Editing Blog...not

   Hi, today we were supposed to start editing our commercial. The last thing that we were able to do with our commercial was film and dump our footage on the computer. We did all that last class. I walked into class this morning ready to start editing our commercial with my group. I logged onto the computer and went onto the folder. All of our footage was there and we were ready to start editing. However, we could not find Pinnacle Studios on our desktop. Pinnacle Studios is the app that we have to use to edit our footage. We tried to see if Pinnacle Studios was on the computer but just not on the desktop. We had no luck with that so we asked our teacher what we could do. She told us that we could either start our editing blog and write about why we couldn’t edit that day or we can try to transfer our footage onto another computer.
   Our group decided on the second option to transfer our footage and start editing. We knew that only a certain number of computers had Pinnacle Studios on them. We had to try and find a computer that had the app and was actually open for use. When we found a computer, I quickly logged onto it. As I was logging onto computer, my group was putting our footage onto a flash drive. When my computer was done loading I was happy to see that my computer had Pinnacle Studios on it. My group brought over the flash drive with our footage on it and plugged it into the computer. As we waited for the folder to load, we began to read through our editing notes. When our folder came up on the computer,  we tried to click on it to bring up our footage. I became very disappointed when I saw an error message pop up on the computer.
   For some reason our footage was not going onto the computer. We called over our teacher to see if she could try to help us. She told us that there was no use in trying because Pinnacle Studios wasn’t even working on any computer. She told us it was a problem with the whole school and that we would just have to blog for the day. When we went back to our seats we started to share some editing ideas. We wanted to do this so that we can have a clear vision on what we want to create. We wanted to add certain sound it to scenes and add other visual effects. We had to write a blog anyway. That blog is what you are reading now. I hope that my group and I are able to edit next class.

Filming Blog

Hello! Yesterday my group and I filmed our commercial. This was a very fun experience and I had a great time doing it. Our storyboard definitely helped us a lot more than I thought it would. The days before we started filming, I thought that I wouldn’t need to use the storyboard as much as my teachers said I would. I was quickly proven wrong because right when my group got to our filming location, I immediately forgot everything about my commercial and needed to pull out the storyboard. Using the storyboard helped my group stay organized and make great time. I was a little worried that my group wouldn't finish in time. I ended up being really surprised when we were one of the first groups to arrive back at the classroom. Once we got back, we dumped our footage onto the folder. We still had around fifteen minutes to spare. 

When I first arrived at the classroom that morning, my group and I immediately got to work. Avalon, Alex, and Morgan were working on the make-up and I went to go check out the camera, tripod, and SD card. The night before we filmed, I picked up a McDonalds Happy Meal which was one of the main props that we used in the commercial. Morgan and I were both helping to film the commercial. Avalon and Alex were the actresses in the commercial. We all worked as a team to help direct the commercial. We helped each other out to find the perfect dialogue and body language for the commercial. The weather was perfect that day, we didn’t have to worry about any rain. It probably took us around 45 to 50 minutes to film all our takes. We tried to get at least three takes per scene. We had very few disturbances while we were filming; with the exceptions of a few loud students in the background. 

After we were done filming, we all sat down and watched all our footage to make sure that it all looked good and so that we didn’t forget any footage. Once we were all set with our footage, we all walked backed to the classroom. While one half of my group was removing their make-up, the other half which included myself, were setting up a new folder on the computer. We had to check out a SD card reader from our teacher. Once we had all the equipment set up, we dumped all of our footage on to the folder. We returned all the equipment and then we were finally done for the day. Filming was an extremely fun experience and my group and I had a great time doing it. I very proud of myself and all of my group members. The next think that I must do is edit all my footage. I’m excited to finish my commercial and see the final project. 

Storyboard

Hello! This is my group and I’s storyboard for our Mcdoanlds commercial. Each box represents a plan of 6 seconds of our commercial. In the first box we plan to shoot using a tilt up shot to introduce Alex into the frame and she will be sitting alone with a sad expression on her face with sad tone music playing in the background. The next box we plan to zoom in and have a close up on Alex and she will say that she is having the worst day and then reach into her lunch box/backpack to get some food and realize that she doesn’t have any. Then in the next box it will be a medium shot where Avalon as Ronald McDonald comes in holding a Mcdoanlds happy meal and saids to Alex “I know what you need.. a Mcdoanlds happy meal!” Then in the 4th box Alex will have a happy smiley expression on her face and has the Mcdoanlds in front of her and saids “Oh my gosh, this is just what I needed” and during this time we will also being using an over the shoulder shot that goes into an eye level two person shot. Then the last box and last 6 seconds will be a long shot with an insert of the Mcodnalds logo Alex smiling with her Mcodnalds walking up to camera and the Mcdoanlds tune will be playing in the background and she will say the slogan “I’m loving it!”

Editing Lesson Blog

     Hello, today in class I learned how to edit my footage for when I start filming. My group and I are starting our commercial project next week. The first thing that we learned was how to check out a camera from class. We do this so that a camera or other equipment doesn’t get lost. We also learned how to use the camera and other filming equipment such as the tripod and SD card. We learned how to turn the cameras on and how to start recording with them. We learned how to use the tripod and how to create different shots such as a pan and a tilt. We also learned the proper ways to hold the camera equipment. This information was very helpful for me because I never really used this equipment before.

