1st semester final

Camera Assignment 1

This project was to get experience with the cameras we use in eComm. We were able to choose what we wanted to do for our project. My group chose to do a music video to a cover of New Light by John Mayer. We had a few weeks in total to complete this project including pre-production, production, and post production. Some challenges we faced were getting days to film that we were all free, so we had to do all of our filming in two days, and we struggled with getting our filming done before dark. I learned how to adjust the camera to accommodate the natural lighting we had, and how to make the video have a complete different mood with the use of lights and gels. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out.

Commercial

This project we were instructed to make a commercial either 15, 30, or 60 seconds. My group chose to go with 30 seconds, because many commercials are that length and we felt that would suit our product the best. It took about 3-4 weeks in total. Some challenges we faced were getting the clips without the actors laughing, and not having really windy audio. Along the way, I learned the important factors of a commercial. Feedback we were given was to change where the last shh goes. Overall, I am pretty happy with this video, but the audio levels could be better.

Short Film

This project was to write and create a short film. We each wrote a treatment for a short film and then we voted on which ones we would actually make. We spent about 4 weeks on this project. Sadly, we didn't have audio from our second day of filming, so we had to last minute turn it into a silent film. This definitely helped me learn the importance of audio and quadruple checking that we are recording the audio correctly. Overall, I am relatively happy with what we got out of it. Although, I am very sad that we didn't have the audio, because it would've been so much better and funnier. 

Classtime

I think I use class time very well. If I finished with something early, I made sure to ask my team if they needed help with anything they were working on. Then, keep going over what I have, and how to improve it. Even if I think I'm done, there's probably more I can do to improve a project. Outside of class I watch movies, documentaries, and videos to learn about video production.

Strengths and Weaknesses

I did not do any client work this semester, but I would love to start doing some. In class, I think my strengths lie in the visual factor of film. I love to visualize a script and make it come to life. I have improved a lot this year on working with cameras. I think I need to be educated more on recording audio correctly.

Guest Speakers

I learned a lot from the guest speakers we had this semester. Many things I'd never really thought about were touched on by Darby and Ryan especially, because I have less experience in those areas. I can apply many things they taught us when doing pre-production, setting up equipment, filming, and editing.

Feature Film

My role for the feature film is 1st AC. I know I will ensure that all the shots are in focus. When a shot isn't focused, I get very frustrated, so I will make sure we reshoot any that aren't crystal clear. I will also make sure each angle is visually appealing and follows every camera rule.

Summary

This semester was very fun. I loved spending time with my friends, and learning new things about video. My favorite project to do was the short film. Something I would do differently id try to get to know some people better, and talk to more people. My overall take-away is that you don't need amazing equipment to create something amazing. My goal for next semester is to have audio on all my projects. I have lots of fun in this class and many days is the best part of my day.