Editing Blog

10/28  Today was the day to edit for our commercial. I had some issues with the computer. Our computers are very slow, outdated, had confusion with logging into Pinnacle Studios. There was already footage of another group in our computer. Since we have dumped our footage in the computer we will now start editing. The software Pinnacle Studios is very helpful for our commercial. It allows us to quickly access tools we need to perfect our video. Pinnacle Studios is already installed in the schools Media Studies computers. The software needs a username and password to be logged into. We didn't know the password or username, so one of our teachers had to come over and log on for us. 

Most of the time, we were frustrated because we were confused. We expected the editing process to be easier, since when it was described to us it seemed simple. Hopefully after more use of the editing software it will become easier for us. I am expecting more practice on editing with our teacher. We are still not sure if we should delete it or just continue with our editing and disregarding it. We transferred our footage and started to edit. There was much we had to cut out to make the commercial 30 seconds. We had some confusion on adding text onto the clips we wanted. We are planning on adding motivational music to make it like a real Nike commercial. It is important for us to make this as best as we can to get a high grade. Since this is our first video our group has edited we will try to research more on how to edit. 

 My main emotion is frustration. I came into class expecting to get ahead of everyone because some groups still had to film. That idea was out the door due to all of the complications. I am hoping that next class we get to edit again so we are given more time. I do think we will be given two days for this because we were given two days for the filming process. As a self reflection I wish I would be given more time and more guidance. My group and I will definitely finish editing next class. When I all go home tonight I am going to research more on Pinnacle Studios. I'm going to figure out my problems and watch videos on how to fix them. I pray that next class our computers work smoothly. 

Filming Blog

10/25 On the 24th we had to film the whole class and we got lucky and was able to finish. On that day we got to use our equipment for the first time and we all got to commercial. Everyone was included in the commercial. I contributed by filming some of the scenes and being an actor in the commercial. I also helped fixing the camera because my group members didn’t know how put the SD card in and opening the camera lens.  It was honestly a fun experience and I enjoyed it a lot. There were some things that we had some trouble with, for example we had a problem using the tripod, getting certain angles that we thought would’ve been perfect, and the dumping process. Unfortunately we couldn’t bring certain props to personal issues. I brought my Nike Chile jersey, Nike socks, and some Nike running shoes. We wanted to bring more Nike shirts because we thought it would look better in the commercial. 

     For the editing process we actually haven’t started it. We will be having a head start next class because some people didn’t have enough time to film everything. We were able to dump our footage onto the computer. At first there were some issues because the camera’s time and date weren’t set correctly before and we forgot to adjust it. We didn’t lose the footage and that’s what we were freaking out about the most. We followed the rules that we were told but, there was a weird file that was named something completely different so we got confused until we clicked on it. We had some assistance by our teacher and everything went back on track. The more we get to mess around and experience the more we’ll slowly understand Pinnacle Studios. That’s the name of the editing software we will be using. It’s a very interesting software that doesn’t seem hard to use.
     Overall it was a fun experience getting to finally learn everything on our first project. My group and I worked really well together and I look forward. We could’ve improved on using the tripod more for stability because we honestly didn’t use it all. For the specific angle we used we couldn’t us the tripod. I feel bad though because when I was recording I feel like my scenes were not to the highest standard. Once we get to editing we will improve some of our scenes. Our transitions are something that I’m excited about. We all came up with idea together and loved our transitions. They’re supposed to be from one Nike logo on the product to a different Nike logo on a different product. I really hope it turns out the way we envisioned.

Storyboard Blog

10/22 Today we planned out our storyboard. We have our commercial planned out and ready for filming. For the first scene we want to start with a stop watch which will eventually lead up to a person in our group running with Nike shoes with an extreme close up. We will then include low angles to transition into the shoes while they are running up the stairs. Next another person will be running around the track with a long shot, pan, and transition into the shoes. We will have other clips like another member playing volleyball and walking through the halls while all ending up in shoe transitions. At the end of the commercial we will have the Nike symbol. This commercial might have some additional actors and have a lot of Nike props. In our commercial there will be no dialogue just some type of motivational music. 
The outcome won't come out how we want it, but hopefully it turns out pretty good.

