The third episode: What? I'm Talent?

We started planning for the episode on the Thursday before the other class’ one aired. We only had a couple days to shoot and edit as our episode was in a week. My job this week was the feature segment, with my friend Steven. For this episode, the feature segment was going to be about the Christmas basket drive that was happening at the school. In addition to that, it was determined that Steven and I were going to be talent for the episode (for those of you who haven’t read my previous blogs, talent is the name for the people on camera, i.e. the hosts).

I was really excited and nervous at the same time. I mean, talent had to memorize a script and was performing live in front of over two thousand people, it’s kind of like acting and I had never acted in my life! But at the same time I thought it was going to be an awesome experience, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be talent, and I always wanted to try it at least once. The thing I was most worried about was coming off “cheesy” during the conversation between Steven and me. I just wanted to make sure that everyone would enjoy us as hosts.

The other class' episode

Hey Blogger, sorry I haven’t written in a while, I’ve been pretty busy, but anyway I’ll try to catch you up about what’s been going on.

So about a week ago the other 1-credit comm. tech class had their episode of DYTV, and being in the leadership class meant that we had to go to their rehearsal at school the night before. Now, you are supposed to have all your segments finished by the end of school so that you’re able to have a rehearsal right away, however the majority of the class had not finished! So needless to say, I spent a couple hours at school just waiting. During that time, I ended up helping some people with their segments and even set up the studio. I was actually pretty happy about this because I really felt like a leader! I was able to help people and ensure that they had a thorough rehearsal.

After the episode on Friday, I found that a lot of people enjoyed the episode that the class had put on. I was glad but at the same time I felt uneasy because our episode (3 weeks before) had not turned out as well. I was worried about our class’ reputation, because we were supposed to be leaders, but the other class had surpassed us. However, as I’ve said before, I knew that we’d have a chance to redeem ourselves; our episode was set to air last Friday.

What about photograhy?

So I picked film production and photography as my passion but I haven’t really had a chance to talk much about the photography part (with the exception of the camera show), and that’s simply because I don’t have any real experience in photography. I mean, the idea has always intrigued me, and I’ve been eager to learn, but I’ve never really had the chance. I tried to take the course at my school this year, but because of a mix up I was switched out of the class and now I cannot switch back in because it’s full!

I was pretty upset about that and still am, but I need to find another way to get some experience. But to get experience I need to start taking pictures, and for that, I need a camera, which I planned to get from the school when I took the course. So I got a problem. I realized this a while ago and decided that I’d focus on comm. tech for a while so I could learn about film, but last weekend my interest in photography ignited once more, at my friend’s band’s show. They invited another friend of ours to come to the show and take pictures for them. It just made me wish that I could be the one taking pictures for my friends! For now I’m going to focus on comm. tech, but I’m going to take any opportunity I can get to learn more about photography. I’m considering taking a course outside of school or taking a summer school course so that I will have a space for it next year.

How the O Canada video turned out

Hey Blogger, today I just want to inform you about how the O Canada video went. I wasn’t actually there on the day of the episode because I was sick, but I got to see the O Canada video afterward. I heard a lot of people were criticizing the video and pointing out some problems, so I was interested to see how it turned out.
After watching the video, I did realize that there were some problems with the shots, but yet I didn’t think the blamed lay solely on me. The video didn’t turn out the way I expected it, in the original video there are a lot of shots of other things that have to do with the topic of the song, but in this video they only had shots of the band playing. I think the editing was a little bit “off” as well due to the fact that the audio and video were not synced. A big problem in the video was the lighting; unfortunately, the video was filmed in the evening which caused some shots to be dark. I probably could have fixed this problem, (as there are settings to get brighter shots) but as I said in my previous blog, I still haven’t learned how to use all the functions. This experience only makes me want to learn all the functions of the DVX even more; I’m going to try to learn as soon as I can.

I want to be certified too!

Hey Blogger, I just wanted to write a blog to talk about a problem I’m having in comm. tech currently. At the school we have very expensive cameras called the DVX, and to use them we must acquire DVX certification by the teachers which is determined by a test. To put it bluntly, if you don’t pass the test, you don’t use the camera! Anyways, the test comprises of a lot of important functions on the camera that are both useful and crucial when filming things.

Now, before certification, we started using the cameras to film announcements and as time went on, we never really received a proper lesson on how to use the cameras, and therefore I do not fully understand how to use the DVX camera. The reason this upsets me is because the other classes in comm. tech have all been taught how to use it and have been certified.

