Video Embed Challenge

 You should show this video to the class because many of us know camera techniques but many do not have a good story to apply them to. This video shoes how creatively write which would display useful techniques to strengthen and enrich students scrips. This is very important because being in video production, it is crucial to be able to communicate your message and sell your idea.

Learning Challenges

 The most difficult part of learning this semester was crafting my artistic vision with others. This was hard for me because I had trouble communicating my ideas.

PSA Project Experience

 My final project and my pitch was is very similar. The message is identical but the visuals differed a bit. Challenges I ran into was having a whole class period of not working because I did not have any footage to edit. If i shot a day earlier, I would have the resources available to use that whole class period for my PSA. What helped me achieve my vision was listening to speeches about my topic so that I could formulate a consensus about factory farming.

PSA Post Production

 Post production for the PSA is going smoothly. Something that can make production smoother would be having more shots to choose from. A challenge I am running into is placing a logo where I want it,

PSA Production

 The location me and my partner shot at was a grocery store. Our production stage was smooth and went according to the initial plan. Something I could improve for next time is to shoot earlier, if we both shot the day earlier we would not have had a whole class period of doing nothing, instead we could have been editing our footage.

Slating Shots

 The purpose of the slate is for synching sound. The slate is important because it gives the editor a que . Some tips I learned is to skip i's and o's because they can easily be mistaken as 1's and 0's. The whole slate should be in completeley in frame.

PSA Pre Pro

 The topic i choose for this PSA was factory farming. I choose this topic because I wanted bring light to the torture and cruelty that these animals have to endure, I wanted to give a voice to those who can not speak.  Our audience is the youth who consume and wear animal flesh and those who are blind to all of the heinous crimes committed towards the farm animals.  Three ways we are going to make our PSA visual is we are going to present the value of life to induce a comparison to our lives and those of the animal kingdom. We are also going to showcase to abuse and torment inflicted on the innocent lives everyday.

Post a PSA

 I chose this PSA because it was very effective in communicating its message. The ways this ad communicated effectively was it stuck the viewer emotionally. Another way it was effective is it showed the commercial through the perspective of everyday people, this worked because they were relatable. Lastly, the commercial was effective because it makes the viewer realize that texting can wait.

The Ad Council

The ad council chooses select issues in todays society and acts upon them by communications. Its mission is to bring light on to particular issues. I do not recognize any of the ads by the ad council.

2-column AV Script Formatting

The AV Script should be formatted with one inch margins on each side of the paper. The script should be typed using courier new 12 point font. This format is used for instructional videos, advertisements, and multi camera productions. The shots in the video column should be aligned with the audio column with heading on the top of the page to distinguish  the two. Every word that is not to be spoken is to be capitalized on the page. Somethings that surprised me was that there was few guidelines, how easy it is the understand, and that one typed page is an estimated one minute of screenplay.

3-2-1 Cameras and Composition

During this unit I learned what messages certain framing and composing techniques convey to the viewer and progress a story. For example, a high angle will make an individual seem larger and give a strong and powerful feel to the character. Another is how an oblique angle can create a unbalanced and unstable feel to induce a uneasy notion. I also learned how to give significance to an object with framing techniques. I still have some questions about how to frame with the golden mean.

Hitchcock's Rule

 Hitchcock's rule explains that the size of an object in frame should be dependent on its significance in the scene. This applies to filmmaking because the rule brings attention to what you want to display and conveys they objects importance at the moment and can even bring tension and suspense. In my mobile film I filmed a close up of a backpack, this shot was composed and framed this way to show that the backpack was important at the time.

Screen Direction

 A character should should enter the opposite side the character exited in the last corresponding clip. For example if the character is seen walking into fame from the left to right, the next edit should show the same thing to tell the viewer that the character is moving towards their goal. If this rule is it followed it will appear to the viewer as if the character on screen is moving in different directions spontaneously. The same rule applies to diagonal perspectives. The character should be moving in the same direction.

 The key differences between full, medium, and close ups is how much of the subject is occupying the screen. When dealing with over the shoulder shots the subject facing the camera becomes more distant or closer depending on the framing. When dealing with two shots, the two subjects become closer or more distant depending on the framing as well. While using lenses, the framing does not change but the perspective does.

Filmmakers and Different Shots

  Filmmakers compose their shots to guide the viewers emotions. One reason a filmmaker might frame their shot is to confuse their audience. Breaking a rule will startle the viewer and make them feel uneasy. Another reason a filmmaker may frame a shot differently is to build suspense. Filming from a subjective/POV shot following someone will imply they are being followed. Lastly, a filmmaker may compose their shot to keep the audience interested by using different close ups and long shots to. This will ensure that the audience will want to keep watching to see what happens next.

