Final Post

This is my final post before I print out materials.
I will explain the rest of my project that is not recorded yet during my presentation.

Peace

Great Interview with Dr. Baruch Whitehead

The interview went great! It was really fun too. I really enjoy filming.
The sound from this video is louder on the left, and it was the same for the footage of Dr. Whitehead. I already uploaded it, and changed the sound so that the right is just as loud as the left.

We met up at CTB at noon, but it was loud in the restaurant, so we went outside, and it was loud out there, so we walked down the street to near the Unitarian Church. That is where I set up shop and conducted the interview.

Now that I have all the footage I can piece together all loose ends.

Video of Myself

Sorry I haven't uploaded a video in a while, I hope my blog hasn't been too boring   : P

This crowd funding video requires me to be in it, so here I am. We shot a total of 17.5 minutes of footage (that is a lot) and I cut it down and threw this together.

This could have been HD but I didn't feel like going through the drama of uploading and downloading HD footage. It would have taken all night!

Narrative

Today I wrote three pages of my project narrative. I covered certain aspects of my project, and took note of parts that I didn't cover.
Later I want to add at least another page. I also have to meet with Mr. Heurich so he can help me print my Blog to send to my elevators.
I also told my mentor that I would annotate sources today but I did my project narrative instead. I will do my annotations tomorrow, after I evaluate AuBree's presentation.
Today I also read through all of AuBree's materials. I didn't know that that was going to be so time consuming, but at least it wasn't painful. Reading her narrative actually helped me write my own. Thanks AuBree!

Unexpected Turn of Events

Tonight I was getting ready for my (very important) interview tomorrow. I was cleaning memory cards, charging batteries, moving footage, and I got an email. My interviewee has to reschedule from Friday to next Wednesday. In my script he was a key part and it would be hard to have a video without him.

New Plan: I am going to do the interview on next Wednesday. I will be incredibly prepared for that interview. In the mean time I will create the crowd funding video, and just have holes where I plan to have Dr. Whitehead. Then I will add his footage the days after.

I am feeling the consequences of not setting these interviews up earlier. I left my last interview so close to the end of the project that an unexpected change threatened the project.
I don't like leaving things to chance, and I learned that when I put things off and push a project back that I am putting a lot more to chance.

Plans for this Weekend

This is a busy weekend. I have project in my other classes but I also have work to do for WISE.
This weekend I need to complete the following. (this includes Friday)

-Complete the Interview with Dr. Whitehead
-Download footage to external hard drive
-Go through all Sources and annotate each of them. (Create annotated Bibliography)
-Write the project narrative. A rough draft of 4 pages

Interview With Dr. Whitehead

Tomorrow I will be interviewing Dr. Whitehead at CTB.
In order to account for the sound of other people I will have him with a mic.

The questions I want to ask him are as follows…

Can you tell me a sentence starting with "Vitamin L is"?
Why should people support Vitamin L?
If you had to describe Vitamin L in one word what would that be?
What is your connection to Vitamin L?

Script for Crowd Funding Video

Basic Layout
--------------------------
Who I am
What my goal is with this video
What Vitamin L is (my words and others words)
I tell a story using footage from the concert
Words from Baruch
The ask
Credits
--------------------------



Specific Layout
--------------------------

*Camera on me*

   "I’m Josiah Rawlings, I want to take you into the world of Vitamin L. I am one of the captains of this unique team."

   "I want to tell you about our crowd funding program, and convince YOU that Vitamin L is a cause worth supporting"

   "What is Vitamin L?"

(CONSIDER): Josiah: “Vitamin L is music. Vitamin L is uplifting. Vitamin L is an important part of the Ithaca community.”

*THEN transition to other footage*

   "Vitmain L is...  

         (Words from Mrs. Little, Mrs. Preston, Baruch, and from kids in between.)

    Then the quote from the Syracuse concert “Vitamin L was also honored by president Obama for their many years of service working with kids.”

ALSO: Any shots / montages on the outreach efforts of Vitamin L?

   

"When I was in 3rd or 4th grade Vitamin L came to my school. I especially remember after the concert when the kids get to get high fives from the chorus members. I remember walking down the hall and getting high fives, and at the end of the hall was my favorite chorus member, my hero, I ran up to him and gave him a big hug. Now, a couple years later I was at a concert and a kid ran up to me after a concert and gave me a big hug. That was a very special moment for me, to see everything come full circle like that. That is what Vitamin L is about to me."

*have shots of the kids giving and getting high fives.*

“Maybe the best person to help me send this message about Vitamin is Dr. Baruch Whitehead.”

*Baruch Whitehead telling why people should give to Vitamin L.*

    "We ask that you give x amount to Vitamin L. Join us in making a difference."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2013/05/08/top-10-crowdfunding-sites-for-fundraising/

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201306/eric-markowitz/how-to-choose-a-crowdfunder.html

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/28/indiegogo-crowdfunding-platform-40m-finance-expansion

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2014/01/28/indiegogo-raises-big-time-funding/

http://www.music.ucla.edu/music-outreach-1 (for the opposite side of the age spectrum)

http://finearts.uky.edu/music/outreach (international view)

http://www.bqcm.org/outreach.htm (stateside view)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/school-choir-happy-pharell_n_4978941.html

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/25085705/article-Performing-on-the-big-stage--Elementary-school-chorus-to-sing-at-Madison-Square-Garden--

http://articles.courant.com/2013-02-07/news/hc-newtown-choir-controversy-20130207_1_choir-superintendent-janet-robinson-newtown-youth-academy
-----------------------

Do's and Don't's of a Crowd Funding Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quVjTspySPo

Never Wing it! When talking on camera, have a well thought out script
Talk about rewards, but don't go on and on. Does the Vit L thing have rewards?
Don't end the video with a "Thank You" End with a final Call to action!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SI6tMBw8Ng

Start the video from a place of passion
Start at a place of honesty and sincerity
Prove that there is love for the project outside of my own love.
It is pivotal to know your audience!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0452NA7OnzU

Have an online presence before you start a crowd funding campaign.
          Does Vitamin L have a facebook page, Twitter?
Number of followers does not equal a lot of money.