My class of 8 is supposed to be the leaders of comm. tech, and we are supposed to know about how to run all of the equipment, how can I be in the leadership class of this program if I am not even certified and the other classes know more about it than me? A couple times I have had other students ask me a question about the camera and I’ve been unable to answer them. I really want to learn how to use the camera but it’s so late in the semester that I’m embarrassed to ask my teacher about how to use the camera. However, I’ve decided that I can’t go on without the knowledge so I am going to ask someone in the other class to teach me how to use it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Today was another day at home because I’m sick, which meant another day of boredom. While I was watching TV, I noticed that the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was on. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the movie, and decided that I’d watch it. For those of you who haven’t heard about the movie, it’s about the life of a man who’s aging backwards. At the beginning of the movie he looks like an old man, and at the end he looks like a baby. He leads a very interesting life because of his peculiar condition; as all his friends and family watch him get younger as they grow old.

This was a really amazing movie. It was really long (about 3 hours) but I enjoyed every minute. While it was a very captivating story for me, my favourite thing about the movie was the use of CGI and make-up. Because Benjamin is getting younger, it is necessary for these technologies to be used to create the image of Benjamin at different ages. For example, this technology is used to make Brad Pitt (who plays Benjamin) look like an 85 year old man at the beginning and a 20 year old near the ending, and all the ages in between. I decided to write a blog about this because it excites me about how advanced technology in the film industry has become. It’s truly remarkable how realistic it looks that Brad Pitt is all of these ages (at different parts of the movie). It’s awesome seeing movies like these which really put the latest technology to use; I really hope that one day I’ll be able to work with this kind of technology to make movies!

Sick days, the pro video and O Canada

So for the last couple days I’ve been sick, and it really messed up my plans for this week. I missed the opportunity that I had mentioned before, to film and edit a professional video. The guy came in to film on Tuesday, but I was feeling so sick that there was no way I could come to school. In the end, some friends in my class filled in for me and made the video. Even though I couldn’t be a part of it, I was happy that at least someone got the chance to work it and had that experience. I still wish that I could have been there but I’m sure some other opportunity will arise for me in the future.

On Wednesday I decided to go to school, even though I wasn’t feeling much better. I didn’t want to fall too far behind in school, but what I really needed to go for was to film the O Canada video that I spoke about in a previous blog. My friend was counting on me to film this after school for him, so I didn’t want to let him down. However as the day progressed I began to feel more and more sick. I tried to find a replacement to film but no one was available.

Even though I was sick, filming O Canada was pretty great. As I said in my previous blog, I was really excited to help create this homage to one of my favourite Smosh videos. I was only there for the filming of the playground scenes (see original video), so needless to say I haven’t seen the other shots. I’m not exactly sure how the director intends for the final product to look, but I can’t wait to see it on this week’s DYTV.

O Canada Video

Today I found out that I actually am going to help out with the next episode of DYTV. One of my friends is in the 1-credit class, and he is in charge of making a video for O Canada! He decided that he’s going to have his band play the song, and he needs someone to film it, so he asked me. The way he wants to make the video is pretty cool.

In my 12th blog, I mention “Smosh” a group on YouTube that my friends and I are big fans of. About a year ago, they created a video called “Sex Ed. Rocks”; they teamed up with the rock band I Set My Friends On Fire, to make a screamo/comedic song about sexual education. In the actual video they are performing in a playground and playing on fake guitars. My friend really likes this video and wants to copy their idea. So he’s going to get myself and probably another person to help them model their performance after the Smosh video.

I’m really excited to help make this video; Sex Ed. Rocks is one of my favourite Smosh sketches. I think this video will take a lot of work but I’m willing to take the time. Smosh is a pretty popular group so I think that a lot of people will get the reference and it’ll be a really good video.

For future episodes

Even though we won’t be doing an episode for a while, I just wanted to list some of the things that I am hoping for next time. One thing that I would like to change is the jobs. I know some people got different jobs than our first episode, but I didn’t. I had to do Upcoming Events both times. I want to be able to try different segments so I can get more experience. I also want to be a little bit more organized, as I was saying in my previous blog, people were taking too long to finish their segments (including me), and that led to us being behind schedule. On Thursday after school we were supposed to have a rehearsal but not many people showed up, that’s another thing that definitely has to change, we were lucky that the show turned out so well this week, but as we’ve seen in the past, it’s not always like that. We need to have proper rehearsals so that we can produce the best possible outcome.

