Projects
I worked on many projects over the last semester. This includes my films titled: "Simply Complex", "lets switch things up", "Bruh Moment", and recently "Franklin's Cake" (All films at end of blog). Each project had a different time limit, but to sum it up, Simply Complex and lets switch things up both took around 2 weeks to create. Bruh Moment was a part of the 24 hour film fest, so the film was made in less than 24 hours. Franklin's cake was one that took a bit and we had around 3-4 weeks to create the film. Many of the problems we faced while making each film seems to be reoccurring. Problems we had were: camera focus, camera white balance, lack of close ups, and poor acting with actors. Based off these issues, I can focus more on these problems on future projects, and maybe get to learn the camera a bit more. Feedback for my films was also very parallel with the problems, white balance off, poor acting, focus the camera, etc. Later into the year the films writing got a lot better and the overall enjoyability with those films also increased too. But I think that overall the films I helped create were great films that, while may not be perfect, are very enjoyable to watch and share.
Time Management
Time management is a bit "wonky" for an editor. During the films, I help during pre-production but production I don't have much to do. I try to show up to filming to try and help with tips and ideas for the film but after everything is film its a grind. I spend a lot of time out of class editing the film and making it look better. Due to this, I never got finished early because I was always working pretty much until the due date on a film but during production I try to help as much as I can. I also always try to improve my skills outside of class with personal projects on my youtube channel, its overall meant for fun but I think I gain more experience on editing too.
Strengths
My Strengths as a video student I believe are, lack of better terms, strong. I didn't do much client work but I did do personal projects, as previously stated. I feel like I have a great editing talent, that can still improve and become better. But in order to make it become better and the best, I need to work on editing more and learn premiere and all it has to offer.
What to Learn
What to improve about my films. Overall I think all the films I worked on were quite a success. But there will always be something to improve about the films. I think camera work could be enhanced, greatly. What I mean is more of unique camera shots, white balancing the camera, and lighting. But there are other improvements other than the camera. My editing skill could be enhanced. Meaning I could learn how to make better effects and how to be more efficient with my work. But my skills, camera work, writing, and pretty much everything has improved greatly since the beginning of the semester.
Honorable Guests
All of the guest speakers I got to experience in class in this semester I think are great and talented people but 2 were major impactors for me specifically. First was Morgan Cooper, He is a Director for this remake of bel-air but in modern times. I think it was cool to meet an actual famous guy and have him show us that he was just like us, and maybe that the class can be just like him in the future. Another guest speaker was Ryann Burnett, who is keen in post producing and editing. Since I am very interested in post production, I was very interested how a superior worked and operates. Now from these two individual I think that Morgan Cooper gave me the confidence to continue working on my film studies and pursue film. Ryann Burnett showed me how to properly organize and edit efficiently, which can improve working times so I can complete projects faster.
The All American High School Film Festival
The AAHSFF was a great chance to go see NYC and learn about film. We went to a lot of crazy and cool locations around NYC and overall the experience was great! But I think that I can use the college interactions in the future and maybe get accepted into one of the good colleges for film. I think this also improved my work by seeing other peoples work, seeing the winners, and how they made the film.
Future Feature Film
A feature film that is in the works that I am a part of is called "Sub Rosa". Currently my roles for the film is editor, colorist, and script editor. While most of the work will take place after the filming of Sub Rosa, I think I can still can be efficient during pre-production and production. During pre-production I would help work on the script and make sure everything make sense within the script. During production I can show up to film days and maybe give some tips on how to make editing a tad easier on my part. Finally in post production, I would organize and communicate with my fellow editors to try and evenly give out work and get the film finished in the best, most efficient, and most convenient.
24 Hour Film Fest
I had an opportunity to precipitate in a 24 hour film fest. Basically it means we have 24 hours to create a film based off some basic requirements. Overall the film I helped create was really good for 24 hours and I was really proud of it. It helped me on how to work under pressure with the small time frame and how to organize time. I think overall the film fest positively impacted my skill in film.
Overall
I think this semester really improved my skill in film and more specifically, editing. I really did enjoy the trip to NYC due to it being educational but also really fun. I would personally change how we filmed the camera in previous projects so that the shots were focused and white balanced. I think that editing is a thing I want to do in the future and seeing how much I improved, I believe it is a possible future. A goal for next semester is to improve camera work, work efficiency, and editing. I also want to thank Mrs. Smith for being a great teacher, she has helped the class is such a positive way, so thank you.
