Introduction
The first quarter at Freestyle, is focused on conceptual work. This is where we are exploring new softwares, equipment, and ideas, that will be prevalent throughout our Freestyle experience. At Freestyle, I currently take three core classes: Film, Digital Media, and English.
In our first quarter of Digital Media, we focused on mastering software basics, like making a magazine cover in Photoshop, learning the basics of Premiere Pro editing, discovering different techniques and ways to master audio in Audition, and more! We then applied these basics to a few different projects, ranging from an art reflection video to producing and recording our own parody songs! We also began to spend more time with our DSLRs, becoming more acquainted with using them for photography and mastering the different settings. In English, we worked in conjunction with Digital Media, writing the script for our art reflection, reading literature, and began our own short stories and essays.
In our first quarter of Film, we started with several basic exercises to become familiar with our shot composition and how to use the tools at our disposal. We learned the basics of green screens and doublemints, as well as editing styles, techniques, and shortcuts. We finished off the semester by incorporating these skills into one larger project: our experimental film, which is aimed at conveying an emotion rather than a story.
Digital Media & English
Art Reflection Video
One of the first things we did at Freestyle Academy, was to go to the San Fransisco Modern Museum of Art (SF MOMA). Using our DSLRs, we took photos of the art pieces that brought us awe. Then in English we drafted a voiceover text surrounding this piece. Using the voiceover text, we recorded it in adobe audition, and edited it cutting out errors, and equalizing the entire voiceover. Finally, we brought it into Premiere Pro, where we combined it with the photos we took, to create one cohesive video reflecting on the artwork. For mine, I chose the plant wall, a vast wall made entirely from unique plants.
This project was a fun intro into Freestyle, where I got to learn a lot behind the editing and producing of audio, something which I had previously not done, and I am sure will be helpful in other film related projects. Going to the SF MOMA was a fun experience that was further highlighted by this short reflection we made.
Parody Song Production
Our parody song was a fun Digital Media project where we got to pick a song and write our own lyrics for it! For my parody song, I chose the song “Soda Pop,” which is from a recent animated movie called “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” and turned it from “Soda Pop” to “Acorn Squash.”
▶ Acorn Squash
⏸ Acorn Squash
For my parody song, I chose the song “Soda Pop,” which is from a recent animation movie called “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” This song is the first villain song from the demon band in the movie, used to steal fans from the other band. It is incredibly catchy. My younger sisters repeat the whole soundtrack whenever they have a chance to listen to music, and they were also the ones who pushed me to watch the original movie, so this music has definitely been background music for me in the last couple months. I specifically chose “Soda Pop,” from the many songs in the movie because my siblings and I had an inside joke where we replaced the “Soda Pop” part of the lyrics with “acorn squash,” right after we bought acorn squash at the store. We were playing “Soda pop” while singing “acorn squash” while we were driving home, and it was a very joyful moment. I think because of this, the “acorn squash” parody struck a funny chord in me, so I decided to change the rest of the lyrics to follow suit soon after this project was announced.
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey
Don’t want a pumpkin, don’t need it, grab acorn squash
You can roast, boil, oh (oh) my gosh
Got a feelin’ that, oh, yeah (yeah), it could feed everyone
That you need (need), taste so sweet (sweet), vitaminnsss a through zzzeee
Lookin’ like jack, like a jack o’ lantern (whoo)
But your face is a little greener,
Roast with sugar and a little butter,
One more bite and your heart’s aflutter
Cut the squash in half lengthwise, lengthwise
When you’re in my mouth, I chew you just right
Creamy cozy runny flavorful soup
So many recipes, made just for you
‘Cause your seeds are so feasty
I’m empty, you feed me, so savorry’
Yummy yummy acorn squash
You’re all I can think of, just can’t get enough of
Its my acorn squash, yummy yummy acorn squash
Vitamin c, yeah ah, fiber and, potassium
I like acorn squash, yummy yummy acorn squash
Yummy yummy acorn squash
Uh, it’s my acorn squash, it never don’t hit the spot
Every little ridge and bump, stem and pop, ah, thats how I know it acorn squash(whoo)
Yes, it is my acorn squash I really cannot get enough
And sure a lot of people stop when they see an acorn squash sizzlin’
Ooh, I just can’t wait for acorn squash
It is the best in the whole world
I want it man, I waited so long for a taste of acorn acorn squash
So, the wait is over, yayy
Come and fill me up (just can’t get enough, oh)
You’re all I can think of, just can’t get enough of
It’s my acorn squash, yummy yummy acorn squash (yeah, yeah)
Vitamin c, yeah ah, fiber and, potassium (oh, oh)
I like acorn squash, yummy yummy acorn squash
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
You’re my acorn squash, gonna devour an never stop
First, I started by drafting lyrics to the song. I searched for rhyming words, but quickly found that this method was slow and ineffective, as most of the rhymes didn’t have to do with acorn squash! Therefore, I opted to find words that related to acorn squash, and work my way backwards, finding places where I could get the syllables to match. I think this was the key part of the process. The hardest part of changing the lyrics had to be the parts of the song in Korean, as it was harder to visualize syllables and find a way to get them to match the Korean sounds. There are still some lines that don’t quite fit when singing for this very reason.
