filming the music video

Over our Thanksgiving break we filmed our music video. From Tuesday after school November 26th to Friday morning November 29th we all had family in town. Due to this we were unable to film any of these days. Michael and I did most of the organizing when we were going to film. On Saturday November 30th Jontae and Edgardo could not film because they had basketball. On Sunday December I was at to the Dolphins game so we could not film that day either. Therefore, Friday was our only chance to film. Fortunately all of our families left earlier on Friday and we were able to film later in the day. We all agreed on a time and met at the Galleria mall. I ran a little late so we didn't film at the exact time we wanted however overall our communication was much better than last week which allowed us to film.

The actual filming process went very well. Similarly to the commercial I conducted a majority of the filming while my group mates were actors. I took multiple shots for each scene to insure we had good footage. The scooter scene took us a while as finding a scooter proved to be our biggest obstacle. Once we finally found scooters we still had to download the app for it which took longer than we had expected. Once we finally had them moving we took a lot of shots of us riding because it was blurry at some points. We also, surprisingly, struggled to find a homeless person willing to be in our video. Eventually we were able to find somebody to give food to. 

Tomorrow in class we will begin the editing process. I already have some experience from the commercial which will make for a far simpler process than during the commercial editing. Despite facing computer issues we are confident that we will complete all that we need to do. Throughout the course of planning and filming we learned a valuable lesson which was communication is key. Due to our great communication over break we were able to film the video and. I'm very excited to see how this video turns out. Now that the filming is complete editing is all we have left. Although we came across a couple problems while filming we found our way around them and were able to get our footage. Overall we had a very successful filming process.

Filming the Music Video

Now that we have completed our storyboard and planning of the music video the next task we need to complete is filming. Unfortunately this weekend my group and I were unable to film. This was because both Jontae and Edgardo had practice and could not film. Additionally, I was at a funeral on Saturday and Sunday and could not film. Tomorrow during class we will talk and decide when we are going to begin filming our commercial. This will most likely take place during this upcoming week while we are on Thanksgiving break. Moreover we will discuss the logistics of the day or days in which we are going to film the music video. This includes the time and place where we will meet and what parts of the video we will film.

Once we decide when and where we are filming we need to get the equipment to film. All of the materials we need in order to film are available for us to check out to film out of school. This includes the camera, a tripod, and an SD card. We needed to do this as all of the filming for the music video needed to be done outside of school. I will most likely be responsible as I am going to focus primarily on filming while my group mates focus on acting. This is similar to what we did during the commercial project and we felt it worked well last time. Therefore, since we remained in the same group we also decided to maintain our same general roles during the film making process.

On the day we begin filming we are going to meet at our first location. This is going to be at the Galleria Mall where a lot of our scenes takes place. After I film my group mates here, doing things such as dancing in front of a car, we will move to our second location. This is going to be at the beach where I will film a few more shots of Jontae, Michael, and Edgardo. If this plan does not work we have a back-up plan. Rather than meeting at the Galleria and filming there we can meet up at Hagen park on Wilton drive. This is easy because it is also very close and easily to get to for all of the members in our group.

Storyboard for Music Video

1. In the first shot it’s a tracking shot of three people in a car as the song starts. They are all wearing hats and chains. And the setting is a sunny day at the Galleria Mall.
2. In the second shot the three people inside of the car are listening to the song as the car is  parked. This is a medium shot.
3. The three people get out of the car and begin walking. This is a tracking shot as it follows them walking. 
4. The three people are walking around a nicer area of the mall where there is a nice car which they can be seen reacting to.
5. Then the start taking pictures in front of the car. Additionally they can be seen dancing around the car to the song.
6. Then they begin using props such as money while they continue hanging out around the car 
7. Then there is a jump cut to a shot of the three people riding Lime scooters in the beach on a nice, sunny day.
8. The three of them can then be seen having a good time at the beach, laughing and talking to each other.
9. After spending time at the beach the three people can be seen getting in the car about to drive away.
10. They go to McDonalds and go inside to get something to eat.
11. After leaving McDonalds they can be seen driving away
12. The last shot is of the three people giving the food they got at McDonald’s to a homeless person.

Planning for music video

1. For our location we will be filming at the Galleria Mall and the beach. We chose to film here because it is a nice area and everyone is able to meet up at this location. In case this doesnt work we are going to meet up at Hagen park on Wilton drive because it is also very close and easy to get to.


