For this semester I learned a lot of new techniques for filming and editing. I learned the different types of angles to film, different types of editing, and how to use editing apps such as Premiere Pro and Rush. I enjoyed learning how to create a project that will capture other people’s attention. After taking this class, I have an urge to film and edit more. I hope one day I can edit YouTube videos for fun. I think editing and creating videos makes you feel like you are there in the moment. I can’t wait to edit videos of my summer.

Our first project for this semester was the six word story project. The goal of this project was to tell a story by using only six clips. This was the first time we filmed as a group. I felt that I had a good group and that everyone was creative. We came up with the idea of filming a man with Alzheimer’s disease and how he has the ability to make a new friend everyday. After filming the clips for our project, we got the opportunity to use Adobe Premiere Pro. This was my first time using this editing app, so I was a little confused with where some of the editing tools are located. Luckily, Mr. Mitchell did a great job at showing us where everything is. I felt confident with my editing skills after this project. Due to the COVID-19, we started to learn through online school. It wasn’t a new experience, however it took a little while to get use to. Our first home project was learning the different types of lighting. We did an exercise where we have to use home remedies to create a lighting set. Our next project was called Split Ends. We had to use L cuts for our hospital scene. Using L Cuts helps create emotions in one character while the other one is speaking. My Mac has issues so I had to use Premiere Rush on my iPad. This was my second time using the Premiere Rush app. I remember self teaching myself how to use the app because I had to use it for another class. After editing the Hospital scene for my Filmmaking class, I payed more attention towards the techniques I learned. This made me more confident with using the Premiere Rush app on the iPad. Our next project was learning how to edit match action cuts. The goal of this project was to edit a shot that has the actions match from one shot to the next. This project taught me to pay attention to details and to make the transitions seem smooth. Our second to final project is to learn how to edit to compress time. We edited shots of a woman getting ready for battle. Instead of a five minute setup, I had to edit the scene to speed it up and make it look intense. Since this was an action movie, I wanted the pace to be fast. My final project is to edit a music video for “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. I am currently working on my final project for this class.

I really enjoyed this filmmaking class taught by Mr. Michell. I learned a lot of new things about editing and how to film. The only challenge I had in this class was learning from home. It was a challenge because I didn’t have all of the editing tools/equipments needed to film and edit. It was kind of a bummer that COVID-19 took away my learning experience. The only thing I would like to practice more is filming with a camera. We only had the opportunity to use a camera with our introduction and the six word story project. I would learn more about camera techniques by watching YouTube videos as demonstrations. After taking this class, I felt that I have improved a lot with my editing. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to take this filmmaking class. I want to thank Mr. Mitchell for a fun year!

I read the article “Why Movies and TV Are Drunk on Nostalgia” by Jason Hellerman. The link to this article is https://nofilmschool.com/what-is-nostalgia-in-film-and-tv. Hellerman talks about why film industries uses reference from the past. The use of nostalgia causes people to feel happy and comforting. Hellerman give examples of how nostalgia is used in film and television throughout his article.

I learned from Hellerman’s article that nostalgia is a sentimental longing for the past or events in the past. These emotions are typically for a period that contains happy personal associations. Nostalgia also increases feelings of social connectedness to others. I learned that people can also get nostalgic for things they haven’t experience. This is called Anemoia. Nostalgia is a tool used by filmmakers to get the audience excited about different projects. The use of songs in trailers plays a big role in taking the audience back to a place. Hellerman uses the show Stranger Things as an example of nostalgia in screenwriting. He states that, “the Duffer brothers were able to craft a story that borrowed set pieces and emotional arcs from previous material. They molded them to their own talk but it was a clever way to get people excited about the series as well”. While the use of nostalgic movies and televisions are great, they don’t always feel new and exciting. Too much of the old thing can bore the audience.

This article taught me that nostalgia is a great tool to use when the filmmakers want to excite and draw the attention of the audience towards their project. I think Hellerman provided a valid point that using too much nostalgia can cause a sense of bore for the audiences due to the same thing being repeated. Nostalgia isn’t new. It creates a sense of relating to the past which triggers the emotions in the audience. Hellerman taught me that updating the time to the present, but keeping the theme present as well is a good use of nostalgia. When using nostalgia, as a filmmaker, I learned that I have to have a reason for what role nostalgia plays and why it matters. Otherwise, we are just repeating something that has already happened.

