May Post

So I wasn't sure if I was supposed to do a post for May but I'm going to do one anyways. May has been quite the stressful year because everything came down to this, our senior presentation. To be quite honest it went by very quick but all the stress that led up to it was long. I was able to present all the information I gathered throughout the year and teach class of about 30 students and there was no better feeling like finishing off strong and knowing that you're going to graduate. It's been a long year and a very long four years but my time with I-Poly is coming to an end. I still want to pursue my dream of film making and I hope one day I can look back to the days at I-Poly wanting to become a film editor and say I did it.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I was most proud of the engagement I got from the audience, and it seemed as though they really learned about what I was teaching them.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

Just being able to obtain certain knowledge about film editing when I needed it. Considering there's so much to film editing I had many options to work with and gained a lot of knowledge in the process

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I guess the only thing I would fix would be just doing one of my blogs that I missed. My senior project was overall a very good experience and there wasn't any real problem that occurred. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

I've obtained more confidence in film making. There isn't much I'm confident about but when it comes to film making and film editing in specific, I feel like I really have a knack for it. Senior project has given me the opportunity to just expand my knowledge by being given the opportunity to create films of my own, thus, being given more confidence in what I do. Just the overall experience has given me so much, that I feel I can go out in the industry and do something amazing and make an impact.  

Blog 22: Mentorship 2

LIA Response to blog:

  

  Literal

·      Link on right side of blog

·      Phil Miller at I-Poly High School ROP room

    Interpretive

·      The most important thing I gained from the experience of mentoring under Phil Miller was knowledge in all filmmaking aspects because considering I’d like to become a filmmaker, any type of knowledge I achieve will benefit me in the future.

    

   Applied

·      Mr. Miller has given me many assignments where I would have to experiment with the different aspects of film editing and since my essential question is, “What aspect of film editing most effectively delivers the emotion of the plot?” it correlates and helps me figure out my answer.

• 
  

Blog 21: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

EQ: What aspect of film editing most effectively delivers the emotion of the plot?

Answers:  

• Pacing and timing of sequenced shots keeps the audience emotionally engaged
• Manipulation of color grading sets the mood of a film
• Continuity editing maintains the emotion of the plot throughout 

Best Answer: My best answer out of all three would be, pacing and timing of sequenced shots because a film is not a successful film without proper pacing. A film requires good pacing to not only keep audiences engaged but it enhances the emotion of the story by giving it more emphasis on the emotion.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

It was difficult to decide because at first I thought continuity would probably be the most important aspect but then after doing more research and having an interview with my mentor, it seemed as though pacing plays a bigger role on the emotion of the story. A story wouldn't be told well if it wasn't paced well. Now even though all those aspects play a role in the emotion of a plot it doesn't necessarily mean they all are required. A film doesn't always need the right color grading nor does it need to always be consistent with aspects of continuity. But it does need to maintain a certain pace or it'll leave the audience displeased. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The only problems I had was finding a third answer and deciding on the best answer. I didn't know what else would help the emotion of a plot but with more research I found continuity. For deciding I went to my mentor for that and also compared each aspect to a film with some films I made and which one was more important than the other and I eventually chose pacing.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two sources would be an article by Ross Hockrow titled, "Pacing for Video and Cinema Editors: Timing and Types of Cuts" and an interview with Tom Kam. The article really helped me learn a lot about how pacing plays a big role in a film and with the interview with Mr. Kam, he provided me with a lot of important editing information, that really helped me find my best answer out of all the others. 

April Post

In the month of April, the ROP class was given an assignment to take a true story of their parents and create it into a video. Everyone pitched their ideas and out of about 20 students, 3 got chosen to be re-enacted. This assignment would be called "Based on a True Story". Now for me, the usual was to supervise and assist the students with their productions but this time, Mr. Miller gave me an assignment of shooting a behind the scenes of all productions and putting together a behind the scenes video. So during all productions I'd be running around shooting interesting footage of the groups and how they organize for scenes and how efficiently they do it. I'd shoot for about 3 productions days and then started editing. This was a different editing experience due to the fact that there was no starting and end. I would have to pick shots that seemed the best fitting to the music and shots that were interesting. The films were screened today and my behind the scenes will be screened next week.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL

a. I, Brandon Le, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

b.Weiner, Jonah. "The Man Who Makes the World’s Funniest People Even Funnier" nytimes.com. 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2015

c. Independent Component 2 on Mentorship log link

d.  I'd work on a big production in the I-Poly ROP video class with Andrew Morris who wrote and directed the production. I would as well work on a behind the scenes project on my own, documenting three production groups and putting together a montage of the process of the three productions.

