1. Link to video: https://youtu.be/8ixVcwbI7VQ?si=441vgfpZ-CnCBW3k
2. I created two adjustment layers to change the contrast and a black-to-white gradient, grouped those two layers together, and added a layer mask. I also added clipping masks when removing the background, to my contrast and brightness layers, and to my subject's texture. I created more layer masks when adding the little fire cracks. I also have many groups to group everything together.  
3. The most challenging part of this was following a video and it is a little fast to follow. The video creator had different abilities on her device that I didn't so that was also challenging but I resolved it by doing something similar.
4. I think my project exceeds a 4 because I feel that I really challenged myself. It was challenging and almost felt like giving up but at the end, it turned out pretty good. I am proud of how my project came out and how many new things I did while creating this.