After reading this article, I do not have any questions. I think it’s cool how nostalgia creates a connection to past and how filmmakers are using nostalgia to create emotions in the audience.

For the past few days, I learned how to edit and use adobe Premiere Pro for my six word stories project. We had to film two six word stories projects for this week. Our first story was about a person who had Alzheimer’s disease. Our second story was about a thief who wanted to return the wallet. I liked the experience of working with the cameras. One of the challenges we had was adjusting the lighting on the camera. Working on Adobe Premiere was quite easy. After learning the basic functions, I thought editing the clips went very well. I wish we had a chance to learn how to add music to our projects to help create emotions. Overall, I think my group worked well together.

The reading topic for this week was about lighting. I learned the different types of lighting and how to use them. I learned that a Key Light is the primary light source of the scene. It is the most intense and direct light source. High Key Lighting reduces the lighting ratio in the scene. This type of lighting adjusts the mood and tone of a scene. Low Key Lighting is a type of lighting that uses a hard source to encase a scene in shadow. Low Key Lighting wants contrast and blackness. A Fill Light cancels out the shadows created by the key light. A Backlight is used to separate an object or an actor from a background. They give more shape and depth. The sun is a great backlight. I learned that Color Temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin. Color Temperature affects the tone of the story.

Something from class that I would like to know more about is how to adjust the lighting on a camera. I want to learn how to play with the brightness while I film instead to editing that clip later. I watched some YouTube videos on this. One video I found useful was this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m78k5ldZG7w.

Online classes are a little more difficult than normal class in my opinion. It is mainly asking questions when I need help because we have to do it through email, which can take some time. However, this responsibility to do work helps me prepare for college. I feel this experience gives me a sense of what self learning is like. The online classes aren’t so bad. I just wish there was a better way to ask for help and get it right away.

I read the article “What Are Cutaway Shots and How Will They Help Your Edit?” by Jason Hellerman. The link to this article is https://nofilmschool.com/cutaway-shot-definition-examples. Hellerman talks about the uses and advantages for directors when they use Cutaway shots. He gives examples of Cutaway shots from Family Guy and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He states that the Cutaway shots create a sense of comedic transition.

I learned that a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuous shot by inserting a shot of something else. Usually, the person would then cut back to the first shot. These shots can be done within the same scene, cuts to other scenes, or even as one continuous shot as the camera pans across to something else. I learned that the use of Cutaway shots are used to adjust the pace of a scene. They can also be used to delete some unwanted parts of the main shot or join two takes of the same scene that do not seamlessly integrate. This method could be used to add to the tone or even shift into a voiceover. It expands the point of view and can be a “director and editor’s secret weapon”. I learned that Cutaway shots can also be used to stitch a scene together while changing shots in between.

This article taught me that Cutaway shots are used to adjust the pace of the main action. This could mean removing a shot, or adding another shot into the main shot. This technique could also help with character development in a story. Using a cutaway shot can give the audience a sense of what the character is feeling. I feel that the film industry would be more creative if they used Cutaway shots instead of shooting a continuous scene to tell a story. The continuous scene could make the audience bored. However, using too much cutaways could cause confusion within the audience.

After reading this article, I want to learn how to know when it is a good time to use a cutaway shot. I want to know when it is the right time to use the cutaway shot so it helps with the character’s feelings. I believe that this technique will create the “less-is-more” factor in creating a story with simple shots.

This week, I learned how to use a camera, camera techniques, and the different types of camera angles used for filming. I leaned that a compressing distance is a focal length lens coupled with great camera-to-subject distance appears to reduce distance between objects in front of the lens. This is one of the creative controls that lens focal length provides the videographer, shrinking and expanding the apparent distance between objects in a scene. Changes in lens focal influence the apparent speed of objects moving toward or away from the camera. Filmmakers often use this technique for good effect. Using a wide-angle lens combined with a limited camera-to-subject distance creates a type of perspective distortion. So, when a videographer uses a short focal length lens shooting a building from street level, the parallel lines along the sides of the building appears to converge towards the top. The building would also appear to be leaning backwards. I learned different types of focus. Selective focus is making a certain thing in focus in a shot and others aren’t. This technique is also referred to as bokeh. Selective focus is commonly used to direct attention towards things that are important. A follow focus is used to refocus the camera to accommodate subject movement. Rack focus is similar to selective focus, except the camera operator changes focus during the scene to shift viewer attention from one part to another. Finally, using auto focus helps with following a moving subject. Most auto-focus devices assume that the area you want in sharp focus is in the center of the picture.

