Editing Blog

After all our filming from the beach, to our group members house, to Las Olas we have finally completed. It has been a fun journey working on the project with friends, we learned how to work together and listen to each others opinions on what should we do. Thankfully we all finished our filming in time when we weren't busy with other things in out life. Finally it was time for us to edit. We each split our work equally. One group member did the first part of the editing, I did the second, and one finished the last part of the music video. Since we were doing it on a group members computer we chose to use iMovie for us to edit our music video. We all discussed the plan and our ideas for what we want to include. We were all together when editing for it to be easier for all of us. We had our own biased opinions but in the end we came to agreement for all of our editing choices.
While editing, I decided to do the middle part of our project. I did this with the supervision of my teammates, with them agreeing or disagreeing with whatever I did to edit. At first, I was a bit confused on how to use iMovie. However, using iMovie was a much better decision. It’s much easier to use than Pinnacle Studios. iMovie was also much easier to learn how to use. And in order to perfect our music video, I tried to learn as much as I could with a groupmate. She’s had a lot of experience with iMovie. Much more than me. I also threw in transitions to make the film look slightly more professional. As if we knew what we’d were doing.
During the editing process, our final group member edited the last half of our music video. We split the editing process up amongst the three of us so that we could each put in some work. We used iMovie to edit our music video. She has had plenty of had experience with iMovie before, so the editing process was a breeze for her. She helped me, who was struggling a bit while I was editing. While doing this project, we learned more about the different types of camera shots and angles and how to use them. we also learned more about how to add different transitions to our video and make the editing process easier. In the future, I believe my group and I should plan out our videos slightly more so that we are more prepared. We were never unprepared this time, but we still had a few very small moments of confusion and disagreements while filming and editing. I would also like to improve my editing skills on future projects.

Filming Blog

For our filming process we started a bit late because the whole group was busy during thanksgiving break. We also each had a lot of homework but we began as soon as possible. All of us planned to go home to one of our group members house because it is closest to the school. The role of one of my group member’s was to find good costumes and location she decided to watch some summer music videos for some ideas. We changed into our costumes and made sure to charge the phone we used to film. We arrived at Fort. Lauderdale beach with a legal guardian and we began to film. We filmed at locations like in the car, on the sand, and the walkway. The water is too cold to actually go in, in November so we just made it seem like it was a hot summer on the sand. We wanted to do other things at the beach to match the aesthetic of the song. We stayed for about an hour and a half at Lauderdale by-the-sea. After we finished we all planned to go back to our group members house to continue filming in the home setting.
At our group members house, we thought up ideas for our music video. We had originally planned to film on our group members room, with flashing colored lights. We all agreed that we wanted to do this, however some issues arised. We planned to film earlier in the day, so the sun wouldn’t hit our member’s room and the colored lights would shine. Unfortunately, traffic was worse than expected. This is due to many people coming down to Florida to escape their cold hometowns. Because we were late to her house, the sun was pouring directly through her windows. Because she had no curtains, we had to use less conventional ways to block the sun. We used cardboard boxes. After we finished using the boxes, we filmed ourselves dancing to the music.
To film part of our music video, we walked around a beach area that has shops and scenery. While we walked around here to film, we had our teammate’s mom supervising us. She made sure we were safe throughout the entire filming experience on the beach walk. Since we were in public, we made sure to be very considerate whilst filming. We made sure not to be in anyones way or disturb anyone. We also made sure that wherever we filmed along the beach was safe and not sketchy or dangerous. Our final teammate’s roles in the filming process were to find transportation and ensure we used the correct shots and angles. Her mother provided us the transportation from our school, to her house, to the beach. During filming, we made sure that we included the proper angles and shots by referring back to our storyboard. We also made last minute decisions to add different shots and angles to make our music video look as best as it can. These will most likely affect our video in bigger ways than planned changes to our storyboard would have.

