Editing The Music

    As it stands now, we are done with editing our music video. Emily and I traded hands working on the editing since she illustrated the storyboard, she took over ordering the footage, while I cut, deleted and pieced together it. Luckily it went a lot smoother than the first time editing. We didn't run into any technical issues until the very end. Even in the end we only ran into a slight hiccup which was easily fixed by a computer reset. Pinnacle Studios had frozen and wasn't allowing any other function on the computer. The window wouldn't close so I decided to shut the computer down, resetting everything, and it worked.

    I, personally am extremely proud of the finished product. I am amazed at the amount we could do with the limited resources we had. It's, not anything ground-breaking, but I do find it visually pleasing. I tried doing a lot more transitions in the music video to reduce the choppy feel between each scene that I felt in the commercial,  and I feel like I accomplished that. I put fades and dissolves in between each scene so that it would feel like a progressing story. I wanted to give the illusion of time and it slowly passing by as the camera focused on the subjects. I'm most proud of the fact that I succeeded in making the film black and white. It wasn't very hard, but the effect it has makes it look astonishing, at least in my opinion. As a group, we all agree the film is the best we can do, but I think this is a massive step in improvement.

    The only part I feel is odd is the music. The song we chose is a little more than two minutes long, and we have a limitation of one minute and fifteen seconds. We had to cut and mess around with the sound to get it to end well. It doesn't end and the end of the song, but instead of right before the chorus, it's a nice end but could be better. Not only does the end of the song bother me, but the start of it does make me ecstatic either. I wanted to start the song the moment Emily presses the button on camera, but we ended up playing the song throughout because of time. We were over-time for a while when we started wrapping up production. We cut some of the "credits" at the end and sped up the beginning and some transition scenes to shorten our time. We went from a minute and twenty I believe to a few milliseconds shy of a minute and fifteen.

My Filming Journey

      Throughout our time filming, I feel that I've learned a lot. Both about myself and the inner workings of what it takes to make a film. Through this class, I was able to look at myself through a more critical lens. And though I never imagined myself in the profession of film making, I was able to critique myself on the basis of the quality of my work as if  I were. I learned my weaknesses and strengths, little as they may be, and found methods to improve. Within this, I also practiced team building and worked my way through co-operating the assignment.
      I was never confident going into making our films but have I experienced a moderate increase. I know now that I 'm not as good at filming as I thought and am much better at editing. Likewise, however, I learned that I am much better at working alone as opposed to working in a group. I ultimately chose to work in a group because of its benefits. Having multiple people meant secured actors, and opportunities like being allowed to film at the middle school were made possible. Without the group, it would be a lot more stressful to produce what we currently have, but with that, we also have conflicting ideals. I wanted to edit because I thought it would give me a chance to work alone, little did I know I wouldn't have that option.
Having critiques is one thing, but having your work and vision disregarded because of convenience and ego is another.
      Throughout filming, I've been tested a multitude of times. Honestly, I feel that I'm learning more social skills than I am technical ones. I personally am not confrontational and tend to let others control and dominate situations in times of disagreement. While this is unfavorable to me when attempting to get information and ideas across, and can sometimes stunt the quality of ou assignments, it is the best method for producing finished works. I realized early on, that working with the group I chose would require relinquishing control and sacrificing the finer details in order to complete tasks and assignments. It was hard at first but nothing beats learning difficult lessons.
      This class also thought me that I am obligated to pull my weight, whether it's in one form or another, and that I must conduct myself in a manner in which to do so. Although this was not a foreign concept, due to the fact that I was unable to participate directly in the filming of the music video, I, in a sense, endangered my grade. I jeopardized my standing in the group and was at the mercy of my peers. I was fortunate enough to have found a way to still contribute.

