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Laziness!

2/27/2015

Hey Everyone! I think we've all have been lazy at one point in our lives, I know I have, and it's time to break that chain! For me, I'm lazy when it comes to doing chores and homework, so I end up procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to do it because I was too lazy to do it when I was first told. Well, for this week's constructive response, I will be talking about how I can break the cycle of laziness in both school and home. Three things I can do to break the cycle is stop procrastinating, put away distractions, and use my time wisely.
One thing I can personally do to break the cycle of laziness is to stop procrastinating. Laziness and procrastination are like siblings. Procrastination is one of my worst habits! If you don't know what procrastination is, it's when you put off something that needs to be done and do something else instead. In everything, and especially media, procrastination is a time killer! If I stop procrastinating and do my chores, homework, and work at school when I was told to, then I can beat laziness! Like Christopher Parker once said, "Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you see the bill". While being lazy and doing something other than what you are supposed to be doing can be fun at the time, it isn't very fun when you're up at midnight trying to get that 3 page essay that's due tomorrow done. If I stop procrastinating at school and home, then I wouldn't be so lazy as I am right now.
Another thing I can do to stop being lazy is to put away distractions. When I say put away distractions, I mean to put away anything that will sidetrack you or divert your attention away from what you're really supposed to be doing. For example, if you're trying to study for your math final with Netflix on tv, Instagram on your phone, loud music playing, and while you're texting in a group chat, chances are, you won't get any studying done. There are too many distractions! To stop being lazy for me, it would mean turning off the router so that there is absolutely no wifi. Even though I practically live on wifi, if I want that A on the math final, I can't be lazy and procrastinate. If I turn off the router, turn off all my electronics, and study in a quiet area, I can actually be able to study and probably will do better compared to if I had all the distractions out. If I put away all distractions that can distraught me, then I can stop being lazy.
The third thing I can do to avoid laziness is to use my time wisely. Time management is absolutely key in getting things done, particularly in media! You have to know how to manage your time and balance out everything so that you aren't late or miss any deadline. If you don't use your time wisely, then the important things won't get done! If I use my time wisely, I can avoid laziness because when you're lazy you don't use your time carefully. Author and inspirational speaker, Zig Ziglar, once said, "People often complain
In summary, I can break the cycle of laziness by stop procrastinating, putting away distractions, and using my time wisely. If you think about it, all three are connected if you are trying not to be lazy and successful. You have to stop procrastinating and then put away your distractions, and use your time wisely and be productive to get work done! Hopefully by using these three ways, I can break my bad habit of being lazy! What are your methods to stop being lazy? Well that's it for my constructive response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

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The Giver!

2/22/2015

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Hey Everyone! For this week's reflective response, I will be talking about a movie I saw recently called, "The Giver". The Giver is actually a film-adaptation on a book by Lois Lowry, which I absolutely loved. The movie is about how in Jonas' world, everything is black-and-white; emotionless. He is assigned the role of the Receiver, who receives memories from the pass from the Giver. As he sees how great the memories are, he decides to do something about it to bring them back. That's all I can say about the plot based on the trailer, without spoiling! I really enjoyed the movie. It was action-packed, suspenseful, and kept you on the edge of your seat, curious about what will happen next. I think just the idea for the movie in general is great. In this blog, I'll tell you about the trailer, which you can watch below. Like always, the shots were great, the movement of the camera made it more interesting, but what I really like is the music. The music in the background is ominous, it fills you with mystery and made the trailer much better! I also liked the ending shot at 2:26 of Jonas reaching up, being sucked down into the water, and how it cuts right into the title of the movie. I think that was a great way to end it. In summary, I thought this was an awesome movie, and if you ever do watch it, I hope you thought so too! Well, that's it for my reflective response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

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4th Quarter Projects?

