Editing Music Video Blog

          We started editing our music video! We were very happy to do this. I say this because we are excited to see what it looks like when it's done. I believe it is going to be really interesting to see the final product. We split up work for the editing to make the workload smaller. Kathy had to cut/razor blade the clips. Kathy was also in charge of the split-screen. She did it for her last project so she already knew how to do the split-screen. Amy had to detach the audio from the footage as well as download the music from the internet. Amy also had to add transitions. She did not know how to do this so she asked a fellow classmate. My job was to import and export the files into the computer and the editing software. I was also in charge of coordinating the music with the video. This was new for me so Kathy and I were able to teach him. 
          Initially, I had to import the footage. I had to sign out an SD card reader to dump the footage. I had to sort through the footage to see the correct takes we wanted to use. Once I found the wanted clips I had to highlight and move them to a new folder. I then opened pinnacle studios and took the footage from the desktop to pinnacle studios. I made sure all the boxes were checked and waited for it to import. For exporting I first made sure the video was saved. Then I took the edited footage from pinnacle studios and saved it to a separate place.
         Finally, I had to coordinate the music with what the actors are saying. Firstly, I made sure the music was correctly cut to sync up with the singing. Some of the scenes needed to be correctly coordinated with our storyboard. So when the song says "We got the limo out front." the car and driver are in the scene. When it says "Every style, every shoe, every color." there are many nice shoes set out. Then, the hard part was to sync up the music exactly to what Amy and Kathy are saying. This took a while because I wanted to get it exactly right. All in all, I think that our music video came out great due to much hard work put into it.

Filming Music Video Blog 2

          On Sunday we filmed for our commercial again. We fully completed the filming process as well, despite having many complications. Firstly, Amy did not check to see if the camera was charged before filming. When we opened up the camera it did not turn on because it was dead. Also, Kathy forgot to bring the SD card but thankfully her mom was able to get it and drop it off. While her mom was getting the SD card we planned exactly what we would do. This helped our filming process go more smoothly because it was more organized.  Finally, the tripod attachment that connects the camera to the tripod was missing. This made it hard for us to get steady shots. Due to the fact that the camera wasn't charged, it needed to be plugged in if we wanted to use it. This made it harder for us to get the exact shots we wanted but we made it work. We needed to film outside for a scene so we needed to use an extension cord to be able to have the camera plugged in. Thankfully Amy's dad had one that we could use.
           We chose to do Amy's scenes first, then Kathy's, and me last. We wanted to do my scene last because it was outside and we wanted the camera to be charged. In the end, this did not matter because we got the extension cord. Initially, we filmed a scene where I am handing Amy shoes and she is approving them. To set up for this scene we laid out nice heels all in a row. Then, we filmed a scene where Amy is applying makeup and it zooms into the alarm clock behind her. This set up the transition were we zoom out of the alarm clock and Kathy is applying chapstick. We did this to show that while they have different lives, they both do similar things.
          We then had to film Amy and Kathy's split-screen scene. Kathy was jamming out to music in her room. Amy was performing at a concert to a crowd. Kathy and Amy used LED lights in their scene but Amy's lights were like stage lights. For both scenes, we had to figure out the timestamps in the song so they could be singing the correct lyrics. In the next scene Amy and Kathy are doing similar dance moves and singing. This contributes to the idea that while leading different lives, they do similar things. The last scene was the outdoor car scene. In the scene I get out of the car and walk up to the house. All in all, I believe that we accomplished a lot and our music video will come out great.

Filming Music Video Blog

We have finally began to film our music video. This has been long anticipated also the whole group was extremely excited due to the idea we had created in our heads. The song, "Best of both Worlds" is incredibly close to us and we knew precisely how we wished it to be filmed once we selected the song. Amy's job was to be the "celebrity" actor. This meant she had dress nicely and act as a celebrity would. Prior to filming or even storyboarding we determined that the actors would live mirroring lives with tiny variations. This showed a comparison between how a star and a traditional person lived their lives. Amy carried the tripod and Kathy carried the camera around all day once we had signed out the tripod and camera. All of us were determined to film last Thursday after school because that was one of the few dates we are able to meet.

