Kansas City Savior Reflection

First Assistant Director 

Throughout the creation of the feature I took on many different aspects of the roles but most importantly I was the 1st AD. within my role I made detailed schedule breakdowns saying what everyone needed to be doing minute by minute, wrote daily "To Do" lists, oversaw Art Direction as well as all pre-production priorities. Some challenges I faced included over-loading myself with work. Some of that came from me not trusting that tasks would get done and some of it had to do with our directorial situation. Along the wayI learned that sometimes you need to learn to face circumstances that are not necessarily what you wanted or expected. I also learned how to follow through with tasks and how to ensure the success of the film or project as a whole rather than just success for yourself. Some feedback I was given from the class was to not be as harsh about everything we do. In my opinion its not harsh its caring. However, I made a change by letting myself have more fun on set. Overall I believe I did everything I could do to make the film successful. I feel I impacted the film by picking up some slack when I needed to as well as ensuring everyone was on task bringing a professional feeling to it. 

Time management 

In class I posted a TO DO list every day sharing with the class what they needed to do to prepare for the next shoot. I also made schedule breakdowns during class to help our filming days go smoother. There were not many times where I was done before class got out. If I were done Keenan and I would conference about the next shoot to ensure we were on the same page, or at least close. Outside of class I would stay up all night to make sure everything for the shoot was done if I had not gotten conformation. At times when I asked for things to be done and they weren't, I had to go out and take care of it myself. I feel as if this has bettered me as an eComm student because it taught me follow through and that sometimes to get things done you need to take charge. 

Strengths

I think my main strength is how driven and passionate I am about what I do in this class. To maximize my strengths I try to experience as much as I can in order to make me a more well rounded filmmaker.

Improvements

I need to learn that I don't need to do everything myself. I need to learn to trust my crew since they are my team and they are glue of the whole project. I tend to get stressed out when things begin to go poorly so I am planning on making a list of things I need to work on over the summer and throughout the next year to prepare me in the best way possible for the next years feature film. 

Summary

I loved getting to appreciate everyones work at the Premiere. Brett Taylor's Short film blew me away like everything he does and the hidden was absolutely gorgeous due to Leah and Amanda as well as Brady's vision. I thoroughly enjoyed merging both eComm classes for the night since I never get to experience the creativity and family environment of sixth and seventh hour. Seeing everyone dressed up and together made my heart happy even if I wasn't "happy" with the outcome of my movie.  The process of the movie and being on set though stressful, made me realize how much I want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I feel like the Premiere went very well However, I got feedback from my family saying that they didn't know when they could get up to use the restroom or get snacks. Overall I learned how to deal with people you don't necessarily want to work with and how to find a way to make the best out of a stressful situation. For next year I want to be Director and I want to start earlier in the year and be more of a family as an eComm class. Overall, I am going to miss all of my seniors and the memories I made with them. I appreciate Abbey Heller and all the work she put in to make this film as good as we could make it with what we had to work with. The amount of appreciation I have for the people who put everything they had into the movie will stay with me forever and continue to inspire me as I begin a career in filmmaking. 

No Film School- Mockumentary

Recently a group and I have decided to make a "mockumentary" all about our eComm class. The original goal was to make it like the office, but after reading the article and watching the video below, I had learned that mockumentaries come in all genres.

Television hit, "The Office" Star Jenna Fischer said that the producer let her discover her relationship between Pam and Roy on her own. It is included that the Camera becomes its own character as well with the abrupt movements and breaking of the 4th wall. Author of the article, Erik Luers defines a mocumentary; "Encompassing a style long associated with the work of nonfiction—handheld camerawork, jarringly abrupt edits, fly-on-the-wall scenarios, the breaking of the fourth wall—mockumentaries are often hilarious due to the execution of the form: how could something this absurd be real?"  Webster Dictionary defines it as a facetious or satirical work presented in the style of a documentary. Mockumentaries such as "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" with a humorous approach where as "The Blair Witch Project" is also in the category of mockumentary-- horror. What I can take from this article is the idea of not making your project fit into a specific genre. I will write a story line and have actors know the story line and improv so you can see natural acting. To find out more about mockumentaries read the article below:

https://nofilmschool.com/2018/05/watch-mockumentary

Entertainment- Semester 1 Final

In my first semester of Entertainment Production, We created a PSA a short film, worked on film treatments and scripts, and finished the semester beginning our full length feature film.

