Editing Our Commercial

     We finished filming today. There were many things we had to change from our story board once we got on site. We had to reshoot some parts since our clothes changed. We also had to reshoot because fortunately the library let us barrow a table for our “Vans Store”.  We then filmed the parts where my character finally gets a pair of Vans. When we were about to film the last scene of me coming down the stairs, we saw one of our friends in a pair of Vans. I helped persuade him into being in our last group shot. We almost got another Vans wearer in our group but our persuasion didn’t work. Then we headed back to the classroom to put away our props to pick up later. That was the end of filming.

     We were supposed to start editing but our computers aren’t working today. I thought of an idea for when i open the shoebox an Avril Lavigne song is playing in the background. I first thought i could sing a voice over but the group decided we should just play a short clip straight from the song. Along with Avril I thought there could be a bright light shining from the shoebox when I opened it. This didn't work though because it was too bright outside. We also didn't know how to edit the light in. I also had an idea that would make our change of clothes look natural. This was to make it seem like it was a different day. One way was to add some text saying the next day or something of that nature. I don't think our commercial will be heavily edited because I feel the shots we got were good raw.

     A lot of our shots are handheld so the footage looks a little shaky. One shot had a zoom in which reminded me of a scene from The Office. I think our commercial is unique since there were many unplanned things that made it better. I think we might add in bloopers so the audience finds It funny and can relate. Although, it might take away from the fact that it is a commercial so it is still undecided. The raw footage looks unprofessional and shaky like teens made it, which they did. I think we can use editing to help make it look like it was on purpose so they audience gets the feeling of a group of friends made this. I think there are many things we can do with editing to get the affect we are going for. All of our footage is dumped on our flash drive so we are ready to get started. I have a good feeling the commercial will come out fantastic. 

Filming the Commercial

     We started filming our Vans commercial this week. We had a lot to set up since we brought props for our commercial . First we had to bring the props to our location of filming. Some props i brought were Halloween decorations since our commercial was Halloween themed. I brought a fake jack-o-lantern, a pumpkin that had branches coming out of it with ghosts and bats hanging from it, and a light up pumpkin. A non Halloween themed prop was a coupon from a Vans store. The most important prop, though, was my pair of Vans. My shoes were very important since we were filming a shoe commercial. After the props we had to sign out our equipment needed for filming. The equipment we used was a tripod, camera, and SD card.

      In the actual filming I was a main actress. Our first scene was filmed at the Senior Patio outside. Since it was very sunny and hot outside we found a table with an open umbrella. After the establishing shot of the patio was my scene. I put on my converse and sat down at the bench. I talk about how I need new shoes. Then a coupon is slowly shoved in my direction. Next, we switched to a POV shot of "me" noticing the coupon. Then it is back to filming me in confusion of who left the coupon there. That was all we had to film at the Senior Patio and we moved onto our next location.

     Our next location was the bottom of the library still outside. I helped carry the props over to the top of the library since that was where the scene after that was being filmed. This scene was of me going to the store the coupon advertised. This was a shot of my shoes to make sure the audience knows my brand of shoes are not Vans. Next, now at the top of the stairs, is the scene of me arriving at the front of the "Vans Store". We originally tried to put our sign labeled "VANS" on the window but that didn't work. We set up the other props and decided to just have someone from our group hold the sign. The scene is an over the shoulder shot of the doors, that open to the library, to a big Vans sign. Then we had to pack it all up and and finish filming Monday. We then dumped all of our footage on a flash drive.  

