Editing the commercial

Today my group and I were really excited to start editing

our commercial and begin the magical process of seeing

our commercial come to life. But sadly, that excitement came

to a halt when the editing software wasn’t working and half of

the school computers wouldn’t even turn on. It really sucked.

We were all ready and looking forward to editing and putting

our commercial together. Last class we dumped our footage

onto my personal computer because all of the school computers

had been in use. This morning in class, we had transported the

footage onto a flashdrive and then onto a school computer. After

twenty minutes of waiting for the footage to transfer, we were set

to edit. We then tried to open the editing software but we were

presented with a lovely message. “This application is blocked by

your administrator.”. After complaining about it to our teachers,

we were informed that the application itself had been down on

all the school computers. 

We ended up having to dump our footage not only on the school

computer. We also had to dump our footage onto my personal Google

Drive. Our teachers told us that the school computers may be wiped

of all data in order to fix the problem of the editing software not being

available. I went ahead and transferred all the footage onto my Google

Drive. After that, there wasn’t anything for us to do. We decided to try

and go in depth as to how we wanted our commercial to look like.

Even though we had discussed this in past classes, we tried to do

our best and talk about specifics. We discussed the different techniques

we wanted to use during the editing process. Since common conventions

in a typical Gatorade Commercial included jump cuts, flash pans, and

other fast paced editing styles. We also went into how different filters

and lighting can change how a scene is interpreted. 

Since we were not able to edit this class, our commercial schedule

was adjusted. We are going to edit the next class period and hopefully

finish the commercial. Next class, I hope that the editing software is

available to use. If the software isn’t available, I have no clue as to

when we are going to finish our commercial. Before we even started

filming our commercial, our teachers had hyped the editing process to

be a fun one. My group and I are still looking forward to it. Even with

this road bump, I think my group and I are going to enjoy the editing

process. Editing the commercial may be inspiring. I know what I want

to be when I grow up but that might change it. Seeing our work become

what we envisioned can be magical.

Filming the commercial

Today during class we took the whole period filming!

It was a new experience that was actually really fun and interesting.

Prior to filming we had done our storyboard which really helped

(even though that’s what it’s for) because when we were having

trouble figuring out what we needed to film we just referred to our

storyboard. It was amazing to see our vision come to life when filming.

What had been on paper became a reality which was exciting. In our

group, each of us had a role in the actual commercial. Even though the

concepts of our roles were the same, they turned out to be different

when executing them. One group member had played the part of a

percussionist, another had played the role of an auxiliary (band), and

I had played the role of a student. We all took turns using the camera

and setting the tripod. The camera was surprisingly easy to use. We

had taken multiple takes of a scene in order to make sure we had

options when editing. 

During the filming process, I had the role as the director.

Even though we hadn’t necessarily assigned roles in the group,

I naturally took the role as the director. It was fun being able to say

whether a certain angle or camera movement should be used. Not

that the others didn’t get a say in the matter, they were able to input

anything they wanted. However, I was the one inputting the most opinion

in filming our commercial. When I wasn’t filming, the other group members

were. My role in the commercial was the role of a student. We wanted the

commercial to have a different target audience than normal. In a conventional

Gatorade commercial, athletes are targeted. We wanted to target mostly

high school to even middle school students. 

Although the majority of filming the commercial was smooth sailing,

it still was a little bit challenging. Being the overachievers that we are,

we wanted to go all out with our props and costumes. This meant that

the group member that played the role of a percussionist needed his

drums and the group member that played the role of an auxiliary needed

her uniform. This took up almost twenty minutes of our filming time. At

the time it didn’t seem like a concern but we had later found out that twenty

minutes makes a big difference. Towards the end of filming our commercial

we began to run out of time while needing to film a whole entire scene.

It was stressful but we managed to film the entirety of our commercial. Even

though we were given the option to film next class, we decided to finish

filming this class and then edit during the next class period. Overall, we

enjoyed filming the commercial. We get along really well so even through

the stressful times, it was fun. We definitely got some hilarious bloopers out of it! 