PSA

At the beginning of the assignment, my group wanted to do water conservation. However, we realized the concept we were actually going for was the difference between two realities. We decided to changer concept to giving back rather than water conservation. My job was to be the cinematographer and the storyboarder. Working closely with the director Olivia, I helped to gain insight on how we needed the overall outcome of the video. The team along with our actors, spent an entire Saturday filming all of the shots and scenes we needed. Addie designed the costumes and picked the locations of the video. George used Adobe Premier Pro to edit our video that will be played for the class (the above edit is mine not Georges's). We were able to use all of the five guarantees to enhance our video. our group had great communication even through Georges concussion. Olivia showed herself as a leader through directing. Addie, Olivia, and I collaborated to make sure we got the aesthetic of the shot we wanted. We had a scheduled day of shooting and completed everything we needed to on time and finally George was good with his technical skills, which helped all of us edit our videos too. If I could change anything I would add some B-Roll because my video has none at all. I really liked the people I was working with and I liked the locations we shot at. I will always make sure we have a schedule so we know what we are doing at all times. Overall, I enjoyed the project and the group I was able to work with.

Short Film-Hello

Hello was written and directed by Alex Manriquez. I was in a group that faced more struggles in this project. The basis of the project was to write and create a short film that had a beginning, middle, and an end. This took us longer than usual because it started with everyone writing their own short film and then collaborating in a group of 5 to pick one to create. At the beginning the short film was running smoothly until we began to hit the bumps. Our director position was almost taken over by another person in our group and we faced struggles when it came to editing when our editor didn't get our film down in time and then just threw it all together. Along the way I learned that when something matters to me I need to enforce that it gets done and its done in the way that will be most beneficial to our film. We were told that there was a lot to be changed about our film including jump cuts, color grading, and unfocused shots. As art director there was nothing I could do to fix the things that were already damaged. Overall, I am not proud of this film at all and I would have rather made my own that stood up to my standards because I know I am better than what was put up on the screen. 

2017 Homecoming Candidate video

This wasn't apart of the class, but I was also given the opportunity to make the homecoming candidate video this year. I faces lots of struggles with this video including terrible wind, not getting a plane I was offered, and some color balancing details. Overall, I learned all from this project and being able to balance STUCO and eComm. 

Film Treatment/Script

For my film treatment I wrote a murder mystery musical. It was based off of the board game clue and it was supposed to be a comedic take on a cheesy 1920s dinner party. One day I would love to make this movie because I feel like it could go places and I could be quite successful with it. I believe the story was great with a beginning middle and an end but the only problem was being able to fully write a musical score for a film that we weren't sure would be long enough to completely tell the story I was hoping for. Along the way I learned that when I wasn't to get something accomplished I need to make sure it gets done and I know that I will make this film. 

Time management

In class I use my time well and quite frankly I've been getting g annoyed when I ask someone to do something and it doesn't get done because they are distracted by their peers or because they want to do things that aren't even about eComm. I've realized this a lot this last quarter after I've been given the role of 1st AD for our feature film. I have had to do a lot of things my self when they aren't my job and it puts a lot of extra pressure on me but if I want it done well, I trust myself. To stay productive I will write down new ideas that I have come across throughout the day but typically I work most of the hour. Recently outside of class I have been researching colleges and figuring out how to create a reel and what I need to do to impress schools. 

Strengths

I feel like I am very good at talking to people and executing their ideas into the video they have asked me to make for them. I have found I am a good leader and I need to continue working on my leadership abilities and hopefully create a strong enough stance to be a respected director. 