We decided to meet at Amy’s house for filming. She had to organize before we came to her house by cleaning up her room and obtaining any props that we would need. Everybody arrived at her house and we selected what we would need to do initially. Amy had to change into her pajamas to indicate that she had just awakened. I filmed Amy applying her makeup and preparing herself for the day. I also recorded The "normal person" actor, Kathy, putting her hair up to indicate that both types of people make preparations however, usually, celebrities have additional concern for their look. I filmed Amy adjusting her straps for her outfit as well. Throughout this scene, Amy could not stop laughing thus we had to tell Kathy to leave the room. Kathy kept looking at Amy and whenever she did Amy laughed. Although this was a problem, we resolved it quickly got back on course. Kathy was about to film my part, Amy's "assistant" arriving at her house. Unfortunately the camera died so we could not film this part. We tried to charge the camera while getting food to kill time while the camera is charging. Unfortunately, after we came back, it wasn't charged at all. We began to arrange how we would film next time.

The next time we will film, i feel it will go loads quicker. We have already discussed how we are aiming to film thus we will be ready and won't need time to discuss what we are doing. Kathy and Amy can most likely film a number of scenes by themselves due to the fact that I am on vacation for the remainder of the week. This is not a huge setback, however, because I am solely in a couple of scenes and we can finish filming once I get back in town. Kathy and Amy can most likely film at Kathy's house due to the fact that she has the correct materials for the scenes. They're going to try and film earlier within the day so that they don't have to  concern themselves about less sunlight. The filming process has been a great experience and I can't wait to finally see the finished product.

Storyboard Blog

Our music video based on the song "The Best of Both Worlds" written by Hannah Montana. We will start the music video when the song is at five seconds and finish the video at one minute and eleven seconds in order to hit the time requirements. We drew eleven different scenes on our storyboard. Each lasting six seconds each. In our first scene, our celebrity actress, Amy, will be walking to the bathroom while listening to music while in pajamas. She will be filmed using a tracking shot following her to the bathroom. She will be seen picking up an eye shadow pallet and then seen applying mascara with an extreme close up. In the second scene, our normal actress, Katherine, will be seen putting her hair up into a ponytail also in pajamas with a medium shot. In the third scene, for three seconds, Amy will be adjusting the straps of her romper in front of her mirror. The scene will transition into another three seconds scene where Katherine pulls down her sweatshirt and pulls up her shorts. Both of these scenes will be shown with a medium close up. The following scene will play while the song says "I got the limo out front." The assistant actor, Aitan, will be filmed arriving at Amy's house in a nice car with a long shot. In the fifth scene, for three seconds, Aitan will be handing Amy a pair of heels from an assortment of shoes. As he picks up the shoes, there will be a low angle shot. However, as he gives the shoes to Amy, there will be an eye-level shot. For the next three seconds, Katherine will be picking out a pair of socks to wear with a medium shot. In both of those scenes, the lyrics "hottest styles, every shoe, every color," are playing. In the sixth and seventh scene, we will be attempting a graphic match. In the sixth scene, Amy is putting on lipstick while being filmed with a medium close up. There will then be an eye-line match as Amy looks at an alarm clock. In the next scene, the beginning is the camera on the alarm clock which then moves to show Katherine applying chapstick with a medium close up. At the beginning of the chorus, Amy will be seen partying under LED lights while singing with a microphone with a medium close up. Afterward, Katherine is seen listening to music and singing along with a hairbrush with a long shot where she can be seen dancing on a bed. At the scene where the song plays "mix it all together," there will be a split-screen showing Amy and Katherine doing similar dances to the song with a medium shot. In the last scene, for three seconds, Amy will be shown getting into bed. These two scenes play while the lyrics finish the chorus. It is supposed to imply that the end of the chorus can be seen as the end of the day. In the final three seconds, Katherine is shown pulling up covers and going to sleep using a long shot. This scene will conclude the music video. 

Planning Blog

1. Location
We are planning on filming at one of the actor's house and around their neighborhood. This allows us to have different locations and backgrounds without having to go to a lot of places. She lives near a shopping plaza too, so if we need more backgrounds, it is easily available to us. We also might film at one of the other's actor's houses because they have lights that would be beneficial to our video. These lights will make the video more flashy and will look good with the "celebrity" actor.

2. Health and Safety
At the houses, we have medical aid and parental supervision. A few of the actor's neighbors are doctors and are fire-fighters, who are guaranteed to be home. The main filmer/one of the actors is CPR/AED and first aid certified. While filming in the street, we will have the person not in the shot be cautious of any cars that may pass.

3. Props
We are going to use a car for the scene where it goes "I got the limo out front." Another prop we are going to use is makeup, such as lipstick and eye shadow. This is going to show how a celebrity and "normal person" live differently but still do a lot of the same things. We are going to have an array of shoes to show 'Hottest styles, every shoe, every color."

4. Costumes
The "celebrity" actor is going to wear a nice romper, high heels, and sunglasses. Celebrities are known for wearing nicer clothes and heels everywhere. The "assistant" actor will wear a nice shirt and black pants. This is normal attire for an assistant of a celebrity, who should still look nice, but not over-shine the celebrity. The "normal person" actor will wear regular/everyday clothes. This shows that normal people don't go all out when going out and how they differ from celebrities.

