AICE Media Studies

  My name is Melanie Madrinan, and I am a student enrolled in AICE Media studies. I am currently working on my own, no partners. I chose to work by myself because I often find it easier when I work independently. Many times I see myself grasping information easier and better comprehending it when I work alone. I do enjoy working with partners, especially on major projects, but I believe it will be more beneficial for me if I work on my own. When I film and jot down ideas for storylines, I like to get opinions and criticism from people who would be in the audience, and not the team, hence working on my own. I enjoy taking charge in projects, especially in larger ones. It's nice working at my own pace and being able to run along my own lines, accordingly. It's easier for me to concentrate because sometimes I can get distracted when working around close friends. There is also a much lesser chance of any conflict arising when working on my own, preventing any mishaps in the work. I

 For my video, I will have many props. They will consist of a camera, telescope, computer, and phone. Since there is only one actor (me), only one costume is necessary. I will wear a black SpaceX hoodie and black leggings. Not much makeup is needed nor a rigorous hairstyle process. As for location, there will be multiple locations. A few shots will be taken at the beach, some in other spaces. The weather is undecided but a majority will be taken inside. If weather is unfavorable, meaning cloudy skies blocking the moon and stars, I will push forward the dates. I have previous footage of filming the stars and planets so worst-case scenario, I will use that.  The current dates I have set are to film all possible clips beginning anywhere from November 19th-28th.  This gives me enough time to accommodate for unfavorable weather, personal emergency events, and filming shots that require the moon and the stars to be visible.

 The genre is for my song and video is alternative rock. I plan to have quick scenes. Some shots will last longer than others. This is because there isn't really a storyline, it will be more so just clips and shots that relate to space compiled together in a video. The transitions will be fast and not extremely smooth. It will jump from scene to scene and be somewhat choppy. This will add texture to the video. In the scenes, the camera will be placed at different angles. Some will be taken in high angle, low angle, close up, from afar, and zoom in. None of the clips will have the same exact camera angle back to back. I will set up the camera on a tripod or put against a surface at an angle that will record when I (the actor) will be in the shots.

   For this project, I decided to work on my own. I chose this because it would be a lot easier to work under my timing. With meeting restrictions due to the pandemic, the filming and editing process would be a lot smoother and less complicated. The song I decided on is "Space Song" by Beach House. I chose this song because it has a beat that is very calm and mellow. With this, I am able to create a video around the space theme. I knew I wanted to create a space-themed video when I was presented with this project, so immediately I thought of this song. The name of the song is coincidental. Since the song is a melancholy-like song, it would be perfect for a space-related music video. 

This is the first commercial I have ever done. It was definitely the biggest project I have completed before. My editing skills improved a lot but there are many areas that have room for improvement. I learned a lot about filming from different angles and how to create a proper storyline. I look forward to my production skills growing positively. Overall, I am very proud of my first commercial!

 Once I had finished filming, I downloaded all of my clips and files onto my computer. I made sure to import all the necessary shots. I decided to use iMovie as my editing software as it is already a program on my computer and I have experience using it. Once everything was downloaded and embedded into iMovie, I trimmed, deleted, and moved around the clips to create scenes that allow the video to follow the script I made in my storyboard. The original video was roughly 5 minutes without editing or trimming.  I needed to shape the format of the clips I filmed, and once that was complete, I added my scenes in between shots. Like this, the viewer has a bit of context in between shots so they know what they're seeing. Once the base was fully done and edited, it took about 20 minutes to find the right music to add to the background. I needed to make sure that the audio was long enough for the video so that there weren't any periods of silence. Once I found the right audio, I added i