Editing for Music Video

Today in class Maya and I got a lot done. We successfully edited the first half of our music video. We are glad we get part of next class to edit. However, there were some complications with the program. The program was quite slow. Even though we knew what we wanted, it did take quite a while to load. But that did not stop us. While things were loading, we were able to say again what we wanted to do. We wanted slow motion for one part of the video but it was not working. So, we had to improvise and try something else.

When we started editing, we first imported all of the takes we had. From here, we looked through them. But we did it part by part. We started off with the first clip we had to do. It was 5 seconds according to our storyboard.  So we took the best 5 seconds from the take we liked the most. When we did this, we also had to think of transitions. The transitions take up time from the film. Due to this, we had to put in a clip, do the transition, and then put in the next clip. We only realized this when we had 30 minutes left of class, so we had to fix everything.

When we were done fixing the clips, we were quite proud of the beginning of our film. We have about one fourth left to do. Next class we will have about an hour to put together everything finally. We just need to add some of the end clips that are mentioned in our storyboard. Also, we need to perfect our transitions. Along with this, we need to make sure each clip lines up with the lyrics from the music. But, with the amount of work Maya and I put in, it will be a breeze. I am only worried about how long it will take to export the film and send it in to Mr. Katz.  Maya and I are learning a lot from Pinnacle Studios, and believe we are doing a great job so far.

Filming for Music Video - Future

Maya and I filmed before the break occurred. Therefore, we did not have to film for Thanksgiving break. We did it this way, because Maya was going out of town over the break. So we knew we had to film beforehand. It still turned out okay. We believe our music video will piece together perfectly. Since we did not film this weekend, we did other things. We planned out how we would fix our clips to make them into the music video. I communicated with Maya using my cell phone. While she was enjoying her break, we got to discuss our music video so we could make it as good as possible.

We did this so that we did not completely waste the break. Since we got so many days off of school we wanted to make use of it. So we planned out how we were going to do everything from this point. We get two full class days to edit our music video. It is due by the end of the second day. We think we will be done in about one class day and a half. We think this because we have it envisioned in our head what we want. Maya and I will be very focused to achieve our goals. If we finish early, it will give us more time to export the video. The exporting process can vary in length, so it is best if we get it done with spare time rather than have it done with no spare time.

All in all, I believe Maya and I are ready for the editing process. Not filming this weekend gave us time to think about what we need to do to reach our deadlines. We are very efficient workers so I believe we can finish before the deadline. Also, our editing skills have improved since last time. We now know how to properly work Pinnacle Studios. Because of this, I believe our editing process will be shorter than last time. The only thing we have to do is make sure our transitions make sense. Also, our song has to be on key with the film itself. I feel like that will be a challenge. But with a lot of perseverance, I believe we can get it done.

Filming for Music Video - Finished

Today, Maya and I finished filming our music video. While it was a pretty tiring process, I feel like we got good clips. Maya and I believe our music video will turn out great. We have to edit it after break. As for the filming process, I mainly filmed while Maya acted. I was in some clips, but it was mainly Maya. We didn't like the idea of switching characters in a music video, but we also wanted to include each other. We mainly filmed at Maya's house.  Another location we had was the beach. We used Maya's road, bedroom, and kitchen.

We started off filming in the kitchen even though our first part of the video is on the beach. We did this so that we didn't have to keep going back and forth. We also planned to go to the beach at sunrise so we could not film that part at 8:00 P.M. In the kitchen we made the setting look like we were making cookies. We laid out eggs, flour, sprinkles, cookie dough, and a bowl to hold it all. We took a couple of takes. They varied from me alone, Maya alone, and both of us together. We did this so we could see which we liked better and if there should be another individual in this scene. From here we messed around with the dough to make it look like we were rolling the dough into balls to form cookies. 

