AICE Media Studies

     This project allowed me to learn many new technologies and features. Although I have used iMovie in the past, I have never used it so “professionally” as I did for this project. I learned so many features of this software that expedited and alleviated my production process. Additionally, I learned the process of both downloading from and uploading to YouTube. I downloaded the song I used directly from YouTube. I also uploaded my commercial to YouTube. Previously, I had only ever used an iPad to upload YouTube videos. It was so much easier from my computer.      From this project, I have learned that it is important to stay on top of things, to avoid procrastination. Proper time management allows you to put your best foot forward. You should trust your gut instincts when it comes to the creative process. When putting a project together, it is normal to revise parts that you are not fully happy with. Once the brainstorming stage has concluded, it is important to plan and set goals.

Here is my final commercial! I am so excited to have finished!

Hey! So, I finished my commercial, but I noticed that some of the clips ran a bit uncomfortably long in comparison to others. I did not want this to interrupt the otherwise cohesive video. So, I asked my friends for any videos they might have. Luckily, one friend found a perfect video! It was taken when she attended my most recent gig with the School of Rock. I was able to cut down the clips that were too long and add in the new video. Everything flows so much better now. Finally, each clip has a similar length. My friend came to the rescue! I watched the video all the way through to make sure there were no mistakes. I noticed that a few videos had volume, while others were silent, bar the song playing. I decided to turn off the audio for every video clip. Now, the only sound to be heard is that of my chosen song. I added the final video and trimmed it to perfectly match the sound. I am very excited about this clip specifically because it parallels the song at the moment it is present.

Hey! Today I added the final video clips to my commercial. Previously, I added the song, and then other videos. So, I was able to edit the video clips in reference to the song. For example, while the lyric "You don't need my help anymore" plays, there are two clips. One of my dad and I playing instruments together, followed by one of me playing the piano, by myself. I feel that it shows my growing into a more independent person. Now this is not the case for every lyric, but I tried to incorporate it some, where I could.  I played my in-progress commercial for my parents. They had very good reactions! Like I previously said, my commercial projects a very nostalgic mood to the viewer. It brought my dad to tears! My mom noticed that I had a lack of videos from age 4 to 9. I agreed, so I asked for her help. She brought over her iPad, and we screened through every video from my childhood. It was perfect, there were so many good videos that are so relevant to who I am today. I

 I was talking to my dad about my commercial today. I told him about my plans to sequence my old photographs with the addition of background music. He looked at my pictures and made a great suggestion: to use some old home videos! With the inclusion of videos, I've decided to resort back to iMovie. I want to be sure the program can handle such high-volume files, and I trust my computer with that task more than I do my phone.  I started the lengthy task of sorting through the many videos. I am a sucker for baby videos, so choosing the best ones among the hours of, what I consider to be, incredible footage was very hard. I narrowed it down to about eleven clips from the early years of my life and found some on the family iCloud from more recent years. I like the clips from earlier on much more. They are so nostalgic and fit my song choice so well! I have to work to find recent clips that will also fit the vibe of my commercial. I'm not happy to say this, as it means my previous w

 Today, I went found so much media for my commercial. I used the "people" feature on my camera roll app to find gems among the thousands of random pictures on my phone. This feature saved so much time I would have spent, searching through every photo I've ever taken. Instead, I just searched for my name and hundreds of pictures of me, all the way from birth to just last weekend, appeared. I sifted through practically every picture that has ever been taken of me to find all the perfect shots. I then added them to a folder in my phone for further review.  It's clear that I have a lot of options for my potential media! Then, learned learned how to download my chosen song as a useable mp3 file. This will be very helpful during the production and editing process, as I now have a "hard" copy of the song. So, I can bring it into any chosen editing software, or trim it to a certain length. However, I doubt I'll do much trimming. I have so many potential pictures

Music is so important to me, so I was very excited to learn that this assignment includes the selection of a song. It took so long for me to pick, searching through every playlist I've curated! However, after careful consideration, I have chosen the song "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Elliott Smith.  It is currently relevant to me as I just learned the solo on guitar. Despite being put out by an artist who typically produces ballads, this song is upbeat. It provides listeners with a nostalgic feeling. The theme of nostalgia matches well with the pictures and other media I have chosen for my commercial. I've chosen to include not only recent pictures but also those from my early years that help to represent who I am today. I am always fascinated by my old baby photos.  I had to go back into my mom's "Facebook Memories" and old photo albums to find such pictures. There are so many good ones, but I tried to narrow it down to the ones I can still find &qu

 Hi! I'm Samantha, and I am so excited to take AS-Level AICE Media Studies this year. I am a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School, and I am close to turning 16. I am extremely excited to get my driver's license in November. In these past few months, I have grown close to both old and new friends. Driving them around and having the privilege and freedom of leaving my house with friends is very appealing. Another big part of my identity is music. My dad is a guitarist and I started learning from a young age. Now, I go to School of Rock, a local music school for teenagers, twice a week and I am constantly trying my best to improve my guitar skills. I have also been talking to my friend about starting a band of our own! Listening-wise, my taste has drastically changed over the past year. Recently, I have gotten into indie music such as Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. I collect vinyls and I am a feen for sound quality and guitar effect pedals. My love for music al