Recently in Ecomm, we worked on developing a feature story to demonstrate our skills, and present in class. We were paired up into groups, and tasked with finding unique traits and demonstrating them through a sequence of shots, B-roll, and a full fledged interview. The person I interviewed was Eric Baker, member of the dungeons and dragons club and medieval history enthusiast.
Behind The Scenes:
This project, overall, took roughly 3 weeks to complete. During this time we filmed the interview, B-roll, and edited the final product. At the start we starting throwing things out, trying to come up with a topic to discuss. Once we latched onto a subject, we formulated questions and stayed after school to shoot the interview. Shortly after, we stayed after school again to get footage of the dungeons and dragons club for B-roll. Once we had all the footage we needed, we spent a day putting together the clips and using editing techniques we were taught during class.
Results From This Project:
Due to this project I was able to learn the process of creating a story on film. I learned how to properly use a camera paired with a lavalier microphone, and how to test audio levels before filming took place. I have acquired new knowledge on how to properly interview someone, and how to scout a well suited location to film. Although there were a lot of ideas I have learned to this project, there are also a few things I would change. For example, I was paired in a group of 3, and although I know this was unavoidable, it still made working as a group difficult since we had to work together to make an additional feature story, since the majority of the class was paired in groups of two. Also, it would be additionally helpful if we were taught about the tools in Adobe Premiere Pro to help soften the time spent on editing. I am rather unfamiliar with Adobe softwares, so a large chunk of my time is spent trying to navigate the menus, especially since I'm already accustomed to a different editing software I use for personal reasons.
For our last quarter of e9 we incorporated skills gathered throughout the year in a group based project. The project used skills from video production, graphic design, and animation to make a believable company and presentation to show to our judges (aka teachers). There were many ups and downs with this project, and I would say the most challenging part was the 3d animation and box design because it was hard to get a clear image of what we wanted to do. At first our group started out slow, coming up with various ideas and pitching them to the rest of the group, but then we caught on and split up the tasks to accomplish goals faster. The project took almost all the available class time during quarter 4 to complete, but the outcome was definitely worth the effort. My accomplishments as an individual in the group were not astounding, but they were definitely contributive and credible. I spent my time working on the 3d animation and box design as well as some of the creative construction of the product and company, and with the constructive feedback from my peers I was able to shape my work into pieces that fit well with our company and plan. After working with my group this quarter, I have learned several new skills in fields such as video production and graphic design that I could potentially use in future works for myself. Overall I would say that I'm rather proud of my work and my contributions, but also my group as a whole.
Animation for our website
Animation to put on other's websites
Use of Class Time:
Company banner
During class I would say that I remained a mixture between productive and unproductive. Although I was distracted easily, I still managed to complete my work on time with that being either the use of time out of class or the implementation of my peers ideas or feedback to help me make a solid product. Majority of my work was done during class, but during the filming period we did use time out of class to get a better shot and work on our filming skills as a whole. Also, I spent some time out of class researching potential editing tricks and skills for the commercial portion of our project to possibly improve mine and make it fit with the ideas I had in my head. My team and I also spent time communicating after school to check up on the completion of products that were others responsibilities (although I did try and provide feedback for said products).
Strengths:
After my official first year of E-communications, I can proudly say that my areas of expertise are in the video production and animation fields, especially since those fields are the ones I receive the most joy and entertainment out of. I have had experience with these fields in the past, but E-comm has helped me better my skills and taught me more about the things I love. I try to incorporate my strengths and use them the best I can, whether that be my edits on our commercial or feedback for parts of our project like the logo or animation.
Areas of Improvement:
After realizing my strengths in E-comm, I have also realized the parts that need improvement. For example, I would definitely say that I need to work on my capabilities in the 3d aspect of things using softwares such as Sketchup, as well as my filming skills with the camera and tripod. In the future I wish to improve my 3d models as well as my use of different angles and shots while filming. For these reasons, I believe I still have a long way as an E-communications student.
My Thoughts on Quarter 4:
As a wrap up for the entirety of quarter 4, i would definitely say that I loved working in a group and using everyones specific talents to master and put together a project. If I could restart this quarter I would definitely try and contribute some more to the group, rather than completing my tasks and letting the others figure out there, which then as a result would speed up the process and increase my work ethic. I would say the take away lesson from all this is that everyone has their own talents, and a long road ahead to perfecting them, so it's always better to have feedback from others but still be confident in your abilities. Next year I hope to keep progressing in the fields of animation and video production, and improve my flaws. This year has been a great learning experience for me, as well as a place for me to show off my skills and wind down and just enjoy my hobbies.
This week we have been working on designing a website with a program called Adobe Dreamweaver. We used an original html file and then added on to it, so the original and edited one look different from each other. The original file had a white background with black text and an image of a dog on the left side. Once we finished editing the CSS files of the original html file, we had major differences. In the edited html, we moved the dog over to the right side, and changed the background to black with the middle being an almost white color. We also played with the fonts and their height, and we linked the original html to the newer edited one. These pictures are from the live view of this website.
