Editing Blog

Our editing process was complicated. We dropped all our files to our desktops and left class last time. Today, we were supposed to start editing but our computers were broken. We started by moving all our files on the computer back to the jump drive. This process alone was hard because the computers were so badly ruined they cant even function. It took us nearly 25 minuets just to move a few video clips. We are trying to think of the best way to edit now as we do not have a desktops to edit on. We are probably going to end up working on my personal computer, but this will be hard as my computer is old and not reliable. We have no other options and the due date is approaching. All our files are together, but it is just hard to get everything started.
The whole process has been annoying. The only part that has worked is our dumping. We luckily got to save our videos. Other than that, everything has been terrible. I can not even write a good blog. We need to hit sentence minimums and because today has been so unproductive, I cannot write anything. I feel like today was a wasted day. Pinnacle studios and the computers are broken, and the laptops constantly freeze.
We need to edit our blogs our we are going to be penalized. This is setting us all up for failure on the testing day. This cannot be the way it goes or else I will fail the class. Being a senior this cannot happen. I need this class and want to pass really bad, but at this rate I am not sure it will happen. I literally cannot even see the clips on these computers they are so bad. We are trying our best to get something to edit on, but until then, we are dead in the water. Our vision for our blog is still going to be complete, but we are stuck. It is not our teachers fault, it is our school for not providing us with technology to be able to complete the class. We are starting to get worried about our project. We are going to have to figure it out like we normally do which is ok. It will not be fun, but until we get our computers running, we have to do what we can.

Filming the Commercial

Today, me and my commercial team filmed. At first, we were very confused as to what we needed to do because the steps to getting our cameras and gear were a process to get. There was so many moving parts and things we had to sign to be able to obtain. For example, we had to write out what number camera, SD card, and tripod we had before we could even leave the room. This took nearly 20 minuets to do, and dramatically cut our filming time down. Next me and my group mates changed into nike hear, me and Alex were prepared and fully dressed out, while Atian brought nothing and didn't really contribute. After leaving, we picked our first filming spot due to the good lighting, light foot traffic, and most importantly the fact that it showcased the idea that we were at a school. This was an important part because without the viewer knowing we were at a school, it would be hard for them to see the entire commercial develop.  However, we had to reshoot the opening shot several times. There was always something screwing it up, noisy kids walking by, a lawn mower buzzing, or even faculty golf carts moving by. Eventually, we took three or four solid shots we would use. Getting the angle for this shot was hard, we wanted a fully body shot as Alex was getting closer, but we also wanted to show the Nike prevailing, but we got the best of both worlds with Atian filming, and me tossing him his nike bag.
Our next challenge was getting a cross cut shot of Alex walking to the field, catching the same bag as before. This was an issue because we couldn't get the right toss to mimic the toss of him walking in the hall. Another issue we were having with this shot was how far back Alex was when he caught the bag. We took multiple shots trying for the best one, and we think we on the right track, and with the magic of editing we will be fine. Next, we filmed a POV of Alex lacing up his cleats, this was hard because Atian needed to hold the Camera from Alex's eyes, making it hard for Alex to see the process of lacing up his cleats properly. Also, another issue was Atian had to awkwardly hold the camera, possibly ruining the integrity of the shot. Next, we shot a pan of Alex walking to the field. This was easy, even though there was kids filming in the back round. Then, we recorded him taking a shot to showcase his skills in the Nike gear.
Our hopes are to cut this shot, and jump to another shot of Alex in a game situation. This would show Nike working in all situations, which is the main goal of our commercial. From here, we moved to a close up of Alex scoring. This was a hard shot to get because we couldn't pick a good angle, but we got multiple shots so we will do with what we have. From here, we panned out and had Alex walking back towards the middle of the film. We started at a chest high shot of his back, and as he walked away, we got to see more and more of him with the Nike. This was our closing scene and we hoped to do a fade out and show the Nike logo and their logo, "Just Do It." Next, we had to dump our footage, this was a hard part that almost ruined our filming! We couldn't move the files from the SD to our school computer, so we eventually just moved them to my personal computer so we would have them. This was a hard step, as we didn't want to ruin all the footage we had just taken, but we didn't want to have to rely on me with my personal computer every single day. Overall, the day was productive, and I got to do multiple roles of the process, but I felt weird being on camera, as it was a first for me. Alex was a star, he had the majority of the screen time, and he acted very mature and was very meticulous.