2/22/2015

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Hey Everyone! Our third quarter projects, the Public Service Announcements, were due this past Friday. To see my final video, click here to be directed to my 3rd quarter projects page. Now that the PSA's are done, we get the privilege of starting early on our 4th quarter projects! For 4th quarter, you can do any kind of video you wish, music video, movie trailer, PSA, short film, commercial, etc. You can also work with anyone as a partner too, as along as the project is big enough for both partners. For 4th quarter, I will be working with Angeline, who is a seventh grader in the class. I think having Angeline as a partner is good since we work well together and we are friends. We've decided that we wanted to do a short film, or a music video if that doesn't work out. For this week's constructed response, I will be telling you about our plans for fourth quarter and how we will accomplish them, so read on to find out!
The first thing we have to do is brainstorm. When I say brainstorm, I mean thinking of possible solid ideas to base this short film around. Something that makes sense, that we can carry out, and is reasonable and realistic. To help us think, we can narrow down our categories of short films. Do we want action, comedy, horror, drama, sci-fi, theres endless possibilities! I think if we choose our top 3, that will help us think of ideas more easily. After we found an idea, we will write up a T.I.A.S. and submit it for approval. Right now, Angeline and I are in the brainstorming process.
The next thing we will do after we've come up with our idea is to write out a script. By writing out a script, we will know how we want the short film to look like specifically. Writing out a script for a short film will be very tedious and time consuming, so it is very important that we start early. The script consists of visuals, audio, composition, duration, location, etc. Especially since it is a short film, the total duration will be longer, so it will have multiple scenes. While writing out the script, we will have to think about who can act for our video. This is important because if we have no actors/actresses, it will be impossible to create a short film! We will start writing out a script once our idea is approved.
After showing the script to Mr. M and making revisions, and hopefully getting it approved, Angeline and I will start filming. Filming also would take a long time, so it'd most likely go into the 4th quarter. After filming, we would start editing. In post, we can check if there are some scenes we need to re-film, so that we can do so to make our final project look the best it could be.
In summary, Angeline and I are working together to create a short film. To do so, we plan to brainstorm thoughtfully to get a solid idea, then compose a script and make revisions, and after all that's done, we plan to film and edit. Since this is one of the 'bigger' projects, Angeline and I need to make sure that we are on schedule so we don't fall behind and turn up with a sloppy video. I think that it is great that we have a head start on the 4th quarter projects this year, so we can plan and prepare for our final projects. Well, that's it for my constructed response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

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The Divergent Series: Insurgent Movie Trailer

2/12/2015

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"One choice can transform you-or it can destroy you." -Divergent Series

Hey Everyone! For this weeks reflective response, I will be talking about a movie trailer I saw on YouTube today. The movie trailer is for the new upcoming movie, Insurgent. Insurgent, being released on March 20th 2015, is a sequel to the movie, Divergent. These movies are actually based on the Divergent series books written by Veronica Roth. Today I will be talking about the trailer below for Insurgent so I don't spoil anything! From the trailer, the storyline of the trailer is that the blonde haired woman whose name is Jeanine, is testing 'divergents' to see who can open the mysterious box. So, the divergents are being hunted down, and they decide to fight back. It seems that the divergents join forces with the factionless to help revolt against Jeanine's people. From what I can gather, Tris (or Beatrice) is the 'one' who everyone thinks can open the box, so she is captured and in the end you see her fighting against herself. In my opinion, the trailer for Insurgent seems really different from the book. This makes me wonder how much of an accurate film adaptation this movie will turn out to be. Now lets talk about the technical side. The opening shot was pretty cool. I think it's called an 'arc shot'. The camera was circling the subject, the mysterious box. The shot starting from 0:11 was also pretty neat. A voice over was stating something smilar to "What does Jeanine think is in that box?" and the visual was the box in focus with Jeanine in the background then Jeanine in focus and the box unfocused. I think this was a great example on how the shot matched the audio. Another unique shot was at 0:16. The box again in focus with a dead divergent I assume, in the background. Again, the voiceover was talking about Jeanine testing divergents. The overall trailer was suspenseful! It was upbeat and intriguing and kept you on your toes! For example, at 0:37 to 0:43, the scene where a person was jumping before the train hit him had lot of tension! Would he get on the other side in time or would he get hit? Slowing down the video also helped with the suspense. Also, the music choice was very good. It gave off the hopeful determination vibe that the trailer needed. Overall, the Insurgent Trailer is great, and I can't wait to watch the movie when it comes out! What are your thoughts? Well, that's it for my reflective response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

Divergent Series - Insurgent Trailer from Comic-Con Bangladesh on Vimeo.