Music Video Filming

    As of today, we have concluded all our filming. The footage has been shot and imported into Pinnacle Studios, with zero complications. Luckily we had no technical issues and no problems getting the footage to load, the files didn't change unlike last time, and Pinnacle Studios kept running until we had finished importing. With that said,  we had no issues following the plan either, we filmed on the eighteenth of November just as intended but I, unfortunately, was unable to make the trip there. We as a group rearranged the roles, as a result, of my absence, having Emily film, Victoria and Andrea act. With everything covered I delegated myself the task of editing the footage in order to still contribute my fair share. I was able to get updates about the filming luckily but only to the extent that I can retell what the others can recall.
    From what I was told, the middle school location held up quite nicely. There were no issues using the grounds and we were able to film wherever we pleased. The stage we had planned to use, unlike the one at our school, was in the cafeteria and it took some looking around to find but there was ample space to film. Both inside and outside the building of the school suited our needs for filming so the scenes we had planned weren't affected in the slightest. In terms of the actual filming, the scenes were again shot separately,. I know this first hand because I got a chance to review the footage. Since I would be the one editing, I made sure everything could be used to tell the story as close to the storyboard in which Emily made.
     The filming was divided into three. There were essentially three locations in one. There was the stage, the outside walking area, and then the outside seating area. The stage was used to shoot the dancing scenes. The walking area was used for the playfull 'transitional' scenes between. And the seating area outside was used for some scenery shots and concluded the film. With all that, the scenes were shot and the day ended. The only scene that is in the film that wasn't shot at the location would be the opening scene of the radio. Emily was able to take the camera home and shot the scene of her turning on the radio. The footage came out nicely, in all,  I'm not sure if a tripod was used, but it looks to be a lot less shacky. My absence may have actually benefited the group. The fact that I wasn't there allows me to fully focus on editing now.

Music Video Storyboard

    In the storyboard, we start off with an establishing shot with a radio. This severs as a opening and an introduction to the music, having the overlapped sound act as diegetic. We then fade to curtain, to introduce the subjects as the music starts playing. The two subjects come out from the curtains and begin to dance, as they dance we then transition outside. Running the two subjects exit stage left, and begin explore the grounds, holding hands. We then have a sequence of jump cuts, featuring the two running, playing, and skipping. We then have some transitional shots of the sky to tie the outdoor feel together, ending with the subjects again to concluded the film.

Music Video Plan

    For our location. We conventionality ran into an opportunity that allowed us to shoot at a local middle school. We plan to use the school's stage while shooting some scenes outside. As far as a back up location, not much thought has been put in to it, seeing that our main setting has already been secured with no sign of complications. If we had to, a reasonable back up would be the beach, especially since it fits with our goal of creating a clique love story or sorts. I personally like the idea of shooting on the stage because, it the closest we have to an actual speakeasy. While it may not be as classy as one, I hope the scene can be set within reasonable parameters. That with the outside shots, a nice composed film should be easy.
    For props, I don't see us using any. At the very least, I don't see us bringing any props to the set. If we manage to get our hands on some musical instruments at the school, we could defiantly use them, otherwise we won't have any props in our final film, other than the radio used to open our film. For costumes, we'll have the two subjects wear dresses, similar to the dresses worn to time of the Song, the 1950s. The possibility of makeup is there, but we might cut it out. It's a tad extra, in my option.
    In terms of our schedule, we plan of filming November the eighteenth, and editing until December the tenth. We thought that the sooner we film, the longer we'd have to edit and everything, especially since we had so many difficulties editing for the commercial. Technical issues are to be expected and we want to take this music a step above our commercial. In order to do that we wanted to jump start our project and film as soon as possible and get editing just as fast. Over the course of time we plan on figuring out ways to turn our footage into black and white and also figure out some transition effects we could use to better the quality of our film.
     With all this said, since we are filming on our own time, we did have to consider health and safety. We, as a group, do not have any health obstacles to over come. Our location is safe, being that it is a school, and there will be numerous facilitators present on the grounds while we film.  We do not plan to have anything on set that would cause us harm, chiefly because we do no plan on using props at all. If we end up filming on the beach, we all know how swim so we wouldn't be subject to drowning. Nevertheless, we would make sure to film near a life-guard tower, even though we don't plan on implementing the water into our film.

