Entertainment Video Semester 1 Final

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!

e Comm Video Final

e Comm Video Final

        This first project was our short story project. My group and I planned out our short story for about 2 or 3 weeks before we spent a week recording the shots. We faced challenges when it came to casting and weather. We didn't have great ideas about who to cast, and when we did find people to cast, they weren't the best actors. The weather also treated us badly as it rained a lot the week we used to record. Along the way I learned the importance of planning. Throughout the year I've been improving and learning about this, and I feel this time we did fairly well. However, we still didn't plan for the unexpected weather and actor schedules. I was told the film was till pretty funny, which I thought was good, but others did share m concerns about the acting in the film. We changed a few of the scenes from the original script due to actors being too tall or not being able to perform the action. Overall, I think we made a decent video. It may not be the best but it definitely isn't the worst thing i've made.

        This second project was our recreation of Bastille's Pompeii. This project took about 4 weeks in planning and recording. Again, we faced challenges with weather. This time it was snowing many of the weeks we tried recording. Here, I learned about checking the weather and planning in advance for lots of snow to ruin your project. Many people told me the video was good and that I did a good job editing the eyes to be dark the first time, the second not so much. I did change the mask on the second one a few times to try and make it look good, though I wasn't very successful. I thought we made a pretty good video again.

Class Time

        I used my time in class fairly well when I had something to do. However, if I had nothing to do I would sometimes waste some time and do something not very productive. When I could, I would edit or catch up on our groups plans to record. I would spend a lot of time perfecting a project if it was complete.

Strengths / Improvements

        I believe I was able to maximize my strengths be editing videos at home, which gave me more time and I was able to make it as good as possible. I was able to edit many videos which is something I feel I'm good at and enjoy doing. 

        I could have improved when it comes to using my free time more efficiently. I often wasted time in class when I probably could have found something to do if i really tried. 

Short Film

        I edited our short film. We made a comedy piece written by another student in our class. I learned how to work with struggling actors while recording this film, due to our actors being less than perfect. I also learned how to write treatments, loglines, and scripts through this project, which I feel will be important in the future. 

Summary

        I loved making entertaining videos this semester. I didn't enjoy the news stories as much in semester 1, so entertainment was a step up for me. I also enjoyed editing videos. Editing is something I like to do and often do in my free time. If I were to do anything differently, I would have liked to get all of the clips I needed for a few projects, instead of cutting them out. This semester mainly taught me how important time management is. I often ran in to issues because our time was not managed well. Next year, I would like to make even better videos than this year.

E-comm Graphic Design Final

Graphic Design Final

Favorite Projects

        This first project was a vector portrait. I chose to use a picture of myself. The project took me about 2 weeks to complete. I found it challenging to get the shading right in many places. This however taught me how to shade graphics. Throughout the entire process, I would ask peers and my teacher about what needed to be fixed. They would tell me what looked weird and it helped me make the portrait look much better than what it would have looked like if I didn't receive constructive criticism. I originally planned on the final product looking much worse than it actually did. Overall, I think I did a pretty good job on this project. Some parts may not be as clean as they should be, but other then that I'm proud of my work.
         Another project I worked on was my special event advertising poster. I liked my poster the most out of everything I did for the project. It took me a week to make the poster. It was quite challenging to find a good font and font color for the poster, but what I ultimately decided on using looks amazing to me. While working on my poster, I learned how to make new bush styles, which was not only useful in the poster, but in other projects as well. I also asked my peers about what they would suggest I fix to make the project look good. I was again given a lot of useful information, which helped me perfect the project. My original plan was to have a picture of billy Joel during a concert with a bunch of musical graphics, but one thing led to another and I ended up with a piano on a stage. I believe I did well on the project.
         The last project I worked on was my personal logo project. The project took a week to design in illustrator and sketch ideas. it was quite difficult for me to sketch out a good design, but I eventually drew out some pretty good ones. I learned about experimenting with different colors to see what allowed the logo to stick out. My peers did give me ideas of what I should do for my logo, a few ideas which I did do. My ideas kept changing for the project and I never really had an original idea. The colors on my favorite logo did change quite a bit though. I like my logo, though I feel it could have been a bit better.