Writings on the Wall Movement

 During the duration of the video I notice that the filmmakers used a lot of booming, tilting, and panning. I think that the filmmakers vision was derived by the meaning of Okay Go's song and previous art projects. Movement brought a lot of natural transitions that was unique because it allowed for a completely different angle for the next shot.

The Meaning Behind the Movement

 I notice a lot of slow dolly shots, these were used to induce a sad feeling or even an uncomfortable feeling as the shot gets closer to a violent scene for example. This weekend I could watch all 4 completed seasons of American Horror Story. Even before I was a film student I've notice the innovative and unique shots throughout the series. The camera moment is a huge part of the AHS narrative because it emits an unfamiliar and unsettling view of the scene.

Zooming vs Dollying

The difference between both zooming and dollying is that zooming is just a magnification and dollying is actually moving the camera through space.  Dollying promotes more depth and a 3D feel on a 2D plane. Trucking moves the camera side to side.

Camera Perspectives II

 An objective shot is a shot in which the viewer is watching the film under an observers point of view. The subjective shot is a shot in which the viewer is watching through the eyes of the subject. Lastly, the POV is the point of view shot. This shot is composed with both the subjective and objective angle. They all differ because of the positioning of the camera angle.

Headroom and Lookroom

 Headroom is the term used to refer to the amount of space between ones head and the top of the frame. Lookroom is the amount of space in front of ones face in the frame. Leadroom is the amount of space in front of a moving object. These are important because these all give an impression on the viewer. Headroom, if done correctly, wont make the subject look like he is shrinking or going to bump his/her head. Lookroom will give an impression of looking somewhere, and leadroom will give the impression of movement.

The Rule of Thirds

 The rule of thirds is the rule that directs the composition of the shot by using a 3x3 grid.  It is used in video production to guide the subject or object in the shot to result in a more pleasing image. The subject should be framed where the lines of the grid intercept, this is important so the viewer wont feel uncomfortable.

Zooming

 Zooming moves the point of view closer or further away from the subject. Zooming is over used because it is really easy to do and is loved by many.

White Balance

 Color temperature is a color scale based on Kelvin ranging from 5,500K for daylight and 2,200K for indoor. White balance is the process which eliminates unrealistic colors and transforms white looking objects in person into white looking objects on the camera. Outside color shoots blue, and the inside color shoots yellow/orange.

Camera Unit Goals

 During this unit I really want to understand the mechanics of the camera. I also would like to learn how to operate the camera and how different filming styles and techniques result in different visual effects that alter the feeling of the scene. I will accomplish these three objectives by taking notes during the lectures and focusing on demonstrations and examples given during that time. I will also become more skilled by hands on experiences practiced during the assignment given during this unit.

Citizen Kane

 I'm really enjoying Citizen Kane so far, I have not finished the film. The film is not what I expected,
it is a lot better. The things I noticed in the movie that I learned in this unit are fade to black transition, eye line matching, and the 30 degree rule.

Summing up the Editing Unit

 The three main things I learned during the editing unit is how to use Premier Pro, how to use Kuleshov's techniques, and the history of editing. I would like to learn more about the L and J cuts. I would like to lean more about the green screen effect.

Walter Murch on Editing

 The first rule is emotion, which makes the viewer feel the way you want them to feel. The second is story, this tells the audience what is happening and how the story advances. Rhythm paces the story. The forth rule is eye-trace, this is used to make the viewer look where you want them to look. The 2D plane is used to represent 3D objects in a 2D world. The sixth is the 3D space of action. This is used to make the objects move in a 3D space coherently. The first three are much more important because they are all united.  

Editing Tools and Split Ends

 A J cut is rolling the video forward without altering the audio, an L cut is the opposite. They enable the project to move the video independently. This can be useful in an edit if one wished to change the visuals on screen but leave the audio.

Natural Transitions Part 2

 A natural transition separates two scenes. These transitions are different because they are not artificially implemented on a computer but with clever camera technique. Wipe Pan pans the screen to create a seamless blur between two shots. Body wipe allows an individual to walk towards the camera, fade to black, and walk away from the camera.

Natural Transitions Part 1

 A natural transition is what separates two scenes. One technique is the cut which comes in handy when you do not want the transition to be noticeable. The wipe transition indicates a change in time/location. Swish cams are rapid blurred shots from one scene to another by creating a transition.

