Creative Critical Reflection

     My video advert uses common conventions like up-beat music and commonly associated locations. A positive song played while the actors drink Arizonas, giving a positive connotation to the scene. It creates a happy mood change, showing the emotion that our drink can produce in the audience. When you see the drink placed in places you associate with hot temperatures, like the blazing sun over bleachers or the Arizona desert, you will feel thirstier, so it made sense for our commercial. Not only is Arizona cool and delicious, but it also affects social groups by having a consistent affordability. It’s always been kept the same price, 99 cents, and it's a staple in every community. Never being not available, it’s a well known and loved brand to all. Clinking a cold drink with friends brings people together socially, so having an Arizona appear amidst the cheer would be no surprise!

Arizona captivates the audience with a vibrant, saturated aesthetic that holds your attention. We first find a common problem people have, like being thirsty on a hot day and needing to cool down. We present Arizona to our audience in a whimsical way, putting our hands through a portal to gain the refreshing fix to this problem! This would be distributed as real media text most likely as some type of Super Bowl ad. I think it is very appropriate for advertising on a sports channel because you can drink it to refresh yourself.

My analytical skills greatly improved as well. I became much better at paying attention to detail throughout the creation process. Noticing when the can was flipped wrong, the actor had the wrong leg position, and when the drink was not sprayed sufficiently. I was able to communicate effectively with my team and find obtainable solutions to our problems together as well. Our "Arizona" rocks shot had a problem with the sky and field showing. This was fixed by moving away from the can before zooming in to eliminate the background. I also planned my group's schedule in close cooperation with them, and we were very committed to it. Our time management was excellent. My trainability skills were definitely touched on too, I learned to get down and dirty when filming. Doing anything to get the best shots and moving things as my teammates suggested, I feel so much better about handling the camera when asked!

We utilized text group chats to keep everyone in the know. For the most part, our phones were the stars. They were used for editing, communicating, and filming. Two different phones were used in the making, one of them being an 11 pro max. I enjoyed the camera quality we got from our devices. We moved on to edit these clips together with popular softwares like Imovie and Prequel. Communication-wise, we exchanged clips and pointers on how to edit. I sent Jordyn multiple clips for her to analyze and pick from during one of our filming days when she wasn't there! It really saved us to be able to talk about our blogging and project together the way we did, communication is always key. We documented our processes online through blogging, and that was one way we utilized the internet.

We Made It!

 Having run around from baseball fields to towering bleachers, this production was one to remember. I'm proud of our commercial, i've never done somethin like this before. I still have much room to improve. However, this project showed me that when I really put my mind to something, I can make something beyond what I thought I was capable of. One of my personal favorite things we did when creating this was spraying the cans with water to make them look cold. It made me feel so included to be running around behind the scenes fixing the actors' hair and making sure our props were spick and span. Filming the section where Nico grabbed the can in Arizona was enjoyable for me as well. To get the best shots we could, I laid down on the orange earth and dug the props into the sand. Even though it was hot and I was getting irritable, my teammates made it all much more enjoyable to go through. Overrall, I loved working on this commercial, and I hope to work on more projects like this in the near future!

Editing: CLOSE TO THE FINISHLINE

It's our second day editing this week, and I feel confident in what we have in the making. Minor problems may have come up once again, but we managed to get it done! Jordan showed us what we'd already accomplished; the video was mostly complete; I just needed to fix a few things we feared would affect the final product. The song was changed to Pump It by Harder by the Black Eyed Peas which I feel does fit our video better. The next problem was the fact that our sky of one clip was different then the one in the previouspart. Although this wasn't a major problem, we weren't fond of the way it looked and could not control it since clouds tend to move. Regarding our fate, Jordyn noticed a small zoom out that created  an even stranger effect. I had suggested ways to fix this, but there was no way to do so without making multiple cuts, and this was supposed to be one continuous shot. As our main editors continued to arrange the logos, I went searching for the specific font Arizona uses. I found the font Arizona uses in their iconic logo is a mix of the paid Arabic Brushstroke font and a little of their own creative flair. I noted the typeface letters we'd need and sent them to Nico to decide if we should use them or not. My group ended up using Clip Jam to add a logo instead of drawing it ourselves! The website had an animated Arizona logo that was perfect for our cause, this was added near the close of our commercial. In this same application a blur filter was added at the end, and I made a judgement call about which one we should use for the final product. I selected clips with glass filters and clips with classic blur filters, which gave differing looks, but similar effects.  After adding a blurring effect, the last thing to do was make our coloring saturated to match the vivid hues of the well known drink. After one last run-through of our product, the production was a thumbs-up in my book! 

