in effect on each clip, but helps tremendously when cleaning up vocals. If I pressed the button "enhance" but continue to work on something else within the project, the computer would freeze. Nothing would change and I couldn't maneuver the mouse to anywhere on the screen. After 5 minutes of waiting for nothing to change, I shut the computer down and restarted it. When reopening the project, it only saved work from the last time I pressed 'save file'. Due to this, I frequently pressed save after editing a part of the project. I tried to screenshot the screen freezing, but the screenshot wouldn't work as the entire computer was frozen.

DECCA RECORDS Due to copyright issues with Luciano Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma, I researched who owns rights to his song and drafted an email to them explaining how the song will only be used for educational purposes, not for commercial use...  

RUNNING SCENE COLOR GRADE IN LIGHTROOM Here are the steps I took to Color grade the running scene in my film opening: Exposure: -.03 Contrast: +24 Highlights: -47 Shadows: +20 Whites:-15 Blacks: -21 Exposure Curve: Minor 'S' Shape Temperature: +6 Tint: 0 Vibrancy: +22 Saturation: -9 Reds: -19S Oranges: +14L Yellow: -24H, +19L Greens: +25H, -41S, -17L Blues: -17S Shadows: Blue Shade Midtones: 0 Highlights: Orange Shade

1st COLOR GRADE IN LIGHTROOM Here are the steps I took to Color grade the running scene in my film opening: Exposure: -.83 Contrast: +27 Highlights: +2 Shadows: -38 Whites:-24 Blacks: -24 Exposure Curve: Linear Line Temperature: +3 Tint: -14 Vibrancy: +14 Saturation: +1 Reds: -30H, -6S, -12L Oranges: -32H, +43S Yellow: -36H, +27S, -15L Greens: +37H, +28S, +19L Blues: +19H, +28S, -44L Shadows: Blue Shade Midtones: Red Shade Highlights: Orange-Red Shade

TECHNICAL CONVERSIONS To transfer my Adobe Lightroom preset into Premiere Pro, I created a HALD file. A HALD file is a "color lookup table that captures the color grading adjustments" I made in Lightroom. After generating the HALD using a neutral color grid, I applied my preset, then imported the adjusted grid into Premiere Pro. This allowed me to recreate the exact color grade within the editing software, ensuring visual consistency across scenes while preserving the ominous and moody aesthetic of the film. There are different websites that allow you to generate HALD files and convert them into .CUBE files for Premiere Pro import. HALD FILE:

CANVA TEMPLATE FOR PODCAST THUMBNAIL  To create the YouTube Podcast Thumbnail, I went on Canva.com and searched up the presets, 'YouTube Thumbnails' and searched for a template that I felt would match the tone of my podcast audio. At first, I just searched 'podcast logos' but the aspect ratio would not match the common YouTube ratio, it was made for streaming platforms such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts. When searching for templates, I found a nice blue colored preset that was not busy and had a clean cut look. I then adjusted the words to match my CCR and added a 'splice' effect to the word 'LENS' to differentiate it from the rest. I then exported it as a PNG, uploaded it to Premiere Pro, and adjusted the length of the photo to the length of the podcast. I added a dip to black effect in Premiere Pro for smooth transitioning.

CANVA PRODUCTION COMPANY LOGO At first in Premiere Pro, I wrote out the text "Postiglione Productions" as the production company credits. But with many other credits being the same style, I though that this was a little boring. I went on Canva.com and looked up 'film logos' and opened a preset of my liking. I set the text red and the background black to match the rest of the movie credits, but when I exported the logo as a PNG, I set the background as transparent incase the shade of black was different than in Premiere Pro. I named the production company "Postiglione" as its my middle name, and therefore creating a different personality from Massimo, but connecting the two in film.

PHOTOSHOP TOOLS Due to the lack of text editing abilities in Premiere Pro, I opened up Adobe Photoshop 2024 and created a workspace the exact dimensions of the Premiere Pro project (3840x2160pixels). Using the same font as I intended to use, I wrote text, messed with the sizing, adjusted the kerning slide, and placed the text where I wanted. Photoshop has an auto magnetic feature to match the text to the center of the screen. After finalizing the placement of the text, I exported the frame as a PNG with a transparent background. I then imported the PNG into my Premiere Pro project and it matched the frame perfectly.