Cutting on Action

  Cutting on action is the technique where a cut in-between two shots gives the impression of a seamless action. You can achieve a seamless properly placing the cut between the action. Two things to keep in mind while cutting on action is to plan in advance and story board the cut.

Mise en Scene

Mis en scene translated to english means placing on stage. The film term is used to encompass arrangement of everything in the frame. It is important because it is the visual design and it brings emotion.

Montage Edit

 So far I have not started my montage edit, but some ideas Iv'e been brainstorming and I want to showcase landscapes. The style I want my montage to be is metric but i want to branch it out into other techniques.  I am still searching for a song.

Continuity Edit Reflection

 Three challenges I am facing in my continuity edit are matching the dialogue, cutting the clips at the right part to ensure continuity, and matching the color in every shot.  Aspects I like about this assignment is learning at my own pace about continuity.

Montage Editing Techniques

 One of Pudovkin's editing techniques that stood out to me was contrast. contrast contributes to the modern movie clip because it shows a comparison between two things that contrast each other. This editing technique works because people unconsciously make automatic connections when the shots are composed and presented to them. I find this technique particularly interesting because I find the way we make connections interesting, I like the psychology behind why this technique is so effective.    

A movie that inspires you

 A movie that has inspired me was a film called Grand Torino. This movie inspired me to learn about people because some characters in the movie were excessively racist. Two concepts that inspired me were the focus on relations and racism that pollutes the world.

Edit a Story Reflection

 When editing my story, I ran into trouble trying to play with the video effects.  Issues with the footage provided were that some clips were missing, and some equipment was left in the background.  I worked around them by trying to compose the clips into a story. I was very comfortable using premier.

Guide to Montage Editing

 Three concepts I can implement into a video montage are use of music, color and tone, and use of symbols. I used these three concepts because they were the ones that stood out to me. I can apply them to my edit by having the sound and music aid the visuals, keep the same color throughout to keep a certain tone, and add symbols to convey ideas.

Continuity Editing

 Continuity editing is significant because it progresses the story and help the viewer connect with the characters quickly. It is important to because it aids clarity and lets the audience know what is going on. Rules in continuity editing are to keep control of time, rhythm, and pace. These rules are important because pace and rhythm create different emotions in the viewer by the speed of the shots. Control of time helps the viewer gain perspective on how much time has pasted in the film.

Intro to Premier Pro

   I am transitioning to premier pro's software with ease. What surprises me is how easy the interface is. Challenges I am having is memorizing the tools and buttons.

The Early History of Editing

 I noticed that the editing in early filmmaking was very simple because the composition of shots were not complex and implemented with transitions. The films early on were mostly long wide shots that eventually evolved in cuts in the film. I noticed some comparisons in regards to the early films and our mobile films. One example is that many students films consisted of wide angles that dragged out too long.

Editing Baby Steps

  My journey into editing feels really comfortable because I've always looked forward to it. What surprises me is the steps required before even beginning to edit, for example logging all of the footage. Challenges I am currently facing are learning the new software.

Set design ideas

 My team and I can decorate out executive office set by focusing on making our room not look artificial. The theme we are thinking of is a minimalistic modern office. We want to use whites and blacks that are mediated by shades of grey. Along with those shades we want to implement wooden adornments to spruce up the environment and create a space that looks more comfortable. To decorate the set we want to introduce subtle pops of color in the form of modern art. The goal for our office is to create a space containing sharp lines and crisp colors.

The editing of the raider scene

 The raider scene was edited with a rhythmic pace of cuts. The editing played a key role in the opening because the cuts complemented the camera shots bringing the recorded video to life. The editing was significant because the implemented sounds aided the visuals to form an exciting experience.

Intro into editing

 The editing unit is my most anticipated unit of this year. Editing has always appeared to me as an art form alone because you apply your ideas to form the final piece. Goals I have for this unit include gaining knowledge on color correction. Color possesses the incredible possibility to alter ones emotional state. Another goal I wish to achieve is learning how to choose the right music/sounds. This is very important to me because the music aids your visuals in changing mood. I also would enjoy to learn foley. I want to record crisp sound for my film.

American Movie

 Mark faced the same complications me and my partner did while filming our mobile film. The main similarity of between us are the insufficient resources. These resources include actors, money, and a production team.

Production process wrapup

 During the production process unit I learned the importance of pre production in relation to efficiency. I gained in depth knowledge on understanding that pre production is crucial for the flow of the process from beginning to end. Another significant thing I learned is the importance of teamwork in a production. If everyone is doing their job, no one will notice them working. This means with collaborative work ethics the production will flow without interruption. I also learned about the hierarchy of the film industry. I learned about the significance of the producers, the director , and the individual departments. I got an understanding of their contribution to a motion picture.