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STN Practice #2 Reflection

2/12/2015

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Hey Everyone! So this past Saturday, we had our second STN practice of the year. To read about our first practice, read, "STN Practice #1 Reflection". As you can tell by the title, this will be another reflection on our second practice. If you read my last constructed response, "STN Practice Goals", I stated that I would keep track of time, check the shots, and edit well to ensure the success of our team. Did I meet those goals? Well, for this weeks constructed response, I will be talking about if I met those goals or not. Read on to find out what I mean by that!
The first goal was to keep track of time. I think I met this goal. I kept checking the clock, and we even had alarms set so that we wouldn't lose track of time. We spent our time wisely, didn't go over the filming deadline, and turned in our final video with about 15 minutes to spare. However, we made the mistake of not using the yearbook students for actors instead of just our group to act, this set us back. Besides that, we used our time productively. However, I think we should have spent more time on thinking of an idea. The idea we settled on wasn't that good, and I think we just rushed trying to brainstorm because last practice we took a long time thinking. If we planned more then I think we could have tried to come up with a better idea. For the next practice, this is a goal our group could set to improve. Other than that, I met the goal of keeping track of time.
The next goal I had was to check the shots to make sure that they are good. Being that I am the photographer, I am in charge of filming the shots and checking both visuals and audio. We used the DXA-SLR Mini Box, but for some reason, it caused even more hiss! So, we decided not to use the box to minimize the hiss in the shots and just play back the video to make sure the audio was okay. The visuals of the shots were okay I guess. It wouldn't of hurt to put in more sequences and different shot angles. I think what made it a little hard was that since all 3 of us were acting, someone had to press record then go into the shot. For next practice, a goal our group could set to improve is to put in more sequences and get different angles and compositions for the shots. I don't really think I met this goal because the shots were sloppy and it could have been better.
The last goal I stated in my last constructed response blog was to edit well. When I say edit well, I meant matching the audio levels, avoiding jump cuts, and making sure that it is exactly 30 seconds. I think I met that goal. All of the shots were hitting in between about -6 dB to 0 dB, where it should be. I don't think there were any jump cuts. Lastly, the video's total duration was 30 seconds, not a frame over or under. So, I think that I met the goal of editing well.
In conclusion, I met two goals of three that I set last week. I met the goals of keeping track of time and edit well, but not checking the shots. Some new goals to add on to help our group improve are planning our idea more, and getting more sequences, different angles and compositions, and not having sloppy shots. I think what our group needs to work on more is our idea. The idea for this past practice wasn't that good, it was generic and wasn't creative. Hopefully we will do better the next round. Until then, that's all for my constructed response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

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The Vietnam Road Story

2/8/2015

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Hey everyone! For this weeks reflective response, I'll be talking about a video I saw on the staff picks page on Vimeo. This video is about 2 brother's 45 day adventure in Vietnam, all documented and edited with music of the song, "My Home" by Talisco. Filmed on a Canon 5d Mark iii, the shots were vivid and clear. What I like the most about this video is the editing and the variety of shots. There were so many different angles and composition for each shot sequence! In the scene where the guy was riding his bicycle, you saw him from the back, from the front, on the sides, in a mixture of layouts. The same thing goes for the canoe scene. I thought the part at 1:30 was pretty cool because it showed a bunch of shots of him, in different sceneries, but in the same place of the screen all at once. Another thing I liked was that the shots weren't just still, but moved along with the person. For example, at 1:42, the camera glides across as the person walks along the motorbike. I just can't stress enough how much the editing of the shots fit the song! On each beat there is a new shot, and when theres a slow part in the song, the duration of the shot is longer, vice versa with a fast part in the song. In my opinion, this video told the story of their trip adventure really well. It made me see what Vietnam was like and how fun their trip was! You can watch the video below, and I'm interested in knowing what you think! Well, that's it for my reflective response! Thanks for reading! Bye!

The road story Vietnam from Georgy Tarasov on Vimeo.