Weakness

A weakness that I have is anxiety. I get nervous when I am given a position of authority because I feel like some of the people in our class don't approve or don't think I can do it. However, I overcome that after I realize the what they think doesn't matter and I know that I am am good and I can do whatever I set my mind to. 

Guest speakers

From our guest speakers I learned that the field of film is hard but I can do it if I have the heart and dedication for it, which I do. I learned a lot about the equipment and I am excited to continue to work with it. 

Summary

This year has had its ups and its downs but I know that everything I've faced will just help me grow as a film maker and as a person. I have learned things specific to eComm the people can't learn anyplace else. I have been provided a second family with the people I my class and my instructor and sometimes it hurts when I feel like the people in the family wither aren't proud of each other to they aren't wanting everyone to succeed. I know not everyone shares the same passion as I do but I do know that if I didn't care about this as much as the other people, I wouldn't ruin it for them. I do feel like we need a class bonding day where we can all get closer because I feel as if we don't understand each other yet and that is a key asset to a production team and a family. 

Hello- Short film

"Hello" was written and Directed by Alex Manriquez. The script was written to be self-aware and to acknowledge the life around Allison and Mat. We wanted to show the awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings people get when talking to strangers. Some of our feed back was, why would he go talk to the girl if he was about to leave? Well, if you were about to leave the state and never got a chance to tell that person how you feel wouldn't you regret it? We also believe Mat was looking for a reason to stay since he is a starving artist.
In pre Production we were supposed to story board and get all of our details with our actors worked out. However, Storyboarding didn't get done due to some members in our group not cooperating and goofing off with each other instead. The art directors, Me and Olivia, asked multiple times if the director wanted us to do them and the Director appointed the Production Designer who never worked to get them finished when we needed them for filming.
On the day of the shoot (Production) we woke up and began to film at 6am. It started off slow and I felt like I had to ask if we could get on track several times until the filming actually began. I also believe that the Production Designer wanted to be in charge and he began to take the Director and Director of Photography's (DP) roles. I know that both Art Directors felt a little bit helpless in the process not being able to get the laziness under control. Post Production is where our entire video fell through.
 Our editor told the team that he had it under control and didn't need help so to be productive Addie, Olivia, and I began to work on our client work that has a dedine coming up soon. To some it may have looked like we let our editor off on his own but in reality he told us he had it handled and didn't want help. Not only did our editor say he didn't want help but on Thursday he told us the video was done when it clearly was not. He later turned it in 2 days late after Mrs. Smith emailed us then texted me to make me aware of the situation. I then texted our editor to turn it in and what he tuned in looks like it was made in e9 Video.
Along the way I learned who I want to work with and who I would like to break away from. I would like  if next time we got to pick a senior to work with and then after we pick one senior the teacher would put us in groups because this is eComm and we need to collaborate and get fresh ideas from new people not sit in structured class where we only repeated the same things. I learn from getting new experiences and messing up not from repetition of the things I already know.
 To film we used the 50-1.4 lens and two 60D DSLR cameras. I felt like the five guarantees were not used well in our group because of the people we were working with. Collaboration lacked between the director and editor and also the DP. Project management crashed and burned after filming and the Production designer tried to become a leader when there was already one there causing tension and an adjustment to the writers original idea.
If I could do this different I would tell our editor that he wasn't editing. The edit was lazy and destroyed our short films concept and beauty. I wish the class could have seen it for what it really is not for what it was portrayed to be.
I loved the concept of the story and I would love to do it again. I know who I can work with and who I can't. I love working with Olivia and Addie but I would like to break free from the other members of our group because I want to excel and I feel as if I'm tied to a chair unable to share my thoughts and ideas. I liked how harsh the critiques were because I know that this is the worst project I've made for a long time. However, I felt like when the critiques from the instructor were being read aloud that it was more of criticism rather than a critique I would rather hear the things I need to hear just meeting with our short film groups and the instructor. I think it made everyone in our group look bad when some of us worked hard to avoid the things that happened. We needed to hear the critiques the instructor gave us to help us grow as artists but I do feel like we were getting critiques to our creativity when that is the most important part of eComm.
We are in the program because we are creative and we were chosen. I feel as if the structure that has been added to eComm has been holding me back from my peak of excellence. I want my ideas to matter and when I get an idea I want to work on it and communicate with my team about it rather than watching video reiterating things I learned in e9 I feel like I am in sophomore video class again. I like that eComm has gotten structure and isn't a wild zoo anymore. But I feel like since we have been in the program for 3-4 years we need to be able to make our mistakes, we need to learn, we need to know our selves as artists. It is hard to accomplish those new things when we are so tightly bound relearning the things we are already are of. I want to make movies as a career so I look up videos on my own time and I feel like eComm should be my time to work on my portfolio and what I love. 