5. Schedule
11/18: Didn't have media so we couldn't do anything
11/19: Starting to plan and storyboard our video
11/21: Finishing storyboard. We are starting to film after school but we won't finish everything that day.
11/27-11/29: Week of Thanksgiving, will not work on music video
12/1: We will finish filming anything we didn't finish before
12/2: Starting to edit
12/4: Finish editing
12/6: Editing blog and submit music video

Music Video Research

          We have finished our commercial and are starting to move onto the music video. In our commercial we had great transitions and special effects. The filming process was smooth because we had a storyboard planned out. We used the usual conventions that would be used in a Nike commercial. Such as POV shots and upbeat and fun music. The hiccup with the computers did not affect us because my group mate Alex did the editing on his computer. All in all our commercial came out great. I wanted a different experience with the music video so I changed groups. We will be making a music video with a corresponding song.
          The song we chose to do is from the artist Hannah Montana. The song is called "The Best of Both Worlds". It fits in the genre of pop-rock and country. The song is from the show "Hannah Montana" but is in the album "Hannah Montana." She leads a double life as a pop star and a regular person but in our commercial we are choosing to do two different people for each side of her life. At first we wanted to do "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. We ultimately decided against it due to the fact that you cannot express what the video is portraying.
          In our music video we will be going against conventions. In the original video and many pop-rock videos, they have a band playing in the background. Since we don't have a band or a stage to perform, we will do more of an original video. The camera angles of a lot of pop-rock music videos are always dutch and pan. Our video will have more of a still and eye-view angle. We think this will capture our shots best. A lot of songs that are pop-rock tend to be very upbeat and there's a lot of dancing. The background noise will just be the song. The editing is usually just shot to shot, so we won't have to edit a lot.

1. Costume: Pop-rock songs tend to have colorful and flashy clothes. We will probably have to buy some clothes, but we might have some of them.
2. Lighting: The lighting tends to be flashy lights and luckily, one of our group members has colored LED lights. We can also use flashlights to create the spotlight that a lot of these videos have.
3. Acting: In most videos, there's usually just actors dancing to the music and having fun. It won't be serious and filming should be fun.
4. Makeup: Most videos have glam makeup because they're performing on a stage. We probably won't do a lot of makeup because we are not following how a normal video would be shot.
5. Props: The props in these videos are usually microphones, a stage, and instruments. We will use cars, a guitar, microphones, and more.
6. Setting: The setting tends to be in an auditorium. It's usually a concert but we are going to film in a house and around a neighborhood.

Editing

          We have finally gotten new computers for editing. I say this because it took very long for us to get the software. Due to these technical difficulties we received more time for our commercials. It is now due next week instead of this week. This added time will allow my group to make the best commercial possible. I am very appreciative of Ms. Katz for being very empathetic to the situation and extending our time. Also that they are making sure the problem is correctly solved. This project is a large part of our grade and it would be unfortunate if a problem out of our control would take points away from us. Due to this, I am very thankful for the amazing teacher we have. Fortunately for us, Alex had a laptop that we could use for editing. He decided to bring it in so we don't need to wait. This made the editing process quicker for us because we did not have to wait for new computers.
          Initially, we uploaded the dumped footage onto the editing software. We then started by watching the raw footage. Unfortunately, we realized that it was much longer than 30 seconds. To fix this we cut some unneeded film out as well as slightly speed up a few parts. Doing this fixed our problem and ultimately got our commercial down to 30 seconds. We then started to put transitions. After cutting down the footage we started on transitions. We did our first transition were Alex was thrown a bag and when he catches the bag it changes scenes. We also added fade and dissolve transitions in between scenes. At the end we put a transition from the scene into a black screen with a Nike logo.We also made the logo more colorful. We did not add any sounds but we did add music. We chose to do this to make the commercial more upbeat and fun. We also added special effect animations. Such as effects around the soccer ball when shooting to make it look more professional. I believe that all in all our commercial came out great. This is because we spent time carefully editing to make sure it is the best we can make it.

