What I Did This Semester -
Music Video
Coming back from winter break we analyzed numerous music video techniques, shots, and editing styles. We were assigned a group to work with where we took a song everyone thought would be good to edit to, and then began preproduction. We chose locations, costumes, coordinated times with our group members as to when we would film, story boarded, composed shot lists, etc. The project from start to finish I think took two weeks, maybe three - I'm a little unsure. Along the way, a lot of things were learned start with, the weather is really not your friend. We waited for a day that was nice and sunny for Lilly (our main dancer) to preform, but it turned out to be freezing, and muddy everywhere due to rain taking place the night before. We also learned that in post, warp stabilizer will not fix all the shots we had to do while walking with a camera. Much of where we shot was un-level, or too muddy for the tripod to sit up correctly so we ended up just holding the camera a lot. When we presented this to our class, some of the feedback we got was that we should have a larger variety of shots. We missed out on really good opportunities for some extreme close up shots, as well as some close up and over the shoulder. If I could go back and change things, I would probably re-do the whole assignment, come up with a new song, prompt it to have an actual story, as well as choose new location. This is a project I think I could have made a lot better if I thought out more of what I wanted the video to look like in the end. I did have fun making this video, although I will probably never want to listen to the song Upswing ever again because I have heard it enough to last me a life time.
High School Movie Trailer Remake
Our next assignment was to recreate a movie that took place in a high school. We were to remake it shot for shot, edit for edit. Lilly, Ryan, and I kinda stretched the idea of "High School" with this because a lot of Napoleon Dynamite was produced outside of the school when it should have been done ALL in school. This assignment took a month I believe, it was to be finished before spring break. Some problems we ran into started small, with our group. We originally had different actors for our film, some upperclassman who would have played the part really well just because they all work together, and have a type of chemistry on screen that is very humorous to watch. They had other video projects they were executing during the time we needed to be filming, so immediately we had to change plans and Ryan became our Napoleon. Some other problems we ran into was a cranky main actor because he didn't want to wear a wet shirt for a couple shots, but it was okay, he had every right to be upset, it was cold. With this film, we learned how important time management is. During the time we were working on this in class assignment, Lilly, Ryan and I were also working on client work as a group which made it so much harder because we gave our clients more attention than our grades. This resulted in us rushing, and I am sure if we actually took the time, we could redo this and make it much better then what we have now. There is always room for improvement and I have learned a lot since we did these last two projects, which is why I know what could be changed. When we showed this to our class, much of them really enjoyed it, but some of the points we made were very true. Our audio does not line up with the original video, and the lighting is off in many shots. We were unable to get a tetherball for this which resulted in some improvising, but we could have easily gone to an elementary school and found a tetherball to get footage with. Once again, now that the video is exported, we did not go back an change anything, but if I took the time to, I would correct a lot. Shots would be changed, as well as working to make it shot for shot exactly so we could get it as close to the original trailer as possible. I really liked making this video because I had a lot of fun editing it, and working with Lilly and Ryan gave me the chance to get closer to them which I really valued.
Short Film
Our final project that we have spent the past month on was our short film. We all started by learning about genres, plot development, and themes. We took the time to develop treatments of stories we came up with, and then presented them to the class. We choose four that everyone really liked, split into teams and then began choosing how we would make the short film work. I was assigned director for this which worked in my favor because I am very type A personality, and feel more comfortable in charge. Josh, our cinematographer, started by storyboarding the film. Lilly, our main actress worked on creating production schedules, shot lists, prop list. Jaclyn, our art department worked on costuming, music we could use in the film, as well as creating a movie poster. I worked on re-writing parts of the script so we could do all of it at school, as well as coordinating with my team ways we could actually film all of this and what ideas we could add to make it better. We originally planned to have security camera footage, as well as test messages popping up on the screen but we ran out of time for that towards the end which resulted in changing parts of our short film. When working on this, a few things were made really apparent, starting with audio. We have a lot of dialogue, our story relies on it, and so if something goes wrong we have to make a lot of changes. Our lunchroom scene was redone three different times, and in those times we probably did the whole scene six or seven times so we had a variety of shots. Another thing we learn is that, when it comes to pull of a mirror image of the main actor, we needed someone who looked exactly like Lilly. Same build, roughly the same skin and hair color. It would have made filming certain parts more believable. For critics, my class suggest that the scene where the office lady is looking t her computer could have been a tighter edit, because it was long and awkward, however, they did like it which was good. For other members of our short film the main concern was that the lighting changes a lot in the film and should be color corrected. We did a good job of making it suspenseful and pulling off a really good story. If I could, I would probably change the beginning of the story so that way it started at Sarah's (the main character) house and have it show her stalker starting there so it didn't just seem sudden once she got to school. I would most likely find ways to make the shots connect a little better because even editing it, I feel there are a couple things that become hard to follow. This project was very interesting making. I was out sick for a portion of it which did not help my group, but I am super happy that we finished. I am happy with the outcome of the project, I just know if we were given the chance, all of us could find ways to make it better.