The Commercial Editing Process So Far!

Once attendance was called and we had the computers in hand, we went straight to work. We used imovie for editing because it was the easiest to navigate. Jordyn was our main editor, and the rest of us collected files and offered constructive criticism when needed. I helped to brainstorm ideas on how to make our clips look smoother. Among the ideas I suggested was using a stabilizer feature throughout our footage to fix shaky zooms. For our commercial, the music was a big part, so I was busy looking for some gems in class. I scoured Spotify for summer party playlists because that's the music vibe we were going for in the video. Since it was hot and the actors had cold drinks, a summer-weather feel is given from it. I didn't find much of what I needed on Spotify's pulic playlist, so I started searching my older private playlists. I gave a couple song suggestions from Khalid and Calvin Harris because I felt they were upbeat enough, but nothing seemed to match perfectly. Then, it hit me like a truck. I know this band called Coast Modern that i'm an avid listener of, and their indie-pop/rock music is a perfect fit for a drink ad. I've always been enchanted by their music but have not seen them in commercials. I picked both songs Hollow Life and Guru by Coast modern to show to my group to use. They ended up really liking Hollow Life and the instrumental of it. We had our music! Alongside this, music is something i love to share and exchange with others. Although this wasn't a traditional music exchange, I had a lot of influence on how the ad's music sounded, which I thought was pretty cool. We ended up using some type of splicing program to make Hollow Life by Coast Modern a mere instrumental! Having minimal words is better in the long run, especially because we won't have to try and match up any words with our scenes.  Now having some type of music or Cicada sound effects to overlay, we had to find a way to add these audios on IPhone. As I told my group, it is possible to rip YouTube videos into mp3 format and save them on your phone to add to their own movie. Our class ended with a no-sound commercial and audio files saved for later, but this track looks favorable.

Filming at the Softball Field: A Little TOO Breezy!

 I'd like to consider day two of filming way more of a success then last go around, but the amount of problems we had this time evens the experience out for sure. In my eyes, Jordyn is our director, our main-man, and the captain of our ship when it comes to this commercial. Our only problem was, she wasn't here today! This meant I was to film the scenes we needed this period. It felt like I was taking the reigns of Santa's sleigh, and I was a bit nervous I wouldn't do a good job. Our ending result of our last clip proved me more then wrong though! We had a quicker start today and made our way towards the baseball field. After a quick scale of it, I found we couldn't get in without hopping the fence. Moving to the softball field was a quick fix. Yaneli and Nicole helped me set up the Arizona desert scene with our cardboard "rocks" and we began. One big problem when trying to film the final clip was the constant wind, none of our paper props would stand up. Another little problem we encountered was our background looking smaller then we needed it to be. I shot a text to Jordyn and she gave us spectacular fixes to our background problem. We set up our props again and I moved far back with the camera, after zooming in I couldn't believe how good our backdrop was looking against the sparkling Arizona can. As for the wind, I dug a straight line in the dirt for each paper piece to hold it in place and we were good to go. As filming went on, it got so hot we moved to the dugout to take quick breaks and check that the videos taken were up to the mark. My phone got so hot I had to cool it down if I wanted to keep using it! I filmed many varying clips and sent them to Jordyn for her to pick the best of bunch. After we all agreed we had our golden clip, we were good to go! The beating sun made this event fell like it was going in slow-motion. This could point to why it felt like we finished with so much time to spare!

Filming at the Track: And...ACTION!