INTERPRETIVE 

Since my senior topic is film editing the only way to efficiently grasp the topic and learn from it was to just edit. So having a full on production is an area that only only benefits learning for editing but also just film making in general.  I would also work on something different from a production and that would be the behind the scenes of the based on a true story videos. This take on film making was different because there was no restriction on what I could film so I would have to do my best to get the best shots from behind all that's happening behind set and putting together a montage to commemorate for the work of the productions. The component was significant because editing was a more difficult task for both the production and behind the scenes. Although I wasn't as hands on with the production editing, there was times where choosing the correct shots and how long shots should be held was a difficult decision for the editor so I'd have to give input a lot on how the pacing of the video should be. For the behind the scenes, I had to really emphasize on the progressiveness of all productions from setting up to filming really difficult scenes. So I'd have to choose the right shots and put them together along with a upbeat song. Overall the production days and the hours of editing ended up surpassing 30 hours. For evidence there are links to the video and pictures of the edits

APPLIED 

How did the component help you answer your EQ?  

As I said before, there were some difficulties on deciding with the pacing of the video since there are moments where arguments could be left with a long shot but wouldn't seem as appealing. Also continuity played a big role on the Capital Vice video because there was a lot of movements and conversations happening so the editor would have to make cuts that was logical and smooth. Color correction wasn't much of an impact but it gave more life to the video and fixed any problems with lighting. For the behind the scenes, since it wasn't production and was different, the focus was more so on pacing because of the song added. I'd pace according to the song so it wouldn't seem sloppy or off paced. So it helped my EQ by hitting all aspects of my answers. 

Here are links and screen shots of both Capital Vice and Behind the Scenes of the based on a true story videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMl1t54z6oQ

https://youtu.be/P6BpPYV8WPs
 

March Post

In the month of March Mr. Miller would choose two screenplays that two students wrote and he'd split them up with a production crew, so there would be overall two groups. They'd spend most of the month filming and creating the video. I was supervising one of the groups majority of the time because I was featured in the video. We'd work on all aspects of production from lights, to audio, to camerawork and it was a very productive and successful production overall. When production for both groups finished I'd give input on editing for that process was the most tedious and hardest process. I gave a lot of opinions and the editors would take them and make the films paced better. So although I wasn't involved much in the actual editing, I supervised a lot of it which did overall help the films. We screened both films a week ago and they both turned out really nice.

LATE January post

In the month of January there wasn't too much happening with my Independent Component for most was done on December. What the ROP class was doing during this month was really working on setting up lights. Four groups would be given the task of interviewing 4 teachers as each would get different times to set up their shots and create an interview video. So lots of equipment was being used and it took some time for everyone to get the hang of it but eventually everyone seemed comfortable with the lighting.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

Content:

1. What steps should you take to make your edits as efficient as possible?

2. What motivates you the most when you edit a film or video?

3. Is there a specific style of editing you have?

4. What's the mindset you should have when diving into an edit?

5. Continuity editing is important, but which aspect of it is the most important to you and why?

6. Would you say editing plays a big role in how the emotion is expressed in a video or movie?

7. What's an important skill set to have to become an editor?

8. How does pacing play a big role in editing?

9. What are films programs do you prefer or recommend using?

10. How much of a difference does a frame of a shot make?

11. What does color correction really do for a film?

12. What's considered good editing?

13. Who do you work with the most as an editor?

14. What's the most difficult task for you when you edit?

15. Would you consider yourself as a story teller when you edit?

16. Is the editor involved during production or only in pre-production?

17. How do you set a mood of a film with editing?

18. What's the process like when deciding on which shot works best for certain scenes?

19. What film's editing truly captivated and inspired you? 

20. Do you think editing should be appreciated more?

Blog 17: Third Answer

Content:

·      EQ: What aspect of film editing most effectively delivers the emotion of the plot?

