Editing Complications

Today we were supposed to begin our editing process. I logged on to the computer that I previously used to dump the footage. First, the computer would not turn on. I tried to click the on and off button, but this was not the problem. Eventually, the computer turned on, however it was logged into another account. So I logged into my account and then proceeded to wait for my computer to load. This took a long time which ate into the editing time. Once the computer finally loaded, I discovered that the editing software was not downloaded onto this computer. By this time all of the computers that had the editing software on them were taken. Due to these circumstances we were not able to edit today.

 If I were to start the editing process I would take all of the footage that we already dumped onto the computer and edit it all together. My commercial is pretty simple to edit because I don’t think any fancy transitions are needed. I had the idea of editing in a voice-over, although I don’t think this would be practical because we already filmed the sound with the footage. I would add graphics to the commercial. For example, a list of the sports and clubs that our school offers. Additionally, I would cut out parts of the footage that I don’t want to include. For instance, many times I started the camera too soon and there is an awkward silence before the scene begins. Finally, I feel it would appeal to our audience more of we added music to the commercial. Although I am not sure where I would edit this in. Overall, I think the only editing necessary is sound editing.

This is a frustrating experience because we have a limited time period to complete this project in order to begin our final task. The final task is a major component of the class requirements. I know that I will need all of the time I can get to ensure that that film is worthy of a passing grade. My teachers have informed me that they have contacted Cambridge which somewhat eases my nerves. Furthermore, the school is working on supplying us with a laptop cart. My group and I were pretty discouraged because we were very excited to edit and view our footage that we worked on. To look on the bright side, however, this situation allows us to have more time to collect our thought and plan out our editing process. With this extra time I will research the effects that Pinnacle Studios offers. This will speed up the process and make it easier to incorporate transitions. Overall, this situation was pretty disappointing. Hopefully next class the circumstances will be better.

Filming Process

        I believe I played multiple parts in the filming process, director and camera man to be specific. For our commercial we decided to deviate from our original story board plan and use a different idea. The new idea entailed following a FLHS student for the day while they show all of our schools features. I played a big role in coming up with the idea due to the fact that my group mates were not very cooperative.  When we first started filming it was hard to get everyone to take things seriously. This posed as an obstacle in the filming process. Additionally, the actor we were going to film last minute backed out so we had to switch actors. Since the idea we ended up filming was not our original idea we often had to come up with scenes on the spot. This was difficult because we had a limited amount of time to film. To add on, I was taking over two jobs during filming while some of my group mates did not even perform theirs.
        As “director” of the group my main job was to keep my group mates focused on the task at hand. They tended to lose focus and begin to fool around. That’s when I came in to reel them back in. Another, responsibility as director is to provide direction for the actor. I did this by showing examples of what the final shot should look like and helping the actor become more enthusiastic. At first this was difficult because the actor is a quiet spoken person, so to get him to project was a challenge. In addition, I made the filming plan. For example, I planned out how much time we were allotted and based on that information how much time we had to film in each spot. By doing this it kept my group  moving so we wouldn’t waste too much time filming in one spot. I enjoyed my role as director because it gave me a way to ensure our final product is presentable.
        Finally, I acted as “camera man” of our group. This means that I filmed all the footage for our commercial. While this may seem like an easy job there were many obstacles to overcome. For example, one of our scenes would be shot from the second floor of a building to display our school logo. However, because we filmed in the morning, the sun was shining so bright that the camera could not focus on the subject. This delayed our filming process causing us to lose some of our allotted time. Furthermore, as we were nearing the end of our commercial our camera died so we had to scramble for a solution. The result is that the ending of our commercial is filmed on an iPhone. I have not had the chance to look at the footage yet, although I am worried that it could cause a problem in the overall presentation of our commercial. All in all, while there were obstacles to overcome I enjoyed getting the experience for these roles so I can improve them in the future.

Storyboard

     For our commercial we decided to start off with a zoom of our school logo on one of our buildings this will give the viewers and idea of what our school looks like as well as a pleasing introduction. We will then switch to a time lapse of the point of view of a student going through their school day this gives the kids watching the commercial the feeling that they are the ones walking through their future high school halls. We will include a list of our sports and then a pan of all of our fields to advertise our athletics we will conclude the commercial with a list of our clubs and ways for students to get involved.
     Making this story board is very important for the production of our film. This is because we are limited in the amount of time that we are allowed to have for filming so it is critical that we have the correct planning in order. With the correct planning in order like we have done for our story board we can film more efficiently and affectively. That is why we story board.