Mobile film wrap-up

 Big difficulties we had on set were realizing how many problems we were going to have to work through and how we would convey our message with the resources given to us.  I feel that the composition of our final film was okay, i'm not particularly proud.

Production Jobs

 I don't know what specific jobs interest me in particular but I enjoy the post production jobs. If  I were to pick a job i would like to be a concept artist. I like this job because it allows to expand a visualization into a product.

The Producers Role

 Producers are important on a film because they are the ones producing your film transforming it from concept to product.  Their jobs on set are to fund and make authoritative decisions to finish the film. In my crew we all were responsible for producing our film. We did okay because we still haven't finished.

Mobile Film Post Production

 My mobile film's post production is working out fine. Some problems I am running into are finding sounds and music to fit the visuals. I plan to overcome them by asking for critique.

Post Production

 During the video I learned many things about post production. One thing I learned was how many sounds are crafted and inserted during post. The significance of this process is that you have custom sounds that fit your film to promote an greater immersive experience sonically. I also learned how much you could manipulate an image with color correction. This is important to film because color can subconsciously alter ones mood creating a switch of tone without the viewer consciously noticing the transition. Color correction also doubles as a way to bring vibrancy or correct weather. Lastly, I learned about CGI which was very interesting to experience the process. This is almost crucial for the new age of film because it opens an array of new possibilities for the filmmaker.

Production Update

 My film is currently about to be in the first stages of shooting. I have not yet started on shooting my film. My plan to complete my film by the end of friday is to film accordingly to the resources I have. Some problems I am running into are the angles I am going to film.

Guide to mobile Filmmaking

 The most important elements to mobile filmmaking are in relation to the story. It is crucial that you have a simple story that you posses the capability to play out on screen.  When shooting it important to shoot in high resolution to emphasize the visuals on an HDTV.

Post Guest Speaker

One thing I learned during the lecture from the guest speaker was that it is crucial to learn how to communicate well. I also learned to check out your competition if you are an independent artist and base your prices accordingly and comparatively. Lastly, I learned to treat an interview as a conversation because the term 'interview' provokes some and makes them a bit nervous. You should prep the talent/guest before asking the crucial questions to get them to open up more. I'd like to learn more about the life of an independent artist and how to work being your own boss.

Outline Challenges

 I think my outline is coming along well in context to the amount of time I've been working on it.  Some challenges I'm facing are coming up with actions to get my message across. My plan to fix this is to sit with my partner and come to a mutual idea on how get our message across.  The beginning of our story arc is when a character playing a patient searches for his medication. The middle is from when the patients persona temps him and tries to control his actions and the end is when the patient retrieves his medication and the persona disappears.

Post Pitch

 My pitch poster was not exactly how I envisioned; the graphics didn't synthesize with the desired concept. Some difficulties we had with composing our poster was finding the correct graphics and visuals to convey our story. Me and my parters pitch was an almost complete pitch with a story arc and twist. I plan to fix the minor holes in my film by really refining the interactions between the characters to really guide my film closer to what I envision. Yes, me and my partner's story meets with the assignment requirements.

Grit

Grit is the sheer perseverance and stamina that motivates an individual. Grit could be applied in a career by the employe giving undivided attention and hard work to complete a task. Grit will assist my future goals by helping me refine and master work ethics, and by motivating me to learn and educate myself.  

Production Questions

 I'd like to know how long the average day on set is, i'd also like to know about the process of lighting. I still have questions on shooting because I'd like to know what a day on set is like.

Post Pre-Production Wrap-up

 What surprised me about pre-production was how much impact it had on all of the rest of the production processes. questions I have on the topic are, how long does pre production take compared to the other production processes on average and are there more people needed in pre production than the other processes. The one think i learned from this presentation was the level of importance pre production has on a film. It is so important because the whole process stems back to pre production, the more planning you have the smoother the result will be. Also the more planning you have will result in an end process that is closer to you vision.  

The Pitch

 The pitch to my mobile film is " A patient with multi personality disorder losses his medication resulting in the release of his multiple personas." Struggles I face is getting the whole story in a sentence. I plan on overcoming this by thinking of how others will perceive it.

Understanding the Pitch

 The pitch /log line is a summarization of your story. It is no longer an idea but a development of the character(s), setting, and lay out of your plot. A pitch is very important in the contribution to the film because you need a superior to seek interest in your story. In the lecture I've learned how to develop a log line, the pre-production process outline, and pre-visualization.