Storyboard Blog

11/22 For the past two class periods we have been going over and discussing our storyboard and planning. We have thought about most of the props we will include like money, make-up and food. We know where most of our settings are like the beach, our teammates home, and Las Olas. We have talked about the costumes and how we will be wearing it. Our group is still figuring out the types of lighting we will include in our video but we know for sure there will be LED and natural sunlight. We want to include natural makeup but a little extra for the end of the film when we are out on the town. Another thing that is important to our music video is camera angles, movements, and shots. For example for our first scene we will be in our group mates parent’s car and our mate’s mother will record a pan of all of us in the car including the background of the beach. We want to include high and low angles of all of us to show where we are and what we’re doing. We also want wide angles of all of us on the beach and couch hanging out and having fun. We want our video to mostly contain hand held instead of using a tripod because we want it to seem like normal teens are recording a young and fun video. For our editing we want to include jump cuts, fade in and out, dissolving to create a nice vibe throughout the video since our song is a fun summer vibe. Our sound is just the song we chose for our music video which is Slide by Frank Ocean and Calvin Harris.

Planning Blog

For our music video, my teammates and I will have three listed locations for filming. Our group mate’s house will be used to film calmer scenes of our video. The second location, Fort Lauderdale beach, will be used to film exciting, lively scenes. These will include our group dancing and even going inside of the water. Finally, we will be filming inside of our group mate’s car. In the car we will film lively scenes, as well. The scenes will feature our group dancing and listening to music, particularly this song. We will be filmed inside the car, however, there may be some moments filmed of the outside of the car.

Health and safety will always be number one on our priorities. We will be taking precautions to ensure our health and safety. This includes making sure we are all strong swimmers for the beach. Each of us have taken swimming lessons in the past and intend to use what we learned. We will also check the weather before arriving at the beach to make sure the weather is appropriate. If the weather is threatening, we will choose a different place to film. To protect us from strangers, rapists, kidnappers, etc. we will be carrying pepper spray with us. Our group mate’s legal guardian will also be joining us. 

Because we will be at the beach, we will be wearing beachwear such as sweatpants and sunglasses. We will be wearing sweatpants because, although we do live in Florida, it has been cold lately, and we are all anemic. Our props will include pretend cash, which we will be throwing around to demonstrate our wealth, despite the fact that we are not wealthy. We will lay blankets down on the beach for the video. We will also we be using our cell phones. In addition, in the house, we will use colored lights to create a “club” effect. 

Intro to Music Video

In our last project, we used Pinnacle Studios. Pinnacle Studios was the software we used for our commercial. We were not very compatible with this program as it would lag, would delete our saved editing, and overall was not a good program to work with, especially on our first project. This project we have decided to use iMovie as opposed to Pinnacle Studios. This is because we all have much more experience with iMovie and overall iMovie works much smoother. We decided to use this software after another group showed us that they used it for their commercial. We will also be using our phone camera as opposed to a school camera that is also available to us. The video cameras that were issued to us in the last project did not have good quality, and were very difficult to dump onto our computers. We will also be filming off-campus for this project, but this was a decision our teachers made.
  For our music video, we are doing the song Slide by Frank Ocean and Calvin Harris. It is an upbeat and happy song. We are planning to make the music video very outdoorsy and fun. We chose this song because we like that it is a happy song with a good beat. We also chose it because we believe it will be a good song to make a music video for. The genre of this song is Pop.
   For costumes, we are going to be wearing basic, every-day clothing. We want the music video to look modern, so we are going to be wearing normal, modern clothing. For lighting, we are going to be using natural lighting. We are also going to be using color changing LED lights to add a good vibe to the music video. For actors, it is going to be me and my other two group mates. We may include a few friends from outside our group to use as background characters. We will be wearing natural makeup. The natural makeup look adds to the laid back feel of the song. For props, we will be using a car, beach supplies, and blankets. We will also use phones as props and a skateboard. For setting, we will be going to use the beach, a bedroom, and a car. We may also use other locations that we find while editing. We will be doing pan camera movements, medium close up, and tracking shots. There will be no sound because the music will be the sound for the video. We will use jump cuts to show the transition between different settings and scenes.

