Almost Editing Blog

Today, my partner and I couldn't work on our blog. This is because pinnacle studios (the editing software we use) is not working. However, we uploaded the file from the desktop to google drive. This process took about 5 minutes. I logged into my account, and selected create new file. I then uploaded we looked at some of our footage. We had good takes, but the camera quality was poor. The videos didn't have much color and it lagged. It looked like we were running in slow motion. I think that we can possible put an effect to reverse the slow motion.

The camera quality wasn't good either. It didn't have a lot of pixels so it looked blurry. We understand that the camera is old, but we are also disappointed with the quality. In addition to this, the color wasn't vibrant. I believe the camera filtered it, so everything has more grey pigment. We will make the most out of it because sports commercial mainly use grey or blue undertones. The sound quality was terrible. We could barely hear anything that was in the original video. In some takes, there was no sound whatsoever. But we did a voice over to fix this.

For the first two scenes, we are planning to do a reverse shot. We will have Kaitlyn running towards the camera, and then have it change to her drinking Gatorade. The first scene would be a tilt. The scene would start at eye level. and as Kaitlyn is running closer, the camera lens slowly went upwards. It will cut back to Kaitlyn running in the opposite direction. Then my rhythmic gymnastics scene would be next, and then cut to me drinking Gatorade. All of the other scenes will hopefully go as planned. Unfortunately, we lost some of our footage. Kaitlyn filmed my rhythmic gymnastics scenes first, but the camera died. When the camera died, we lost all of that footage. However, we did re-shoot those scenes that same day because we feared that this could happen.

Filming

Today my partner and I filmed our gatorade commercial. We went over to the senior patio first to film the rhythmic gymnastics scene. We filmed the same move about 10-15 times. Then we filmed my drinking scene in which I just drank gatorade. We also filmed this a few times. Then the camera died. My partner had checked the battery when we began filming, and it was completely charged, but it still died in 20 minutes. We then went to get another camera and proceeded to go to the building 5 stairs. I set up the tripod to the highest setting, and put the SD card inside the camera. However, the SD card got stuck, and the camera wouldn't film.
I then went back to the classroom, and got the SD card out. I went back downstairs and put the SD card back into the camera. We then pressed record and filmed me going up the stairs and Kaitlyn going down the stairs. We met halfway and gave each other a high five. This scene was extremely tiring for us because we were running on the stairs for about 10 minutes. We then decided that we took enough takes, and set up for the next scene in the same location. We put 5 unopened gatorade bottles next to each other and had the camera focus on the product. Then, Kaitlyn and I sat on the bottom step and pretended to talk. At the end of scene, we looked at the camera and smiled with a gatorade bottle in our hands. We did this scene about 7 times, and then we proceeded to go to the track field.
Once we got to the track field, we had to find a space where there wasn't people. I then recorded Kaitlyn running towards the camera on the field a few times, and running away from the camera. This allows us to have a variety of different takes. There were a lot of people at the track field because of the physical education class. This made it difficult to get takes where there weren't people in the background. However, I still got some people in the background for some of the shot because it looks more natural to the environment. After we got the takes, I shot Kaitlyn's drinking scene. We recorded this about 4-5 times and I believe that scene turned out really well. Kaitlyn and I were concerned that the footage of the first two scenes were deleted because of the old camera. Therefore, we went to the bleachers and re-shot those scenes. After we finished filming, we dumped the footage onto the computer.

Storyboard

Today my partner and I created our storyboard. Our commercial is for gatorade. Kaitlyn drew the pictures, while Stephanie wrote the camera angles, movements, location, etc. We both decided on what we will be doing in each scene, and where it will be located. We are strictly using elements from sports commercials. In the first scene, Kaitlyn is running towards the camera on the track field. It will be a tilt, and it will be filmed as a wide shot, and at eye level. In the second scene, Kaitlyn will be drinking the gatorade at the track field. This portrays her needing nutrients, so she is drinking the product. It will be a medium close up. In the third scene, Stephanie will be doing rhythmic gymnastics at the senior patio. It will be a tracking shot filmed at eye level. In the fourth scene, Stephanie will be drinking the Gatorade in a medium close up. During the fifth scene, Kaitlyn and Stephanie will be going up and down the stairs in different directions. We will meet at the middle and give each other a high-five. This will be a low angle next to the building five stairs. Lastly, the sixth scene will be a close up of the drinks (at eye level), with Kaitlyn and Stephanie in the background. This will also be by the building five stairs. During the filming process, we will predominantly use natural lighting.

