What I learned from watching films

One of my favorite workshops was when we observed how well commercials followed the "rule of thirds". I didn't implement this rule into my videos as much as I would have liked to. It was interesting to see how much videos follow this rule,even in long movies I could see the use of this rule. This "rule of thirds" is used so that film makers can attract the most amount of attention from viewers. I use to believe that the best point to center things would be in the middle of the screen but this rule proved me wrong. It will give me an advantage in the future when taking pictures of friends and family. Angles are an important aspect of filming because it emphasizes the effect trying to be produced. The low angle shot would show something taller than the cameras point of view. This angle could be used to express that the object is powerful. One of the videos we watched this year about a little boy who defends his teacher from her fiance uses the canted angle. The canted angle is used when the fiance gets shot and the tilted camera shots shows that he has been hit. Angles have a huge impact on filming because they portray feelings with out saying anything. Many emotions can be expressed with different angles. Lighting creates moods in filming. Such as when Ardle when he is looking at his teacher there is a light that is shining on him. This lighting signifies his love for Ms Purdy. Also later in the video Ardle is angry and there is dim lighting on his face from the moon, this lighting gives a feeling that he is planning something evil. The lighting and the colors in a film affect the mood, unfortunatly I didn't get to use it very much to express a mood. My experience in this class was full of mixed emotions through out the process of making videos. It would begin with creating an idea which was usually easy. Then I was confronted with the ability and willingness to follow through with the plan. I can see how pursuing a filming career could be stressful yet exciting. Most of my filming projects felt pressed for time. I had to learn to accomadate our video to the time we had. The rewarding part would be when we were finished uploading the finished video project to our blogs. I would then be able to see my accomplishments and admire them.

The final video project is a parody of the code red drill. Its also informational on the rules of a code red.

Over view of the year

I am looking at all my past posts that I have made this year. I have made a lot of progress. Before I had thought film making was easy, but Teledramatics art class has showed me that it isn't easy however rewarding. I have a greater appreciation for professional film makers but could never do it for a living. In my first blog I express the difficulty I had with exporting the video to Youtube. Now I can proudly say that I know this like the back of my hand. I learned through out the year how to make perfect in and out points. I insterted clips inbetween others and made it flow as if no time had stopped in the jumping horse clips. The green screen was a whole new experience. It was so exciting because its such a well known effect and can place any background in a video. I used the green screen in still pictures and when Ivy and I were doing our cultural experiences. Some videos were very time consuming and I spent afternoons and weekends filming. Such as the Priorities video. We had changed our story so many times to fit our limited time schedual. Our cuts were well done, and our final draft was amazing. It was our first complete story. This year I have learned a lot about time management. The over the shoulder video project proved to be very beneficial. Emily and Zoie were the actors, I learned the importance of filming all of one persons lines first then filming the second persons lines so that it looks realistic. Moving the camera during the dialogue would show inconsistent points of view. Learning over the shoulder shots is important because it intregues the audience. Ever since that project I see professional films differently. I admire how their over the shoulder shots are so consistent, they look complicated to do. The video effects workshops were important because it added an abstracts aspect to our videos. The effects created different moods. Threshold was the first effects I used which makes the images black and white. The more I played around with the effects I learned how to control the intensity of the effects. After all the projects I have done this year there is one that is my favorite is the final project when we were given the freedom to make a video on whatever topic. We did a parody on the Red code which is a school drill when there is a dangerous gunman on campus. We filmed everything in one day. We managed out time efficiently. On the second day we edited. All the clips are clear and our titles help express the humor in the school rules. This video isn't meant to affend the schools system, its just us cutting loose on our last days of Highschool before we graduate.

A trip to foreverland(The water is wide)

Our story is about a boy whom is broading onto a train. He is sad because he is leaving his family to go to a foreign castle. As he pears out his window he is depresses and frightened. The train is traveling so quickly he isnt ready for this new chapter in his life. Then he spots the castle and its so majestic. His attitude becomes more hopeful. The castle is so beutiful so the music sounds dainty and delicate. For a long time the boy is walking around the castle in awe. Then his heart stops which is symbolized by the silent moment of the song. The boy spots a girl and immediently falls in love with her. He watches he but is afraid to approach her. He is nervouse. He gets up the curage to meet her and they go out. Then everything is wonderful again, so unbelievable wonderful that it was all a dream. Jose and I didn't have time to add effects because we needed to work on our final projects. However I consider our editing job to be spectacular. The music goes well with the pictures. My favorite scene starts 2:40 -3:00. The music shows a lot of excitment when the boy is with the girl, then it follows with Mr. Zuniga conducting the band with big hand motions emphasising this is a intense moment of the song after the long silence. Another clip that I liked was in the beggining from 30-35 seconds. This is one the the few clips we were able to add an effect on. The picture is of a crying boy because he is leaving his family. The color purple portrays a sad mood and the waves on the picture give an affect that the boy is shaken up. The most important contribution Jose made to this video was figuring out the ending of the story, finding pictures and deciding what type of effects should be added. The most important contributions I made were finding many random pictures the created a greater variety to choose from when making our video. Also I put the band clips toward the end to add a intense feeling and to make it look like a music video.

