Daily Reflections

April 4th

Today me and LE picked up the Phantom 2 vision drone with all of its parts and instructions. At first the drone seemed like it was going to be difficult to fly but after watching tutorials and reading instructions, we took it out for a test flight. After I flew the drone with the camera attached to the base, I felt confident footage would turn out good. I think the test flight went very well because we took time to prepare and troubleshoot before actually putting it in action. This piece of equipment is very important to the project and I believe it will make our video. Even though the test flight went very well, we still have to take into account different conditions as well as a back up plan if something goes wrong. Planning and dividing our time will be very important this week because we are filming at our first location. Depending on weather, we will film for most of the day on Wednesday with the drone and Nikon camera. I feel we are prepared to capture stunning footage of the trails and waterfalls at Tallulah Gorge and Hurricane falls. After going to the micro store we tested the SD cards with the camera and found that the camera was too old for the cards. Hopefully the new Nikon we are borrowing tomorrow will work with the cards that we bought.

April 5th

Today we started the day off by attempting to repair the blade protecter and replacing the damaged blade. This repair gave us confidence in our second test flight at the river. I felt very good about the quality of footage the drone recorded but the footage quality from the canon camera was lower than we expected. It was disappointing to find that the SD cards we had bought wouldn't work on the first camera and now the SD cards did work on our second camera, but the quality was sub par. I am worried the video quality that we record tomorrow will not be as good as we had hoped. However we have bought many pieces that could help change the quality of our video for the better. We have realized how much equipment we actually need and how important each component really is. I hope our first filming excursion goes well and we don't have too many problems along the way!

April 6th
Day off :)


April 7th

Well! LE and I were out and about today in the Panola mountains with 3 different cameras. With all of our batteries charged and our SD cards empty we embarked on our first official on sight journey. Hiking the trails I felt confident that our footage would turn out well and our images would come together nicely. We were extremely excited to stumble upon an open sand/beach area in the center of a river and knew that the drone would be perfect for this spot. After leaving the National park and the river spot I felt very confident that our footage would turn out great. The over all excursion was very productive and the only problems we had were focus issues with the cannon and low battery with the Nikon. Looking at the drone footage, I am extremely excited to take it to more treacherous terrain and fly it at the Tallulah Falls. The video footage from the cameras were a little disappointing just because I thought it would turn out to be better quality than it was. I feel as though we will make it work and the editing process will take the majority of our time. Premiere Pro is a very advanced video editing software that neither me and LE have experience using. However after 20 minutes of moving things around, checking different buttons and watching video tutorials, we managed to cut our first 3 minutes of film.


April 8th
This week has been very productive. Testing SD cards, lenses, cameras, download methods, etc. We have tried everything. Something I will definitely get from this project is hands on experience with recording equipment. In order to produce a good film, the producer must have good quality equipment. Today was all about trying different methods and seeing which one works the best. After these test runs Mr. Silverman gave us some tips and tricks on how to use the editing software, Premiere Pro. While it is complicated, the tips he gave us will help us actually put something watchable together and save us time while doing it. Editing footage today was very comforting because it has turned out to be pretty simple. All we need now is stunning images to make our video get people thinking about the conservation of the beauty that is right in their backyards. This first week has given LE and I a chance to get on our feet and begin editing our Beautiful Backyard film!

April 11
The most frustrating thing thus far has been the quality of the cameras we have. After recording a video on the camera the playback quality is seemingly flawless. However, when the video is downloaded onto the computer, the playback makes it look fairly old. I can't stress enough how important the quality of the equipment is and how well each piece must work with the other. I searched my house to find an old Flip camera that specializes in taking videos. After testing that quality, it proved to be about the same as the quality of the Nikon we had been using. I contacted a film student at Georgia State that we knew had produced some breathtaking films. I asked him what type of equipment he was using and what editing software he used. Turns out the camera that he had wasn't a videocamera, it was just a really nice camera that specialized in photography. Basically after asking everyone we knew for higher quality cameras we could borrow, we decided to work with what we have and make the best of it!