 Class Time

        I was able to stay productive in class when I was finished with a project by improving the project or getting a head start on the next one. I would sometimes look up tutorials on how to do cool things such as create a new path design, which I used many times in my special event advertising projects. At home, I have access to Adobe products, and would commonly work with Adobe Illustrator at home for personal projects or things for other school activities. I would also use these to finish schools projects that I wasn't able to finish in class. 

Strengths / Improvements

        I believe I am able to work hard on projects and successfully complete the goal I was going for with the project. I can use the applications required of us and learn new ones quite easily. I think if I put my mind to something I can always come out with a great product. 

        I could probably improve when it comes to self confidence. I never truly feel a project is completed, or when I tell myself it is, I think it isn't good. I could also improve on finding solutions to my problems by myself, instead of asking someone else for help. I tend to do this quickly. 

Conclusion

        Throughout the year, my favorite part of Graphic Design was the calm working environment and fun projects we got to work on. If I could change something from the experience, I would just add more large projects for us to work on. Otherwise there isn't anything I didn't enjoy. Next year I would like to put even more effort into my projects and make them the best they can possibly be. I want to come out of Junior year with things to be proud of. I enjoyed e-comm this year and I'm excited to do it again Junior year. 

High School Movie Trailer

High School Movie Trailer Recreation

Process

        We were asked to recreate a trailer for a high school movie. We originally went through movie ideas and then assigned groups depending on the movies we were interested on recreating. My group and I were assigned to recreate high school musical. We started out by taking screen shots of every transition in the trailer so we would know what to record. After that we went out and started location scouting as well as casting people to act for the trailer. After gathering shots throughout a few weeks I edited them all together, where we then realized how many shots we were missing, though we didn't have time to get them.

Experience

        Along the way we learned a lot about lip syncing because I personally had never tried it before and neither had most of my group members. We also learned about what can go wrong in a schedule.
Next time I would like to get all of the clips we need to successfully recreate the entire trailer. I would also like to be more prepared when it comes to casting, because we had a few of our actors drop out last minute, especially Gabriella who we lost 2 different actors for. I do like a lot of our shots and thought they turned out pretty well. The video as a whole is much better than expected.

Conclusion  

Next time I will definitely know how to manage my time and plan actors. Even though we were given a lot of problems, I rather enjoyed this project. I believe the hardships and difficult schedules allowed me to learn how to deal with the stress of having a project do quickly, which will help me with my future projects where I have even less time.

Music Video Recreation

Music Video Recreation

Production

        For our music video, we chose the song Pompeii by Bastille. We started off the process by making a story board and beat sheet. We then started location scouting, trying to find locations that would provide a similar environment as the video. We planned to record for a few hours once or twice every weekend, however we ended up losing a lot of time due to snow. We eventually got all of the shots we needed and I got to work editing the video. I was the main editor of the group, and spent a lot of time working on the project. 

Learning Experience

        Throughout the editing process, I learned about a lot of the effects you can us eon a video. The biggest thing I learned about is how to use masks in Premier Pro, which I used for the eyes. I also learned a lot about communicating with your team, and how it feels when you ask for something and no one responds. I also learned how to manage a project and schedule filming dates. 

Changes

        If I were to make any changes, I would like to spend more time editing the second dark eye scene, as well as have more time getting shots. A few of our shots were rushed or we were unable to get, which especially bothered me while editing the piece. I would definitely keep the first dark eyes the same, because I felt proud of that work and thought it turned out pretty well. Next time I would definitely like to spend more time on some shots as well as plan out actors and locations a bit more. 

Final Thoughts

        Overall I enjoyed this project. It allowed me to meet new people, go to new places, and learn new things. The project as a whole was stressful, but I am glad that it's now over. 