Editing Blog (the Sequel)

After not being able to edit before due to technical difficulties, we finally were able to begin editing. Because there were only 14 computers to use, we had to wait about fifteen minutes. However, this was nothing compared to other groups who were not even able to edit that day. While we were waiting, we drew up a game plan. We chose which scenes we needed to edit and how to edit them. Our commercial was generally simple, as Nike commercials usually are. This means that we had to edit only a few scenes to make sure our timings lined up. This was also the result of our amazingly planned filming. The only other things we had to edit in were music and transitions. Also the result of fantastic filming, was our need to only edit in our transitions slightly. In light of the fact that we did not know how to edit it very well, we also filmed some of our transitions.
Once we were handed a computer, I logged into my school account. As we waited for the computer to start up, some of us started browsing songs to edit into our video. However, once the screen lit up, we immediately opened Pinnacle Studios and retrieved our footage from one of our group member's Google Drive account. After we dragged our footage onto the desktop, we noticed the folder would not budge. We called one of our teachers over to give us advice. She made it clear that the folder we were attempting to move into Pinnacle Studios was a "zip folder." None of us had heard the term "zip folder" before. She pointed out that a zip folder had a digital zipper in the front of it. She told us that that was how to recognize one. She then explained to us that we needed to covert it into a normal folder if we wanted the files to move.
We had no idea how to convert the folder, but knew our teacher was busy. After she had left to help another group, one of our teammates looked up a Youtube video on how to convert the folder. This was very helpful. We learned to convert our folder in a bit less than five minutes. We then got all the footage into the editing program and finally began. It took about ten minutes to finish editing the timing. At this time, we were to move onto editing the transitions. We only needed one transition for our whole project: the notorious Fade In. As we browsed the transitions, we became more and more frustrated over time. There must have been hundreds of transitions to browse through, though we only needed one. Finally, our group member exclaimed that she had realized that we could search through the transitions using a toolbar, and our transitions were done in less than three minutes. Finally, the music was to be put in. This took a very long time as our group was stuck between a few different songs, but finally settled on Human by Rags-n-Bone Man.

Editing Blog

10/28  Today was the day to edit for our commercial. I had some issues with the computer. Our computers are very slow, outdated, had confusion with logging into Pinnacle Studios. There was already footage of another group in our computer. Since we have dumped our footage in the computer we will now start editing. The software Pinnacle Studios is very helpful for our commercial. It allows us to quickly access tools we need to perfect our video. Pinnacle Studios is already installed in the schools Media Studies computers. The software needs a username and password to be logged into. We didn't know the password or username, so one of our teachers had to come over and log on for us. 

Most of the time, we were frustrated because we were confused. We expected the editing process to be easier, since when it was described to us it seemed simple. Hopefully after more use of the editing software it will become easier for us. I am expecting more practice on editing with our teacher. We are still not sure if we should delete it or just continue with our editing and disregarding it. We transferred our footage and started to edit. There was much we had to cut out to make the commercial 30 seconds. We had some confusion on adding text onto the clips we wanted. We are planning on adding motivational music to make it like a real Nike commercial. It is important for us to make this as best as we can to get a high grade. Since this is our first video our group has edited we will try to research more on how to edit. 

 My main emotion is frustration. I came into class expecting to get ahead of everyone because some groups still had to film. That idea was out the door due to all of the complications. I am hoping that next class we get to edit again so we are given more time. I do think we will be given two days for this because we were given two days for the filming process. As a self reflection I wish I would be given more time and more guidance. My group and I will definitely finish editing next class. When I all go home tonight I am going to research more on Pinnacle Studios. I'm going to figure out my problems and watch videos on how to fix them. I pray that next class our computers work smoothly. 