I think these problems come from the fact that we have such a small class, which leads me to another thing I would like to change. The last 2 episodes were literally put together by 8 people. This is the reason why it took more time to make and why we were behind schedule. Even though we had a really good episode on Friday, I can only imagine how much better the episode could have been if we had a larger crew. I think we should be working with the other classes for the episodes instead of dividing us into different ones. I think that if we all work together we can get a higher quality program in less time.

The second episode

On Thursday, we were supposed to have an episode rehearsal after school. However these plans fell through for many reasons. A lot of people, including me, were still touching up their segment, some people were sick, some had to leave early, and some didn’t even show up. Those of us who were at the rehearsal were pretty nervous about the episode, and because we didn’t rehearse, we knew it was crucial to rehearse early in the morning before school.

Everyone arrived around 6:45…everyone but one of the two people that was a host for the episode. After waiting until 7:15 for him to show up, we called him, and he explained that he was very sick and that he won’t be able to make it to school. This was a huge problem as we now needed to find a new co-host, and very quickly so that we would be able to rehearse before the episode. After finding someone to fill in, we had a very short run through which finished only five minutes before we had to broadcast live to the school.

We aired the episode, and to my surprise, it ran very smoothly. There were almost no technical difficulties, and all of the segments were done very well. Most importantly, our hosts did a very good job, even though one of them was only given the job half an hour before! It was a much better episode than our previous one, and therefore it was a great success.

Later in the day, I actually heard a few people talking about the episode and saying that it was really good, so I was pretty pleased. Unfortunately, my class won’t be doing another episode for a while as the two one-credit classes will be responsible for the next two episodes.

My segment

On Wednesday morning I had to get straight to work. During first period I went downstairs to the Chapel with a friend so that we could film my Chaplain talking about the peace vigil. He spoke really well and I was happy with everything he said, however I found that he spoke for too long, this was not supposed to be a very long segment. Nevertheless, I knew that I could just edit some things and cut out some of what he said; it wouldn’t be very noticeable because I was planning to have b-roll over his voice. The period was finished by the time I had filmed everything and transferred it to the computer, so I ended up going to comm. tech after school to continue editing. I asked my teacher for the footage of last year’s peace vigil, and he had informed me that he was unsure of its location, let alone if he even had it anymore. This threw a monkey wrench in my whole plan! If I didn’t have b-roll, I wouldn’t have anything to show over the talking, and if I just showed the talking, it would be a very boring segment! I decided to start finding pictures on “Flickr” that I could show in the segment, in the hopes that it would make it look better.

After a lot of work on the segment, I was still pretty unhappy. Everyone in the class knew it wasn’t really my fault, and said it looked pretty good considering the circumstances, but still I was disappointed. I mean, I knew I had made it look better than it initially was, but I wished that I had more time to work on it. I was pretty uneasy about what the rest of the school would think on Friday. But now there was no more time to worry about my own segment, it was time to think about the episode as a whole.

Planning for the second episode

Last Thursday, I found out that my class was going to start working on our second episode. I was pretty excited about the whole thing, because I was eager to produce a much better episode than we had last time. On Friday I realized that no one had assigned me a job, so after asking people in the class, they designated me to do a video on the upcoming peace vigil. I was pretty confident in my abilities until I realized two things: one, that the episode was going to be the following Friday (which was yesterday), and two, that I was going to be away Monday and Tuesday for field trips. This meant that I wouldn’t be able to work on my video until Wednesday! I was pretty worried and I understood that there was no time for messing around; I had to start as soon as I could. This meant that I had to plan out my idea. I decided that it would be a good idea to film my Chaplain, who organized the peace vigil, talking about the event; while he was talking, I would show footage of last years peace vigil (this is called b-roll), so that everyone can really see what the whole thing is about. I was pretty happy with my idea and excited to get to work on it.

Pro Video?

Last week I got offered the chance to film and edit a professional video. During comm. tech one day, as I was watching the announcements (I didn’t have a studio job because the 1-credit comm. tech class started taking over some jobs), the other comm. tech teacher came up to me and told me that she needed to talk to me after announcements. I said okay, but I was really confused because I hadn’t ever really spoken to her before, so I was wondering why she would needed to talk to me.

When I went to go talk to her, and she told me how much she loved the video I made for Jam Night. I got really happy. She went on to tell me about her friend who was an actor, and how he was going to audition for a play and needed a video of his monologue. She asked me if I would like to work on this video along with another grade 12. I was ecstatic; I couldn’t believe that she liked my video so much that she trusted me to make a professional video for an actor. It really boosted my confidence, because as I said before, I wasn’t completely happy with my video. Needless to say I accepted her request and am going to be working on the video within the next week or two.