April 12
Today was the most treacherous so far. We trekked through Atlanta to find a remote spot that only few know about. We walked along the railroad tracks, through the woods, threw a thorn infested field and searched for the secretly famous view that the quarry apparently provided. After a dangerous hike ending with a couple minor injuries, we refused to leave empty handed. We trudged through the brush to see and experience a nature spot only so many have seen. The view was fantastic and will provide an interesting addition to our video. Although the footage didn't cover as much land as we had hoped, we still captured it as best we could before the heat was too much for us and the equipment. Coming back from today's hike I feel more invested in this project than I ever have. LE and I are willing to go extreme lengths to put together an amazing video and pictures to show the beauty that is so close. I hope the footage will look great with all the other locations and all goes well with editing!

April 13
In order to put in the most work for the most efficient amount of time,  LE and I have found that getting up as early as possible is the best way to get things done. Today we started our hike early and gathered our equipment before heading off into the trails. Although the drone has proved to provide stunning images that will be perfect additions to our film, many parks don't allow them and establish their areas to be no fly zones. I am worried these rules will keep us from capturing all the footage we wanted to. Hopefully the falls and the island we are visiting won't have too strict of rules about the drone. Our secret weapon is all we need to make our film spectacular!

April 14
Lots and lots of stairs! We encountered over 500 stairs today at the falls. This morning I woke up sore from our stone mountain hike and now we were trucking through the forest to find the most breathtaking views we have encountered so far. Although the almost two hour drive was boring, the falls proved to be the most beautiful location yet. After hiking to each lookout point I felt confident that we were capable of capturing some great images. However, the falls and forest seemed way too large to even capture at all! I hope our cameras did a good job at recording the beauty of the falls much like the beauty of just looking at it. We used many different trees, railings and tripods to try and steady our shots this time, which I think will help a lot with the quality. I am excited to put all the footage together and see how I can make the photos really stand out.

April 15
Today we had a minor set back with downloading the footage because we missed place the drone SD card. The card is about the size of a finger nail so it was a struggle to find. Luckily after finding it we downloaded and organized all of our movies and photos. The amount of footage we had to go through to put on the Premiere clips was too time consuming. For next time, the footage we take during the day we will try to edit most of it that same day. This way we don't spend a whole day at the end of the week editing everything from the past view days. I think this strategy will prove to be affective and release some stress off the editing process. I am also excited to visit St. Philips Island next week and hope that the weather will be good for filming!

April 18
My regional golf match was this morning and took a pretty big time slot out of my day. Although our team did well, LE and I didn't have much time to finish the edits we were making on Friday. However, preparing for our trip tomorrow, I feel reassured that the drive down to the island will give us time to edit. I am very excited to visit St. Philips island for the next few days and I hope we have the opportunity to film some interesting wild life. Our drone has had some equipment failures so I also hope that it will pull through for this last excursion. The beach will be a perfect and open spot for us to fly it.

April 19
Today we got up early and set out for St. Philips island. This island is completely private and we will be one of the only people on it. The only other people besides LE and I is one other family of three plus two dogs. After the drive down, we took a short boat ride to the island with all of our camera equipment. Unfortunately, at some point during route, one of the propeller protectors on the drone broke completely off. Hopefully, this won't affect the flight and maneuverability of the drone when we film tomorrow. Seeing the island on the drive in, I feel extremely exited to explore it all with our cameras. There are multiple trails and tons of wildlife we will be able to capture here. Because this island is private there is no deterioration to the nature and the wildlife is thriving. Looking at the beach there are so many interesting shells and sand dollars that haven't been picked over by tourists. It is so interesting to see an environment like this that is so beautiful because it is untouched. I really hope we are able to spot some alligators and snakes to give our video some action. Tomorrow we will set off into the forest and see what we can find!

April 20
Today will probably be the most work filled day so far. We got up this morning and set out to film off of the different forest trails. The Gator vehicle provided the perfect transportation through the brush. We saw fox squirrels, birds, snakes, baby alligators and many different species of plants. The only con to exploring these trails were the misquotes but we quickly assessed that issue with spray. After driving through most of the trails I made it my goal to spot one of the big alligators that live on the island. The one man who is here the most has seen a 14 foot alligator here and I really want to see it myself. After the forest excursion, we flew the slightly broken drone which flew surprisingly well. I am very excited to upload all the footage from today and especially the drone footage. I flew it strategically over a bare tree in the ocean that held an osprey nest in it. Hopefully, the drone will prove it self again today and give us what we need to make our film eyeopening. As of now, I see that our first video was our lowest point and our second video was a large step up from the first. Like those previous improvements, I hope this section/location of our film will completely pass up the previous and prove to be our best yet.


