Editing Music Video Blog

   My group has started editing. We started my dumping/ importing the footage onto the laptop. We opened up the footage on iMovie. We are using our own computer and editing software. We used the same software for the last project so we decided to use it again. Once we imported the foorage we dragged the clips into the correct "bar" or area. Once all the clips we were goign to use were in the right area we decided and put the videos in order of how we wanted them to appear in the music video. We couldn't agree on the order right away which made it difficult. But eventually we made it work. We then cut the clips so that the music video would be long enough and fit the time frame.
   After we cut the clips we started to add slowmotion to certain clips. We though it looked better and made the timing fit better with the song we picked. We then decided to add transitions. It was difficult because of the limited transitions available. We only liked a few of the transitions which limited us even more. We added a few transitions between some of the clips that flow the best. We didn't add transitions to all clips yet but we will add the rest next class. We dont have a lot left to edit. We have a plan so that we will finsih and turn it in on time. All we need to do is finishing editing and turn it in.
   We need to add the last transitions. We don't want to turn it in with many jumpcuts. We want it to look as good as possible. In the editing process I added most of the transitions and fixed the speed of the clips. I tried to make everything look smooth and flow. Until next class I'm thinking about what transitions would look good. I will suggest to my group to add a filter to make it look more like the feeling we want to achieve. Next class we will buy/ download the song. We need to make sure the footage and audio match up and woek well together. We just need to make sure everything looks and sounds right then we can turn it on.

Final Filming Blog

   My group is almost done with filming. We still have some left to do. Over the break I went to the beach and filmed. I got a little footage but not enough. Me and another person in my group went back to the beach. We filmed the ocean and the surroundings. We got different movements, angles and shot. We don't have any footage with actors yet. Next time we film I will be in the clips. My teammates and I will all act.
   We will finish filming 12/03. We will get our last shots done at different locations. The whole group will go out together to make sure everything works out well and runs smoothly. We will be filming more in the city and by other people. It's time to get different shots at the beach and away from it. We want to show what South Florida is like. We need to get more than the beach even though it's the biggest part/location we film at. We want to get as much footage as possible and a variety just in case we need it. We would rather have too much than too little. We want to be on the safe side when we start editing.
   We would have filmed earlier but we had to face certain obstacles that put us behind in the schedule. We also were not free at the same times to meet up and work. Since we already have some footage we will edit what we have as much as we can. We still want the project to move forward and develop. After 12/03 we can put the final music video together and add the music and effects. We are using our own camera so we have the opportunity to film whenever we want. We don't have to return anything within a certain date so we can work at our own pace as long as we are done my the deadline. As we are coming to an end we can see the whole project and shots coming together smoothly and flowing well. When all the filming is done we won't be as stressed. I think the editing will be easy compared to the rest of the project.

Music Video Filming

   So far my group has not filmed. We were planning to film on 11/23 and 11/24. Personal obstacles came up and we had to postpone. This week we will have no school for most of the days so there most likely won’t be any filming due to other plans. We will start filming when we get back from our break. We will still have enough time to record and edit. Since we are using our own camera and editing software we can work at our own pace. We know most of the shots, angles and movements we will need already. It’s difficult because we need to find days and times we are all able to film together outside of school. We don’t need extras which is beneficial because we don’t need to involve others and see when they are free to film as well.
   We will try to film together on the weekends after 11/30. Even though my group members are busy during the break I will use my free time to film. I will try and get shots where we done need actors in it. I am supposed to be acting in the music video but certain shots is without specific people in it. I want to try and get something done. I would rather be working on the project and doing something than nothing being completed. I will try to go to the beach and record. I will film me walking on the boardwalk for aesthetics. The music video will show the teenage dream of living in Florida. This will include the beach, the sunny weather all year around, having fun with friends, etc.
   The song “I lived” gives off summer vibes which fits the climate we live in. Even though we haven’t filmed yet we have things done. We have a plan of what we want the music video to look like. Once we all came to an agreement we started the storyboard. The storyboard took longer than expected. We ran out of ideas before we had reached the time limit. We brainstormed and cane up with new ideas. We took everything we planned and put it chronologically on the storyboard with descriptions. We have a plan and a time frame made up that we will try and follow. I will try and be ahead by doing some individual work to feel productive and helpful during the project.