Filming Blog

Today we filmed all scenes of our commercial. When we first entered the classroom, one of our teachers gave us a quick lecture on how to check out cameras and some basic knowledge on them. We then grabbed a sign out sheet and requested a camera, an SD card, and a tripod. After we filled out the sheet completely, one of our group members was directed towards a closet in the back. She asked a teacher for the items requested. She then made her way back to where the rest of us were sitting. While she was picking up the materials, I was thinking of locations for our scenes. Another one of our group members was thinking up ways to get all the props we needed. Our other group member was gathering the props that he needed. We then all grouped up and left the room to shoot.
The first scene we were going to film was a scene that required stairs. We made our way to the stairs in front of our library and began to map out our scene. At first, we had conflicting visions for thee scene. The star of that scene had thought he was to run up both flights of stairs, but the rest of the group had deemed the angles required for that awkward and difficult to smoothly execute. I timed him running up only the first flights of stairs to make sure it would fit correctly. Once we found an acceptable pace for him to run, we began filming. Because the whole class was out filming and we were using the main staircase of that area, there were many interruptions. We had to stop filming at least three times due to people going up or down the stairs. After around three or four takes, we got a great shot and wanted to decide what to do next.
Our next scene to film was going to be a scene where I was to run the track, but a physical education class had just gone out and we did not want to disturb them, so we moved onto our volleyball scene. At first, we were not sure if the gym teacher would let us borrow a volleyball. After some light bickering, two of our group members went in the gym to ask. The other group member and I were a little anxious to ask, so it was a huge favor that our other two members volunteered. After recieving the volleyball, we found a flat, open wall to film around. The athlete who starred in this scene plays on the school's volleyball team and also plays outside school, so we trusted her to know what she was doing. Without testing angles first, we filmed a shot. As you may be able to imagine, this shot was not nearly close to what we wanted it to look like. After this traumatising event, we spent close to ten more minutes working on angles. After we finally found the optimal one, about four or five shots were taken. By the time we finished this scene, the P.E. class was back insidee the gym. However, we were starting to become short on time, so we decided since our next scene would be filmed closer, we would just go to film it before the one on the track.
The next scene we filmed was one where three group members would be featured. I am very often self-concious about my looks, so I offered to film without hesitation. The weather was very sunny, however there were some clouds in the sky. Because this was the first scene in direct sunlight, we had to wait until the right lighting naturally ocurred. After a few minutes of waiting, the lighting was finally right. We started testing angles while filming, as we were even more short on time by then. After more than five shots, the angles, actors, and lighting fell right into place. This was the time when we would speed walk as fast as possible to the track, as we would never run on school grounds. We quickly found the perfect angles and filmed our takes while I ran. I do not own any Nike shoes, as my dad is very passionate about staying loyal to the shoe brand Puma, so I borrowed another teammates shoes. They fit loosely, but I was still able to run in them. We took about three takes at most and the last one was just right. Finally, we filmed our last scene. This scene was easy to film as it was only three of us standing in a line with a close-up of our Nike shoes. This took about two or three takes. Finally, we were done and returned to our classroom to dump our footage.

Storyboard Blog

10/22 Today we planned out our storyboard. We have our commercial planned out and ready for filming. For our first scene we want to start with a stopwatch which will eventually lead to a person in our group running with an extreme close up of the Nike symbol on the shoes they are wearing. We will then include low angles to transition into the shoes while they are running. Next, another person will be running the track with a long, pan , and other transitions into the shoes. We will include other clips such as having another member playing volleyball and another walking through the halls while all ending up in a shoe transition. At the end of the commercial we will have the Nike symbol. As opposed to including dialogue, a inspirational soundtrack will be fit in. We hope to inspire our audiences to purchase Nike products.

Editing Lesson Blog

Today our teacher explained to the best of her knowledge to us how to edit on our school's computers, using Pinnacle Studio. She told us that in order for the Dell desktops to read the SD card, in which all our footage is being stored, we need to attach an SD card reader. This would plug into the USB port in the computer, similar to a thumb drive. However, before inserting the SD card reader, we were to open Pinnacle Studio, as it as a slower program and needed to be handled with care. While letting the application open, we were to create a folder on the desktop and move the footage from the card to the folder. The next step was to check for footage in "DCIM." If we were unable to find it, we must click on "private folder."After, we are to click on "AVCHD" and then "BDMV." After we would click stream, there would be everything from the memory card. Then, the footage should be dragged into the newly created folder.
Since there are only a few SD card readers and seemingly fifty people in our class period, we need to immediately remove both the memory card and reader from the computer and hand the reader to another group who had been waiting patiently for one. Because we work with Dell desktops as opposed to apple ones, there is no need to hit "eject" before removing the card. Finally, the process of dumping from the camera to the computer is over. This is more than reason enough to celebrate, however preferably not with food or drink as this is strictly prohibited from around the computers. Now, the camera must be returned to the classroom. As you return to your desktop, spot the aforementioned editing program. Click "import" on the computer. Then, click on the folder containing all the precious footage. All items that show the yellow checkmark on it will be imported, but only as soon as the "import now" button is clicked. Again, this program is a bit slower, but it is also a bit more valuable. Take care of it.
Click "edit." Put the material in AV track two, as the track above will be used for titles and the track below for music and sound effects. Drag the clip, and wait until the bar turns green. The razor blade splits footage, often making a jump cut. Unwanted footage can easily be magically vanished by clicking on it, then pressing the delete button. Everybody makes mistakes, but sometimes these are easily undone by clicking the back arrow or pressing edit then undo. To open the effects editor, a right click will do the job. To remove a sound, right click, detach, audio, and then delete audio. When finished, we are to click export. In order to save the film in the folder, clicking "start export," "save as," and then to desktop but more specifically the folder in which the footage was stored, should do the trick. Exit out of Pinnacle Studios and to reopen your movie simply click on the icon.