For this week, we watched a documentary on cinematography. I learned from the directors the different types of camera angles and how those angles affect a character in the movie. A Close Up is a shot taken of a person or object at a close range. This shot is tightly framed, and takes up most of the screen. A Medium Shot indicates that it was captured at a medium distance from the subject. This shot is used for back and forth dialogue between two characters. The Long Shot or Wide Shot is used as an establishing shot. It sets the scene and the character’s place within it. I learned that the High-Angle is when the camera points down on the subject from above. This technique is used to make the subject below seem vulnerable or powerless. The Over the Shoulder shot is used when two or more characters are talking to each other in conversation. This type of shot can be used to indicate the viewer that a specific character in the film sees something that the other characters might not yet see. The Dutch Angle is when the camera is tilt to one side, which results in a frame that is not equal. This technique is used to create dramatic effect and evoke a series of different emotions. It was nice learning from the documentary and being able to use the techniques for our six shot video project.

Something from class that I would like to learn more is how to avoid shaky footages while filming. I would watch YouTube videos for advice on techniques to avoid the shaky footages to film smoother footages. I watched a video by Peter McKinnon. In this video, he explains how to avoid the shaky footages. The link to his video is https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=59dl-mhQWBA. I learned that body movement and using a wide shot helps eliminates a shaky footage.

I read the article “Establishing Shots: Examples and Uses of the Camera Angle” by Jason Hellerman. The link to this article is https://nofilmschool.com/establishing-shot-examples-and-uses. Hellerman explains the meaning of establishing shots. He says that establishing shots are used everywhere, from movies to television to documentaries and the news. Hellerman also talks about the importance of exposition and the audience. Throughout the article, Hellerman gives a bunch of examples where films and shows use establishing shots. One of the movie that Hellerman admires is Harry Potter. Hellerman is impressed with the story telling and how the time progresses in Harry Potter. Hellerman ends the article by saying some of the most jaw-dropping scenes were made possible by wide shots.

I learned that an establishing shot is a wide shot that helps the viewer gain knowledge over the time and location of a scene. Exposition is important to get across to the audience. When someone builds a world, people want to know where things are located and how it affects the story. So, establishing shots work as a shorthand for filmmakers to communicate ideas to the audience without confusing them. I learned that we can amp up establishing shots by finding angles with lead-in lines. These can be roads, rivers, or pathways that direct the audience’s eyes towards what you want the audience to look at. Establishing shots are usually wide. This gives us the opportunity to add details in the foreground to challenge the audience to take everything in. This also will add layers of depth to the image and make it more beautiful.

This article taught me that filmmaking is hard. It’s all about creating an emotional experience and capturing the audience’s imagination. Hellerman states, “You have to create a compelling world, fill it with complex characters, and develop a real sense of atmosphere. Simply put, you need some scope”. This quote taught me that creativity plays a big role in creating a successful film. I feel that the film industry is very creative. Most of the movies I have watched definitely catches my attention.

After reading this article, I want to learn how to tell a story by showing instead of telling. I feel that the audience gets involved with movies through visual rather than narration. I would go read more articles about camera angles.

Every year, companies try to show off their products through advertisements for the Super Bowl. They get major actors to appear in their ads in an attempt to build buzz and get positive publicity. My top 5 best 2020 Super Bowl commercials are “Loretta Google Super Bowl Commercial 2020”, “Jeep “Groundhog Day” Bill Murray”, “Porsche “The Heist” Official Big Game Commercial 2020”, “MTN DEW Zero Sugar, As Good As The Original”, and “Tribute Planters 2020 Big Game Commercial”.