 Filming day one started a little later than we would have liked. We had some mishaps with the clothing our actors were to wear, but we got things sorted out and made our way to the track field. While at the track field, it was decided between us to instead film at the baseball field for its preferable lighting and sun positioning. Throughout our process, I played a director's assistant type role. Jordyn began by trying to find a suitable angle to do our continuous full shot from the sun to our subjects. Meanwhile, I would help her try and position the camera to center and focus in on Yaneli and Nicole. This first shot looked to be difficult to get because of the location of the bleachers, but we made amends. Jordyn ended up filming a take by doing a backbend to get the right shot! Another problem that happened often was the sun disappearing. However, waiting a bit of time would usually fix this quite quickly. After filming certain clips, I would go to a shady spot with Jordyn and review our clips to see if we needed to do any redos or change any actions we've been doing in the scenes and while filming the scenes. I would give my opinion when asked by our director (Jordyn), as would everyone else, and we would make accomodations for everyone based on that. During clips I made sure our cans were always facing the camera for appropriate product placement, otherwise we'd have to re-do scenes, it just helps in the long run. Another task I did was regularly spraying our Arizona cans with a water mixture to make it look like condensation was happening and sell the look that our room-temperature beverages were "ice cold." With Florida weather, it evaporated off the cans very quickly, so I was spraying these cans before every scene at least. As well as spraying the cans, I sprayed our two actors with this mixture often to make them look sweaty, as our storyboard outlined how hot the day turned to be. I made sure our actors were comfortable and often asked if they needed anything, this made me feel like a true professional in the back-stage aspect of filming. We were a bit short on time, but finished day 1 strong with most of the speaking scenes done. The bell rang for next period and I brought our props and supplies back to the classroom because my next class was in the same building. 

Storyboard Blog

Hello there! Today we started and completed our storyboard. After much deliberation and (civil) argumentation over the proposal of our ideas, we decided that our commercial will follow the format found below:

Scene 1: 

In Scene 1, the camera will pan downwards from the sun, located at the highest point in the sky, creating an establishing shot, and being used to show just how unbearably hot it is outside during the afternoon. This camera movement will take roughly three seconds to execute. During this time, a diegetic sound of cicadas chirping will be playing, which will allow us to not only set the scene, but also the time of year before the actual dialogue even begins, being that cicadas only come out during the early summer months. That, in turn, will allow for time, which would have been used to create an exposition, to be saved, whilst also immersing the audience into the commercial itself and catching their attention from the very beginning. 

Scene 2:

In Scene 2, panning will cease and the camera will settle on our two actresses who are seated on the track field bleacher at eye level using a medium shot framing, where only their waist and up is visible. As mentioned in my previous post, "Research Blog: Commercial Conventions," this camera movement and angling will be in line with the customary techniques used when focusing on two seated actors in soft drink commercials. Moreover, the frame will be quite small with its length being half the actresses' arm lengths when they extend them to the side. At this point in time, our actresses will have a conversation, which is once again an example of diegetic sound, and the sound of cicadas chirping will gradually fade out until it can no longer be heard. That is to allow for the main focus of the scene to be the conversation going on between our two actresses. The dialogue in which they engage will be roughly as follows: 

Actress 1: "Hmm...what do you want to do this summer?"

Actress 2: "What about going to that one state with the big, red rocks?"

Actress 1: "Oh, I know that place!"

This entire exchange will be executed in five seconds and conclude with actress one sticking their hand out of the frame.

Scene 3:

In Scene 3, Actress 1’s hand and part of her arm will be shown when a cutaway occurs to an Arizona Iced Tea can with an Arizona landscape backdrop. This effect will be achieved through the use of cardboard backings to support printed cutouts of Arizona landforms along with the red dirt of the baseball field, which will be used as the ground. It will essentially be a play on stereotypes. In the shot, we will focus on the Arizona Iced Tea can undergoing condensation to show just how cold and refreshing it is. That will take two seconds. Afterward, two more seconds will elapse in the time that it takes for Actress 1 to grab and move the can out of the frame. The frame itself will remain at eye level and be a medium shot with the same dimensions. This whole scene will take four seconds to execute. 

