Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Music Video FINALE!

P1T7 Push It To The Limit from Kapaa Middle School MEDIA on Vimeo.


So. Hello. It's time. This is the final project of the year. The infamous MUSIC VIDEO PROJECT! (Bumm bumm baaaaaaa!) in this project, my team was comprised of Jason Hoy, Micah Miller, Linden Johns, and me. Wait. No. Scratch that last one. Just the three of us. The song we ended up picking was called "Push it to the limit" by Paul Engemann. We ended up picking by putting all of our song ideas onto one document, with our favorites highlighted. Then we basically just voted which one would be the best. Thus, we ended up with this song. I actually hadn't heard the song before this project, but it's pretty good.

Here's the lyrics of the song that we used:

Push it to the limit
Walk along the razor's edge
But don't look down, just keep your head
Or you'll be finished
Open up the limit
Past the point of no return
You've reached the top but still you gotta learn
How to keep it
Hit the wheel and double the stakes
Throttle wide open like a bat out of hell
You crash the gates (Crash the gates)
Going for the back of beyond
Nothing gonna stop you, there's nothing that strong
So close now you're nearly at the brink
So, push it, ooh yeah

Welcome to the limit (Limit)

Take it baby one step more
The power game's still playing so
You better win it

Push it to the limit (Limit)

No one left to stand in your way
You might get careless, but you'll never be safe
While you're still in it

Welcome to the limit (Limit)

Standing on the razor's edge
Don't look down just keep your head
Or you'll be finished
Welcome to the limit
Push it to the limit


However, there was a catch. We had to make up a story to go with the song in the music video! *Dun dun daaaaaaaa!* Nah, it wasn't the hardest thing in the world. Micah came up with the idea that there was this superhero dude (me) who wasn't saving enough people. Thus, he trains, and beats up the big bad evil dude, who is revealed to be Jason, the person that gave him the status report in the first place! [Insert deeper meaning and/or plot here] Anyway... Yeah! Jason's evil, so I beat him up but not really, and walk off into the sunset, fade to black, cut. But wait! It needs to sync up with the lyrics. It syncs up to the lyrics pretty well, like for the training montage part it has inspirational lyrics like "Nothing's gonna stop you, There's nothing that strong." like, trying to pump him up and such. And before the big bad fight scene between me and Jason, it says "The power game's still playing so, you'd better win it." Basically continuing to inform that I am now stronger and am ready to take on the big baddie guy. And finally, at the end, when I enter the secret lair, it says, "No one left to stand in your way" which means what it implies. It's just up to me. Once again, [Insert deeper meaning and/or plot here]

So... The finished product turned out pretty good in my opinion! I think probably the only thing that could be improved is my performance in the piece. I am not the best of actors in the world. The piece could probably be a little more fast-paced, but i'm proud of how it turned out. I think that for the most part, it definitely shows some of my best work. The speed up scenes didn't look (too) cheesy, and the story is definitely very clear, despite there technically being no dialogue. (Except for "Save me Superguy!" courtesy of Micah.) The editing was pretty good, the lip syncs were very synced, and my acting is still terrible. Just kidding, but I do feel I could work on it a bit. So yeah. I think this was a great end to a great year. Although ever since we finished it, "Push it to the Limit" has been stuck in my head.

Sincerely, Signing off one last time,

-Linden

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Food Bank of Hawaii

Kauai Food Bank PSA from Kapaa Middle School MEDIA on Vimeo.

*Dunnnnnnnnn* "In the dark of night" *Dunnnnnnnn* "One class remained superior" *Dunnnnnnn* "Will the students survive?" *Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNN* "7th Period: Service Learning" Coming to theaters near nobody because this is about the food bank. Anyway, here comes the first blog post in.... Ever that ISN'T about G.T. Well, I'm not sure if this counts or not, because you need to be in G.T. to be able to be in this class and it's still taught by Mr. Sanderl, so I guess it's G.T. hard mode. Anyway, our project was to create a video PSA (Public Service Announcement) about a non-profit organization. I chose the Food Bank of Hawaii. (Although, you probably could have figured out that based on the giant video and title.) Anyway, my teammates for this project were... No one! I worked by myself because all of the teams were full, and although one team was not full, I would've much rather worked by myself. I learned about initiative and independence, which are important skills not taught quite as often in children's TV than friendship and relying on others for help.

The most difficult part of the project was probably the timing, as for half of the school days we could work on it, I was sick. Like sicker than a dog who happened to be sick. But I still managed to squeeze in two filming sessions, and thankfully Mr. Sanderl was understanding and gave me an extension. I was a little worried when I went out to film, but the people at the food banks were really nice and supportive. (I mean, it makes sense, as they help starving people every week.) I mean, I couldn't get shots of the people who were getting food, which made sense because you know, they're people. I would need each one of their permissions to use the clip in question. Basically, the video was challenging but (mostly) fun.

Finally, I really do hope that the people over at the Hawaii Food Bank use or at least see the video. I worked really hard on it, and I hope that the recognize that. Even if they don't use the video, I'm still proud of myself for creating the piece, because it was very difficult but also one of the highest quality videos i've made. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Ciao for now,
-Linden