In entertainment this year we have done everything from music videos to commercials to short films. We have written original scripts and have begun to expand them into much more. Along the way, we experience success and we experience failure and we always learn from it.
Spotify Commercial
Our first project this semester was a commercial. We were to get in groups then pick a product and sell it. We were in preproduction for about 3 days. My group collaborated really well and go done with that quickly. We only have one day of production and in an overall view it all went very well. Post production is where it began to get more difficult. Our editor was great but we came to the conclusion that we were making more of a short film rather than a commercial. There were also a few shots (especially the ones outside) that were grainy and needed to be lit better. Along the way I learned to check our lighting and make sure the shot is what we want. We were given feedback such as questioning why the boombox's lights were still on if it were broken- which was a good point that we never thought of. Thought we should have, We didn't do re edits. However, I feel like if we made it into a short film rather than a commercial we could make something good enough for eMagine.
Music Video
We were required to make a music video. We could use copyrighted music if we properly cited it. This project in all took about two weeks. A major challenge we faced was at the very end we couldn't get our video to post onto youtube without it causing problems for Mary's youtube channel. Along the way we learned that we need to use a tripod or a steadycam so we can make a video that people can watch without "getting dizzy." If I could change anything it would be that because it was a good idea that we unfortunately couldn't execute in an effective way.
Short Film
This is a short film I made for colleges. I have already updates things that need to be fixed such as coloring, sound, and the occasional lighting flaws.The project took three days to make. What I specifically likes about this project was that I was able to work with a team I picked who all cared about making this project successful. One thing I learned is that I should let Mrs. Smith give me feedback before I post it so I can fix details such as audio before I get a bunch of views.
Just My Imagination
This year I was lucky enough to get my script chosen for our feature film. This script and story is especially close to my heart because not only does it reflect artists but I got to write the story with my dad and at our movie premiere I will be able to share that moment with him. We are still in Pre-Production and we are working on revisions as seen in the photo above. So far I have learned to let people help me and to listen to peoples ideas and make sure everyone feels like their input is being heard and accepted.
My Work As a Whole
Overall I feel like my work has only been decent this year. If I could, I would e do all of them. I know wha I can do is better than this. However, The work I have produced isn't bad. Next semester I am going to work on getting behind the camera more so I can add that to my resume and see how I am doing in all aspects of filmmaking.
Time management
At the beginning of the year I was defiantly distracted by where I was sitting. I believe as I was given a position of leadership my work class time has been used more effectively. When I finish something early I begin to work on the next thing. I believe if I finish more now I'll have less to do later. If I am assigned an 8 hour project and it only takes me 7 I will then look more into things to enhance my project as a whole such as coloring or transitions depending on the project. Outside of eComm I take photos and I make my own videos based off of my travels and adventures I go on.
Strengths and Weaknesses
In this class I feel as if I am a leader. I try to support everyone while making sure out work gets done on time. However, I become doubtful of my leadership abilities when I feel like people don't respect me. There has been many times in the past few weeks where I have gotten so stressed or overwhelmed my mom has called me out and made me come home. It is hard being put in a leadership position when you feel like there are people in the class who don't want you there. I am working on managing my stress and self doubt. I have been talking with my parents about figuring out ways to manage people and devices to help me do so.
Guest Speakers
Gordon lamb taught me to not write about the mundane parts of life. On screen I don't want to see someone sitting on their phone for an hour and a half I want to be taken out of the present and immersed in a story. I wasn't at school for Brandon's Presentation however, I have received a paid internship with Social Apex. Through that I have learned the ins and outs of marketing. Drew taught us how to write characters that people can relate to or characters and latch on to. Something I liked about Drews was the venn-diagram of character development. Though I don't believe that one character can't be somewhat in all of them I do think that it was an overall intriguing presentation. I can apply this to my video work by creating characters people feel something towards.
Production Role
I am the writer and Director of our upcoming feature film. I have expressed my feelings on my weaknesses in this role above. Overall I am very excited for the process. Though I feel like we are behind in pre-production. I feel like I will be able to benefit our class because of my leadership ability ad because I went to SCAD and learned another perspective of filmmaking. I feel like this is important because in eComm we have learned one way where as at SCAD we are taught a completely different way. I think this applies great to our film because it emphasizes the fact that there is not a right way to make your art.
Summary
Overall this semester I loved the exposer to all the projects we did. I feel like it gave most people good things to add to their portfolios. However, I would start the feature film earlier. We will only have one week when we get back from break to get costumes, props, locations, etc. It is a little bit scary and has been causing me a lot of stress and that isn't even my job. Overall I would say this semester has been good and I have grown a lot as a person and a filmmaker. Next semester I would like to make more projects on my own time. I feel like this has been a good year and that our class will really start showing itself with the feature film. I want to be proud of what we do and i'm hoping the students in our class do too.
