Entertainment Video Senior Final

Throughout my 4 years in eComm I not only learned how to make films I learned skills that will follow me through any path life reveals to me. I learned how to use industry equipment which gave me real world experience. Of course there were struggles with the equipment because of the amount of people using it, it won't always be in the best shape. We learned how to communicate with our teammates as well as our clients in each project which is very important because it gives you the real life experience and the skills to feel comfortable talking to someone who wants you to work with them. Collaboration. This is where it gets tougher. I loved working in groups fo ray projects especially when I found my good group of people who worked well together. However, at the beginning go the year I felt stuck and I felt like I was being used fo ray drive and ability to make  quality projects leaving me as the only person carrying a team. This one goes into leadership. It is hard to direct or lead a team when not even half of the people there are willing to put in the work. I am thankful that eComm taught me that when work isn't getting done you need to figure out how it will get done. I think that the most important quality of a leader is the ability to problem solve and make the decisions he/she needs to make for team as a whole. Project Management is a key factor of eComm and life in general. In eComm in all honesty I believe we lack here. In the real world if someone doesn't meet their deadline or is asked more than once to do something by their boss, they get fired. I feel like the deadlines were always curved because the people in our class know Mrs. Smith is so kind and doesn't want to see them fail. However, if they don't fail, they won't learn. I feel as if my greatest strength is the ability to find the happiness in the tough times. You're probably thinking how does that relate to eComm but let me tell you, you will face rejection more times than not while trying to make it in the film industry and if yo left that beat you down every time where will you go? I think that it is important to say "yeah I messed up here so next time when I do this I'll get it right" and I think thats SO important. There are people in our class that will cry or get super upset by someone simply telling them their shot s shaky or they think if they did this on their video it would be better and thats just not how life works. If you let the criticism get to you, you won't make it and it took me a long time to figure that out. I'm obviously not perfect. I mess up all the time but I try to put on a good face to cover it up.  I'm a teenage girl and theres drama of course but I don't take that with me on set or anywhere else. I feel like if I could change anything within the eComm program it would be in the feature film area. I think that people who don't want to do it shouldn't. its hard to work for a team who doesn't want to be there. Overall, I have loved my eComm experience this year has been the hardest year with a whole different load of drama coming in which I have never had before but none the less I found my group of people to keep me uplifted and positive and to help me be the best that I can be.

The Reshoot a Documentary By Sarah Peek and Olivia Markey About The Delivery A Short Film By Carson Bird

This was my Mini Doc and by far the best project I have worked on all year. Olivia had the idea and she pitched it to me and right away I was hooked. It had a unique feel to it that was like no other film I had made this year and I think it has to do with the group I worked with. when you wok with people who want to be there your end results are a lot more sufficient. We filmed the Doc in one night but it took several hours. George edited it over an entire day and we got it turned in. thought it may seem like we rushed it that is not it at all. It was a drive between filmmakers who share a passion and wanted to get it done. That is one of the most special experiences I have had this year. our top challenge was the due date. Everyone in my group was a prominent role in the feature film and didn't have time to go an film or edit so we turned ours in late. Along the way I learned that when you find your group of people that make you better rather than drag you down you are more likely to make something you will love and other people will love rather than being forces to work with people who only want to show someone else that they are better. Like all critics some people hated our do. but an overwhelming amount go people still loved it. I think a lot of times were proud of something then we get shot down because we think oh this person didn't like it that means it's not good when in reality it's just a different kind of taste that people have.

Film Reel

The next project I'm super proud of is my film reel. I love my film reel because no one has anything even remotely similar to me. Not only because of what I'm shooting but because I feel like I have a different flow when Im shooting. I have edited my film reel a numerous amount of times trying to get it as perfect as it can be but like always some people won't like it it and I learned to be okay with that.  I think overall my film reel shows a perfect example of who I am.

PSA 

not many people liked this one but Armin and I worked very hard on it. There is a ton of underlying symbols that many people didn't catch on to. we wanted to show how some people dance as an escape and they feel trapped with how others want to perceive them and we didn't execute it to everyones liking. However, I love the cinematography and the editing of this piece.

