Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Napoleon Dynamite Trailer Recreation

In Video Production, we were asked to recreate a movie trailer (more or less) shot-for-shot. We could only really use movies that were grounded in reality, since we didn't have the budget for stunts or enhanced CGI effects. So, my group did Napoleon Dynamite.

Making storyboards was a far quicker process this time, since it was all online and using screenshots from the trailer as opposed to having it all be drawn out by hand. However, I wasn't the one making the storyboards- I was the director. The three people in my group (myself included) played all the parts ourselves- Seth was Napoleon, I was Trisha, and Tate was everyone else. (I was also Pedro's stunt double, as Tate was Napoleon's stunt double.) I also provided the picture of the liger and filmed all shots with both Napoleon and Pedro.

Filming was a very fun process. We first filmed the scenes at school, which is where I did all of my acting, including me judgementally eating Goldfish crackers and asking Napoleon what a liger is. Then we had to film at Tate's house, and that was really fun. The first time we filmed at Tate's, we broke our microphone and could only film scenes with no dialogue for the rest of the day, but the second time, we had a new microphone and didn't break ours.

After all was said and done, we all had to edit our own trailers. Editing my trailer was pretty easy, and there were no major obstacles I had to overcome.

I learned how to make a movie trailer, how to judgementally eat Goldfish, how to draw an anime liger, and what to do when you break a microphone. Overall, I would say my trailer turned out great!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Music Video Project (Party in the USA)

So, for Video Production, we had to make a music video. We got to choose our own groups,and me, my best friend, and some other kid were in high demand due to our artistic abilities. As a result, I 
ended up with 3 people who were casual acquaintances of mine at best. I secretly wanted to do a 
J-pop song, but I knew they would never go for it, so we settled on “Party in the USA” by Miley 
Cyrus. I was tasked with drawing all the storyboards, which was exhausting work, but I managed to 
do it and make it look good. There was also a day where we filmed, but I was not present for that. 
However, I was present for the green-screen filming, and I even managed to dance in it. I essentially 
learned how to make a music video. At one point, I did have an app called VideoStar that I used to 
make music videos, but I wasn’t very good at it due to me recording everything with my phone. 
However, this was my first experience with making a real music video with professional equipment. This was also my first experience with green-screens, a tool I will use in the future without a doubt. I had a lot of fun with this, and I’m looking forward to our next video project- a movie trailer!

ONW Now- Sophomore Edition

For our final video project of 2017, we were asked to create an ONW Now news segment with other kids in our class. I was one of the two news anchors, the other one being my best friend. I also was asked to do a story about the underclassman play.

The story about the underclassman play wasn't all mine- my best friend helped out. I gave her questions to ask the director as well as information about the underclassman play, and I also helped her get B-roll. At first, I thought that the day she got B-roll would be a day where everyone came, however, I read the schedule wrong, and I wasn't needed that day. I came anyway to see if my friend would get her B-roll, but later she said that I should "go home, do something productive, and pet a dog". So I went home. Later on, I acquired more responsibilities as the anchor.

I learned, for the most part, what being a news anchor entails. It's harder than it looks- you have to smile and speak clearly all while stating the information and looking respectable. I also learned that getting B-roll of a play is easier said than done, especially when you're using the Cursed Tripod.

Next time, I should give myself more work to do, as I believed I didn't have enough to do in this project. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this project and can't wait for Entertainment next semester!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Feature Story 2: Electric Boogaloo

Now, I had to work with a team to create this video, and my best friend Tate and I worked together to make this. Our group decided to do our feature story on the French class and the Paris trip, and I went along with it even though I wasn't in French. The first thing we did was we went down to the French room to film some B-roll, which was pretty alright. Then, Tate and I put the B-roll and the video footage together. Tate then recorded narration. 

I have to say we did pretty well with this. While this isn't our best work, it's not our worst, either. We could have done better with balancing out the audio, however.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Feature Story

For the past few weeks in Video Production, we had to do an interview video. My group decided to interview me, since out of the 4 of us, I had the most issues to talk about. On the first day of this project, Mr. Cooper asked everyone to share their story. I talked about my Asperger's Syndrome and how it has affected my life. This ended up being the topic of our interview. The filming process was, put simply, tedious. We originally filmed on Thursday of the first week, but because of one of my group members losing all the footage, we had to reshoot the entire thing. After that was all complete, I chose some relaxing Kirby music to play in the background, and I added B-roll.

Technologically, I learned how to use B-roll, sync up two audio clips better, how to use a clip-on microphone, and how to look like you're playing Mega Man on a PC when you really are just watching a video of someone playing it. I also learned about teamwork, how to not be such a drama queen when it comes to how quickly my videos are made, and how to act when I'm interviewed.

If there's anything I could have done better, it's the decision to use subtitles instead of narration. The only reason I didn't use narration is because it seems a little weird for the interviewee to narrate it at all, let alone refer to herself in the third person. I believe I did an excellent job on editing the B-roll and selecting the right music, though.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Science Procedures

Ahhhh! After 10,000 years I'm free! (And by 10,000 years, I mean, like 4 months) It's time to conquer Earth- I mean, make videos!

So, in Video Production, we were supposed to make a video about procedures, and my best friend Tate and I decided to do science lab procedures. Here's our video:

The first day we didn't get anything done due to our failure to operate a camera. But on the second day, we filmed everything. Originally, we had dialogue, but since we forgot to turn on the audio while recording, we had to voice over the only line we thought was worth keeping ("Man, forget about this! Let's pour napalm all over the auditorium!") and left everything else to be communicated via our expressions.