Reflection/Jabberwocky,special_effects

Kenzies teledramatics art class: Sequence 01



The effect that I used best was the twirl on the second to last picture. This effect made me feel like the narrators thoughts are twisted.  It was short, but if it had been enlongated we would get a real feel of standing a in thought in the perception of the poem is becoming twisted

Sequence 01

Sequence 01

1)      Effect two was a lens flare, it can also be found in the effects panel. It is under the generate section. Lens flare is a light reflected of a smooth surface. Towards the end of the clip is begins to appear.

2)      To increase the lens flare go to effect controls. Change the “Blends with…” to a lower percentage from 56%-0% to increase the size and intensity of the lens flare. 3

3)      It I were to use the lens flare effect in a video it would be to show a characters enlightenment in a situation. In  the clip above I put it above Eduardo to express he is happy about what he got on his test.

effect 1

1)      The first effect called Threshold can be found in the effects panel. I found threshold in the stylize section. Threshold is used to emphasize white against black. It gives a blurry black and white effect. In my first clip it zooms in on Eduardo the main character. This first effect starts on level 0 and the screen is all white. Throughout the rest of the video it black increases.

2)      Anyone else can achieve this by going to the effect controls and increasing the scale. 98 scale was normal, however I continued to increase up to 222.2. The beginning and end of the video are opposites. The level begins at 0 and ends at 255.

3)      If I were to use the Threshold effect if would be as the beginning or end of a film to give a dark tone. Everything is black and white, representing no uniqueness in the characters. Changing the threshold level could show enlightenment or a dark ending to a story.

The reality of being Unprepared (final)

Directors's Cut Group 28

Feedback(=

Suggestions
-“We noticed that between the shot of him sayin OMG and him looking at the other students paper to cheat you usec a panning shot. we would have have used the same but made it a little bit longer than it was.”(Taylor and Jose)
-“…not quite sure what the music in the opening scene was used to emphasize. It was most likely used to show the fact that he had a test comig up but not sure. I feel that it didnt work becasue it doesnt really communicate that he had a test or the suspense of having a test. ou could also try more suspensfulk music.” (Taylor and Jose)
-“We think that you might add a shot right after kenny is looking around of him just guesing on the problems so he obviously got them wrong and then him getting the results back of him completely failing…”(Michelle and Blanca)
-“You can add to the resolution by showing the grade that the main character got. This would help give us the idea that he did bad on the test for not studying…” (Jacob and Morgan)
Compliments
-“We especially like the close up shot of Kenny because it helped emphasize the idea that he is looking around and trying to look for someone to copy off of. “(Michelle and Blanca)
-“The first music came in when the bell rang to show the beginning of class. It was used to help emphasize the mood that all students were in school or the idea that something like a test was about to take place. It worked perfectly because we got the idea that it was class time.” (Michelle and Blanca)
-“The first use of music is when they show the main characters face. It was used to emphasize the idea that he was nervous. It worked because it set the mood. The music was changed for some parts to give different feelings. It worked because it made me feel like i was nervous for the main character.” (Jacob and Morgan)
-“We especially liked the shot of Boy 2 and Boy 1 looking at each other and then Boy 1 hides his test so Boy 2 wont be able to see it.” (Eduardo E., Ashley T. and Sabrina)
-“The most important use of music was when the students were exiting the calss it gave a feel of pitty or sorrow for the studnet who received an F. It worked because the other student saud you will do better next time and the deep slow music coralted well with the fact that he failed but can do better.”(Taylor and Jose)
-“We especially like the shot of Kenny with his head down on his desk because it shows the feeling of being unprepared for something.” (Cesar and Isaiah)

Top Suggestions
-“We think that you might add a shot right after kenny is looking around of him just guesing on the problems so he obviously got them wrong and then him getting the results back of him completely failing…”(Michelle and Blanca)
-“You can add to the resolution by showing the grade that the main character got. This would help give us the idea that he did bad on the test for not studying…” (Jacob and Morgan)
Our Feedback
This suggestion is from Michelle and Blanca. This helped us understand the confusion, and it aided our clarification of an amendment to our video. We now realize that Kenny failing the test should have been more clear, and we can achieve this by going further in depth with the testing process. This will imply that Kenny was guessing on the test due to his lack of prior preparation.
This suggestion is from Jacob and Morgan. This helped us understand that we need to show the viewer the result of Kenny’s current knowledge due to his study habits and his ultimate performance on the test due to these poor habits. We can easily execute this information to the viewer by using a close-up shot of Kenny’s test which was an F, and possibly in relation to his neighbor’s A grades.

