Junior Year reflection

My favorite projects that I did this year were creating a film reel and creating my own website. These where my favorite projects because they were all mine. I got to have my own creative vision and it was all what I wanted. I got to pick the music and the background and the shots I wanted to use. I worded on these two all year to keep it updated as I created more and had new projects to show. As far as challenges go I don't feel like I faced very many because I worked on these on my own. I did ,however, struggle with some footage getting lost for my film reel. But I also enjoyed taking a camera with me on a weekend trip and getting footage of just random things that I thought looked cool. I learned a lot about how different programs work throughout this year.

I feel that I used my time well to work on these, when I got the chance. Any time that was available after completing a project, I was working on my film reel. I definitely learned how to prioritize throughout this year. However, I can still improve on my actual camera skills.

For our feature film, Just My Imagination, I worked as an editor. I feel that I was not much a part of this project as I could have been. I lead a very busy lifestyle outside of school so it was difficult for me to be able to work on a lot. Some of the editing I did however, was liked and got added in. Some of the scenes I did got thrown out completely, but it was getting so tight on time, so it was a rushed decision.

The thing that I loved the most about this year in Entertainment was the people I got to meet and work with. It will not be the same without my senior classmates next year, but I will grow and hopefully meet new people next year. Something that I want to change for my senior year is to work on managing my time better and having more time to perfect a project. Overall I think I learned a lot about the programs that we, as Entertainment students, work in. I also learned that I like to screen-write and direct. I am a very shy person, but somehow I like being able to create videos from my own visions and ideas. I just need time to think in depth about my ideas instead of making them rushed. I pay very close attention to detail and I want everything to look just right, so it takes me a little longer than I have been given to work on my projects. If I do not like something, I will start from scratch. I have a bit of a different process than most, I feel, than others in the way that I would rather have a project turned in late and receive a bad grade, but it looks good, compared to turning it in on time and it looking sloppy. I also am quite busy outside of schools so it does make it quite difficult for me to work on filming after school or on the weekends.

I feel that having this class 1st & 2nd hour was beneficial for me because it was a good way for me to start my day. I was able to creatively think first thing rather than having to force myself to do college algebra equations first thing in the morning. It was also a great way to start my school day in an environment that was a lot more calm than other classes. We had good conversations and great stories to share that for me, a lot of times, turned into great video ideas. As for the feature film next year I think I would do well using my artistic ability in storyboarding. I think that I am not the best editor as far as deadlines and editing knowledge goes. I may have learned a lot this year, but editing is still not my strong point. 

Mini Doc- Alcoholism

This Mini Documentary is about the effects of Alcoholism. We discover how these people began drinking, when they noticed they had an addiction, when they decided to get help and finally what life is like being sober.

As far as a script or questions goes we had a fairly long list to begin with. Some questions we decided to scrape such as "when was the first time you were drunk and what was your reasoning?" because we either did not like the answer we received, or we did not feel that it went well with the other questions we had asked. We were also unable to ask questions about Alcoholics Anonymous due to privacy. The questions that we did have about AA however where, "What part of AA helped the most/" and "What is the hardest part of AA".

My production role in this process was art direction and editing. The director and cinematographer of the project was Sarah Pitts. Audio and coloring was done by Amelia Mamie. The thing about our group is that we never truly stick to our production roles. We do a little bit of everything to help each other as well as ourselves. For our cast, Sarah had connections with people and it made the process very easy. The people we interviewed, gave very honesty and real responses to our questions and were able to open up about their experiences.

I really enjoy working with both Sarah and Amelia because I feel we work well as a team. We have all become friends throughout our year working together and I feel that it helps when creating a project. It is good for our communication and collaboration that we all listen to each other and we all share all of the role within production. We just want to help each other wherever we can.

As for what I would do differently, I feel like that can all be done in the editing. I feel that it was a good documentary based on the fact of the responses we received. As for what I would do the same, I would most definitely work with this group again, if I ever got the chance. However, both Sarah and Amelia are seniors and I will not be able to work with them next year. I am sad that I will not get to work with them again, because they were great to work with and we became friends through all of our projects working together.

What I learned from this project is that, the connections you have, use them to your advantage. I also learned that, just because theres a set of guidelines for what types of shots that should be used or the kind of emotion you want in an actors voice, use your own ideas, you do not have to stay within the boundaries. Create something that you feel shows you as a person, not what a list of rules tells you how everything is supposed to be.