Editing Lesson

Today we learned the procedure for checking out a camera, filming, and editing. It is important to   know the procedure before we start the process of filming and editing to prevent the loss of footage or time. The first step is to check out the camera and the equipment, then insert the SD card you will be using into the camera. Then hit the record button and begin the filming process. After all the filming in completed and and you have gathered all the takes need, begin the dumping process. To dump the footage on your computer, eject the SD card from the camera and use the SD card reader to transfer the footage. To find the footage you should look under the DCIM section of the SD folder and if it is not located there check under the folder labeled private. After all the footage is transferred from the SD card to the desktop create a folder to store all the footage in. Creating a folder puts all the footage in the same place and makes it easier to access. Once all this is done you are ready to start editing.
        We are using Pinnacle Studios for this assignment. After you open up Pinnacle studios you need to import the footage. To do this, click the button on the top that is titled “import”. A pop up will appear that displays all of your desktop items scroll until you find the folder you made previously. If your folder does not appear check to verify you are looking under “my computer”. When you are selecting which takes to import make sure all the footage you would like to import is highlighted in yellow. Click the button that says “start import” and wait for it to load. Once you see all your footage imported click “edit”. The screen should now display all of your raw footage. Once your footage appears you can drag and drop the take you want to work with. If you want to edit them all at the same time, highlight the takes the same as you would highlight text.
        To add transitions to your footage, right click and open effects editor then click transitions. To add titles or text to your footage click on the “t”. To add effects to your text click on “motions”. Ensure that you only edit your footage on AV track 2 this keeps the footage isolated. If you want to edit in a title, add it to the track above your footage that will ensure it shows on top of your shot. The reverse applies for sound, add it in on a track below the footage. If you want to add in a sound from the internet make sure it is in mp3 form. Sound can be imported using the same process as footage. To remove sound from you footage right click on the footage and select “detach audio”. Once you have completed editing your footage click the “export” button on top. A pop up will appear select mp4 and best quality then start export. It will give you an option to select where to save the footage, in this case select the folder where all of your raw footage is located.

Planning for FLHS commercial

Today we planned out our commercial. This included: props, costumes, schedule, location, and the back-up plan. The importance of planning is to ensure that we save time. If we didn’t plan out our commercial we could forget to film a certain scene or not have a plan if circumstances change. 

Props for our commercial will be backpacks, notebooks, and more school supplies. This is very important because we need to emphasize the fact that learning takes place at our school. It will be helpful in scenes where we are portraying students walking to class and doing normal school activities. We will also need to have our IDs on because it is a strict safety policy that students always need to wear their IDs.

Costumes for our commercial include regular school clothes. Some of our actors will be wearing FLHS merchandise. FLHS stands for Fort Lauderdale High school and it is the school we are promoting in our commercial. The appropriate attire for school along with our school merchandise will remind the viewers about our school spirit and values, making our commercial look more professional.

Our schedule for the process of completing this trailer includes storyboarding 5 blocks on 10/14, planning on 10/10, filming on 10/21, and editing on 10/23. It is important to storyboard because we only have one day to film and it is important to not waste time. 

On our filming day we will be filming at the crop circles, in the hallways, cafeteria and on the sports fields. We will use these locations because we feel that they will convey our school in the most effective way. 

Our plan if one of our group members does not show up is to use someone from the class that we are in or another group member will take the role of the person that is not there. Another obstacle that we are planning on for if it begins to rain. In the event of rain we will cut out the track shot and film more within the hallways. This alternative is still effective because we will still be able to display the information about our school we want to. 

Research Blog: Commercial Conventions

          After minutes of debate, my group finally decided to do a commercial about our school as a whole. We knew we wanted to something related to FLHS; however, we didn’t know which aspect to focus on. Overtime, we concurred that it would be better to do the school in general because we wouldn’t have to be as specific. Some elements (in relation to this commercial) we first thought of consisted of what Fort Lauderdale High School has to offer. This includes its variety of extra curricular activities and academic programs.
          Typically, many school commercials include interviews from students who testify to the positive elements their school provides. Because of this, we are going to try to include performances from students in clubs such as choir or theater. We could also show the highlights of the sports program, particularly the football team, considering they are in season right now. Another idea we had would be to include a speech from the principal or a figure of authority, maybe even the student council.
          Overall, we are very excited to begin this project and hope that is might be an asset to our school as well as its values. Even though we all love our school, we hope this commercial will be beneficial to our skills in this class. We want to able to learn from the planning, editing, and filming processes involved in this activity and build upon it in the future.

Introduction

Hello! My name is Maya I am a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. I'm a competitive swimmer and swim for the team Swim Fort Lauderdale. I've been swimming for 8 years and hope to continue swimming throughout college. Although I am unsure what I would like to major in, I know I would like to attend the University of Florida. Most of my family attended the University of Florida, including my sister who is currently enrolled as a freshman.
My mother is from Germany and because most of my family still live there we visit almost every year. I love traveling to Germany not only to visit my family but to observe how unique the culture is and experience the differences in everyday life. My father was born in raised in the same city I am living in and I enjoy hearing all of the stories from his childhood to know how my city has changed in such a short amount of time. We have a dog named Oreo who is a German Shorthaired Pointer, most people mistake her for a Dalmatian because of her black and white spots. She's very active and extremely fun to play with.
I am in the Cambridge program at Fort Lauderdale High and in addition to the AICE Media Studies course, I am taking AICE European History as well as AICE English Language. Last year, I took AICE General Paper, AICE Marine science, and AICE Global Perspectives. I enjoyed taking these classes because they allowed for further analysis of the material I was learning. Furthermore, I am very interested in culinary arts and will be taking the classes offered at our school for my entire high school career. I am extremely lucky to be attending a school with such a variety of classes including the opportunity for us to take college-level classes such as AICE or AP.