I think it shows for its self during the feature film time how much I did outside of class. Of course I heard what people were saying when they said I wasn't doing my job and that they were doing all my work. But lets be real here, I did their work. I stayed after school until 6 or 7 a ton in the final stages (and I get out after 4th hour) I went home and make schedule breakdowns and made sure our locations were good I wrote down blocking in my script and made myself familiar with it before filming. I think that I felt with things that I shouldn't have had to deal with and its an unfortunate thing to have to say as it is my senior year. However thats  here you learn. I wouldn't have learned without the struggles. In the end the people in our class will have learned more than the other classes because we had to deal with the struggles and the challenges and thats how you learn to fix it and problem solve. I like to think I'm a good leader. I know many people don't think so because I've heard them (or their friends) talk about it to or around me. However I think when people say that its because they want what you have in my case its drive and motivation. I was the director of our feature film and it was really hard. I feel as if people didn't aways appreciate the work I put in then took advantage of my drive (and also Carson, Mary, Olivia, George, Spencer, Seth, and Nathan's) at the end of the process. It's not fair to see someones name in a prominent production role when the didn't pull their weight. In class we did a ton of pre preproduction before overshoot and toward the end the class go really good at planning and things went very smooth.

I lobed the friends I made this year in entertainment the memories will stick with me for ever. If I could change one thing in entertainment it would be giving people more set in stone deadlines so that they don't slack and they get things done better. Overall I learned to brush of the negativity and focus on how that makes you better and finding a good group of people who will help you learn and become more successful. if I could give myself a piece of advice it would be to not let anything stand in my way and to show the world what I have to offer them because it's a lot. I want to Mrs. Smith to know that I thank her for being like another mother to me and I want her to know how grateful I am to have had her for the past 3 years. the future of eComm is in great hands especially with the director fo the Delivery sitting right over there. (;

Thank you Mrs. Smith. I'll miss you.

2018 Semester 1 final

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. 

Seasoned Crooks- short film

This is a film I wrote and directed with the help of Armin Dikic as cinematographer. The idea came to me when I was given a prompt that stated, "A young girl has to escape without begin seen when two men walk into her home." I thought that most people would make a dramatic film so I took another turn with it.  I decided to have a young girl making pasta in her house. When two men walk in, she hides with a knife. The two men then get distracted by the smell of her pasta as well as their hunger. When writing the script I had both of my actors in mind for the burglars and I was lucky enough to use them for the actual film.  I spent about a week writing the script. Originally I started without dialogue to see where it would end up. I feel as if that was a good choice because it gave me the freedom to write little dialog and leave it to the actors to play with. Production was a good experience  because everyone was having fun on set and we all knew what he wanted the short to turn out to be. We experienced little troubles and overall had a great time on set which made editing a lot more enjoyable. Editing in general was easy however, the beginning syncopated sounds with the music was difficult and could still be revised to match better. I was lucky to have Armin on camera for me because he knows the equipment very well. I am not the best editor so I was happy to be able to edit this film as well to help me as well as add another thing to the list of what I can do.  Armin and I communicated a lot about what we both wanted the look of the film to be as well as we collaborated with the actors for their input on what they felt the lines should be.  For such a fun loving film, it was a very professional and happy set. If I could change anything I would use a different mic to record the audio differently as well as get a light kit to make the lighting more even on my actors faces.I really enjoy the concept of my film as well as the directing of it.  The casting choices were great and the actor really made the scrip come to life. I will always try to bring the same level of professionalism as well as happiness to my sets because it makes a stressful situation a fun experience. Overall I am happy about the way the film turned out. I know there are things to fix but nothing is perfect. I feel like this shows a new side of my work so I am really happy to be able to add this to my resume as the first short film I have written. What I learned from this will defiantly apply to the way i lead my set during feature film. 

Mansard Roof- Music Video

The concept of the video was initially a group of friends hanging out until one day at a party two one of the boys realizes he is in love with the girl. He sees her with another guy at the party and after they disappears he finds them and starts a fight with the guy. At the end the girl leaves and the by is left on his knees in the middle of the road watching as she leaves. All of this was supposed to be found footage that the group took together.