2. For our Health and Saftey we will make sure to buckle up when driving, be aware of surroundings, and make good decisions. We will also make sure no one has food allergies to insure saftey. By doing this we will be safe and have no problems during the filming process.


3. The props we will be using in this video is a car in which we will dance in front of  and lean on. We will also carry money and show it off as a prop. The final prop is food, in the music video Drake is seen giving homeless people food. We are using the car and money to show that we are on the up rise and doing good.

4. The costumes that we will wear when we are filming is a gold chain and hats. We are dressing this way because in the Gods plan music video they dress like that.


5.  The schedule that we will be following is next class 11/20 we will story board for the video. On 11/24 we will film our music video at the given location. On 11/26 we will dump our footage on to the computer and begin the editing process. It is then Thanksgiving break we get back on 12/2 and the next class period is 12/3 we will then finish editing and be done that day. The due date is 12/9 so we will have two class periods to fix anything we did not like and will perfect it and turn it in.

Music video intro

Last class we finished the editing of our commercial and submitted the final commercial to our teacher. Now we are beginning our second project. This project is a music video which we will have to work on primarily out of class. Today in class we have to decide on our group for the project as well as the song we want to use in the music video. My group and I from the commercial project are remaining in the same group for the music video. We felt as if we worked well together on the first project and feel like our music video can only be better now that we know more about the production process.

When choosing the song it was a difficult choice. Two of our teammates were not here and were not answering the phone. Jontae preferred songs from the rap genre and Michael preferred songs from the pop genre. We looked through lists of the top songs and had different opinions. We finally found a song we all enjoyed we agreed on "Gods plan" by Drake. We all like Drake and Gods plan is a mixture of pop and rap. It falls under the genre of pop-rap which was perfect. It has a very catchy beat and the lyrics are well written. I texted the other group members and they finally answered and agreed with our choice. Gods Plan is the perfect song for our group.

We started doing more research on the genre and learned a lot. The costumes that are usually seen in the pop-rap genre are comfortable stylish outfits with jewelry. The lighting usually seen in this genre is bright and uplifting. The acting in this genre is cool, not too much like pop but not too much like rap it's somewhere in the middle. The makeup in the genre is nothing crazy, it looks natural. The props in this genre varies on what song but cars are usually used as a prop. The setting that is commonly used by the pop-rap genre is usually around a city area or in a house in a neighborhood not like the suburbs or an abandoned place. The genre has a similar sound it's a good beat with not too much rap but not too much pop. The editing in these videos are not too complex and are pretty basic.

Editing Blog

Today in class we were able to access pinnacle studios which allowed us to begin editing. I initially gathered all of the footage which I previously moved into my google drive. I created a folder on the new laptop which had pinnacle studios and moved all of the footage into it. This allowed me to import the clips into pinnacle studios. Once the footage was imported into pinnacle studios I looked through all of the clips we had from our two days of filming. Then I chose which ones I thought were the best takes and I began putting them together to make our commercial. I put all of the clips we needed in the full commercial in order by following our storyboard. This began with a wide shot of somebody running on the track and then him drinking gatorade. Then I transitioned into the two-shot of people dribbling a basketball and then them drinking gatorade. Finally there is a close of of somebody slamming a gatorade bottle.

Then I shortened each clips to only include what we wanted in our commercial. I did this by cutting one clip into different clips and deleting the parts we did not want to use. Then we had to incorporate some transitions between shots. I went through the list of different transitions and chose the ones which my group and I decided were the best. These transitions included a dissolve, a wipe, and a fade in. For example, we used a wipe to transition into the two-shot of people drinking gatorade. Moreover, when going from the track to people playing basketball I used a fade. Then I added a title slide at the beginning of the commercial which said gatorade. I did this by putting the slide in track one rather than in track two with the rest of our footage.

Additionally, I put a basketball moving across the screen towards the end of the commercial. This was after we had already seen the two-shot of people playing basketball in the commercial. The way this was done was by turning the shot of people drinking gatorade into a basketball. This basketball then bounced away as somebody slammed the gatorade bottle. Then I had to add some sound effects to our commercial. I did this by adding the audio into the third track on pinnacle studios. This was because the first track was designated for title slides and the second track was specifically for our footage. The only sound I added was at the end when there was a close up of a gatorade bottle being slammed.