April 21
Yesterday was a very productive day on the island. We shot and filmed many different locations of the island and actually got the chance to capture a video of an alligator. I am really excited to see the drone footage from the island. Throughout this project, the drone has proved to be our most valuable piece of equipment. With a broken propeller protector and a faulty battery, the drone still works great and helps us get all the shots we need. St. Philips island was one of the coolest places we have visited and I will never forget it. The island was so peaceful and filled with wildlife like no other place I have seen. This project has given me a chance to see the beauty of nature and also the opportunity to capture it on film. I am really hoping our audience can get an idea of how beautiful nature is, right in our backyards.

April 22
Editing and more editing. With all the film we captured this week means a lot of work today and next week. It seemed overwhelming this morning to see all the the different videos from all the different cameras we have being loaded onto the laptop. Some how we are managing to learn the video editing software as we go. I am very proud of what we have so far, but I am hoping this locations video will have obvious improvements. Because all of the footage must be on one laptop, LE and I have been meeting up to edit and discuss our options with the video. Today we have been struggling to find the perfect song for the first and third episodes. The music is extremely important and we can't begin editing until we have it. I hope our choice of music won't distract our audience from the film but rather engage them more and make it more dramatic. The music could make or break our video so we will take our time in finding the perfect track.

April 25
This week will be a week full of editing. We are trying our best to keep the clips on beat to our music and add in the wildlife shots to our St. Philips video. I am excited to say that we have most likely completed all of the filming we needed to do. However our project is far from over. Our editing must be strategic and we still have research to do on our different locations. The presentation of our project is very important and we must organize it around our videos. Somehow we will integrate our research with our photography to present with our video. There are so many different ways this video could turn out but only LE and I make the decisions on which clip to put where and how long the clips are. LE and I will be working hard all week, making the important editing decisions to produce an eyeopening video that we are proud of.

April 26
While today wasn't as fun as the past two weeks, LE and I are starting to put together everything that we have produced this month. Going out to different nature spots close by and filming anything and everything was my favorite part of the project. However, now I am looking at what all we have done and I see how beneficial this project really was. The research I have been doing today has shown me how much potential these locations have in conserving important and diverse ecosystems that are just down the road. It is amazing that all of these places hold so much potential and are already doing an amazing job with preservation. Putting our presentation together now is very important to me because I want to show that the goal of the project was to gain experience with production equipment and in doing so bring awareness to our audience that there is beautiful nature so close by and many organizations that work very hard to keep them that way. Conservation efforts are in action everywhere and we must support these projects. I hope that our video is enjoyable and that our presentation is enough to inspire our audiences to get out and support nature preservation efforts.


April 27
The presentation is coming along and I have been working on editing my photos from each location. We have decided to use the photography from each location in our presentation. We are using photoshop to edit most of them. Early on in the project we thought we would be using our photos for more than just in the presentation but this way we can present our research with our own pictures. Also we thought that we would go through the pictures after editing them and see if it is worth it to put any aside and present separately. I am hoping that our presentation to the board will cover enough information about each location. We are using keynote for now but I was thinking about using a different presentation software to show the video and our research. Our plan is to finish the presentation preparation this week so that we can focus on the reflection for Monday.


April 28

Tomorrow is going to be our last serious work day for me and LE’s project. We are finalizing our photos and making last call edits on our video. We will be showing Mr. Silverman what we have so far and hopefully he will give us some final recommendations to complete our video. Once we put together our slides, LE and I will have a presentation that we can practice and prepare for Monday’s rehearsal. I am excited to see everything together and I hope all goes well technically with our presentation to the board. I am also hesitant to cut things out of our main presentation to show in front of the school. There is a lot that went into our project but I want students to know that it was all worth it and it was all a great experience.

April 29
We have encountered some minor set backs today. LE's laptop would not turn on and our main keynote presentation with all of our slides on it may have disappeared. However, the IT department is working on it now and said that we could come back Monday to see if her information could be saved. Luckily all of our videos and pictures are on a personal laptop so our main project that we put the majority of our work into is safe. I edited the final pictures for the presentation today so we will be ready for rehearsal on Monday. I am hoping that we will have time to get our presentation off of LE's fixed laptop Monday but we might have to prepare a backup this weekend. Overall I am fairly pleased with our project and it was a fantastic experience. I am very glad Lovett offers this opportunity and I will encourage all underclassman to take advantage of it.