Final Reflection

As I finish my Cambridge Final Project, I’m happy with what my group and I created. The process has been challenging, but also fun. From brainstorming ideas to developing the plot and characters, every step has helped shape the opening scene. In this final blog post, I’ll reflect on the process, what I learned, and how my project has changed.

When we first started working on the film opening, I had several ideas in mind, from different genres to different ways of telling the story. But after talking with my partners, Camila and Charlee, and getting feedback from the teacher, we decided to focus on a crime drama. This genre allowed us to create a plot that was exciting and suspenseful, while also letting us explore different filmmaking techniques. We chose a story about Ben, who gets caught in a dangerous situation, and Detective Travers, who helps him uncover the truth. The twist at the end, where Ben’s true identity is revealed, added an extra surprise.

After a lot of research, we decided to use cross-cutting in our film opening between Ben writing a letter and the police preparing a crime scene. This created tension and drew the audience into the mystery. The use of close-ups, police lights, and sirens, which my group suggested, helped make the scene more intense. To keep everything ogranized, my group and I created a storyboard and a script, this made the production process easier.

Character development was one of the most important parts of the project. I used Vladimir Propp’s Character Theory to help make sure each character had a specific role in the story. Ben is the hero, Ivan and Maverick are the villains, and Travers is the helper who tries to assist Ben.

Throughout this project, the feedback from other classmates was very helpful. In group meetings, we shared ideas and gave suggestions to improve each other’s projects. For example, when Sofia’s group had trouble filming a moving car, we came up with an idea to use a still shot instead of a shaky handheld one. This teamwork showed me how valuable feedback can be in improving a project.

Looking back on this project, I’ve learned a lot about filmmaking, especially in crime films. From developing characters to creating tension with editing, every detail helped bring the story to life. I’m proud of how far my project has come and excited to show the final result. This experience has taught me important skills that I will carry with me in the future, writing this blog post, I realize just how much I’ve learned! This project has been constantly on my mind for the past two months and now it's over, I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did.