Genre Research

This is the genre project I did at the beginning of the year with my partners Sabrina and Rejoice. We picked a random genre. We got the genre dance and had to research it. We had to find some elements like the lighting, sound, camera movement, camera angles, and more. There were many movies that we had to look up under the dance genre. This project was very helpful because it showed us what a genre is. It will also help with the Final Task. 

Making our Pitch

On January 17, 2020, our group came together to discuss which pitch will be the main victor out of the three contestants. How our team decided to eliminate a pitch was by the amount of props that would be needed. Out of the three pitch ideas, only two remain so far. The pitch that got eliminated in the first round was "They say together until the end, but I say obsessed forever." The first pitch got eliminated because the idea came out to be too broad and the pitch would involve very few props. As a group, we thought that the right pitch needed to have just the right amount of props, not too little and not too much. As for the idea, the group rethought about the pitch and realized that it was too vague of an idea to be set in stone. The pitch brought in too many open doors and needed more details in order for the idea to be efficient. Since the success of the first elimination round, the numbers went down to two. Thus, two pitches remain but the only one can reign supreme. 

  At last, the group was able to narrow down to two pitches left. The pitch that came out as the runner-up was "Loyalty is like a knife stab through the heart." The pitch was not sufficient enough to be the lucky winner because the idea was way too similar to our main pitch and the idea was somewhat vague. The second pitch was supposed to be like a spy movie where there are two partners getting involved in a mission. The mission was to get a hold of a specific item but the partner ends up being the bad guy. To see if the pitch was going to be cut or not, the props that would be used was just the right amount. The main reason the pitch had to be cut was because the idea was too similar to another pitch our group came up with. Also, the pitch did have some details but was still lacking in some areas. In the end, their only remained one main pitch that would be crowned the winner. After eliminating two pitches, the group finally has the main idea that would be used for the final task. 

  From the beginning of the competition, three pitches were deemed to be candidates for the upcoming final task. Now, only one remains and that one became the lucky winner. The pitch the group decided to run with is "betrayal is like a bed of thorns... it leaves you bloody." This particular pitch was selected for the reason being it was perfectly detailed enough to start recording the scenes necessary. The props used for the pitch would be the right amount being not too little or too much. The pitch presents a kidnapping story where one of the victims is taken hostage for ransom and the friends of the victim are trying to track them down. Little did the friends know there was a traitor amongst the group who reported the finding to the kidnapper. When one of the friends arrives at the location the kidnapper knocks the friend unconscious. Overall, the pitch presented a clear picture of what each scene will portray which is one of the reasons why this pitch came out to be the winner. The group is in the process of figuring out the setting of the film, the costumes, and the props that will be used during production. 

Starting the Final Task

Hello, my name is Melshida. I am a Junior at Fort Lauderdale high school. Working on our commercial and music video has allowed me to be more creative. This class will be very interesting because I will be able to learn about the process it takes to make the film. A little about me is that I like to read. I also like to play instruments and try new things. I always try to be the best I can be. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. I also like to learn to cook more food. I love to watch Netflix. For the final task, I will be working with Sabrina and Rejoice since we have worked together before.

I have learned a lot from this class so far. I was able to use a camera with a tripod and this was something I had never done so it was fun to learn. I also learned the correct way to dump something onto the computer. Another thing that I learned was how to edit. This will help because I will know how to add effects I need to. Learning all of these skills will help me make the film. I now have more knowledge about how the camera works and I can now use more camera movement in the film. This will help it to look better and have an overall better outcome. I am excited to start working on the on our final task.

What is a Pitch? A pitch describes an idea where a film is summarized in 25 words or less. As a group, we came up with three different pitches to contribute to the final task.

Pitch #1: They say together until the end, but I say obsessed forever

Pitch #2: Loyalty is like a knife stab through the heart

Pitch #3: Betrayal is like a bed of thorns... it leaves you bloody

Editing

We started editing our video. First, we dumped our footage on the computer. Rejoice did most of the editing since we split it sections.  We made some clips longer to fit the time requirement. We started editing it by putting all our scenes because they were out of order. The first thing we edited was the footage as a whole. We wanted to make a scene where it goes back to the beginning at the end of the music video. That clip made the video longer. So far the music video is 50 seconds long. After editing that scene, we started to edit the first part of the video.

We will use a transition for the flashbacks to show it clearly. We wanted to make sure that we made it clear to the audience that not the whole video was not the same time period. There were some scenes that were hard to edit because they were not fitting correctly. We had to decide what shot to use for the movie scene to make it fit. We did not want to make it look out of place. There is one scene we will need to refilm because it did not turn out the way we wanted it to. The shot did not look like it would go with the music video. We still have some scenes to put in the music video so it will be longer.  Later on, the scenes that are missing will be added. The editing will continue, and we have some more things to do in order for this video to be finished. 