Tyler's Presentation

Today I observed my classmates WISE presentation. Overall he did a great job with his presentation.
Like Tyler, my humor will be one of my assets when going into the presentation. It is key to have the audience enjoy the presentation.
Although I was impressed by his presentation, I did notice some things that I would like to improve upon for my presentation...
For my WISE presentation I want to...
    Explain all vocabulary at the beginning of the presentation
    Say at beginning if I will be taking questions during the presentation
    Have a good amount of pictures in the presentation
    Keep the audience engaged - read the audience
    Don't read off the slides
    Describe prior knowledge at beginning

Also, one of the criticisms Ms. Lord gave was that Tyler did not address his weaknesses in his blog very well and did not work to fix them.
So here, and now I will address one of my weaknesses. Research. I don't have enough research. I need an annotated bibliography at the end of this so I need sources.
I just did some research and recorded it in my last post but that is not enough. In order to have more research I will have three more research posts before the end of this project.

Peaks / Crowd Funding

I found this great video to help me as I enter the last stages of editing and I put together this crowd funding video.
I could not embed the video, but here is the link...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUaxi8O1whg#t=41

This video told me steps to create a crowd funding video...

STEP 1   Identify a clear mission statement

STEP 2   Personalize the mission statement

                   "How do my personal memories influence my work and make me want to go to work?"

STEP 3   Blurt and Blab (Finding the Story)

                    Stories of the mission statement in action

                    An experience with a particular child

STEP 4   Connect the Mission Statement, Personal Experience and Story

                    -Who I am

                    -The story

                    -The ask

STEP 5   The ASK 

                   "The thing that can fail the most in any fund raising campaign is forgetting to ask."

                Soo... How do I ask?

                  Craft a short, simple message

                   Three options for how to ask...

                           1- Super Simple "Would you consider a gift of x ammount?"

                           2- Be specific "For $20, would you support a child in this program?"

                           3- Don't ask to donate at all "Join us in making a difference"

                     Keep Three things...

                            After you ask... Keep quiet. Let the message sink in.

                            Keep your perspective. 

                            Keep your chin up. 

This format works well for a straight up pitch. I would need to modify it in order to use the footage that I already have.

Interview Wednesday

I secured an interview with a fantastic orator who is very enthusiastic about Vitamin L.
We are meeting on Wednesday at CTB downtown. I am worried it will be noisy (right around lunch time) so I will figure out a microphone so that I can have good sound quality.
He will be such a great person to have in the video. I'm excited... I'm not really nervous for interviews anymore.

New Promotional Plan

Just got off the phone with the director of Vitamin L.
It was out of my comfort zone to ask to change the scope of the project but it was necessary.
Because of the approaching deadline I have changed the project to something simpler, and with a specific use.
The board is planning on crowd funding. We are planning to raise $25,000 over a two month period for the groups 25 year anniversary. We will be crowd funding through Peaks at Cornell Cooperative Extension.
I will be a captain for Vitamin L. The captains are responsible for a portion of the fund raising and getting the word out.
My video would be on the main page and I would use myself in the video. There are ideas that I want to get across in my video that I don't have other people saying. I would be the "glue" holding the footage I took together.
The video would look something like this "Hi, I'm Josiah and I am a captain for Vitamin L's crowd funding goal of $25,000. You should donate because..."
Maybe a little softer than that, but that is the idea.

Full Outline

Today my goal is to finish my outline. Tomorrow my goal is to finish my timeline of my favorite clips.

Total of about 4 minute video.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Open with video of the kids at the Syracuse concert.
Audio of the beginning speech "Vitamin L was honored by… Please give a warm welcome to Vitamin L!" (Kids cheering)
----------
Mrs. Little "Vitamin L is a very special experience. For the kids in Vitamin L and the kids watching."
------------
What is the concert experience? (with video put in, from the Syracuse concert) Jeff Peterson "The kids file in, there is anticipation… and then my favorite part is she we high five the kids after the concert."
---------
What does Vitamin L do for the community?
Kids with clips of Sandwich making, and the suicide prevention walk.
Dr. Brown saying what he has to say.
Connection with DASA which a lot of people know about.
-----------
Back to Jeff "In the future I m actually going to be a music education teacher… Blah blah blah yay Vitamin L! :)"
----------
Dr. Whitehead giving his powerful speech. and the shots from the 1,000th concert.
------------
Add mashup of al the 1 word answers. (Describe Vitamin L in one word)
*rest*
Credits with Jan singing a song with the half floor angle.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mentor Meeting

Three things I need before the next mentor meeting...

1
A full outline of the video in writing.
In a timeline format going over kinds of shots, length, audio.

2
An edited timeline of all favorite clips.
From interviews, and concerts, and other.

3
Expanded research.
(NBC biographies, group stories, youth music group articles, local promotional videos)

Editing and Emails

I started and finished editing my interview with a music teacher that I filmed a little while ago.
Not only did I continue editing but I sent out two important emails…

I sent this to an administrator...

Vitamin L is a key part of the Ithaca community and makes a positive impact on our local schools. I understand that you are involved with the Dignity for All Students Act, and Vitamin L has the same goals. I am a senior at Ithaca High School and am creating a promotional video for Vitamin L. Would you be willing to give me some of your time so I could get a soundbite from you? 

You would talk about your connection with Vitamin L's mission (DASA), and any other information you want to share (like a memory of a concert you attended).

Thank you for taking the time to read this email.  I hope we are able to meet.

And I sent this to Dr. Brown…

Dr. Brown,

Vitamin L is a key part of the Ithaca community and makes a positive impact on our local schools. Through Vitamin L, middle school and high school chorus members get involved with the local elementary kids. I am a senior at Ithaca High School and am creating a promotional video for Vitamin L. Would you be willing to give me some of your time so I could get a soundbite from you? 