We let someone who hasn't been director become director or this project in hope of a learning experience. Preproduction kind of lacked because the groups surrounding us distracted our director as well as editor so when filming day was upon us the Art Director and myself as DP were on a different page than him. We went location scouting, completed all story boards, and had a complete beat sheet. only the storyboards got used during production until the director came with ideas scraping all of the work. While on set our first day the Art Director and I set up the lights and set the way it was conveyed to us, we  came prepared to film in the dark with a 50mm lens as well as the light kit. We were also under the impression that the part was going to be found footage as well. We were only let in on the idea that it was supposed to be in real time when we were getting our critiques and the director agreed with the students giving us feedback as if that was the plan and we didn't listen to him. As for editing I wasn't aware of the final product until it was shown in class since I had been gone for client work. If I would have been there I could have seen the issues before they were prevailed in class.

Along the way I learned that I must make sure everyone is in the loop for the decision making process and to make sure you give yourself enough time to make a quality project. Where communication lacked Olivia and I were there with leadership to pick up the slack. We could have improved out project management however all things considered

Although it was a good learning experience I wish I would have chosen to be Director in order to ensure the success of our music video. The idea was there but the execution lacked. However, I loved the aesthetic of the video as a while and enjoyed the idea of it being found footage like a VHS tape.

One thing that I noticed is that people don't understand the role of director. When you are director you do not have the jurisdiction to take the camera out of your DP's hand and start shooting- That is not your job. A director is not a dictator advising your crew is different than being in total control. Overall, I enjoyed the project even when the circumstances are frustrating, it was a good learning experience and it gave the juniors quality work to put in their reel.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfRhWqRn9eIefb2VFHBQeJA

Music Video- Professional blog post Review

Beezeblocks by alt-J is a music video in which it tell the story as well as shows the story completely in reverse. It causes a misconception in order to make the reveal at the end more prominent. The music video conveys a full beginning, middle and end and goes full circle; an interesting technique. An interesting aspect of this video comes from the ideology of the entire thing being backward. It leads the viewer to see reality from a sewed prospective. It's similar to the "unreliable narrator" effect in literature. The viewer is lead down the complete wrong path the entire time so when you watch it again you pick up on the minor details proving this point. It brings in a different take on the elements of filmmaking. The cinematography is smooth and beautifully shot assumingely on 60 frames per second due to the reversed effect. The story has a beginning middle and end however the story told un-chronologically is conveyed and interpreted different for everyone and can tough on many different subjects. the lightning sets the ominous mood with the blue and red undertones. I think it would be really interesting to do a video backwards like this. I think it is a good test of storytelling and whether a story is strong or if there is a lack of. The preproduction it took to make this had to have been incredibly strong in order to cohesively form the story and tell it completely. A lot of this is one shot. Though it is beautiful and intricate and adds to the overall quality, our equipment at onw and the training we have had with it isn't adequate enough to make the entirety of the music video or film. For example the Lip Dub needed some work to take a step out of amateur and into professional. I think doing an assignment where we are tasked to create a similar video would be interesting in order to test our creativity as well as work and level of preproduction.

Spotify Commercial

Topic

My first project for senior year was a Spotify commercial. We were given the task to create a commercial following the Key principals of film making as well as the five objectives of a good commercial. Our group collaborated to come up with our idea: A boy gets ready for his date and realizes his radio is broken so he does what anyone else would d and he hires a band after surfing the web. the band follows him around all day until his date finally just asks why he doesn't just download Spotify.

Process

We were assigned groups for this project to help integrate the Juniors and Seniors. My group and I collaborated to figure out our concept and we landed on Spotify. As director I annotated my script to help filming to smoothly as well as giving my DP and editor directions. As for casting, my team and I collaborated to get our actors in line. Our filming day went really well and we finished in our predicted time frame. Editing went well but I feel like it could have been better if we could have expanded it longer.

Director

Overall, my group worked very well together and too direction well. We lacked with art direction due to the loss of a team member. I learned to make sure all bases are covered before filming (art direction) we could have had better costumes. 

If I could change anything I would add fun costumes for the band as well as expanding it to make it longer. I loved our concept and I loved my group and my actors. I feel as if they really helped make it come to life. My group worked really well together to make sure we met all of the requirements of a good commercial which I believe we executed great. As a team who worked together well and trusted each others judgement I believe it helped us create a great commercial using the 5 elements of filmmaking where lighting lacked cinematography was there to pick it up where sound lacked the acting saved it the strong parts out weighed the weak and I am very proud of my group.

