Filming For Project Two

     Filming has always been the best part about making something in any film class. After about a week of preparation, we were all ready to film. This was until I realized that I had to work on the date we planned to film on. When I realized this, I was crushed as I personally believe that this would help me become closer with my new group. However, that was not to be. So while all of my team mater we’re supposedly filming all of our takes, I was working. During this time, the absence of one of the members was not the only problem that my team had run into. At first, the camera needed to charge for about two hours. Next, Kyle was also unable to make it to filming and this delayed the whole process. Finally, when we were able to film, the camera died after only filming two potential scenes.

     As far as I know, while I was not there this is how we planned filming to go. The first thing we were planning to film, was a series of flashbacks in which Jake and his dog are both happy. This would probably take up about one third of our video if we planned it properly. After we were half way filming these, the camera apparently died. While waiting for the camera to charge, Jake and Tim were setting up the moody inside lightings and playing video games. So the next thing we filmed was the scenes in where Jake finds the dog missing. This was not to hard to do as apparently Jake had been taking a nap before hand and when he walked downstairs he already had a sleepy look on his face.  Finally, we filmed the scenes in which Jake is searching for his dog on the streets. The specifics  of what he did I do not exactly know but I am sure it will be great. After I edit it...

     So, the plan for editing is extremely simple and will consist of these steps. First, I will take charge of the editing process to make up for my absence during filming. Second I will load up all of the files onto my school computer. This will save time and help increase efficiency. Third after on the computer, I will upload all of the files to a new google docs. Forth, after all of the files are saved to not than one place, I will dump them all into the editing software Pinnacle Studios 18. After doing this,  we will work together to select the best takes and form them into a video. Finally, we will add cool effects to make the music video more emotional. This will be extremely fun to do and I can’t wait.

Planning for Music Video

     Today November 18th we started planning for our music video. We've recently researched our genre and picked our song. Now all we must do is plan before we commence recording for our music video. First, we needed to think of a location we decided that we would make our music video about a neglected dog, so we decided to have it take place at my friends Jake's house. He just so happens to both live near the school and have a dog, so it works out. On top of that our location won’t have to be changed since we all can come over for the weekend and even if not all of us can come over, we will still be able to film. Plus, we don't have to deal with rain or any problems with this location, as it is inside for the most part. Next to discuss is our health and safety in Jake's house we have a med-kit that will used if anything was to go wrong and we will have an adult at home in case of emergency. Safety comes first. Next is props which ultimately, we will not be using, all were planning to use is fake posters, dog treats, and special lighting nothing much. Our video doesn't require props because the idea isn't too complicated and mainly revolves around the actors. Emotion will be the key factor in making a great video. The next matter at hand is our costumes. We have decided that we should have the main character wear normal clothing. This will give our video a natural feel and as a result produce a better video. In addition, we can have the clothing change to show different days while the pet is neglected and while the main character is searching for the dog. Last is our schedule with our due date being December 19th we have a lot of time. We will film November 23rd and 24th during the weekend. We could also possibly film at school during the week, but we need to ask about this. With us getting it done faster we will have a lot of time to edit and perfect our video. We also chose the 23rd since and 24th since it was a time that we could all come to record. Also, we've decided what the jobs will be well have a person record, a person be the actor, a person working with the dogs, and a person editing. I will probably not be the actor as I am not overly attractive. Since we have everything planned this project will be easy.

Intro to New Project: Music Video

     So yes, our new project is going to be a music video. I also joined a new group, We now consist of Jake, Kyle, Timothy, and me Carter. Before I talk about that, I would like to review what I liked and learned about the commercial project. The best part of the project for me was: the story boarding. This was instrumental for my group when we were filming. we were able to save time and be as efficient as possible when we had a good plan. What I learned from this project was how to edit efficiently while using Pinnacle Studios 18. The trick is to load everything onto the track all at once, then slowly remove what you don't want. The last project was hard but now, with this new team, we are doing to be great.

Now for the most important part: we will be using the song "Garry Come Home" to make our video. This song falls under the category of sad slow ballad. This song is from the popular kids show Sponge Bob. In this show, there is a sponge and he really loves his pet snail Garry. However, he sometimes neglects his snail, and this ultimately lead to him running away. For our play on this episode, we will act like we are neglecting one of our pets, only to come back the next day and "discover their absence". By recording our video in this way, we will really grab the hearts of our viewers, and make a great commercial. This song is a Ballad because it is a song narrating a story in short stanzas.

1. (C) Costumes: in the department of costumes, we will utilize both normal clothes and Pajamas. The normal clothes will be for when we first neglect the pet, and pajamas for when we discover that he is missing.
2. (L) Lighting: We will be primarily utilizing dark and moody lighting. by doing this we will enthrall the viewers and use it to help express the emotions inside of us.
3. (A) Acting: We will be acting realistically and uninterested at first. However, as time progresses and we don't find the pet, we will act increasingly stressed out and depressed, as one would if they lost a loved-one.
4. (M) Makeup: we will not be utilizing makeup if our video. We are a group of all guys and that would not make scene if this was a real scenario.
5. (P) Props: one of the only props that we will be using will be Jake's dog. This way we can express that we will loose something important to us.
6. (S) Scenes: The realistic scenes will follow the main character and his friends on their journey.

Overall, this project is looking like it will be a fun one.