Mobile Filmmaking Stories

 I think stop motion films are exemplary for mobile films in regard to the quality of the equipment and software derived from a mobile device; there are applications offered on the ios app store that implement stop motion. I also think that noir films would coincide with mobile devices well because a black and white filter will achieve a desired look greater than playing with filters and color correction that we are not quite educated on yet.

Vines

 No, making vines did not assist my learning towards digital citizenship because I was focused on how to convey the topic in the 6.5 seconds rather than enriching what I had previously touched on. Although, watching other vines helped me memorizing the basis of digital citizenship, but i have to credit my knowledge on the subject to the lecture and my notes.  My favorite vines are the ones that implemented comedy because it gave a better foundation to memorize opposed to a vine that was a little more boring and to the point.

Wrapping Up Digital Citizenship

  Copyright was the most interesting aspect of digital citizenship to me. I love how the work created by an artist is protected by the law, it gives me a sense of justice. Knowing what I know now, I know how to and how not to conduct myself in terms of technology.

Copyright

 Copyright is important to protect the rights of the content creators work and make sure that nobody can steal and/or profit off of it. Aspects of copyright if encountered has been times where a watch a youtube video and when i return it was struck down due to copyright issues. The creator of the video usually has other artist work or music in forms of clips or maybe background music which is directly responsible for the copyright infringement.

Goals

 My main goal for this class is to empower my creativity. This will take time but I really want an opportunity to become a better person and thinker. Ways of reaching my goal is to accept ideas and let other people inspire me. I want to be able to open my mind and let my creativity flow and intertwine with others. This could only be accomplished with teamwork so I want to be able to learn from others and work collaboratively.

Netiquette

    I do not remember a time when i have broken netiquette, but i do every once in a while get a less than appreciated comment sent my way on social media. I host social media accounts as most teens do and i experience inappropriate behavior in regard to comments trying to hurt my feelings. I see them say something rude and then they block me soon after.

Accidents

  About a year ago my bathroom was being remodeled. The man remodeling placed his equipment stacked barely balancing on top of each other. As he was plastering the walls a stack of tiles came crashing down. the tiles shattered and the shards ended up cutting him when he was cleaning up. It made me upset because I felt like he should have been more professional especially when my family was paying him. The situation could have easily been avoided if he saw the potential dangers.

Set Safety

 Set safety is crucial in the film making workspace. The equipment opens up potential for disastrous possibilities that are capable of seriously harming or even killing someone... even yourself.  Potential dangers in production include fire hazards erupting from lighting equipment, crushing fingers/toes with heavy props/equipment, severing extremities with sharp object, and many more.

Introduction Essay

 I am struggling with my introduction essay. I have difficulties translating what I really want to express onto paper. I feel like I'm not getting my point across quite the way I want it to. My essay isn't bringing justice to introduce myself the way I actually am. Times I stare at the screen trying to compose the perfect sentence to say what I'm really trying to say.

Collaborative Story

 The collaborative story was an exiting experience to be introduced to the feel of collaboration in the classroom. It was interesting to see how our work laced with each other to complete the final story. Three things that surprised me from the activity yesterday was everyones ability to stick to one concept, progress the existing narrative, and complete the story.

The Power of Teamwork

 Film making is a creative process derived from the minds of multiple artistically driven people. The collaborative process only reaches its full potential when the minds work in unison. This teamwork is crucial for the film industry. Teamwork is so important because along with completing the project in conjunction, teamwork allows for an opportunity to empower your artistry with refection and critique from your crew. The teamwork in the film industry consists of a set filled with various people all working towards making an idea evolve into a film.

The Magic of Movies.

 Movies are so magical because they are an idea skillfully manifested into an art form with the capability to impact the viewer through connections with the characters and narrative. The viewers life becomes interwoven with the story and suddenly the connection is there, its magic. Movies are so special to me because I get to use them as a reflection and see myself in the characters on an introspective point of view. I also admire the creative process and artistic approach needed to create a motion picture.

Vertical Video Syndrome

 Vertical videos are bad because the format doesn't correspond with the traditional film/video viewing format. The thin and skinny appearance leaves the screen unfilled and left with an abundance of blank space, this isn't only annoying but isn't practical. Unfortunately, I have taken a vertical video. My reasoning is to fill the format of my phone screen when the video will only be viewed on my phone. I also understand that VV are frustrating and it's a habit I'm trying to drop completely.