You would talk about Vitamin L's impact on the local schools and how Vitamin L is important in our community.

Thank you, I hope we are able to meet.

We will see what comes out of these emails.

4th Day Editing

Today during school I finished editing the footage of the Syracuse Concert. (All three cameras)
I found some good and unique shots and went over them with my mentor. We had a discussion on how to use different shots and different graphics we plan on using.

Also today I created a list of people I want to contact to meet and interview. This list is a total of 7 people, and most of them lie within my school district.

Backwards Planning

Red Flagged

How much time did I spend on my project? (Include class meeting, mentor meeting, journal writing, hands-on, research)

4 hours

What did I do that was Hands-on?

I spent about 4 hours going through footage and finding the good parts. I didn't realize how long this would take. I am editing Monday through Friday 4th and 5th period. Hopefully this will give me enough time to put this together.

What research did I do?

None.

What should I research this week?

I should research what kinds of videos people have on PEAKS.

Did I meet with my mentor? What did we talk about?

We met, but we didn't have a meeting. I was going through some footage of a concert and he was going through emails. We did talk about using just the audio from some cuts and just the video for others.

Do I have three journal entries? Do my journal entries include planning, recording activities, and reflecting?

I do. They are oaky, but I do not have enough research this week.

Was I in class this week? Did I have and use my journal?

I was not in class. I had an AP test. I didn't come in to get the assignment after I missed class which I should have done. I will do this in the future.

Do I think my fulfillment of WISE requirements were: Inadequate? Adequate? Good? Excellent? Explain.

Inadequate. Not enough research.

What are my plans for next week?
I will set up interviews for next week on Saturday. I will continue to edit Monday through Thurday. Next Friday I will be filming a Vitamin L event and will be interviewing the kids at it. Also on Saturday I will be interviewing more kids at a poster making event. 

3rd Day Editing

I went though some more footage of the Syracuse concert. There were 4 kids that were my favorite. When I have to make the decision to

Second Day Editing

I am with my mentor again in the media lab. Yesterday I finished splicing the footage of one of the interviews. My plan for today is to edit the footage of the Syracuse Concert.

Physics Test Done, Plan for the Future

This weekend I did not work on my project. I was studying for my AP Physics test that was on Monday. It went well and now I am done with physics.
From now on I am able to devote more of my time to the project.
My mentor suggested that I start editing everyday except for Friday in the media lab 4th period.
Today is the first day on that schedule. I have the editing software open and I am currently going through interviews and marking the best parts and quotes.

Red Flag

How much time did I spend on my project? (Include class meeting, mentor meeting, journal writing, hands-on, research)

4 hours

What did I do that was Hands-on?

I took a personality profile test (not pertinent to the project)
I was in WISE class and I went to my board meeting.

What research did I do?

I researched how to use Premier Pro.

What should I research this week?

I should research what kinds of videos people have on PEAKS.

Did I meet with my mentor? What did we talk about?

I did meet with my mentor.
We talked about the board meeting, PEAKS, getting more interviews, and the concept of the movie as a whole.

Do I have three journal entries? Do my journal entries include planning, recording activities, and reflecting?

I do. They are good, but I do not have enough hands on work.

Was I in class this week? Did I have and use my journal?

I was in class.

Do I think my fulfillment of WISE requirements were: Inadequate? Adequate? Good? Excellent? Explain.

Inadequate. Not enough hands-on work.

What are my plans for next week?
There is no Vit L rehearsal this weekend so I can't film that. There are no concerts. I can build the concept of the piece more. Get organized. And set up interviews for next week. Also starting next week, every 4th period except for Friday I will be with Mr. Reiff editing the video and building it.

Mentor Meeting

Happiness

Happiness
We got an article in class.
1: When do I feel most happy?
I am most happy when I am being challenged. I like challenging myself
2: React/Respond to the article.
3: Where am I on the flow chart?
4: How has this changed during the course of this project?
5: How can I achieve flow?

Getting Back into It / Board Meeting

I haven't posted since Friday.
It is time to get back into it!

We got a sheet in class called "Out of the Rut"
7 Things I want to accomplish in the next week...

Organize all of my footage with titles (Time intensive)
Create a schedule to regularly go in and edit
Start editing some of the footage and putting it together
Start conceptualizing the peice
Get the footage of the November 2nd Concert from Janice
Set up times for 5 more Interviews
Remember to go to the Vitamin L fundraiser Friday

ALSO
The Vitamin L board meets the first Tuesday of each month.
Here is my report of the meeting.
I updated the board on the progress of my project.
We had a guest speaker at the meeting as well. He gave a 40 minute presentation about PEAKS. A local crowd funding website through Cornell Cooperative Extension. The plan is to raise $25,000 dollars for Vitamin L's 25th Anniversary. This is linked to my project because my video would be the center piece that we use.
Like I stated at the beginning of this project I wanted the promotional video to have a variety of uses. This is one example of how it will be used.

Personality Profile

I just took a 200 or so long personality questionaire. Check out my work ethic and organization. No wonder this project has been hard. Hopefully at the end of this project those parts will expand.

Research and not Filming

There wasn't good footage to capture at Waffle Frolic so instead I stayed home and did some research.

I watched this video

And learned this:

-The timeline can be extended just by dragging it

-All video and Audio can be moved to multiple tracks

-The toggle or sync icon helps you either just move one track, or all the tracks at the same time

-The clamp icon connects the end of one piece and the beginning of the other automatically

-The marker icon allows you to mark video or audio for future use

-Just as a reference it is good to keep the audio below 60

-The timers go up to 23rds of a second because we are working at 24 frames a second

-When you zoom in and zoom out of the timeline hit the \ on the keyboard for a quick reset

And I watched this video

And learned this:

-Make sure the Quality of the footage and the frame rate it was recorded is synced with Prem. Pro

-If your work space gets messed up go to window, work space, reset current work space

-One project can have multiple sequences to keep the ideas flowing

Red Flagged

How much time did I spend on my project? (Include class meeting, mentor meeting, journal writing, hands-on, research)

12 hours

What did I do that was Hands-on?