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STN Practice Goals

2/5/2015

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Hey Everyone! This is Alaysia back with another blog, hope all is well! This Saturday, we will be having our second STN practice. Let's make sure that we can improve from last practice! To read my reflection on the first STN practice, read "STN Practice #1 Reflection". So for this week's constructive response, I'll be talking to you about three things that I will do personally to ensure that our team, which is the PSA team, will do the best we can and meet our deadline on time. Three things that I can personally do to guarantee the success of our team are, keep track of time, check the shots, and edit well.
One thing I can personally do to help my team is to keep track of time. In the STN competition, time management is key since the competition is under a time limit. We only have 3 hours to film and 3 hours to edit, so we need to use our time wisely. By using our time wisely, I mean that we be productive, and not sloppy, but not late. On Saturday, I will make sure to keep track of the time we have left so that our team will not miss the deadline.
Another thing I can personally do to help my team is to check the shots. Each person on our team has a role/job, and I am the photographer. Being that I am in charge of filming the shots, I need to check them too. By checking them, I can catch any mistakes made so that we can re-film to correct that error. I should check the quality of the shot for example, where is it focused on and is the background compressed? Also, since we are using the DXA-SLR Mini Box, I will be able to monitor the audio through the headphones. I need to make sure that the levels aren't so loud that it's peaking, but not too soft where you can not hear it at all. However, I still do not know how to fix the hiss problem that keeps occurring. Before we go into the editing room, we will also check that we have every shot we need, because once we are in post, we cannot film or get more footage. I will make sure to check each shot while filming.
The third thing that I can personally do to help my team is to edit well. I am an editor along with Nicole so it is up to both of us to bring the video clips all together into a final video. This means checking where the audio hits on the audio meter bar and makes sure it hits around -6 to 0 dB's, and that the audio levels throughout the whole video is even and constant. We also have to make sure that the video ends up to be exactly 30 seconds, not a second or frame over or under. Another thing is that we need to keep an eye out for any continuity problems like jump cuts. I will personally check the piece for any mistakes or do anything I can to make it the best as possible.
In summary, I will keep track of time, check the shots, and edit well to ensure the success of our, the PSA, team. If I do all 3 of those, and cooperate with my teammates, hopefully we will do just fine. Anyways, I wish the best of luck to all the teams and I might see you on Saturday! That's it for my blog! Thanks for reading! Bye!

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Travel Where You Live

2/1/2015

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Hey Everyone! This is Alaysia back with another blog, hope all is well! For this week's reflective response, I'll be telling you about a video I just saw, called "Travel Where You Live" by Sebastian Linda on Vimeo. I absolutely loved this video for because of it's shots, audio, and message so keep reading to find out what I mean by that! First off, I'm going to talk about the shots/visuals. Utterly amazing. They used the DJI Ronin, which our class recently got. With the DJI Ronin for stabilization, they produced really astonishing shots. Instead of just a plain still shot, they used the Ronin and moved as the people in the shot moved. This made a enormous difference! The video became interesting and captivating. But that's not all I liked about the shots, just the content was splendid. They filmed using a Canon 5d Mark III with many different lenses including some macro lenses. An example of when they used a macro lens would probably be at 00:31, a close-up of a blue eye where you can see the little shades in the iris and the background is nicely unfocused. That's another thing, the focusing. All the shots had the subject in focus and the background deeply compressed. This made it easier to concentrate on what the filmmaker intended to. Composition. The video offered a variety of angles and arrangement. There were extreme close-ups, close-ups, medium, wide, extra-wide, etc. There were so many shots of different events yet they managed to edit it all together so that they matched. I really liked the editing too. At some parts it was in slow-motion and in others, fast-forward. For example, the skateboarding scene starting at 1:18 and ending at 1:29, they decided to slow-mo the tricks but keep everything else in fast-forward. Enough about the fantastic shots, moving on to audio. There were some nat sounds, but for the most part it was just the music. However, the music matched. When it was an upbeat part of the song, there would be lots of shots instead of long slow, duration shots. Finally, the message. The narrator didn't speak english, but that didn't matter since there were english subtitles. Even if you had to read the voice-overs, that didn't stop the message from getting across. The message was quite clear. You don't need to travel to get that great feeling because adventure is everywhere, there's adventure where you live, right out your front door! All you have to do is change your perspective on it. Sebastian Linda made this video of the adventure he took where he live to get the message across and in my opinion, he did a pretty good job. Well, that's it for my reflective response! Thanks for reading! Go have an adventure! Bye!

Travel Where You Live from Sebastian Linda on Vimeo.

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