Storyboard Blog

Today, we finally managed to complete the storyboard for a
Gatorade commercial, a step that will ultimately make the filming
process much easier. Storyboarding was quite the group experience.
Coming together and allowing our creative juices to flow from our
minds, intertwining with one another and spawning even more ideas,
resulted in what we saw as the best path to take for this project. In a nutshell,
our commercial will go as follows: The commercial will begin with a
full Gatorade bottle displayed on the screen placed on the field of grass
and and instrumental music will start playing. For our score we decided to
use the song “Hot” by Young Thug as it coincided with our vision for the
commercial. Then, it will transition to 3 different scenes, each carrying a
dull, dim atmosphere. This works to give the impression that the individuals
in the scenes are tired, completely deprived of the energy and unable to carry
out the tasks at hand. With this, slow transitions will be used in order to have
the effect of the sluggishness that our actors will have. Transitions like slow
pans and slow tilts. This develops the idea of a problem, which Gatorade will
soon provide a solution. After this, each actor will take sips of Gatorade and
this will be shown in a three-way split screen. The colors would change to a
more vibrant setting and the music will be at a more up-beat tempo. Then, the
same tasks that were attempted before will be attempted again, but performed
better, illustrating the ‘liquid power’ of the Gatorade. As typical conventions
used in Gatorade commercial, faster transitions and dynamic shots will be used
in order to get the attention of the audience. To end the commercial, an empty
Gatorade bottle will be placed on the same field at the same spot.

Editing lesson

Today in class,

We were given instructions on how to properly sign out the

camera, tripod, and SD cards. When signing out the camera, tripod,

and SD cards, we have to fill out a form in order to film anything

for our class. On the form, we have to put the names of those

in the group, contact information, and the numbers of the items

we sign out. We were also given instructions on how to use the camera.

To use the camera, one has to turn it on and put in the SD card

(while making sure that it was charged). To turn it off, you just have to

close the screen towards the camera. The tripod is quite easy to use,

you just have to carefully unfold the legs and connect the camera. 

We were also given a lesson on how to import footage from

the SD card to the computer we are going to use to edit. To Import

the footage, you have to use an adapter that can be plugged

into the computer. After you have the adapter, you put the SD

card into the adapter to connect to the computer. After connecting

it to the computer, you have to open the SD card and drag the footage

onto a file designated for the specific footage. Once uploaded you

can import the footage onto the editing software. 

When opening the editing software you have to make sure

you are saving the edits every 15 minutes in order to not lose

any of the hard work that was put into editing. There are many

different editing styles one can choose from when editing the film.

You can fade into and out of shots, have a make-shift cracked

screen, and a dissolve effect. One can also change how a clip

sounds. You can delete the sound of a clip or add a voice-over. 

The editing software makes it super easy to make a movie or commercial

or whatever the project may be.

Planning blog for Gatorade commercial

During class, we continued our discussion from the night before about
the props, costumes schedule, location, and the back-up plan to film
our commercial. Figuring out the props, costumes, and location for the
commercial were the easiest to discuss. Going into the planning, we all had
our ideas for the commercial and what we wanted it to look like. We were trying
to decide what route we want to take for the commercial, if we wanted it to be
different from the ‘traditional’ Gatorade commercials or put our own twist to it.
Inevitably, we all decided to steer from the norm and make the commercial
school oriented. Since all of us partake in activities for school like percussion,
auxiliary, and even studying for a big test, we thought our commercial can have
a larger target audience if we made it revolve around school. Our group went
ahead and decided the slogan that we wanted. Even though Gatorade has their
own slogan, we wanted to change it up and come up with our own. We decided
on “Liquid power, Liquid drive, Liquid intensity, Gatorade”. 

Props

• ‘Quints’, drum sticks, and a harness for the percussion scenes
• A baton for the auxiliary scenes
• Books, writing utensils, and glasses for the studying scenes
• Gatorade bottles (different sizes and colors) for almost all scenes

Costumes

• A black visor, grey band tracksuit, and marching band 'dinkles' for the percussion

scenes.

• A blue and white leotard that is long sleeve, tan tights, and white 'gogo' boots

for the auxiliary scenes.

• A crimson sweatshirt and glasses for the studying scenes. 

Schedule

• 10/7- We researched our product and explained what it takes to make a

Gatorade commercial.

• 10/10- Today, we explained our idea and planned out what the costumes, props,

and locations.

•  10/14- We are going to storyboard, write the script for our commercial, and

start to brainstorm creative ideas to how we’re going to film our scenes.

• 10/21- Our group is going to start filming for our commercial. Go to the locations and

figure out how we want to film.\

• 10/23- Start to edit our scenes, figure out which we are going to keep and have

to cut out of the final product. Voice overs and different editing styles.