Editing Lesson Blog

      Today I learned a lot.  The lesson started with the functions of a camera and its parts. We were taught how to turn the camera on and off, and how to begin and stop recording. There is a silver button with a red line that the camera person presses to start or stop recording. In addition to this, there is a device that you can attach to the camera, that also attaches to the tripod. This allows the camera to record oblique angles, tilts, pans, etc. The tripod has 3 legs and it can extend to about 4 or 5 feet. This will make filming much easier, and more convenient. There is also a setting that you can roll to make the camera even higher. This is good for high angles to make the actor/object on screen look smaller and vulnerable.
     We also learned how to dump and import the camera footage. To dump the footage, the individual has to open pinnacle studios, log in and open a new folder. They then have to name the folder in correlation to the project. Then you must insert the SD card and press DCIM. All the footage is in chronological order. To import the footage, the individual must be in pinnacle studios and press editing. They have to select the footage that they want to import, and then press start import. AV track 1 is for the title slide, AV track 2 is for the visual footage, and AV track 3 is meant for music and voiceovers. Titles must go above the film. This is the way for the words to be displayed with the shot. The individual would press rendering. Rendering is when the film becomes smooth. If the individual doesn't click this, the film will be choppy, and rough.
     Then the editing process begins. This is when the editor makes transitions or adds in effects. The most popular transition for this class is fade and dissolve. The editor can also add text to the film. During the editing process, the team will decide which shots to include, and which shots to delete. After the editing process is complete, the individual will export the file. The individual has to click "file" and then export. Then you must select Mp4 which is the best for visual footage. You must also select the best quality available, and then select start export. The footage will be saved in the file that was selected in the beginning of the process.

Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial

Today my partner and I began to work on our Gatorade commercial. We decided that we would use cooler colors like blues, whites, and purples. We also drafted our script. We are staying with a motivational mindset, because that's what most energy drink commercials do. We will have dialogue in the majority of our scenes, but not all. We will be speaking, but in a voiceover. Therefore, the audience will not be able to see us speak, but they will hear our correct voices with the scenes that we are in. We have also chosen a slogan for our commercial which will be, "When you give everything, Gatorade gives it back." These will be the final words of the commercial.

We also decided on our costumes and props. Coincidentally, my partner Kaitlyn and I both have the same blue shirt. It also resembles a sports top, so we are going to be matching. We are also going to wear simple black leggings because we both have a few pairs. Therefore, we are matching for the most part. Since Kaitlyn is doing a track scene, she will be wearing white sneakers. On the contrary, I will be doing a rhythmic gymnastic scene, and will have black dance shoes instead. Our props include a spray bottle, hair tie, small towels, gatorade and a rhythmic gymnastics ball. These props will help to further our plot, and make the commercial more interesting. 

We also created a schedule. Our class normally begins at 11:30, but my partner and I decided to go during our lunch period so we can start at 11:00. from 11:00-11:25 we will be at the track field to do our opening scene and the drinking Gatorade scene. From 11:30-12:10 we will be doing the rhythmic gymnastics scene and another drinking gatorade scene. The rhythmic gymnastics scene will most likely take longer because the camera will be moving, therefore making it more difficult to film. From 12:10-12:30 we will be doing the running up the stairs and high five scene. Lastly, from 12:30-12:35 we will be doing the close up of the gatorade. Class ends at 1:00 which allows Kaitlyn and I 25 minutes to change locations and give us breaks. If it rains the schedule would alter and we would move outdoor locations indoors.

Research blog: Commercial Conventions

My partner and I chose the topic Gatorade. We had the idea to advertise all of the blue flavors because winter is approaching. We will begin our storyboard soon, but we have an idea of what we want to do. We plan to have a video of somebody running to a gatorade bottle for the opening scene. For the closing scene, we want to have a video of somebody dramatically drinking it. On the editorial side, we want to have a section in slow motion. We will most likely use a split screen too. These are some of our pre research ideas. 

From our research, most sport drinks commercials include celebrities. Unfortunately, we do not have celebrities to use so we cannot do this aspect. Many sports companies also use deep voiceovers. This give the audience the impression that a male sports player is speaking. However, my partner and I are both female, so we also cannot do the stereotypical voicemail. These sports companies also have an extremely high budget and have multiple days to complete this. We have a total of 90 minutes and no budget. We still have high hopes for the project.

On a positive note, my partner and I noticed that there are many actions scenes. Our school has a track field and gymnasium that we can use for filming. We can record running and basketball scenes. Our bleacher seats in the gymnasium are also blue, which goes with the “cool blue drink” theme. From the videos we also observed that there were a lot of extreme close ups. My partner and I will show close ups of eyes and side profiles. We also noticed that the commercials showed the product throughout the commercial, but the product had a special section at the end. We will most likely do the same. The music was also extremely upbeat and empowering because it represents a sports or energy drink. -Stephanie W 10/7/19

Introductory

My name is Stephanie W and I am a sophomore in high school. I am currently enrolled in AICE media studies. AICE classes are college level courses. They are graded by a college named Cambridge in England. In this particular  class I will learn about various camera angles, movements, sounds, mis-en-scene, etc. We present what we learn through multiple projects and blogs. I will be blogging every class on this website. Some of the projects I will complete are commercials, short films, and tests. 

My first assignment was to create this blog. This will help me understand how to write the blogs and explain the process that I go through in this class. My first project is to create a commercial for a certain topic. My partner and I haven’t chose our project topic. We will select it from different companies that are provided. We think that we will most likely pick Gatorade or Starbucks. Before we start filming, we have to create a storyboard. A storyboard allows you to draw your commercial six seconds at a time.

In addition to storyboarding, we have to create a script. Even if our commercial doesn’t have any dialogue, it is still important to know what background music and diegetic or non-diegetic sounds there will be. After our script and storyboard gets approved, then we can finally begin filming. After filming, we will go into the post production stage. This stage mainly consists of editing. Editing can greatly impact the commercial for multiple reasons. It can help the audience truly understand what is happening and can help them connect to the product. I’m excited to begin this process. -Stephanie W 10/7/19