Finally! Our film is done! It’s finished! Our film has turned out fantastically and the music really works with the film. Everyone in our group has worked so hard and its really good to see that all our effort has paid off!
Thank you for coming in and helping us Mr Andrews!
Thank you for all your hard work Elena and Zheirleen!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Ways to Improve Time Management
After the whole incident on Monday with the miss-communication between Elena and I, I decided to find some ways to better manage my time.
1. Make Lists: Write as much down as you can. If you don’t carry a planner or notebook already, start. Personally, I’ve always preferred a small, simple, white-lined notebook because you aren’t restricted by the various boxes and lines of the average planner.
A simple To Do List is often a huge help to anyone, but I can attest gleefully to the 3 Lists of 3 Method more than any other. You’re goal is to avoid a list that reaches outrageous length and is overwhelming to even look at.
2. Make Use of Down Time: Using walking, driving, showering, or otherwise “dead” times to plan. Think about what your goals are for that day or the next. Which goals are most important? Prioritization is the key.
3. Reward Yourself: Whenever you accomplish something, especially the important things, make sure to take the time to reward yourself. A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess’ used the “Martini Method” to get things done. Burgess set a goal of 1,000 words per day. When he finished his word count, he’d relax with a martini and take the day off. Maybe a martini isn’t the ideal reward for some of us, but the method stands useful.
4. Concentrate on One Thing: The human mind works more efficiently when it is focused. As we’ve seen before multitasking is actually a disadvantage to productivity. Focus on one thing and get it done. Take care not to bleed tasks into each other. At times, multitasking may seem like a more efficient route, but it is probably not.
5. Avoid Procrastination at All Costs: When trying to be more productive and trying to save time, procrastination should be avoided like nothing else. It is the ultimate productivity-killer.
6. Set Personal Deadlines: Nobody likes deadlines. They cause stress, aggravation, worry, and, more stress. A guaranteed way to alleviate some of this stress is to set your own earlier deadlines. Be realistic but demanding of yourself. Challenge yourself and, referring to tip 3, reward yourself for a meeting a difficult challenge. Not only will this save you time and make you more productive in the long run, but you will also have a buffer time with little to no penalties compared to those received for missing a real deadline. Of course, this tip has potential for abuse, so be sure to make your own penalties for missing your personal deadlines.
7. Delegate Responsibilities: It is not uncommon for people to take on more than they can handle. The overestimation of one’s abilities, though not necessarily a bad thing, can often result in stress and more work for an individual. To avoid this unnecessary stress, do not feel bad about delegating tasks.
8. Set up a Long Term Planner: In the everyday drab of life, we can often lose sight of our goals. Setting up a long term planner will help you envision your long term goals and rationalize your current objectives. Whenever you find yourself thinking “Why am I putting myself through this work right now? I could be home watching Lost.” just take a look at your long term planner and you’ll be reminded of paying off your mortgage or saving up enough for your child’s college tuition. Revise this long term planner monthly to keep goals up-to-date.
9. Employ a program like RescueTime: This is a lightweight app that records and graphs how you spend your time on your computer. Those “2-minute” breaks to check out Digg, or play a flash game on some website, or email Aunt Betty, can add up to quite a bit of wasted productivity and wasted time. RescueTime will allow you to see exactly how you spent your time and will even send a weekly report to your email.
10. Work in a Team: This tip works hand-in-hand with tip # 7. Although giving up responsibilities is a scary thought for some, it is an invaluable method to increase the average team productivity of all involved. Make sure the team goals are clear and make sure everyone knows who is responsible for given tasks. Make sure all lines of communication are always open. A clogged or blocked line will have the opposite effect on productivity. Give tasks to those who are best suited for them and things will get done faster.
11. Be Careful to Avoid Burnout: Burnout occurs when your body and mind can no longer keep up with the tasks you demand of them. Don’t try to force yourself to do the impossible. Delegate time for important tasks, but always be sure to leave time for relaxation and reflection. Review your recent accomplishments and make sure you feel good. Review and reflection is one of the best ways to gain confidence and higher confidence means more productivity.
Taken From: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/02/11-solid-ways-to-improve-your-time.html
Hopefully by doing this next term, my time management will no longer be a problem!
1. Make Lists: Write as much down as you can. If you don’t carry a planner or notebook already, start. Personally, I’ve always preferred a small, simple, white-lined notebook because you aren’t restricted by the various boxes and lines of the average planner.
A simple To Do List is often a huge help to anyone, but I can attest gleefully to the 3 Lists of 3 Method more than any other. You’re goal is to avoid a list that reaches outrageous length and is overwhelming to even look at.
2. Make Use of Down Time: Using walking, driving, showering, or otherwise “dead” times to plan. Think about what your goals are for that day or the next. Which goals are most important? Prioritization is the key.