Editing the commercial

Today during class we completed filming for our commercial. I initially gathered all the materials we needed to film. This included the tripod, camera, and SD card as well as the pass we needed to leave class. Then we went to the gym to get a Gatorade bottle and basketball that we needed as part of our commercial. I was the person who filmed a majority of the shots. This began with me filming a two-shot of Jontae and Edgardo dribbling a basketball. In order to do this I first set up the tripod and camera so that we could begin filming. Then I started and stopped the camera while the two of them dribbled their basketballs. I took about three takes of this scene so that we had a few options in the editing process in case one shot was not good.

I then filmed the scene of the two of them drinking Gatorade which was a medium shot. I filmed them doing this scene multiple times in case we couldn’t hear them saying their lines. Finally, I refilmed the final scene that I took last class of the close up of a Gatorade bottle. Once we completed our filming I packed up the camera and tripod and went back to class. I returned all the materials we used to film other than the SD card we needed for dumping our footage. I got the SD card reader and and I dumped the footage from our SD card onto the computer. I moved all our footage into the same folder as our footage from last class.

Then I had to move our footage into either a flash drive or our google drive. Since nobody in our group had a flash drive I used my google drive to store all our footage from our two days of filming into google drive. Then I shared it with the rest of the group in case I was not in class on a day that the group needed to access the footage. Unfortunately I could not complete any editing today. This was due to the fact that the computer took a long time to upload the footage from our SD card. In addition pinnacle studios was not working so even if I was able to get the footage onto the computer it would not have been possible for me to edit. Now that all of the filming is completed we just have to complete the editing process next class barring any technological issues.

Filming the Commercial

Today during class we filmed most of our Gatorade commercial. I began by gathering all the materials our group needed to film the commercial. This included the camera, sd card, and tripod. We then went to the track to film the first part of the commercial. I set up the tripod and put the camera on it. Then I recorded Michael running on the track. We filmed this part of the commercial a few times all of which I filmed.

Then I moved the tripod to the other part of the track to film the next part of the commercial. Michael said his lines while I filmed. We had multiple takes of this part of the commercial. Finally we filmed the last part of our commercial. I took a close up shot of the gatorade bottle. Once we filmed what we could for the day we had to go back to class to dump our footage. I closed up the tripod and put it away in its bag. Then I removed the sd card from the camera and put it in its bag.

When we got back to class I returned all of the materials we had used to film except for the sd card. This was so that we could still use it to dump or footage. I got the sd card reader and put it in the computer with the sd card. Then I looked back in my notes to find out which folder our footage would be in on the sd card. Then my group and I looked over our footage to see how it came out. Once we finished watching the footage I created a folder and Michael dumped the footage into it.

Storyboard

• Wide shot: Athlete running on a track
• Long shot: Athlete drinking Gatorade 
• Two-shot: Two people playing basketball 
• Medium shot: People drinking Gatorade 
• Close-up: of a Gatorade bottle
• Tracking: following the athlete running in the track
• Dissolve: transition from track to people playing basketball
• Reaction shot: Somebody reacting to another person drinking water rather than Gatorade

Editing Lesson Blog

Today in class we learned the procedures for getting a camera, filming, and editing. When filming we need to make sure to take good care of the materials provided by our school. These include cameras, tripods, and SD cards. When using these materials there is a specific set of rules we need to follow. For example, when we are using a tripod it is important to remember that we can not walk around with the tripod unless it is closed. Moreover, we must take the camera off the tripod when moving around. These guidelines are important in insuring the materials are taken care of. The cameras we are using also help for specific kinds of filming. With the cameras we are using to film it is easy to shoot hand held shots as the camera is small and compact.

For editing we are going to be using pinnacle studios. Every class we edit our group needs to use the same computer as our footage will save on that specific computer. The first step in the editing process is to take everything we filmed and import it into pinnacle studios. To do this we need to use an SD card reader to move our footage into our folder on the desktop. When the SD card comes up on the computer we have to go into the folder titled DCIM to access our footage. If this does not work then we will go into the folder titled private> AVCHD > next folder> stream and all the footage from the camera should be here. Then we must drag the desired footage into the folder on our desktop. This is known as dumping. Once we do this we need to return the SD card readers to the bin. Then, once pinnacle studios is opened, we have to click import>my computer >desktop and go to our folder that the footage is dumped in and select what footage we want to import.

