Editing the Commercial

The class after we first filmed, we had time to finish up anything we needed to film. We also had to edit when we were done with that. My partner and I filmed our final scene of our commercial outside, then we came back into the classroom. I sat down at a computer and started to dump the footage I took that day. Once it was all done being dumped, I searched for the editing software. We use Pinnacle Studios, and I couldn’t find it on the computer. My teacher then announced that some computers don’t have the editing software on them. Hearing this, my partner and I decided to look for it. We logged into multiple computers to see if they had the editing software on them. We weren’t successful in finding one.

My teacher then made another announcement. She said that she had the disk with the editing software on it. She was installing the disk onto each computer and passing it around. Me and my partner did not get the disk first, so we were there waiting for it to come to us. This way, we could install the software on a computer when we got the chance. As we were waiting, we discussed the different sounds that would be used in our commercial. We looked up videos of the sounds and played them. This way, we could narrow it down and choose which specific sound(s) we were using. We decided on some specific nature sounds, and then discussed what we were going to say for the voiceover at the end of the commercial. We watched one of the few Zephyrhills commercials that exists to see what they say in that commercial.

After waiting for a little while, it was brought to our attention by our teacher that the software can’t be installed on the computers. The computers are from 2008, so I believe that had something to do with the problem. After hearing this, the class was in chaos. We only had a couple days to edit and now we couldn’t. Many students were fearful of failing or getting a bad grade because we couldn’t edit. My teacher cleared up the confusion and kindly explained to us that she wouldn’t fail us on something we physically couldn’t do. Everyone was relieved, and she told us to work in our other blog about what we did filming the commercial. I was able to finish that blog before class ended. My teacher said that she’s hoping that they replace the computers so we can edit. Starting very soon, we will begin editing on laptops with the program installed on it, instead.

Filming the Commercial

Today, I finished up filming my commercial. While filming, I had multiple jobs that I did. My first job was to sign the camera out. I had to fill out a paper with my signature, the date, and the numbers of what was signed out. I filled out most of the form, then was given a camera and tripod. I didn't check out an SD card because I had my own. After I got the equipment, I was able to complete the form by listing which numbers of camera and tripod I was given. I checked if the camera was charged and working, and was. I inserted my SD card into the camera, and I was good to go for that. I next signed out a filming pass that lets staff know that I am supposed to be and I was able to exit the classroom.

My second job was being the actor in the commercial. My commercial was about Zephyrhills water. I played the role of a student who is rushing to class. This means that I was in nearly every shot. I had to, run, walk up on bleachers, and drink the water. The idea was that I was going to be late to class, so I was rushing. I finally got there, and being exhausted, I decided to drink some water. The water refreshed me, and I wasn't as exhausted anymore. As I drank the water, it showed nature. This created the idea that the water is pure and fresh.

My third job was filming certain shots that I wasn't in. These were the shots of the nature, and the water itself. I filmed a shot of a tree to graphic match a shot of me drinking pulling the water out of my bag. I also had to pour water down the bark of the tree while my partner was filming. This was to make it look like water falling from a waterfall. This was also a shot for our second graphic match of me drinking the water. Lastly, I helped place the water bottle itself for our last shot. My fourth and final job was returning the equipment. I gave it back to the teacher, and then moved our form into the return folder. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed filming this commercial and the jobs I did.

Storyboard

Today, we storyboarded our commercial. We included the angles we used, the shots, and the editing, such as transitions, split screen, etc. For editing we are using things such as a graphic match, cuts, and  an action match. We are using a graphic match when our actor is holding the water bottle up in one scene and it cuts to another scene with a tree in the same position. This is to demonstrate the freshness of the water and how it comes from nature. For our cut, it will be in between all of our scenes in general. For the action match, we are showing another scene with the actor drinking the water, and the scene cutting to water flowing down from a waterfall. For sound, we are using things such as voiceover, sound bridge, and music. The music will play when the shots if nature come up and it will be relaxing to demonstrate tranquility. The voiceover will be me and my partner talking about the water and how fresh it is.

For our shots, we are using things like an establishing shot, tracking shots, close-ups, and medium shots. The establishing shot will be of the school and then transition to a tracking shot that follows the actor as they are running to class because they are late/want to get to class. There will be a medium shot of them as they sit down at their desk. After that, there will be multiple close ups of the water. For our movement, we are using a tilt in the first scene. You see the school and the landscaping in the establishing shot and the camera tilts upwards to show the actor rushing to class. For our angles, we are using eye level and a low angle. When the actor is sitting down at their desk, the shit is eye level showing how tired they are from rushing to class. The low angles will be included when they are drinking the water itself.