Music Video Planning

My group and I will include numerous locations in our music video. These will include the beach and Las Olas Boulevard. During our time on the beach, we will not be near any lifeguard towers. This is due to there being certain risks and restrictions on filming near these towers. Thus, we chose to film in locations that do hold any risks associated with us filming. In terms of health and safety, we would normally have a first aid kit or other form of “safety net,” but we have found that we do not need one for this project. This is due to the fact that our physical involvement in this project (i.e. acting in our film) does not require there to be any safety precautions, since we are in no form of danger during the process. However, while driving to and from the locations where we chose to film, we will be wearing seatbelts in the car. This is a standard safety precaution, but it is essential to our wellbeing. Overall, our health and safety is guaranteed during this production.

We will not utilize any number of props in our music video. The same goes for costumes. This is due to the general plan that my group has laid out for this project. In our rough sketch of what our music video is most likely going to be, we did not include any props or costumes. Our video is primarily going to include shots of my group members simply enjoying the South Florida outdoors. Due to this, we did not feel it necessary to add in props or costumes. For example, we have an idea to film shots of group members at the beach. Going to the beach is very typical of someone in South Florida. Generally, it rarely requires much equipment. Thus, we decided not to include any props in this shot.

The schedule for our production is quite straightforward. From 11/18 to 11/22 we are working on the planning and general outline for our music video production. In addition, we are creating the storyboard to detail what will be included in our music video. On 11/23 and 11/24 we are planning to film our music video. We will the spread the filming portion over a period of two days; the whole weekend. From 11/25 to 11/29 my group and I will be editing our music video. The editing process will likely be extensive, so we intend to spread this portion over two weeks. On the week of 12/2 to 12/6 we will complete the editing process of our production and finalize our music video. The due date for our complete project is 12/9. By this point, we will have finished and submitted our complete project. 

Music Video Storyboard

The music will be playing over all of the shots 

Our editing will have smooth cut transitions in between scenes and locations 

Some of our camera angles will include; POV, pan, high angle, establishing shot, and a long shot 

Intro to Music Video

   Now that we have finished the commercial we are starting a music video. Last time my group and I worked very well together and we decided to work together for this project as well. The commercial project was made smoothly. However, we realized that the way our project ended up did not follow the storyboard we originally made. I’m more excited for this project than I was for the last one because we get to film off campus and have more freedom. I’m excited to be able to work with my group again and see what we can make this time. We all agree on and have the same ideas and visions for the video.

   The song that we chose to do is “I lived” by One Republic. The song was released in 2014 off of their album “Native”. This song is upbeat with music drops and fun lyrics. I’m really excited for this song because my group have exciting ideas on what we can film. Our whole group generally agreed and likes the ideas we’ve brainstormed this far. We are telling our own story with our ideas. We think we can express the fun of being a teenager and living in the city!

   1)Costumes that will be included is casual beach wear, going out clothes, and normal summer clothes.

2)Lighting will shift in between shots because we are thinking of a mashup type of separate clips.

3)Acting will be fun and more showing us having fun rather than being scripted

4)Makeup will be natural/casual and everyday where.

5)Props can include things like food/drinks, beach accessories, etc.

6)Setting will include the beach, downtown and around our city, school, etc.

The sound will be overlapping the shots that are playing,

Some angles that will be included are high, POV, pan.The editing will include things like jump cuts and fades in between the shots. 

Editing continued

   When my group first tried to export our footage onto the computer the desktop crashed. We could not start editing on time. We decided to use our own laptop and editing software. We didn’t have the laptop with us at the time. My group mate brought hers in the next class so we could start. Using our own laptop seemed to be easier and faster anyways. The footage was already on our computer. We didn’t have to dump the footage and use a complicated editing software. iMovie was a good software for us to use since we are all beginners. She had already exported the footage on her laptop into the editing software.
   We were ahead of most of the class time wise. While they were trying to get the computers to work we edited in our own. In the time we were able to edit half of our commercial people dumped their clips into the computer. We were able to finish our editing in one class period. It was simple so we finished fast. When editing we had to make sure all clips added up to be between 25-30 seconds. Ours ended up being 25 seconds. We were struggling at first to make it within the time range. We decided to make the transitions longer. It helped us out in the long run to finish.
   We had all the right shots. The shots were a little short. We cut and added transitions to make it into the right time frame. We were able to finish before most of the other teams in our class. We submitted the commercial early. While attempting to make the blog about our editing we had problems. The computers didn’t work so we were unable to blog during class. We had to finish our blogs at home in time. The editing and blogging process is done, next we do the questions. We will start next class period.