Valuable Takeaways Learned From Each Guarantee -
Technology
Much of the technology aspect consisted of trial and error, video demonstrations, various projects and learning how to adjust different things. From our very first video assignment of the year, the six shots system to our final project, our short film, much improvement has been made. We learned lighting settings, audio settings, color correcting skills, how to set up different shots, how to execute different types of moving shots. When it came to editing we learned how to use Adobe Premiere Pro as a whole. Freshman year we spent time with Final Cut Pro so this year we took the time to learn an entirely new software, which I favor much more over Final Cut. The skills we acquired this year are important because they will be the ones we always remember. We used audio adjustments, music overlays, color correcting, different shots, story boarding, pre-production planning for all our projects and because it was so repetitive it will be routine. Along the way many challenges were faced especially when it came to filming/audio problems, as well as editing. There were times, especially in our last project where shots were too shaky, and warp stabilizer would not work so we would have to go re-do the shot because we forgot to check it before moving on. There were also instances where we thought the audio would be fine, because that's how it sounded on the camera, but that was not the case. When we would bring the footage back, the audio was really messed up, you were unable to hear anything but white noise or popping when talking between scenes got loud. When it comes to technology, my greatest strengths is that I am willing to go redo something just because the edit does not look good with that we are doing. Another thing would be that when I get stuck and have issues, I am not afraid to ask for help, or even watch videos on how to fix the problem I am having. My editing is something that has improved a lot because it used to be something that I would rush, but now I take more time with the editing than I do the filming. By doing this, it has allowed me to learn a lot of skills, such as morph cuts, and how important B-Roll is when an interview is taking place. There are many things I know I still need to work on, and one of them is taking the time to get everything set up on cameras before filming. Lighting and audio are the biggest struggles, and it is something I honestly forget just because I am so ready to start filming. Next year because I am continuing video, I know I will use a lot of the skills I have learned from this year because they are all very valuable and very important for what is needed to make a video good. There is nothing I would change, but I know next year I would like to know all the things you are able to do with Adobe Premiere Pro because I think if I had more knowledge about each of the tools and what they did/how they can change your video, I would find ways to make my videos much better. Technology, as well as communication are, in my opinion, the most important parts of eComm, so the take aways are extremely valuable, and I think what I am walking away with meet that.
Collaboration
A lot of my collaboration skills were learned outside of the classroom when we were working on filming or with client work. Being out an working around problems that appeared where what taught me most about collaborating with group members. As soon as certain shots didn't work, everyone would be throwing out ideas so that we could fix the problem as fast as possible. Collaboration is important in this program because you can't always do your work by yourself. You have to be able to work with a team, take suggestions, and work problems out with the people you work with. While there were not a lot of challenges faced in this guarantee, one that showed up a lot with client work was that we would go to wherever we were needed, we would work on filming, getting everything they needed, and then when we would send off our final product, we would not hear a response for a little while which made it really hard to work together with our clients for reasons like time management and effective communication. Some of my strengths when it came to working in group settings and as a team were that I am very Type A, a leader personality so it was easy for me to take charge when things started moving slow. I was always one to be able to contribute new suggestions as to how we could do things. I was also very open to suggestions. My weakness came from the fact I would get bored of the group project we would be doing and some days ideas of how the video should go would be completely different than how they were actually supposed to go. When working on Napoleon Dynamite, we changed so many things from the original trailer just because our original group fell apart and we rushed. When working on the short film, our group script started would with a bus stop scene, and we ended up changing it so it would be easier for us to film. I have learned that when we are part of a team, we take full responsibility for one another's mistakes, and it is something I am going to use in everyday life, all the time. Weather it is in eComm, or at work, it is a valuable takeaway the can be interpreted into many different life settings.
Communication
Communication is one of my greatest strengths when it comes to all the guarantees. This program constantly has me communicating with teachers, clients, online through blog post, and websites like Behance. All of these help me learn how to get better and better in these areas. Communication is really important in this program because it is constantly about "How are we going to get this information out?" Some of the biggest issues I face in this is the mis-communication errors. When working with clients, or even in group settings, the communication is so SO important, and one little misunderstanding can result in the success or failure of a project. When working on client work this year, Lilly and I had a communication error with some of the clients revolving around interviews and how they wanted certain things in the video, as well as what they did not want in the video. This resulted in re-editing the video, which was not the end of the world, it was just frustrating at the time because we were under the impression we had completed the video. My weakness when it comes to communication would probably be expressing when I do not agree with something. Numerous times while working on projects in first and second semester, there were things I did not agree with in the sense I did not think they would look good in the video itself. I have a tendency to keep a lot of feedback to myself as well, just because I hate criticizing other people's work. Next year, I plan on improving that by offering minor suggestions when it comes to to critiquing classmates work, but I know it is something I will have to keep working on to feel comfortable giving my opinion about what I actually think of the videos we watch. Much of what I have learned this year in communications, I am always going to continue to use. Communication has taught me how to be effective in what I am saying, be professional, as well as given me a little extra confidence when it comes to new clients. There is not much I would change in this aspect, because it is one of strengths, I know I can get better at it which will be beneficial to me in the long run, having room to grow.