I filmed Vitamin L rehearsal

I filmed Vitamin L making sandwiches for the homeless

I filmed a Vitamin L concert in Syracuse

I conducted two interviews

What research did I do?

I researched how to conduct and film an interview.

What should I research this week?

Techniques for using the editing program Final Cut Pro.

Did I meet with my mentor? What did we talk about?

Yes, We talked about the interviews I conducted. What went well, what could be improved.

Do I have three journal entries? Do my journal entries include planning, recording activities, and reflecting?

Yes, and Yes 

Was I in class this week? Did I have and use my journal?

I was not in class, but I made up the class on Tuesday. We were assigned a reading about happiness. I will complete the class assignment on Sunday like I did last week. It worked well.

Do I think my fulfillment of WISE requirements were: Inadequate? Adequate? Good? Excellent? Explain.

My fulfillment of the WISE requirements were Excellent this week. I put in over 8 hours or time on work, I met with my mentor, and I had some research. 

What are my plans for next week?

Friday 5/2 Film Vitamin L fundraiser at Waffle Frolic. Arrange more interviews for next week.

Saturday 5/3 Film the Vitamin L concert in Elmira, and the "Suicide Prevention Walk"

Sunday 5/4 Do the Happiness Assignment. Upload and organize all footage of the project.

Monday 5/5 Go to Class. Research about the Editing Software.

Tuesday-Thursday Interviews?

Also I plan on Labeling all my posts with the following Labels...
-Research
-Hands On
-Reflection
-Mentor Meeting
-Class Entries
-Planning

I did the Second Interview

I arrived to the interview about 25 minutes early so I waited in my car.
I went into the school with 15 minutes to spare and signed in.
Then I went upstairs to her room and met her there.
We talked about college and her kids and my sister as she ran through some emails and I set up.
After I set up we ran the interview and it was fun.
I wasn't as nervous for this interview as I was for the first one. I guess that's just how life works.
Here is just a little snip it from the interview.

My mentor meeting was good as well.
We went through the footage of the morning interview and he talked to me about how when I watch it I should...
-Look and listen for the best parts
-Write down the times on the video where they occur
-Mark those parts in the editing software so that they can be found easier

I did the Interview

It was great!

Here is a little snip-it of the conversation...

Josiah "If you could describe Vitamin L in one word what would that be?"
Mrs. Little "Empowering."
Josiah "Why?"
Mrs. Little "Empowering because..." (she talked about it)
Josiah "I'm going to bring the camera closer, don't be nervous, can you just say empowering again?"
...

She was very nice and approachable. I knew that because I had informally met her before last time I was at South Hill, and her emails were very nice as well.

The interview got started late because she was very busy, and the nurse and a teacher and a kid came into her office separately to see her. I really appreciate that she took the time to meet with me in her busy schedule.
One of the hardest things about the interview was not saying "uh huh" and "yeah" whenever she was talking. I accidentally did this during my practice interview a couple weeks ago and it is still a challenge.
One of the things that is out of my comfort zone is telling adults what they need to do. I should have told her how I wanted her to answer the questions. She did an amazing job being expressive and complimenting Vitamin L, but her answers didn't make sense without my question. I should have told her "I need you to answer my questions in complete sentences, with the question in the answer so that my voice asking the question doesn't need to be in the video."

I have a chance to do this tomorrow morning when I interview the teacher at BJM.
Today was a Success! I'm nervous and excited for tomorrow.

Research

I have an important interview tomorrow so I re-read the chapter in my book "Video Nation" about interviews... Here are the most important things I picked up

-Dead on camera angles are too intense for some viewers
-Avoid an embarrassing shot, for example of a toilet
-Keep things moving
           -it is important to keep the topics fresh so that the interviewee doesn't get bored.
-Stay on topic
           -even if the persons life story is interesting try to stay on topic and get the job done
-Wrap it up
           -More is not always better, get what you need and get out
           -If you don't wrap it up you will be wasting both the peoples time

Also I got information from this video on Youtube...

-Prepare for the interview
-Ask open ended Questions
-Use the technique of repeating their last couple words to get them to expand

I'm nervous for my interview! This is pushing my comfort zone, but I CAN DO IT! Woot!

Sample Questions Sent to Interviewees

"I am excited to meet with you Thursday. Here is a list of the questions I plan to ask so you can feel prepared.

The purpose of this interview is to get some positive soundbites and video clips to add to Vitamin L's promotional video. I am doing this quick interview process with many people in the district and in the community. The interview will be a comfortable length, not exceeding 15 minutes. I will ask the following...

How did you learn about Vitamin L?

What was your first impression?

How do the kids of BJM react to Vitamin L?

What is your favorite memory of Vitamin L?

What do you think about living and learning through song?

What can adults learn from the messages in these songs?

What can the world learn from Vitamin L?

How does Vitamin L impact your local community?

Vitamin L promotes many positive messages, which one is your favorite?

Many people have a favorite song, do you?

If you could describe Vitamin L in one word what would it be?

Thank you again. See you Thursday."

Filming a Great Concert

I wasn't in class today because I was filming a concert at the Syracuse Academy of Science. I brought 2 DSLR cameras, and 2 tripods.I found a really cool spot to shoot one of the cameras from.
Here is me discovering the space...

I set up one camera above the gym and I got a really cool shot of all the kids coming into the gym.
Here it is!

I used the other camera to film close-ups. We had a 40 minute sound check (which is a lot longer than usual) so I used that time to film the chorus members and Jan. I got some interesting angles, including one angle that had half the floor in it. I could use the floor to put text in it or something.

During the time that I was filming the kids watching the concert I tried to keep the camera hidden. I wanted completely candid shots. This was challenging so I created an elaborate strategy...