Some scenes will probably be switched to make the video make sense. We may have to shorten some of the clips we made longer depending on the new clips we add. Most of the scenes will use jump cuts. Since there is a cut off time for the song in the music video, we will fade the song to make it seem more natural. Even though there were really some bumps, I think we are off to a good start. We plan to put more transitions and to edit it more. We also plan to order the rewind scene. Today was a very productive day. Overall, I like how to music video is coming together. We will then export it when we are done.

Filming Continued

We did not film on Wednesday the day we had planned. We also did not film on Thursday because it was Thanksgiving. Since we decided that we were going to film in sections I filmed my scenes on Saturday. The scenes I filmed were the ones that did not have people in them since Sabrina would be filming those. I filmed someone eating popcorn. I got the props and started to film. The popcorn scene was not the hard to film, but it took some time. I had to figure out what shot would be best and how it would fit into the rest of the music video. I filmed a closeup of the popcorn. I also filmed the popcorn popping in the microwave. 

We will probably need to cut down the scene because it may pass the time of the lyrics. I filmed many different shots and angles for both scenes so we could choose from the best one. When filming it I tried to get a shot of the time to indicate it was cooking. It may not be put in because it made the scene long. I also filmed the movie scene. For the movie part I did not know how to film it at first. I later on figured that it would be best in a POV since the actor was not there. The POV of the actor watching a movie allowed me to film different angles. I did this in a POV since that actor was not present. This will either be in a pan or tilt.

I used different props then we planned because we changed the storyboard a little bit. The location is also different because I filmed at my house.We will decide what looks better when we film. Sabrina and I will look over the footage we filmed and combined them. Rejoice will start editing them. If we able to we will start to edit the clips we have tomorrow in class.We plan to film tomorrow for the school scene. If we are not able to we will have to change the scene. We need to get the prop for the stairs. So far, the music video is going well.

Filming Blog

We did not film this weekend. There was nothing filmed this weekend since everyone was busy. We decided that we will do it in parts since we could not meet up. It was very hard to find a day that worked for all of us because we have different schedules. We decided that it would be best if we did the music video in sections because no one had time to film. By doing it this way we are able to set a time that is available to us. It would also make our videos have a better outcome. We can take our time rather the rush to get it done. I'm now able to film on Saturdays with Sabrina. We had to change some of the storyboard to accommodate our filming days.

This has set us back a bit, but we have now made a better plan. I will film the parts that do not have people in them. Sabrina will film the other clips. We are going to use the same actor we planned. There are supplies that I will need to gather in order to film the music video. I am going to organize our material so we are ready for filming. ReJoice will be doing the editing since she can not film with us. We still plan on filming at school. We have a backup plan just in case so we are not able to film after school. If we do not get to film everything we will pick a day to film again.  

I want to make enough time just in case we have to refilm. The location has changed from the park to Sabrina’s back yard since her sister is the actor. We changed the slumber party scene to a movie scene. We also decided to film a close up of the popcorn instead of the person. The costumes are going to stay the same. The props are going to change because we decided to change the scene. We will no longer need to call stores to film because we are not going to need them since we removed the scene. There are a lot of things to be done. We need to start working soon if we want to finish the video and start editing. I’m excited to start filming the music video.

Music Video Storyboard blog

In the very beginning, the actor will be thinking about a flashback that will take place in the park. The following scene will be a flashback that will show two actors play fighting. This is followed up by one of the actors spilling water onto the other person. Both scenes are flashbacks of the same moment which will be portrayed within a split-screen. When the scene shifts from flashback to present, the actor will be hallucinating about that person seeing them everywhere. With a touch on the shoulder, the actor will snap back to reality. The next scene will show that every person that was being hallucinated about disappear.

Between the scenes going from flashback to present or vice versa, the transition will be jump cuts. Having the scenes go from a flashback to a flashback will be followed by a burn out transition. Both the first and last scenes are gonna be recorded at War field Park. The first scene will be in the present showing how the actor is feeling by singing to the main song. The next scene is set up as a flashback which will show two actors having fun together while making popcorn in the kitchen. Followed by the scene will reverse back to the present showing a slumber party scene that will have a bedroom setting. After filming the slumber party scene, the next setting will jump right into the schoolyard where the actor will be located right in front of the stairs for building 5 of Fort Lauderdale High. The scene will be a flashback showing how the actor trips and drops all of their books. Finally, the last scene will be in the present within the park which will show the actor thinking alluding back to the very first scene of the music video. 

Within the last two scenes of the music video, our group decided to make the scene play out as if it was right back at the beginning. We reverse it all the way back to the point where the actor will be seen walking forward again. The ending scenes will take place in the present with the transition being a jump cut. The last two scenes will also take place at War field Park.