Entertainment Video - S1
This semester, our video class worked on 3 big video projects. We started with a camera assignment, where we made whatever we wanted; after that, we made commercials for a product; and we finished by making a short film.Camera Assignment 1 (PSA)
The first assignment we worked on was meant to test our skills with video. My group did a PSA on profanity, a comedic piece where we advised against the use of swear words. The project took us about a week to record and edit. We had trouble getting all the actors together to record, as everyone had crazy schedules. Along the way I learned a lot about teamwork, and how sometimes you need to get actors who can focus and work well together and allow you to effectively get stuff done without being too distracted. We didn't do very well on our project, and thus received quite negative feedback, such as the jokes being stale or cringey and the message not being super clear, as well as pointing out the bad lighting in some scenes. Afterwards, we fixed lighting as well as we could, and tried to make the sequence of events more effective, and story less cringey. I myself am not proud of our work, and I believe we could have made something much better. I am disappointed we couldn't successfully execute some of our ideas, which ended up ruining the film more.
Commercial
Next up we were asked to make a commercial for a product of our choice. My group decided to make a commercial for Snickers bars, taking inspiration from the movie Ratatouille. This project also took a week of filming and editing, though we managed to get all of the recording done in a single day. We didn't face many challenges during this project besides two of our group members being unavailable to record, it went quite smoothly. This project was where I decided I needed to up my game, as the failure of my previous video, the PSA, really bothered me, so I tried really hard to use effective lighting techniques and a variety of camera shots. While it still wasn't the greatest, as it was my first time directing, I learned a lot along the way about these areas. The commercial received pretty positive feedback and seemed to be liked by the rest of my peers, though they mentioned the music and some effects could have been better. We went back and tried changing the effects and music, but I don't believe we fixed the problem entirely. Overall I am much more proud of this project and believe we did a decent job capturing what I envisioned the commercial to look like.Short Film
Finally, we got into groups and made a short film. Our short film was called REDACTED, a story of two friends who discover a mysterious child. This project also took a week to complete, though we probably should have taken more time to expand upon our idea. While preparing for this video, we contacted multiple people we thought would make good actors for the film. Many of these actors, however, were unable to record or dropped out last minute. I was also quite busy during this time and wasn't able to keep up with everything going on, which made scheduling a nightmare. This shooting session taught me a lot about lighting and camera angles as well. I with someone much better at cinematography than I was, and he really showed me different ways to capture a subject. In the editing process, I messed with the lighting effects a lot, and learned how to make shots look better in post. While we haven't yet received feedback for the film, I'm quite happy with it, though I wish we had more time to make it longer and add more to the story, instead of making it cut out dramatically like we had to end up doing.
Class Time
In class, I would often work on editing a video if we had one; however, usually I would take the project home and edit it there. Friends and I would also watch movies sometimes in order to get an idea of what a scene could look like. I always used class time to work on a project if I had something to do for it, but would admittedly get distracted when I had nothing to do. Outside of class is where I do a lot of my editing work. I edit most of my videos at home if I'm unable to finish at school. I often spend hours at home working on editing a project to the best of my ability. I'll also watch videos on how to do something in post production if i'm unsure how to do something.
Strengths
I believe I am at last a decently strong editor, which goes well with motivation to edit a good looking video. When I sit down and start editing, I can edit for hours before taking a break. I find editing fun and like to see what I can make of a video in Premier Pro, even if I'm not the greatest editor out there.
Areas of Imprvement
I believe I could definitely get better at cinematography. I feel like I have trouble capturing what I want to see in a scene and making exactly what I envision. I really hope that one day I can improve and become a good cinematographer, and successfully make ideas into actual good looking films.
Guest Speakers
The guest speakers, especially Morgan Cooper, taught me how even though I'm just a high school student, I can make good looking films. Leah Wellman especially helped, as she taught us about the camera, which I've always had trouble with. Learning to use a camera from someone much more experienced helped me gain experience and get a better handle on what I was doing. Morgan Cooper's films inspired me to make something good that could catch the attention of someone famous, like Will Smith. They also show how you don't have to come from somewhere like Hollywood to make great films.
All American High School Film Festival
The All American High School Film Festival brought me a lot of inspiration, and showed me the quality of film I should be making. Having tons of amazing examples of what a film should look like, especially one made by another student, gives me videos I can compare my own to and gives me something I can try and compete for. Seeing all of the other motivated students makes me want to work harder and produce an amazing film one day.
Featured Film
For our upcoming featured film, I'm an Editor, the Sound Designer, and a Foley Artist. With my past editing experience, I believe I can help make the film look and sound amazing. I plan to work hard both at school and at home when needed to get everything I need to do done.
Summary
My favorite part of this semester was getting to learn about the skills of the other students in my class, as well as making films with them. Putting all our skills together allows us to make a wide variety of videos and video types. I always love seeing the work of other people, and often wish I could make something as good as they can. If I could change one thing, I would like to redo Camera Assignment 1, as to this day I'm unhappy with what we produced. Overall, and most importantly, this semester and all of the events it brought taught me the importance of time management and cinematography. I really want to improve my cinematography skills as I still believe they are mediocre, especially compared to some of my other classmates. my goal for Semester 2 is to eventually produce an amazing, complete-looking film that someone wouldn't be able to tell was made by a high school student. I'm excited to see what the future of this class will bring!