3. Reward Yourself: Whenever you accomplish something, especially the important things, make sure to take the time to reward yourself. A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess’ used the “Martini Method” to get things done. Burgess set a goal of 1,000 words per day. When he finished his word count, he’d relax with a martini and take the day off. Maybe a martini isn’t the ideal reward for some of us, but the method stands useful.
4. Concentrate on One Thing: The human mind works more efficiently when it is focused. As we’ve seen before multitasking is actually a disadvantage to productivity. Focus on one thing and get it done. Take care not to bleed tasks into each other. At times, multitasking may seem like a more efficient route, but it is probably not.
5. Avoid Procrastination at All Costs: When trying to be more productive and trying to save time, procrastination should be avoided like nothing else. It is the ultimate productivity-killer.
6. Set Personal Deadlines: Nobody likes deadlines. They cause stress, aggravation, worry, and, more stress. A guaranteed way to alleviate some of this stress is to set your own earlier deadlines. Be realistic but demanding of yourself. Challenge yourself and, referring to tip 3, reward yourself for a meeting a difficult challenge. Not only will this save you time and make you more productive in the long run, but you will also have a buffer time with little to no penalties compared to those received for missing a real deadline. Of course, this tip has potential for abuse, so be sure to make your own penalties for missing your personal deadlines.
7. Delegate Responsibilities: It is not uncommon for people to take on more than they can handle. The overestimation of one’s abilities, though not necessarily a bad thing, can often result in stress and more work for an individual. To avoid this unnecessary stress, do not feel bad about delegating tasks.
8. Set up a Long Term Planner: In the everyday drab of life, we can often lose sight of our goals. Setting up a long term planner will help you envision your long term goals and rationalize your current objectives. Whenever you find yourself thinking “Why am I putting myself through this work right now? I could be home watching Lost.” just take a look at your long term planner and you’ll be reminded of paying off your mortgage or saving up enough for your child’s college tuition. Revise this long term planner monthly to keep goals up-to-date.
9. Employ a program like RescueTime: This is a lightweight app that records and graphs how you spend your time on your computer. Those “2-minute” breaks to check out Digg, or play a flash game on some website, or email Aunt Betty, can add up to quite a bit of wasted productivity and wasted time. RescueTime will allow you to see exactly how you spent your time and will even send a weekly report to your email.
10. Work in a Team: This tip works hand-in-hand with tip # 7. Although giving up responsibilities is a scary thought for some, it is an invaluable method to increase the average team productivity of all involved. Make sure the team goals are clear and make sure everyone knows who is responsible for given tasks. Make sure all lines of communication are always open. A clogged or blocked line will have the opposite effect on productivity. Give tasks to those who are best suited for them and things will get done faster.
11. Be Careful to Avoid Burnout: Burnout occurs when your body and mind can no longer keep up with the tasks you demand of them. Don’t try to force yourself to do the impossible. Delegate time for important tasks, but always be sure to leave time for relaxation and reflection. Review your recent accomplishments and make sure you feel good. Review and reflection is one of the best ways to gain confidence and higher confidence means more productivity.
Taken From: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/02/11-solid-ways-to-improve-your-time.html
Hopefully by doing this next term, my time management will no longer be a problem!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Reflection
In Creative Media the last few weeks, I have been in charge of creating the music. So far I have found this task both challenging but quite enjoyable. I am very proud of the work I have done so far and I hope to have the music completely finished by the end of the week.
Since our film has some horror and suspense elements in it, I decided to create a mixture of music. I have suspenseful, horror and sad music. I decided to create some suspenseful music because there is a scene in the movie (Elena finding the spell) which I thought was quite suspenseful. I created horror sounding pieces after researching and watching dozens of horror films (mind you I watched so really scary ones and found out that they don’t really use a lot of music but mainly focus on sound so that was something else to consider) in order to make sure the music was suitable for our film. With the music I have created so far, I am very happy with my work and the others had liked it as well so that’s more encouraging.
The only problems I have faced during the last few weeks is with GarageBand. This is because there has been several (annoying) cases where the file has somehow gotten itself corrupted and therefore, won’t open. It is very annoying because this has happened more than once and I can’t say I know why it’s doing it. The only other problem I have faced is that GarageBand did not have the sounds I wanted. In order to produce the type of music I wanted, I wanted really scary vocals or piano and string sounds. GarageBand did have some piano and string sounds but most of their loops were all happy and cheerful...this is a horror film so happy and cheerful aren’t really what I need. I managed to solve this problem by recording one of my friends singing and playing what I wanted on the piano. My cousin then helped me combined the music on his sound editing program and the piece turned out really well!
During this unit of work, I have learnt one major thing. I have learnt how to use GarageBand! GarageBand is not very hard to do but it is very hard to produce decent music from it. There is nothing wrong with the loops but I find difficult to put music together by ear. I am very impressed with my skills in GarageBand because with the help of Mr Andrews and through self-taught, I have discovered how to actually use the program!