Storyboard

-Establishing shot

-Two Shot

-POV Shot

-Reaction Shot

-Cutaway

-Jumpcut

-Tracking Shot

-Over the Shoulder Shot

-Pan

-Medium Shot

-High Angle

-Medium Close Up Shot

-Long Shot

-Close-Up Shot

-Eye-Line Match

-Wide Angle

-Tracking Shot

-Dutch

-Burn out

-Title

Editing Lesson Blog

     We will be editing on pinnacle studios for our commercial. We must use the same computer and same account since our footage will be saved on the desktop itself. First we put the SD card with our footage in the SD card reader. Then we plug it into the computer. After the reader is plugged in a screen will pop up. In this screen we will look for our footage in DCIM. The date and the time on the camera must be correct in order for us to find our footage. If our footage is not on DCIM then we can go to private, then AVCHD, and then stream. In stream is everything on the SD card. We then highlight however many videos we have and put it on the folder we have on our desktop. What we just did was called dumping.
     Then we import all our footage from our computer to pinnacle studios. We have to make sure everything is loaded completely or the system might crash on us. In pinnacle studios instead of clicking the words themselves we have to click the small plus sign beside them. Every time we film we will be inputting all of our footage onto pinnacle studios. If we don't want a certain clip we can just uncheck it. Before we edit we have raw footage. Raw footage is everything we have filmed unenhanced and unedited. There are three tracks we see in pinnacle studios. One is the AV track 1 the top track where the title goes. The second is AV track 2 the middle track where the footage goes. The last one is AV track 3 where the sound goes.
     When we drag our footage down to AV track 3 we will see an orange bar which means it is loading. We have to wait for that bar to become clear to start because that means it has finished loading. We can use the read play bar to play through our footage. We can also you the play button or the space bar to play it. We can double click on the picture of our footage in the corner to make it full screen. To cut our footage we click on the razorblade one which will cut or previously one scene into two. Then we highlight the part we don't want and press delete. If we want to undo something we can always press the back button. We detach the sound by going to NBIO72 and making sure the orange box is around that clip. We then right click and press detach audio. If we want to delete it we make sure the orange, yellow box is around what we want to delete and delete it. To get transitions we right click and press open effects editor. If we want words we hit the T and type what we want. When we are completely done with our project we will export it and make sure it is an mpeg 4.

Planning Blog For Vans Commercial

1) Props

The props that we will use in this commercial will be Vans shoe boxes, a skateboard, a Vans coupon, and Halloween decorations.

2) Costumes

The costumes that we use in this commercial will include Vans apparel. Specifically, Vans shirts, Vans hoodie, Vans shoes, a beanie, and chains for the actors playing on the Vans side. We will also include Converse shoes and shirt for the Converse-side actor.

3)Schedule

First, we will make the storyboard and the script for the commercial. After everyone learns their lines and places, we will begin filming our commercial in the senior patio. Continuing with the commercial on the next day, we will shoot extra takes of skateboard tricks for our commercial which will be featured at the end of the commercial. When we finish filming at the first location, we will then move onto our next location: the Media Center.On the last day of this assignment, we will edit our commercial and put every shot in the order of our storyboard.

4) Location

The locations that will be used for our commercial will be the senior patio, specifically the steps and the tables. We will also film by the Media Center steps, which is where our "Vans store" set will be.

5) Back Up Plan

So if it's raining,we will have to film inside the Media Studies classroom instead of the senior patio. Additionally, we will have to film our skateboard shots near the media center instead because we can still get outside shots, however we will still have a roof over us to not get wet. Also, if one of us who is acting is absent, we will have to change roles in the commercial and one of us would have to play someone else's part. Additionally, if our camera man is absent, we will have one of our actors film, while another actor takes their part.

Convention and Codes of Our Commercial

Our commercial is about Vans products. Some common conventions and codes in Vans commercials include skaters as actors. The target demographic for Vans include teens and young adults, which is why the actors in these commercials are also generally young adults or teens. These actors are typically athletic and often run or do skateboard tricks in the commercials. They also wear Vans shoes and Vans shirts or socks in the commercials. Vans commercials may also feature famous athletes or skaters to talk about the products. The actors are normally within a group of friends; however, some commercials include skaters by themselves.

Additionally, the location of these commercials are usually outside in skate parks or on the street. Typically, the lighting of these commercials are very bright due to the sunny weather of being outside. However, commercials that feature more close ups of the shoes tend to have darker lighting. 

Lastly, common music found in Vans commercials include Rock or Upbeat music. Popular artists that make this type of music for Vans commercials are Avril Lavigne, Sik-K, and DJ, Mia Carucci.

Introductory

     Hi, my name is Alicia and I'm a freshman in high school. I currently take eight classes, three of which are college level classes. At my school we have four classes each day named white days and blue days. On white days I have biology honors, study hall, algebra two honors, and theater. Biology and algebra two are my some of my hardest classes. On blue days I have criminal justice one, AICE media studies, AICE general paper, and AICE global perspectives. The classes with AICE before them are my college level classes and I think I'm handling the workload pretty well.

     Currently I am involved in two clubs; GSA and Interactive club. I like these two clubs a lot because you get to be involved and meet others with similar interests. I have noticed that high school pushes you to do things by yourself such as talk to your teacher about the assignment you missed or sign up for an event that gives you service hours. Besides clubs I like to do other things outside of school. One of these things is watch television. Many think teens spend too much time watching TV, but I think television can be very informative. I have learned many things from watching all types of shows like new words or what different cultures are like. TV and cinema are also very fascinating with the way they come up with captivating stories and how they tell them.

     There are also things I dislike such as mangoes, clear shoes, and bigotry. One thing I really don't like is when people who have an abundance of wealth just hoard it when they could donate it to charities. They would be more than okay financially and would have helped thousands of people but instead they just sit on this money. If I were rich I would just give more than half of my money to charity. This is sometimes what motivates me to do well in school, so I can become a successful rich person and help all those people. That's all for my very first blog.