Entertainment Video Senior 2019 End of Year Reflection

The past two years in entertainment video I have utilized the five guarantees multiple times when working on my projects. I learned technical skills through trial and error, tutorials and the help of my classmates. I learned communication and collaboration through working with other e-Comm students to create strong projects. I learned leadership and project management through practicing delegation and being able to complete projects on time even when there were time crunches or other problems that got in the way. Each of these skills were vital as I grew as an e-Comm student and a person in general. There were some challenges that got in the way, and stress was high at times, but I'm happy to say that I can generally look back on what I've done these past couple years and be proud.

I'd say my greatest strengths in e-Comm have been editing and the ability to be flexible. Editing will always be my favorite focus and the thing I think I'm best at, but I've also tried out filming and sound operating a few times in the past year and was more or less successful with them, though I could definitely learn more. My editing in particular has improved a lot in the past year. When I look back on the things I edited last year and compare them to what I've done this year, I think I've definitely improved and my current projects are more professional and clean than what I've done in the past. I definitely still have a lot to learn though, and I really want to improve my skills with color grading and special effects in the future.

I'm really happy I was able to learn editing through e-Comm, as it is a skill I will definitely use throughout my life. I enjoy editing creative, personal videos just for fun, as well as more serious professional videos. As I become an adult and enter the work force I believe editing will be a very useful skill to have. I wouldn't change much about what I've learned the past couple of years, except that I would love to have learned even more.

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FILM REEL

My film reel is one of my favorite projects this year because it combines all of the work I’ve done as a senior. I think it showcases some of my best editing work and I’m proud of what it represents. The video itself took a few weeks for me to make, as I kept changing my mind about the song it would be set to and how I would edit it. It was a bit challenging to edit, just because the song needed to be altered, but I’m happy with the final result. I watched many film reels while making mine to make sure that I was getting the pacing and general idea right. I think this was lucrative in terms of my learning, and now I have a much clearer idea of what a film reel is. The feedback I was given by the class was mostly positive, so I didn’t have to change much after showing it. I did end up adjusting the fonts and cuts a little bit though, just to perfect it. Overall, I am very happy with the final product and I think it’s a good representation of my senior year.

MINI-DOCUMENTARY

The mini-documentary was one of my favorite projects of the year because I think it has a really inspiring and meaningful story. There were some challenges as I rushed to finish editing it, which took about 3 days. It was assigned shortly after we finished editing our feature film and I found myself in a serious time crunch to get it in on time after the feature film had dominated so much of my time. I also hadn’t edited a documentary in a while, so working on it was an interesting challenge and I had to collaborate with another group-member to get it done (which I am super grateful for by the way). I watched other small documentaries for inspiration and eventually learned how to let the story lead the video and be fully expressed. The feedback given was generally positive regarding the story and interviews, though we were told we could have made the interview shots a bit brighter. Overall, I am so happy with this video and I was glad to help show Anna Sarol’s story.

FEATURE FILM

Our feature film, The Ebony Codex, was an amazing project to work on. It started being made early in the year, but as an editor by job didn’t come along until later. It took several months to finish editing all the scenes, but I never found myself getting stressed or overwhelmed (unlike last year). I think this is due to the great job the directors and head editor did when it came organizing and streamlining everything. There are always some challenges that come with editing, and some scenes took longer than others to complete, but in general my job this year was very smooth and stress-free. I learned a lot about collaboration and working with other editors, which was a refreshing change and made my job a lot easier. I often had to go back and change little things for different scenes, but in general the head editor and director seemed satisfied with my work which I am super grateful for. Overall, I had a lot of fun working on this film and seeing the culmination of our work at cinetopia was amazing.

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I think I generally used my time in class very productively. I would work on projects in class, during lunch, after school, and occasionally at home. I think allowing myself a lot of extra time to work on things gave me the opportunity to really perfect my videos and make them just the way I wanted them. Editing will always be my primary strength in e-Comm, along with project management, and I like to think I maximized this skill by practicing often and striving to make things as close to perfect as possible. I could always improve in special effects or filming, though, and look forward to practicing them in the future outside of school.  

My production role in our feature film was editor. I specifically worked on sequencing basic clips together before sending them off to Mario and Courtney to be finalized. I edited nearly every scene in our movie, which I think contributed to the final product (although Courtney, Mario and Ryan really perfected them). I worked on editing the film both in and out of class, and often outside of school. Working on it this year in entertainment video has been so much fun for me. I’ve enjoyed working with everyone in my class and met so many awesome, creative and talented people. If I could go back, I would try to maybe work with different groups or broaden my horizons, but in general I’m really happy with the past year. As I move on to college and beyond, I really want to continue editing and making videos. I think it will be a very useful skill to have in the years to come.

I've changed so much since when I first began e9 my freshman year. I think I've grown a lot as a person and a student. The things I've learned in e-Comm I'll use forever: editing, filming, project management, and collaboration. I've also grown thanks to the amazing relationships I've made in e-Comm these past years. Some of my closest friends at Olathe Northwest I've met as a result of e-Comm. There are so many creative and talented people in this program and I feel lucky to have met them. I've also been lucky to meet so many amazing educators, specifically Mrs. Smith. She has such a genuine passion and commitment to what we do as students and it makes the entire experience so much better. I’d like to thank her for helping me in particular, especially last year when I found myself under a lot of stress and pressure.

In conclusion, I can't imagine what my high-school experience would have been like without e-Comm. It definitely gave me a reason to feel motivated and excited to come to school everyday. e-Comm has been a huge part of my life as a student these past four years and I think it always will be a small part of my identity. It's bittersweet to say goodbye, but I'm excited to use the skills I've developed in this program as I leave high-school and enter the real world.