Editing

   Today in class we edited our commercial. We imported the footage we took last class. We decided to iMovie to edit. We recorded with an iPhone and the footage was already on our laptop because of iCloud. We dragged the clips/shots in order of how we wanted it to look. We had to make sure the videos were 25-30 seconds in all. We started by adding audio. I helped find the sound affect on iMovie and decide which one to use. I helped adding the audio to cover the entire video. I gave my input by suggesting a calmer sound.
   Then we added transitions. We added cross blur, fade, and jump cuts. I added the fade at the end of the commercial. I looked through different types of transitions before deciding on the fade. The fade look the most natural to use and what would be in a normal commercial. The other transitions were scattered around the video between clips where it looked like it for in. I added text at the end of the commercial over the fade transition. As a team we put “America Runs on Dunkin” because it’s our company’s slogan. At the very end we added the credits where. In the credits we added our names and what role we played in the video making.
   We had a couple of issues while attempting to edit. We were at first planning on using Pinnacle Studios. However, we decided to use our own laptop and we used what was available. iMovie was simpler to use. It didn’t have as many features as Pinnacle Studios which made it easier for me to edit. As a beginner iMovie was a good start. At first it was hard to find all the features but as time went on it got easier and easier. As a team we figured out what we wanted and how we wanted things to look like. We were able to finish editing in one class period. This process helped me prepare for future project we will get.

Filming

   When we were filming our commercial all the members in my team had different roles. There was a director, actors, and filmer/ person recording. When we first got outside we weren't sure who was going to do what. After the location was decided on our individual tasks started. We followed our story board and I ended up taking the first shots of the commercial. I was tracking one of the actors and getting a wide shot. It all ran smoothly even though the camera was hand held. The phone quality was better than the class cameras and I found it a lor easier to hold, work, and move. I recorded the same shot multiple times. I wanted to make sure the shot was clear, used enough time, and didnt have any other problems.
   After I recorded a couple of clips I changed roles. I became the director instead and told my group members what to do. At first I put the first actress in her place and explained how the shot and take should be carried out and how she should walk as well as the speed. I listened to feedback and applied it to make filming easier and more fun for everyone. I later told the cameraman how the shot should look and where he should walk to get the right movement, angle, and speed. As I was seeing everything play out in front of my eyes and not being distracted by filming or acting I saw what should be changed, added, and/or removed to make the overall product look neat and professional. We added and changed a couple of shots. We all agreed that this outcome was a lot better than we had expected. After a while we added another actor in the clips. I had a lot of new things to think about and look for.
   When we added the second actor I realized it was more complicated to handle than just having one person. I had to think about how they would walk, stand, and interact to get the right message across. Behind the scenes I was watching the looking out for any disturbances in the back and anything the actors could improve on. I realized that some of the interactions seemed very forced and fake. The dialogue also sounded like it was straight from a script which was not good. I gave them my feedback and resolved the issues we were having. I was also checking in with the camera man to make sure we were including all the shots and angles we needed. After we recorded, as a group, we looked back on the footage and watched out for flaws. If we saw something off we would re-film and see which version we liked better. After we finished filming my job was done and we went back in the classroom to dump the footage onto the computer.

Storyboard

   The angles that are planned to be used in the commerical, that are seen in the storyboard, is over the shoulder, pan, and dutch. The movement that will be used is the tracking movement. For shots my teamates and I will use long shot, 2 shot/ 2 person shot, and mediuam shot. And the transitions that will be added are jump cuts, fade, and fade out.