After this we took shots containing me placing the pan in the oven, checking on it, and me taking it out of the oven. From here we decided I would be in these shots so it stays even for this scene. After the cookies cooled down, I ate one and threw the Santa hat at the screen so i could use it for transition. In the next shot I took the the hat and put it on. After this, Maya and I took the shots at the beach before sunrise. We took a couple of Maya walking towards the water and back. When the sun was rising, we took some more, and we placed the hearts in the water and let it wash away. We picked up the hearts after because we did not want to pollute the water. From here, we went home and took shots of Maya in her bed. She cuddled with her dog as a "true lover". Then she "woke up" and the dog was not there anymore, indicating she was alone. This concluded our filming process.

Storyboard for Music Video

For the music video our costumes will consist of Santa hats and red/white clothing to represent Santa Clause and bring the Christmas Spirit. For lighting, we are going outside during the sunrise to introduce the beginning of the day. We are also going to film close to midnight when it is darker. This portrays happiness versus loneliness. As for the actors, Maya and I will have to be joyful and high spirited at times, but at other times we will be sad as loneliness takes over. We would also have to keep cozy and make it look like we are having a great time. For makeup, Maya and I will wear red lipstick, since on Christmas that is what females wear. We might put on light gold eye shadow along with bold eyeliner and mascara. To get in the Christmas spirit, we will include stockings, a Christmas tree, ornaments, a gingerbread house, milk and cookies, and candy canes for the props. Lastly, for the scene, it will take place on the boardwalk leading to the beach, signifying a lonely path. We will also film on the road outside of her house as another lonely path. Finally, we will film in her living room by a fire pit to keep warm and her couch.

For the editing, I do not think it will be that difficult. Maya and I practiced on the last project together. From this we are more educated on the application Pinnacle Studios. For the editing process, we will need to cut out many clips. For instance, if we are both in a scene, we will need to cut out the part where we place the camera down on the tripod. While editing, we also need to look at the time. Our music video has to be 1:05-1:15 minutes long. We are not allowed to go under or above that time. For this, our storyboard has to have about 5-6 seconds per box. Lastly, we will need to add transitions to make our video more smooth.

For the sounds, Maya and I will not speak at all. As it is a music video, the music will be the only thing playing in the background. The only thing I am worried about is actually being on beat with the music. As it may be a challenge, Maya and I will still succeed and do our best to stay on key. We will not use any additional sound effects. We decided to use the time frame of 1:00-2:10. The reason for this is because from 0:00-0:59, there wasn't enough detail. We felt that 1:00-2:10 had the most detail in the lyrics, and it was perfect for our music video. 

Planning for Music Video

Maya and I plan to film the music video for "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande at Maya's house. We plan to utilize her backyard with a bridge to the beach, inside of her house by the chimney, her kitchen, and the road outside of her house. A problem we may face is rainy weather. Since we live in Florida, it tends to be rainy during this time of the year. Due to this, our solution would be to look at the weather forecast in advance to predict when we would be able to film that part of the music video. Part of our music video consists of the following hazards: a fire in the chimney, usage of a vehicle, and bridges. These are dangerous to come across, but I think that Maya and I are responsible enough to not mess around when coming into contact with that. As for the props we are using, they are mainly Christmas related. These consist of candy canes, hot chocolate, a mistletoe, gingerbread cookies, stockings, and lastly milk with cookies. We are also going to use a calendar to mark of the days until Christmas and New Year's in the video. Along with this we are using Maya's dog to represent our "true love". For our costumes, we plan on using a Santa hat along with red and white clothing, or any Christmas related clothing, to fully bring the Christmas spirit into the video. During this class, we are working on story-boarding as well as this blog. Next class, we plan to finish story-boarding as well as blogging for the storyboard. To add on, this weekend Maya and I plan to complete our filming process. Although it has not started yet, I plan to spend the night at her house so we can get night shots as well as day shots. Because of this, we can use future classes after this weekend to edit our video. We can also write the blogs needed.

Introduction to Music Video

Finally, Maya, Freya, and I have finished our commercial. From this experience, we have learned an vast range of new things. We learned how to use Pinnacle Studios. However, this time around, I am solely working with Maya instead of Maya and Freya. The reason for this is because we feel like Freya did not put in as much effort as Maya and I did. From the commercial, I learned how to use the storyboard to my benefit. By using the storyboard, it kept us on track with the filming process. Yet, I still need to improve my editing skills as it was a choppy process, due to the lack of knowledge we had on the program. But, making the music video allows us to reuse this program and do better this time around.