Inability to Edit

Unfortunately, when we got to school, it came to our attention that none of the class computers were working. This has happened before so it wasn't news to us. I became worried that we would miss our due date. It is a big problem that we are not able to edit. These different troubles have led us to get behind on our due dates and are now we are behind the actual schedule. I want to make sure we complete our commercial on time, but because of the faulty computer systems, it has given us many difficulties. I would like to get all of our work done in the next class. The problems of the day have stressed me out about the assignment. Hopefully, we can get our commercial fully edited in time for the due date. The process for filming went very smoothly. This is good because it means that we have to make only a few edits to our commercial. Subsequently putting less stress in our lives and making it easier when we start to edit. In a way, this hiccup in our project gave us time to reflect on our filming process. As well as, give us more time to carefully plan our future edits. Editing the commercial should be relatively simple. I am very excited to see how our commercial is going to come out. I was not in class that day, making it even more stressful. Trying to juggle other classes and extracurriculars is a difficult task. Fortunately for us, we are allowed to do all of our Media assignments in class and not for homework. This really makes the class more about having fun and less about grades and deadlines. 

Filming the Commercial

On the 23rd we started filming. Firstly, we came into class and had to sign out multiple filming items. These items consisted of a camera, tripod, SD card, and a pass. We used the camera to film our scenes. We used the tripod for shots that were not handheld and needed to be more stable. We used the SD card to capture the footage so we can dump it onto the computers for editing. We needed the pass so we can be allowed outside of class. Once we had all of our signed out items we went to the bathroom to change into our Nike outfits. We went to one of the school walkways for our first shot. I was filming and I used the tripod to keep the camera steady. Our first shot had Alex catching a bag. This set up our transition for the next shot. The 2nd shot had Alex catching the bag and walking to the bleachers. This made our transition come to life. We used this sort of transition because it is harder to do and it will make our commercial more professional. The 3rd shot had Alex lacing his shoes and looking at the field. This shot was in point of view also known as POV. We used this shot because we saw it being used in a real Nike commercial. The 4th shot is Alex practicing and just shooting around and making a goal. This shot was in POV as well. We put this in POV because we wanted to capture the full sense of the game from the player's perspective. The 5th shot switches from a practice setting to a real game. It also switches from POV to a shot from the tripod. It includes Alex shooting around Jack who is defending and me who is the goalie until he makes it into the goal. The 6th shot has Alex celebrating and walking away. The scene then fades into the Nike logo and their slogan "Just Do It". Once finished filming we packed up all the items in their bags. We went walked back to class from the soccer field and changed back into our regular clothes. We signed back in all of our filming items. We signed out the SD card reader and dumped our footage from the SD card onto the computer.

Storyboard Blog

          In todays class, we got a lecture on how the final exam day will go. We learned about the creative critical reflection today and how important it is to our final grade. We learned about the four essential questions we have to answer to make the essay as best as it can be. In the opening, we are going to be walking down a hallway. Here, our character is walking down a hallway in normal school clothes and they are going to catch a Nike bag. From here, we are going to cut away to the identical shot where he catches a bag in an eye level shot. In this scene. He will be in a medium long shot walking out on the track to the field. This will allow the reader to understand he is going from the class room to the fields to play. We would utilize a long shot to show him moving to the benches. 

          The next scene would be him taking the ball in POV with an dutch shot. This would give the illusion that he is filming his own view. We would then start the music, to allow the reader to feel the positive pressure building. The next shot will be Alex lacing up his shoes. He will take the shoes out of the bag that was thrown to him in the beginning, this will be POV. Alex will dribble, and then take a shot. There would be no diegetic sound, just the music of the scene. From here, it will cut from that to a wide angle shot of the ball going into the goal. It'll now look like he is playing in a game. Someone will be a goalie, and someone will be defending. Alex will shoot, score, and celebrate. Then, he will walk off the field and the screen fades to black. We will ten add in a nike logo, and a "Just Do It" slogan. We put a pan in when Alex shoots his initial goal.

Editing Blog

         Today in AICE Media Studies we learned about proper procedures for editing and camera use. We are going to be given fully charged cameras. When the camera is opened it turns on instantly. The camera is also a touch screen for added convenience. The button to start recording is silver with a red line. The camera comes with a tripod for more steady shots. It gets attached to the tripod with a special loose screw. It can be tightened for a less shaky shot with an attached knob. There is a crank on the tripod to elevate it. To take the camera off the tripod unscrew it. We have to make sure not to carry the tripod while it's open.
          Before you start editing your video make sure you make a desktop folder. Then move the footage from your SD card to the folder. To find the footage go to DCIM and find the folder. If yop can't find the footage go to the AVCND and go to private. then click on stream and all the photos taken will be there. Dumping is to take footage from the SD card and put it on your computer. Go onto pinnacle studios to start editing.To import footage from your computer to pinnacle studios it must be on your desktop. Raw footage is the actual unedited take. AV track 1 is for titles. AV track 2 is for film. AV track 3 is music. In order to slice a piece of the film you click the razor blade button. If you want to delete a clip highlight it with the orange box and click delete. Export is taking footage out of pinnacle studios. Importing is putting footage into pinnacle studios. Rendering footage is turning all footage into your final video. Make sure you rewatch the video and see if it is choppy or smooth.