Vector Illustrated Portrait

Vector Illustrated Portrait 

Pre-Production

The first thing I had to do for my portrait is choose a subject, so I simply chose a picture of myself. I then brought it into Photoshop and brightened the image in order to be able to find accurate colors in Illustrator later on.

Production

After I took the image into Illustrator, I started tracing prominent features, such as my neck, face, glasses, and hair. I experimented with many different techniques on each feature. I spent most of my time working on different shading spots. I had to experiment here the most, I tried many different colors and textures for the shadows. I wanted to show a lot of depth in my work because that is something I haven't really done before and I wanted to improve my skills in that category. I believe what I finally decided on using turned out pretty well.

Post Production

I am very proud of how my portrait turned out. I believe I captured my facial features pretty well. I also believe the time I spend on shading payed off. If I could, I would probably work on a background, as well as work on my ears a slight bit more. 

 

Typography

Typography 

Organize your blog post according to these headers:
• Pre-Production: Write about your experience deciding on quotes, fonts, etc.
• Production: Write about your experience creating in Illustrator. Did you learn anything new? How did you go about arranging your type? How was working in color different than working in black and white? Which did you prefer?
• Post-Production/Final Product: Include screen shots of your finished designs. How do you feel that they turned out? Are they the best they could be, or are there things about your designs you would change? Include black and white and colored examples of your work.

Pre-Production

        While looking through fonts, I was looking for something that matched the emotion the word or phrase I was using. To find my quotes, I simply used quotes I could remember, or quotes from shows I've watched that I thought were oddly inspiring for a TV show, or comedic. 

Production

        Working with black and white was frustrating at first because I couldn't do many of the ideas I had, but it turned out to be quite easy. I didn't seem to have as much time as I needed when working with color, so I didn't make many changes. I preferred working with color because I could be much more creative. Working with color also taught me how to use gradients in Illustrator. 

Post-Production

        I believe my quotes turned out pretty well. I'm proud of some more tan others, however they are all decent. I definitely could have improved some of them. 

 

Video Semester Final

Video Semester Final

Projects

        This first project was our featured news story. We interviewed Brady Slavens about his baseball career. This project took my group a few weeks to do. We faced many challenges in camera and audio problems, as well as our interviewee not having time to do the interview. Along the way, I learned the importance of planning ahead. Some recommendations I received, were to raise the camera for the interview. The crunch for time didn't allow for the best video, but I think it turned out well. 

        This is the other news story project I worked on. We interviewed Maleah Boyd about the ONW dance team. This project took a couple weeks as well. Challenges were the same as previously mentioned, camera problems and issues scheduling the interview. I learned about voice overs and how to do them while making this video, though the final product didn't have very good voice overs. I was later recommended to add more voice overs. I did not like how this video turned out, due to not having voice overs. 

Class Time

        I believe I used my time in class very well. I stayed focused and worked on projects when I had one. When I thought I was done, I messed around a bit, and could have used that time to work ahead or perfect another project. Outside of class I would work on projects when needed and get footage for a project I was working on if it was needed. 

Strengths

        I believe I am goof at editing videos. I often use my free time at home to edit videos. Said videos are not always for a school project, but it helps me learn about Premier Pro. I can focus on a project I am working on and usually get it done in a decent amount of time. 

Improvement

        I think I could improve on working with other people. I have a hard time talking with group members and I feel I am getting better by trying to talk and communicate ideas whenever I can. This is something I have been working on for a while and hope to improve more in the future. 

ONW Now

        I was the editor of my groups video in ONW now. We decided to do a story about finals at ONW. I believe our video turned out well, though we didn't get to use a lot of footage due to the time frame. I learned a lot about editing videos and different ways to stabilize b-roll. I also learned about the importance of needing to stay after school to get a video done if needed, as I stayed 2 hours after school to edit extra bits and pieces. 