Contrast:
Contrast was used in this CSS style using colors. The backgrounds are opposite colors, so they contrast well. Also, The tan text contrasts the almost white background, adding to the contrast effect even more. The contrast is much more visible in the edited version than it is in the original html file.
Alignment:
Alignment was used in the edited html file with all the main text being aligned along the left. Also, the main heading and the subheading are right next to each other, with the main heading above the sub heading.
Repetition:
Repetition is used in the edited html file with all the text being one of two colors. The important headings and text are tan, and the poem is black. Also, the line height and spacing is the same throughout the poem.
Proximity:
Proximity is used in the edited html file with the relationship between the poem paragraphs being close together, and the headings being closer together. Also, the dog was moved to give help the layout more.
New Knowledge:
With this project, I have learned how to take an already existing html file and change it up to make it more unique. This project was fun in the fact that you could edit an existing html file and compare the changes to the original html file. Also, the checklist made things easier so overall this project was fun and easy.
My personality type is ENTP which I got as a result of taking the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Test. This sequence of letters shows that I'm flexible with new problems and tasks that I'm given, resourceful and able to create new solutions, smart in terms of reading other people, and bored easily by things repetitive or that stay the same. I quickly react to problems and I'm quick in turning from one interest to another, so I'm constantly experiencing new ideas and interests.
Famous People With The Same Personality Type:
Many people in the past have had the same personality type as I currently do, and some of those include Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Niccolo Machiavelli. All of these people experienced the same sort of thoughts or behavioral patterns as I have. But, a few people who are considered evil have also had the same personality type. For example Mao Zedong, or the Dictator of Communist China also has the same type of personality type as I do.
My Personality Animal:
After I took the Lion/Otter/Golden Retriever/Beaver Test I added up all my points and came to the conclusion that fall into the "Beaver" category. The beavers are very organized and quick thinkers, and they value creativity and respect. But their weakness is pressure by others and trying too hard to be perfect. This category suits me quite well because I believe it aligns with my strengths as well as my interests.
My Thoughts On My Personality Type:
I Believe this personality type does actually represent me very well, and it has helped me realize some of my own thoughts and behavior as well. For example, I believe that I do overthink things and that I tend to stick to a certain type of group of friends. This personality type shows that I have the capabilities to lead a team or stay on task and follow the lead of others, and I have learned that it's good to be prepared and that I can be rather flexible and resourceful if I need to be.
Recently we have been working on a project that attempts to make moving from one place to another more entertaining. We used different techniques such as adding obstacles and different angles to make the movement more enjoyable to watch. We used Ipads and tripods to record the scenes, and Adobe Premiere Pro to put them all together into a sequence of events. This project took roughly 1 week to fully complete both recording and editing.
How We Completed This Project:
We completed this project by separating different tasks and taking each task a step at a time. We first began by splitting up the work between 4 different people, since we worked in small groups on this project. After we determined the director, main actor, side actors, and cameraman, we began story boarding to put together a simple story taking place in the school where a student had to travel from one point to another. We came up with many ideas but we decided on this one revolving around hot pockets because it seemed the most unique of the ones we came up with. Then, we spent the next two days filming various scenes, trying to keep many of the constants the same. Once we were finished with the filming we hopped on the computers and began editing using Adobe Premiere Pro. We added quick cuts, zooms, and other various effects that we needed. The music we used in our film is a few songs we picked from a long list of royalty free songs. After the video was completely edited we exported it and uploaded it to our youtube channels to be viewed.
New Ideas and Possible Changes:
During the making of this film, I learned many new techniques to spice up movement to make it less dull and boring. Obstacles are a must in films to add anticipation and action, and I have learned that now. If I were to do this whole project over again I would film a few scenes different, and have less clips but have them be longer rather than having a lot of short clips so they could all fit together more smoothly.
Recently we have started a project where we demonstrate the process of printing a document at Olathe Northwest, adding comedic affect to show the confusion some highschoolers might have when first attempting to print a document. The project was completed using Ipads on tripods, and the video editing application known as Adobe Premiere Pro. The project was split into 3 parts, the planning/storyboarding, shooting, and editing. Overall this project took roughly 2 weeks.
Process Behind The Project:
When we first began this project, we brainstormed potential locations and stories with a partner. Once we set the storyboards and scouted an area suitable to film, we grabbed our equipment such as the tripod and Ipad. My partner and I decided to shoot the scenes in the library, which took several takes with us maneuvering the tripod into other locations. One of the major points of this project was to use each of the 6 basic shots and the rule of thirds to draw in the viewer. In all the shots we took I was the actor playing the part of the confused student whereas my partner filmed the scenes. Many parts were trimmed to keep the story short and simple. Background music was added to fit the theme of the story and audio from the video itself was cut to make the video even more simple.
Confusion and Correction:
There are many things that I believe could be changed and made better throughout our video. This was the first time my partner and I used the tripod, leaving us confused on how to properly center the Ipad and keep the shot balanced. If I were to do this project again I would redo the beginning scene since it was wobbly and unbalanced. Also I would trim a few other clips such as the scenes where I move the mouse across the screen. Overall the project was relatively simple, with many of the tasks not requiring much work. Also, I have had experience with filming and video editors before so the project was easily manageable.