Jam Night

Every year my school has an event called Coffee House Jam Night. It’s similar to the idea of a talent show, but it focuses around just music, specifically, the music that you would hear in a coffee house, which is usually acoustic. For them to have a successful night, they need to have sound technicians to set up the microphones, and adjust the audio and fix problems throughout the night. They also needed people to film the performances as well as interviews with people. Like all school events, my class was in charge of these jobs, and I, specifically, was in charge of sound. The only problem was that I hadn’t done sound before, so I needed to learn quickly. I was really eager because I wanted to learn for a while, because it seemed like a pretty cool job, and I knew that I’d need it in comm. tech when we switch jobs for announcements or DYTV.

On the day of Jam Night, my class had to stay after school to set up all of the equipment, which was surprisingly a lot of work. I did actually have fun though; I learned how to set up everything, and how to use the sound mixer. Throughout the night there were some troubles but my teacher watched over me the whole time and pretty much showed me everything I need to know. Jam Night was really great this year and I was really happy to play a part in it.

The First Episode

While my class of 8 had filmed all of the segments for the episode of DYTV (and 2 were going to be talent), it was decided that the 1-credit class was to perform the other studio jobs so that they would get more experience about how the production works. Even though it was a good idea, it sadly resulted in what I think was bad episode. It wasn’t really their fault, because I don’t think they had enough time to learn jobs thoroughly. I think that the same thing would have happened if my class had been running the episode, had we not been trained through the announcements. I think that the main problem was the audio, there was a lot of trouble with microphones and whatnot, and no one really knew what to do (I wouldn’t have either, because I didn’t have the chance to do audio).

However I don’t think that the technical difficulties were the only problem, to put it in the words of my teacher, our segments weren’t up to par. He showed us where we went wrong and how we can improve what we did; he also said that he wouldn’t count this as mark, because it was only our first time (I was really relieved because I receive a B- on mine!). After reviewing the episode, I too realized the mistakes we made, I was disappointed that I did not do a better job but knew that I was going to get another opportunity to redeem myself for next episode.

When are we going to film?

At first I was having fun doing VTR and being part of announcements, but after a while I got bored. I felt like we weren’t really doing anything in class other than announcements and because of that, we weren’t learning anything about film production, like I wanted to. Another problem I had was that we weren’t switching jobs for announcements, meaning that everyday I was VTR, and all I had to pretty much do was push play and stop a couple times, this meant that I didn’t even get the chance to try doing the other studio jobs . I was getting really upset at this and I began to regret that I joined the class; I was expecting to learn things I could use in the future so maybe I’d be able to get into a career in film one day. I was talking to another friend in the class and they felt the same way too, and we decided that we need to discuss this with our teacher.

Before we got the chance to ask our teacher, he told the class that we are going to start working on the next episode of DYTV. Suddenly I was no longer disappointed just excited. Finally! We were going to go out and film some stuff that the whole school would see. My job was to make commercials for upcoming events at the school with another classmate.

For my upcoming event, I decided to make a commercial for the school’s annual “Jam Night”, which allowed my school’s students to perform acoustic songs in front of a live audience. I was pretty excited about it as it was my first segment; I knew that it had to be really good so that I could make a good first impression. For my commercial, I decided that it would be a good idea to show what Jam Night is about and the type of music you would hear. Therefore, I decided to film 2 of my friends performing a song. I used 2 cameras; one operated by myself and the other by a friend, I cut the videos together so that I could have different shots. I was pretty happy with the commercial after it was done, and I actually received praise from some other people in the class, it made me really confident about it and I was very happy.

Announcements and Jobs

Being in the 2-credit class, we were expected to be leaders for the other classes, this meant that we had to develop an understanding about all the equipment that we will use in the class. Our teacher decided that we would be responsible for producing the daily announcements everyday. This meant that we had to put the announcements on camera, so that the whole school can see it. This task required a variety of jobs in and outside the studio including: Talent, Camera, Director, Floor Director, Audio, Switcher, and VTR.

In the studio:
Talent is name given to the people in front of the camera, for the daily announcements they are in charge of reading the announcements to the school. There are 2 people working the cameras, they obviously have to film the talent. The floor director is in charge of the 2 cameras and talent and instructs them on what they need to do.

Outside the studio:
The switcher’s job is to control what the viewer sees by switching between the 2 cameras and the VTR. The person who is running VTR is in charge of playing the pre-recorded segments, for the daily announcements they have to play “O Canada!” Audio is in charge of the sound mixer board, which controls the audio levels of the microphones and the VTR. The most important job is the director, they are in charge of the whole production, and they manage all the jobs, making sure everyone is on task.

