second semester video

Happy Campers

This project consisted of writing, casting, and filming our own short film. There was a lot of time and effort put into this project, especially into the script which I spent countless nights working on. This project took about two weeks. It seemed much shorter though due to deadlines and stress to get it done. The biggest challenge was probably the fact that the script was supposed to be crafted by the time we got into groups by the person who's story idea it was. But, none of it was done. So, I spent the entirety of pre production writing the script, which then put a delay to the production schedule and storyboarding. I learned that sometimes, in order to get work done, you need to pick up your group's slack. If they aren't doing their work, sometimes you need to do it for them, in order to get done.This was really valuable for me to learn now, because I know I will experience this again later in life. We ended up not getting about half of our footage so our most critical feedback was that the continuity was off and that it didn't make sense. I think our story had great potential and it was going to be great. I am very disappointed in how it turned out but I learned several lessons.

Love, Simon

Our assignment was to recreate a high school movie trailer with people we know and the technology we were provided, and the movie our group choose was Love, Simon. Our pre-production was the storyboard of the scenes we could do and get some actors. We had a lot of struggles throughout this project, mostly teamwork issues. Despite our issues, we still ended woking together the best we could and finishing the project. Caitlyn was originally the director but eventually, Brooke morphed not more of the director. I was the second lead actor. After tons of time editing, we ended up having a finished product that we liked, even if it wasn't exactly what we were going for. 
What I learned along the way was that it is always best to look at the big picture and most of all, teamwork. You may not always be in a group where the group chemistry is high and you have no drama. We had a TON of drama and almost lost our main actor but in the end, we realized that our grade was more important and we had to finish the project. I also learned that technology is not always cooperative and you have make due with what you have. When some of the most funny clips ended up not recording, we had use extra footage to make it still look finished.  What I would do differently next time is to possibly take on more of a leadership role and step up when the group needs it and speak my mind. If something isn't working, we need to talk to each other about it instead of telling someone else because it will always get back to someone but twisted into a rumor. I liked how my group banded together in the end and worked together despite the drama and that shows maturity. 

Time usage

I have used my time in class very well. I always work until the last minute to make my project as perfect as possible. If one thing is bad, I make sure to fix it and make it look better. I don't ever finish early but if I do, I will keep perfecting the video because it can always be better. I make music videos with my sister for fun to improve my skills and get better. 

Strengths and weaknesses

In Ecomm, I'd say I have a lot of strengths. I love this program so much which I feel really shows up in my work. My passion for the friends I have and these classes and my work helps me to really show my true colors and push through it all. I also think that my enthusiasm for the program helps me to get work done and get it done happily. I think I have a good vision for just about anything of the creative field so I always have a general idea of what I want to do. These characteristics really help me to pump out a good product.

For areas of improvement, there are definitely some areas I could work on. Of all five ecomm guaranteers, I'd say my worst one would be time management. I get all my work done on time, but I do it so close to the deadline that it stresses me out. I could definitely work on that and making sure to work smarter not harder. Especially on a big and stressful project.

Short film experience and summary

I feel like the short film had potential to be great fun and a great experience. But, it ended up being more stressful than I had anticipated. I did most of the work which caused me to stress a lot. But, I feel like overall it was a good experience to deal with the stress and work load. All in all, I had a really good semester. I grew a lot as a person and it was very beneficial to me. I learned how to work through disagreements and still get my work done, despite the conflicts. I would't change anything because all the challenges I faced helped me. I want to increase my knowledge in film and video next year and improve as a person even more. 

 

second semester final

This semester in ecomm, I had a lot of favorite projects. But I have to say, My three favorite were defitinitly the event advertising, vector project, and the personal logo design. All three of these were really fun. For the event advertising project, we were tasked to create a poster, ticket, and postcard for an event at the sprint center. I chose to do mine over a Shawn Mendes concert. This project took around two weeks and I enjoyed every minute of it. I faced few challenges except for coming up with a color scheme which I ended up not following entirely because I didn't want that consistency. I learned more about making clipping make and about type layouts. I recommend sketching out your designs and having a generalized of where you are going with your overall project. I didn't have a

strong original idea. In fact, the little base I did have was 100% changed when I started working. I ended up deleting my photo manipulation and turned the poster into a much more simple and concise design. I really loved my work and I'm very proud of all I did and how it turned out.

I also loved the vector project a lot. We had the choice between organic and geometric. I ended up going with the geometric because it would look better with my image. I did mine over my dog and the geometric design looked really good with it. This took about two weeks to make. I didn't have any challenges on this project actually. It was really relaxing and I came to class ready to work every day. I learned about the pen tool and how to draw. I also learned more about the eye dropper tool. I recommend doing a big chunk of triangles then closing it in, then doing the next chunk and coloring it. That's the method I used and I got mine done quicker and more efficiently than other people. I had no idea how this would turn out when I started. In fact, I had really low expectations because it looked really complex, but I ended up loving it and enjoying it! I loved my work and how much work I put into it. It looks great and I'm very pleased. 

The last and most recent project we did was the personal logo project. We had to create a professional looking logo that we could potentially use for clients. This took about two weeks as well to complete. I had a lot of troubles with coming up with a good design I liked. I had nearly 75 sketches and I disliked so many of them. I ended up settling on several that I had randomly came up and loved. I deepened my knowledge in the pen tool and choosing satisfying color schemes. I would recommend relaxing when it comes to sketching. The perfect sketch WILL come to you, it just takes some time. I didn't make really any changes from my final sketches. Once I was finally happy, I stuck with those sketches until the very end. I really liked this project and was super happy with my overall design and the outcome.

If I ended up finishing early, I would continue to add things to my project or go and help a friend with there's or get inspirtaion from several other classmates. I would occasionally look up new photoshop tricks and hacks to make my projects look better. I most defitinley critique my projects. I will constantly find ways to make it better or find the smallest imperfection that I can fix. I do a little bit of client work for my mom when she makes logos and yearbooks and my sister's cheer gym which I do video work and graphic design work for. 

In Ecomm, I'd say I have a lot of strengths. I love this program so much which I feel really shows up in my work. My passion for the friends I have and these classes and my work helps me to really show my true colors and push through it all. I also think that my enthusiasm for the program helps me to get work done and get it done happily. I think I have a good vision for just about anything of the creative field so I always have a general idea of what I want to do. These characteristics really help me to pump out a good product.

For areas of improvement, there are definitely some areas I could work on. Of all five ecomm guaranteers, I'd say my worst one would be time management. I get all my work done on time, but I do it so close to the deadline that it stresses me out. I could definitely work on that and making sure to work smarter not harder. Especially on a big and stressful project. 

In conclusion, the thing I loved most about graphic design, was probably the bonds and friendships I created through this class. I bonded with now one of my best friends due to our mutual annoyance for a particular fried of ours. The people in Ecomm are some of the most amazing and supportive people I've ever met. Everyone has a tight bond with everyone and there is no leaving anyone out. I also loved the relaxation this class gave me. It served as an outlet when I had a bad day. I really don't have anything to change about this class. I like the relaxed atmosphere, and the teacher who wants to help us. I've nothing but a positive experience in this class. My biggest goal next year is finding MY place in Ecomm. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do and I'm next year will help me with that. I couldn't have asked for a better sixth hour and graphics class and I'm so happy I learned all I did.