• 10/28- Turn in our commercial.

Locations-

• For the percussion scenes, we are going to film on the football field.
• For the auxiliary scenes, we are going to film on the senior patio. 
• For the studying scenes, we are going to film on the senior patio at a picnic table . 

Back-up plan-

• In case of rain, the locations that are filmed outside like the football field

and the senior patio, we are going to film in front of the large auditorium under

the pavilion for the percussion scene and the auxiliary scene. For the studying

scene we would have to move it to somewhere under a cover. 

• In case of an absence, we would lengthen the time of the scenes to where

it can make up for the absence of a group member. 

• In case of the locations being used by other students, we would move to

a location that not many people would think of. Possibly a corner of a building

or another field like the softball field. 

Commercial Conventions

The product we chose to do a commercial for is Gatorade.

We chose Gatorade because we all personally like Gatorade

better than Powerade, found it to be more accommodating for

the location available for us to film at, and it seemed to be a more

fun option to film for. We also chose Gatorade because unlike the

other options available to us, we all drink Gatorade rather than Powerade.

As members of extracurricular activities such as band, swim team,

and auxiliary, we all have our experience with how Gatorade truly

works and how it can help us go on to do these activities after

a seven hour school day. 

When one hears the word ‘Gatorade’ electrolytes typically come

to mind. Gatorade has a variety of commercials revolving around

how the electrolytes help replenish your thirst and helps you continue

on with your task. Since it is an energy drink, these commercials are

usually geared towards athletes, but it can target a broader audience

because of the dialogue the commercial uses. Within these commercials,

they usually have some fast dialogue happening where they’re

talking positively about the drink and how it makes one perform better.

This can be geared to athletes, academics, and all those that fall in

between. These commercials can also include celebrities like

Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams, and

Misty May-Treanor, all of different races, religions, and ethnicities.

Having these different celebrities help with targeting the

majority of the audience. 

During a Gatorade commercial, they typically use bright colors

to try and grab the audience's attention. That’s why you will see a

scene of people being outside because outside is associated with

exercise and movement. They also use editing styles like ‘action match’,

‘burnouts’, and ‘reaction shots. They do this to carry out the ‘fast pace’

activities related to Gatorade like exercise. Often times there are a lot of

voice-overs and dialogue to help move the flow of the commercial as well as

bring in another scene. 

Introduction

This is my Blog!
I'm Victoria, I'm in high school (more specifically the 11th grade). I was born in Hialeah, Florida on November 1st, 2002. I'm a Scorpio (the best sign). I personally don't think I act like the "stereotypical" Scorpio, but I do have some characteristics. I have a five siblings in total. I'm the middle child of three that live at home with me, and the fifth out of all of us. At home it's just my older sister, me and my younger brother. Even though my parents don't want to acknowledge that I get treated like the middle child, I know I definitely do. My parents are from two different countries. My mom is from Guayaquil, Ecuador and my dad is from Cuba (I don't actually know from what specific part though). I have an American Bulldog named 'Peaches', a Dachshund named 'Negra', and a bearded dragon named 'Bacon'. We also have an Indian Ringneck Parrot named 'Iago' (like from the movie Aladdin) but we don't talk about her cause we don't have the best relationship.

Since I'm an over achiever, I can live a very stressful life because of high school but somehow I seem to manage it. Going through high school has been an experience like no other. I went to a somewhat 'sheltered' Ele-Middle school (it was a K-8) where we weren't exposed to things that other kids were during middle school. So when I was a Freshmen just coming into high school, it was a real cultural shock. I liked it though. I would say that I'm equally alright at all subjects except for math. Math is something that I've always struggled with since middle school, but I've gotten better with it. My Sophomore year I got EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) certified which is pretty cool. I don't want to do that with my life though. Even though I'm fascinated by the anatomy of the human body, blood and I don't really go hand and hand with one another.

When I graduate high school, I would like to go to a local university for my undergraduate because I don't see why I would go somewhere and spend money for room and board when I can just stay at home. Afterwards, for my graduates I'd like to go to somewhere where I can get a good education for my future in International Law or International Relations. I really took a fancy towards the UN when I did Model UN in middle school (and continuing in high school), that's why I hope to continue it as my career.

Hope you learned a little about me!