Week 3 Photo Challenge: Storyboard for a Commercial

I did a commercial, not too long ago, for an online cooking show titled “Ergo-Cuisine.” The message of the show was to convey to the audience that cooking does not have to be complicated for anyone to do it.

When I initially was coming up with the creative aspect for the shoot, my first idea was to put together a multi-cam shoot of several cooking segments and the commercial would consist of quick cuts, from segment to segment. The motto of the show is, “fun, fast, and for all.” The motto is the important selling point to the audience and I wanted to convey that viewer. I decided to do take that motto and integrate it into the video as text overlays. At the end, there would be a text animation of the show name and necessary information.

The shoot would take place in the chef’s own kitchen, to create a warm an inviting appeal for the viewer. Watching a chef cooking in a commercial kitchen on a cooking show sends an air of intimidation to the viewer. The average viewer does not have half the equipment of a commercial kitchen and the only commercial grade appliance they may own, more than likely, is a stove. I wanted to parallel the idea that, even though, the chef is classically trained, he goes home to a fairly typical kitchen as the typical viewer does.

It is important to bring out the message of the show and I believe that I captured it in its justice.

Week 3 EOC: Where are you now and where are you going?

A common thread in my life lately has been the, “life talks,” I have been having with my father. Now I am having them with my friends. It seems like we are all in the same point in out lives. We’ve all come down this winding road and are about to come to an intersection of paths. Prior to a year ago, I was not sure of what I would be doing or how I was going to get there. It occurred to me that I am going to have to take the pencil and draw my own way. Sure Career Services can be a tool, but it is ultimately up to me to make my professional career happen.

This past year, I have really tried to get my act together, professionally and financially. I started free-lancing. Some projects I do pro-bono hoping they will call me back every year and maybe in the future, they made need me for something else. I have also started doing projects outside of class to expand my demo reel. I am currently working on the beginning stages of a commercial for a new restaurant in town. My goal is to get my name out there and be in the position to always be working on something.

It would be nice to take all my work to next level. That requires capital. I do not have much of to spare at the moment. As the famous saying goes, “Life happened.” I am working towards being in a better financial position to advance my career. It is coming along. By next year, my goal is to only have one bill I am responsible for, and that is the almighty student loan.

Week 2 Photo Challenge: Professional Photo of You Working

In this particular photo, I was doing the video, lighting, and audio for a commercial shoot. This was a challenging day, seeing that there was a limited amount of time to capture everything. Also, I was flying solo due to scheduling difficulties of a colleague. I had to be very well organized to accomplish all that this commercial shoot wanted.

I started my day extra early. I needed ample set up time and time to test all the equipment to make sure that it worked in harmonium together. This shoot was for an online cooking show titled, “Ergo-Cuisine.” The message of the show is to convey to the audience that cooking does not have to be complicated for anyone to do it. By using simple ingredients and techniques, anyone can become a great cook.

With that said, there was a four course meal planned out for the shoot. The challenge was to get as many camera angles of each dish being prepared and give the illusion of a multi-camera shoot. To accomplish this there were multiple passes at each stage of cooking, and yes, it was very time consuming. I shot each step three times: wide angle. mid-shot, and close up. After the first few takes, I gained a good rhythm for the chef and he was in-tune with each step of the production.

After I wrapped the shoot, and finally got a chance to look over the footage, I was very pleased with how everything came out. I edited the commercial for the client and could not wait to show him. He was very pleased with the final product. I admit that day was stressful but it all came out great in the end.

Week 2 BOC: Get Some Copyright Law Under Your Belt

The first link that I found for information on copyrights is, http://www.copyright.gov/title17/. This website is important because, if you ever are unsure what the laws are, you can reference them. Better to be safe than sorry. It breaks it down into sections. You look up the laws on infringement if you are not sure if you are infringing on someone else’s rights. You can look up the laws on royalties if you are unsure of what the breakdown is when it comes to what is owed to you and how much.

The second website is http://www.mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/church_musician. This one pertains more to copyrighting a musical recording. It explains the generics and basics of copyright law as well as goes in depth about what you can and can’t do when it comes to performing a musical recording. It talks about what happens if you want to use something that is copyrighted and you cannot find the original owner of the work. It talks about what is fair use and what is public domain. This website will help you in all your audio endeavors.

My last website is http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html. This website actually explains some myths about copyright. A lot of people have the misconception that if you buy something, you own and that gives them the right to makes copies and distribute then as they see fit. This will tell you what you need to know when it comes to defending your copyright, if there is not a copyright symbol on the actual product, and so forth.

Week 1 Photo Challenge: Make a Film

Here is a little film I made. When I first saw this set and the characters, I thought, “How hilarious!"So I made fun of the fact that one of the characters is ridiculously dressed. There is also a bit of a plot how he acquired his attire. If you cannot take a joke, this is not something you will want to watch. However, if you can laugh at the expense of others, what does that say about your personality (see, funny).

The characters have no names. This was intentional. I wanted to portray a casual relationship between two good friends. They simply refer to each other as “Man” and “Bud.” They are having a great conversation about the attire one of them is wearing. Little does the audience know, there is somewhat of a dark and twisty way of how the character attained it. The plot thickens as he begins to explain the tale of how he ended up in this ludicrous outfit.

I decided to give them an English accent. Everything is funnier when spoken like a true “Brit.” The accent was more for dramatic effect. I thought in terms of the outcome, this would pack more punch when the other character realizes some disturbing news about his dear friend. The fact that it starts out so casual and how he talks about his experience, it will leave a little puzzled and possibly squeamish when you complete the circle.

It was only supposed to be a sixty seconds but after the first thirty seconds of writing the script; I just let it flow and did not want to leave any important detail out. The truth is, it was too hard to cut it down and still make it make sense. So, please do enjoy!

Week 1 EOC: What sacrifices am I willing to make for my career?

I am a quarter away from graduation. All I can think about is how will I feel on this day. I had this talk with my father a couple of days before school. He said, “ I can’t figure you out.” My clever response was, “ How do you figure that? ” He told me that he sees potential in me that I cannot see in myself right now and that I could do anything and be anything.

For a second, I had a little doubt but I realized that my doubt stemmed from fear. What was I afraid of? I was afraid to be known and disliked. Then I thought, so what? Not everyone will like my work and me. That is just an absolute fact of life. So that fear was short –lived because I was not expecting that statement from my father.

Sacrifices make up the stepping-stones of our lives. What am I willing to give up? At first, the things that matter to me the most look grim in the face of this question but then I think, “Would I regret not taking the opportunity?” What is my mission right now? To gain experience and for that I would sacrifice spending time with my family and friends, money, sleep, change of location, and well…anything at this point. I can take the contents of my home and slap it in my storage unit, send my dog to live with my sister in Flagstaff, and go. At the moment, that is all I would have to sacrifice and that seems like a pretty short list.

Week 1 BOC: Will you be living in Las Vegas in five years?

I have asked myself where I will be living in the next five years or even ten years and every time I draw a blank. Just two years ago I had a clearer vision of what I wanted to be doing in terms of my career but in just that two years, so much has changed for me.

Two years ago, I would have told you that I would be somewhere on the west coast, in Los Angeles, engineering for a great production studio. Now I am unsure. The economy has changed so much and has me questioning if that is the right choice after I graduate. I have come to terms with the fact that I was living in the clouds at the time. I was so focused on what I wanted to do that I didn’t take the time to think about how I was going to get there.

Now, my plan is to gain experience. There are so many avenues that I was unaware of when I started my education and I want to experience as many of them as I can. I want to gain the experience and I am starting in Las Vegas. Where it takes me, I am happy to go.