·      Answer 3: An effective film editing aspect is continuity editing

o   Keeps the film consistent without seeming off when there is a cut

o   Has the audience believe the scenes were actually made in the same time frame

o   Doesn’t confuse the audience and allows them to be immersed in the story as it subconsciously pleases the viewers eyes

·      Sources:

o   "Post Production: Understanding Continuity in Editing" steves-digicams.com. NA. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

o   Stinson, Jim. "Edit Suite: Five Types of Continuity" videomaker.com. 1 Mar. 2000. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

·      Continuity is yet another important factor to film editing because without it you’d end up with a scene in different time frames, whole new outfits, and confusing movements.

February Post

For this month it was mostly preparation for the Lesson 2 presentation and finishing up my first Independent Component. For the Lesson 2 I got the chance to answer my first answer to my EQ through a lesson and in that lesson I created a video for an activity of mine. The video showed how my answer of pacing of sequenced shots was an effective answer. I made the video with pacing flaws and the class had to tell me if the pacing worked or if it didn't. Another production I worked on during ROP class was a recreation of a scene from the Odd Couple. Mr. Miller, my mentor, gave me the task of adapting a scene from that movie so we could recreate it. I would then act in it along with Andrew Morris and the class would pair up with someone and edit the project while I edited on my own. So February was a very productive and bus month for me.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

What aspect of film editing most effectively delivers the emotion of the plot?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

An effective editing technique would be pacing of sequenced shots

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

Manipulation of color correction and grading enhances the plot

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

·      Color correction is done to please the audiences eyes and captivate them

·      Making a film stay consistent with the color scheme will enhance the productivity of the film

·      Wrong choice in color scheme could ruin the whole outlook of the film

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

·      RC #28

·      RC #46

·      RC #47

6.  What other source supports your answer?

·      My mentor

7.  Tie this together with a concluding thought.

I chose color correction because in films there are always a certain color theme to it and it staying consistent could really make or break a film. For example, having a film that might be a bit dark and mysterious you wouldn’t go with bright vibrant colors, you’d go with like a bluish type of theme. So color correction actually helps enhance the plot as it emphasizes the overall theme of the film.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

What I am planning to do for my 30 hours is work with Andrew Morris on a short film that he’s written. The short film should be around 20-30 min. and will take various days to shoot and put together. My roll on this film would be cinematographer and film editor. So I’ll be there for all days of shooting and work on the editing on my own time

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

Considering shooting a film could take more hours than required for the Independent Component 2, I’m only going to count the hours I edit the film since editing could a bit long and the film will require more than a day to put together.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

The script of the short film has many different aspects of film editing I’ll have to learn and apply myself. It’s going to be a whole different experience from what I usually do with videos. There will be special effects required, efficient audio mixing, and general sharp cuts I’ll need to do. So with new aspects of film editing I’ll need to do it’ll be a learning experience.

Independent Component 1

·      Literal

o   I, Brandon Le, affirm that I completed my independent component, which represents 38 hours of work.

o   What I’ve done in those hours was compose multiple videos, all different in many aspects. The videos range from using more so technical work than others. Overall I made 5 videos for my Independent Component.

·      Interpretive

o   Since my senior project is film editing, there’s no better way to demonstrate an adequate understanding of that topic than to actually edit films. So not including production of the films I did over 30 hours of editing films alone, with great concentration.  So in order, I have the links to the videos in which I worked on for the past few months (note: some of these videos weren’t uploaded to YouTube on the date it was finished)

o   Canada Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9UYxT1UPK0

o   Hasan’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR-iUOcMfKg

o   PTSA Silent Auction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24dDONzjiS8

o   Mission Tuition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7rBmpAl0No

o   The Odd Couple Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMQBVnCUq_Y

·      Applied

o   How this component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better was that they were all relatively different videos. Each video had its own unique style to it because of the type it is. There were some that required a lot more time because of the technical aspects of film editing, while some were just edited by the mood of the video. As you can see from the screenshots of my edits, the videos are all different and you could see which ones required more work in some aspects than others. For example in the Odd Couple video, that took more work in audio because we used a boom mic for the sound so the editing was a lot more focused on audio. Then there was the PTSA video where I had to choose a song and edit it together, so once I chose the song it was up to me to edit it in the style and the pace of the song. So this component was really helpful has my knowledge of film editing increases the more I edit videos.