Recording day was a blast, I tell you. Not only did I get to mug for the camera and do a thumbs-up on two occasions, I also got to run off with Tate to pour napalm all over the auditorium, watch Tate eat paper and hold up Wilson the Wombat (who is now our unofficial mascot) in the Circle of Life pose, put my hand on a hot plate without flinching, drink sulfuric acid, and play dead on the floor.

I learned, for the most part, how to operate a camera. Before this, we recorded things on iPads, so this was my first experience with a camera. I also learned that my best friend and I can indeed get a lot of things done in 1 class period, and that Wilson the Wombat is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

4th Quarter Reflection

My 4th quarter project was exhilarating but fun. My group's product was called the Lingua, and it was a microphone that could translate languages accurately and quickly. Usually, it took us a while to get anywhere with our projects, since CERTAIN members of the group were always lollygagging, but we ended up doing them in the end. One of the big challenges I faced was that I was one of 2 people who were trying to take this seriously, and the one who declared himself the so-called leader of our team was always lollygagging and never got any work done. And while I did make very practical animations and designed the logo, things usually would end up devolving into chaos, as shown by how chaotic our commercial was:

However, I learned along the way that marketing something is pretty easy, and making logos is far easier than I thought. I also learned that making a good commercial is difficult, especially when you have 3 different people to work with (and in the case of one of them, working with him was like trying to herd cats). The feedback we were given was simple. While my work was greatly appreciated, others pointed out that our commercial was far too chaotic or something of that nature. Next time, I hope I don't get paired with people whose ideas clash with my own like that. But I guess that's how group projects are. Group projects are like a game of chance: you roll the dice and see who you get. Sometimes, you get a good group, other times, you get a not-so-good group. However, I believe that my work in 4th quarter was quite phenomenal. Here are some examples of things I did:

In this quarter, I was sure to use my time in class well.  I made sure to make every minute count. Only when I was done with all that I needed to do did I look at funny pictures online. When I was done early, I'd look back over what I had and see what else I could add. Outside of class, I tend to use Photoshop a lot in order to explore what it can really do, so I can better my skills in this class.

As a student in e-Communications and as an employee, I have many strengths. One of them is my artistic talent and endless fountain of good ideas. I tend to think outside the box and see things more creatively, which helps me with projects like this. My knowledge of technology is another good point, considering my ability to use computers well is important in this class. I maximize my strengths by using them more and more, and that way, I can get better the more I do these things.

Areas I have in need of improvement include my ability to work as a member of a group. Yes, I CAN work with others, but when having to deal with someone like Mr. Lollygagger, I blew my top one too many times. I'm known to be slightly temperamental, and with him being the "leader" of our group and still not doing anything, I got angry to the point of crying at one point. However, my mom said that learning to deal with people like him is normal, and I think I should work on that.

This semester was an exciting semester. What I loved most was the Video Production we learned in Quarter 3, which was unbelievably fun. What I would do differently is fix the system of grouping used for our group project, because while you said you grouped us via our MBTI personalities, we were of completely different MBTI groups. I know that the intent was to have two introverts and two extroverts, but still. I have learned several things in this semester that I am most definitely using in the future, and I hope that next year, I can create more complex animations. As for my final thoughts? Well, in short, I'm glad I chose this 21st Century Program. It's well worth having to change schools for it, and it's definitely better than taking regular classes at East.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Chase Sequence

This week we made chase scenes. This is mine. I know that I magically changed my sweatshirt at one point, but if you just ignore that, you can appreciate it and all the work I put into it. The background music I used was "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It really captures the hectic nature of the chase.

I had a lot of fun with this project. And, so ends my video making for Video Production- until next year!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Escape from the Exploding Building

This is a film I made for my A to B project with help from my friend Ryan. (He was the camera man.) Unlike my previous short film, "A Disney Princess Interview", this one is actually good. The general plot consists of "the building is going to blow up and our hero needs to escape". 

I did a lot of sprinting while filming this, and it was a workout, I tell you! The music was the escape music from Super Metroid, which I chose because it plays when the planet you are on is about to explode. I also used stock explosion sound effects. The cinematography is, again, very strong, and it was well-executed.

Now, I know how to make something more engaging and better than "A Disney Princess Interview". I had fun making this and can't wait to do other projects in Video Production!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- A Disney Princess Interview

This is a terribly acted, terribly written skit performed by me and my partner Brianna for my Six Shots Project. Well, I guess YouTube is where the poop is, after all. It stars Snow White (me) and Belle (Brianna) talking about their princes, animals, and apples.

The cinematography is its main redeeming quality, incorporating all 6 shots I discussed earlier. If there is one thing I did fantastically on, it was that. And it was the thing we were supposed to do.

Next time, I'll try to make something a lot less cringeworthy. But, despite how cringey it turned out to be, I enjoyed making it.

The Six Shots- Practice

Today we learned about the six shots- closeup, extreme closeup, wide shot, extreme wide shot, middle shot and over-the-shoulder. These shots are used all the time in film and television, and since I am currently in Video Production, it makes sense that we would have learned these. Then, our teacher  asked us to take pictures demonstrating said shots. Here are mine:

Closeup. And yes, this is what I look like.

Extreme closeup. My eyes look good, but my pimples do not.

Wide shot.

Extreme wide shot.

Medium shot. Yes, I am wearing a Kirby T-shirt.

Over-the-shoulder.