Actual Editing Blog

So today, we edited our actual video. we started off uploading all of our video files onto a second flash drive. we did this because we originally lost the first flash drive. this caused friction because we didn't remember who had it and this ended up wasting over 20 minutes of our time. So first, we opened the program and dumped all of our files into the program. while everyone else seemed ok with wating the total of seven minutes it took for the program to load, I was not. having the previous experience with the video editing software premiere pro, this seemed to take forever. However, this previous experience started to help out once we actually had to start editing. Editing, as it turns out is fun...

Once all of the files were loaded onto the program we copied them all onto the timeline and started to delete clip by clip. This was the most effective way possible because we could make up for the lost time and do everything at once. For the first six-second clip that we selected, we ended up going with the last one that we filmed. this was because the people in the background screwed up the take. the next issue that we ran into was trying to line up the first take with the second. specifically, the speed at which I was running. the next clip that we selected was the one of me tieing my shoe, and the one with the biggest Nike symbol. Finally, the last clip that we selected was the clip of me running. this was the most embarrassing part of the video. After seeing my self-run I have realized, I look really bad when I run.

This was all we hade time to do yesterday and today, the program refused to work or even load up. the deadline for this assignment was extended. it is now due on 11/12, and I will keep you updated with any further progress I make on the video. as always thanks for viewing.

Editing blog

Today is October 28. In class today we had the goal of editing our commercials. Just as a reminder the first the last thing that we did last classToday is October 28. In class today we had the goal of editing our commercials. Just as a reminder the first the last thing that we did last class was, dumping all of our files onto the computer. So, when we opened up our computer we were surprised to find that the editing software, pinnacle studios, was not working. When discovering this I tried to open up a secondary computer to see if it was just an issue with that one. However, even after I opened it on two separate computers pinnacle studios was still not working. Next I tried restarting the computer in the program and it still didn’t work. To combat this issue I tried moving the takes onto google drive and saved them for later.

After trying and failing for virtually 30 minutes what I eventually did was start to plan the order in which clips we were going to use. We decided to first do the stair clip. Next we are going to use the running clips. Next, we are planning to use the clips of us throwing the football. Finally, we are going to do the soccer clips, and then the close-up of all four of us. When reviewing the clips that we did manage to access who is out they were all very good and surprisingly steady. The sound that we are hoping to use is in fact a lack of sound but we will add in the sound of somebody panting from one of the videos. We feel that this way the commercial will be more inspirational. Overall we have a pretty good plan for what we are going to do. However interacting with the software might be a little challenging so I will keep you updated in the coming days.

This last paragraph will be a complete overview of all of the video editing files that we have. We have a total of 38 takes. Of 38 I was in 18 of them. 12 of them are on me running. The other six were about me tying my shoe.  Over all this day in class was fun but very challenging. Our task for this class was to try to create a 30 sentence blog. On editing. We couldn’t edit today so I have to apologize but this was the best I could do.

Filming Blog

     On Thursday, October 24, we had to film all of our takes that we could then edit into our commercial. This was especially fun because thanks to a great team effort we knew exactly what we wanted to do. Our storyboard was instrumental in the process of filming. This was because unlike most other groups we knew what we wanted and we knew how to do it. This saved us crucial time, and unlike most other groups we have all the footage we need. This was probably the easiest part of the project. AS well as one that everyone enjoyed. However, we still have a lot to do. First, we must select what takes we want to use for our project. And then we must edit them all together to form a great commercial.

     However, I personally wouldn't say that that was an easy day for me. As we had previously planned in our storyboard, I was to be involved in nearly 2/5 of the commercial. And because this was a Nike commercial, that meant a lot of physical activity. First, I had to run by Eva, and high five her. This was a lot of running because at the time we were still trying to learn how to use the camera. The next thing I had to do, was tie my shoe. Now, this may not appear to be hard, but when you have to do it five times, it starts to add up. The final activity that I had to do was sprint around the track. This was especially hard for me because my team couldn't decide if I should wear the school jersey. This lead to a lot of takes.

     After we were done filming my part, I tried to convince my team that we should use the tripod. This plan failed ultimately when the plate that connected the camera to the tripod was missing (was not in the bag). After we were entirely done filming I had to get my group to hurry back to the room so we could dump all of our files. Here we ran into more trouble. This came in the form of not being able to find our files. We prevailed in the end because I had saved my notes on my phone. We had to access every file of the camera. Next, we had to determine when we had started to film. Finally, download all files from our period. Again, This project was ultimately very enjoyable and I can't wait to see the results.

Storyboarding

Today in class, we did our storyboarding. We planned out the actions for our commercial. We also talked about the different shots and transitions and how we would place them in our video. Since, we decided on doing a Nike commercial, we are sticking to mostly action shots. Commercials for brands that sell activewear are normally shots of actors performing different sports while wearing and/or promoting their products. We thought it would be a good idea to include a few different sports and broadcast diversity while doing it. For example, we will have actors if different races, body types, Nationalities, etc. doing different sports while wearing Nike clothing and accessories. Our idea is to show the audience it’s multiple different uses. For our first six seconds, we will show a girl sitting on the steps of some stairs and greeting another kid. In the next box, there will be that boy running on the track while wearing Nike sneakers. The next two boxes show athletes playing soccer and football. At the end, we decided on a split shot of four close ups of the actors. We wanted to promote a sense of unity by showing all of them in a singe shit with a voice over of the “Just Do It” motto. While we did the storyboard, we made sure to write down all the types of shots, like high angles and medium long shots. We are really enthusiastic about being able to film.