Editing: the commercial

     One might think by reading the title of this blog that it was going to be about how I edited my commercial today. However, that is not the case. I came in on Friday and our editing software was not working. I thought it was going to be resolved by today. Our teacher told us that it would hopefully be repaired soon. I even went to study hall yesterday and a representative came in and told us that the principal said we will be getting new equipment. I’m not angry or anything. I’m grateful we got to reshoot some scenes we needed for our commercial. To begin with, we came in and after we realized the computers were still not working we signed out the equipment. I then checked the tripod and Rafael checked the camera battery. Once we began to film I took the role of the cinematographer again. I had to reshoot the actors going into the bathroom again. The footage somehow got lost in the transfers from SD cards to computers. We reshot that scene about three times because we were not content with the replay. We changed it from a pan to the door to a handheld shot of the actors walking in with a zoom in on them. Shortly before this it had been raining so the atmosphere in our clips might be different. When viewing the footage before we noticed that one of the actors, Angelo, had put their headphones in off camera. Because of this we had to shoot a scene that incorporated him putting in his headphones. Rafael has also changed his hair in the second day of shooting. We decided to have Rafael put his hair up and Angelo put his headphones in, in the same scene. I also shot this scene handheld but without the purpose of it being shaky. The scene we decided to put these features in was the reaction scene from when the actors here someone coming into the bathroom. Before we shot this we also had to reshoot the inside view of the actors walking in. This scene was taken multiple times because we tried multiple angles. I was frustrated because this scene was just fine the first time we took it. I was also annoyed my actors hadn’t realized their appearance wasn’t the same on the second day. There were also criticizing my camera work and were quick to move onto the next scene without rewatching. Once this scene was over, the tension calmed down and we shot the last scene we needed. This was the scene where we accommodated the changes in their appearances in the film. This scene only needed two or three takes and we finished. We packed everything away and came back up to the class room. I signed back in the equipment and am now writing my blog. Hopefully by next class we can edit.

Filming the Commercial

     Today in my media class we did the filming for our commercial project. It was honestly one of my favorite days in this class. As soon as I walked in it was go time. I asked my partner Rafael for the sign out paper I asked him to hold for to me to immediately get started on getting the equipment. It was already mostly filled out so I just joined the line. My teacher gave me the camera, SD card, and tripod and I headed back for my table. At it I have the camera to Angelo so he could check that it was charged and working while I checked the tripod. I finished filling out the sign out sheet with the corresponding number on the equipment. I then told Angelo to put it in the folder by the door. After that Mrs. Marchionne gave out the filming passes and I went to get one from her quickly. I signed it out on a different sheet of paper and then went back to my table.
     Once I went back to the table we got everything we needed and headed outside. We first went to the bathroom by the upstairs media center but quickly saw there was many other students filming in that area. So after that we went to the downstairs bathroom and saw a lot of people going in. However, we decided that was where we were going to film anyways. I set up the tripod with help from Angelo and then tried screwing the camera onto the top. While doing this there was a malfunction of sorts. The screw got stuck and wouldn’t unscrew. My whole team was kinda at a loss because we were thinking we just didn’t know how to do it right. We finally decided Rafael and I would go upstairs to ask Mrs. Marchionne while we left Angelo guarding the equipment. We went upstairs and asked our teacher, she said it happens “one in a blue moon” but the screw got stuck. She fixed it with a scissor and showed us again how to properly screw it in for good measure. We then went back downstairs and put the camera on the tripod and began filming.
     The filming was really fun. I wasn’t In our shots at all but I recorded all of them. We first started filming outside the bathroom and I had to learn how to use the camera quickly. I took multiple shots of that first scene of just walking into the bathroom because playing back the footage made us realize we didn’t like what we originally planned. We just changed the direction the camera moved. I would also let my actors know when to start by saying “1, 2, 3, go.” After filming the first scene we moved into the bathroom and began to shoot the other scenes. I had to restart the tape multiple times because one of my teammates was a little nervous and messed up a little. It was my job to position the camera in over the shoulder shots correctly, so that I wouldn’t come out in any background mirror. I also showed my team members the replay of the shots I took to make sure we all agreed what we had was okay, to move into the next scene. It was my first day so I did accidentally keep pressing the record button too many times because I thought I hadn’t stopped it by pressing it the time before. I also changed the time and date on the camera since it was wrong. When it was time to go back to class I packed up the tripod with help from Angelo and carried everything back to the room. Once we got to the room I put the tripod back immediately and gave the camera to Rafael. He needed an SD card to dump the footage onto the computer so I asked our teacher for an SD reader. I had to wait on it because they were all being used but then I got one and signed it out. I gave it to Rafael and also returned it when he finished. I also told Angelo to get our sign out paper and put it in the proper folder. I also told him to get an empty sign out sheet for next class. The last thing I did was fill that out and put it away. We didn’t get to finish out filming today but will hopefully finish next class. Overall, it was a good day in media studies.