Once everything is imported to pinnacle studios we can begin editing our raw footage. There will be three separate tracks. The first track will be used for titles as it over laps the second track, this is not required and may be left empty. The second track will be used for our footage even if we aren’t using any titles in the first track. The last track is meant for sound, this can be especially important when adding in a voiceover. We also learned how to delete a clip from a piece of raw footage. We first have to go to the spot where we want to cut the footage and click the razor blade icon. This will split one clip into two separate clips. This allows us to isolate a specific clip and delete it without losing the rest of the footage. Additionally, we were taught how to edit audio. For example if you want to remove the audio from a clip you right click the clip and chose detach audio. This removes the audio from the clip and makes it its own file in track three which we can delete or move. This allows us to do voiceovers as we can detach and audio clip and delete the footage and then move the audio to where we want it.

Planning Blog for Gatorade Commercial

Today in class Michael, Edgardo, Jontae, and I planned for our commercial. Our group decided on our props, costumes, schedule, locations, and back-up plan. Our Gatorade commercial will start at the track where I am running and after sip Gatorade. We then go to the middle area of the bus loop where Edgardo and Jontae are dribbling a basketball and stop Jontae pulls out a water bottle and Edgardo pulls out his Gatorade and they both drink.

Props-

• Water bottle
• Gatorade bottle
• Basketball

Costumes-

• Headband
• Athletic gear

Schedule-

• Today (10/10) we are planning for our commercial
• Next class (10/14) we will storyboard
• Then we will complete filming by 10/21
• Editing will be done by 10/23

Location List-

• Track: Somebody will be running around the track
• Bus loop: Somebody will be dribbling a basketball

Back-up plan-

• Running up stairs or around the school indoors

Research Conventions and Codes

Today my group, Michael, Edgardo, Jontae and I, decided on Gatorade as the product for our commercial. We all like to participate in sports and use gatorade to refuel by replenishing athletes electrolytes. Electrolytes are a substance that produces an electrically conducting solution when dissolved in water. When the human body is low on electrolytes some affects can be, irregular heartbeat, weakness, bone disorders, twitching, change in blood pressure, confusion, seizures, and numbness. It is very important to insure you have a good amount of electrolytes in your body so you don't feel the affects shown above. That's why a drink like Gatorade is very important and should be advertised as much as it is.

This same idea of "refueling" is present in gatorades commercials as gatorade shows people drinking gatorade after working out or playing a sport. The people seen drinking gatorade are usually famous athletes to show viewers that even the best athletes in the world drink gatorade. For example in gatorades commercial with Michael Jordan the brand claimed that people should "Be Like Mike Drink Gatorade." In addition to Jordan athletes like JJ Watt and Serena Williams can be seen in different Gatorade commercials. The common theme in all these commercials is that these athletes are telling viewers they can be like them by drinking gatorade, using their likeness to convince the audience to drink gatorade. 



These commercials often take place in gyms or on fields where the athletes are working out or where they would perform their respective sport. Like Dwayne Wade working out in a Gym or JJ Watt on a football field. In the commercials music is often playing that people may commonly use to work out. Additionally the ending is always the same, viewers favorite athletes drinking gatorade.

Introductory

My name is Fulvio. I am a junior at Fort Lauderdale High school, and despite never studying I would consider myself a good student. My favorite subjects are math and science and this year I am taking AP calculus and AP biology. In addition to these classes I participate in extracurricular activities which often control my schedule even when I am not in school; especially when I find myself spending every other Saturday at debate competitions an hour away from my house.

Outside of school I like basketball and football. I have had football season tickets to the dolphins for the past five years and while I do enjoy going to every game, the dolphins are horrible and there is not much to watch for. Luckily, Miami is not as bad at my other favorite sport, basketball, so Heat games are a great way to forget about the struggles of being a football fan in Miami. Moreover, my friends and I often play pick-up games of basketball whenever possible which helps demonstrate my love of sports.

The primary quality I would use to describe myself is my love for my family. I value family above everything and everybody who knows me has heard all about my family. Every Sunday my family comes together at my Nonna's (grandma's) house where we all have lunch. Some of my best memories are from Sundays with my family and I could not see my life being any other way.