Our Idea:

Our group came up with the idea for the product BBA Uber. The concept was to use an electric kids car, and for the joke to be that the car actually is slower and less convenient than just walking. The size of the car was a bit smaller than I think our group envisioned. We originally wanted to be able to have the driver and the student in the car together, but it became pretty clear pretty fast, that that wouldn't work. 

Commercial Review:

 Josh Pearson was our group's DP and editor. However, we all shared the struggle of finding a good camera angle in such a long, narrow hallway. It would have been nice to be able to pan out further, but the wall was right behind the camera. We backed the camera up as far as we could, but we were still left with some awkward angles.

Editing was really challenging as well, but we learned a lot. Our group wanted our video to have the "feel of a commercial". This is why Josh used the cheesy 90's commercial background music, which we thought was a good fit. Our commercial is now called BBA Uber #2 because we accidentally broke the 180 degree rule on our first edit. Our group made many mistakes, which is expected and is the whole point of learning. It was hard getting our whole part of the hallway in a scene without accidentally getting light stands in the background. We had some issues with lighting because we started out with only two lights, but this cast a big shadow on the wall giving the wrong mood. Adjusting the lights wasn't easy because the windows of the math department office reflected the bright lights. Unfortunately, when we set up three lights there were issues with a glare in the window, and if we only set up two, we had issues with a shadow on the wall. 

Small things in terms of differences on the "set" also messed us up a bit. For example, we were shooting some clips one day when we realized that the previous day the door to the math office had been open, and we had been shooting with it closed. Attention to detail is very important - such as making sure she was holding the phone with the same hand, taking a step with the same foot each time.  

Our group had trouble with finding a toy car, so we missed many days of potential shooting. I think it turned out alright though. If I could re-do the project, I would have taken more footage. I think we did fine on the editing, but we found ourselves lacking usable footage. We also totally forgot to print out the logo Josh had wanted to put on the car. He later added it into the video afterwards using Final Cut, but we soon realized that the scene where he had put the logo on the car door, was the scene that broke the 180 degree rule. We had to take that out, and there really wasn't another place he could add in a logo.

I think the hardest thing for me, personally, was fitting everything into 30 seconds. I wanted to do more "action shots" and angles, but in 30 seconds you can only do so much. I think the whole Uber idea was clever, but was more challenging to do than, for example, an inanimate object that people can hold (cleaning supplies, phone, clothing etc.).  Some of the other commercials look more "professional", I think. What would have been fun to do is get the car and film in front of the green screen. It would have been funny to show lots of different "characters" being driven around in the Uber - such as a super stylish person, a "nerd", a football player, a teacher, etc.

For a 30 second video, and the first project with actors, I think it turned out pretty well. It was a difficult project to start with, and it didn't help that we're all still learning how to use the equipment, how to communicate with each other, and how to come up with a specific idea and get the props. Overall, the project I feel was a success. There is more learning to be done, but for having never done a commercial like this before, I think it was a fun, good experience where I learned a lot. I feel our group worked well enough together to complete the project, but it would've been nice to have had people be more vocal. I feel like everyone in our group had ideas and opinions about the video, but I felt like I was often left making a lot of these decisions because I wasn't afraid to speak up and be vocal.

Movie Review:

Se7en is a very twisted movie about a retiring detective, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), and new transfer, David Mills (Brad Pitt). The two come across a number of gruesome murders in which the killer leaves his motive written in blood: one of the seven deadly sins. It takes the detectives a little while to understand what these bloody messages all have in common. They soon realize that they are dealing with a serial killer who is going after people he feels represent one of the seven deadly sins. The movie is very dimly lit and gives off a crowded, city vibe. The acting is very interesting because both the detectives and the killer often feel like they have the upper hand in the situation. This makes it harder to tell what's actually going on, what the killer has up his sleeve, and who actually has the upper hand. 

Vocabulary:

Cannon T3I/T5I - Are DLSR crop sensor cameras that are usually used for taking pictures, but when used for film, they will give you very cinematographic shots - great for action sports

Cinematic - A film would be defined as 'cinematic' if the film leaves you wanting more, leaves you with questions about how the production was made, and makes you want to watch it again 

Director - Is the person charged with making sure everything runs smooth during the production - this person has to create the storyboard, come up with ideas, communicate effectually with their DP, and give the actors and extras clear orders

Director of Photography - Is the person charged with setting up/framing the shot

Dissolve or Fade - Is a transition where the image or video slowly disappears instead of a hard, jarring transition

Editing - Modifications made to a film after it has been shot, in order to make it more satisfying and interesting for the view to watch 

Editor - The person that takes raw film and makes it more satisfying and interesting for the view to watch - in post processing programs like Final Cut Pro

Establishing shot - Is the first shot of a new scene - shows the audience where the action is taking place  (usually a wide shot)

Eye line/Eye line matching - Is a shot technique that allows the viewer to see the scene through the eyes of actor - this is done by placing the camera at the eye line of the actor

Green screen - Is a huge light green screen that acts as a background, that then can be edited in post processing to any background you might want

Pre-production - Is work that needs to be or should be done before you even lay your hands on a camera - such as  creating a storyboard and getting a crew and actors together

Post-production - Is work that needs to be or should be done after you have finished filming -such as editing the clips themselves, cutting, and adding or tweaking sound

Shot list - Is a list of all the shots that you or your director wants to include in your film (very similar to a storyboard)

Shotgun Mic - Or gun microphone is a mic that is usually placed on top of the camera and allows the camera to pick better sound than the standard mic in the camera - however a shotgun mic is not great for interviewing and dialogue between two actors

Storyboard - Is very similar to a shot list - it's simply just a board of all the shots that you or your director wants to include in your film

Transition - Is the cut between two different shots - this can either be a hard cut, fade to black, cross dissolve, etc. - many option to choose from in post processing to create the perfect transitions  

Voice-over - Voice-over or the "voice of god" is when you add in voice in post process without filming anything 

Notes: 

- if you're going to make a joke, make it so that you don't get in trouble (Example: if you need someone to act as a drug dealer, don't pick an actor who actually might have drugs on them)

- add funny disclaimers at the end to make the joke last longer

- keep it short and to the point - it can't last longer than 30 seconds

- come up with an idea that students can relate to - a product that pertains to BBA