Storyboard

          In todays class, we got a lecture on how the final exam day will go. We learned about the creative critical reflection today and how important it is to our final grade. We learned about the four essential questions we have to answer to make the essay as best as it can be. In the opening, we are going to be walking down a hallway. Here, our character is walking down a hallway in normal school clothes and they are going to catch a Nike bag. From here, we are going to cut away to the identical shot where he catches a bag in an eye level shot. In this scene. He will be in a medium long shot walking out on the track to the field. This will allow the reader to understand he is going from the class room to the fields to play. We would utilize a long shot to show him moving to the benches.
          The next scene would be him taking the ball in POV with an dutch shot. This would give the illusion that he is filming his own view. We would then start the music, to allow the reader to feel the positive pressure building. The next shot will be Alex lacing up his shoes. He will take the shoes out of the bag that was thrown to him in the beginning, this will be POV. Alex will dribble, and then take a shot. There would be no diegetic sound, just the music of the scene. From here, it will cut from that to a wide angle shot of the ball going into the goal. It'll now look like he is playing in a game. Someone will be a goalie, and someone will be defending. Alex will shoot, score, and celebrate. This would be from a medium shot, allowing the viewer to see the shot. Then, he will walk off the field and the screen fades to black. We will ten add in a nike logo, and a "Just Do It" slogan. We put a pan in when Alex shoots his initial goal.

Editing

          Today we got an lesson on editing. At first, we were moving very slow because none of us knew the editing process. Before we learned how to edit, we got an basic overview of the camera and how it worked. We are using hand held Canon cameras that are small, take a while to charge, but are very reliable and can be used for many long hours. We learned if we want to re charge it, we need to plug it into the U-shaped hole and let it sit overnight. However, the cables are not always reliable as they are old and worn. We learned that the SD card is how the footage is properly recorded, and that without them we would have major issues moving the footage onto our computers. The final big thing we learned about the camera is that although it is touchscreen, we must hit the grey and red button to start recording. Other than the Camera, we learned the tripod is only effective when it is properly locked in and screwed into the slide. We also learned the tripods can crank up to give a higher view, they are just a little tricky to move up.
         The editing service we are using is called Pinnacle. They have several versions of the editor like 17,18, or 19, but all have the same function. We also learned it is essential for the same person to log into the computer every time with the files so we don't lose our clips and edits. Starting, to put the footage on ur desktop, you need to 'dump' the clips. This process can be done by using a cord to attach the SD card to the computer. Once attached, you need to move it into the DCIM. This is very important because you can only have one folder to keep your footage in, or it may be at risk of getting lost. However, if you cannot find your footage in the DCIM, I could go to the AVCHD section and find it there as a last resort. From here, you need to import your footage onto the editing service. To do this, you need to check all in the folder, and clip import. This new footage is now called raw footage, it is the uncut clips ready to be edited in the service. It is very important to not go directly from the SD card to the editor because it may not work and the editor may shut down and ruin ur clips.
        Next, once you drag a clip into the proper place to edit, you need to place it in the correct place. AB one is more for titles. AB two is more for actual film and anything onscreen other than titles. and AB three is for sound. If you want to mute sound, it is very important to not mute it from the video section, this will mute the whole video, not the desired section. Also, you cannot start to edit before the little bar above the clips is fully green, if it is yellowish orange, it may not work correctly and you could risk a crash. To split, you can hit the razor blade, and wherever the play bar is, it will split that clip at that exact moment. To fully delete the audio, you go to the audio section, and delete the voiceover and add in your own voiceover. Once edited, you can hit export; this is how you finally get one long clip of ur film and it is the final, it is also known and rendering a video. In the exporting process, you take out all of the gaps and jumps so there is no choppiness in your final film. Once you get an exported clip, you can name the final and save it and file it properly.

Planning

         Today in Media we are doing our planning period for our Nike commercial. Our assignment was to get together everything we need to be ready on a list so we can shoot when film day was here. We were all very excited to start because we all have been on board with our idea the whole time. We want to do a Nike soccer commercial where we show off all of their products like Nike cleats, Nike jerseys, and Nike soccer balls. We want to advertise how much better their products can make one perform and one of our main selling points would be how much above the competition they will put you if they utilize them. In the commercial, Alex would be the main player, I would be the goalie, and Aitan would be recording to get the best shots possible. Some things we would need to make this happen would be simple props like a goal, cleats, and a ball. However, filming the whole scene may be hard for us as none of us are really good at soccer, but we are ready to try our best.

Here is a list of things we would need:

Props:

A soccer goal and Nike ball. For our backup plan,  we would need a jump rope to show us training.

Costumes:

Since we will be soccer players, our costumes would be relatively simple, Nike cleats, Nike socks, Nike soccer shorts, Nike soccer jersey, and a Nike headband. For our backup plan, we would need Nike shoes, Nike socks, Nike shorts, and a Nike shirt. The difference between our backup and main would be that we do not need strictly Nike soccer gear for our backup commercial.

Schedule:

First, we did the conventions blog for the Nike commercial on 10/8. Today, 10/11, we are doing the planning blog for the Nike commercial. On 10/15 we are going to do the storyboarding blog for the Nike commercial, Then, we are then going to do the filming and the filming blog on 10/22 for the Nike commercial. Finally, on 10/24 we are going to do the editing and the editing blog for the Nike commercial.

Location List:

We are going to be filming at the school soccer field, the bleachers, and other spaces around it like the sidewalk.

