Editing The Commercial

       
       Today we started to edit our footage. The first step in doing this is to dump the footage onto the pinnacle studios software. When we started doing this we had some problems because the pinnacle studios software was going very slowly. It took awhile to load and once it did load the footage wasn’t popping up. So my group and I had to go back into our folder that had our footage and make sure it was still there. Luckily, we saved our footage on a flash drive last class. This helped up by allowing us to have our footage in more than one place just Incase anything happens to the computer. Finally our footage uploaded but it was very glitchy and wasn’t playing at a normal pace. My group became very frustrated at this because the footage wasn’t playing correctly. So we tried to restart the software and see if our footage played correctly.
         Next, when we tried to restart the software we saw that there was more footage on there than we actually filmed. When we clicked on this footage we saw that there was extra footage on the software. The extra footage that was on the computer seemed to be a sample footage that was apart of the software. We then had to go through and delete all of this sample footage. This was a very long process. We decided to just make sure our footage was saved and could be accessed next class. So we  took out of the flash drive and placed it back in. We did this to make sure that the footage would for sure be on the flash drive and gladly it was. We also had extra safe precautions because we used our own SD card so we didn’t have to worry about deleting all of the footage off of our SD card. This was good because we now had the footage saved in 3 places the computer, a flash drive and our SD card.
        My group overall was very frustrated in this process. We had many technical problems and became very stressed because we didn’t have the progress we wanted. My group and I were very determined through this whole class, project. We were always one step ahead and always made sure we had everything we needed. Even in class we were so excited to film and edit because we had so many fresh and new ideas about the commercial. So when we experienced these difficulties we were very upset and worried. We didn’t want the commercial to come out bad because we worked so hard on it and put so much time and energy into it. So we hope that next class the computers will start to work and not go as slow as they were. But on a lighter note when we saw our footage even though it wasn’t working 100% we still liked it .We really liked the lighting and places that we choose. And we like the angles, shots.

Filming Blog

 


           Yesterday, October 24th my group and I filmed our commercial. Our commercial was for Gatorade sports drinks. We had many filming locations. First we filmed all the footage we had to film on the field and then we filmed in the courtyard. This part was a bit tricky because we had a time limit when it came to the cameras battery and we had to go back to the classroom to dump our footage. During the filming process I played many different roles. For the first couple of shots I filmed them.  The first shot I found was two of my group members running on the track.  Shooting this was quite difficult because I had to get many different angles and shots.  On many of the shots I had to crouch down and even lay on the grass, in order to portray our visions. I also had to check the shot before I filmed it . I did this by checking the lighting and making sure that the background of the shot was clear.
           Furthermore,  I shot many other scenes. Over the whole  filming course I mainly was in charge of the camera. This is because I had prior camera experience, and I knew how to operate it the best out of my group.  Using the camera was  hard but fun. This is because my group and I could collaborate and use our artistic differences to get a clear vision across.  And I was able to film that vision. I also came up with a lot of the creative shots.  I then filmed my other teammates playing soccer. Filming this was a little more difficult because it wasn’t stationary, it was mobile.  So, I had to keep up with her running with the ball and scoring  goals.  I also had to make sure the camera wasn’t shaky in the shots, because we didn’t want to use a tripod and have it be stable we wanted the  shot to look like someone was running  and playing on the field with her.
             Also, I was in some of the shots also.  For the shots I was and I had to change into exercise clothes.  The first shot I was in  was a shot of me doing yoga. I had to bring a yoga mat and other workout gear for this. First it was me in calm yoga stances like child’s pose and warrior.  But then I started doing more intense workouts. Our vision for this was that when it was the calm poses the score would fade out and it would be calm noises and then it would jump cut to the score beginning again with the intense workouts. These shots were fun to be in and I really enjoyed acting in them.  Another shot I was in was me drinking my Gatorade after the workouts. Each one of my teammates did the same shot, so we wanted it to all be sequential. Lastly,  I was in a shot with all of my teammates and we were sitting in front of the Gatorade bottles. So overall I really enjoyed the filming experience and the roles I played.

Storyboard

          Today, our group did a storyboard for our Gatorade commercial. In each box we carefully planned out what we will do for each 5 second scene in our commercials. The first scene of our commercial contains 2 track athletes at the starting blocks preparing to take off. This scene will contain heavy breathing and heart beat sound effects (non-diegetic sounds). These sounds effects  and action shots will help to emphasize the importance of the scene. The second scene of our commercial will be a jump cut from the first scene into a girl playing soccer. She will be juggling the soccer ball or shooting into a goal to show that she is playing soccer. We will use long or medium shots to focus on her playing soccer through different camera angles. In our third scene it will be a cutaway from the girl playing soccer to a girl doing yoga. The music will change into a very peaceful sound to show the change in the scene from a more hardcore scene to a very soothing scene. In the fourth scene it is an action match of each of the athletes from the different scenes drinking Gatorade. This will show each subject and the main product of the commercial. In the fifth scene all athletes join together and fiercely slam the Gatorade bottles down for effect purposes. This will show effect of the Gatorade bottles that are emphasized throughout the commercial. The sixth and final scene will cut to a black screen with the Gatorade logo and a member doing a voiceover of one of the companies’ popular slogans.