Maya and I chose the song "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande. We chose this song because we both love the holiday Christmas. We felt that it was a good time to use this song, as December is approaching. This song is about Ariana's love for the holiday, and wishing she had her loved one with her on Christmas. She expresses herself by stating that she hopes next Christmas she will have her loved one with her and she won't be alone.

"Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande is the Christmas Songs genre. The conventions of Christmas songs are meant to bring winter vibes and jolly feelings. This is accomplished through shots and angles at medium close up, extreme close ups, high angles, and wide angles. The medium close up is for detailed feelings shown on the actor. The extreme close ups can be used for signs of emotion. High angles are used to show a different perspective to the actor. Lastly, wide angles are used to show the full image of what the actor sees along with the audience. This song has an array of jolly and upbeat Christmas music in the background, as most Christmas songs in celebration of the holiday do. This adds joyfulness to the music. To add, common editing ranges from the addition to red and gold colors to winter aspects such as snow flakes. 

1) For the costumes, in this genre they are mainly warm clothing that looks cozy. The reason for this is because Christmas is a chilly season, so it is very important to stay warm.

2) For the lighting, it is typically dimly lit as it takes place outside while the sun is blocked by the clouds, causing outside to be cold. This lighting portrays a cozy feeling, rather than a suspenseful one.

3) For the actors, they have to seem joyful and relatable, because then the audience is able to connect to this feeling. Christmas is a very cozy holiday as it is cold, so the actors would have to keep the mood happy and light.

4) For the makeup, the females are typically wearing red lipstick, since the colors to Christmas are red/green, red/gold, or red/white. They are normally wearing heavy makeup which contains bold eyeshadow along with eyeliner and mascara.

5) For the props, to get in the Christmas spirit, most videos have stockings, a Christmas tree, ornaments, a gingerbread house, milk and cookies, and candy canes. This is to bring the Christmas spirit in the house, and to make the video feel more like Christmas.

6) For the scene, it will most likely take place somewhere in the snow, or by a fireplace to bring a cozy feeling. The video either consists of coldness, warmth, or a mixture of both. 

Editing for Commercial - Finished

Today in class, we were able to start the editing process. My partner Maya got the laptop for us and signed in under her username. Freya and I were discussing what we could do. I got the jump drive from my backpack. When the computer loaded, we plugged in the jump drive. Maya then opened Pinnacle Studios. Thankfully it was working this class. We opened the documents folder. When Pinnacle Studios was opened, Maya went on Edit Mode. From here, we started the real process.

We imported all six of our clips. This equaled up to 30 seconds. However, we decided against using one clip. The reason for this is because it didn't look too well. When we filmed it we thought it looked good but apparently not. From here we started cutting pieces of the clip off to make it look better. Maya added in some transitions to make it smoother. The further we got the more we got to learn about Pinnacle Studios. It was a very good learning experience. However, Freya had to leave midway.

When Freya left it was only Maya and I left doing the editing. We decided it was okay though as we were almost done. We watched our video over about 5 times to determine if it was okay. We still ended up taking out some parts. Our commercial started with the establishing shot. We had 4 of these, but 3 had a pole in them. Hence, we used the one that did not have the pole. Maya and I were content with this. Our commercial is about 25 seconds long, and it came out better than we expected for our first time. Although it was hard sometimes, this was a very fun learning experience.

Editing for Commercial - Unable

Today in class we were assigned to either continue filming or edit our clips. My partners and I decided to edit our blog, because we finished filming our clips. Last class, we had already imported the clips onto the computer. It saved by the account login. We placed all of our clips in one folder so we don’t lose them. When looking back on the clips, we noticed some were blurry and some were even in slow motion. The setting on the camera hadn’t been adjusted beforehand. We concluded that it didn’t look too bad, in fact it looked pretty cool. From here, we watched all of the clips. We deleted some and kept some based on our likes.