Editing Lesson Blog

   In class today we learnt and watched the steps of how to edit. Our teacher showed us how to properly us Pinnacle Studios to edit and export our footage. The first thing to do after filming is to dump the footage into computer to start editing. To start, we opened up Pinnacle Studios and plugged in the SD reader into the computer. Once everything is in the computer it's VERY important to make a  folder onto the desktop where all of one persons footage will be saved. Once the folder is made, move the footage and remove the SD card reader. To be able to strat editing we need to import the footage into the editing software. To do so, we press import, desktop (the plus sign), then look for the videos in the folder. All the raw footage will pop up on the screen and whatever is selected in a yellow/orange box will be imported and be able to be edited. The actual video footage (not audio or text) should be put into AV Track (2).
   To make changes like cutting the footage, making transitions, corrections, effects, etc. you would right click on the footage that is being changed. These changes are fairly easy to do and find for starters. Not only are there transitions but audio and text can also be added. To add text, press the "T" on the tool bar by the footage. A screen should show up and give the options of what the text should say, font, color etc. The text can either stay on a black screen or be layered on top of another video clip. To layer the text onto other footage you should drag the text to the AV Track (1). One its in a new track drag the text over the video you want it to layer and let it load. Music can also be added either by itself or to also layer a shot.
   To insert music, save a song as a MP3 into the wanted folder. Once it's saved go back into Pinnacle Studios, import the audio, the drag it to AV Track (3). Make sure that the audio is below the wanted clip. To delete existing audio press the clip, right click on it, detach audio, then hit delete. To finally save the "movie" press export. In settings save it as a MPEG 4 and Full size Sd (best quality). After press strat export, desktop, folder, name it then save. Once completed you can X out of the screen but before closing all tabs make sure everything saved properly.

Planning Blog for Dunkin Donuts Commercial

We will be making a Dunkin Donuts commercial. In order to plan for this commercial, we will be explaining the different aspects of the film shoot.The purpose of planning is to get all of our thoughts out and have detail. With detail it will make the actual filming easier, because with an outline, we already know in advance what we need for our commercial. Having more detail in our plan is better due to the fact that our filming can be done more efficiently. Story boarding is also effective because its a vision on what the actors will being preforming. Both methods of an outline and story boarding are effective because a lot of detail goes into the plans. 

• Props: out props will include a Dunkin Donuts coffee, and a Dunkin Donuts doughnut box. This is product placement and our subject. 
• Costumes: Casual clothing that's school appropriate. To represent the everyday student getting Dunkin. 
• Schedule: 10/10 planning blog, 10/14 Story board, 10/17 story boarding approval, 10/22 filming on campus, 10/24 editing, 10/28 submission. 
• Location List: Senior patio, Main hallway walking in casually with product
• Back up plan: Alternate location is main media stairs or covered hallway.This location is still effective because the message can get across and shows common student area. If a member is absent another group member will take the role. 

Research, Conventions, and Codes

   Our group decided to choose Dunkin Donuts for our commercial. Commercials for Dunkin Donuts usually include conventions related to promotions, and how caffeine affects the body. Mostly broadcasted on television and YouTube, Dunkin appeals to the general audience. Common camera angles, shots, and props are standard. Editing for the commercials include shot/ reverse shot, reaction shot, split screen as well as jump cut.
Common camera shots are establishing shots to show the standard Dunkin location. Long shots are also used to show an individual with the product or using the product to promote the brand. Two shots usually show the consumer along with an employee delivering the product.Wide shots can show the promoted product with a blurred background to give a nice look. Common movements include pan to show movement in the store. Angles for examples would be high angle , or eye level for generic views.
  Some sounds are dialogue to show interaction between actors, and ambient sound such as the Dunkin "theme song," which is instrumental. Common sound effects would be a "wow" but nothing more than common noise. Props would include the product, and the environment like the store tables, coffee mugs, along with the work station. Makeup is natural, and costumes are regular clothing with the Dunkin employee uniform. Lighting would represent common outside lighting and it's all even nothing harsh. Dunkin commercials are supposed to represent an average Dunkin experience or show everyday interactions.

Introductory

   My name is Tekla and I'm currently in 10th grade. I was born in Europe but moved to the United States a few years back. I'm a regular high school student taking some AICE and Honors classes. I love the classes that I'm in due to the fact that all four years are mixed together so that I'm able to meet friends that are different ages as well. Some of these friendships I know will last for a long time and I enjoy hanging out with them on weekends as well as going swimming and relaxing.
   Some of the things I cant stand are slow walkers and people that don't know when to stop talking. I can get annoyed pretty easily at times and those things can set me off. I'm also a type of person that needs their own space. Don't get me wrong, I love being with my friends, but once I've been with them for about a day I need to go home and take space for myself. But I'm always happy to talk to them no matter what because I know that they will always be by my side without judgement.
   When it comes to favorite colors and music I don't really have one. I can be very indecisive and I don't usually like picking favorites when it comes to anything. I'm also a very stressed person in general and can get stressed out of nowhere and feel like anxiety can get the best of me but I'm a fighter and I get through it. I know that in the future the problems I have now will be solved and I'll genuinely be happy.