Step 1: Look around the audience for the most enthusiastic kid, don't be afraid to move around.
Step 2: Find a place to position yourself near the subject (the happy kid).
Step 3: Start recording and focus the camera on the subject.
Step 4: The subject had noticed you and your camera and will be focused on you instead of the show for a little bit. Just wait... Ignore the camera and act interested in the concert. After a while the subject will stop feeling that he is being filmed and will fall back into the concert.
BOOM! Your in! Don't blow it! Don't make any sudden movements. Slyly check the display to make sure that you are still focused on the subject. Then... just smile and wave... Don't go out of your way to film candid moments. They will come to you. Patience.
Step 5: Wait for the applause at the end of the song. Your mission isn't over until the subject has clapped with a big smile on their face.
Step 6: The subject may be completely adorable and you may not want to leave them. Understand that this is normal, but you need to do your best to move on and get footage of different kids aswell. Stand up, and go back to Step 1 for the next song.


Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday
Create a list of questions for interviews
Wednesday 12:20 at South Hill Elementary
Interview Principle
Thursday 8:15 AM at BJM
Interviewing a Teacher
Meeting with Mentor
Friday
Plan for the shooting tomorrow
Go through footage 8th period
Saturday 8:15-1:00
Film the "Elmira Walk Concert"
Sunday
Go through footage, organize
Reflect on week and pushing boundaries

Responding to a Prompt

This past week has been very successful. I feel very good about the amount of work that I did, and I feel I am on track to having a great final product.
Last Monday my WISE class listened to an NPR talk about pushing boundaries and expanding the comfort zone. We got two questions as prompts and I decided to not respond to them until after my productive week.

-How has my comfort zone expanded because of this project?

One thing that I did to expand my comfort zone was quit the tennis team. It is not directly related to my project but one of my goals with my project was to prioritize my commitments.
Another thing that I did to expand my comfort zone was I set up two interviews with women I have never met. I was nervous about the impression I was making and my specific word choice in my emails. I have some other contacts for people to interview, but I don't have emails, I have phone numbers, which means I am going to have to make some phone calls.

-How can I expand my comfort zone in the future?

Every Sunday I will reflect on what I did to expand my comfort zone. Next week I am going to conduct an interview with a teacher at BJM, and I am going to make some phone calls to set up future interviews. I will reflect on this next Sunday.

Eleanor Roosevelt - "Do one thing every day that scares you."

Uploading and Organizing

Today I...

Updated my computer to run on Windows 8.1
-----It runs videos faster
I uploaded all the footage from the memory cards onto my external hard drive
-----Hopefully I can open it on the Macs at school
I organized all the footage
-----Into the folders Interviews, Rehearsal, Concerts, Sandwich making
I skimmed all the footage and named each piece
-----Example ( Jan singing Decisions )

This was about 2 hours of on-and-off work.

A Full Day

I had a good day. My day had 5 parts...

Part 1
Going through emails and confirming the interview for Thursday.
Printing out media release forms.
Charging batteries for the cameras.
Clearing the memory on the SD cards (memory cards)
Loading up the car with all the gear.

Part 2
Filming Vitamin L rehearsal
Getting the media release forms out to kids and parents
Getting the tri-fold Vitamin L poster

Part 3
Filming the Sandwich making
I got as much footage as I needed an then I helped out
Those are all snadwiches... We also made Brownies, and bagged apples and oranges.

Part 4
I go to Barnes and Nobel and set up the tri-fold
I spent most of my time in the kids section with the face paint and the play-do

Part 5
Come home around 6:00pm and fall asleep on the couch
Wake up at 10:00pm and eat food
Post on Blogger
Go to bed around 12:30

Interview Secured

"8:15 on Thursday works great. I will email you with all the questions I plan to ask in advance.
Thank you, I'm excited to meet with you.
Josiah Rawlings"

Work in school

Today I met with one of the teachers that is helping me with my project. Lets call him Mentor #2. Mentor #2 helped me update my external hard drive so that it could be used on both Macs and PCs. He also gave me a tutorial on using the DSLR Camera. I picked up some tips and tricks.
I left his room with...
2 Tripods
2 DSLR Cameras
2 SD Cards
4 Batteries
2 Battery chargers

Tomorrow I will be filming Rehearsal, the Sandwich making, and some interviews.
I will also be at the WISE fund raiser tomorrow.

Busy day, but I'm gonna have fun.

*Bonus*
I did some more emails tonight setting up interviews.

Red Flagged

How much time did I spend on my project? (Include class meeting, mentor meeting, journal writing, hands-on, research)
3 hours
What did I do that was Hands-on?
Emailed people and set up interviews. Planning future dates for filming.
What research did I do?
None
Did I meet with my mentor? What did we talk about?
Yes, it is talked about below.
Do I have three journal entries? Do my journal entries include planning, recording activities, and reflecting?
I do have three journal entries for this week, but I still need more to catch up. My journals include everything except for research.
Was I in class this week? Did I have and use my journal?
I was in class, and yes I did use my journal.
Do I think my fulfillment of WISE requirements were: Inadequate? Adequate? Good? Excellent? Explain.
My fulfilment of the WISE requirmetns this week were good. They weren't excellent because I did not do any research.
What are my plans for next week?
My future plans include all of the following:
April 26th Film Vitamin L a lot and interview people and do the B&N fundraiser
April 28th Film a concert at the Syracuse Academy of science
Sometime next week My interview with the principle of South Hill Elementary.
May 3rd Film the Suicide prevention walk

Mentor Meeting

Today with my mentor we discussed...

The best Camera Angles for the interviews
The use of multiple cameras to get a variety of footage
Using the "sandwich making" as a soft intro and the "suicide prevention walk" later
Follow the idea of music bringing us together
We talked about quitting the tennis team and decided that school grades trump the extra-curricular
    -I have been committed for the past 4 years, this year I can't be

We made plans for the future...

Next week look at premier pro.
    -We should also set up my external hard drive to work with Apple
This weekend get some good footage of the kids at rehearsal and at the sandwich making
Stick with the plan in place to film and film for the next month
Set up the interview with the lady at BJM.
I can do this!