At the end, we still had some extra clips. However we couldn’t decide at that moment which we wanted to keep and which we didn’t need. They were just too close to call, since there were qualities of each take that we liked. Even though there were three people in the group and the third should be the decider, there were sometimes three or four different clips to choose from. Freya moved all of our clips from the folder to a jump drive. While doing this, we came to a final decision on which take for each scene we wanted. When the clips were saved on the jump drive, we kept it plugged in so our edits would stay with it. However, while opening Pinnacle Studios, we noticed it wasn’t on the computer. This led to us concluding we could not edit today. Hence, we would be able to edit and merge our clips together another day.

All in all, I believe our editing process will run smoothly. Our filming process was quite easy, as I was the one who filmed and they were the actors. There were small distractions in our takes. Some were more frequent than others because there were other students trying to film their takes too for their commercial. We tried to take the clips that had the least people in the background. Along with this, there were other balls being thrown in the background and other runners. For the establishing shot, we were hoping to only get the football field without the students. But we soon realized that was near impossible. Freya, Maya, and I discussed important editing techniques we can use when Pinnacle Studios is up. I hope next class we are able to edit our takes to make it into the commercial.

Filming for Commercial

In my opinion, the filming process wasn’t that difficult. Of course we haven’t edited the clips and adjusted everything, but just having takes was easy. We repeated each box of our storyboard about 3 times until we got a clip we were happy with. We started off filming with the establishing shot. For this we went up on the bleachers. We then opened the tripod and attached the camera to it. From here, we practiced the settings on the camera, making sure it was how we liked. We did a pan of the football field, demonstrating that was where the commercial was taking place. Each of us did one, so we could see which perspective we liked more when editing. From there, we closed the tripod and held the camera while heading over to the football field.

At the football field, we decided who would catch and throw the football. Maya and Freya alternated throwing and catching the football, while I filmed. Finding all of the proper angles wasn’t too difficult for me. After the football shot, we took shots of the football being taken out of the sports bag. Freya did this because she was one of the people throwing and receiving the football. It took about 4 shots to get a take we liked. Putting the camera in the bag was a bit tricky because it kept closing which meant it turned off. Eventually we got it and were successful. The next shot we took was the one in which it had the Gatorade bottle over the camera. We repeated the steps, and after 5 tries we were successful.

From here, we opened back up the tripod. We then attached the camera to the tripod, and angled it properly. While Maya was helping me adjust the camera, Freya was going to drink the Gatorade on camera. We then recorded Freya drinking the Gatorade, having her take small sips since we didn’t know how many takes we needed. When we were finally happy with the clip, we were done with our commercial. After this we went back to our classroom and started dumping our footage from the SD card onto the computer. At this point we wanted to review our footage and see what we liked and what we didn’t. However, there wasn’t enough time in class. Hence, we only uploaded the footage and reviewed some of it. Today’s class was efficient and hard working, and we had to pace out our time in order to complete what we had to.

Storyboard for Commercial

In class today, Maya, Freya, and I made the storyboard for our commercial. It was not that difficult to come up with, as we had already planned. However, we did remove the track part from our commercial. The reason for this is because we wanted it to be more focused on the product, Gatorade, rather than the sports. The first box contains an establishing shot of the football field, showing the viewer where the commercial takes place. It will be at a high angle. 

The second box shows the point of view from inside of the sports bag. Here one of us will take the football out of the bag, viewing from a trunk shot. This will be from a low angle. In the third box, the one who got the football is shown in a long shot as their full body will be shown. In the fourth box, the football will be thrown to another person, giving a wide shot. This will also demonstrate a pan.

In the fifth box, the person who previously got the football from the sports bag, goes back to the sports bag and grabs two Gatorade's. This shows a low angle and is from a trunk shot. In the sixth and last box, the person with the Gatorade's hands one off to the one who caught the football. Here, a wide shot is shown along with an eye-level shot. To show off the Gatorade product more, two different flavors will be shown to promote it.

