Reflection #3

Our third class was more exciting because Dr. Chris began the class by putting some people are trial.  During the trial he made sure he incorporated the terminology by emphasizing the different types of light before he began.  The trials lasted about ten minutes and most were found not guilty, but it was fun watching Dr. Chris act as the judge.  Here is a video of the first trial that took place.  

After the trials Doc explained that he was going to split us into two groups to work on separate fictional ad campaigns.  The first group decided they were going to work on an ad that promoted swag, and our group decided to work on an ad promoting healthy eating.  Then we began the pre-production part of the project, which entailed designating jobs, deciding filming locations, how we were going to film, and writing the script.  Dr. Chris showed us his impressive writing skills by developing our script which ended up as:

"Food: it's the fuel of our lives. Why not get ambitious with your food choices! Set the edge and take a stand. Whether it's veggies, salads, soups, wraps - all of us can eat healthy. So show us your food. Go to showusyourfood.blogspot.com, and the best dish wins."

My group worked well as some of us began spitting out ideas until be settled on what we wanted to do.  I enjoyed my group because they were able to work well and develop different ideas into one.  Once we felt confident with the pre-production portion of the project we visited the GreyComm Studios, which was the first studio I have ever visited.  During this visit Dr. Chris taught us through application as he described the various lighting techniques they were using for the shot and how the light can be manipulated.  These applications are what make me feel so confident with the material Doc teaches us.  I am more of a visual learner and when I am able to see the ideas applied to a real life situations it makes it easier to understand.  I also learned different techniques one could use when filming and some of the language that is used to signal actions when in the studio, such as "speed."  I think after the first three classes I have learned a lot, especially through application.  The hands on activities allows me to understand when I will use the information and how, therefore I am beginning to understand the techniques of video.  

After about 10 takes class ended and we left the studio.  It was cool seeing Dr. Chris critique Greg and give in advice as to how he should portray himself in front of the camera, and I hope we can continue to do more hands on things.  I am definitely still enjoying the direction of the class and cannot wait to begin really filming.  Below are some pictures from the studio experience.  

Greg on set

Lights used in the studio

Using a board to bounce the light for fill light