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. 

symbols and marks

In this article I learned the difference between Marks and logos. A few basic terms can be used to classify marks and symbols. The difference between a symbol and a mark is a symbol is a mark without the type faced used to identify the corporation. When used together its called a combination mark. Logos are words in the type that makes you remember the company. The logo is the thing that people remember. My favorite thing I learned was Combination marks because I think its cool that everything comes together like that.  I think that this is an important topic for all graphic designers to know. 

Ferris Buellers Day Off

Project

The assignment for the project was to recreate a High School trailer. My group chose Ferris Bueller directed by John Hughes. We had to learn how to adapt to the way our surroundings were in order to create a close video.

Process

The process of Pre-Production for this was different than usual since we had to create it exactly how the trailer was originally.  Storyboarding was the most work because you had to put the clips down to the seconds. The day we filmed it was very sunny out so most of our clips are washed out. I tried to fix it many times but that was as close as I could get to decent. Editing we were super behind schedule and I was the only one in my group that was able to get the video in on time. I told my group members that I would brung the SD card when they asked for it and the never asked so I never brought it. I had to work with the clips I had to edit as close as I possibly could to the original trailer. 

What did I learn? 

Along the way I learned that when people don't want to work with you instead of carrying their weight you make the best of what you have. I also learned that you need to put your self first if your team doesn't work with you and you need to just do your own thing. 

Professionalism

This is the first time i have had problems with my group. At the beginning we worked really well together but we put too many peoples videos ahead of our own so we messed that up for ourselves and got ourselves into a big heap of stress. Thats when we stopped working well together. 

If I could do this project again I would make sure we were more organized and that we put ourselves first. I really like the people we chose for the roles because it all fit very well. In the end I would say this isn't my best work and I hope that I can redeem myself in the next video. 

5 x 5 Typography Art Boards

I chose my quotes based on my personality. I believe that people should always be happy and nice. I liked the quotes I chose because I feel like they were a mirror into my mind and you could see my ideas openly. 

"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. 

When presenting to the class I told them my main theme was happiness and being happy. Mrs. Smith said that I should change the spacing to make sure that it looks more centered and put them in line.




In conclusion I feel like my designs told a story and they were strong. I enjoyed the freedom of the assignment and how it tested my creative ability.

11x 17 Vignelli poster

Topic 

I have been studying Massimo Vignelli since the beginning of December. I like his art work and it inspired me to continue using his work as an example. I used his work to inspire my poster by basing it off of vibrant colors and the Manhattan street signs.  When writing "Mass" at the top I chose colors that would stand out on top on the black background because Massimo Vignelli believed in a severe  color palette. The address at the bottom is in circles to show Vignelli's Manhattan street sign design.

My research

After studying Vignelli for so long i've noticed how seriously I take what he says. He believes in the functionality of design and I feel like I have started paying attention to that in all of my work.

Creating my 20 sketches

I found when I was looking at Vingelli's work I could think of more designs for my poster. I ended up making 23 sketches because Vignelli had so many great idea that I felt Like I could use as a influence in my work. I feel like my poster speaks Vignelli and I did well with sticking to my sketches. 

Process in Illustrator

I made two designs in Illustrator but this one was my favorite because not only is it Massimo Vignelli but it also has a little nit of me in it. I liked making this clean and concise and I am proud of how well it turned out. I never really had any big problems while I was creating it in Illustrator. 

Conclusion

I really liked being able to make a poster based on Vignelli because I belie he can teach people a lot. I love hoe clean his designs are and I  find his work relaxing and original.

50 Ways to say Goodbye-- Professional Project Review

This video was very well done. The shots were nicely put together and showed the uniqueness the
song.

The shots switch very smoothly and make the video look nice. There is a nice variety of shots. The story the is being told is that the main guys girlfriend broke up with him and he is embarressed that she broke up with him so he tries to convince his friend that she died so he doesn't have to admit that they broke up. At the end of the video she appears and he gets exposed because she's not actually dead.  The six shot sister comes in handy in this video because you need variety. the creator of this video did a really good job with creativity. Overall I thought the video was put together very well and I think that the creativity was above and beyond.