Scene 4:

In Scene 4, Actress 1’s hand returns to the frame and they begin to drink from the can, during which a close-up shot occurs. The camera then quickly pans over to Actress 2 who looks confused but eventually shrugs it off. This scene will take five seconds to execute. 

Scene 5:

In Scene 5, the conversation will pick up between the two actresses once again as Actress 2 will ask something along the lines of “Okay, but how do we keep cool and refreshed(?),” to which Actress 1 will respond with something similar to: “Oh, I got you(!),” as they reach their hand out of the frame once more. This will take a total of 4 seconds to execute. 

Scene 6:

In Scene 6, Actress 1’s hand will reappear into the frame holding a different flavor of Arizona Iced Tea, likely watermelon to tie into the summer theme once again. The can will be clearly shown within the frame with its logo angling towards the camera. Then, Actress 1 will hand the second can over to Actress 2. They will both clink their cans together in a cheers motion and take a sip. By the end of this scene, a total of 3 seconds will have elapsed.

Scene 7:

In Scene 7, the camera will move in a zoom-out motion, blurring out the rest of the background. It will then zoom in to focus on an Arizona Iced Tea can nearby in the bleachers, tilting to adopt a low angle. Once the scene concludes, a total of 4 seconds will have gone by. 

Scene 8:

In Scene 8, we see both actresses sitting near the can, swinging their legs, and drinking their Arizona Iced Teas, in the blurred background. This, whilst the original Arizona Iced Tea can is shown undergoing condensation and being in focus at the center of the frame, with the aforementioned low angle being used to make the can seem grand. In the same frame, the Arizona Iced Tea logo will be at the very top, and directly below it, one will see the words "The answer to all your problems," which relates to the commercial because "Arizona" was able to answer a question regarding a general location, as well as a way to quench your thirst. Moreover, to the left of the can in bold, turquoise lettering of the number 99 followed by the cent symbol will be shown. That is to show the reader how inexpensive the product is, enticing them to buy such an amazing item for a great price. This will take 2 seconds.

Commercial:

In total we estimate our commercial to take roughly 30 seconds, allowing it to fall within the required 27 to 30-second range. 

Storyboard:

An image of the actual storyboard is found below for your viewing pleasure:

Clarifications:

• In our storyboard pictured above, the clothing the actors are wearing does not reflect the color of their actual attire, but is rather being used for the sole purpose of differentiation as a placeholder of sorts. 
• For the actual commercial, we plan on having our actors wear red, yellow, or orange attire, colors proven to elicit a feeling of thirst and heat. The arrows found within some of our scenes' frames are meant to show the movement of either the camera, as indicated by the color blue, or actors, as shown by the color pink, within the frame. 
• The lighting will be very bright to enunciate the fact that it is extremely hot outside. This can be done through the use of adding our cellphone flashlights as an additional light source to the sun outside. As for the color design, we have decided to superimpose warm filters over our commercial during editing to achieve this effect of heat. 
• Make-up and any jewelry worn will be kept simplistic, as to not distract the viewer from the main product we are "selling." 
• In Scene 2, box 3, and in Scene 4, box 6, one of the two subjects in the storyboard has white eyebrows. This was done with the intent of accentuating the expressions of intrigue and confusion on their face. 
• In Scene 4, box 6, a blue square is drawn around Actress 2's face to show that a close-up occurs. Two blue arrows also extend from the right of Actress 1's face to show that the camera pans from them to Actress 2. 
• As for the props, there will be a total of three Arizona Iced Tea cans used, two of which will be the original kind and the other of which will be watermelon-flavored. 
• Ambient noise, other than the aforementioned cicada sounds may also be included, but further discussion on what will be added is needed. The same goes for the music we will use; it will likely be a popular song to fall in line with soft drink commercial conventions, which is why I made no mention of it above.
• The times found in our storyboard are subject to change once editing comes into play; however, we plan to follow the guidelines we have established as closely as possible.