Project Management
I learned project management quickest, because I am very grade motivated, and generally when turning things in late, the grades begin to drop. Project management is important because it teaches you that deadlines are not flexible. Your client wants a video due in two weeks, and you don't have it completed, you are not going to have very happy clients who will refer you on to others. It is important because it teaches you to be responsible, and work effectively in the time you have. When it came to time management, this was probably my worst of the five because I would rush everything just to get done on time. There were numerous projects where I felt they could have been better if I had just found the time to continue to work on it. By working extra hard to get all the shots we need in a little amount of days, and then by spending time editing, and fixing, and making final touches, it really moves by quick. I plan to improve this all together by managing my time well in class, as well as taking the time to work outside of class if needed because I rarely did that this past year when I knew I could have. I know I will need to work on sticking to production schedules better, as well as pacing myself on the editing portion by doing it in sequences that get things done more efficiently. For example, all the sub-clips go in first, then audio channels are adjusted. Next we make sure there are no shaky shots, we then color correct, and add in extra sound effects or edits, finally we export. Being able to get that process down will help with my time management as well. With the things I learned this year, I will be sure to put them into better effect next year in hopes that my projects are all improving and I'm not thinking "...if I would have taken more time to edit this, it would look better". I plan on making sure I stick to be really effective in my time management, as well as making sure the quality of my work is shown by how much time I put into each of the projects I do next year.
Leadership
This skill has taken many years to learn and improve on, and still I am constantly learning how to get better. My teachers all make a big influence on how well my leadership skills get because they are people I look up to. Without leadership skills, projects would have no dynamics. Everyone would just go along with whatever the project was, structure would seem minimal, and it would gradually start to fall apart. When leadership skills come into play, things are done efficiently, there is always something needing to be done, projects are managed better, as well as being directed/lead in the right direction. The most challenging about this is that I am very "leader" personality that I am always the one to take charge, and throughout this year I never really thought about if someone else wanted to take charge in any of the groups I was apart of, I was always the one who just took charge of it and went. Next year, I most definitely will try my hardest to not always throw myself up as leader for starters because everyone deserves the chance to be in charge of a project. I know I can also work on being more open to suggestions all the time, not just some of the time like I am now. With what I have learned I will continue to use it in my everyday like, especially when it comes to work and school. There is not much I would change to this guarantee, other than what I know I need to work on which I plan to improve with next year.
How My Time Was Spent -
Video was never a class I slacked off in. I was very social in this class, and talked to my peers a lot, but I was constantly working. When I wasn't working on in class assignments, I was working on my client work for the Olathe Public Library or Olathe East Design Academy. I never finished any of my projects early. There were many times where I found myself staying after school taking the time to finish editing just because I was so tedious about how I wanted the videos to work. Outside of class, I watched a lot of videos that had really unique edits on them for the purposes of personal work I would like to do in the near future. Video was without a doubt my most productive class.
My Overall Strengths -
My strengths when it came to video where leadership, problem solving, and my willingness to learn and correct my mistakes to improve the quality of my work. These were present in every single assignment without a doubt because I would always push to take the lead, and make sure the video was done step by step that way we had everything.
My Overall Weaknesses -
My weakness when it came to video was the need to always be in charge. There is no doubt in my mind that it annoyed people in my groups. With that also comes the bad habit of always choosing how the video was done. If I could change anything, I would probably choose to have someone else be director for this last short film and I would have taken role on cinematographer. It is my belief that if someone else was director, our film would be different because someone would have a different idea of how to execute the film.
Summary -
Like I said, video is my favorite class out of the whole day. It is a time for me to relax and have fun, but I still get the chance to be creative. This semester, I loved the projects. I loved the entertainment based side of video compared to the news side of video. I would have liked to work with other people on my projects because I worked with Lilly and Josh on two out of the three projects, and I didn't get to work with hardly anyone else in the class. One of my biggest take aways from this semester would be knowing the importance of "coming in late, leave early" because a lot of my videos would be better if I remembered it. My goal for next year is that I am a positive contribution to the new video time I will be apart of. I am overly excited about getting to be apart of the bigger class because creating their short films looks like so much fun even though I know it is a lot of work. Overall though, I could not be more thankful for the friendships I made in video, my amazing teacher, as well as all the things I learned. I know next year will be great, but this year alone made such an impact on me and it is one I will never forget.