Moving in to our music video

    Today, we have officially moved on to our music video. From our commercial, I found that storyboarding didn’t really work for me. Personally, having pre-planned our project helped but it ultimately had a smaller effect than I thought it would. I thought having our thoughts on paper would be effective but the plans ended changing and while we keep a majority of the storyboarded material, it didn’t all translate on film. Storyboarding made us as a whole feel attached to the scenes we had already thought of and it made it harder to move away from them, even though they weren’t working out.
    We chose the song “ Fly Me To The Moon” by Frank Sinatra. We chose this song because we want to create a controversial story. With Frank Sinatra being a staple for the 1950s and 1960s, it more than actually depicts the time scene we want. We’re thinking of having a pro-homosexual theme, based around the time period of the song. We’re thinking of placing it in a classy dance hall, jazz in the background and instead of the classic love troupe of a man sweeping and wooing the woman off her feet, we want to replace that we two men or two women.
    This idea mainly comes from the time period but also goes against the common conventions of  Jazz. Through the few music videos made for the Jazz genre, the overall premise of each made by the artists is the same. The video made wouldn't even be considered music videos. They were either just videos of the band performing normally, or a recreation of the band or a band for a film.
   
    For the purpose of our music video, there are six guides to stick to.
 
   Number one, Costumes. In the time period of 1950 and 1960, the act of wearing fancy dresses and such for a night out was common. Women wore flowy dresses that spun as they did, while men wore collared shirts and suits with the notable bow tie.
   Number two lighting. The scenes that Jazz was often played in were bars, pubs, and restaurants. It was lit in a way that centered the band, yet we’re dimmed to the point where the whole room would not always be seen.
   Number three, acting. In films where Jazz is featured, the acting can be only described as cheerful and upbeat. The acting often centered around how the people responded to the somber sound of Jazz.
Number four, makeup. The makeup around this time was very light, with blush and nude shades of lipstick were common with some times red and velvets used to highlight a woman’s attire.
    Number five, props.  Any props used would most likely be interments or anything related to music like mics and speakers
    Number six, scenery. Scenery, Jazz music often took place in fancy areas that men and women dressed up just to attend.

Editing Our Commercial

     Today we actually edited. Despite everything, we put together our footage quite nicely.  This said it wasn't without its various issues though. First off, we were divided in our first half of editing. Victoria was homesick and Emily was home due to the recent passing of her uncle. With me and Andrea on the scene, we went through our many takes and picked, sorted, and ordered them to illustrate our story. Out of nearly thirty takes, seven were chosen. Unsurprisingly, not many takes would be, what one would call, "perfect". The seven chosen were just the best out of the worst. This is more of a self-critique more than anything else, but. many shots could have been shot better.
     In terms of the issues we ran into; we faced many technical difficulties. Oddly, when importing our footage from the desktop, the files somehow changed. This wouldn't have been an issue if our instructor recognized the file change and could fix it. Needless to say, she did not. We were advised to switch programs since Pinnacle Studios couldn't read our files. For a while, we did attempt to use the secondary program. I forget the name, but I believe it was Microsoft Editor. We did, at the same time, also attempt to continue using Pinnacle Studio since we'd already achieved so much. While trying to play our ordered footage Pinnacle crashed. Luckily, with the self-inflicted shutdown, Pinncal miraculously started to read the footage and all was well until it was time to save. When saving we were again advised, this time advised to upload our film onto Google Drive, and somehow, it saved as an audio file, switching the files yet again. We had to trust that saving it on Pinnacle would be enough and left and the conclusion of the class.
      In the second half of editing, taking place a day later, we took our ordered footage and started taking out unnecessary scenes and splicing them and connecting altogether. This was more of a challenge rather than an issue, but worth saying none the less. When editing, Victoria and I ran into the issue of making a smooth transition in each of the seven shots. Since they were all separate, they all had different perspectives angles and camera movements. Like I speculated before, it was rough. We ended up combining some shots outside the chosen seven to fill in some gaps we had. I would like also to say that, because of the separated shots, the film feels fast, despite it being a little under a minute long. To me, it antiquity tells the story we had envisioned but seems rushed in a way. Overall I think our film is coming together nicely, we're doing all we can and I feel like it'd be something both myself and my group members can be proud of.
     