Editing Lesson Blog

In class today, we first learned about the cameras we will be using to film various projects throughout the year.  My teacher showed the class how the camera and tripod works. We are using a cannon camera that is a size that can be handheld. It has a touchscreen on the side that flips open and closed. When it does this, it turns in and off so we don’t have to worry about pressing any buttons when we begin or finish filming. It also has a slot for an SD card. The tripod had three legs that can be pulled out to make it taller. It has a detachable slab at the top where we can attach the camera to. We screw the bottom into the camera and tighten it with a knob at the bottom. The camera also has various tools to allow us to preform pans and tilts.

Next, we were taught how to edit. We will be using an editing software called ‘Pinnacle Studios’ throughout the year. We were walked through the steps on how to generally edit things using it. First we have to make a folder on our desktop where the footage will be held. Next, we dump the footage from our camera to the computer using a plugged in SD Card Reader. We go into the software and select all the clips we want to import so we can edit them.  This footage that is selected to import is called raw footage, which is our actual takes. We start the import and wait for the footage to load into the editor. We have different tracks for each “layer” of our film. AV File 1 is for titles, AV Title 2 is for our film itself, and AV File 3 is for music. We also learned how to cut the footage by splitting the clip. We click on the razor blade and the clip splits into multiple.

We learned more tricks to successfully edit our footage. If we made a mistake, we click the back arrow button in the top left corner or ‘File’ then ‘Undo’. If we right click, we can access speed to reverse something or speed it up/slow it down. We can also access the effects editor by right clicking. From there, we can control things like brightness and filters. To get rid of sound, we can click on the desired track, right click and then click ‘Detach Audio’. This splits the sound and then we can delete the part of the sound that is unwanted. Once we are done editing, we click on ‘Save Movie As’ and put it into our folder that we created in the first step. Once we have turned it in to the teacher, it’s time to export. We make sure it’s on the best quality and we remove our footage from the editing software, making sure to close out of it when we are done.

Planning Blog for Zephyrhills Commercial

I have been assigned a commercial to do, and am working on it with a partner. We had a list of quite a few products and options we could choose from. My partner and I decided to do it on Zephyrhills water. I am excited to film and edit the commercial and see the final product. Below is a plan for our commercial.


Props

• Water bottle
• Backpacks
• School supplies

Costumes

• Casual Wear- regular clothes worn to school

Location(s)

• Baseball Field
• Cafeteria
• School hallways
• Pathway outside of Building 17

Schedule

• Editing Lesson- Oct 14
• Storyboard- Oct 15
• Filming- Oct 23
• Start Editing- Oct 25
• Finish Editing- Oct 28
• Blog Due- Oct 28
• CCR Lesson- Dec 21
• More Storyboarding- Dec 22

Backup Plan

If our plans don't work out, we will:

• Use/find difference locations at school
• Add or change our props, costumes, or actions being done in the commercial
• Worst case scenario, we will pick a new commercial idea

Conventions/Codes Blog

In commericals for water, there are common things that are done. A lot of water commercials use similar camera angles and editing. For camera angles, they tend to show close ups of the bottle. They also show medium shots of people drinking or interacting with the water. Tracking shots are used to show action or things going on in relation to the water, or the location where the water is bottled at or comes from. For editing, dissolving is used as well as cross cutting and cutaways. Often graphic match is used to switch from the bottles to where the water came from.

There is also common lighting and sound used in these commercials. The lighting is usually bright with little to no shadows. This is to create a mood of happiness that comes from drinking the water to the audience. The lighting tends to look natural to give the water a natural glow or reflect off of it. The natural lighting also correlates with the nature that the water companies portray in the commercial. For, sound ambient sound is often used. There will be things like water dripping, or pouring down from a waterfall. Voiceovers are also used to talk about  and advertise the product. Music is also used, especially kinds that are calming and create a sense of euphoria and tranquility.

The commercials also have to use Mis-En-Scene to be a commercial at all. Common locations are in nature or where the water is bottled at/from. It can also be filmed in an imaginary location using special effects. These include up in the clouds, "underwater", and in a river. The actors are usually wearing casual, everyday clothes and not any crazy costumes or anything out of the ordinary. Actors may have light makeup on, or special makeup to make them look appealing on camera, but again, nothing over the top or crazy. The props used are always the water bottle, and sometimes things like notebooks or things children would usually carry around (if the actors, are of course children).

Introduction

Hi my name is Julia, and I am the owner of this blog. I am a high school student, and will be taking you along with me as I journey through my AICE Media Studies class. I am excited for this year, and all of the things we will be working on. These include a commercial, music video, and short film.

Here are some things about me. My favorite color is blue and some of my favorite foods are tacos, chili, steak, and ice cream. In my free time, I do aerial art like silks and lyra, as well as tumble. I also take voice (singing) lessons and compete in debate. I love to spend time with my friends and family as well.

This year i am taking four AICE classes (including AICE Media Studies). They are AICE Psychology, AICE Media Studies, AICE European History, and AICE English Language. I hope to ass all my AICE exams like I did last year, and receive my AICE diploma. The other classes I take are Pre-Calculus Honors, Debate 2 Honors, and Chemistry Honors.