Video Final Reflection

This year in video I learned how to use a new editing software called Premier Pro. The adjustment from final cut to Premier was hard at first but I feel like it enhanced the knowledge I already had. I enjoy looking back on my blog to see how much I have improved and I am immensely happy with how much I have improved from start to finish. 

Music video

The project was to create a music video. You could either copy the exact video or you could make your own. We chose to base ours off of the Music video for 50 Ways to Say Goodbye. It took us about two days to story board and one to film. WE faced challenges such as changing our song in the middle of the process because we didn't like the outcome we were getting. As you can see, We filmed in Hyvee. We learned how to professionally talk to managers of business' to ask for permission to film. I was told to make it more stable and to use a tripod instead of trying to make warp stabilizer work. I changed the shots so that they didn't have the stabilization on it and it looks a lot better now. I really enjoyed working on this video because i got to do it with my friends and also do something we all share a passion for.

High School Trailer

The assignment was to re-create a high school trailer. This was a really hard project because we had to make it look the exact way it originally looked. It took about a week to story board, cast, and prepare scripts. My group took about three different days to film. We faced challenges of getting annoyed with each other and arguments but it was only because all of us wanted the video to be good.   We were told to try to make it look more like the trailer, so we found more clips to add variety to the trailer. Overall, This was not the outcome I was hoping for. The lighting was off in a lot of the shots and I wish we would have put more effort into it all together.

Short film

When we got back from spring break we went straight into short films. We were advised to make am 5-10 minute short film that had a beginning middle and an end. we started out writing film treatments and scripts and when we were given our groups, it was simple of run to choose because Addie's stood out. This project took up all of 4th quarter and was by far my favorite project. Some challenges we faced were things out of our control like weather causing us to reshoot certain scenes. Along the way we learned how to work in a collaborative group and that everyone needs to do their job. I discovered every job is equally important. During our premier, we were given feedback to make the ending more clear and tat our short film was very visually appealing. My overall opinion of this project is very good. I truly enjoyed my group and had an amazing time working with them. We worked very well together and got really close (especially on our 45 minute drive to the camp site).

I used my class time well when I had projects to do, however, when I finished early I could tend to get off track. If my boss gave me a job and I had an extra hour, I would go back through and Re-Edit or fix minor details.  This year I was given two endorsement projects. I really enjoyed getting these because it really tested my ability to work out in the world doing something i'm passionate about. My areas of strength include, Directing, Collaborating, and my creative mindset. I maximize my strengths but working with my group to make sure I get the desired outcome of my video. I could use some improvement in time management. I tend to get excited and rush or I become too much of a perfectionist and I tend to take to long.

This semester I loved getting to work with the people in my class. All go my groups had been amazing and I will miss my 7th hour video production class. I loved getting to work on the short film with two of my best friends, Addie Zoll and Jack Clayton, and also getting to know a very talented person, Ryan Burnett. I enjoyed working with them. When we were all working it didn't feel like it because we were having fun. I would change my outlook on first semester I didn't try really hard because I didn't like convergence. Next year I want to win imagine with a short film. I am beyond excited to spend another year with Mrs. Smith enhancing my learning and creative ability. I am excited for the freedom entertainment has and being able to do more in films then sophomore eComm students are allowed to do. This year eComm has been something I looked forward to everyday and I know next year it'll only get better.