Editing (Or not)

   Today we were supposed to edit, but unfortunately, there was a problem with the pinnacle application. Throughout the thirty or so computers, the application wasn't working. We had the footage ready and set on the SD-card but the images wouldn't play, nor would the application open. We were instructed to move the footage onto google drive or a flash drive. I wonder how this will set our schedule back. I would rather not miss a day to edit. For the most part, the edits we have to make are scripted in the storyboard. We maybe have to adjust somethings, but that is' to be expected. I already pointed out the issues we had but it doesn't hurt to reiterate. The fact that we took each scene in its own separate shot means we have to edit in a way that isn't choppy. I don't think it's going to be completely smooth, but as long as we can get from one frame to another with relative understanding, we'll be fine. I wouldn't have objected if we were given the opportunity to film again today. But alas we weren't even prepared for that option.
    Rather than editing, we had a little fun. We weren't completely slacking off, but we were talking up quite the storm. We discussed all the editing we wanted to do, and how the storyboard would translate into editing. We when over the best times we had to work outside of school and who'd be the one taking the charge. In reality, we'd all participate in the editing, but there is only one person suitable to be behind the computer. We all decided that Victoria would be the one to click and drag our decisions on the actual application. Her work with computers excellent. Every presentation I've ever seen from her is so professional, if I didn't know better I would assume an adult made it. She's also very creative and probably has experience working with software like a pinnacle.
     The fact that we cant edit today is bad, but I don't it's that bad. We had a chance to sit and talk. Talking allowed us to cement some ideas and map out a direction for our editing. It's good to have a plan before in my opinion. Sooner or later we would have to have talked it out. Planning now saves time in the sense that, the next opportunity we have to edit well be ready to jump straight into it. We have a general plan and that is honestly more than what I've seen from others. As a group, I'm sure we'll be able to pull through, despite the complications we've had.

Filming

    Today, we filmed, and it went fairly smoothly. It didn't go exactly as I had envisioned it but that's to be expected, seeing that one, I wasn't working by myself after all, and two, nothing ever goes exactly as planned. We were prepared and everything was in order as they should have been. The area we had picked out did have more groups that I thought but it didn't impede us from the film the scenes we needed. Speaking of, we successfully shot all the scenes we needed, the weather was clear and posed no threat to the equipment or the film. The only issue was that the day was a bit cloudy and the light was in a constant state of change due to the sun being covered and uncovered. We got around it but seeing that we haven't put the footage together yet, I'm unsure how it's going to come out. The finished product is kinda unpredictable right now. I hope that it'd turn out fine but I have a reasonable suspicion that we'll have more than one hiccup during the editing process. We might even have to reshoot.
     It's not like we didn't cover all bases, if just that, for our first time filming, we might have to pull a bit more weight stitching together our work. Since I was the cameraman, I took all the shots; minus three. Under the advisement of another group member, Emily, we decided to take all the shots separately and in threes. I wanted to do a full take and split it after, but I was overshadowed. Personally, I think taking three full takes would have been better but what's done is done. Since I did have a part in one scene I did temporalty relinquish my position behind the camera so I can't speak for every shot. For every other one though, I feel more could have been done. The pans in the storyboard, to me, didn't translate well with the constant stopping. With that, the relative positions of the subjects are going to be off. Since all shots we're taken separately, the subjects in each won't be in the exact place they were when taking shots that have angle changes or a change in apparel.
     Amongst this, we did have one technical issue. It wasn't really an issue, but it's worth mentioning; since it puts into context the time constraint we had. Following the procedures laid out to us beforehand, we got our equipment; this was before we started filming of course. We took, (if I'm not mistaken), a good thirty minutes to leave the room once we got our things. We had to switch out a camera due to its low battery life, but once we got that sorted, we were out. We finally get to the track field and I, since I was carrying the equipment, set up the tripod and prepared the camera. I did all this only to figure out that the piece needed to connect the camera to the tripod was missing. I had to run back to the room to get one, taking up a good ten minutes altogether. In an hour and thirty-minute class, taking out a wasted forty minutes, we only have forty minutes to film, seeing that we had to return within the last ten minutes of class. We got a lot done, but our time usage wasn't the best. This may seem hyper-critical, but its the truth.

