Our Group Dynamic

 One of the most rewarding parts of this project has been the ability to work so closely with a set of talented individuals. I am extremely proud of what my group has been able to accomplish with a little bit of teamwork. Everyone has contributed something special to this film opening and I can't imagine having done it with a different group of people. 

Tori is no stranger to working hard for her grade. She delivered an amazing performance as Betty just when we were thinking we would have no one to fill the role. She took time out of her weekend to come join us for filming, and even did extra filming by herself at home. That's star quality! If it wasn't for Tori, we wouldn't have been able to get our hands on a professional camera to make sure our shots were top notch quality.

Hannah has been one of my biggest collaborators. She has helped me in structuring this crazy story and bring our ideas together. In fact, she has been coming up with ideas for the film opening before the project was even assigned. She also took time our of her schedule to come out to filming and direct the entire production. Yes, she was the one behind the camera for almost every single shot! 

Finally, Melanie has been an enormous help. I do not think we would have been able to carry out the editing process of this film without Melanie. She has been learning all about the editing process from friends who know more about it and has applied her new knowledge to our film! I have to say, I am very happy with the result. She is also one of the members who is always offering new ideas for the film. A lot of new things that changed from my original storyline has been due to Melanie's genius thoughts!

I also have to give a special thanks to our friend, Ashley Polo! She didn't have to help us since she wasn't in our group or class, but she still agreed to be August in our film. We couldn't have thought of a better person to fill this role. Thank you Ashley!

At the end of the day, this project has not been carried out without obstacles. I think the hardest thing I've been challenged by in the making of this film opening has been the coronavirus pandemic. Especially since I am working in a group, it has been especially hard to work during this time. For example, our original casting for Betty had to be changed because the previous actress had to stay in quarantine. Also, Tori had to film her Betty scenes separate from the rest of the filming to be safe and not enter someone else's house. In fact, the reason our editor, Melanie, could not come to the filming was because her parents wanted her to stay quarantined. Not to mention, due to COVID procedures, we had to move back our filming date an entire week. So, this pandemic has definitely presented the biggest challenge for this project and many other things in people's lives. Still, through hard work and perseverance, we were able to carry out our movie opening to our best ability!