The time management for my group has not been the best. At first, we were not organised at all! Everything was rushed and the film just looked crap. When we did it the second time and went over everything in more depth and more carefully, the film turned out pretty good. However, I believe we would not be as stressed if we had been way more organised and gotten most of the filming right the first time.
The only changes I would make is the group’s time management. As I mentioned before, the group was not organised. We had not fully committed to this film and this shows in our earlier filming. However, in the end we did get our act together and ended up filming some pretty good stuff. The only other thing I would change would be the film itself. Yes, the film looks really cool but it has taken so long to do and has caused so many problems that I regret not asking the others to do my film because my film was all school based and we did not need a lot of props. However, I am kinda glad we kept with this film because it is turning out really well!
Elena and Zhierleen have been really fun to work with. Yes, we have had some issues with each other but that was based on different ideas of what the film should look like. Both of these girls, especially Elena, have worked really hard on this film and I am very glad I got the chance to work with girls as hard working as them. After we got our act together with the filming, these girls put 100% effort in all the time. I am extremely happy that I got the chance to work with these nice and very hard working girls.
Overall, I am very happy with how everything has turned out. I think time management has been a major issue and I think if we had spent our time more wisely, then we would not be as stressed as we are now. However, I have learnt how to use GarageBand and I have even managed to solve my own problems. So far, we only have one scene left to film and when I get the rough copy from Elena, I will be able to put the music to the video and then we are done!
Since our film has some horror and suspense elements in it, I decided to create a mixture of music. I have suspenseful, horror and sad music. I decided to create some suspenseful music because there is a scene in the movie (Elena finding the spell) which I thought was quite suspenseful. I created horror sounding pieces after researching and watching dozens of horror films (mind you I watched so really scary ones and found out that they don’t really use a lot of music but mainly focus on sound so that was something else to consider) in order to make sure the music was suitable for our film. With the music I have created so far, I am very happy with my work and the others had liked it as well so that’s more encouraging.
The only problems I have faced during the last few weeks is with GarageBand. This is because there has been several (annoying) cases where the file has somehow gotten itself corrupted and therefore, won’t open. It is very annoying because this has happened more than once and I can’t say I know why it’s doing it. The only other problem I have faced is that GarageBand did not have the sounds I wanted. In order to produce the type of music I wanted, I wanted really scary vocals or piano and string sounds. GarageBand did have some piano and string sounds but most of their loops were all happy and cheerful...this is a horror film so happy and cheerful aren’t really what I need. I managed to solve this problem by recording one of my friends singing and playing what I wanted on the piano. My cousin then helped me combined the music on his sound editing program and the piece turned out really well!
During this unit of work, I have learnt one major thing. I have learnt how to use GarageBand! GarageBand is not very hard to do but it is very hard to produce decent music from it. There is nothing wrong with the loops but I find difficult to put music together by ear. I am very impressed with my skills in GarageBand because with the help of Mr Andrews and through self-taught, I have discovered how to actually use the program!
The time management for my group has not been the best. At first, we were not organised at all! Everything was rushed and the film just looked crap. When we did it the second time and went over everything in more depth and more carefully, the film turned out pretty good. However, I believe we would not be as stressed if we had been way more organised and gotten most of the filming right the first time.
The only changes I would make is the group’s time management. As I mentioned before, the group was not organised. We had not fully committed to this film and this shows in our earlier filming. However, in the end we did get our act together and ended up filming some pretty good stuff. The only other thing I would change would be the film itself. Yes, the film looks really cool but it has taken so long to do and has caused so many problems that I regret not asking the others to do my film because my film was all school based and we did not need a lot of props. However, I am kinda glad we kept with this film because it is turning out really well!
Elena and Zhierleen have been really fun to work with. Yes, we have had some issues with each other but that was based on different ideas of what the film should look like. Both of these girls, especially Elena, have worked really hard on this film and I am very glad I got the chance to work with girls as hard working as them. After we got our act together with the filming, these girls put 100% effort in all the time. I am extremely happy that I got the chance to work with these nice and very hard working girls.