Semester Reflection Final

This year Communication has taught me the importance of communication, collaboration, project management, time management, and leadership. From making Posters to typography art boards to Rebranding a local company, eComm has not only taught me those skills but has helped me create a portfolio on Behance and helped me with life skills in general.

11x17 Poster

Coming back from winter break we had done research on a graphic artist or movement. I got to convey the work of Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli believes in the functionality of all designs and I feel like  by keeping my poster simple and using his favorite font, Helvetica, I portrayed him well. After writing our paper and making a slide show to share the thoughts and accomplishments of our designers, we took about a week to sketch and design a poster which shared information about an art exhibit showing our designers work. Some challenges I faced working on this project included making his work have my touch. I wanted to keep his work as authentic as I could but also show the effortless change design has. By facing these challenges I learned that your peers can help you most in times of struggle. My neighbors would help me think outside of the box and talk through my ideas with me so I could portray Vignelli as he is but also as I am. I was told to adjust the address at the bottom so it wasn't too distracting. I was also advised to turn the opacity of the M in Mass down so it fits together better.  I ended up rearranging some things so it fit better together to make it more visually appealing. I really like my Poster because I feel like I took my research to heart and not only applied his ideas to this project but i have begun to apply his ideas and theories to other Projects I am currently doing. 

5x5 Typography Art Boards

The 5x5 Typography art boards were supposed to convey our personalities. Most of my quotes were about happiness and over coming obstacles. After a few days of sketching 20 designs and deciding which ones portrayed me the best, I took my designs to Adobe Illustrator. After putting them in black and white to test the functionality, we were assigned to pick a different color scheme for each design to enhance our work. I learned to always save An .ai file and a .pdf because if you only save a .pdf it makes it so you have to go through a lot of unnecessary work to edit your designs. I was told to fix my alignment on a few of the quotes. Overall, The assignment was a fun test of our abilities and it helped me develop an artistic eye for not only fonts but the way words can be manipulated to tell a story. 

"Choose Happy" 

I chose this quote because I believe people can choose to be happy or they can stay stuck in sadness. I chose purple because it reminds me of spring. During the spring time people are happy because it's getting warmer outside and the floors are blooming so I wanted that to symbolize happiness.

"Be kind or be quiet"

To me the quote be kind or be quite is very relevant to people of my age. Weather its people who don't like another person for the way they dress or if it's because the color of their skin, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all. I  wanted to get the message across with the word "quiet" fading away because I feel like it makes the piece more visually appealing.

"I like you a latte"

I really appreciate cheesy pickup lines and coffee so I decided to put those two things into my graphic design. I wanted to make this one simple but unique. When sketching this at the beginning it looked nothing like how it looks now. I had no idea how to  get everything to fit. When I go home I started looking at mugs and I saw most of the mugs I have at home have writing in them so that's when I decided that Latte shoal be the base of the mug.

"I may not be there but I am closer than I was yesterday"

This quote is the most important quote to me because it reminds me of my mom. My mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last year and she defeated it. I wanted a quote that really stood for everything she did when she was going through treatment. I made the word "yesterday" cursive because I wanted it to be ribbon like. I didn't create a colored version because i felt like the quote said so much and I didn't want to change anything about it. If I could redo it, I would make it cleaner and I would align things better. 

Combination Mark Logo

The assignment was to rebrand a local business. I chose to rebrand Donna's Dress Shop because of its fun loving environment and unique products. To start the project we researched and wrote a short paper about the company. Once that was typed and ready we met with a peer and read it to them. While we read it to them, they were to jot down buzz words that stood out to them and that could help with your design thought process. Some of my words included: Fun Loving, Happy, Vintage, Typewriter, New, Old, and unique. After we got our buzz words we sketched 30 symbols (only images) 20 word marks(only words) and 10 combination marks (words with 

images). We chose six of our designs to put in Adobe illustrator. We were expected to pick six different color schemes for each design  and pick out favorite one for our final logo.

