Culminating Self Reflection

This entire project required me to use communication, creativity, and collaboration. From the beginning, while working with Ed, there was a lot of collaboration involved in making the physical aspect of the project possible. Without collaborating I don't think we would've gotten anything done, or been as efficient as we were when doing things like editing and filming. When working on projects involving things like film it's always good to mind meld and get different ideas and share thoughts, so the final result is as good as you can possibly make it. Creativity was also a huge aspect in the project. Working in film in itself requires and immense amount of creativity and creative thinking. Without any of that, everything we produced and worked on would be bland and tasteless and not worth the effort. Communication also played a huge role. While filming the big event we filmed we depended on communication for everything to run smoothly. If we hadn't communicated the entire event would've been a complete disaster.
I think I gained a lot of skills from this experience. I think I've gotten much better at communicating and voicing my ideas and criticisms without being afraid. I've also gotten better at putting in my own ideas and not being scared to speak up and say what's on my mind, which is extremely important to me personally. I also learned how exhausting filming a simple event can be. I worked an almost twenty hour day with very little breaks in between at one point, and it was hard, but the experience was completely worth it. I learned a lot of organization skills as well, and I learned the importance of planning ahead, and how winging it will definitely not cut it when it comes to big projects such as the one we had worked on.
With this project I think I really overcame my lack of motivation and laziness. Working with Ed taught me how fast paced things can be and how being lazy certainly will not cut it. That motivated me immensely and made me want to work harder in order to keep up and do the best I possibly could do. I think I also overcame my inability to focus. As fast paced as things were, there was no way I couldn't not pay attention and still be able to perform my tasks efficiently. Focus was really a key part in all of this, and I'm glad I was able to keep up in the end, mostly for myself. I've always had trouble keeping up with what people have wanted me to do, and I've had trouble giving people my full attention when I'm given directions, so I'm happy I was able to do so when it came to working.

Layout

This was the set up for the boxing matches from where I was sitting on a balcony. It was really elaborate and professional, and I'm really happy I got to help with it.

Friday, April 17, 2015

I finally got done with the rough cut of the boxing match videos with Ed over skype. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. But, it is still a rough cut, so obviously it still needs a lot of work. At least the grunt work is done and I can work on the creative aspect of the video. I'm excited to start working on the trailer as well. We discussed what that would turn out like. I have to create some kind of graphic images for each fighter as well. I have an idea of what I want, and I'd really like to make use of the footage we captured using the Go-Pros. I'd also like to be a bit experimental with the teaser, and tap into the more artistic side of film editing. It'll defnitely be a challenge, but I'm excited all the same.

3 hrs

36 hrs total

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

Me and Ed continued working on the videos over skype today. I finally finished editing my part and I finished cutting out the dead spaces as well. I started layering the videos so that anything that looked bad on the videos that I took was covered up. During some parts of the fights the camera automatically adjusted and got blurry, so I have to use footage from either Ed's camera or the Go-Pro's to go over the ugly spaces. The good thing is, the Go-Pro footage is actually beautiful. When the fighters were pushed up against the ropes on either end of the ring the cameras got some of the best shots. Also the close-up footage Ed caught was amazing as well. I just had to use the audio from my camera because I was the only one far enough to pick up anything that wasn't over blown with noise. I'm pretty pleased with everything we got done today.

3hrs

33 hrs total

Wednesday, April 15th, 2015

I met Ed at this really nice office today. It was a gang task force building, he normally does video work for them. While I was there we uploaded all the videos onto a hard-drive in case something happened to either one of our computers. I also got to teach some of the people at that office how to use Final Cut Pro. They used the program but were not that experienced and wanted to know more than just the basics. I taught them how to adjust color and how to use a green screen as well also how to compress videos. Ed also gave me a script he wanted me to read and edit for him. He gave me the gist of the concept and plot of the script and what to expect. He also told me if I wanted to I could film it for him, possibly direct or co-direct. Hopefully, this will get me more jobs in the future, and get my name out there for video work.

4hrs

30hrs total

Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

I met with Ed and we sort of collaborated on what I would like to see come out of the boxing match footage. He told me what I need to keep and what I need to get rid of. He also told me what kind of music I can use and what kind of transitions etc. I was excited before by I'm even more excited now. Ed also explained to me that he is going to give me a script tomorrow to edit and read for him. We also went over the videos from the Go-Pros we had set up and from the other two cameras we were using. I felt good about the work that I had done while filming after watching my videos compared to what everyone else did, and I'm glad I was able to keep up and create something that was just as good as people who were experienced. He also told me where I should put what shots from which angle. I felt like today was productive and I'm excited to see what we're going to talk about tomorrow.

3 hrs

26 hrs total

Monday, April 13th, 2015

Today I met with Ed, and we continued to discuss the organization of the video and how we wanted it to look. So far we've figured out that we are going to produce two different videos. One will be the entire event with only the empty spaces removed from the recorded videos. The second one will act as a teaser trailer. The teaser will be used to promote more events like the one we filmed happening around the Bay Area. Fortunately I will have artistic freedom over the trailer, so I get to run free and let loose with any ideas that I have. The next time we meet we are going to do more uploads and talk about more upcoming projects. I'm excited to see what we are going to be working on next. Hopefully, I will be able to read a script or have other videos to edit soon. I know Ed has a few projects he is currently working on so maybe I'll be able to help with that.

3hrs

23 hrs total

Sunday, April 12th, 2015

Today, me and Ed did an upload for everything that we filmed yesterday, and I also got to edit some of the video. Since there was so much film the upload took an extremely long time. We only uploaded the camera that I was filming with but it still took a ton of time. There are five cameras worth of footage, with each camera having about four hours of video. I assume we will have to take a few more days to upload and go through all the videos and pictures taken. We then sifted through and cut up some of the video files to get the most important parts ready to be put together.  So far, I've edited the first boxing match, and the first round of the second match. I'm excited to see how the completed project turns out. I'm also excited to get started on the trailer. Hopefully it will get done within the next few days or by next week.

4 hrs 

20 hrs total

Saturday, April 11 2015

Yesterday, I went to volunteer event in a little town near Fresno with Ed. The event was extremely long and tiring but interesting and a great experience all the same. We left at about 7, and made it to the town at about 10 and got to work straight away, we began by unloading all the camera equipment and setting everything up at our table. We then proceeded to get organized, and started to make sure the camera were fully charged. had their casings, and had enough memory for the entire night. at about two everything seemed to be in order, so we did a memory dump on the computer for the things that Ed had filmed the day before. We had lunch for about thirty minutes then got right back to work. I went on this upper level balcony in the theatre, and set my camera up, I would be stationed here from 7pm-11pm. Finally people started showing up and the fights could begin. It was a fairly simple job; capture all I could possibly capture on film while boxing matches were going on. After the first five fights were over at around 9pm I got a ten minutes break (not really a break) and I changed the batteries and memory cards in the cameras and go-pros. After the break I went straight back to the balcony to film. Finally at eleven the final fight ended and we had to pack up, and by eleven thirty we were all set up to go. The car ride was much longer than expected but I made it home at about 4am. The experience was great and as tiring it was I had fun and I'm glad I got to partake in the event.

13 hrs

16 hrs completed total