All of these jobs are equally important for the production of the daily announcements; I think it was a very good idea for my class to run it because it gave us all a chance to familiarize ourselves with some of the things we will be required to do throughout the year.

Should I take it? Will I even get in?

During the summer I thought a lot about what I wanted to do with regards to the 2-credit comm. tech. On one hand, if I took the course, I would have it all year, which would be a really good chance for me to learn a lot. But on the other hand, taking the course would mean that I’d have to drop another course, and I was not sure which one I should drop, I wanted to take them all! Another thing I was concerned about was the workload and stress; in the past the 2-credit class was always run by around 20 people, so now to have it run by 8 would mean that we are all responsible for more work, and I wasn’t sure if I could, let alone wanted to, handle it.

At the end of the summer, after talking to a friend about the decision, I decided to take the class (if I was accepted). On the first day of school I showed up not knowing what to expect, i thought about it, and decided that even if I didn’t get in, I would still take the 1 credit and be happy…but I still wanted to get in. I looked for name to find on the list to find my first period class, which to my surprise was Comm. Tech, but I wasn’t sure if this was the 2-credit class or not. I arrived at my class and saw 7 others sitting at the table in class, I then realized that I was the 8th and final member of the class, I was accepted into 2-credit! Even thought I was still worried about whether or not I could handle it, I was overjoyed.

My own videos

Whenever I hang out with my friends it seems like something funny always happens as we are always doing different things and joking around with each other. We are constantly saying that we need a camera to record it all. We didn’t even want it so that we could show other people, just for us so that we could always remember the funny things that we did. The only problem is that none of us had a camera of our own that we could bring with us on our so-called “adventures”. One of my friends started bringing a voice recorder with him wherever we went so at least we could hear the conversation. This is when we realized how amazing it would be if we had a camera. Our wishes finally came true last month when one of my friends got their own video camera. Since then we have started filming ourselves whenever we’re all together and I plan to edit the footage afterward.

For a long time my friends and I have enjoyed watching comedic skits on the internet such as the videos from “Smosh”. This comedy duo, which started making videos around the age of 15, has become a sensation on the internet through YouTube. We always considered making videos ourselves, thinking that we could make funny videos just like them. We decided to start writing short skits that we could film in addition to our adventures. So far we have only made 2, but we are continuing to write and plan, so that we will be able to make more in the future.

2-Credit Comm. Tech?

In March, I had to pick my courses for grade 11. This year I had 5 electives, and had to choose my courses wisely because I needed to take courses depending on what I want to do after high school. I always considered film production or photography an option, and having the opportunity to take comm. tech and photography as electives sounded too good to be true. However I wasn’t sure if that is what I want to do after high school for sure, nevertheless I still selected comm. tech and photography as 2 courses. I needed to take 1 social studies course to complete one of the compulsorily standards to graduate, so I selected World History. I also knew that it was important to take sciences so that I could at least keep my options open, so I selected physics and chemistry.

As I mentioned before, there is a special 2 credit course for comm. tech that students who took it grade 10 get recommended for. In April, I found out that I had been recommended for the course, I was simply ecstatic! I was especially excited because most of my close friends that took the course had been recommended too, next year I was going to have a class with so many close friends!

However my bubble soon burst, when I found out that the teacher of the 2 credit course had decided to change the course to a class of only 8. He asked us all to write a letter about why we want to be in the class. I wrote my letter, in the hopes that I would be accepted yet I began think about what would course I would drop so that I could take Comm. Tech both semesters and if taking this course was the best thing to do. We were not to find out who had been accepted into the course until September, and so this thought followed me all through the summer.

Gr. 10 Comm Tech

Taking Comm. Tech in grade 10 was a really great experience. Over the course of a few months I learned a lot. Throughout most of the course we focused on using the computer for different things such as web design and how to edit photos in Photoshop, and while I really enjoyed it, I was most excited for the last unit, which was video. We learned how to use the video cameras and editing software that we were to use in our upcoming assignment. The assignment allowed for us to write, film and edit our own PSA commercials. Each person had the responsibility of producing two videos, one, as a group with two other people, and the other, independently.

It was amazing to actually participate in the creation of a video, I never really realized how much work it is. Our first group video took very long to film; because we were new at this, we often made mistakes and had to reshoot everything! The funny thing is that we spent so much time filming only to have to cut all the footage down to thirty seconds! It was really time consuming, but in the end it was worth it, our teacher liked our video so much that we got 100%. This really gave me a lot of confidence in comm. tech, and helped me to see how much I enjoy filming and editing.