The “Loretta Google Super Bowl Commercial 2020” is great and effective because of its simple story telling. This ad affects the audiences’ emotions by telling the love story of an old person who wants to keep his memories. The editing in this ad goes well with the music. The ad is memorable for its story instead of the actors, which shows that the writing and advertising is done correctly. Google showed the world that they could build products that help people in their daily lives. Overall, Google is saying they can help keep the memories alive by creating this digital memory book. This ad was successful.

The “Jeep “Groundhog Day” Bill Murray” is great because of its nostalgia. The commercial mirrors scenes from the movie and included original costars like Murray’s brother, Brian Doyle Murray. There are moments that makes the audience laugh, like the wack-a-mole scene. The editing and writing for the commercial works well. Jeep shows the other characters stuck in a time loop while Bill Murray is experiencing time going by due to him driving the Jeep Gladiator. This is ad is successful because it shows the audience that this vehicle is meant for adventures, so every day is going to be different.

The “Porsche “The Heist” Official Big Game Commercial 2020” is one of my top 5 because of the story telling. It’s pretty awesome to see all of these sports and racing vehicles from Porsche’s epic 70-plus year history racing through public roads. This ad does a wonderful job trying to connect Porsche’s past and present with its electric future. The ad also does a good job at showing Germany’s architecture. Porsche’s advertisement is effective because it shows the power of their vehicles, past and present.

The “MTN DEW Zero Sugar, As Good As The Original” commercial is great because of its details from the original movie. I feel that Bryan Cranston is one of the best casting choices. Mountain Dew did an amazing job with its writing by turning a horror film into a comedy. The ad parallels with the drink by claiming, “it’s as good as the original”. The ad’s comedy and its adverting was very effective to the audience.

The “Tribute Planters 2020 Big Game Commercial” was a success because of its Baby Peanut. I feel that the Baby Yoda memes going around helped this ad become viral instantly. This commercial is creative because it has the other brands involved in it and this rebirth of Mr. Peanut. This ad was effective because of the Baby Yoda memes, and people knew this ad was about peanuts.

My top 5 worst 2020 Super Bowl commercials are “Jason Momoa Super Bowl Commercial 2020 Rocket Mortgage”, “OLAY #MAKESPACEFORWOMEN Super Bowl LIV Official Commercial”, “Going Away Party feat. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen 2020 Super Bowl Commercial Genesis”, “Zero Sugar. Done Right. :30 Pepsi” and “Johnathan Van Ness Freak Out Teaser for Pop-Tarts Big Game Commercial”.

The “Jason Momoa Super Bowl Commercial 2020 Rocket Mortgage” was funny because it gets the audiences’ attention. This odd advertisement was shocking. The special effects team did a great job with editing Momoa’s body parts. The truth is I do not understand how this commercial has anything to do with loans. The story telling wasn’t bad. I just do not think that the ad was very effective.

The “OLAY #MAKESPACEFORWOMEN Super Bowl LIV Official Commercial” was a sexist ad. The space theme had nothing to do with the skincare brand. This ad is cringeworthy. The Olay brand doesn’t adversity their skincare that well, so I think this ad was pointless and a failure.

The “Going Away Party feat. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen 2020 Super Bowl Commercial Genesis” is bad because of the cringe. The scene at the stairs, when Chrissy Teigen starts to call out people, was cringe. I also feel the two actors were arrogant about their luxury. The ad was not effective for they did not advertise their cars very well.

The “Zero Sugar. Done Right. :30 Pepsi” is one of the worst commercials because it is too plain. It lacks creativity. Pepsi literally just turned every color in the ad to black. It wasn’t special or anything.

The “Johnathan Van Ness Freak Out Teaser for Pop-Tarts Big Game Commercial” is not a success because their ad did not “fix” the dry snack. Pop-Tarts are a dry snack. In the ad, the actor is freaking out over dry snacks, however Pop-Tarts are dry. Pop-Tarts did not fix anything. I feel that this ad could be misleading almost, making it not effective to the audience.