Editing Blog Lesson

Today in class we learned how to set up the camera, how to dump our media onto the computer, and how to actually edit the footage we got from the camera on the computer. For the camera setup, you’re supposed to plug in the camera strap to charge it. In order to charge it, the camera needs to be turned off and the camera flap where you view the footage from needs to be closed. It takes a long time to charge, so it’s best to charge it about a couple of days before use. The cameras battery is very powerful, as it lasts very long. A button that is silver with a red line is used to start and stop a take. I learned that I should take as many takes as needed so that I can get more options for a successful shot. When using a tripod, you should take the plate off of the tripod (disconnect it) and then attach the camera to the tripod. The camera must be attached tightly and safely in order to allow to accidents during use. The tripod allows you to do tilt, pan, or oblique shots and angles. Lastly, I learned to always close the tripod even if moving a few feet to avoid any accidental trips or falls.

You have to use one login per group because the footage stays attached to the login. The footage will not stay on the computer. To start importing your media to the computer, you must first open pinnacle so that it loads up and is ready when the time comes. You must then create a folder. The folder should be named Comm (for commercial), or the topic of your commercial. Then you insert the SD card into the computer and look at the DCIM folder. The footage is in order of date and time, so it is easier to spot your media. If the media isn't located in that folder, you then go back to the beginning and go to the Private folder. Then you go to AVCHD, and click the next folder. From there, you will see a folder named Stream. Stream contains all of the footage on the SD card. Highlight the videos you need (from Stream or DCIM) and drag to the new folder. Once you're done, you just need to pull out the SD Card from the computer; no ejecting is needed.

From here, Pinnacle Studio is opened and ready for use. Make sure that the bar is not there, indicating green for done loading, yellow/orange for still loading, and red for unable to load. On the top tab, make sure it says Edit instead of Organize. Click Import on the top right area, go to Desktop, and click on the plus (+) sign. Look for the new folder (named Comm or commercial topic). The media should pop up. You can deselect and import whatever media is necessary, but make sure to get all of your footage onto the program. Click "Start Import". Build your media on the AV Track 2. Use AV Track 1 for Titles and Text and AV Track 3 for music and sounds. The vertical red line is called the play bar and you can drag it along the footage to get to a specific spot to make sure the media isn't blurry. You can delete media by clicking on it, hitting the split button, then clicking a certain clip and hitting backspace. When you right click on a clip and hit "Open Editors Effects", it has selections on effects, transitions, etc. You can right click on the track and detach audio. For titles, click the T and change font, color, size, etc. To export, you do file, save movie as, and then add it to your folder. Name the commercial your topic name, and then export as MPEG-4 on Full Size SD.

Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial

Today in class, Maya, Freya, and I worked on the "Research Blog Commercial Convention" and

the "Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial." We had to work on both of these blogs in one class

because we were all absent during the previous class. We all assumed we were going to be very

behind by this, but we did in fact catch up to the rest of the class. We completed the "Research Blog

Commercial Conventions." as well as the "Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial" which was due

today. Next class, we will be completing a storyboard which will allow us to put our thoughts down

on paper in the form of a picture. This will help us figure out minor details and have a clear idea of

how we are going to construct and film our commercial. We will watch the video in class on how to

edit so we can take the details into consideration while filming.

Props that are a necessity for this commercial are a football, a sports bag, and at least two different

flavored Gatorade drinks. The reason we want two different kinds, is because I believe it is good to

have a variety of the drink. It is good to allow viewers with different tastes to realize that they can

enjoy the tasteful drink as well. Another prop required is a football, because Freya and I will be

tossing it back and forth, indicating we are playing the sport and are soon in need for some Gatorade.

The last prop we need is a sports bag. This is only needed so we can take the Gatorade from the bag

and then consume the drink. As for the costumes, since Maya and I run track, we are just going to

wear those clothes because they are already athletic. For the commercial we just need to be wearing

athletic clothing so it shows after the workout our body is being replenished with the Gatorade.