I wasn’t as happy with my second video that I made independently. The actors in my video were always fooling around and no one was really listening to me while I was trying to film. It took me a long time to film as a result, and because the deadline approached, I wasn’t able to reshoot the scenes I found errors with. I really think that it ruined the potential that my video had. In a lot of my shots there was poor lighting and in one (because I had to reshoot) there was a lack of “continuity” (explained in previous blog). I knew that I could do better and was determined to show it the next time I had an opportunity to create a video.

Important things to understand before shooting a video

When making a video it is important to have an understanding of certain concepts, to ensure that you will have a successful video. One thing that is very important is planning out your video thoroughly; you need to make sure that you have a plan so that you don’t miss anything. I think you should always write down a plan. After the filming of one of my videos, as I was reviewing the footage, I realized that I needed to shoot more scenes, if I had planned the video more efficiently, I would have realized, these problems before I finished filming.

Another important thing to look out for while filming is “continuity”. This means that you must make sure that in each scene of video is coherent. That is to say, that each scene must make sense, for example if a character in one scene is wearing a necklace, they should be wearing it for all other scenes unless they are shown taking it off.

It would be very boring and unappealing if a video was all shown from the same distance. For a successful video, it is important to have different shots cut together so that you can portray it in a more meaningful way. Therefore it’s crucial to understand the different types of shots when filming:

Wide Shot: the subject takes up the full frame (example: showing a person, head to toe).
Close Up: very close to subject (example: a person’s head and neck)
Medium Shot: In between the close up and wide shot, subject is at a medium distance (example: a person’s knee and up, or a person’s waist and up).
Bust Shot: showing from the shoulders and up.
Extreme Wide Shot: the entire subject is in the frame but is not the main focus; instead, it focuses on the environment around the subject.
Extreme Close Up: may include only part of a person’s face (used to show emotion).

Each of these factors will ensure that you will create a successful video.

Camera Show 2

This morning I went to the Photography show I was talking about in my last blog. Unfortunately, my friend who was supposed to go with me cancelled last minute, so I ended up going with my dad. He actually had plans to go to my brother’s game in the afternoon so we didn’t actually have much time at the show. I arrived at around 11 o’clock and feasted my eyes upon the huge convention hall where the show was being held. Looking all around, I saw various different booths… it was just amazing.
I walked around the entire place checking out the different booths and looking at different cameras. They had a lot of different companies selling their camera products. I got to watch a couple seminars on different things and learned a lot. One thing that was really memorable is when I saw a station where people can try cameras out, I saw this one camera with a lens that was at least one foot long! I looked through the viewfinder, and was able to see across the hall, it was awesome!
I was also happy to see that Humber University and Georgian College were at the convention. I had an opportunity to talk to the representatives from both schools and find out a bit more about each place. At the Georgian booth, I was able to talk to a student at the school and see some of his, as well as other students’ photography. For a long time I’ve been interested in getting a post-secondary education in photography or film so I’m really happy I got the chance to talk to these people because now I know a bit more about what I need to do to achieve success in this field.

Camera Show

Yesterday I received an amazing surprise from an unlikely source. It started out as any regular day; I was at home doing my English homework, when the door bell rang. I went to answer the door and saw it was my older brother’s friend, Mike. I told him my brother wasn’t home but he informed me that he was only here to drop something off. I asked him what he needed to drop off and he responded by handing me two tickets for a camera show this weekend. He too shares a passion for film and photography and was planning to attend this event but unfortunately he was going to be out of town, so he decided to give them away; he remembered that I was really interested in this field and suggested that I should go with my brother.
He told me it was a great experience and that he has gone to these types of shows in the past and has learned a lot. “It’s great” he said, “They’ve got all these different shows on different topics, if you’re free, you should check it out”. I looked at him and smiled and said “definitely”. I thanked him and closed the door, walking back into my house I read the flier that came with the tickets. Reading it, I saw that the show’ called “The Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show”, was organized by Henry’s, a camera store that’s all-across Canada, and from what I’ve heard it’s the best place to buy your camera and accessories.
My brother was planning to go with me but unfortunately he is unable to make it. So my dad suggested that I go with a friend to the show. This was a perfect idea because I knew someone who loved photography even more than me! I asked her to come yesterday and she was excited as ever, we both are. This is will be first show we’ve ever been too and we’ve got really high hopes. We are planning to spend the entire day there so that we can learn as much as possible. I cannot wait for Saturday!