Top Compliments
-“The first use of music is when they show the main characters face. It was used to emphasize the idea that he was nervous. It worked because it set the mood. The music was changed for some parts to give different feelings. It worked because it made me feel like i was nervous for the main character.” (Jacob and Morgan)
-“The most important use of music was when the students were exiting the calss it gave a feel of pitty or sorrow for the studnet who received an F. It worked because the other student saud you will do better next time and the deep slow music coralted well with the fact that he failed but can do better.”(Taylor and Jose)
Our Feedback
This compliment is from Jacob and Morgan. Our intention was to mimic a human heart beat which would be a potential reaction of a student in Kenny’s situation. This compliment acted as evidence that viewers connected with our intent and could relate to Kenny’s emotion. Hopefully, this positive reaction will correspond with a more interesting video.
This compliment is from Taylor and Jose. This comment proved that our in points and out points were on point and that the music we used to emphasize the final mood of the video was executed properly and was more evidently present due to our choice in music.

Its never too late (Rough Draft)

priorities - rough draft

Kenzie Campbell and I (Ivy Phelps) are completing a reflection together

1) What value are you trying to represent?We are trying to represent the value of setting priorities that promote success and growth in students. We provided an example of a teenage boy choosing to play video games before or instead of studying for an exam.
2) What do you think your group has done well?We have been organized concerning our plan for each day and our specified tasks. We have been determined and dedicated to executing and producing the highest quality video we are capable of creating provided the allotment of time, equipment, and participation available to us. We have been consistent with creating alternative plans if our ideal or "Plan A" is compromised.
3) What do you still need to complete?We have altered our script to minimize difficulty concerning arrangements outside of school and maximizing our potential participation level. We plan to shoot the majority of our video at school instead of at home. Therefore, due to our change in shooting location, we will only need to complete a few tid-bits of dialogue and additional scenes instead of a full day of filming at home. We will then need to complete a few minor edits within our film before we are finished.
4) What are you most in need of feedback about? (We want to know if..., We're wondering if this camera angle worked when...etc.)We are aware we are lacking a few key scenes in our film, so the story does not make sense as is. We will give a swift introduction of what we plan for our final product and hopefully the audience will be able to envision what the film will be like when it is complete.
5) Identify a challenge your group discovered and faced in creating the film. Focus on a challenge about how to best tell your story. Describe how you dealt with that challenge, including discussions you had, things you tried and decided to leave out, and what you ultimately did to address it.Our major challenge was contacting each other to film outside of school. We could not communicate with each other, therefore, our shooting schedule suffered. We dealt with this by mending the script to fit a location that we could all attend. We devised a plan to keep our shots consistent so we could finish our filming, however, this was a major drawback and inconvenience for all parties, we apologize and we are exhausted with regret.

Priorities-rough draft

Over the shoulder

Reflection Answers for over the shoulder
The process of planning our shots for "The over the shoulder" video began with choosing an exceptional spot outside to film. Choosing a location was the least of our worries. We placed the camera away from the sun because it would help the lighting. The introduction shot was different from the rest of the conversation.
The shots were set up as over the shoulder shots. As we filmed Emily speaking we would get a part of the left side of Zoie's head. To not confuse the audience we had to turn 180 degrees when filming Zoie was talking. So when Zoie was talking we would see the right side of Emily's head. We should have taken into consideration capturing one of the actors speaking with their backs turned against the camera.

Our film almost follows the rule of thirds. Sometimes Emily is really close to the left spots that would be considered rule of third. Overall we didn't really follow the rule of thirds. Its something I will have to remember the next time I film.

The impression the over the shoulder shots is good to use for a conversation between two people talking. In puts the audience in the actors shoes. It shows the audience the two actors are interacting. We are usually focused on one person talking at a time and see one persons reaction to the conversation.

I am very proud of the final project. The clips put together look like an actual conversation. Emily's and my editing job was done very well. I didn't have much trouble editing, every thing fell into place. It did take a while to begin the process of editing because I didn't bring up the project right in Adobe.

The dominant mood our Over the shoulder video had was a joyful and surprising meeting among two friends. It begins with a hug not a handshake because a handshake is usually used when you first meet some one. Our two characters already knew each other so the video began with them hugging. Especially if one of the characters knows the others grandmother they must be close. Through out the dialogue both characters are smiling. When Zoie finds out its money for college her eyes light up and her voice has a higher pitch. Zoie is surprised to find out she will have money for college.
During the over the shoulder shot looking at Zoie's face we can hear Emily say her grandmother left her something. This shot was focused on Zoie's face because of her surprised expression which helps set the mood of the video.