Overall, I am very happy with how everything has turned out. I think time management has been a major issue and I think if we had spent our time more wisely, then we would not be as stressed as we are now. However, I have learnt how to use GarageBand and I have even managed to solve my own problems. So far, we only have one scene left to film and when I get the rough copy from Elena, I will be able to put the music to the video and then we are done!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Music Loops
Song 1
Loops - Emotional piano 3, Emotional piano 2, Orchestra Strings 3, Acoustic Picking 3, Emotional piano 1
Song 2
Loops -Contemplative Synth 01, Emotional Piano 04
Song 3
Loops –Borealis, Contemplative Synth 03
Song 4
Loops –Borealis, Emotional Piano 2
Song 5
Loops - Sci Fi Texture 4, Sci Fi Texture 1, Sci Fi Texture 8, Pulsing Sweep, Mystery Accents 2
Loops - Emotional piano 3, Emotional piano 2, Orchestra Strings 3, Acoustic Picking 3, Emotional piano 1
Song 2
Loops -Contemplative Synth 01, Emotional Piano 04
Song 3
Loops –Borealis, Contemplative Synth 03
Song 4
Loops –Borealis, Emotional Piano 2
Song 5
Loops - Sci Fi Texture 4, Sci Fi Texture 1, Sci Fi Texture 8, Pulsing Sweep, Mystery Accents 2
Song 6 (not made in GarageBand)
Loops - Vocals, piano and effects from my cousin's computer
This is the music I have created so far but I'm not 100% sure if I will be using all this music in the film or whether I'll be creating more music.
Props and Costume
Props
-Phone
-Pile of Books
-Stones (to create the star)
-Glass cup (Opening scene where Zherileen dies)
-Nerdy looking glasses (for Zherileen’s charcter)
-Car (several scenes)
-Old looking piece of paper for the spell
-Panadol box (so it can be turned into rat poison)
-Candles (the staircase scene)
-3 cloaks
-Knife
-Red paint
Costume - Mine
1. School uniform
2. Fishnet stockings
-Black boots
-Dark lipstick
-Black cloak
-Dark grey skirt
-Black top
-Phone
-Pile of Books
-Stones (to create the star)
-Glass cup (Opening scene where Zherileen dies)
-Nerdy looking glasses (for Zherileen’s charcter)
-Car (several scenes)
-Old looking piece of paper for the spell
-Panadol box (so it can be turned into rat poison)
-Candles (the staircase scene)
-3 cloaks
-Knife
-Red paint
Costume - Mine
1. School uniform
2. Fishnet stockings
-Black boots
-Dark lipstick
-Black cloak
-Dark grey skirt
-Black top
Production Schedule
Here are the original dates for our filming:
- 27th and 28th May was filming at Australia Fair etc. That was for the first film-we realised it was a fail so we started planning another one.
- 31st May to 6th August (Term 2 Week 8) Was filming a new magic movie (Fate) in the afternoons and weekends at Zherileen's apartment and at school. -Realised in week 9 that there were numerous issues with our film.
- Sunday 18th July was a filming day with Olivia Park at an antique book store.
- Monday 19th to Sunday 25th July was a filming week for the whole film. Film was shot in the afternoons and on the weekend.
-Showed Mr. Andrews and some filming issues came up (Lighting, angles, too much footage and lack of story)
Here are the changed dates:
- Wednesday 4th August-class room bits filmed at lunch time (some creepy scenes in class etc)
- Sunday 8th August-filming day at my house (Spell scene and car scene etc)
- August 10th-footage reshot afterschool.
- Monday 16th August and Sunday 22nd August-Last few scenes were filmed after school and at my house and Zherileen's apartment.
Turns out we were lacking footage and had too much story so some extra scenes still had to be shot.
-Afternoons in Week 8 Term 3 (30th August - 3rd September) some footage were shot at school (Elena finding spell bits in Central Hall etc and Sarah Coundouris in the library etc)
-Tuesday 7th September-Hopefully this afternoon is the last time we have to film (Staff room for the Panadol bit and the last spell bit)
- 27th and 28th May was filming at Australia Fair etc. That was for the first film-we realised it was a fail so we started planning another one.
- 31st May to 6th August (Term 2 Week 8) Was filming a new magic movie (Fate) in the afternoons and weekends at Zherileen's apartment and at school. -Realised in week 9 that there were numerous issues with our film.
- Sunday 18th July was a filming day with Olivia Park at an antique book store.
- Monday 19th to Sunday 25th July was a filming week for the whole film. Film was shot in the afternoons and on the weekend.
-Showed Mr. Andrews and some filming issues came up (Lighting, angles, too much footage and lack of story)
Here are the changed dates:
- Wednesday 4th August-class room bits filmed at lunch time (some creepy scenes in class etc)
- Sunday 8th August-filming day at my house (Spell scene and car scene etc)
- August 10th-footage reshot afterschool.
- Monday 16th August and Sunday 22nd August-Last few scenes were filmed after school and at my house and Zherileen's apartment.
Turns out we were lacking footage and had too much story so some extra scenes still had to be shot.
-Afternoons in Week 8 Term 3 (30th August - 3rd September) some footage were shot at school (Elena finding spell bits in Central Hall etc and Sarah Coundouris in the library etc)
-Tuesday 7th September-Hopefully this afternoon is the last time we have to film (Staff room for the Panadol bit and the last spell bit)
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