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Reflection Time 😊

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My commercial challenges conventions by more or less implying that the company making the commercial condones academic misconduct. All in good fun, but it's an implication nonetheless. I did this by having my character cheat on their exam, using the product being displayed. It also represents the social group of high-school/college students, and presents the issue of academic stress/obstacles, since it's audience is this age group. It engages with it's audience through it's school setting, it's student characters, and the situation the commercial , a relatively relatable one, I would say. The commercial it self would most likely be distributed on cable television, on channels meant for young kids to young adults. My filming skills improved during a bit throughout this project, I believe. I made use of the grid quite a bit.  I used it to center my scenes, or to have a character cut off evenly at the hips or shoulders. I could've used a camera, but I opted to use ...

Coming to a close

Final lines have been recorded, and put into the commercial. The final effects have been added as well. I have also added a change to the last scene. I was a bit awkward recording my own lines, but I got it done. There aren't very many lines, so I could do all my voiceover edits easily. And here it is! I feel like all the changes are made were for the better. The end product could have been better, but ultimately it turned out better than I thought it would. I want to do better in my next project though, so I vow to get better from here!

Nearly Done

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 I finally filmed the last scene. I'm not wearing the same outfit, but at this point I'm almost done so I'll leave it as is. It's just the one scene, so it's a shame I couldn't be 100% consistent. I've put in the music, just a standard cheery tune. I put it in the background, it's not the main focus. It's quiet, so it won't overwhelm the audience. I've also muted the original noise so the wind can not be hears. I was afraid it wouldn't work out, actually. Turns out I was worried for no reason. It worked out great. I also shortened the last scene. Much like I did with the other scenes, it worked out fine. I'm almost exactly 30 seconds, which is great. I even added a sound effect. Once the subject passes her quiz, a crowd cheering can be heard. I'm debating adding other sounds last minute. Chances are I might, it's quite easy to do. I only have one thing left before I'm basically done. I need to record the voiceovers. It...

All coming together

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The first day of editing is upon me. I have yet to record my very last scene, but I've started editing anyway. None of the people who assisted me last time were available, and one of my props went missing. I'll have to find or replicate the prop before filming the last scene. I tried to make a replica of my prop but it didn't work out. Hopefully that bit will be sorted out by the end of the week.  Anyway, I used a program on my phone. I thought it would be easier that way, and it seems I was right. I have no experience with film editing, but the app made it simple. There was a clear layout with labeled instructions. I got right to work. I shortened almost every shot I filmed. I even ended up removing an entire shot! At first I was concerned the film would be too short by a few seconds. Then I remembered I had one more scene to go, and once it's in commercial and edited up, everything should work out fine. I still have to figure out how I'm going to record voiceovers...

A day out

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 I ended up working with two other people on this film project. I went out on campus to help them with their own filming before we shot my first and only outdoor shot. It took a few takes but ultimately I think it went well. I then went back inside to film the majority of my other shots. At this point the rest of the shots are just me, so I only needed someone to hold the camera. I ended up using a normal black Bic brand pen for my commercial. That and a sheet of paper were my only props. The paper itself resembles a quiz or exam, per the storyboard.  The next scenes also took a few takes, which I expected. I didn't expect I'd add in an extra scene though!  I think it was for the better though. It makes for a smoother transition between scenes. The hardest part was probably the zoomed in portion. I'm supposed to zoom in on the product in use, or rather, the pen when it's writing. It would be awkward to have someone else film so close, and difficult to position since I...

Change of plans

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 On my first day of filming I found I actually couldn't film in the media center, which is unfortunate. Thankfully it's not going to be impossible to work with. What I ended up filming was a crude little test clip in the AICE Media classroom. What I will most likely be doing is filming the majority of the scenes in that room as well. The only problem s maybe the noise. During editing will most likely edit a voiceover overtop of the original recording. In a classroom setting I would probably record final lines in the moment, but the noise makes it not an option. Don't get me wrong, I'll film lines in the moment as well. The difference is these lines just won't be the ones in the final take.

Storyboard

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 1. Person B has forgotten to study for their quiz. Person A offers up their notes that they have in their notebook. 2. Person B takes the notes and whips out their Bic brand pen. They begin to transfer the notes on to their hand/wrist. They wipe it to see if it stays. It does. They head inside their 'classroom'. 3. Person B does their quiz, again using their Bic brand pen, with the notes they've written in Bic brand pen as well. 4.The camera zooms on the quiz and their notes match their quiz exactly. They continue quizzing. 5. For good measure, the camera zooms n on the pretty writing that the pen does across the paper. 6. Person B receives their quiz. They smile and take a look at the other side, revealing to the audience the A+ that they received