The things I learned this week were the power of editing and the types of editing. I learned that the theme or the story as a whole could be viewed differently by how we placed the skids in a certain order. This is called continuity editing. Continuity editing refers to arranging the sequence of shots to suggest a progression of events. I learned that given the same shots, an editor can suggest many different scenarios. The second type of edit I learned was relational editing. In relational editing, scenes that by themselves seem not to be related take on a cause-effect significance when edited together in a sequence. In relational editing we expect to see scenes come together in a logical sequence to tell a story. The third type of edit I learned was thematic editing. This edit could also be referred to as a montage. In thematic editing, the images are edited together based only on a central theme. Thematic editing is rapid and includes impressionistic sequence of disconnected scenes. This type of editing is used in music videos, commercials, or film trailers. Learning how to edit stands out to me because I can tell different stories but also have the ability to use the same skids. I also find editing interesting because it makes the story or movie more interesting and intense. I learned that parallel action is when the segments are cut together to follow the multiple story lines. By cutting back and forth between two or more mini-stories within the overall story, production pace can be varied and overall interest heightened. I learned that the cutting back and forth between the characters or situations also helps keep the attention of the viewers.

For this week, we watched Ronald Howard’s MasterClass. Ronald Howard is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard first came to prominence as a child star, guess-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone. The thing I learned from Howard’s MasterClass was the 180 Rule. One of the most common problems is crossing the line. Any time a new camera angle exceeds 180-degrees you will have crossed the line, which is the action axis, and the action will be reversed. This is difficult to fix during editing. I also learned that directors sometimes violate the 180-degree rule for dramatic effect. This crossing the line shows confusion and disorientations.

Something from class that I would like to know more about is solving continuity problems when filming. I am interested in being able to tell a story with simplicity rather than complexity. I would read articles from Cyber College, http://cybercollege.com/tvp_ind.htm, to help me understand more about continuity problems and how to avoid it or fix it. I would mainly focus on reading the video editing portion.

I read the article “Here’s How to Create Viral, Low-Budget Horror” by Jo Light. The article is an interview between Jo Light and LA-based filmmakers Todd Spence and Zak White. They are talking about their latest horror short, Fear Wish. Their work is atmospheric creepy and always packs a good, punchy scare according to Light. During this interview, Light asks the filmmakers about their past, how they manage to make a horror short with no money, and tricks for creating an ominous atmosphere. Spence and White also talks about the challenges of filming Fear Wish. They end the interview with advice on crowdfunding projects and hints for their upcoming horror project.

I learned that telling a horror story is similar to telling a comedy because both of the genres are intertwined. I learned that you have to be passionate and “wanting” to make a film. White said, “It will take a very long time to get good at something. Make it something you care about getting good at”. I find this quote very true. I also learned that the horror genre is a less-is-more factor. This is useful because I learned that we want the audience to be involved with the story. By letting the audience use their imagination to image the unknown horror, we are getting them involved. Tension and timing also plays a big role in creating a good scare.

This article taught me that you do not have to have a lot of money to create a horror story. This article taught me that scaring takes practice. White states in the article, “If you can build the right moment, you won’t need a ton of production value to pay it off. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to make something with a bigger budget, but learning how to save without that budget is invaluable”. This quote shows that having a lot of money for a horror project, but not knowing how to scare, is useless. Horror is based around imagination. It’s that moment when our brain starts to play tricks on us and then we freak out. A horror film that scares us by using our imagination is a successful horror film. In my opinion, I feel that film industries should stop creating these giant creatures for horror films, but instead create something that people actually fear. Some type of horror that is realistic, or some type of horror that everyday people could relate to.

After reading this article, I want to know if it’s better to have a lot of people in a horror film or less people. I also want to know if music and sound effects play a big role in horror films. I might go read more interviews with Spence and White to learn more about horror.

My name is Peter Pham. I am currently a senior at Saint Xavier High School. I am involved in the Ryken Service Club and Track & Field. Art is one of my favorite subjects. I want to take this Filmmaking class because I want to try something new.

My experience with film making is not new. I have filmed and created videos before, but it was for a class project. I haven’t really filmed professionally or with an actual camera. I want to take this class to learn something new. I also want to learn how to edit properly and record a video that catches someone else’s attention. My main goal in this class is to learn how to edit videos and capture the right moments.

With that being said, I am excited to take this filmmaking class and learn new techniques to improve my film making.