Planning For CCR Question #4 (Blog #57) CCRS

A zine is a small, self published booklet that is usually handmade or digitally designed and used as a form of creative expression. Zines are often personal, informal, and experimental, combining images, text, collage, and design to communicate ideas in a unique way. Due to zines not following strict rules or professional standards, zines allow creators to freely express their thoughts and creativity. This flexibility is one of the main reasons I chose a zine as the format for answering CCR question four. 

For my response, I plan to create a zine that reflects both my creative process and me as the creator of this film opening. The idea for using a zine originally came from my sister, who introduced me to them this past summer. When she showed me examples, I thought they were really cool and creative, especially because they felt personal and authentic rather than overly polished. That made me realize that a zine would be a good way to communicate my ideas in a way that feels true to me. 

To begin the project, I started by gathering inspiration from Pinterest, where I explored different zine layouts, collage styles, and visual aesthetics. I  focused on images and designs that stood out to me, either because they can be connected to the fourth CCR question or they simply looked interesting and visually strong. Pinterest helped me brainstorm ideas and think about how I might structure my own zine without directly copying other people’s work. 

Inspiration found on Pinterest

After that, I began working in Canva by selecting cutouts and visual elements that were inspired by what I saw on Pinterest. These cutouts helped me start building the visual language of my zine and experimenting with how images and text could work together. At this stage, the project is still very much in the early stages of development, but starting digitally has helped me organize my ideas and get a clearer sense of direction. 

The very very rough current version of the magazine cover 

( I plan on including a picture of myself here to introduce the story being told- my journey) 

(I went though all of Canva's fonts and picked which I think could work for in this project and have them there ready to be used)

As part of the zine, I also plan to include a photoshoot to introduce myself as the creator of the film opening. This photoshoot will help establish my identity as the filmmaker and make the zine feel more personal and connected to my work. By including images of myself, I’ll be able to play around with a few more ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest and make sure the zine remains somewhat magazine-like. After all zine is the last four letters of a magazine, it wouldn’t feel real without a model and that will unfortunately have be me. I say unfortunately since I would much rather be behind the camera but it is what it is. 

Overall, choosing to create a zine for CCR question four allows me to combine reflection, creativity and personal identity into one format. Even though the project is still in progress, using inspiration from Pinterest, experimenting with cutouts in Canva, and planning a photoshoot has given me a strong starting point. I believe this approach will help me clearly communicate my ideas while also showcasing my creativity and development as a filmmaker of this opening.