Editing Blog

10/14      Today we learned how to use our equipment. We also learned how to check in and out our equipment. We have to get an agreement and whenever we are done we have to bring the camera the very next day unless there's a day off or a long weekend. Our teachers have their own specific way of how to give out cameras. We also have to sign out our SD card reader and media passes for when we shoot in the school. The camera it self is very easy to use. To turn it on and off you simply need to pull out the screen or close it. The camera we are using is a camcorder, so overall they are built to be easy to handle. I've had past experience with it, so I will have some basic knowledge on how to use it.
     We also learned how to use a tripod and the different levers that go along with it. There is a specific lever that makes the tripod way taller so we can have higher angles. For the SD card its very easy to slide it in to the camera. I'm excited to use the tripod because now it will help give us more stability and smoother takes. If we want to do a pan or tilt movement then it will really help us. The physical equipment itself doesn't seem like too much a challenge. In our group we already have people who have had experience with different cameras and other pieces of equipment. What I'm worried about is the SD card because since it's so small it can be easily lost. Now the editing process may be a little complex for me but not a challenge. I'm excited to see what I can do to make my commercial better with editing.
     The editing process is something I'm definitely looking forward to. We will be using the Pinnacle Studio program. When logging in we can only use one persons login we cannot switch logins. We will have to make a folder that has all our footage and if we cannot find it then we will go to a section that says private. After, we go to a couple more other folders and it'll lead us straight to all our footage. When you take the footage and put it into the computer its called "dumping." We are going to dump it into a USB and a Google Drive just in case we lose our footage somewhere. My teacher said always import your footage. Overall, it seems like a lot but I think this will be good because it will keep me distracted for a while. This will also teach me how to edit and I've been excited to learn.

Planning Blog

10/10 Today we will be going over the planning portion of our commercial. We will set up things we need. For example, our props, costumes, schedule, location list, and our back up plan. Each person in our group is planning on contributing something towards our commercial project. An idea for our project is a view of different Nike apparel in different scenes. Our commercial will be very diverse in clothing. For our back-up plan if someone doesn't show up then we will either have a back-up actor or just have one person do everything. Some scenes we will use are the main stairs, the huge wall next to the stairs, and the track field. A back-up scene could be the gym. 

Props:

• Nike Shoes
• Nike Apparel
• Hurdles
• Stairs
• Volleyball
• A water bottle

Schedule:

• Monday, October 14th- storyboard titled planning 
• Tuesday, October 22nd- filming and blogging process
• Thursday, October 24th- editing and blogging process
• Wednesday, October 30th- critical reflection questions

 

Costumes:

• Nike sweatshirts
• Nike t-shirt
• Different Nike sneakers
• Nike Air Force 1's
• Athletic pants 
• Nike headband
• Athletic tops 

Locations:

• Track
• Media Center Stairs
• Wall near Stairs

Back Up Plan:

• Gym as a backup location if it is raining instead of track field
• If someone is absent, another group member will just take their place in the scene
• If multiple people in group are absent, one person can be in all scenes

Research Conventions and Codes

Our commercial will be about the clothing brand Nike. We want to focus on the shoe portion of the brand and ways it can help in sports. Technical codes are connotations that we make when we look at films and photographs. For the technical codes we will focus on bright lighting, quick editing, music for the audio background, and camera angles we learned in the class. Symbolic codes are social in nature. For the symbolic codes our setting will be in the school, we will have props such as athletic wear such as uniforms as our costumes and any type of shoes used in these sports. Some of the shoes that will be shown will come from sports such as basketball, soccer, track, and regular lifestyle street wear.
    We chose this production because it's an everyday product we use and everyone in our group all partake in some certain athletic activity. We want to persuade the people watching our commercial to go out and purchase our product. This will benefit us because when it comes down to prop all of us have something from Nike that we can contribute to the commercial so we don't have to focus on a budget or going out and looking for more products. Our unique advantage is that we are students who are trying to grab the attention from other people like us because we know at this day and age we are all working hard to either enjoy in a sport or make ourselves look better to feel better.

Introductory

Hello my name is Antonio, I am a sophmore in Fort Lauderdale High School. During our "A Days" at school I have 4 classes. On those days I have history, algebra 2, first aid safety, and psychology. Those days are pretty fun for me, I have great classes this year and my plan is to work hard. On "B Days" at school I have another 4 classes. I have media studies, study hall, english, and physics. Overall, I'm doing good in every class I haven't struggled on any subject, although there are some classes I can do better on.
I have a lot of likes, I'm a very diverse kid. I play a couple of instruments such as ukulele, drums, piano. I'm also very athletic I play multiple sports such as soccer, volleyball, and football. I also skate and bike a lot because I feel bad that my parents take me every since I hang with my friends a lot. I like my school a lot. I've made a lot of friends and have been able to combine my old friends and my new friends together and made pretty cool groups. At first, when I came to highschool I was very nervous, but after a year I'm more comfortable and calm.
I have a lot of future goals that I want to work on. I want to work on getting a car and being able to pay for the insurance. I also want to be able to better myself physically because I want to get into better shape. I also want to get into lifeguard training to become a lifeguard because I've heard they give really good pay and there really isn't a lot of work. I want to start saving up for college while I work. There is also a lot of plans that I have in mind to do with friends like roadtrips and etc.