A Memorable Production Period.

 Creative Critical Reflection

1.     How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues? 

Our product uses social groups to show how people of various ethnic backgrounds use it. The setting of our commercial was at a school. This commercial shows how people of all demographics use this product. Emphasizing its efficiency for students like working on home working assignments or even for personal use such as listening to music during their free time. I can also say to the extent of its purpose for students it can be useful for students and people of all age ranges. Its clean aesthetic, lack of harmful toxins, and energy efficiency lessons all MacBook product's carbon footprint worldwide. Recently due to new Apple policies the MacBook is made up of recycled aluminum to lessen environmentally harmful metals and waste into ecosystems.  Allowing the MacBook to be great overall.

2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text? 

The product engages with audiences by showing them how they could use it themselves. Demonstrating different services built within the MacBook, and software application provided on it. These were goals made for the audience to recognize while watching the commercial. As real media it would be distributed primarily on television, social media applications, and YouTube. The purpose of broadcasting this commercial on television is to target all age groups. Reaching an older audience how has access to more financial funds to purchase the product presented. Advertisements on YouTube are to target the younger audience. Although our commercial is to persuade the viewers to buy a MacBook the younger generation can persuade themselves as parents to buy it. Social media platforms are advertisement to widen the range of viewers.

 

3.     How did your production skills develop throughout this project? 

The difference in my skills prior to production is drastic. I didn’t know basic terms used in the media industry. My knowledge on terms to describe transitions, camera shots, and camera movements were very slim. During the production period I found myself often using filming terms to help my peers understand what I am talking about. Learning this new set of vocabulary help me greatly. I found myself using this skillset to enhance our commercial and piece together the vision I pictured. In comparison I would no longer consider myself as an amateur but more so a person who is learning and quickly growing their skillset. The production period has led me to this conclusion. My production skills have developed significantly during this filming project.

4.     How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project? 

 

In this project we integrated technologies such as software, hardware, and online websites in various ways. The product represented is a MacBook, a product well known for completing tasks online very efficiently. Providing different application software with great quality. During filming our actors showed different software applications the MacBook is accessible to. In addition, the editing surface iMovie that is provided on a Mac was used to edit our project and ensure high quality. This software was essential to our commercial considering iMovie provides various `editing options and styles. For our ending scene with the apple logo, I used jpeg to png converter to get a clear and precise Apple Logo for our project. These revisions aided to our project with the help of technology.

The Ending of a Pleasant Experience

 Our production period has been memorable. Originally discussing ideas and concepts for our commercial to finally getting our final product. My favorite part of the production was definitely filming. Considering different filming shots and camera moments to create a smooth commercial. As the "director" of the film I was able to direct my actors on what they would be doing each scene. Conducting different takes if the scene did not come out the best. In addition to using cues to start moving and initiate the action in the scene as. Cues were also helpful for marking the locations of the actors should be standing. The editing part was also very entertaining. Learning different traditions, cuts, audio input, or even sound effects my skills have grown.

 

Crediting Our Detailed Editing

 Today was our last day of editing. Putting the finishing touches of our commercial I was so determined to accomplish. Finalizing little aspects that were missing prior. Today I added several details to our commercial. Previously I surfed the internet for appropriate background music to fit the concept. I brought up several instrumentals with my group but they declined those suggestions. After several minutes of continuously scrolling through Youtube and Spotify, a lightbulb went off in Jacob's head. This idea was to use a song made by a very talented singer. On many social media platforms, an underground artist named PinkPatheress went viral. Famous for her soft voice and soothing instrumentals she quickly gained a following. Her birth name unknown caused people to like her for her mysterious qualities. The topic of conversation was which released song by fit best. Willow and Lucy stated several songs but the lyrics didn't flow well with the commercial. Jacob and I agreed that the song "Passion" would go amazing for our commercial. This is due to the long intro of instrumentals that is soothing and would match the aesthetic an Apple product would appeal to. When importing the audio file into Movie I experienced trouble transferring the audio file to an MP3. I sought help from my group mate and was able to solve this problem. After picking a song our next goal is to pick an Apple PNG logo. The original logo was too basic and with editing service, it was hard to add the Apple Logo to the video without the placement being awkward or visually displeasing. This is a challenge we struggled with and in the future, we plan to overcome this but for the time being, we made alterations. We decided on using a black background screen and Apple outline commonly used.

Excellence in Every Take

Today was the start of our editing.  Last class, we finalized our production and were ecstatic to start filming. After a successful filming process, my group and I were ready to edit. before editing, I shared several ideas on sound effects, background music, and different transitions we could use in our commercial. The software used to assist us in editing was Imovie. Software provided on all Apple Products, including Macbooks. When all scenes we filmed were uploaded into Imovie I noticed that our commercial was too long. Reevaluating the scenes I suggested that we shorten the intro wide shot to be shorter in time. Cutting the length of that and the following of our actor lucy was typing was very beneficial for our ending product. Consistently rewatching scenes over and over to see if they flowed well was something that helped me a lot. By doing this I noticed that some scenes could be perceived as awkward or too slow. To solve this problem in scenes like our actor lucy walking I shortened it in time and also sped up her stroll. Even though Jacob was our designated editor since he is best at it I assisted him a lot. Jacob and I collaborated to see everything come together. Seeing my vision while filming comes together while editing. During the short period, we had of class I discussed what I wanted to get started on for the next class. This discussion was necessary to provide editing ideas and allow our group work to flow smoothly. Next class, we will get started on our ending scene. Picking out or logo, slogan, and background music is crucial to our commercial. Since these aspects of the film makes such an impact on our work we haven't made a finalized decision on what we should do. Next class my goal is to research some fitting logos and slogans that go well with the concept of a MacBook.

Trouble in Paradise

Hello everyone! The filming process has been very hectic. Constantly reevaluating shots we have already taken our group reviewed our past works. Acknowledging the possibility of retaking some of the scenes since the prior shots weren't perfect. So we made sure our actors brought a change of clothes since we decided it would be best to not confuse the viewers with a random wardrobe change. After analyzing our filming area and the surrounding media studies students we came to conclusion that it would be best to change location and film inside of class instead. Filming outside tends to cause trouble due to the attention we get from other students and faculty. In addition to the fact that our filming period is also during lunch. With these various variables in our past production period it caused some scenes to be sloppy. This change of plans made filming a lot easier for us in the classroom. Although the classroom did come with problems on its own with so many students there we persevered. Having to direct all over again with a different environment was difficult. Surrounding students were loud and we no longer had a storyboard to follow.  The volume in our classroom was intense and our thoughts were hard to process and make clear. This complicated the filming process a lot. Finally over it my group tried to follow the storyboard as much as I can rather than coming up with new ideas on the spot., After retaking various scenes I concluded that our original shots were better. After finalizing everything we gathered all of our bests shot and forwarded them to our editor Jacob to get started on next class. As I have previously said in my introductory blog i have always had a passion for editing. The cutting, adding of sound effects and transitions always interested me. I can't wait to see the commercial come to its finalization.