Editing Lesson Blog

                 Today in class we did a lesson on editing our commercials. I learned many things, about the software we use to edit, how to use transitions and the camera process. In class we use pinnacle studios. Which is an editing software on the school laptops. I was nervous about the editing process because I didn’t know if the process would be difficult , but when we were showed the logistics of the software and how to operate it, I felt much better on that process. The biggest thing I learned from the lesson was how to import and export raw, edited footage. I didn’t know how to do this prior to the lesson, so learning this was eye opening. I also learned how to properly save footage on the computer and desktop. I didn’t know this before and was eager to know how to do so properly. This is because saving a piece of footage properly is essential to a completed commercial. And of course I want to have a successful commercial that has all necessary components.
                Our camera process is actually quite simple. Firstly, in order to get your footage off of your SD card on onto your computer you need a couple of things. A SD adapter, an SD card of course and a computer. This step is essential because if you don’t import you footage from an SD card onto your computer than you cannot edit it properly. Firstly you will need to slide the SD card out of the camera and into the SD card adapter. That then gets plugged into the computer where the USB port is . Then you will need to open pinnacle studios which is the editing software that the class uses. Select folder and click on your footage. You should be able to find this but if not you select private and then AVCHD. Then you import this footage into the software. This is called dumping. The footage will be dragged and dropped into the lane of the editing screen labeled AV track. From this point in you will sit and edit your clips.
                 The editing, camera and viewing process is essential to the commercial. These processes consists of how to view your raw and edited footage, film and handle the camera and editing raw footage to your liking. The editing process is when going into the app and editing the footage. Some ways of this are voiceovers, transitions and graphics. I’m order to create a voiceover you need to film a video of you speaking  and saying what you please for that scene. And then delete the visual aspect and keep the sound of that video. The camera process is very important because the cameras are school property and need to be handled with care. For example the cameras must be checked out each time they are used and everyone from the group must sign a form . So obviously the safety of the cameras are very important to the school. In order to view the movie you will need to save the clips to a folder with a full movie or a plain unedited. Then you will be able to open the movie through a folder created and left on my desktops. So These processes are important to the project and I can’t aait to successfully carry them out .

               Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial

      For our blog, today we are going to be planning out the details of our Gatorade commercial. This includes props, costumes, schedule,location, and our back-up plan. All of these will be very essential in creating a commercial that is entertaining and effective. Planning is a very important step in film making. This is because planning helps you write out step by step what your commercial will consist of and look like. Without planning the filming process becomes long and unorganized. Planning helps to save time and money and insures that filming will be successful no matter what.

  Props are extremely essential to a commercial. They give the commercial livelihood and make it more entertaining and understandable for the audience. Throughout our commercial some of the props we will be using consist of : 4 Gatorade bottles (different colors), spray Gatorade bottles, regular spray bottle, 2 block starts, a soccer ball, and a yoga mat. All of these props will be incorporated into our commercial to make the commercial the best that we can. We will include the Gatorade bottle with different colors throughout each scene with a different sport being idolized. For example, for one scene we will focus on yoga using our yoga mat as a prop, we will play soccer for another scene using our soccer ball as a prop, and lastly we will show track using our starting blocks as a prop for that scene.

     In this paragraph we will discuss another very important part of film known as costume. Costume plays a huge role in how the audience will interpret the scene. The costume allows the people watching to understand what you are trying to portray in that specific scene or the entire commercial in general. For example we will be using a school track and soccer uniform to allow the audience to understand that we are trying to show athletes playing soccer or running on the track. We will also be using athletic clothes as costumes to show the audience that the main focus of that scene is working out or doing something athletic. Going along with costume, another essential part of a scene is location. Location sets the entire basis of where you will be filming for each of your scenes. For our scenes we will be filming on the schools track field and the football field . This will set the scene that we are going to be playing sports or doing something dealing with physical education. This is a very important part of film because it allows the audience to know where you will be filming and gives them a better idea of the scene and film in general.

    The schedule for our filming process will go as follows. Today we began planning for our commercial which included props, costumes, location etc. Then we are going to storyboard over the weekend so that we can start filming on Monday 10/14. On Monday we will start the filming process. We will shoot the scenes from the storyboard we drew up over the weekend. We will then change into costumes and go to our locations. Next we will continue to film on 10/16. We will shoot any scenes that we feel we should redo and shoot some scenes twice so that we can pick from the better out of the two. We will be filming outside for our whole commercial so if it rains we have a backup plan that will work and still cut across the same message. If it starts to rain then we will change locations from the track to the stairs and shoot two people running up and down the stairs. We would also change from the outdoor patio for yoga to a roofed hallway. Also, if someone from my group is absent then we plan to shoot everything the same but the activity that that person was supposed to do in that shot someone else will have to do. These plans will work when we are faced with any scenario.