FONT CHOICE For the credit font, I chose Josefin Sans because its clean and minimalistic appearance created a stark contrast from the bold, commanding style of the main title credit. The title font, "Obviously," was deliberately large and screen-filling, almost shouting at the audience — a design choice similar to the dramatic title presentation in films like "The Joker." This visual decision made the credits feel purposeful and impactful, reinforcing the film’s tone and emotional weight.

SOUND QUESE I carefully queued sound effects like running footsteps and ambient wind sounds to add realism and immerse viewers in the scene. By layering these elements, the environment came to life, making the action feel more authentic. Additionally, I adjusted the background music, lowering its volume when necessary to ensure the sound effects remained prominent. This dynamic approach helped maintain the emotional tone and built tension during key moments, enhancing the thriller atmosphere. The footsteps took a long time to fully match up, as I had to match every footstep that Christian took when running.  

NESSUN DORMA By LUCIANO PAVAROTTI Growing up in an Italian household, I listened to many Italian classics. Rock, classical, r&B, etc... Nessun Dorma was one of them. But while I was in Peru over the past summer, I had lunch with a group of family members and friends. One of my parent's friends has a passion for opera as a hobby. During the lunch, he stood up from the table and started to sing Nessun Dorma. This brought up many memories from my childhood. The voice was beautiful. Now, this was in the summer, and I had no idea that I would even be taking an AICE Media Studies class in the following months. But when my teacher announced that we would be making a movie opening, and I wanted to make a suspenseful thriller, I knew I needed a soundtrack to comply with the movie. Luciano Pavarotti popped up in my mind. Nessun Dorma would make the perfect song. It starts off calm, but ends with a great, dramatic vocal and instrumental crash. This is why I chose Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti...

DIY RISER SOUND EFFECT Here are the steps I took to create a riser sound effect in Logic Pro X. I have experience in music production so I thought of a creative way to make my own sound effects rather than take from online sources. Explanation of layers: Crash notes. 2 notes layered. Note of C and A. Crash Sound with heavy reverb to make sound last. Rendered. Crash Sound Reversed I then exported the file as an mp3 and imported it into my Premiere Pro file.  

SOUND EFFECT TUTORIAL By looking at the first audio layer, I will explain what each layer sounds like and how it contributes to the dramatic feel of the thriller. Represents the cut up clips that are shown in the shot. The cut up matches the clips.  Two "Help!" sound effects recorded in post production by Christian. Bass Hit to intensify the suddenness. A sting to dramatize the scene (actually taken for the last 5 seconds of Nessun Dorma by Luciano Pavarotti) Re-recorded audio of Christian sighing and breathing harsh to show he has a hard time breathing when tied up. Crash Riser - tutorial in separate blog More breathing/ briefly saying "help" to add more depth Ambient noise (diegetic)

COLOR GRADE/ LIGHTING FOCUS FOR CHANGING SCENE The shot of Christian changing was illuminated by an overhead light that projected a warm, direct glow on him. The single light source created shadows and highlighted the shape of his face and body. The stark contrast between the brightly lit subject and the dark, barely visible background intensified the sense of isolation. This lighting choice contributed to the suspenseful atmosphere by emphasizing his sense of being at risk for something. The warm tones also added a sense of discomfort, suggesting that something unsettling might be about to happen. This strategic use of light and shadow heightened the film’s tension, staying true to the thriller genre's visual style. RAW: POST: 

COLOR GRADE FOR THE CONVERSATIONAL HALLWAY SCENE For the walking scene in the outside hall, we wanted to emphasize the building's structure by centering the stairway in the frame. This symmetrical composition created a visually striking moment, drawing the audience’s attention to the characters while also highlighting the scale of the environment. The tracking shot maintained focus on the characters’ movements, highlighting the scene’s quality. The intentionally dim lighting contributed to the film’s overall dark aesthetic, maintaining the ominous atmosphere we made earlier. This choice added continuity and reinforced the thriller tone. RAW: POST:

RUNNING SCENE COLOR GRADE After filming the running scene, I imported the footage into Adobe Lightroom to create a custom preset designed to go with the film’s ominous tone. I lowered the exposure, deepened the blacks, and increased the shadows to create a moody, dramatic atmosphere. This color grading brought out the contrast between the dark and light areas, creating the tension and suspense. By applying this preset, I aimed to add a cinematic quality that complemented the thriller genre, making the scene feel more intense and foreboding. RAW: Lightroom:

FIRST SCENE COLOR GRADE The first shot itself was not very impressive in its raw setting. Below, I have snips of the same shot put through different editing. First, I put a screenshot of the clip into Adobe Lightroom and immediately started working on the exposure, contrasts, highlights, exposure curves, mid-tones, and adjusting each individual color in the scene. I wanted to make the blacks louder and bring out more reds. I turned up the black dial and dragged the whites down. After, I exported these settings as 1 preset and converted it to a .CUBE file to import into Premiere Pro. I put in the effect called "Lumetri Color" and imported the file. I still wanted to make some more adjustments in Premiere Pro to dramatize the shot. I added a slight Vignette, added an inverted Gaussian blur to add a focal point to the main character. After, adding a few more touchups on color, I was happy with the shot. RAW: LIGHTROOM: PREMIERE PRO:  

WARDROBE COLLABORATION My film partner Sebastian and I collaborated closely on wardrobe to make sure that our characters reflected the typical sporty, athletic high school students. We chose outfits like branded sweatshirts, running shorts, and worn-in running shoes to convey a casual, laid-back style. By incorporating colors and popular athletic brands, we further connected their connection to the school’s sports. The dialogue between the main character and the friend would specify what sport they play. This wardrobe choice along with the social convention of how athletes often present themselves reinforces their character identities. The simple yet intentional costume design allowed the audience to immediately understand the characters' backgrounds and roles within their social environment.

RESHOOT DATE My film partner and I had to reschedule our shoot when he unexpectedly got sick. While it was disappointing to delay, we took the opportunity to carefully plan our remake date. The original scene was supposed to be shot on March 7th, but we moved it to March 11th. Wanting to enhance the mood of our thriller and suspenseful film, we decided to match the shoot with an overcast day. The soft, diffused lighting from the cloudy sky would perfectly complement the emotional tone we aimed to create. This adjustment not only gave my partner time to recover but also allowed us to create a more atmospheric scene.

MID-END MOVIE PROPS In order to properly execute the scene concerning our main character Christian getting home, getting ready, going on a run, and getting kidnapped, we had to plan out each material that we needed. In order to do this, we split up each scene into sections: Christian Getting Home: Backpack guitar on wall (shows common teenage hobby) Artwork on Wall (Opens background on main subject) Neat Closet (Shows level of neatness concerning the main character) Running shirt and Shorts (Matches energy and makes the film flow naturally to the next scene) Christian Running: Running Shoe Running Clothes Water and Real Sweat on Shirt (Shows authenticity of the scene) Christian stopping and Getting Kidnapped: Rain/Big Jacket on Massimo (To show hidden personality of the killer) Sunglasses (Opens up confusion for Christian) More Water sprayed on Christian (To highlight the energy he used while running) In a separate post, more detail will be given on how shots were timed and materials u...

LOCATION SCOUTING After walking around my neighborhood, I was constantly thinking to myself, "what will make the kidnapping scene stick out?" There had to be a combination of good acting, movement, and a memorable location. I stumbled across the outside of an old home that had a wavy brick wall. I thought, with the eerie looking sky and a unique, but serious conveyed architectural design, this would work perfect for the film. The only problem was that the wall was right next to the street, and it would make no sense to film a kidnapping scene with cars going back and forth watching the kidnapping happen. This would be a major flaw in the authenticity of the film. So I had a choice to move the location or make the viewer believe that the wall was in a semi-remote location, or at least a place with no road.  I set up my tripod to shoot video not showing the street. Before each clip, I would make sure that the road was not shown. There were at least 3 times when a pedestrian was...

EQUIPMENT To get the shots that I was reaching for, I used multiple tools to my advantage to get the desired look. Starting off with lighting, the two days of filming took place on very overcast days. This contributed to an ominous and serious look that is generally used in the thriller genre. Once inside, I set up two LED lights with changeable Hues in the hallway that Christian walked through. I set the Hue to a very orange, bright tone as it would match the lights that are in my home that would be used just one shot ahead. Once the shot of Christian changing in the closet came about, I decided that the room lights should be turned off and the only light source that will be on will be an overhead light inside the closet. This gives light directly on Christian to stress his importance to the audience. Once outside, the overcast natural light would light each frame.  When filming outside, I used objects such as sticks and rocks to guide Christian on where to walk and land in the fr...