For this commercial, we will be filming it on the Track and on the Football Field. The reason for this,

is because Maya will be running the track while Freya and I record. Oppositely, when Freya throws

me a football, Maya will record. However, if this plan does get ruined due to the weather, we have

come to the conclusion that we will change Maya's role of running track to a stair workout, which

would be covered because it is the stairs leading up to the media center. Freya and I would do an ab

workout in a classroom or covered area around the school. If a partner is absent, then we will have to

make do with what we have and only one person will throw the football and the other would have to

film. Accordingly, one of us would still be running the track as Maya and I are both able to run, while

the other person records the action.

Research Blog Commercial Conventions

Maya, Freya, and I chose Gatorade as our commercial topic. We all enjoy the loads of flavors the brand has to offer. We were intrigued to find out what made it one of the most popular drinks for athletes. All sports drinks contain water and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, but Gatorade adds certain flavors that people can't resist. During our research, we came across the fact that the sweet substance does include lots of sugar. However, this can help replace what is lost during the exercise, making the drink very likable to the population. Personally, since Maya and I both do track, we like to drink Gatorade before running, because it gives us an energy boost. I believe since we all have a liking to this drink, the three of us will work efficiently and diligently during this commercial.

Seeing the present Gatorade commercials, it inspires people to do better by the slogans they give. Some of the slogans currently are "Win From Within." "Is it in you?" "Be Tough." "No Excuses." "Shine On." and "Bring It." There are a lot of other slogans, however they are from past years. These might motivate some athletes to truly do better, be tough, and get their game on. Their techniques 

must be working, since they sell over 100 billion ounces of the beverage each year. Gatorade accounts for about 75 percent of sport drinks sales in the United States alone. Overall, the commercials are very moving for the United States to replenish themselves after sports activities.

JJ Whatt, Cam Newton, and Dwayne Wade are all well known athletes who were sponsored by a Gatorade commercial. They are usually portrayed training and give encouraging messages to the viewers. The messages range from how important it is for your health to stay hydrated, to the choices children make in or out of school. Gatorade doesn't only sponsor athletic individuals. All 32 NFL teams have been sponsored by the brand. The first celebrity endorser they had, Michael Jordan, was from the NBA rather than the NFL. He has now been partnered with Gatorade for over 32 years. All in all, Gatorade uses sport teams and athletes to promote their products in both their commercials as well as on the fields.

Introductory

I am Katelyn Pustam, a student enrolled in Fort Lauderdale High School's Pre-Law program. I am currently in 10th grade. I am apart of the Make a Friend Be a Friend program, taking AICE courses to get my diploma, and I run track for the after school track team. I really like being apart of the Make a Friend Be a Friend program, because it is a non profit organization. While the program used to be attached to the school, it is now basically an entirely separate organization. I am the press secretary under the executive department of the company, and I work with my best friend Leah Edwards during this time. My AICE classes have taught me the hard part of high school, but it shows me that I have to work harder each time and do better. Track allows me to stay in shape, but also enjoy what I'm doing. Throughout all three of these completely different tasks, I have made so many friends at my school.

My family are the most important people to me. I have two sisters, my mom, and my dad. My oldest sister is Sonali and she is 20 years old. She currently attends Florida State University, and she graduates in 2021. She is currently studying financing in the marketing section. My second sister, Mitali, is 18 years old. She recently graduated Fort Lauderdale High School, and is currently enrolled at the University of Florida. She is going to graduate in 2024, and she is studying financing in the business section. My mom and dad are both business owners of the Adobe Hacienda Motel, which is  very inspiring. My family is full of love and support for anything I do, and I'm so glad that they're always there for me as I will always be there for them.

The very rare days I'm not busy with track or homework, I love to hangout with my friends. My friends play a very important role in my life. They are always there to motivate and support me for anything I do. They make me happy and I appreciate them so much. This summer I was able to go back to Trinidad to see my cousins, and I made so many more friends while learning more about my culture. Personally, I enjoy learning about new cultures, as knowing about others beliefs and religions has always fascinated me. I've had friends I have known for about 10 years, and some I've known for about 2. I love them all equally, because they never fail to share their kindness and love with me.