Entertainment End of the Year Reflection

      This year in video I learned so many different things that I will be able to carry with me in the future. I learned so many new things to do with technology, collaborating, communicating, project management, and leadership.

Technology

Technology plays a huge part in video. We had to learn how to how to operate the cameras and learn how to use Premiere Pro. I learned how to change the lighting on the camera and white balance it so the colors correct.  In Premiere Pro I learned how to color correct for example in the short film I created we got shots that were very orange that I had to go in and color correct it to look like all the other shots. I also learned how to make music or sound fade in and out using exponential fade. Also I learned how to edit the audio and if I messed up while filming with the audio and it only came out of one channel I learned how to make it so it comes out of both channels. I improved immensely since last year, I learned so many things and got so much better at editing and filming. One of my biggest weaknesses in technology is editing to the beat and adding special effects. A lot of people in my class are really good at editing to the beat and adding special effects which are some things I need to work on for next year.

Collaboration

Collaboration is very important for video because you're always talking and working with people. For all of our project this year we worked in a group and had to talk and ask people questions. for example in my last project my short film I had to work with a group and we all had to work together to get all the pre-planing done and figure out when we could film. We also had to collaborate to figure which shot would look better and what sounded best in the script and what tweaks we had to make to make our short film even better. Also in my music video me and my group had to bounce ideas back and forth to figure out what we wanted it to look like and what we were going to be doing in it. We also had to collaborate on who was bring certain props. The thing that I improved on in this section was talking a little more and voicing my opinion more than I did last year. One this I can work on in this section is to say my opinions when I'm with a group of people I don't know that well.

Communication

If you don't communicate in video your work will never get any better so this is a hug part in making your projects the very best that they can be. I also communicate with my peers to figure out what looks better and ask them how to do a certain thing. For our short films we all had to make a script and I had the teacher look over mine to see what changes I could make and overall get her feedback on it. I also had to communicate with my groups so we could execute our projects and make them the very best they could be. For example we all had to communicate to figure out when we could stay after to film or when we were going to film certain shots. With our communication in video nothing would ever get done. one of my strengths is I always communicate when I can stay after and if I need a certain thing from my group. One of my weaknesses is I need to ask more questions when I need help instead of just skipping it and not making that change.

Project Management

In video we really have to know how to manage our time and plan out everything so we can get our work done in time. For our short film we spent at least a week on just planning out our video. We had to make a schedule on what dos we were going to film certain shots and what they were going to be wearing. This was very important and a essential because if we didn't everything would be a very big mess and not get our project in on time or we could forget to get certain clips. For our movie trailer this played a huge role in being able to finish it on time because we had everything mapped out and new what days we were filming and what the actors were going to wear we had a lot more time to edit. Also if we couldn't finish editing or filming while we were in school we would sometimes have to stay after school. For example for my movie trailer my group had to come in on the weekend and film for a few hours so we would have all the clips we needed to turn in our project on time. I feel like I've always been good at turning my work in on time but this year I definitely made more time for video and filmed after school or on the weekends so my projects could look their best and be turned in on time. I still need to work on managing my time better in school because sometimes when I am editing in school I get distracted or just really don't want to edit that day which shouldn't happen. I will continue to use the skills I learned on the pre-planing aspect.

Leadership

This is a trait I still need to work on immensely. This is trait is very important for video because if we have no leaders nothing will ever get done. Our leaders in videos are usually the directors, their the ones that figure out how the video should look. For example my director for my short film would have to look everything over and figure what she wanted certain scenes to look like and how she waned them executed. I really don't like taking charge I would much rather just follow along with someone, this is something I really need to work on and get better at. I have improved though at this since last year, now I voice my opinions more about certain things and make more of an effort to contribute my thoughts on ways things should look. I will continue to use this skill through out my life and I feel like e-comm is really helping me become more of a leader every year and I can definitely see a difference.

   Overall I have had an amazing time learning new things and creating new bonds with my peers and teachers. I am so thankful for all the opportunities that e-comm has given me and can't wait to continue in video next year!