Comm Tech

When I first entered high school I realized that I would have a great opportunity to learn about film production. This chance emerged from the Comm. Tech course offered at my school. Even though you can’t take it in grade 9, the idea of being in the course the following year (in grade 10) caught my attention immediately.
The course allows you to learn all about the different aspects of film; such as learning how to use a professional camera and editing your footage. After the grade 10 course, a special course is offered to the outstanding students for grade 11. Around 20 people were chosen for this 2-credit course. The class was responsible for creating a television program, called DYTV, for the school that informed them about upcoming events. It also allowed the students of the class to gain experience and knowledge, not only in how to use equipment properly, but also in the way that a real news program might run. I was really interested in this course and was determined to be a part of it.
First I had to take the grade 10 course. I selected comm. tech as one of my electives but to my surprise I did not get in, needless to say it was a very popular class and filled up very quickly. I was very saddened by this but yet I knew I should not give up, after all this was my passion! I decided to talk to Mr. F, the comm. tech teacher to see if there was any way I could get into the class. He told me that I wouldn’t be able to transfer into the class because there were not enough computers. However, he realized how much I wanted to be in this class, so he put an extra computer in the class for me.
I was very grateful and thanked him many times. I knew from the beginning that this was going to be an amazing experience. Up until now, I didn’t really have any real experience other than filming my brother’s soccer games, now I was finally going to learn about to learn more about my passion.

Rhetorical Devices found in Ads

This is an ad for Adidas shoes. In the picture we see an athlete running a track, far behind him is his shadow that is chasing after him. The point of the ad is to show that, with the shoes, he is able to run so fast that his shadow cannot keep up with him. This is an example of a hyperbole, because the ad is an obvious over exaggeration, as no one is able to run away from their shadow.




This is an anti-smoking ad. The ad show a picture of someone holding a cigarette in their hand and in their shadow, that same hand is holding a gun. This is to show that cigarettes are weapons and will kill you. For this reason, it is obvious that this is an example of a metaphor because they are comparing cigarettes to guns.




The purpose of this ad is to raise awareness about global warming. The ad compares the earth to an ice cream. This is shown through an ice cream cone which is holding the ice cream-like earth. Just like ice cream, it is melting away. Therefore this is an example of a metaphor because it is showing us how the earth is like ice cream.




The purpose of this ad is once again to raise awareness about global warming. The image shows a seal, lying on a bench with a newspaper over its body, which a caption saying, “Animals around the world are losing their habitats due to climate change. By turning off your TV, stereo and computer when not using them, you can help prevent this. Take action right now.” The ad uses two rhetorical devices one, being a simile, which compares seals to homeless people, as now, seals are becoming homeless too. The other device used is irony; this is because it depicts an image that we would not expect to see. A seal is found in the arctic so, when it is shown in the city, it grabs your attention and s therefore an effective ad.

Why I Blog

When I first started blogging, my only reason for starting to blog was simply for and assignment for English class. My teacher decided to try out something new by getting the students in the class to start blogs about their “passion”. We have to write at least 4 times a week and post it on our profile. I was really confused about why he was giving this assignment and what significance it had, but yet, I knew I had to do it since it was contributing to part of my mark.
To be honest, at first it seemed weird to me that I was going to write stuff about myself on the internet for everyone to see, but now I don’t feel like it’s a very big deal. After I wrote my first blog, I realized that I actually enjoy blogging. I enjoy writing blogs because it feels so liberating, I can write about anything I want and in any way I want! I don’t have to worry about proper form and all that. I never really thought of myself as a writer but blogging makes it really easy to write, I guess because I choose the topic.
It feels good to talk about something I love to do, and knowing that someone (even if it’s only my teacher) will be listening to what I have to say, the only thing I’m actually worried about is if I will have enough to talk about for all the posts that we have to make in the next 4 months.

Simple Plan's "Perfect" vs. Hedley's "Trip"