Summary / Final Thoughts

        My favorite part about the semester was making the ONW now at the end of the semester. While it was stressful and difficult, I enjoyed working on editing and making our video. Most of the interviews stressed me out. I often felt like I didn't know what I was doing or how to do something. I overcame these fears however and became better at making videos because of it. If I could change one thing, I would not stress about all of the work and voice overs, which worried me the most. I realized at the end of the semester that they weren't too hard to do and I was stressed over nothing. Next year I hope to get even better at video editing and learn to not stress out about everything. 

ONW Now Video

ONW Now Video

        A good news story is made by using a topic people are interested in or can relate to. One example being the news story on finals my group worked on. Students at ONW can relate to this because at the time of the story, finals were upcoming. The live recording process gives you a whole new idea of what it is like to record a news story. You see all of the hard work that goes in to each individual story. I think it is sort of exciting to be in the moment.

Strong Broadcast

         A strong news story is made by an enthusiastic news anchor, appropriate set, strong directors and good microphones. The news anchor can attract people to the story if they seem enthusiastic about the story. A set that doesn't seem to fit the rest of the setting or idea may discourage viewers. strong directors can help give every story an impact. People tend to stay away from bad audio, so good microphones will help interest people in the story.   

Featured News Story

Featured News Story

 

Process

        For this video, my group decided to interview Brady Slavens, a senior at ONW who was voted the best high school baseball player in Kansas. Our process started off by comparing ideas on what we could do a news story on. We then Tried to film the interview as well as b-roll, however we ran into many problems with the cameras. We eventually got enough footage and the interview. Then we edited the videos individually. 

Group Work

Along the way, I mostly helped with camera work and interview questions. I did not have much success with cameras due to many of the cameras we used being broken, but otherwise I learned all about how to make a news story and good ways to edit one. Previously I did not know how to edit a news story too well, but I feel I have improved a lot. I think my group was very successful in collaborating.  

Approach 

I took a much different approach on editing this time around. As previously mentioned, I did not fully understand how to edit these types of videos before now. Next time I would Like to get more clean b-roll, because much of the b-roll I had was shaky and unusable. I will definitely use this editing experience and improve the recording of b-roll for my next project. Though we had many troubles through this whole process, we got it done, and that's what counts.    

Graphic Design Performance Review

Performance Review

Behance: https://www.behance.net/alexkevans6076

Projects

        My favorite projects this semester included a raccoon and autumn icons. Each took me about 4 days to complete individually. While making the raccoon, I struggled with the mouth and lighter spots on the head, but I eventually figured out how to work with it. On the leaves, I especially struggled with the big red leaf. I still am not happy with the final product, but it looks decent. Along the way I learned all about Illustrator, which I previously did not know how to use very well. The direct selection tool was one of my favorite things to learn about. I was told I need to make some designs more smooth on some of the autumn leaves. After working on the Raccoon, I edited some of the original parts and glamorized his eyes, as well as making him a stereotypical British figure later on. 

Time in Class

        I spent my time in class working hard on projects. When finished with a project, I would work ahead if possible, or practice working with different tools in illustrator. When research was needed for the project, I made sure to get as much information as possible on the topic, even though it was eventually shortened to one or two sentences. Outside of class, I worked on a few graphics at home, such as a cartoon version of myself and a logo for our school Science Olympiad team.   

Strengths and Improvements

        I believe one of my greatest strengths is enjoying making graphics. I can commit a lot of time to making them since I enjoy making them so much. I have also become quite skilled in Illustrator and Photoshop. I could improve on communicating with other people, as my social skills are not very good. 

Summary

I enjoyed working with Illustrator this semester. At first I thought I would not like it because I had never used it before, but it turned out to be a great experience. I would like to have done more projects where you can design whatever you want. This semester has gotten me interested in graphic design, because at first I was not too sure if I would enjoy the class. Next semester I plan to work even harder and improve my designing skills even more. I really enjoy graphic design and hope it continues to be a great class.