     After learning about how to use the camera and filming equipment, my class watched and took notes on a PowerPoint about dumping, importing, editing, and exporting videos. The notes that we took were very informative and helpful for me. I know that I must use Pinnacle Studios in order to edit. Only one person in my group needs to make an account and log into Pinnacle Studios. My group and I will have to make a folder for this class to keep all our footage. To dump, all I have to do is put my SD card into the SD card reader. Once I find my footage on the the computer, I will highlight it and transfer it into my folder. Importing my footage is really easy. To import, I have to log on to Pinnacle Studios and go to the “Import” tab and look for my folder with all my footage on it. Once I find my footage I can start to import it. I must wait for all my footage to load before I start editing.
     Going through the PowerPoint on handling footage, I learned how to edit all my footage together so that it makes sense. I believe that editing will be the most fun part of the project because that’s where I can be most creative. I learned how to add a title to my film and how to cut footage in half. I learned how to add music and audio and how to remove music and audio from my footage. Even though this seems like the most interesting part of the whole process, I also thing it will be the most difficult. I also learned how to export my video. This is definitely the most important thing that I learned today in class. Without knowing how to export, there is no point in doing the project because then it will never be able to be graded. Luckily exporting footage is the easiest thing that we learned today. I’ll I have to do make sure that I am happy with the final product of my project and just click the export button. Once my footage is done exporting, I need to make sure that my footage is saved just in case a problem occurs. Today was a very important day and I can’t wait to get started on my commercial project.

Planning Blog for McDonald’s Commercials

Hello it is October 10th and today my group and I are starting our planning for our commercial! In the planning process we are going to be looking at and discussing what locations to film at and why, any back up locations incase  the ones we originally picked out won’t be available, the costumes we will be wearing, and the props that will be included in the scene. It’s important to us that we have all of this information planned out prior to filming that way when it is time for us to film we know exactly what needs to get done and we can efficiently create our commercial.
   Props
•McDonald’s McNuggets, fries, and drink
•Backpack with notebooks and pencils
•Balloons
  Costumes
•Clown costume for McDonald’s mascot: red nose , face paint, Afro wig. Regular school clothes for other subject in scene
  Schedule
• 10/10 - Planning
• 10/14 - Storyboard blog
• 10/21 Filming blog
• 10/23 Editing Blog
We will probably film on the 18th of October but we aren’t positive yet and once we are done filming  we will immediately begin editing.
  Location list
• Senior patio (This will be our main location, we think it would be wise to film all in one location to limit confusion to viewer, Alex, will be  sitting down at one of the tables at the senior patio acting sad and then the clown will come into the shot giving me the Mcdoanlds meal)
  Back up plans
• Location back up will be our school’s crop circle, it will be a good enough resemblance to a table/ sitting area, if it’s raining we will film by the media center staircase where it is covered but we can still use the steps to sit and set our props.

Research Blog: Commercial Coventions

Hey everyone ! We are starting our first big project in media today, we have to create a commercial about a company from a list given to us, and we chose McDonald’s. We chose Mcdoanlds becuase we thought that it would be a fun commercial to make and we had many great ideas of what we could do and were immediately inspired. We’ve already started doing some brain storming on different scene ideas we can do and act out. 

  Some conventional or common codes that would be in a McDonald’s commercial would be a very positive connotation towards the audience. The symbolic codes is usually set in a McDonald’s restaurant with bright coloring and there is typically kids involved and the mascot for Mcdoanlds, Ronald McDonald. For technical codes, the lighting is bright with cheerful audio and their signature tune and the editing is used to appeal to the projected audience to persuade them to buy their products. Some written codes in a Mcondalds commercial is their slogan : I’m loving it! 

  Our group consists of 4 people, Alexandra, Avalon, Morgan, and myself. We all plan on equally contributing into this project to make it the best it possibly can and using effective communion skills to communicate our differing ideas and thoughts about the project. We’re so excited to be starting up our first film on the year and we all think it’s going to be super entertaining to make, edit, and watch.

Introductory

Hello, my name is Jake. I am currently a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. The classes that I am taking this year aren't that interesting. Other than my regular, mandatory classes that I must take such as math and English, I am taking AICE Psychology and AICE Media Studies. Media Studies is probably the class that I find most interesting because I've always been curious about the subject of film and how films are made. 

I personally love movies and books. Some of my favorite movies include: Requiem for a Dream, Jaws, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Horror is definitely my favorite genre for films and books because I think that it is the most creative genre and I think that it has the most appealing sub-genres such as slasher and psychological. Some horror movies that I love are Halloween, The Shining, and Nosferatu. I really like the dark and lonely vibes that those movies give off. I am a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky, he has written and directed many of the films that I like (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Mother!). My favorite book is House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. The story and structure of the novel is unlike anything I've ever read before and reading it was honestly a life changing experience. 

I'm not entirely sure what I want to do in my future. I plan on going to college but I don’t know if I want to go into the medical field or if I want to do something else, I would love to become an OB/GYN because I find it to be the most interesting and fascinating field in the medical industry. The only issue is that I have with going into the medical field is that it is a lot of school which means that it is a lot of money and I don’t want to live most of my life in dept. My other plan is to go into the film industry because I love movies and I have a huge interest in set design and cinematography. I’m still deciding on what I want to do though.