In the music industry, it is no a rare occurrence when two songs sound similar. An example of this can be seen through the song “Perfect” by Simple Plan and “Trip” by Hedley, where both songs start with a similar guitar riff. Perfect was recorded by Simple Plan in 2001 and released in 2003. This punk song uses guitar drums and bass and deals with the topic of the insecurities of teenagers. The lead singer puts himself in the position of a teenager, desperate for the approval of his father. He talks about how he worked so hard to make him proud but still never lived up to his expectations (“And now I try hard to make it, I just want to make you proud, I'm never gonna be good enough for you”). Throughout the music video, teenagers are shown sitting alone in their rooms, visibly upset. This adds to the concept of teenagers being insecure as they have no one to talk to, not even their parents. The song shows that we all deal with issues with our parents but it’s important to remember that no one in perfect.
Trip was recorded and released by Hedley in 2005, two years after the release of Perfect. Even though these two songs have a very similar beginning, the two songs are about two very different subjects. Using guitar, drums and bass in the song, Trip follows the story of the lead singer’s relationship with a woman. The lyrics show that he’s in love with this woman, but yet he is struggling to stay in the relationship. In the music video, he is seen cheating on her, he realizes his mistake but feels he cannot be with her because he can’t get over what he’s done to her (“No matter how hard I tried to wash my hands, I could never get 'em clean”). He is being tortured because he loves the woman so much but can no longer be with her (“And the hardest part is knowing that I'll never follow through”). The song shows the importance of staying faithful to the person you love, because if you hurt that person, you might not have them anymore.

Under the Bridge: Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Gym Class Heroes

When a band plays a song written by another band, it is common that the cover will not sound like the original. This may occur because the band my try to change the song and “make it their own”, meaning that they will change it to fit their style of music. These changes in the song can even therefore changing the message and feeling of the song. An example of this can be seen through the comparison of the song “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the cover version by Gym Class Heroes.
The song “Under the Bridge” has a very different tone when compared to that of other songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers as it is a slow song and seems to be very emotional and sad. It is written by the lead singer about a time in his own life. It is obvious that this song is about a time when he was feeling lonely. He is feeling very sad and remembering all the mistakes he has made, and how it felt when he was alone and no one was there to comfort him. He says that he tried to find comfort in the city he lived in, but yet he was still alone (“It’s hard to believe that there’s nobody out there its hard to believe that I’m all alone”). It also seems like he is looking for an escape, trying to run away from who he is and change (“I don’t ever want to feel, like I did that day, take me to the place I love, take me all the way”). Listening to the song gives me a feeling of sadness, because of the struggles that he went through. It seems to me as though he realized his mistakes too late and therefore lost out on a lot of things.
The cover of the song by Gym Class Heroes differs from the original in the tone of the song. I think that the way the band has changed the song has given it more of a happier feel. The drums, bass and guitar are more sped up from the original song and the singer in the song sings and raps. In my opinion, the song sounds as if it has a similar meaning to the original, about loneliness. However, when I listen to this song, I get a feeling of happiness because while the lyrics are dark and sad, they are sung in a happy and upbeat tone; to me, it seems as though the person is happy and is only remembering his lonely past. He regrets the mistakes he made but has now overcome them, and is fearful of going back to the way his life was (“I don’t ever want to feel, like I did that day”). He has broken free of his old ways, so that he can live his life. He desires to be happy and is relieved that that part of his life is over. The band adds lyrics at the rapping part of the song saying “from the four track tapes to over 10 million sold”, this shows that the person has changed, in that they have become successful. At the end of the song, more lyrics are added when the phrase “the bridge is over” is repeated, I think that the bridge is a symbol of the old life of the person, and that it is now over.

How my passion started

It’s hard to say exactly when I developed my passion for film production. Since I was younger I have always wanted to take pictures and videos. When it came time for family a get together I always wanted to hold the camera, I guess it was also my excuse for when I didn’t want to be in pictures. But even at regular events like going to my brother’s soccer game (which I had to every week) to special events like family vacations, I was ready and willing to be behind the camera. I’m not sure why I loved it so much though, what was I doing that fascinated me so much? I guess that answer started forming when I went to Italy in grade 3.

Obviously the place is filled with a lot of beautiful scenery and I was simply in awe of the place. I wanted to capture it all, so that I could remember it even when I left, and I did just that, taking pictures of such amazing sights such as the coliseum. Yeah I was a kid, and I knew nothing about photography at the time, but I actually took some good pictures, and it was truly an amazing experience.

Going to my brother’s soccer game also provided me with experience in video. Watching soccer all day eventually got boring, and I wanted to do something else! My dad was always videotaping his games and it seemed that videotaping the soccer game was pretty much my only option for an activity, and so I started to film. At first I think my skills were pretty poor, I often missed the shot because I got distracted easily (I guess that’s because I was still a child). Another thing I always did was fool around with the effects on the camera, such as changing it to black and white, or sepia, I thought it was so cool. I also like to play with the fade in and fade out button, to make it look more “professional” (although at first, I was fading in and out from every shot). As time went on and I kept filming my brother’s games, I got better, and I started to plan out the way I would film and how I would end the footage of his game. I was loving every minute of it, and that’s how it all started.