Mood Board: My Ideal Adulthood

 

My Sound Story Experience

     My experience making this sound story was definitely anything from simple. I faced some difficulties, especially when trying to create my foley sounds. 

The first obstacle I had to overcome was deciding what my storyline would be. After many scrapped ideas and troubleshooting, I came to the decision that my project would focus on a rainy day on the ranch. My second obstacle was attempting to make the foley sounds. It cost me a lot of work to mimic the sound of horses galloping, since I had to open up a tough coconut with different tools and break it in half. Mimicking the sound of thunder with aluminum foil was also very difficult and did not sound right, so instead I used the foil as gun shots after noticing the similarity in sound.

 I felt pretty proud of my rain sound, since meat sizzling over a stove resembled the sound phenomenally. After the challenge of opening the coconut, I was actually able to create a pretty good imitation of horses that I was very proud of. Plus, I was able to eat the delicious leftovers after recording!  I was also able to find some music and extra noises to add to the scene, which was a relief.

After recording all my sounds, I used WeVideo to combine all the sounds together and create a story. The program was very easy to use and let me bring my ideas to life with ease. In the video which shows how I made the foley sounds, I used IMovie on my cellular device to bring all of them together. This was a great learning experience and will help me out in the future when the time comes to work on my movie opening.

Comments on my Peers' Shots

 Hannah Barnes

The first shot I commented was the POV shot. I think she displayed excellently what it is and how it looks. The shakiness of the camera and the fact that she was looking around really gave the shot a frightening, anxious vibe to it. Also, her heavy breathing is a nice touch, letting me know that she is frantically trying to escape something.

The second shot I commented on was the long shot, which I felt was not positioned far enough from the subject. I felt like it was actually more of a normal long shot, rather than an extreme one. I understood that her surroundings made it hard for her to make sure the subject was emphasized, so next time she should try to find a better area to film her extreme long shot. Still, the long shot of her skating created a natural, but comfortable tone for the shot. I felt like I was in the area with her.

The third shot I commented on was the establishing shot is pretty good and establishes the setting well. It captures the area and the sunset, indicating that she is in a neighborhood and what time it is. The only thing I would have changed is from what angle the house is being filmed. The front area of the house would've served as a better establishing shot then its side. I will say that the shot creates a peaceful and soothing mood as it shows the beautiful, multi-colored sunset.

The fourth shot I commented on was the tilt shot, which was perfectly done, as she slowly panned the camera up. As a simple shot, this worked, but in the future I would like to see a little more content in the shot, rather than just branches. For example, pan up to reveal something important of the scene, like a person or special item. The mood created was calm and normal, as a slow pan was done, rather than a fast, exciting one. 

Melanie Reynoso

The first shot I commented on was the close up. The close shot of her fingers as they gracefully touch the keys is really beautiful and gives a peaceful vibe. This scene would fit perfectly in a movie featuring a girl playing the piano. The music, angle of the shot, and background created a beautiful, calm tone.

The second show I commented was her extreme long shot. While I think it shows a very beautiful scene, I don't feel like its a fully accurate representation of an extreme long shot. This type of shot shows a subject and how small it is compared to its surroundings. In her shot, I didn't see any subjects, so I felt like it was more of an aerial shot, rather than an extreme long shot. This shot created an exciting, but interesting tone since it showed the view of a location from the sky, which might be explored later.

The third shot I commented was her two shot. It showed two subjects, which is exactly what a two shot is, in the frame. Not only did she capture two subjects, but she was able to show the relationship between the two people and how they excitedly interacted with each other. This created a tone of happiness and humor, since the individuals are shown having a good time together.

The fourth shot I commented on was the full shot. It was able to capture the entire subject's body while also showing her surroundings. You can see students walking behind her and get a sense of the school environment she is in. This makes an funny mood because the individual is shown fooling around and walking in a strange manner. 

Camera Shots

Follow Shot

The first shot I decided to try was a follow shot. With a follow shot, the camera continuously follows the subject as they walk or move. In this case, the subject is trying to call someone who isn't picking up. Upset over the lack of communication, I get up from my seat and walk to a different location in the setting. As I walk away from the house, the camera follows me all the way to where I stop on the road. This follow shot allows viewers to know that I changed locations by walking there, instead of just skipping straight to when I am already standing in the street. This shot was harder than the others to film because the the camera person had to keep the camera steady and make sure it wasn't shaky as they followed me. One has to keep the subject in the frame at all times, which can be hard if they are focusing on walking at the same time.

Long Shot

The second shot I wanted to experience was the long shot. When it comes to long shots, the camera must capture the entire subject, in relation to its area and surroundings. In my take, I am walking across the road while still trying to contact someone on the phone. The camera is located down the road, displaying the entire street and surrounding houses. The long shot allows audiences to better understand the setting and the subject's role in it. This shot was pretty easy to do as the camera just had to stay in one place. The only difficult thing to do was make sure the camera was in the correct area and angle to capture everything we wanted to capture and exclude everything we wanted to exclude.

High Angle Shot

The third shot I wanted to include in this assignment is the high angle shot. A high angle shot involves the camera looking down on a subject from a higher point. In this video, I can be seen walking across some grass, next to a tree, with the camera looking down at me from a higher point. This gives a third angle to me frantically looking around for someone and emphasizes how I have searched in many places for them. The video also includes me finally getting into contact with the person I am trying to find. This shot was a little difficult to capture since we needed a way to get to a higher point to be able to capture me from a higher angle. Luckily, we had a balcony we could film from, but other locations don't always have this. 

Two Shot

The fourth shot I thought would work with the storyline was a two shot. A two shot can be used when wanting to show a dialogue between two individuals or simply to capture two subjects in the same frame. In my case, I used a two shot to display a conversation between myself and the person I was trying to find, my sister. In the scene, I tell her that we won tickets to go to Spain. By having a two shot, audiences can see both our reaction and excitement for the news. The two shot was by far the easiest shot to take, since you simply have to position the angle to include both individuals in the frame. 

Over the Shoulder Shot

The fifth and final shot we took was the over the shoulder shot. This shot can be used for dialogue scenes in which the face of one of the individuals is shown while the shoulder or back of head of the other individual is shown. It can go back and forth between characters as who is talking changes or to capture reactions. In this case, the camera only captures my face as I excitedly announce when we are leaving for the trip, while my sister's shoulder is shown in one corner of the frame. This shot was also pretty easy to capture, but not as simple as the two shot. This is because one must be able to position the camera perfectly to show how much of each subject you want to capture. 

Reasons for Taking Media Studies

    Hello, my name is Daniel Morales and I will be taking AICE Media Studies this year! There are many reasons for why I have decided to take this exciting course. For one, I would like to educate myself more on the different forms of media that the public consumes. A few years ago, I attended a Journalism camp to explore the word of written media since it was something I was considering as a career path. So, I am very excited to enter that world even more by focusing on another big form of media, film. Secondly, by taking this course I will be able to get closer to receiving my Cambridge diploma, since passing the class would give me an AICE credit. My third and final reason for taking this class is the fact that it gives me the chance to receive a college credit that I can use in many universities that I am interested in. In this class, I hope to learn more about the film making process and how creators work to design a fictional world on a screen. I am excited to improve my editing skills when designing and creating my movie opening. All in all, I look forward to learning all things media studies!