Tennis Conflicts

I got another confirmation that someone is willing to be interviewed. A teacher at BJM emailed me back and told me her time frame. She has a busy schedule and it doesn't look like we have any free time in common. I would be able to do it after school but I have tennis. The matches for tennis are very unpredictable. I don't know how much longer I can stay committed to the team. It is taking up my time and effecting my grades. I could handle tennis the past 5 years, but this is the busiest I have been.

Should I just give up on interviewing her? Should I quit the tennis team? Should I interview her in May? Should I try to fit the interview between 7th period and 9th period?
I don't know what to do, this is stressful.

Emails and Calenders

I got a response for an interview from one of the principles of a local elementary school. She seems very nice. I am excited to meet her, and nervous for the interview. I expect I will be less nervous in the moment (cause I'm weird like that). We scheduled the interview for next week, I told her I was not available this week. (I have too much school work to do and I am working on prioritizing my commitments).

Also tonight I went over all my important dates and added them to my calender. The dates are...

April 26th 
I film Vitamin L rehearsal 10:30-12:30
I film the "Sandwich making for the Homeless" From 1:00 to 2:30 and conduct short informal interviews with the people involved.
I go to the WISE fundraiser and bring a tri-fold poster about Vitamin L.

April 28th
I film a concert at the Syracuse Academy of Science from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

May 1st
My interview with a teacher at BJM

May 3rd
I film the Vitamin L kids participating in the "suicide prevention walk" and conduct informal interviews along the way.

Then between May 3rd and May 28th I have some time to finish the edits on the film.
I can then see where I have holes in my video and I can fill those gaps by grabbing footage at these times...

May 29th
Film The Ithaca Parade
Film a Vitamin L concert at Belle Sherman Elementary

May 30th and May 31st
More concerts.

Tomorrow I plan on calling a local alumni of Vitamin L to set up an interview. I have his number and will call him sometime before 2:00 pm.

WISE Class and Emails

Today during class we talked about our fundraiser we are holding at Barnes and Nobel this Saturday.
We also listened to a talk on NPR about a man who pushes his comfort zone to keep growing. It is his way of life. "If you aren't growing, you're dying" he said. This relates to the WISE experience. Later in the week I will respond to the following questions.
-How has my comfort zone expanded because of this project?
-How can I expand my comfort zone in the future?

Tonight I sent out two emails. The emails were to set up interviews to film for the project. One of the emails was to a principle of a local elementary school, and one was to a music teacher who is known for using Vitamin L songs on a daily basis.

I have two other contacts of teachers I want to interview but I don't have their emails, only their phone numbers. I will call them Wednesday during one of my free periods to set up a meeting.
I also have contact information for a lot of kids in Vitamin L who I know are enthusiastic and expressive. They are great candidates to interview.

I am behind on blog posts so for the next couple weeks I will be posting something each day.

Busy schedule

I have been very busy this week. I had to cancel my meeting with my mentor yesterday because i was called down to do the musical in school performances. I rescheduled for today but now i am home sick instead.

Filming and Sorting Footage

I filmed the two hour Vitamin L rehearsal yesterday and then stayed after for an interview with Janice.

The Rehearsal
Many kids were afraid of the camera so I tried to make it fun and less intimidating so I danced around and snag a little. But when I was going through the footage I realized I was singing too much and a lot of the audio for the footage is not available because my baritone voice is clashing with the faces of the little kids.
I uploaded all the footage, which took 3 hours, and then organized my hard drive. 

Practice Interview

Tonight I filmed and edited and interview of my dad.

I used a DSLR camera, flood light, and tripod to film this. I had two other cameras set up but the video looked to different from the different cameras so I decided not to use the footage from the other two cameras.
I used Windows Live Movie Maker to edit this video. It was fun to film and fun to edit, I am excited to do this more.

I learned:

Not too much White light! (It looks unnatural)
Beware of mirrors
Turn off the auto focus once the camera is focused
Dont move around as the interviewer
Have the camera positioned closer to the interviewer
Dont let the dog move the tripod
the three camera set up doesnt work if the cameras are different
editing takes for ever
Movie maker on Windows 8 is weak
It was fun

Barnsong Review

Today in WISE class we watched a documentary called Barnsong.
The documentary was created by a WISE student, about another WISE student.
Some questions we were asked to consider while watching the documentary were...

-What do you better understand about the WISE project?
In the documentary the kid who was creating the barn did not finish by the end of the school year. It took him until august to finish. I learned that it is okay to make mistakes, and even not finish the project by the due date. If we work hard then we are good. My project is very variable and there are not a lot of certainties yet, and I hope I am able to finish by the end of the year so that I can share the movie at my project presentation.

-What questions do you still have about the WISE project?
Are we going to have a day where we all share our projects in class? Not everyone has a blog and I can't follow everyone. Also how much flexibility is there in my consistency with my work. I have been sick for the past four days and haven't done much work on my project. I have time this next week to catch up and make plans and post more. Am I allowed to do that?

-Also the documentary didn't seem that impressive. It didn't seem like the kid spent a whole semester on it. I expect my movie project to look more professional. Watching that video got me excited about my video as well.

New Plan

Yesterday (Saturday) I got a hard drive to store all of the HD footage.
This Hard drive works with both Mac and PC which is going to be helpful for me because I will be using both.

And today I created a new plan...
What I am currently doing with my schedule is not working. I am too busy during the week and don't get much done on my project. So I have a new plan.
Here it is... I don't work on the project during the week, and then dedicate all my free time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to the Project. So kinda like this...

Fridays 
Film Vitamin L concerts (they are usually on Fridays)
POST*

Saturday
Go to Vitamin L practice
Interview some kids
Go home and upload and organize the footage
Do research
POST*

Sunday
Reflect on the last week
Plan for the next week
POST*

Michael Stern's Comment: Why do you need to use both a Mac and a PC? This project looks really cool. Typically this is something that Vitamin L would have to pay for to have done. Very nice of you to do it for free.