Planning Blog

Today in class we are doing a planning blog for our commercial. We are doing a Nike Commercial. In our commercial, we are going to have Alex and Jack playing soccer while wearing Nike gear. I will be filming the action. We will even be using a Nike soccer ball, cleats, socks and jerseys to fully endorse Nike in the commercial. We will be filming at the school soccer field so that it looks more like an actual commercial. Our goal is to show that Nike Gear can help you be a better player on the field and outperform your opponents so we have tried to make this show as much as possible.

Here is a list of things that we need:

Props:

A soccer goal and a Nike ball. For our backup plan, we would need a jump rope to show us training.

Costumes:

Since we will be soccer players, our costumes would be relatively simple, Nike cleats, Nike socks, Nike soccer shorts, Nike soccer jersey, and a Nike headband. For our backup plan, we would need Nike shoes, Nike socks, Nike shorts, and a Nike shirt. The difference between our backup and main would be that we do not need strictly Nike soccer gear for our backup commercial.

Schedule:

First we did the conventions blog for the Nike commercial on 10/8, today we are doing the planning blog for the Nike commercial, On the 10/15 we are going to do the storyboarding blog for the Nike commercial, We are then going to do the filming and the filming blog on 10/22 for the Nike commercial, Finally on 10/24 we are going to do the editing and the editing blog for the Nike commercial.

Location List:

We are going to be filming at the school soccer field as well as the bleachers and other spaces around it like the sidewalk.

Back-up Plan:

Our back up plan will be used if it starts to rain. Since our idea is Nike, we don’t need to use the whole soccer idea, we can make it revolve more around training instead. We can go to the covered stairs that lead to the library and have someone running up and down the stairs as if they were training. We could also have someone do sprints in the outside hallway by building 17. We can use the running at the stairs and the sprints as footage for the training commercial, instead of having it revolve around soccer. We could bring a jump rope and take videos of that for the whole training theme.

Research Conventions and Codes

When we first got our group, we were already pretty set on our idea. They gave us the choice of filming a commercial on things like our school, several fast food places like McDonald's and Wendy's, and several big businesses like Nike or Converse. Right away we had decided on Nike. It is a well established brand, many people know about it, and it is a brand we all trust and believe in. We all thought this would outweigh the other brand, converse because we were an all boy group and none of us grew up wearing converse, we all wore Nike. We though we could follow an Nike commercial best because we all grew up seeing the commercials and watching the brand, so we collectively thought we could do the best commercial on the brand because of our previous knowledge. Our first thing we did to research was to simply watch Nike commercials to try and see what elements we could use in our filming to come as close to a Nike commercial as possible.

         In our research, we looked at many commercials, and we saw one commercial using a point of view camera angle and we thought of using this in our commercial on the soccer field. We are going to wear Nike's clothes that they sell. For the commercial, we will be doing sports while wearing Nike apparel to fully endorse the product and try to sell the audience on the need of their products. In the commercial we also saw that they used very upbeat and happy sounds, music and movements. We also realized that there were repeating themes in the commercial like them using the same film at the start and end. The lighting used is bright and happy when it is outdoors, but when it is indoors, it is dark with a few really bright lights here and there. Finally, we realized that at the end of every Nike commercial there is wording such as just do it as well as their logo.

        After the filming, we will edit the videos to make the commercial. We will color grade the film to make it look more professional, and change the lighting in different scenes. In the commercial we viewed, there were a lot of slide transitions, we will make sure to implement these into the commercial. We can make the colors more washed or clear depending on if the film is taking place in the past or the future. We can pre-record sounds we want to come out louder and put them over the film. We can also add in any images, and/or titles in the editing process. This includes the nike swoosh and the slogan at the end of the commercial.

Introductory

Hello my name is Aitan. I live in Florida and I go to Fort Lauderdale High School. I have two siblings, one younger brother and one older sister. My dad is from Israel and my mom is from Illinois. My uncle, aunt call and two younger cousins from my dad’s side also live in Florida. My grandparents from My Father's Side live in Florida as well. My aunt and uncle from my mom's side live in Washington State. My grandmother from my mom's side lives in Georgia. In my free time I watch YouTube and play video games. One of my hobbies is swimming and I'm on the school swim team. For college I would like to go to the University of Florida. When I grow up as a career I would like to become a doctor anesthesiologist and own my own private practice.