Business Card

The assignment was expanding off of the Combination Mark Logo. After rebranding Donna's logo, I was assigned to make a business card for an employee to give a potential costumer. I chose a dull blue to give off the vintage feel and put my logo on the back side of the card as an attention grabber. On the front of the card, "Donna's" is written in typewriter keys to show the vintage, fun, and unique feel of the company. I took about three days to finish my cars. I was told to add more color and stick to one logo and I made all of the requested adjustments. Along the way I learned that even if you think your deigns are as good as they can be to take what your peers say into consideration because together it may look a lot better. I would have liked my designs better if I picked more flashy colors to really draw your eye to the card but I am happy with the outcome. 

Letter Head

Another expansion to the rebranding project was making a letter head your company could use to address important business information to their clients. I took two days to complete my letter head. I decided to stick with the same colors that are in my business card so they looked like they were a part of  a package. I faced difficulties with making sure everything was on the letter head but nothing distracted from the formality of the product. I was told to stick with once logo for this assignment so that everything would fit nice together and look like they belong.  Overall, I like my letter head and I believe it meets the criteria for the assignment. 

Envelope 

My envelope for Donna's is supposed to show the vintage feel like my other designs. I feel like if you saw this in the mail you would want to take it because its not a regular white envelope. I enjoyed getting to communicate with my peers to figure out how I wanted to go about this portion of the project. I learned to address an envelope correctly and what is visually appealing to other people.  I changed the logos on this so it looked more consistent with the res of my designs. 

In class I am focused when it's time to work but there are times I get off track and need to focus more on my designs and not the people around  me. In times when I would finish early I would go and look at other peoples designs or i would find an extra credit project to begin to work on. I have Adobe Illustrator at home so in my free time I like to design stuff. In Hawaii, I went to an art gallery and I saw beautiful art so when I got home I decided to make designs of whales and water. I also made a visually appealing website where I sell stickers, photography, quotes and opportunities to make videos.

I am a very fun go lucky person but when it's time to work I crack down and I get things done. I feel like having that kind of personality helps me come up with creative ideas. I also think that being happy and ind to people gives you more opportunities to work with clients and sell your work. 

I talk a lot in class. Sometimes it's Graphic Design related but most of the time it's about other things. Although I talk, I always get my work in on time and I am always ready to help anyone who needs it. 

I loved my class this semester. I feel like I got very close to everyone and I am very glad I had the time to grow as a person and a designer. If I could change one thing I would want to do small group critiques instead of large group ones so we can get through more material and get useful feedback. Overall, I really learned to value my peers opinions and suggestions. With out this class I feel like I wouldn't take critiques as well as I could.  Next year in eComm I hope to continue working in Graphic Design even though i'll be in entertainment. Mrs. Smith has been such an inspiring teacher and I can't wait to spend two more years with her learning about something i'm passionate about.

Rebranding Donna's Dress Shop

We were assigned to pick a local company and rebrand them. I picked Donna's Dress Shop a vintage store that sells of one a kind clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other items. 

Letter head

I wanted my letterhead to divided and simple. I chose the logo with just the hanger to keep it simplistic. I made the logo expanded on the back of the letter head so that the client receiving the letter would be compiled to open it. 

Envelope

Before I made my re Edits everything was plain and simple and I didn't like it. I added color and moved my logos sound so it would sill be simplistic yet visually appealing.

Business cards

I used typewriter print on my business card to bring the vintage feel to life. The back of the business card correlates to the back of the letter head with the blown up logo. 

My favorite part about the project was the creativity and the freedom we got to use to complete the project. I liked the collaborative efforts from everyone sitting around me to help me make decisions about my designs. I wish we would have presented more than once so that everyone could see what the final product was and that the feedback your peers give you matters.