Storyboarding

    Today we storyboarded. We talked about plans for the shoot and how we each envisioned the final product coming out. In our storyboard, we have multiple shots and angles. Starting with an establishing shot, we film the surrounding area to let the audience know that the scene is taking place on a track field. Next, with a constant two-shot, we have two subjects filmed at a cat's eye view, after a pan from the establishing shot. We then transition to a high angle shot above the subjects, circling them and transitioning to eye-level, having a voice-over set off the two racers. The two racers are disguised by their clothes, marked in the storyboard by a checkmark and an "x". This represents their readiness, and how before the coffee, one of the racers is tired. Before the racers set off, the camera pans towards the referee and the setoff ends. As the setoff ends the voice changes as if to get interrupted with an SFX sound of a record scratch. now encouraging the tired racer to part take in some Duckin' goods as the camera pans from the referee to a Dunkin' employee, furthering the implication of two different people speaking. We then have an extreme close up of the tired racer eating and drinking. After the eating, we see the character in, what was pajamas, now in proper racing clothes. The jump is followed by a second count down, with a tracking shot of the once tired racer beating the opponent. The camera then films the subject in a medium-long shot, followed by a close-up shot of the products used, and a voice-over advertising them.

                                                                   Storyboard PDF

(May need to be rotated to view properly)

Editing Lesson

    Today we learned how to edit. Oddly enough, despite it being "complicated" I found the process pretty straight forward. The program seems to work in a matter of parts like any other, which is nice. Like adobe, it has sections to what you're doing with sub-sections for finer detailing. I feel like the editing period will be fairly easy once I become acclimated to the in working of it, I don't think I'll be doing anything advanced but enough for our final products to run smoothly. I took my fair share of notes but it will really come down to how well I remember where everything I need is. Between my group members and myself, figuring out how to cut out an audio file to make a voice-over, shouldn't be a problem.
     Our instructor mainly went over the basics. She didn't go too in-depth, but enough to get the general idea of how to finish our assignment after filming day. We learned how to import and export and the general do's and don'ts of keeping an SD-card. Since this is a large class, I'd expect nothing less, seeing that our footage is the most important thing. With that, we learned how to operate the camera properly. I have a camera at home so it wasn't anything new to me, I like that we get a tripod though, stability is useful. Since I will be the one behind the camera, I paid extra attention during this part. The camera we're being given is a lot more technical than the one I have at home, it only needs one button to start, and all the adjustments are made on the touchscreen. Apart from that and check out procedures, there wasn't much to retain.
     In terms of the actual program, I learned a lot. When I used to look at editing formats for film, I could not, for the sake of my own life, tell what was going on. Now, I can look at the screen and know the difference between the Title layer, film layer, and the sound layer. Seeing that my group will be doing a voice-over, knowing that difference is defiantly helpful. I didn't know you could have sound without having the actual image for the sound, I assumed you'd have to film the sound within the takes and incorporate it into the final product somehow. I was fully prepared to just talk over the scene while we were filming. I guess they are always a better way.

Commercial Planning

    For our commercial, my group was thinking we'd do a scene where either where we based our commercial around runners or students. Whereas both ideas center around "students" because of our actors, the major difference comes into the area we film. We came up with two ideas, using either one as a back up in case the areas we cased ended up being booked. For the first idea, we thought we could film on the track, and have two subjects prepared to race. With one tired and the other fairly energized, the set up would be a third party offering coffee to the tired runner to finish the race to introduce the product, ending in the line "didn't you know, America runs on Dunkin'". For the second, in case the track was taken, we thought we could film around a sitting area not too far from the track-field, having the student sit and talk about how much they enjoy Dunkin' coffee and donuts.

    Location wise, lighting is without a doubt, not an issue, if weather were to be a problem, the backup idea would be implemented but due to them both being outside, if only lighting dialogue would change to fit the mood, and if anything like rain, nearby areas with overhangs to protect the equipment. Right now, the props and costumes for both ideas consist of sportswear (shorts and running shoes),  pajamas, a whistle, an apron for the third party person, an empty Dunkin' bag, Dunkin' cup, and hopefully an actual box of donuts. We'd, mainly be dressing up for the track idea rather than anything else, and the actual props apply for both ideas. Me personally, I won't be altering anything in terms of dress, I volunteered to be the cameraman. For the secondary idea, we decided subjects would wear.
    In all, the plan for filming day is first, go to the primary spot, the track-field, and set up. The subjects will be dressed beforehand and so forth in their established customs. If allowed with time, re-shoots will be done to get enough footage in case of damage, loss, or needed splicing. If not the field we'd walk over to the aforementioned sitting area, an outdoor scene with grassy ascents. After filming day and all shots and re-shoots have been taken, we'd move into editing where needed sound effects will be added. It's unclear to when we'd do this but for many Dunkin' commercials, a voice-over is implemented, we could both add it in editing and film it.