Personal Growth

Well I am a very busy guy. During the week I have...

Leave home 8:15
School 8:50-3:30
Tennis 4:00-6:00
Rehearsal 6:30-9:30
Get home 10:00

I am busy for two reasons.

1- I really enjoy doing things... So I do everything.
I knew a couple months ago that this was going to be a very busy time in my life and yet I still committed to after school chior, the musical, tennis, and the WISE project because I knew I would regret not doing these things.

2- I don't like disappointing people... So I try to do everything really well.
I know it is not possible for anyone to do everything perfect but I am hitting a point where my commitments are overlapping and I don't have enough brain power to keep track of everything and do my best work in every area of my life.

I am learning that there is a balance I need to find. I can't do everything perfectly. The more things I commit to the more I have to compromise in other areas. For example I played tennis two weeks ago to prepare for the tennis season. I compromised studying for an economics test. I ended up getting a 73% on that econ. test which is below my standards.

Also, last Friday I forgot about my first mentor meeting. I forgot about the meeting because I had too much on my mind. I compromised my brain power in order to do homework that day. I was very embarrassed when I realized I missed the meeting and emailed my mentor right away.

In terms of this project I really want to make it awesome, because I don't want to disappoint all the people involved in it. But I'm afraid I have to cut down in some areas to make it more manageable. One thing that I am going to do less of is my notes on "Video Nation". I was planning on having in depth notes on each chapter, but I am going to just read the book and not upload in depth notes. Another thing I might have to cut down on is the length of my posts.

How about every Tuesday is Personal Growth Day. Where I talk about time management, commitments, failures and stuff like that... I think that is a good idea.

Plan For The Week 3/10-3/17

Monday 3/10/14
Make plan for the week.
*POST

Tuesday 3/11/14
Add Part 1 to the Video Nation page.
*POST

Wednesday 3/12/14
Add Part 2 to the Video Nation Page.
*POST

Thursday 3/13/14
Add Part 3 to the Video Nation Page.
Get the DSLR camcorder from Mr. Cass.
*POST

Friday 3/14/14
Film the school concert.
*POST

Saturday 3/15/14
Get an external hard drive somehow.
Move all footage to the hard drive.
Add Part 4 to the Video Nation Page.
*POST

Helpful How to Videos

I registered my book "Video Nation" on peachpit.com

Throughout the paperback copy of the book there are blue televisions in the margins (like the one below) that correspond to downloadable videos on Peach Pit.

I am now able to download those videos by Jefferson Graham that correspond to parts of the book.

It took four hours to download all of these videos, but now I have them saved on a separate flash drive.

Also, today I updated my equipment page to include the camera I used last Friday at South Hill Elementary.

First day filming!

6:00 AM
I get up. Eat food. Prepare for the day.

6:40 AM

I leave for Felix's house to pick up his camera. He teaches me how to use his AIPTEK digital camcorder...

And his Samsung digital camcorder...

I took this quick video with the Samsung digital camcorder...

The cameras are great but they have their weaknesses. The Samsung digital camcorder has low resolution, and the AIPTEK camcorder has low battery capacity and low sound quality. The cameras hadn't been charging overnight so they were both low on battery. After he is done giving me a tutorial I thank him. I take both the cameras but decid only to use the HD AIPTEK camcorder.

7:56 AM
I arrive at South Hill and go to the main office. I talk with one of the staff members about media release of the students. We agree it is best if I film the students as little as possible.

8:06 AM
I read chapter three in my book, "Video Nation", about filming techniques. My research will be recorded in the Video Nation tab. I use what I learned from that chapter, and from my conversation with Jeff to start planning the filming.

8:17 AM
I check the lighting, and it is weak. I ask one of the custodians if he could turn on some of the stage lights. He does, and the lighting for the video was a lot better.

8:20 AM
Filming begins!
Sound check starts and this is my chance to get some close ups. I get as many interesting angles as possible. I apply the rule of thirds when focusing on my subjects. I also sing along to the music, smile, and laugh as much as possible. I want the chorus members to be relaxed and have fun. I get some great reactions from Jan, Jewell, and Keara on camera. The camera runs out of battery and I have to plug it in. This is annoying. Next time I film I am definitely going to charge the battery overnight.

8:45 AM
When the kids start filtering into the cafeteria I move to the back and start filming the kids sitting down. I bump and tilt the camera a lot during this time. In the future I want to keep the camera stationary so I can have a cool time lapse effect of the kids filling up the room.

9:40 AM
The concert finishes and I go out in the hall to get some good shots of Vitamin Lers high-fiving the little kids. The hall is crowded and it is hard to get a good angle. I finally get a good angle. It is perfect! I settle in between two lines of kids in the hall, with them walking away from me. Jewell is in between them giving them high fives on both sides. I had just gotten into the spot when... the camera runs out of battery! Ah! I would have loved to have that shot in the video.

10:20 AM
I arrive at the high school and go to Mr. Cass's room. I ask him about downloading the footage onto my computer. My laptop couldn't do it so that is something I am going to have to figure out in the future. He also asked about my equipment situation and I said, "I got these cameras from Felix, but it isn't a permanent thing. I'm going to have to figure out what I am going to do in the future." He offered to let me use one of his DSLR cameras. They are HD and a lot better than the cameras I used today. We worked out that next Thursday before the concert on Friday I will go in and pick up the camera. I am extremely thankful. It feels good to know that he trusts me.

10:50 AM
After several failed attempts at uploading the SD card to my lap top I go to the library and post this on my blog.

Via text...

"Hey jeff, its josiah, can i have some pointers for tomorrow? Im filming my first concert, im excited! I got a camera bit i need an external mic cause the mic on the camera doesn't work..."

Three minutes later...

"Hey! Notes in general: keep the camera rolling the whole time, you can always cut stuff out afterwords. Bring more recording tapes or sd cards than you think you need; and hunt for some different shots (I.e. zoomed in, medium shot etc) but keep them consistent for each segment. As far as the external mic goes, do you know if you will be using the actual audio from the concert at all?"