Commercial Storyboard Blog

Angles

• Over the shoulder
• High 
• Low 
• Eye level

Shots

• Establishing Shot
• Medium Shot
• Extreme Close up
• Two Shot
• Three Shot
• Medium Close Up
• Medium Long Shot

Movements 

• Pan
• Tilt

Editing

• Eye-line Match
• Reaction Shot
• Voice Over
• Jump Cut
• Cut Away                                                                                                            
  

Editing Lesson Blog

     Today in class we learned how to edit and how to properly prepare to use a camera. Mrs. Marchionne first told us to set up the tripod and then put the camera on it by detaching what’s on top and screwing it in. Then when you’re done recording you do the opposite. When you’re ready to dump the footage you plug in the SD reader into the computer. Then,  you go to pinnacle studios after logging in and save the footage to begin editing it. You import the footage onto pinnacle studios by pressing import then the + by desktop. You then press on the clips you want to edit and press start import. This will get the raw footage ready. Raw footage is unedited, untouched material. Mrs. Marchionne then told us that when were editing we’ll need to put the title first then the film and then the music last. If the title is not layered on top it’ll be covered up by the video.
     For cutting clips you press on the razor button. You then select the footage you want to delete and make sure it’s shown in orange, if you make a mistake to press file then undo. If you want to speed up, slow down, or reverse a shot you right click. To do any further, more detailed editing, you go to open affects editor and all the possible options are shown. Here you can change the lighting and  contrast. To do a voiceover you mute the section you want to have a voice over. Then you get the voice clip and remove the video. You can also add titles. You can change their color and font. Once you’re done editing you save the clip similar to how you save a word document. You then render your final product, this makes it smooth. When you’re ready to export you press on file. After that you adjust the setting to MP4 SD best quality. Lastly, I learned some new vocabulary. One of the words is dumping which is when you put the footage on the computer. I also learned importing is when you upload the file to what you’re using to edit. Exporting is when you send your final product. Rendering is putting everything together to make it go through smoothly, this should be done before exporting. Basically what we did today was learn how to edit since we will be editing our future projects. I look forward to toying with all the features.

Commercial Planning Blog

 Planning Blog

This blog is being made to explain what we will be doing and outline what the steps we will take while making this commercial. We picked anti-vaping because we immediately came up with ideas and thought it could be funny. We thought humor would be a good way to appeal to the viewers that vape. They might replay it or show their friends because it’s funny. At the same time it’s making fun of people who vape and sending out the message that vaping doesn’t make you look cool and in reality a lot of people make fun of it. This could motivate them to stop or not try vaping at all. 

Props

• Cardboard cut-out of the vaping devices
• Cotton for fake smoke/vapors
• USB 
• Skateboard/ picture of one
• Backpack

Costumes

• Hoodies
• Popular clothing brands
• Headphones/Air pods
• Towel/Shirt Hair
• Chain
• Baseball Cap
• Earrings

Schedule

• 10/11 Planning Blog
• 10/15 Storyboard Blog
• 10/22 Filming Blog
• 10/24 Editing Blog

Location

• Mural in between Senior Patio and Office
• Media Center Boy's Bathroom
• Building 17 Boy's Bathroom
• Stairs by the Senior Patio
• Under the Building 5 stairs
• Outside hallway in front of the band room 

Back Up Plan

• If those bathrooms are closed, we will try Building 21, 5, 8, and etc.
• If raining, we will film inside the Buildings' hallway
• If Emily is absent is absent, Rafael will film solo shots of Angelo and vice versa.
• If Angelo or Rafael is absent, Emily will (against her wishes) be in the commercial.
• If both Angelo and Rafael are absent, Darwin will sub in for both of them.

Commercial Research Conventions & Codes

Our AICE Media Studies group decided on the Anti-Vaping PSA commercial

Some negative health consequences from using e-cigarettes and vaping devices listed in the article "THE BIG REVEAL 10 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT E-CIGARETTES"  https://www.centeronaddiction.org/e-cigarettes/about-e-cigarettes/10-surprising-facts-about-e-cigarettes include

Damage to the brain, heart and lung

Cancerous tumor development

Preterm deliveries and stillbirths in pregnant women

Harmful effects on brain and lung development, when use occurs during fetal development or adolescence

Here is an example of an anti-vaping poster used to dissuade high school students

• The poster uses the color RED to emphasis numbers and subjects that require special attention.
• The poster also uses different SIZE TEXT to also draw the readers attention to certain words
• The poster uses figurative language like the oxymoron "A Big Problem... A Small Device" to keep the reader thinking of that saying throughout the day.

An infomercial called, "Vaping is an Epidemic | The Real Cost" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYuyS1Oq8gY uses many film techniques that goes as follows:

• They use CGI to exaggerate the effects of vaping on teenagers.
• They use Action Match and Dissolves to make the video flow better.
• They Voice Overs to explain the actual chemicals like 'formaldehyde' that go into your body when you vape.
• They use Graphic Match on the teenagers faces to show how vaping can affect anyone.

Introductory

     Hi, my name is Emily. I live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I go to Fort Lauderdale High School. I’m 15 years old and I’m in the 10th grade. I’m currently taking AICE Media Studies and that’s why I’m making this blog. I’m just gonna tell you about myself quickly. To begin to answer the basics my favorite color’s green. I listen to a lot of music. I don’t really like pop and country though. I also like watching shows on Netflix like American Horror Story. That’s enough about me.
     Moving on, I’m going to talk about how I feel about my school. I like it enough, even though  the people are somewhat lame. All the teachers are pretty good at their job. The schoolwork and homework homework are getting pretty stressful especially this year. I get so much I usually have to spend my whole weekends doing them and don’t get a lot of free time. Last year I didn’t get as much it was mostly all from global perspectives. Hopefully as the year goes on I’ll learn to manage my time better and divide the work in a way I get more time to myself.
     Lastly, since these blogs are for me media class, I’m going to talk about it. It’s only October but so far I like this class. The teacher is nice, it’s pretty laid back and it’s a nice break from all my other classes. I would say it’s one of my easiest classes. I like that there’s not homework everyday. However, I’ve been having a bit of trouble remembering the types of editing and sounds. I think I might have camera angles and mis en scene down though. I have like 5 people I regularly talk to in that class so being with them is pretty fun as well. So yeah, this is my first blog and I’m pretty sure there’s going to be more so thank you for reading.