Planning Blog For Nike Commercial

10/10 Today we will be going over the planning portion of our commercial. We will set up things we need. For example, our props, costumes, schedule, location list, and our back up plan. Each person in our group is planning on contributing something towards our commercial project. An idea for our project is a view of different Nike apparel in different scenes. Our commercial will be very diverse in clothing. For our back-up plan if someone doesn't show up then we will either have a back-up actor or just have one person do everything. Some scenes we will use are the main stairs, the huge wall next to the stairs, and the track field. A back-up scene could be the gym. 

  Costumes:

• Nike sweatshirts

• Nike t-shirt

• Different Nike sneakers

• Nike Air Force 1's

• Athletic pants 

• Nike headband

• Athletic tops 

Locations:

• Track

• Media Center Stairs

• Wall near Stairs

Back Up Plan:

• Gym as a backup location if it is raining instead of track field

• If someone is absent, another group member will just take their place in the scene

• If multiple people in group are absent, one person can be in all scenes

Props:

• Nike Shoes

• Nike Apparel

• Hurdles

• Stairs

• Volleyball

• A water bottle

Schedule:

• Monday, October 14th- storyboard titled planning 

• Tuesday, October 22nd- filming and blogging process

• Thursday, October 24th- editing and blogging process

• Wednesday, October 30th- critical reflection questions

Research Conventions and Codes

     Our commercial will be about the clothing brand Nike. We want to focus on the shoe portion of the brand and ways it can help in sports. Technical codes are connotations that we make when we look at films and photographs. For the technical codes we will focus on bright lighting, quick editing, music for the audio background, and camera angles we learned in the class. Symbolic codes are social in nature. For the symbolic codes our setting will be in the school, we will have props such as athletic wear such as uniforms as our costumes and any type of shoes used in these sports. Some of the shoes that will be shown will come from sports such as basketball, soccer, track, and regular lifestyle street wear. 

    We chose this production because it's an everyday product we use and everyone in our group all partake in some certain athletic activity. We want to persuade the people watching our commercial to go out and purchase our product. This will benefit us because when it comes down to prop all of us have something from Nike that we can contribute to the commercial so we don't have to focus on a budget or going out and looking for more products. Our unique advantage is that we are students who are trying to grab the attention from other people like us because we know at this day and age we are all working hard to either enjoy in a sport or make ourselves look better to feel better. 

Introductory

Hi, my name is Mila. I love a lot of things. However, some things I dislike, such as not having time for my family. Family is and will always be number one in my priorities. Family for me is not relatives, but all those who support me, unconditionally. They always want what is best for me. They guide me through all that they can, and my love for them and what they do for not only me, but the world is infinite. My family are those who inspire me.
My mom has remained at the top of everything for my whole life. She is my best friend, the only person who I can talk to, unfiltered. She has helped me through everything, while going through some of that stuff herself at the same time. My living situation has yet to be anything close to normal, but she, as a single mom, supports my household and me on her own two shoulders. She is my role model, what I aspire to accomplish. She is what who she wanted to be growing up-Wonder Woman.
My friends are also part of my family. I like to be open to anybody as a friend, but am picky on who truly gets close to me, and become apart of my family. My circle is small, but I prefer it that way. I can really trust those who I let in. Sometimes people go, which I cheer on. I love to see people grow, even if it's without me.