"I want to have the option to use the audio, but for this concert i guess its alright if I don't."..."Just got an extra sd card, and im picking up the camera tomorrow morning. Then imma be ready to film. Whoohoo"

"Awesome man! Best of luck with tomorrow. Let me know how it goes."

"Yah Definitly."

After this conversation I called Janice to touch base. She emailed me media release forms for the chorus members to fill out, she also sent me a song list of the concert so I can anticipate how to film. I printed out the release forms and now I am ready for the concert at 8:00 AM tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Vitamin L board meeting, March

There are four youth board members and I am one. We meet the first Tuesday of every month.
Today in the meeting we discussed many things, including my project. I shared my project goals with the board. "I want schools to sign Vitamin L up." I delivered, "I am going to create a promotional video for Vitamin L and put that video inside of an electronic press kit, full of testimonials, letters, brochures, stuff like that."
"Do you have equipment for filming Friday?" Janice questioned. I am hopefully going to film a concert at South Hill Elementary.
"I will be able to use Felix's camera this week, but I am going to need an external mic because his sound doesn't work."
I hate feeling unprepared. I need equipment by the end of the week. Pegasys, Photosynthesis, and the high school can't supply me with equipment. I don't like relying on favors but I might need Felix's camera for the beginning of the project.

I am also nervous about filming Friday. This is the first time I have done something like this. I think I should email Jeff (my out of school mentor) tonight and call him tomorrow. I need to ask him...
             What do I need to do to prepare for Friday?
             How do I use this equipment?
             Should I interview people?
             What should I ask?

Once again... Excited and Scared


I have officially met my first deadline! I said I was going to post on the 4th in my two week plan and I did!
Now I just gotta keep it up. Wish me luck with my next deadline.
I    can    do    it.

Goals for the First 2 weeks:

*POST=updating the blog
Monday 3/3/14
-Create goals for the first 2 weeks of the project
-Ask Mr. Reiff to be my in school mentor during 5th period in F4.
     Explore possibility of using the schools equipment
     Ask Felix about using his camera.

Tuesday 3/4/14
-Explain the project goals to the Vitamin L board at the board meeting 5:00 -> 7:00
-Touch base with Janice about filming concerts.
*POST

Thursday 3/6/14
-Have equipment secured by this day. By any means.
-Study the chapters in the book "Video Nation" about filming, and interviewing
-Discuss filming techniques with Jeff and create interview questions.
*POST

Friday 3/7/14
-Film the Vitamin L school concert at South Hill Elementary.
-Transfer film to external hard drive.
*POST

Tuesday 3/11/14
-Study chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Video Nation.
-Plan interview with the principle of the school.
*POST

Friday 3/14/14
-Film the Vitamin L school concert.
-Get interviews and stay consistent with questions asked.
-Create a system of organizing film on my computer.
*POST

Dear Reader,

Hi! I am Josiah Rawlings and I am so excited to be doing this WISE project.
I have been with the non-profit singing group, Vitamin L, for over 7 years. I am a chorus member in the group, and recently I became a youth board member as well. Vitamin L has been a huge part of the way I have grown up. I am leaving for college in a couple months and I want to give back to Vitamin L, and Janice Nigro, the owner.

I am creating a promotional video for Vitamin L. The video will have many uses, and will be used to convince local schools to sign Vitamin L up for a concert.

I have been interested in film for the past couple of years. Outside of school I have made videos with my cousin Anthony. One of our favorite videos we made was "Ping Pong Palace". We got the idea one day when we were playing table tennis with headphones. We threw it together in a day and it was a lot of fun.

When I have the opportunity in school I do video projects. One of the projects I had the most fun with is my Lord Of The Flies video I created two years ago in Mr. Asklar's class.

 I used an old, family camera to film, and windows movie maker to edit. It made me want to use better equipment, and better software in the future. I plan on keeping this WISE project as professional as possible.
But I can't do it on my own...

This is Jeff Hodges

Jeff is a really cool dude. He works with a local company called PhotoSynthesis Productions. He took WISE when he was in high school as well. He even had my teacher, Ms. Lord! He also had Mr. Asklar and did the same video project that I did. He also is into theater and did acting in college. The parallels that can be drawn between our lives gets me excited for our professional relationship.

Jeff has worked with Vitamin L before. He created the first Vitamin L music video, "Step Up, Speak Out".

Jeff Hodges, my out of school mentor, is helping me plan my project. The promotional video will be a two to three minute documentary style promotional video. The steps to create the film include planning, filming, editing, and distributing.

Planning
---Develop concept
---Understand the end goal
---Get equipment
------Hard equipment and software
---Create schedule
---Contact all people involved
------People who will be interviewed
------Schools where we will be filming

Filming
---Film as much as I can (you can't have too much B-roll)
---Try to control sound and light for high quality film
---Be consistent with interview questions
---Film with the end product in mind
---Don't count on fixing it later

Editing
---Organize all footage and save on an external hard drive
---Understand the editing software
---Practice by making a mock video only 20 seconds long
---Not done editing until it is perfect

Distribution
---Create an electronic press kit
------This includes the promotional video, pamphlets, letters, and other information that will be sent to schools in one package
---Use Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter to distribute.

Planning this project is challenging because these steps overlap, and plans change unpredictably. It is important to keep track of all these changes so I am going to create a Google calendar and share it with my mentors and Janice Nigro.

I feel two strong emotions right now. Excitement, and fear. I can't wait for the project to really get rolling. I want to meet people, talk to people, film people, and edit that film. I am scared about the project though. This project is a BIG deal. This might be the largest independent thing I have ever done. In terms of fear, I have been dealing with procrastination for the past five years. I need to conquer this part of myself before I go to college. I hope this project helps me do this.

Excited and scared.

Wish me luck on my journey! I know I am going learn, and have a lot of fun along the way.