Posters

A poster should portray a message and should be functional. It can give information of any subject but its worthless if it isn't clear and concise. The poster should appeal to all sids of someone. It can't just be visually appealing you need to make sure your audience connects with it so you can get your point across clearly Nearly all posters go un noticed due to the lack of visual interest. the poster should be understandable and interesting. The audience should feel intrigued after reading it.

 Lettering

Lettering brings your poster together. It should be easy to read but visually interesting at the same time. It should be well in size and color so it can be used as part of the picture rather than words on a page.

Shapes

the designs must be clear and understandable from a respected distance. The designs and shapes on the poster should correspond with the message that it is trying to convey. It should be able to be read quickly without any difficulty.

Color

Color emphasizes the importance of the words on you poster. It can express mood, weather, rhythm etc. Color helps communicate the message of the overall topic.

I learned that in order to have an effective end result you need to have a clear and concise poster that is functional above all. I believe that this article helped me prepare for the future because it showed me that I need to pay attention to detail in the art itself and that every piece of the work matters not just the design. 

Semester Final- Video

ONW 1 in 2000

For this project we made a feature story over a person of our choice who attended ONW. It took us about two weeks to complete this assignment. I faced challenges with my video looking grainy. I wish I would have been able notice the grain while I was filming so I could have changed it. From that experience I learned to check my videos to make sure it looks and sounds the way I want it to look. I was told it was very visually appealing and that I needed to make it more impactful. I changed the voice overs to do so and I feel like it made the impact that I wanted it to make. Overall I really enjoyed this assignment because I got to do something I'm passionate about while filming something that my best friend is passionate about.     https://youtu.be/QMgIOXfV5LI

Kim Peek feature story

I a=made this feature story about my Mom. It took me about a week to finish it. I am pleased with what the out come of this project was.  I wanted to have my little sister in the video but she didn't feel comfortable talking about my moms cancer. I think that I made an impactful video that my family can hold dear to them forever. I learned how to change plans during this assignment. I Had to adapt to the situation and I had my Dad step in for my little sister. I was told to add name titles to the video so you knew who was talking.  https://youtu.be/PL-sLP8LFFA

Barbershop Quartet

I am most pleased with this video. I worked on it with Nick Johnson  for our classes ONW NOW. This was different from the other assignments because it was a news story rathe than a feature story. I had to use mostly medium shots because of this aspect. I feel like it would have been a lot better if it were a feature story because it could have more variety. A challenge I faced with this video was that the groups Bass, Evan Calkins, had bronchitis so he couldn't be there to sing and film with the rest of the group. I enjoyed listening to the boys sing and I hope it made our students aware that ONW isn't just sports.

Time Management 

I feel like I use my time better in this class than I have been doing in my Graphic Design class. In times I have finished early I usually help my friends with questions they have on their videos. If my boss asked me to enhance my video I would have a friend give me feedback on my video and I would make re-edits depending on what they say. I take all of my videos home with me to make sure that I get the desired grade and impact that I want the video to contain. I also make videos for fun in my free time. For example, I made a "Vlog" or a video blog of the Beauty and the Beast Tech Week. I edit the videos and post them for my friends and fellow cast members to see. 

Strengths

I would say I'm good at making my videos visually appealing and interesting. I film things that I am interested in so that ONW NOW isn't just sports because I know people want to hear about other things. I think that I am creative and I bring something different to the plate in our class. 

Weaknesses

I would say that my friends are my weaknesses. I talk to them to much and I get distracted and i can't let that happen. I do my best work at home where I am completely focused and relaxed. I need to just plug in my headphones and work on my videos to make them the quality I desire for my projects.

Summary

Although Convergence isn't what I am interested in, I can say that I enjoyed this semester a lot more then I expected to.  I wouldn't change anything about the semester because I learned so much about video, premiere, and how I should act to get my projects the way I wan them. Overall, I feel like i learned a lot about journalism and how to work the technology. Next semester I hope my skills in Premier Pro grow and I want to get the full entertainment experience so I will stay focused and work hard. As of right now, I am debating between Entertainment and Graphic Design so I know how focused I need to be because next semester is the deciding factor for that strand I'll choose to go into for the next two years.