Research Conventions and codes

   The product my group selected is the refreshing and revolutionary Gatorade. We selected this product because we thoroughly enjoy the drink and watching the entertaining Gatorade commercials. In most Gatorade commercials there are little to no women at all. This encourages us to want to make a commercial to show that everyone can be in a Gatorade no matter who you are or what you like. We want to be able show equality throughout different things in society, even through commercials. Throughout most of our lives we have been all played a sport or been involved in athletic activities. While playing sports we always look to Gatorade to fulfill our thirst quenching mouths. Gatorade is such an essential part of al of our lives.

In most Gatorade commercials we usually see people performing athletic activities. For example, activities like running, football, soccer, and cheerleading are usually idealized in these commercials. Mostly in Gatorade commercials there are different amounts of people who belong to a team or are performing individual sports. They are usually either warming up, exercising, or actually doing the sport. Towards the end of the commercial the product is displayed in an exaggerated way to catch the attention of the audience. The producers of the commercial usually portray this by having the athletic figures walk away and drink the Gatorade in a somewhat refreshing way. They also do this by placing the Gatorade in a focused area with the background as the athletic activity.

The company Gatorade uses sports because Gatorade is a sports drink directed at active people that want to “fuel” their bodies. These commercials usually convince their audience to want to get up and be active. That’s when their product comes in play. Whenever the audience decides to be more active or workout they will feel that they should pick up a Gatorade to drink in order to perform accurately. These commercials usually use score in their commercials. This consists of intense inspiring music that helps to inspire and engage the audience. Also common amount these commercials is tracking shots. These shots are used when the athletes are performing in the sport. Commonly used as well is a zoom. This is used to mostly zoom in on the drink and show a refreshing icy looking drink that makes the audiences mouths water. They also use this shot to zoom in on athletes drinking or holding the drink. Sometimes Gatorade companies use star athletes in their commercials. They do this to show watchers that professional athletes use this product and so should they.

                                            Introductory

              Hello, my name is Sophia and I'm a 10th-grade student at Fort Lauderdale High School.

At school, I take lots of important classes that are specified to the career path I chose. Some examples of those classes are Criminal Justice and AICE English law. In Criminal Justice class we learn all about the justice system and the criminals of that system. Right now in that class, I am learning about different types of killers and what is going through their minds when they are doing these killings. These topics highly interest me because I am so fascinated by their psychology and mindset. The second class is AICE English law which id an English class but unlike the other classes, this class is specified for students who want to have a career in law. In that class, we learn the regular English curriculum but also learn subtle things about law. If you can't already tell I want to have a career in law or criminal justice. I either want to be a lawyer or be a criminal psychologist. I cant chose because both interest me so much so my goal this year is to do more research and find out which career suits me more.

             Outside of school, I have many hobbies. I love singing, dancing and painting. A hobby that I do the most would be singing. I have been singing for as long as I can remember, I used to sing to High School Musical CD's in my room with my Disney karaoke machine. I just can't imagine my life without singing. I used to do musical theater at a young age for around 2 years and I loved it. I will never forget my first play which was the wizard of oz. I played the good witch and I had a bright pink dress with a crown and a magic wand. I then started to sing in church which I enjoyed. I would sing at church every Sunday with a choir and we sang so many church songs. I sing everyday its just a part of me. I remember when I was younger and even now I would get so upset when I lost my voice that I would cry because I wasn't able to sing. Dancing is also a huge part of my life. I have always had an on and off relationship with dance. I started to dance when I was 3 years old and did it until I was around 6. I stopped dancing because I wanted to try other sports and see if there was anything else I liked. After this, I soon knew that nothing fit me better than dancing did. So I joined another dance studio but I was getting bullied by the girls there because I had no friends so my mother and I started studio hopping looking for new studios everywhere. I joined a few and stayed for a while but something always came up I either lived too far away or the studio was too expensive. This was a continuous process that went on until I was around 12. Currently, I don't belong to a studio but I am looking for one because even though I dance at home it's not the same.

             Also, I love painting. I am not the best at painting and I never have been but I love to paint blank canvasses. I normally paint sunrises or landscapes. Painting is just so relaxing to me and never fails to de-stress. I also love to travel. Traveling is so fun because you can learn so much about so many cultures and also see what so many beautiful things places have to offer. And of course, eat different and delicious food. I have been so fortunate to travel to a lot of beautiful places. I have traveled to Jamaica, Mexico, Haiti, Bahamas, and many U.S. states. Most of the places I have been to has been from a cruise ship. My grandmother took my mom on so many cruises when she was younger and she enjoyed them so much so y mom wanted to do the same thing for me. When I went to Haiti I rode the longest zip-line over water in the world and it was so amazing. Jamaica was the most beautiful place I have been to. When I was there I rode dune-buggies through a huge fruit field and it was so gorgeous. I just remember seeing the beautiful mountains through the fruitful trees. Then we went tubing in the lakes and ate amazing Jamaican food. Mexico is a country that I have been to many times and it is so gorgeous. I would relax on the beaches and eat authentic Mexican food. Traveling gives me a chance to see what life is like outside of my world. So that's me, crazy, artistic and adventurous.