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Commercial Drafting

    Today my group and I discussed what we'd do for our commercial, and from the choices, we landed on Dunkin' Donuts (now just Dukin'). I personally wanted to make an ad about the school, since we'd be filming at school already. Finding a set and props would be a lot easier if we'd chosen that option, but I guess creativity is a big part of the assignment as well. With a Dunkin' commercial, I believe the only props we'd need are cups, and maybe one to a dozen donuts. While there is a possible cost, it isn't so high that it can't be met. Of course for the set, we'd have no choice but to pass the opportunity of shooting in the actual establishment, but that also isn't, much of a problem. For shooting, I'm thinking we could do a sit-down scene outside with multiple cups as a normal "in life" shot. I envision the commercial as being "no so scripted"; having a flowing conversation that draws adequate action to the product but doesn't detract from anything else.
    While researching, I found a few similarities in Dunkin' commercials. I found that from the year 2010 to now (2019) Dunkin has used a pretty one to one format with miner changes, just as any other good brand should. The trends within these commercials were: voice-overs, person and product together, and minimal scripted lines (apart from the voice-over). Camera angles varied but were kept to eye-line level and birds-eye view for the majority. Out of the ten or so commercial I've seen so far, low angles have only been used while taking shots of the product, mainly drinks. The camera in most scenes was also stationary. using pans and zooms to move "around" the set, if any movement at all was used.
     Another trend I noticed was that the commercial often displayed a specific demographic (or type) of people that would take part in consuming the product. With Dunkin' it wasn't just "people", but rather "Teacher", "Student", "Office Worker", "Mom", or anything along those lines. With each commercial, the "Dunkin' community" was fleshed out. With more than just donuts and coffee, Dunkin' has many patrons, and I believe they recognize this and attempt to represent it in their commercials. For example, with a bit of comedy. Dunkin' released a commercial with plane pilots, having their food blown away by the winds whilst in the air. Not only did they advise what they needed to and grabbed their intended audience, but they went a little further and showed that they realize that the people who consume donuts and coffee are more than just "tire" and "in need of energy".

Introductory

    Hello, my name is Jaheim and I am a student of Fort Lauderdale High School. I am currently in the eleventh grade, taking the AICE Media Studies course. So far, I thoroughly enjoy the course. The act of studying the films and shows we watch without thought everyday is quite enticing to me. In all honestly, I consume my fair share of media. My favorite genre, and the best in my option, is horror. I like the especially gory films, but I'll settle for just the broad feeling of suspense and uneasiness. My current favorite film to watch is The Human Centipede. I find it highly entertaining to watch it with friends; their reactions are always the best part.

    Moving on from my questionable tastes, I also enjoy art. Along with taking the AICE Media course, I also take art classes to better myself. I find the work calming at times, and it helps me to express myself. I like drawing "still life"s and replicas, my strongest of the two are my realistic drawings. I like drawing my friends and handing them my works as gifts to brighten their day. While I started my journey in copying, I would say making real-world "copies" took up more of my plate over time, and it made me a better artist. In terms of skill though, I haven't truly achieved anything. I lack in style and I haven't found myself within the art community.

    Speaking of, I haven't found myself at all. I am still an impressional child, lost in the "big bad" world. I like going through the motions, but I know that someday, somehow I won't be as stable as I want to be, and that kinda scares me. I honestly feel life that should be the set up to a horror film tiled Growing Up.Being a child one minute and a adult the next is the scariest thing in the world and I would pay to see that movie. I honestly don't know weather it would be good or not but, the concept alone is dreadful. If horror films are meant to insight fear in the audience, what would be better than making a film about something that everyone goes through. We may not all cripple at the thought of growing up, but it has to be something that we've all thought and worried about, and I wanna make a film about that. I want to give the world answers to questions that we've either all ignored until asked or asked, and asked with no answer.