Back-up Plan:

Our back up plan will be used if it starts to rain because then we wont be able to use the fields. Since our main idea is Nike, we don’t need to use the whole soccer idea, we can make it revolve more around training instead. We can go to the covered stairs that lead to the library and have someone running up and down the stairs as if they were training. We could also have someone do sprints in the outside hallway by building 17. If we edit these together correctly, we can use the stairs and the sprints as footage for the training commercial, instead of having it revolve around soccer. We could also bring a jump rope and take videos of that for the whole training theme if we find ourselves short of time.

Research, Conventions, & Codes

         When we first got our group, we were already pretty set on our idea. They gave us the choice of filming a commercial on things like our school, several fast food places like McDonalds and Wendy's, and several big businesses like Nike or Converse. Right away we had decided on Nike. It is a well established brand, many people know about it, and it is a brand we all trust and believe in. We all thought this would outweigh the other brand, Converse because we were an all boy group and none of us grew up wearing converse, we all wore Nike. We though we could follow an Nike commercial best because we all grew up seeing the commercials and watching the brand, so we collectively thought we could do the best commercial on the brand because of our previous knowledge. Our first thing we did to research was to simply watch Nike commercials to try and see what elements we could use in our filming to come as close to a Nike commercial as possible.

         In our research, we looked at many commercials, and we saw one commercial using a point of view camera angle and we thought of using this in our commercial on a soccer field. For the commercial, we will be doing sports while wearing Nike apparel to fully endorse the product and try to sell the audience on the need of their products. In the commercial, we also saw that they used very upbeat sounds like cheering crowds, music and movements. This is used to persuade the buyer into thinking the same will happen to them if they also wear the apparel. We also realized that there were repeating themes in the commercial like them using the same film at the start and end. The lighting used is bright and happy when it is outdoors, but when it is indoors, it is dark with a few really bright lights here and there. Finally, we realized that at the end of every Nike commercial there is their famous slogan,  "Just do it" as well as their famous swish logo. We thought it would be a good idea to incorporate this into our video too.

        After the filming, we will edit the videos to make the commercial high quality to reflect Nike's actual commercials. We will color grade the film to make it look more professional, and change the lighting in different scenes, just like Nike. In the commercial we viewed, there were a lot of slide transitions adding depth to the commercial, we will make sure to implement these into our commercial. We can make the colors more washed or clear depending on whether or not the film is taking place in the past or the future. We can pre record sounds we want to come out louder and put them over the film because Nike does the same thing to try and show the more important parts of their own commercials. We can also add in any images, and/or titles in the editing process to give the names of their products. This includes the Nike swoosh and the slogan at the end of the commercial. 

Introductory

         Hello, my name is Jack, I am a senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida. For years I played competitive golf and I was on the varsity team until 11th grade when I had an accident and broke my hand. This sort of ruined the game for me, and I decided it was time for me to move on. Now, I am an avid fishermen and I live in the best spot in the world to be one too! South Florida is one of the most well known fishing spots in the world and people fly from other countries to drop a line here. Lucky for me, all this is in my backyard! Me and my two younger brother all fish in our free time, and we can often bond over the sport, even if we argue a little like brothers do. I also enjoy fishing for the calming sensations it can bring. There is just something so relaxing about being out there on the water watching the run rise with a breeze blowing into your face, its almost a vital part of my week. If I can't get out there at least once a week, I find myself struggling with everyday habits like sleeping, waking up, and school work. In a way, its almost medicinal and really helps calm me down.
        With this said, as a senior in high school, I often find myself with less and less free time to do things like fishing. One of these things is college applications. These are the most stressful things I have ever done. Who knew trying to go college could require so many documents, I think its kind of ridiculous. Sometimes I will fill them out for hours, and time never seems to move, and just when I think I'm done with one, there is a surprise essay or form I must fill out. The cycle never seems to end for me, but I do see how important going to college is, so I guess its worth it. Right now if I were asked where I would want to go to college, it would not be an ivy league or a school too far from home, it would be the University of Florida. Their school is exceptional to me for a few reasons, they are one of the few state schools with a pharmacy program, which is what I want to study. They also have a large student body, another thing I really prefer because I love a large atmosphere with lots of moving parts and things to do. However, if I don't get into UF, I would be just as ecstatic to go University of South Florida. They are not as big of a school, but they also have a pharmacy program and I could also really see myself having a ball going to school in Tampa.
             Another thing I think is really important to me is my work. I coincidentally work at a tackle shop down the street, and other than my dad, I think I have learned more from my boss than anyone else in the world. I have worked there for about a year and a half, and I pretty much run the shop. My boss has taught me so much about the industry, how to communicate, how to persuade a buyer, and how to make smart money. However, I think the most important thing I've gotten from the shop is my connections. These are very important to me because I plan on staying in South Florida and always fishing down here, so knowing I have reliable connections down here to people I can trust is a major benefit, all because of my boss. The amount of knowledge gained from working here has been immense, and I cannot imagine it any other way at this point. I really enjoy working there and it is going to be a sad last day when I have to go to college and part with all my friends from the shop.