Next, I went into the recording studio and sang it. I then went into adobe audition and layered them, and cut the parts that didn’t work. I only put a few effects on as I liked just the raw voice better without all the effects. Finally, I cut some of the ending lyrics (I re-did the entire song originally), as I found that they didn’t match the music quite right, and didn’t work well with the song for me.
I think the part of the process that I most valued was the writing of the lyrics themselves, as finding a way to get the lyrics to match the music was much harder than I initially anticipated. Additionally, getting it to sing right without it sounding weird or off-key was definitely tougher than I imagined; professionals make it sound easy!
My parody lyrics don’t have a strong message or intention. This was just a fun project where I could make the lyrics ridiculous, and funny. Also, my siblings who helped with the idea all loved the finished product, and some of them like it more than the original song! This was a fun way to turn a little inside joke into a song!
I would say in this production, I am most proud of creatively re-writing the lyrics, as this was the hardest part overall for me in this process. I am happy with the overall product of my work, and how well it holds up to the original!
Photoshop Blend Modes
These were a series of photos that we edited using adobe photoshop blend modes. For each one, you can see the before and after!
DSLR Practice Photos
These are some of the first photos I took with my DSLR! Many of them are in the photoblog section as well!
Film Conceptual Work
Introduction
Film class was a step up for me. In the past I had made short films and projects, but in this quarter my projects grew in scale and size, becoming larger and more important, with a bigger crew, and more intention behind shots. So far in film, we have gone into depth on framing and using our cameras, as well as some visual storytelling techniques, for setting a scene.
I value being a film student, because of the new film techniques, and equipment/resources we have been given access to. Learning how to compose and frame shots, as well as technical camera aspects has dramatically helped me improve my skills in becoming more proficient in film.
Experimental Film
Our first big project this quarter was our experimental film. The goal of this film was to convey an emotion, not to tell a narrative type of story. We each got a conceptual statement that we had to base our film off of, and then we came up with ideas, and pitched them to the class. After revising our ideas, we filmed things we could use to aid our experimental. In addition to this process, I used Blender, to create a CGI black hole model which I incorporated throughout the film.
Throughout the creation process of this film, I learned a lot of both blender techniques, and abilities my camera had. One of my favorite parts was editing the fast paced section, as I enjoyed chopping up all the pieces of footage I had. Despite taking over 200 shots, only a handful made it in! This project was super fun, as it allowed me to test my visual effects prowess, and helped me to learn more techniques inside of blender.
Film Exercises
We did several smaller film exercises to practice certain aspects of film making, allowing us to explore new ideas and techniques.
Scavenger Hunt Video
This was our first project in film, in this project we just showed many of the different types of angles/moving shots. The goal was to learn ways of using angles to our advantage in later film projects.
Green Screen Video
This was a green screen exercise, where we got to use the cyc wall to film someone behind a green screen. For mine I decided to make my actor a ghost, and then I overlayed him over my shots, and made him slightly translucent. This was just a fun project to experiment with the green screen!
DoubleMint Exercise
In this film exercise, we were tasked with creating a double mint, where we cloned ourselves using a split screen technique. This one in particular was not very good, as my camera settings were off, and I ran out of time to fix it.